Midnight in the Cemetery

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Subject: Midnight in the Cemetery Tue Aug 21 2007, 23:39

It's exactly midnight and your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you are alone. The only thing surounding you is dense forrest and a nearby Cemetery. On the other side of the cemetery you see a few houses with lights on but you must pass through it in order to get to the houses, get to a phone to call for help.

While making your trip through the cemetery a few strange things happen. It is very haunted. In fact, what you don't know is that it's one of the most haunted places in the country...

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YOUR ASSIGNMENT

What I want you do do for this assignment is to write me a detailed account of what your expereinces are while making your way through this haunted place. What did you see? How did you feel? Were you afraid? It's completely up to you. All that I ask is that you be as detailed as possible and make it as realistic as you can. "I saw a ghost and ran" is simply NOT acceptable. Have fun with it and be creative!

I want at LEAST 400 words for this.

~Up to 100 points available. This class will be graded periodically.

Points changed and class altered to fit on July 17, 2009.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Wed Aug 22 2007, 13:14

Ginny
YOUR ASSIGNMENT

What I want you do do for this assignment is to write me a detailed account of what your expereinces are while making your way through this haunted place. What did you see? How did you feel? Were you afraid? It's completely up to you. All that I ask is that you be as detailed as possible and make it as realistic as you can. "I saw a ghost and ran." Is simply NOT acceptable. Have fun with it and be creative!

I want at LEAST 350 words for this.

With a sputter and a cough, my car, my precious car, died. Right on the side of the road. And it was midnight. And I was in front of a cemetery. Great…juuuust great! I thought sarcastically as I laid my head against the driver’s wheel, wishing they taught car spells at HE. It would figure that one of my first times driving by myself at night would end this way. I searched for my cell phone to call Jenn-whom I had just been visiting-and ask her to come get me. But karma was not on my side. My cell phone had no service. I could hear the invisible service bars taunting me “This is what you get for making Marie and Jenn float around the Hogwarts Experiece…” It would do no good to tell the cell phone bars that Marie had started it, and that Jenn should learn to not drink unlabeled things-especially with my in her house. I debated getting out and hitchhiking, but there were several problems with that plan. One, I was terrified of the dark, and getting out of the car would make me feel way too vulnerable-I was in front of a freaking cemetery! Two, I’d heard enough stories about young girls such as myself getting picked up by the wrong sort of guys and ending up at the bottom of lakes by the time the sun rose. And three, have I mentioned I am terrified of the dark and there’s a freaking cemetery RIGHT THERE? I cradled my face in my left hand, turning to the right as I did so.

“Oh…my…Dumbledore…are those house lights?” I squeaked, hardly able to believe it. Yes, beyond the cemetery was my possible salvation. I call it possible because well…freaking cemetery! I immediately felt silly. As I shakily opened up my car door I reminded my self that I’d seen ghosts are the Hogwarts Experience plenty of times. Another, nastier voice in the back of my mind said: “Ah, yes, but they were *friendly* ghosts, now weren’t they? After locking the car doors, I headed over to the cemetery’s gate. I figured it would be a good idea to figure out what I was heading into, so I pulled out my wand and muttered: “Lumos” I was about to enter St. Louis cemetery. It sounded like a familiar name that I had perhaps heard on the television once. The gate creaked in eerie protest as I opened it, sending shivers down my spine before I even entered the cemetery. Swallowing hard, I comforted myself with the fact that ghosts can’t hurt you, and if anything that wasn’t a ghost came at me I’d forget the Statue of Secrecy and defend myself. I can’t say I felt much better.

This cemetery was eerie…but it was also spookily beautiful. It was filled with raised tombs and mausoleums-many of which I had seen in the day time. Jenn had explained to me that since the ground was so marshy, to prevent the corpses of the dead from floating around after the next big storm, it had been the usual practice to bury the dead in tombs and mausoleums. One of these tombs I passed was made of marble, and ornately carved. And yet another, a mere five paces away was a crumbling memorial. I continued on the winding footpath, keeping my wand lit. Though I was grateful for the light, I could’ve done without the creepy shadows that were created. Every few seconds I could swear I saw something out the corner of my eye only to spin around and realize it was my own shadow. One of these such times, although I did see my own shadow, I heard something that was most certainly not me…

Someone was crying behind one of the tombs. The Hufflepuff in me-hard-working, good, just, loyal, always ready to help-demanded that I rush off the path-that would take me out of this godforsaken place-to help the crying someone. The other half of me screamed, “Don’t leave the path you IDIOT!!”

Guess which one I listened to? Yep, the Hufflepuff. Curse my darned badger loyalty. I rushed off of the path and ran behind the tomb were the crying was coming from. That’s odd…no one’s here. I started to head back to the path, when from the crypt I was passing came an unearthly groaning. I bit down on my tongue hard to silence my scream. No good calling people out here when I was parading about the cemetery at midnight with a wand in my hand. I sprinted back to the path, and didn’t stop sprinting until I had to catch my breath.

Shivering, I continued onwards, dismayed that I was only about halfway through the cemetery. A mist had settled, and something about it just didn’t sit right with me. It was too silent horror film-heroine walks through misty graveyard alone, and then the mists part revealing…revealing…oh dear Merlin, someone is walking towards me! I duck behind the nearest tomb, and hear someone ask,

“Do you know anything about the Vignes’ tomb?” A ragged man walks by where I am hiding, looking very lost indeed. He is wearing a white shirt, and is tall. When he looks my way I can tell his eyes are startlingly blue. He then sighs and says, “I guess not.” And then he vanishes. I Almost immediately find reason to regret hiding here; for now I am looking at a man’s face leering out at me from its walls. He opens his mouth, and a voice that sounds like branches scraping against the window pane during a harsh storm says:

“What are you doing here, my pretty? Such a young thing to be in a place such as this….She sees you, my pretty. She wants to talk to you…”

“I’m not talking to anyone!” I scream, running again for the path. No one is in front of me, and I pray to every god, deity, and superhero in thanks. However, I soon cannot recognize my surroundings, and I fear that I have gotten lost.

“Do you need help finding your way home? I do too…” Spinning around, I realize that I have stumbled upon yet another person…or spirit. He smiles at me, and starts crying as he warns, “Stay away from the Pinead tomb!” It seems as though I am attracting every ghost ever to inhabit this place. Then a loud and audible shouting comes to my ears, and I cannot understand the language in which it is being spoken-but I know it cannot mean good news for me. There is also drumming and screams. I cry out in alarm, covering my ears, when I hear a young woman’s voice call out,

“Hello, my dear.” Against my better judgement, I spin around. There is a beautiful young woman is standing in the shadows of a huge mausoleum covered with x’s in groups of there, that is decorated with many offerings, candles, flowers, mardi gras beads, coins, bags, money, dolls, bottles, and even food. Laid in front of the grave is a table setting, wine glasses, cups, saucers, plates. She is wearing a red and white turban, and through the wandlight I can just make out seven holes cut into the fabric. There is an odd movement behind her, and new terror washes over me as I realize that a large boa constrictor is draped over the grave. Standing in the shadows of the other tombs are people who glare at me, as if I am interrupting something. “Are you trespassing on my cemetery?” Although it feels like my tongue has stuck to the roof of my mouth, I manage to choke out,

“No, miss. I…my car broke down, and I was seeking help in the houses beyond this cemetery. I’m terribly sorry.” She gives me an odd little smile, and then is gone. Hesitantly, I say, “I hope you…have a nice evening, miss.” Before running on the path. On my way I think I see a black cat with red eyes running alongside me and in my head I remember my mother-a Catholic muggle-reminding me to cross myself three times if I needed strength. I do so, feeling as though if it helps me get through this cemetery alive, I’ll try whatever. The cat is soon out of my sight, having been chased away by a large white dog. I don’t know why, but the white dog makes me feel better. In fact, there are many animals sleeping near the tombs-they’re most likely all strays that come here to rest. A strange smell assaults my nose, and I see a heavy set man looks at me with piercing blue eyes-like the one I saw before asking for the Vignes’ tomb. He smiles, and I notice a few missing teeth. He then turns and places flowers on a grave, muttering, “My dear wife…” before he, like all those I have seen before, vanishes.

Needless to say, I am glad my heart is still beating after all it has suffered tonight. I dash out of the cemetery’s gates, and I swear I can hear someone saying, “Watch your step, miss…” I whimper and run for the nearest door, banging as hard as I can, as though intent on waking the dead. A shiver runs down my spine as I realize the implications of what I said. Finally, a woman comes to the door, glaring.

“What do you want at this hour?” The words tumble out of my mouth in a crazed rush.

“My car broke down, and I need help. I just ran through the cemetery-”

“You made it through the cemetery? Did you see anything?”

“…Did I see anything!? Lady I saw just about every ghost imaginable in there. Now let me in, or so help me I will hex you!”

