It seems like every summer has somewhat of a home base where everyone would rendezvous before the night’s activities, whatever they were. Sonic was our home base of our many different adventures. One particular weekend, one friend had heard of a haunted house further down the road. Haunted? No. Run down and creepy? This house had not been lived in for decades and it could barley be seen through the uncut grass and ivy. We wiggled through the boards in the windows to discover the vast inside of a once very nice house. Since then, the walls were decaying and the roof had been eating itself.
Random nothings were strewn about the interior including Polaroid photos and lawn furniture. As secretive as it looked, the house had been raided before perhaps by bored kids similar to us. The past visitors had tried to make the house as haunted as possible to frighten the likes of any one who came into the house. Disturbing messages written on the walls and the eerie photos were straight out of a horror film which ironically made it less scary. None the less, we were still unnerved and soon left the property. Not without stolen booty from the site of course. We returned to Sonic victorious. I sipped on cherry limeade while wearing a sombrero hat and lounging on a fold out chair, which were both found in the house. Others walked around with canes and glasses which were also excavated.
Last time I saw the haunted house, the ivy was tamed and the grass was cut to a respectable length.
Random nothings were strewn about the interior including Polaroid photos and lawn furniture. As secretive as it looked, the house had been raided before perhaps by bored kids similar to us. The past visitors had tried to make the house as haunted as possible to frighten the likes of any one who came into the house. Disturbing messages written on the walls and the eerie photos were straight out of a horror film which ironically made it less scary. None the less, we were still unnerved and soon left the property. Not without stolen booty from the site of course. We returned to Sonic victorious. I sipped on cherry limeade while wearing a sombrero hat and lounging on a fold out chair, which were both found in the house. Others walked around with canes and glasses which were also excavated.
Last time I saw the haunted house, the ivy was tamed and the grass was cut to a respectable length.
This short story brings up many different memories for me. Being from a small town pretty much the only thing to do was drive around and get in trouble. I couldn't tell you how many times the local police ran us off from the Walmart parking lot, Sonic, and of all things the car wash. I've also been on a similar ghost hunt. One of my now estranged friends was convinced he had seen a green glowing ghost. I remember thinking no one has ever heard of a green ghost but what else do I have to do sit at the Wal-mart? So we drive out to this creepy run down house in backwoods nowhere and wait for this green glow to haunt us. Needless to say the so called ghost never found us. All we accomplished was wasting gas and keeping ourselves entertained for a couple of hours.
ReplyDeleteYou've done a nice job balancing telling and showing here, David. For me, the piece heats up with "We wiggled through the boards..." I start to feel like I'm with you, like I can see cargo shorts and beat up sneakers moving through summer grass. The details at the end are great too: the cherry limeade, the sombrero, the folding chair. The objects themselves, unadorned with adjectives, make me feel like I'm with the kids I grew up with during a summer late in high school or early in college. I feel the brightness and the sweatiness, the simultaneous aloneness and togetherness.
ReplyDeleteI think it's crazy how many of us are from smaller towns and have stories exactly like this! The story worked really well and I was reminded of the time a group of friends and I did the exact same thing! All we had to do in town was cruise the strip and finish the lap at sonic! The "haunted house" really wasn't as entertaining as yours, but sneaking through the vines and up to the windows was just as exciting! This story really makes me miss those time. :-)
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