Last month, all Kanawha County Public Libraries held a Scary Story Contest for teens. Teens were given the option of writing a story or poem, which they then submitted to their local library where it was judged by a group of librarians. The categories judged were Scared Stiff!, Reflecting on the Season, Goosebumps on my Funny Bone and Overall Best Entry. Winners received a bag of goodies.

Below is one of the winning entries.

For more information on teen programs at area libraries, visit kanawha.lib.wv.us or stop by your local branch.

One time, my grandmother, Allie, went to visit her sister, Alice. Alice invited her to stay the night with her in her house. She claimed that she had seen ghosts in that house before and wanted Allie to stay all night to see them. So, they laid three mattresses side by side in her living room floor. One was for Allie and her children, and the others for Alice, her baby and husband, for Allie didn't want to sleep in a room by herself.

They went to sleep. Allie slept soundly. So did everyone else. But, at around midnight, Alice woke up to an ice-cold wind blowing her legs. She opened her eyes.

In the corner, there usually sat a wooden rocking chair. Now, it was gone, and in it's place, a corpse lay. It was (or had been) a woman wearing a light brown dress, almost beige. Her hands were in front of her, and she lay on her side. Her face couldn't be seen.

Allie woke her sister to go and get some water. Her mouth was dry. They walked together to the kitchen. Allie thought she was dreaming. They muttered not a single word as they walked toward the kitchen. A bucket of water (for the house was so old, they had no running water and had to draw it from a well outside) sat on the counter, a dipper for drinking standing in the very center of it -- straight up. Usually, the dipper would be leaning against the side of the bucket.

Allie stretched her arm out to grab it. It spun around and around. When she tried to grab it again, it spun the other way.

Alice, seeing this, stretched out her hand and caught it, dipped up some water and gave it to Allie. Allie drank her water, and after Alice drank hers, they walked back up to the room.

The rocking chair was still gone, the corpse still lay in the corner.

The next morning, they woke up. Allie tried to act like nothing had happened. After breakfast, she asked Alice if she had seen anything.

"I seen a dead woman in the corner, with a brown dress on," Alice replied simply. "And when we went to get you water, the dipper stood straight up in the middle of the bucket, and when you tried to catch it, it spun, and when you reached for it again, it spun the other way."

Allie's face went white. Thank goodness Jerry and Wanda didn't wake up, she thought.

Believe it or not, this story is true. Barron Creek is real, and if you went to that same house today, you still would probably see ghosts and the dipper would probably still stand straight up in the bucket and spin away from your hand when you reached for it.

All of these characters are real, too. Allie is my grandmother. Alice is my great-aunt. Jerry, one of the children, is my father. Wanda, the other child, is my aunt. Will, the baby, is my cousin (although we call him uncle). If you asked any of them if it had happened, they would probably say, "It's true."