“Well, that explains it. You’re a witch, aren’t you? They always show themselves when they sense someone with magic. That’s why I don’t let my kids anywhere near there-they’d never sleep again. Come now, honey, let’s get you inside…” She ushers me in, offers me some tea, and calls the tow truck to take me back to Jenn’s. I’m left with one last thought as I walk up to Jenn’s house, ready to cheerfully wake her up at 2am. Leave it to me to end up in a graveyeard maze and meet ever single ghost that has ever been documented of living there..

http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/toptenhaunted/toptenhauntedcemeteries/
~Up to 40 points available

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Wed Aug 22 2007, 20:17

Driving along the road, I sleepily rubbed my eyes and mentally decided not to take another night shift job ever. Suddenly the car engine seemed to cough and the car slowly came to a stop. Heaving a sigh, I open my car door and looked around. A chill pass through me as I realize that I had taken a wrong turn and was now beside a muggle cemetery. Suddenly a sign caught my eye and I gulp nervously as I realize that this was no ordinary cemetery, in fact it was Catacombs Cemetery, the very one that my friend had just been telling me about in her scary stories. Glancing around I noticed a light across the cemetery and realize it was a house. I mentally told myself that I should calm down when I realized that I had to cross the cemetery to get to the house to call. Biting my lip nervously, I took out my wand and transfigured a rock into a flashlight since I couldn't use my wand in a muggle neighborhood. I opened the metal door of the cemetery with a loud creak that seemed to echo for many minutes. With one hand on my flashlight and one hand holding my wand, I went in and closed the door. Looking around nervously, I started walking towards the light on the house's front porch, trying not to think of the tombstones beside me. Suddenly a heard a small moan when I was only about one-third in the grave site. Looking around nervously, I dismissed the event as just my nerves. But when I heard another moan right behind me, I jumped up screamed, and hit something behind me. Twisting around, I shone my flashlight around me and nervously whispered, "Is an-nyon-ne the-ere?" But only silence greeted my question. I quickened my pace and decided that I was just imagining things. Putting a more firm hold on my wand I found my self practically sprinting across the cemetery. Suddenly I hit something hard and fell over, tripping on a grave stone. Scrambling up, I looked around and saw that a ghost wearing bloody rags, sitting on top of a tree was laughing at me in a cold manner. I quickly tried to reassure myself that I had saw ghosts before in Hogwarts, looked away from it and resumed walking to the house- which was only a short distance away. The ghost suddenly appeared in front of me and asked in a sing song voice, "Where are you going on this fine day?" Ignoring him, I walked around him and focused my attention on the house that I was trying to get to. Suddenly the ghost popped up in front of me, causing me to jump, "Go away." I said trying to sound brave. "Don't you want someone to accompany you?" He said smirking. Ignoring him again I saw that I was almost by the cemetery edge and I started running across the space. I practically threw open the door and sprinted to a door. After I knocked frantically, I kindly woman opened the door and when I quickly stepped inside, I looked back and I saw the ghost waving from the tree-tops.
http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/toptenhaunted/toptenhauntedcemeteries/

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Wed Aug 22 2007, 21:14

I hoped in my blue ford focus and after waving goodbye to my parents, I pulled out of the driveway and made my way home. It was Halloween and I was visiting my parents because they where having a party and insisted that I should come. At first I didn’t plan on going but mom would not take no for an answer. So I quickly got into my car and drove to her house where we spent six hours talking about everything that had happened in the past few years. After growing tired from hearing about all of the wrong things I did in the past, I told my parents that it was late and that I should be going.

Now here I am driving my car down the road and all of a sudden it stops. Looking down at the gauge I saw that I had ran out of gas. Why didn’t I stop at that gas station I thought to my self as I got out of my car. I looked up over my hood and I felt my stomach flutter. Right in front of me I could see lights that belong to a group of houses. I walked around my car and saw to my horror that the only way I could get there was through a graveyard. Should I go through it or wait for someone to pick me up I thought as I stood at its entrance. There’s nothing to be afraid of, there’s no such thing as ghosts where some of the things running through my mind.

After standing in front of the gate for what seamed like hours I decided to go through it anyways. [i]What the worst that could happen. I opened the door and heard a loud creek fill the air. Stepping inside, I jumped as the gate gave a huge bang as it closed itself. I stepped further in and after a while I started to calm down. After wondering the graveyard for a while I felt for sure that there was nothing in here, that I was all by myself and I had nothing to worry.

Half way through I started to grow cold. I knew it was a chilly night but not as chilly as it was no. Pulling my coat closer I tried to ignore this but as I ventured further I grew colder. Growing frightened, I started to run, darting between headstones as I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then all of a sudden a transparent old man appeared out of no where and said “Why so scared?” I let out a piercing scream and ran right through him which I regretted immediately because it felt as if I was running through ice cold water.

After running for what seamed like forever I finally made it to the other side of the graveyard, and looking up I saw the lights in many houses and heard the laughter of children as they went Trick or Treating. I ran into the nearest house and begged the owners to let me use their phones. They showed me to their phone and I quickly called my parents and told them everything that had happened to me but they did not believe me.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Thu Aug 23 2007, 07:36

Kicking my car wheels, I sigh and look around. I can not believe that I decided to drive home alone and to break down in the middle of nowhere was just my luck.

Turning around, I shivered, which was unusual as it was not a particularly cold night. I looked to the tall gates of the cemetary, a rusty sign blowing in a non-existent breeze which clearly stated 'Keep out'. I looked around, but apart from the long dusty road leading into the darkness, there was no where else to go, and just a short walk down the path of the cemetary, I could see lights emitting from houses. I squinted. I could see a gate the other end of the path.

I shivered again, though I knew there was no other way. I tried to open the gate, but it was locked shut.

"Well thats that" I said turning back to the car, trying to figure out what to do, when suddenly I heard a loud squeek. I jumped and span around just in time to see the gates opening.

I gasped, but would not allow my fear to take a hold. Taking another deep breath, I stepped into the cemetary.

Slowly, I walked along the path, a dense mist surorunding me, which was weird again as there was no mist elsewhere. I quickened my pace glancing around, slightly scared when suddenly I tripped over.

I let out a small cry, and quickly pulled myself back to my feet.

"Hello"

I jumped and looked around. There standing by a small oak tree was a young girl, probably no more than ten or twelve. She was wearing a grubby white dress and dark shoes.

"Hello..." I said, surprised.

She laughed and stepped towards me. I suddenly felt slightly warmer inside as my courage grew. This girl did not seem scared, so why should I when I was obviously older than her.

"You shouldn't be here alone at night" I said quietly, "Where do you live?"

She grinned and pointed to the far side of the cemetary, towards the lights.

"Im Elisabeth Pettal" She said smiling and skipping over to me, "Do you want me to walk with you?"

She was so sweet. I smiled and nodded.

"I'll walk you home, and maybe your mum can let me use the telephone?"

She nodded as we continued down the path, chatting quietly. Soon, we got to the other gate which, luckily, was open. I smiled and turned to Elisabeth.

"Which house is...?" I began, yet my breath got caught in my throat. Elisabeth has vanished and all in place was a small gravestone which read;

Here lies Elisabeth Pettal

Beloved daughter and special friend

Died 1935

R.I.P

I stared open mouthed and quickly turned and ran through the gates, not glancing back, yet in the darkness I heard a small girls laugh and the squeeking of the gates as they closed shut.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Thu Aug 23 2007, 19:20

Okay so I got 'a bit' carried away with the word count..... again XD anyways here it goes

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“Stupid old piece of junk,” I muttered to myself as I slammed the door car, kicking the tire and earning myself a bruised toe. “Ow!”

It wasn’t the first time my car had broken down – it actually happened frequently. That’s what you got from buying it cheap and used, and with the lack of money, a good car was not in my options. Sighing, I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and looked around with a shudder. It was late – last time I’d seen on the car’s clock was five minutes before midnight, so it was probably around that time now. And my surroundings weren’t exactly comforting either – one on side, a big dense forest blocked my view from whatever was on the other side of it. There was no way I was going to find out what was on the other side either – forest at night, no thanks. I turned around, hopeful to see something a bit more interesting, but my face fell in dismay. A cemetery. Great.

