It was a dark and stormy night and my friends and I were playing Truth or Dare at my house. They dared me to go inside the so-called haunted house down the block. This house was deserted but if you tried opening the door it would open all the way. I was scared but felt obligated to do it. After all, it was Halloween, and something scary had to be done.

I walked down the block and with every step I took one more butterfly would shoot into my stomach. Then we were there! I stood in front of the haunted house shaking with fear.

“Go!” my friends urged.

I walked up the steps leading to the door and opened it.

“Go in!” my friends screamed.

I put one foot in and then the other and looked around. It was pitch black. The sofas seamed torn apart and there was a rotten cheese stench in the air.

Then I heard a noise coming from upstairs, as if someone was walking down the steps. I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran all the way down the block to my house.

I will never play truth or dare again!

© Juliet R. Original for CCF (Juliet R. grants CCF first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).

* CCF does not publish students' last names on the work they submit for publication.