• Black Dog


• Cookie


• Encounter with the Elmore Ghost


• Esther Hale


• Gore Orphanage Bridge


• House in Cincinnati


• House on Palmetto


• Little Boy


• Mom


• My Grandparents


• Our Little Visitor


• Phone Call from the Other Side


• Photo Album


• Practical Joke


• Wanderer


• Why I Believe


• Witch Woods

Practical Joke

My friends and I are always daring each other to do stuff. One night, we decided to dare my friend, Mark, to spend the night in this old house that was supposed to be haunted. People say that some guy went crazy and chopped his whole family up with an ax. We didn't really believe the story, but we wanted to try to scare Mark. So Steve, Jerry, and I decided that we would hide in the house and scare Mark.

We decided that Steve would go up and hide in the closet in the room that looked like it was the master bedroom. We even gave him an ax and cut holes in a white sheet for him to wear. Stupid, I know.

Well, that night, Jerry and I brought Mark to the house and told him to go in. He kept asking where Steve was, but we said he was sick. Anyway, we told Mark he had to stay up there until midnight and could only use his flashlight. When Mark went in the house, we sat down and waited outside.

Nothing happened for a while and we were starting to get bored when all of a sudden we heard scream. A couple of seconds later, he came running out of the house. When he saw Jerry and I laughing, he got all pissed off. He said "I should have known you guys would have done some crap like this". He then told us that he kept hearing this guy whispering and footsteps walking across the floor upstairs. But what really spooked him was that when he started up the stairs, he saw a big shadow walk to across the landing and stand at the top of the stairs. After that, Mark got the hell out of there.

The three of us hung out there for a while and waited for Steve to come out, but he never did. After a while, we figured he still wanted to remain in character and so we left. But that night I got a call from Steve. He said he was sorry that he wasn't able to make it tonight. Apparently, his mom busted him smoking and grounded him on the spot. He was only able to call me and tell me now because his mom had gone out with friends.

I couldn't believe it. I don't know who or what Mark saw that night in that house. I only know I am never going near it ever again.

--Submitted by Randy L., Columbus, Ohio