I swayed on my feet, evaluating the situation – I was such a coward that I’d rather have slept in my car and waited until morning, but the lights on the other side of the cemetery, coming from town houses, were strangely appealing. It was rather cold out and I didn’t have a blanket in the car – I’d spend the whole night freezing and, with the knowledge that I was surrounded by a cemetery and a forest, it’d be a miracle if I’d even manage to get some sleep. As I sighed, still trying to figure out what to do now, Mother Nature decided to take the decision for me – a big fat raindrop fell on my forehead as a warning of the upcoming storm and I looked up to see dark and gloomy clouds covering the sky, making it impossible to see the stars, casting an eerie light on the cemetery ahead. One by one, raindrops started falling faster and soon I was soaked to the bone. Taking a deep breath, I decided that warmth was more important than my mental health at the moment and I took a step in direction of the cemetery, then another and another. Soon I was right next to the entrance gate and I stepped inside the cemetery, holding my breath and standing still for a few seconds, as though if something was to happen it would happen right now. When I realized everything was fine and I was starting to lack oxygen, I let go of the breath I was holding and concentrated on breathing deeply and calmly, telling myself there was nothing to be afraid about. Except all those dead people whose graves I was walking on.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of… there’s nothing to be afraid of,” I started whispering to myself as I walked on the small curvy path that went through the cemetery, covered with ferns and moss – it didn’t seem like it was a very popular cemetery, and it was nothing to make me feel better; if it was so poorly visited, maybe there was a good reason? I shook my head, trying to chase dark thoughts away, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead on the lights I could see on the other side, though I had to look down once in a while to make sure my feet were still on the path. I kept playing with the fabric of my coat nervously, my fingers gripping at it roughly from time to time, but I walked slowly, not wanting to look like an idiot if someone happened to be looking at me. After a while though, I stopped abruptly as I reached a point where the path disappeared, fading slowly into the long unkept grass that almost reached my ankles. Ahead, there were nothing but tombstones – there was no way of going on a straight line to avoid them. I wished more than ever that I’d taken a flashlight with me.

Taking a deep breath, I started walking once more, a bit faster this time. I wanted nothing more than leaving this place as quick as possible. But I was too hasty, and not careful enough – soon, I tripped on the uneven ground and fell flat on my face, scraping my palms on tiny rocks that were stuck in the ground. But the fall was nothing compared to what came after, making my heart beat faster than ever – a light touch on my shoulder, like fingers tapping softly on it. Then came a soft voice, and even though I was still scared, the tone was so sweet and soothing that my heart went back to its regular beat and my fright slowly faded away.

“Are you alright dear?” asked the voice.

I quickly got back on my feet and turned to face a young woman, probably around her early thirties, with a light pink summer dress imprinted with spring flowers – it seemed a bit outdated, but she looked absolutely lovely in it with her long chestnut curls resting on her shoulders. Her eyes were wide and vivid, a clear shade of blue – her skin was very pale, though there was a faint blush on her cheeks. She was one of the most beautiful person I’d ever come across. I cleared my throat and swept the dirt from my clothes as she simply smiled at me.

“I’m fine,” I said, my voice slightly shaky – more than I’d wanted it to be.

“This is not the most interesting place to walk through at night, is it?” she said, motioning around her with a slender white hand, her eyes sweeping the place in an affectionate way. If I was scared, she definitely wasn’t.

“It does make me a little nervous,” I admitted, my voice a bit stronger this time.

She nodded and then raised her hand to her full pink lips as though she was horrified by something – instantly the panic came back, but her next words calmed it once more.

“Oh dear, how rude of me, I haven’t introduced myself,” she exclaimed. “My name is Jane,” she said in her sweet voice, holding out a hand for me to shake.

“Marie,” I answered with a smile, taking her hand and gasping slightly. Her fingers were so cold, I wondered if she’d put her hand in an ice bucket. She didn’t seem to notice my reaction to the coldness of her skin – she didn’t even seem cold.

“Erm… I’m sorry if this is none of my business, but what are you doing in here?” I asked in a small voice. “I don’t know many people who enjoy walking in a cemetery just for the fun of it.”

“I am waiting for my husband,” she said calmly. “We are to meet here in a few minutes.”

“Oh, so you are visiting someone’s grave?” I said, happy with that answer.

“You could say that,” she said with an amused smile, as though I was missing some kind of inside joke.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer. My car broke down, I was on my way to one of those houses, to see if I could use a phone,” I explained, pointing at the lights that were now – to my relief – much closer.

“Oh, hurry then,” she said. “It was very nice meeting you,” she added sincerely.

“You too,” I said with a smile before making my way to the end of the cemetery and opening the gate, closing it behind me.

As I did, I turned around to look back. There was another person in the cemetery now – an old man of about eighty years old, maybe a little older. He was kneeling next to a grave, a dozen of pink roses resting on the tombstone as he held an old fashioned handkerchief in his hand, pressed to his heart. Behind him was the young woman, standing tall in a dignified manner. She had her hand on his shoulder, but something made me think he couldn’t feel it. Suddenly, I realized what I was witnessing – but even though I knew I should have been scared, I couldn’t feel even a hint of fright. The picture in front of me was so bittersweet, so peaceful that I remained silent, looking at the couple for I don’t know how many minutes. The old man and his late bride. After a while, I turned around, feeling somehow that I should give them some privacy, and I walked toward the houses I’d been wanting to reach the whole time.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Mon Aug 27 2007, 08:17

lol me too...sorry Nancy!

My head bobbed to the music to my cd as I sped down the empty road. Popular from Wicked of course. I completely blame Elana for introducing me to the soundtrack as now I can’t seem to get the damn song out of my head! Although since it’s already in there, I might as well join it. With much enthusiasm I might add as I was imagining myself in the famous musical.

“But not quite as popular…as…ME!” I bellowed to my rearview mirror with a slight wink. Just then a loud clink filled the car. Still daydreaming, I briefly imagined that it was the sound of applause, but I soon realized that not only was I alone in my car, but in fact my car had stopped moving. With a slight frown, I looked behind me and saw a large gray object not too far behind my car. Getting out, I nervously approached the object with my lit wand and bent over to examine it. Just as I expected, it wasn’t an animal I ran over. Thank goodness. Nope, it was in fact my car engine. How the blasted thing managed to fall out of my car was beyond me. Course I am the witch that wrote herself into the Harry Potter stories ages ago. These things happened to me I suppose. I guess you’re wondering why I didn’t just apparate home. Well, seeing that I was in a MUGGLE car I suppose you can see that I’ve had a little trouble in that area. Just one tiny incident, caused me to become banned from the Apparition Office forever! Just because I accidently splinched myself. I mean who hasn’t done that before?! Although the fact that I left my mouth at the Apparition Office may have helped. How was I suppose to know that once my mouth and my brain was in two completely different places, that my lips would start yapping away? I suppose I shouldn’t have mentioned the instructor’s bald spot though. And the fact that he had one eye larger then the other and he smelled horrible. Yes, I think that was what sealed the deal in getting me banned for life. People these days are awfully touchy about their appearance, don’t you think?

Walking back to my car, my hand automatically reached out to open my car door. Nothing happened. Jerking it for a moment, I finally accepted the reality that I had unknowingly locked myself out of my car. “What else can go wrong?” I yelled up at the sky. Lighting flashed menacingly across the sky as the loud thunder made me nearly jump out of my skin. “Okay, okay, I get your point. No, need to actually show me.” I muttered under my breath.

Just then I felt goosebumps prick up and down my arms as the unnerving feeling that I was being watched came over me. As well as a pair of eyes looming from the forest beyond. But then again it was quite a breezy night and that may have been the cause of it. As for the eyes, well lets say I may have mistaken the hooting for howling. It was merely a few letters different! But being the chicken I was, I let out a girlish shriek which I’d rather not repeat now as your ears may continue to hum days later. No, let’s just leave it at the fact that I let out a shriek, shall we?

Running blindly headfirst into the only open clearing I saw, something Lily constantly warned me about never doing. Or did she say never to dance timely into a maple deering? Nevertheless, I knew the moment I ran into the cemetery that it was a huge mistake. However, I spotted a few houses and lights beyond the cemetery. A haven where I can get to a phone! And some food! And a tv as I was missing enough of Grey’s Anatomy as it was.

Jogging along the isles, I couldn’t help glancing over at a few tombs. Some of these people has some very unfortunate deaths! Sally Baker, slipped on a rug…Thomas Smith, choked on a banana…Arnold Whiser, scared to death by a worm. At that tomb I stopped on my feet. “A worm?” I wondered out loud. “How could a worm scare you to death?”

“Well, it’s really more unfortunate then it sounds.” A voice to my left said huffily. Glancing over, I saw a balding old man perched on the ground next to the grave. His clothes were nice and pristine, although slightly yellow from age.

“No Arnold, it’s exactly how it sounds.” A sweet voice called out behind my shoulder. A tiny little woman was floating, yes quite literally floating lazily over my head! I wondered if she could tutor me on the Levitation Charm as I could never get it right. Why, once I burned…well, let’s get back to the story shall we. The little dear sniffed for a bit before winking at me. “Quite pathetic isn’t it my dear?”

The old man glowered at her for a moment. “At least I didn’t slip on a bloody rug, Mrs. Sally ‘My death is more interesting then yours” Baker!’ He glanced at me apologicly. “Besides, I had the worm fall directly on my head! That’s what caused my death! My tombstone just doesn’t explain it clearly as my precious son in law wanted to save a couple of bank notes. He sure got a hell of a haunting from me that week.” He muttered in triumph.

Sally Baker…Arnold…worm…My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach in horror. Now I would like to say I jumped to my feet and got the hell out of there, but alas I wasn’t very bright or quick that day. Instead of running away, I stepped back and fell straight into a empty grave hold behind me. Suddenly, the opening was surrounded by many ghastly faces. Some plump, some thin, some bloody…Sally floated down to face me.

“I’d get out of there if I were you child, this is Franklin Tremous’s new grave. He’s due to be buried tomorrow and I figure he won’t be too pleased with it being used.”

A low chuckle filled the air, “That is true but I think I can make an exception for my rule for a beautiful young lass like this.”

I started to blush and smile before I realized that I was being complimented by a ghost! As I jumped out of the grave, I took a close look at Franklin. Okay, a quite attractive ghost I may add, but a ghost nevertheless. “Can I ask you, how did you die?” I asked him with as much courage I could muster as though I asked him for his phone number.

“Well, it may have something to do with me wife’s lover wanting me out of the picture. I did fight back mind you. In fact, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, only to have to thrusted into me back.” He explained as he turned around and showed me his large stabbing wound.

Startled, I took another step back only to get slapped in the head.

“Excuse me miss! This is my grave you’re stepping on! And if you do so again I swear I’ll rip-”

Whatever she wanted to rip was lost in the wind as my feet suddenly regained control of itself and started running madly toward the houses once more. As I ran, blurs of faces coming out of the graves came up to greet me. Finally reaching someone’s house I paused to take a breath.

Sally waved at me from her tombstone. “Come back and visit us anytime dear! Next time I’ll show you how to make a lovely tuna casserole…”

Knocking on the door, an old woman opened the door to see my shivering. Collapsing in her arms, I started to hysterically stammer about ghosts and injuries when a certain familiar theme song drifted in the air. In a trance, I left her go and stepped into her living room, plopping myself down next to her young daughter.

“Is this when George helps McSteamy in that arm surgery? This one’s great.”

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Mon Aug 27 2007, 10:39

Um...yeah....carried away...:D

~*~*~*~

As I was put-putting along a deserted country road in my dad’s car, I smiled victoriously. I had managed to drive myself to a Lifey’s house for our Talent X practice and was nearly home- and I hadn’t died or killed anyone! A miracle! Sure, that might have been the fact that I was driving way below the speed limit (just being cautious!) and had taken back roads there and back to avoid other cars for their own safety. My crawling speed was the reason for it being minutes to midnight and my not being home yet. Hmm…Mom was probably worrying. I’d give her a call. I carefully pulled over to the side of the road to make the call- talking on the phone while driving is one of the top reasons for deaths, you know! I pulled out my phone and shut off the car- knowing my mother, this would be a long conversation and I didn’t want to waste gas.

“Hey Mom,” I said when she answered. "…What’s taking me so long? You know I’m new to this whole driving thing so I’m being careful!…Yeah, I’ll be home soon…Can’t wait till I can Apparate too…’k, bye.”

I tucked the phone back into the pocket of my hoodie and turned the car keys, waiting for the car to burst to life. I furrowed my brows, turning the keys harder. Why wouldn’t it start? I could not admit defeat! Things had been going so well…

But I was no car genius. I sighed and slipped my phone out of my pocket, only to discover that this wouldn’t come on either! Stuck in the middle of nowhere with a phone and car that wouldn’t work. At least I had my wand, but that wasn’t so much of a comfort. True, I had it with me, but wasn't allowed to use it outside of school. If my life were in jeopardy I would use it and argue my way out of punishment like usual. For the first time I looked out of the car, taking in my surroundings. On both sides of the road was a dense forest, but there was a path winding through the side I was on that lead to a dimly lit area. My fear of going out into the dark (you would be scared if you were there too!) couldn't stop me....but my hands shook when I opened the car door and stepped out into the dark night.

Calm down, there’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s just some trees, thought my rational brain. But I couldn’t drown out my, er, pessimistic brain. But what about what lives in those trees? Spooky place, you know. Too dark to be natural. Maybe you’ll finally have a chance to use the defense you’ve learned…

“Oh be quiet,” I muttered. I had walked around to the start of the path and took off at a brisk walk. The trees waved in the nonexistent wind, brushing against each other. The noise was too quiet; everything was too quiet- except for me. My footsteps on the ill-used path were deafening- or maybe that was the frantic beating of my heart. I kept my head down, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Suddenly something brushed my shoulder and caught onto my ponytail. I opened my mouth, ready to scream so that even in this empty place someone would hear, when I saw that it was only a branch. I untangled it hurriedly, losing a few strands of my hair in my rush. The light was nearer, and I quickened my steps, only to come to a stop at a iron wrought gate that came up to my waist. I saw where the light was coming from, a group of houses across the cemetery which the gate was guarding. I would have to cross through the cemetery to get to the houses. Yep. That was the only way to do it…

So why wasn't I moving?

I forced my hands to push against the gate, but it didn’t budge.

“Work with me here!” I grumbled. But the gate just wouldn’t move. So I set my hands upon the smooth top and vaulted over it, and, surprise- landed on my feet. Well this wasn’t so bad. Just a bunch of dead people, er, resting in peace. Right? The path even lead through. I could so do this. Once again, I had to force my leaden limbs to move. I took a step forwards. Then another.

“What the-”

I called, “Who’s there?” For I had just heard someone shout out. It sounded like a girl not a year older than me that had screamed.

The screeching of car tires on pavement filled my ears, and the girl’s scream was silenced. I knew from the sound of the crash that the car was smashed. I realized I was frozen in place when I heard the unmistakable sound of an ambulance. I looked back the way I had come, expecting to see its flashing lights. But I could only vaguely make out the outline of Dad’s car. I shook it off and convinced myself I was hearing things. Wasn't that the second sign you’re going mad?

I kept walking. Every few feet I had another experience like the woman in the car crash. A baby's muffled wailing. A mans wheezing as he struggled to breathe. And I kept walking, eyes on the lights ahead, my own breathing shaky. An argument, voices raised to near shrieking, a man’s mad laughter, and the sound of a blade whistled through the still air.

So I’ve made it to the second sign. What’s the third? Seeing things?

For the first time I looked at the gravestones, weathered with age.

BETHANY ZELLER
1985-2005
LOVING WIFE AND MOTHER

Under this impersonal message, someone had etched into the stone: Murdered by drunken husband during fight over custody of the kids. We’ll miss you, Bethy, and don't worry about the twins, John and I are taking care of them. – Anne

Disturbing. The thoughts I had been pushing out of my mind came flooding in. The sounds I was hearing were these unfortunate souls last living moments. I backtracked, looking closer at more of the gravestones and saw that nearly all had writing on them explaining what had really happened. Andrew Kirk had been beaten to near death before his throat was slit- that would explain his difficulty breathing (Damn you, Mark. He was a good man and you had better stay away- you have the town to answer to.). Lucy Moore, left to die at just a week old (What were you thinking, leaving a baby out in the cold of winter?). And Stephanie Frank, whose car had been rammed into by a fellow student with a grudge (Idiot. You had no reason for this, Courtney. Shoot first, ask questions later? Don’t worry Steph, we’ll get her back for ya.).

How charming.

With a start I saw I had arrived back at the start of the cemetery. This time, I took off at a run, hands over my ears to try and block out the noise. In no time I was sprinting through a back yard and pounding my fists on the back door. The family seated inside turned their heads to look at me, and a young boy nudged his mother’s knee. She got up, an understanding smile on her face, and let me in.

“Car won’t start on the far end of the cemetery?” she asked. I nodded, eyes wide, and the entire family chuckled. “They go to such lengths to share their stories,” she told me. “They don’t want their deaths to be forgotten, and by the look of you, you won’t be forgetting for quite some time!”

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I excused myself from the family laughing at my expense and answered the phone. “Sorry I’m still not home Mom. The car won’t start and my phone wouldn’t turn on…Just Apparate down here! Vilas Road, right next to the cemetery…Okay, I’ll see you there in a minute.”

We would be practicing at MY house tomorrow.

I left the warm house disgruntled, and this time walked through the cemetery without incident. The only sound I heard was as I passed through the gate (which had opened no problemo this time). A whisper of a hundred combined voices, “Remember…”

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Sat Sep 01 2007, 18:50

It's exactly midnight and your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you are alone. The only thing surrounding you is dense forest and a nearby Cemetery. On the other side of the cemetery you see a few houses with lights on but you must pass through it in order to get to the houses, get to a phone to call for help.

While making your trip through the cemetery a few strange things happen. It is very haunted. In fact, what you don't know is that it's one of the most haunted places in the country...

My car suddenly lurches to a stop, making my unseat-belted body fly forward into the steering wheel; the wind gets totally knocked out of me.
“Ugh…” I lightly massage my chest with my left hand as I blindly search in the darkness for the car keys with my right.
In the end, upon finally finding them I stumble out of my car and angrily slam the door behind myself. I groan loudly, thinking of how the hell I’m supposed to get out of this mess, and I turn around.
“My god…!” I’m left with the sight of a cemetery that was probably a mile long, but as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could vaguely make out tiny bobbing circles of light.
I hate cemeteries. So why, god, do you have to throw me into one?!
Sadly, I figure it’s my only option to go through the place so that I might be able to find a way to contact a towing agency…
Damn I wish I had some light... Oh wait! Geez I’m stupid…
I fish in my pocket for my wand and happily pull it out; I would’ve fixed the car with this if it wasn’t for the fact that I would most likely destroy it.
“Lumos”
I push the cemetery gate inward, and as it creaked eerily as I happily walk into the graveyard. “Stupid monthly…”

Each tombstone had a fair amount of flowers in front of it except for a select few which actually had bits and pieces of vines interlacing their way into each of the tombstones’ cracks.
“They must’ve not been loved…”

I walked for a about a total of 15 minutes toward the what seemed to be house lights until a strange wind rustled my clothes and blew dirt into my face.
“Gaah!” I shout, trying to wipe the dirt out of my burning eyes with my shirt sleeve.
“Ahaha! You seem like fun!” A giggling laugh followed with what I assumed had to be a male voice.
So, I guess there are ghosts here considering I can’t see this person… I’m not afraid though, what the hell can they do to me?

“Hey, old hag! I got something for you!” the male voice says again; the sound of it seems to echo off each tombstone and then head straight for me. This’ll give me a huge headache later…
“Oh really? That’ll be fun now won’t it?” I say, sarcasm dripping off each word.
The laugh ensues again before I suddenly slam face first into a wall.
WALL, that’s right! Where the hell did a WALL come from!?
This ghost thing is seriously tacking me off!

“Coward!” I shout fiercely into the air. A chilling feeling settles upon the atmosphere which I hope meant the wall has disappeared. I try to confidently walk forward again, ad luckily the wall wasn’t there this time. The pitch black darkness kept me from seeing anything but the closet tombstones and the faraway lights.

“Coward, am I?” The voice chuckles.
“YES. Yes you are! Show yourself!”
“Why should I?”
“You immature…!!!”
“Ahaha, can’t finish huh?”
“Oh go away…” I didn’t feel like talking anymore once a throbbing started thumping in my temple.

I continue striding through the cemetery; the ghost chooses to stay quiet. Thank Godric.
“Hey, you know…” The voice starts again. I half ignore it as I keep walking. “It’s kinda lonely here…” This stops me immediately.
“W-what?” I sputter.
“My names Russell, what’s yours?” Geez this guy changes topics fast… I start walking again, giving no heed to the toe I stub on a tombstone.
“Hey!” The voice calls.
“Jazmo.” I say briskly.
There’s silence for a few minutes except for the crunching of branches under my feet. Then there’s suddenly a loud hearty laugh, which bounces from every headstone and made my head rattle and my legs wobble.
“W-what’s so funny!?” I try to sound tough, but the voice laughs even louder.
“Are you serious? That’s your birth name?” A boy’s face suddenly appears in my line of vision. A head of shaggy hair and what seems to be a scar over his bottom lip. He looked about eleven years old.
Surprised, I stay silent to this as the laughter slowly dies down and the ghost tries to make conversation again: “How about another wall?”
“No!” I answer sharply, causing Russell to laugh again.
“Fine, fine,” He says happily, “So, Jazmo, how---”
“How did you die?” I ask him suddenly. Maybe I shouldn’t have trodden upon that subject so quickly…
I hear a sigh, and then a deep breath, “I know it sounds strange, but there was this guy with a stick and… I don’t really remember the rest… just FLASH! And… poof…” A stick? Does he mean a wand?
“Now that I think about it,” the voice continues, “You have the same stick thing. What is it?”
“A…” I take a deep breath and tell the poor kid, “A wand… You were probably killed by some lunatic wizard…”
“A wizard? Cool!”
“Wha…?”
“I have a unique death then! That’s what they always taught us in school… Be unique!”
“You are such a strange muggle…” Russell didn’t even question the word.
“Russell!” A faraway voice reached our ears, “Get yourself here this instant!”
“Opps! That’s my mum; she gets worried about me if I stray away for too long… It’s not like I’m going to die or something!” With a grin, he says a quick bye and floats off, but not before hurling himself through me first.
A chilling feeling passes through my body, but I give it no attention as I wave and call a goodbye to him too.

The air suddenly seems a lot colder now that the kids gone, which I thought was very strange considering ghosts usually have a cold feeling. The houses were coming into clear view, and there were only a few more rows of tombstones before the back entrance of the cemetery. I make a mad dash for the gate and along the way my foot gets caught in a branch and I land spread eagle in front of the last tombstone in the way of my doorway to Tim’s Tow and Repair.
“Ugggh.” I look up and my wand light is cast upon the tomb. All the words were indistinguishable because of all the plants growing over it, there were no flowers in sight. I knew I would feel bad if I didn’t do anything and leave the poor headstone that way, so I groggily stood up and pulled every vine I could off of it. A few minutes of labor later, I crouched down in front of it, finally satisfied of the now clean headstone. I was just about to leave it when my eyes caught a word visible under my wand light: Russell;, the last name was illegible.
“Holy…!” I bit my tongue, and try to read the rest of the gravestones words:
Russell --------
Much loved brother and son.
Born on March 25, 1980
Died on August 3, 1991

Eleven…So young…
Then out of the blue, a nagging voice from the back of my mind started coaxing me to… do something, but I never listen to these kind of things anyway! Why start now?
I figured that it won’t hurt, so I cast the first spell that popped into my head: With a flip of my wrist, I whispered, “Aparecium,” and right before my very baffled eyes words started appearing under the captions of the gravestone. I was written very sloppily and had run in a few places, but it was very clear of what it said: My dear boy, you were almost a wizard you were!

I was so bewildered by this that I remained crouched in the same position, my cheeks becoming wet.
A voice startled me out of my state, “My dear, what are you doing at this time of night?”
I abashedly wipe my cheeks and reply, “I’m sorry! I just… needed a phone…”
“Oh! Then you’ve found just the place,” the elder woman gave me a smile and told me I could also stay for the rest of the night at her house. I accepted readily and followed her through her garden path and towards her house.
I glanced sadly over my shoulder and cast my eyes over the graveyard once more before starting to close the door behind myself. I shook my head to get rid of the laugh I heard before it was shut.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Tue Sep 11 2007, 16:42

"Come on Ruby don't die on me now," I slam my hand down on the sterring wheel as the car comes to a slow stop then gives a almost coughing sound and dies. "Damnit." I whisper, and pull out the emergency flashlight from the glove box.

Flicking the switch up the dim yellow light holds a weak becon, Shinning outside the car there's a forest on my right and a cementary on my left. In the distance just a little past the last gravestone is a house with welcoming bright lights. I involuentaryly sigh and shut the car door behind me.

The gravel crunches me undermy feet and I instinctively shudder as if someone had gently brushed a hand across my back. It seems ages to walk across the road but within a few seconds I'm there. Taking one last look at my old beaten up red chevy, I head forward through the maze of gravestones. After a short while my flash light dies leaving me in the almost pitch dark.

Suddenly the cracking of a twig sends my senses on a rollercoaster, first thought: wolf, second thought: Murderer, thrid thought: anything that would try to kill me. I scream and start running not even towards the welcoming house. Five minutes later I stumble and fall onto my stomache. I can almost hear school girls laughing as they would laugh at anyone who falls on the playground. I instinctively cover my head with my arms and curl into the fetal possition.

"Help me dear lord," I start chanting under my breath, but a loud shrieking noise drowns out my words and a loud voice, high in pitch speaks over top my whimperings.

"No god can help you here for the dead,
and those soon to die rule this place,
as it was forseen hundreds of years before,
the decree for midnight awakingings is death to the disturber."

It's erie, but my body seems to uncurl, and a tight hold latches onto my wrists and ankles lifting me off the ground. I scream again, as I hear the voices chanting something in some ancient tounge. Thrashing now the voices grow louder and as if frustrated. Kicking hard with my left foot the thing holding it releases me and I swing my body around trying to reach the ground and run.
then my right hand is releases and I tear at the fingers holding my left wrist.

I let out a gasp of pain and air as something sharp is dragged across the still held wrist. I can feel my own blood and scream yet again this time I am dropped to the ground, and the whoosing sound of air rushing past me is loud and long. Pain blinds me as I land and kick up dirt trying to start running again. The house of warm lights seems close and I yell loudly begging with my voice to let the owner know I am there, he hears me and kicks open the door holding a shot gun, as he sees me he lowers it and helps me into his house.

"help me," I whisper showing him my cut that was still bleeding profusly. After being bandaged up and able to call my good friend I told the man of my encounter in the cementary. He smiles and responds with the words.

"You must be the first person to survive that since 1872,"

This erie experiance is vivid in my minds' eye as if it happened only yesterday, some say I am crazy that I made it up but I know where the scar on my left wrist comes from, I know what happened Midnight in the Cementery.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Mon Sep 17 2007, 11:09

As the engine died, I knew that I was stuck. I already knew that the car needed repairs, but surely I didn't know that it needed them this bad! I tried to start the car again but got nothing and after a few more tries, I realized it was useless to just sit here.

I opened the door and slowly stepped out of the car. I shivered slightly. My worst fear was being alone out here portraying myself as easy prey for some crazed psycho to come along and abduct me. It was then that I saw a few porch lights in the far distance. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least people lived nearby so this wasn't completely in the middle of nowhere. However, it was dark outside and there was a large plot of land that lay between myself and the houses.
I was glad that I had a small flashlight attached to my key ring and dug into the pocket of my blue jeans to find it. The pockets were a little tight but I was finally able to pull the ring of keys out. My flashlight dangled at the bottom of them.
I jumped slightly at the sound of my keys clanging as I didn't want to make any noise. It unnerved me to be out here alone and I truly didn't want to alert any wild animals that might be around.
My thumb found the switch on my flashlight and slowly pushed it up. The light was not as bright as I thought. It was dim due to the batteries. I'd forgotten to put new ones in it and so at any moment, I'd be wandering around in the dark.
This gave me an incentive to quickly get to those houses. I took a few steps forward, my feet crunching the dry leaves around me. I had only walked a couple feet from my car when suddenly I stopped. My light bounced across a rather large, broken stone. Being curious, I decided to get a closer look as I thought I saw something on it. I knelt down and saw letters. I could barely make them out.
However, I could feel an uneasiness growing inside the pit of my stomach as I mumbled the letters, "K. H." written on the stone.
And it dawned on me that it was a grave. My eyes glanced to the right of it only to find a much smaller stone with letters as well. I lifted my flashlight and then let its light sweep over the area ahead of me.
It was then that I cringed as I discovered I had to wade through a cemetery to get to the houses. And I was not too comfortable with that as I didn't want to think about stepping on anyone's grave and disturb anyone's spirit.
I believe that if one disturbs the dead, the spirit of that person would haunt you. Some of my previous experiences had somewhat proved that true.
Though, with as much knowledge as I had about the supernatural, I was not prepared to start communicating with ghosts and spirits. For one, I hadn't done any blessings on myself or protection charms. For two, there was no reason for me to awaken something that I couldn't handle. My arms started to get goose bumps and so I took a deep breath and turned back. I went to my car, opened the door, grabbed my purple hoodie and pulled it over my short sleeved blouse. I was aware that
traveling through a cemetery would be chilly and since I got cold easily, I felt taking my hoodie was a good idea.
I then locked and closed my car door and checked it to make sure that it was indeed locked. It was.
So, I slowly turned back towards the sea of graves and took a deep breath. I gathered my courage and slowly started walking forward. The leaves beneath my feet crunched loudly and that made me nervous as it was again advertising that I was there alone.
I was careful to watch where I stepped as I continued to slowly make my way through.
So far, so good. I had made it about a quarter of the way through and so far nothing spooky or out of the normal had happened. The cemetery was still, quiet, and tranquil with no indication of disturbance except for me.
Another few steps through the tall weeds and grass and I would be halfway there. I kept wincing as my feet crunched on, and I was wishing that the groundskeepers would rake the leaves and tend to the cemetery properly.
I looked down occasionally to see random names and dates etched across the stones and monuments. Some of the sites had flowers nicely arranged, some had wreathes and then some had nothing which made them look lonely and cold. I wondered absently about what kind of lives that the people led as the light bounced from one stone to another. I passed another few graves before I noticed that the crunching had stopped. As i looked down, I discovered that my feet had found asphalt. I was on a road that led through the cemetery and breathed a sigh of relief. I could follow it through and make it to the houses without worrying about stepping on the graves of the deceased.
I started to walk a bit faster, my mind set at ease now as the houses in the distance seemed to come more into view.
And then I looked to my left to discover the outline of a large monument just a few feet from the road. It reminded me of an old mausoleum I got the feeling something was watching me. And almost at that moment, I heard crunching of leaves. It was very close to the sound I had made when walking through them earlier. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and even though I was still wearing my hoodie, I could feel goose bumps forming on my arms.
I shone my flashlight towards the direction of the noise and instantly it stopped.
The light from my flashlight started to flicker and I just knew it was going to go out at any moment. Why I had stopped to look around was beyond me and I turned and started going in the direction of the houses once again.
And then I felt it. Breathing behind me. Loud breathing. A trail of cold chills crept up my spine and I felt this dark, cold feeling. It was very scary.
I winced and then forced myself to spin around to find nothing.
I looked towards the mausoleum again. The energy surrounding it seemed foreboding, malicious and hateful.
I knew I had to get away from that thing. Something obviously wanted me to stay away from it and I was more than willing to do so.
I was too afraid to look and quickened my pace as I nearly ran down the road. I stopped a good twenty feet away as I felt the uneasiness subside. But that didn't last long and suddenly my flashlight along with my whole key ring went flying out of my hand and landed just to the side of the road in the grass.
It felt like someone had forcefully pulled the ring out of my hand.
I was terrified and didn't care to go after my keys. I was about to start rushing towards the houses again when suddenly only a few feet in front of me, a black shadowy figure manifested. It gave off a feeling a dread and then it was coming towards me. I tried to scream but I couldn't find my voice. I tried to move but I couldn't feel my body and then it started moving towards me and I screamed as it lunged forward and flew through my body. I felt a surge of anger, pain and hatred as it passed through me and then I nearly fell to the ground. Luckily, I caught my balance and put my hand over my heart as it was beating so hard that it hurt. I continued to run until I finally made it out of the cemetery. I stood there panting to catch my breath. There was a painful burning sensation on my chest and I pulled my hoodie off and looked down to see what looked like blood and claw marks in the center of my chest. At that moment everything went black.

I woke up in the hospital the next day surrounded by my family and doctors. I had supposedly collapsed outside one of the houses and had suffered a hypoglycemic attack. I blinked and looked down at my chest beneath my gown to see that the blood and claw marks were gone. And then I asked myself if the events of the previous night were real. Maybe they were. Who knows? There are things we can't always have an explanation for.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Fri Sep 21 2007, 12:20

It's exactly midnight and your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you are alone. The only thing surounding you is dense forrest and a nearby Cemetery. On the other side of the cemetery you see a few houses with lights on but you must pass through it in order to get to the houses, get to a phone to call for help.
While making your trip through the cemetery a few strange things happen. It is very haunted. In fact, what you don't know is that it's one of the most haunted places in the country...

YOUR ASSIGNMENT
~Up to 40 points availible

- ...it's like one of those places where you can't expect anything. And the most random things can happen. At first I thought of giving up and not crossing the cementery to get to the houses. Maybe if I walked a little more I might find some houses somewhere else. But I started thinking...what if I walked miles and miles and didn't find any more houses? Or if something dangerous or creepy happened? So I decided to go through the cemetery, after all not much could happen. Or so I thought.

As I started walking I noticed the floor was dirty, with rocks and leaves everywhere. As I was walking I almost trip and the wildest thought came to my mind. I thought a ghost wanted me to trip but I noticed it was simply a branch. As I continued walking I couldn't ignore the creepy sounds. The wolfs howling and the sound of leaves rustling with the wind. It would a good theme song for a terror movie. I tried to ignore it and think about something else and continued walking, after all I wasn't even halfway through the cemetery.

I continued walking already feeling tired and thirsty. My feet were starting to hurt, probably I would end up with blisters because I wasn't wearing appropriate shoes for walking. I couldn't help but notice strange shadows behind me but as I turned around there was nothing. I convinced myself it was nothing, probably I was so tired and so hungry that I was starting to imagine things. But it was definitely making me feel uncomfortable, and I was starting to get that feeling I was being followed. And we all know it's not a nice feeling. I started to notice the shadow was closer and closer but as I turned to look for it there was nothing. But as I turned again I heard some sort of whisper..at first I didn't quite understand what it said but it seemed like two simple words..go away.

I got so scared and my heart started pounding so fast, I could now hear it clearly and I was so scared I didn't even turn to look, I ran and ran till I finally got to the end. I jumped the fence and looked back, it was such a relief to be out of there. I started walking to the one house which had the lights on, and knocked on the door. A young girl opened the door.

"Hello Sweetie, I'm Elle," I told her introducing myself.
"I'm Rachel, wait I'll call my dad."
She went of and soon a man in hid mid 30's came to the door. "Hi, I'm John. How may I help you?"
"Sorry for being here so late at night, but my car broke down and I had to walk through the cemetery and I was wondering if I can call someone to come and pick me up." I told him.
"No problem. Walked through the cemetery huh? Must have been scary. Come on in, but don't you think it's a little late for someone to come? Maybe you can stay here and call someone in the morning. My wife and I don't mind and I'm sure Rachel would like to play a little with you." he kindly told me.
"Oh well, if it doesn't bother you much I'd be glad too." So I stepped inside their cozy home. It had a fireplace and Rachel's dolls were on the floor, she was probably playing with them. They had a lot of family pictures and I noticed a teenage boy in many of them. But I didn't remember him mentioning his son, I decided it was strange but didn't ask anything about him.

The next morning Rachel told me it was her big brother who had died a little while ago. It was heart-breaking listening to her describe her brother's death and I was glad I didn't ask her parents about it. A little after lunch I called my parents to come and pick me up, when they got here they met the wonderful family who had helped me. I said goodbye to little Rachel and her gorgeous mother Clarise. And her nice father John. They were all a great family and I promised I would stay in touch.

I climbed my parents car and looked at the cemetery once more and was glad I didn't see anything on my night there. I got to hear some things, but it would have a lot more scary if I had seen anything. I have an amazing fear of ghosts and paranormal stuff. I laid down in the seat and closed my eyes to get some more sleep.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Sat Sep 29 2007, 15:09

Carried away? XD I got VERY carried away...

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Midnight in the Cemetery

"Alright enough, so be it! So be it then... Let all Oz be agreed, I'm wicked through and through since I could not succeed... Fiyero saving you I pro-" I suddenly stopped singing one of my favorite songs, No Good Deed, from the musical Wicked, when my car began making strange sounds. Strange sounds... As I'm not exactly a car obsesser, I had no idea what my beloved Honda was doing… It was sputtering and as I glanced above my steering wheel, scenarios, each getting progressively worse, began spinning through my head. My miles per hour indicator seemed to be sputtering along with my engine… it was getting lower… and lower… 10… 5…. 0… I glared at the indicator and let out a furious screech. I banged my fist onto my steering wheel and jumped as my loud shriek revealed just how very silent it was… I glanced out my window nervously. Everything was dark, except for the crescent moon, half-concealed by clouds. I sighed, exhausted, and lay back on my seat. What to do… what to do now? I looked at my watch, but before I had time to make sense of the two hands, a bell began to toll. Huh? I sat bolt upright and looked around. I hadn’t noticed a clock tower before… looking around, I still didn’t see one, but it was probably hidden behind a tree. I counted the bongs: 9… 10… 11… 12… Then they stopped. 12?! It was midnight already?! Groaning, I searched in my purse for my cell phone. I hadn’t realized that Heidi’s party had stretched on for so long. After a few moments of frantic searching, a square shape finally touched my hand. I pulled it out, and smiled with relief at the sight of my faithful red cell. Faithful… until now. I flipped it open and blinked in shock as the screen remained black. What?! I turned it on… and when it was supposed to light up, it remained black… silent… ominous. “Oh… my… God…” I muttered and dropped the phone into my purse once more. What was I going to do now?!?! Being underage, I couldn’t apparate… and I couldn’t do magic outside of school. Fantastic.

I sighed as I opened the car door and stepped out, careful not to trip in my stilettos. I slammed the door closed and jumped as a dark shape flew overhead, temporarily blocking the moon’s wavering light. “Who… who…” Thank goodness… it was just an owl. Sadly, I doubted that it was one of the letter-carrying ones. I turned around, searching for signs of life. There! There were some lights, shining through the darkness! At that moment, a cloud moved away, allowing the moon’s light to shine on the scene. Eek… I took an unconscious step backwards. A cemetery… But there were lights!... past the cemetery… I bit my lip. I needed a phone, but the only way to get one was to ask someone else, and the only people were at those house lights, and the only way to the houses was through the cemetery. Don’t you just love how, in a tricky situation, there’s only one option? Then again, that doesn’t really make it an option, does it? I locked my car and slung my purse over my shoulder. Sighing, I straightened my dress and walked off the road, careful not to slip into any potholes. I reached the edge of the cemetery and shivered in fear, before my brain kicked itself into gear. Where’s that Gryffindor courage? It seemed to yell at me. Where’s all boldness that got you into detention time and time again? It jumped off a cliff, I snapped at the little voice inside me. I glared at myself (not quite sure how that works). It glared back. Idiot voice. I took in a wavering breath, squeezed my eyes shut tight, and stepped into the cemetery. I stopped and slowly opened my eyes. Breathing a sigh of relief, I muttered, “I’m not dead yet.”

“Really?” a voice seemed to ask, carried on the wind.

I jumped and turned. “Who’s there?” I asked, my voice suddenly extremely high-pitched. Everything was still. Huh… Still slightly wary, I turned around and began walking towards the lights once more. I must have been hallucinating. Fingering my purse, my eyes darted around, and I avoided the shadowy gravestones as much as possible. Some were old and crumbling, various letters of the epitaphs wiped away by time. Others appeared new and recently added; they had no blemishes and were often accompanied by bouquets of fresh flowers. I bit my lip as I walked down the aisle… the aisle of death. I shuddered. Why oh why did I have to scare myself even more than I already was?

Suddenly, I let out a shriek as I felt myself falling… falling… towards the ground. I hit the soft grass and bit my lip so I wouldn’t cry out anymore, as I felt a horrendous pain shoot through my ankle. “Ugghhh…” I groaned and braced myself against the ground, slowly holding myself up. Finally, I got into a sitting/kneeling position and I glanced at my ankle. I moved it and hissed as that same pain erupted once more. “Darn it!” I said frustrated. I’d twisted my ankle… Now, how would I walk? I looked around myself and smiled while grimacing as I saw a long wooden staff lying next to a nearby tombstone. Perfect. I stretched out a hand to reach it and rolled my eyes in disbelief as my fingers just barely grazed the tip of the wood. Using my other hand, I pushed myself a bit farther across the grass and my heart leaped as my hand clutched the staff. I was about to pull myself back to my original position when my hand encountered ice. I screamed, stopped, and stiffened. All at the same time. I looked towards my hand. Something was covering it that was pale… translucent… actually, transparent! It was a hand as well. My wide eyes slowly followed the hand to a wrist, then an arm, then a shoulder, then a head…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I screamed and collapsed on the ground. I must have been hallucinating… It was the only plausible explanation. There could NOT be a-a-a-a see-through girl, just-just FLOATING in freaking midair!!! I chanced a look upwards and my jaw dropped open as I saw a see-through girl just floating in freaking midair… I searched for words, but couldn’t find any. The girl seemed to have light blonde hair that fell in gentle waves to her back. She was dressed in an extravagant, old-fashioned dress of a mix of pale blues and greens, and appeared to be (just a guess!) about twelve. And her piercing green eyes were narrowed and glaring at my brown ones, her icy hand clasped around mine and the staff.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked coldly, in a high, young voice that sent shivers down my spine.

“Ummm… “I said, finally finding my voice. I cleared my throat. “I’m… ummm… touching this staff?” I squeaked.

She glared at me. “What were you GOING to do?” she asked dangerously. “And don’t be impertinent.”

Excuse me?! I straightened and right myself to a sitting position, pulling my lower half nearer to my still hand. Ow… my ankle… but never mind that now. “Excuse me?!” I said indignantly, glaring right back at her. “I wouldn’t be putting on airs if I were you, Missy, considering the fact that I’m at least four years older than you.”

She raised her eyebrows and a slight smirk crossed her lips. She was definitely a Slytherin… wait… what was she anyway? “Really?” she asked, haughtily amused, “I hadn’t noticed.”

I gaped at her. Oh so she wanted to play this game, eh? “For your information, I most definitely am. I’m sixteen… what are you, ten?” I asked nastily.

Her smirk widened, despite the fact that I’d just insulted her. “Actually,” she stated crisply, “I am fourteen years old.” She looked pointedly at me. For some reason, I felt quite inferior… as if I’d show her that. The girl continued, “My name is Cerelina Antoinette Genevieve Marie von Orgueil.” She looked at me disdainfully. “Who are you… and you still haven’t answered my question. WHAT were you going to do with MY staff?!”

I raised myself up, as much as I could anyway, and acted much taller and prouder than I actually felt. “I’m June, if you must know,” I said degradingly, “And I had no idea that it was YOUR staff… you shouldn’t have left it here so carelessly. I was going to use it to help me walk, since I have a twisted ankle.” I gestured towards said ankle.

Suddenly, the girl – Cerelina - transformed from a haughty, disdainful floating thing, into a sad, crying kneeling-on-the-ground girl. Huh? I was at a loss for words. What had I said? What had I done? Why was she crying? I looked down at her, completely confused. What was I supposed to do with a crying… It hit me like a ton of bricks. Shocked, I read the words on the gravestone that the staff had been next to:

Cerelina Antoinette Genevieve Marie von Orgueil
1897 – 1911
Beloved Sister and Daughter
You shall forever be remembered

She – Cerelina – was a ghost! I looked at her weeping figure in a whole new light. “Er… sorry…” I said, not quite sure what to do, now that I was faced with even more information. She ignored me and pearly tears kept streaming down cheeks. “I’m sorry for your loss…” Eugh… that sounded so frighteningly formal. I waited a few moments before trying again. “Are you okay?” I asked hesitantly.

That did it. Cerelina stopped suddenly, and when she looked at me, it seemed as if she had never cried at all. “Do I LOOK alright?!” she asked bitterly. “Yes,” I replied bluntly. “Honestly, you do. And though I’m sure it must be sad to be reminded of your death (though I have no idea what I said that did it), you’ve had almost a century to get acquainted with the fact. So…” I suddenly stopped, not as bold as I’d felt a second ago. “So… could I please use the staff to get to the houses over there, because you see, my car broke down and I need to get home so I can give my mom some really old heirloom from my cousin from my aunt from Rosalina, my late great-great-aunt, and it’s after midnight, and I need to use a phone because mine’s dead and my ankle is twisted…” I said all of that in one breath. “So please, could I use it?”

She blinked at me. Remembering her death date, I realized that she probably had no idea what a car or a phone was… I expected an onslaught of questions, so I was surprised when she floated upwards and nodded, gesturing to the staff. “Go ahead and take it,” Cerelina said softly, wistfully. My mouth fell agape. Huh? She was just going to let me take it??? Just like that?!?! As I watched, she began to disappear. But before she was completely invisible, she whispered, “After all, it’s another family heirloom.”

………….. What?!?! I was officially confused. Family heirloom?! Right. The staff in my hand couldn’t be a day over four years old. I glanced down at it and received yet another shock. When first it had been glossy and new-looking, now, it seemed old and there were numerous scratches and gouges, marring its surface. I propped it up and was surprised that it still held without crumbling to dust. Wincing, I placed both hands on it and pulled myself to a standing position. Owwww…. My ankle… Using the staff, I slowly but steadily made my way across the last half of the cemetery. When I reached the road on the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief and hobbled up to the nearest house with lights on. I rang the doorbell and, as I waited, mulled over my experience. The door was opened and a muggle woman appeared. I smiled. “Erm… hi, can I use your phone please? My car broke down and my cell’s dead… And my ankle got twisted when I walked across the cemetery…”

Her eyes widened in shock. “You crossed that cemetery?” she exclaimed. “Oh you poor dear… Do come in. You know, people have been saying for years that that place is haunted. Would you like some hot chocolate?”

I winced my way in and sat at a chair that she pulled out for me at the kitchen table. “Thanks,” I said, surprised by her hospitality. She placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of me, and began telling tales that her neighbors had told her of the cemetery and its rumored ghosts. I listened patiently, thankful that I’d only met one of them.

EPILOGUE:

“Mom?” I asked her, the morning after my ordeal.

“Yes June?” she said, reading the newspaper.

I held up the staff I’d gotten last night. “Did we ever have someone named Cerelina Antoinette Genevieve Marie von Orgueil in the family?”

My mother stopped her reading and slowly lowered the paper, a quizzical expression on her face. “Yes, we did, actually,” she said. “Where did you hear of her?” She looked at the staff in my hands and promptly dropped her newspaper on the table. “Where did you get this?!”

I promptly went into a detailed account of my adventure last night (or rather, early this morning). My mother listened patiently and nodded as I described the ghost I’d met.

“That’d be Cerelina alright,” my mother said, “She was your great-great-aunt, Rosalina’s sister. I’ve heard that she was quite the beauty… It’s such a pity she died from leukemia, before they even knew what if was.”

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Thu Oct 11 2007, 12:39

Have you ever had the feeling that you were being watched? Or have the hairs on the back of your neck stand up? Well on my trip through the cemetery those were my feelings almost exactly. Hauntings are something that most people can't explain but when they happen you are sure to get up and run the other way and I almost did just that.

There it was dark, gray and foreboding. The cemetry was bathed in the glow of the moon causing it to give off a feeling of sadness and longing.

Upon entering the cemetery I couldn't help but feel that someone or something was watching me. At first I figured it was just some of the local wildlife- chipmunks or something of that nature. As I started to make my way through the cemetery I noticed that majority of the head stones were from the turn of the century. I stopped to look at one stone that looked almost new, but it wasn't. The date on the stone was from 1906. I rested my hand on the top of the stone and for some unknown reason shuddered. Looking quickly over my shoulder I caught the glimse of a human figure that, at the same time, didn't appear to be there.

Well, needless to say I was a little freaked. I was still close enough to the car to be able to get to it and stay there until morning. That though would be senseless because it was freezing and I didn't feel like sitting in a car all night long. I picked up the pace as I began moving through the cemetery."Know more curiosity," I thought to myself in a state of panic," You know what they say "curiosity killed the cat" and I really don't want to be that cat."

All of a sudden I felt a strange calm settle over me. I risked a look over my shoulder to see that the figure ( what ever it was) was gone but that I had barely covered any ground. I thought that I had at least made my way through half the cemetery but I had only gone about 10 paces. "Creepy," I muttered under my breath.

I started to make my way through the cemetery wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. As I was walking I noticed someone that just "appeared" in front of me. I stopped moving and stared. My mouth open trying to make noise but nothing coming out. All of a sudden the figure turned and looked at me and it didn't have a face! Once again I freaked only instead of walking I started to jog. Running seemed like a good idea but I didn't want to fall. My imagination was working overtime and I was figuring that different things were going to happen.

This time I knew I was moving as the lights from the town were getting closer or where they? Something wasn't right. The lights almost seemed to be right in the middle of the cemetery. The next thing really got the blood pumping because I heard voices. Some seemed angry well others seemed sad, but they all were mingling together to I couldn't tell what they were saying.

More figures started appearing in front of me and to the side. There were men and women (young and old) as well as children. Some had faces but most didn't. All of them had the appearance of being presents well at the same time not fully there. Everything was happening so fast and I just wanted out.

After what seemed like an eternity I made it through the cemetery. Stepping throught the gate I looked over the cemetery-nothing was there! The only sign of anyone being in that cemetery were my foot prints on the ground-and a wind that only seemed to be blowing in the cemetery. As I approached the town I heard a faint laugh from behind me. Looking back once again I saw that figure I first saw waving from where he hung in an old tree right above my car.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Sun Oct 28 2007, 13:23

:: After a few hours of trying to fix her car, Herby decided it was best to find someone to help her. As she glanced around she noticed a few house with there lights still on. Unfortunately they were positioned on the other side of a dark and creepy cemetery. Gasping a bit, Herby grabbed a safety flash light from her trunk and made her way to the pitch black gate.::

:: Standing in front of the gate, Herby gently opened it as the sound of aloud screeching cat echoed through her ears. The gate obviously needed to be greased thought Herby as she continued along the gravel path. After passing a few gravestones, Herby didn’t think it was too bad, but she didn’t dare put her guard down. Creaky sounds could be heard in the distance, slowing her pace Herby tiptoed over to investigate. ::

*SMASH*

::Gasping Herby saw a real live ghost standing in front of her, breaking what little flowers remained in the area. Freaking out a bit, she started to run towards the end of the path; hoping that the ghost didn’t see her. A cold chill started to flow through Herbys body as little hairs on the back of her neck started to stand on end. This wasn’t any ordinary cemetery Herby thought as Ghost and Gaols started flying about trying to scare her. ::

::Herby gave a silence scream as she accidently went through a ghost. Nothing on earth could prepare any mortal what it felt like to go through a ghost. As Herby continued the scenery started to change and the temperature became colder and the air crisper. Zombie started to pop up through the dirt screaming in a different language that Herby didn’t understand. After what seemed like forever, her mind started to wonder. How one earth was she going to get out of here. Not only did she loose the path that she was on, but now there was no path. ::

::Standing in front of Herby stood a dark and creepy cave. There was no way in hell she was going in there, as a dark and dangerous being started to come out of the cave. Herby held her breath and started to run the fastest she had ever done. Her legs where like jello as she froze and stood still. She was now standing at the end of the cemetery and the gate was right in front of her. What good luck she thought as she quickly reached for the gate and opened it.

::Happy to be out of there she was able to see the row of house more clearly and promised herself to bring a cell phone next time. Walking up the houses pathway Herby smirked and knocked.::

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Mon Oct 29 2007, 16:17

Feeling rather tired, I climbed into my car after going to Rosie’s house to work on our History of Magic project together. Shoving my key into the car, I yawned as the ignition roared to life under me. Groping around, I finally found the dial for the radio. Tuning into my favorite channel, thankful that it was playing music that would keep me awake, I started to drive home.

Oh crap... I muttered vague curses under my breath as my car began to sputter and buck under the seat. My car’s stereo began to get sketchy, the radio station I had been listening to fading into the sound of crickets. My clock’s lights were already gone as I realized that my mother would kill me for being as late as I was, it was 11:59. Of course, this is what I get for leaving study dates until right before the summer ends, just my luck.

And don’t forget, you’re in a cemetery. Surrounded by graves, and who knows what else, the only good thing is that it’s not a full moon, otherwise....

Yup, that’s me thinking about the best of it. The car gave a tremendous shudder, as if it were sighing, and then lay still. Pulling the car out of gear, not that it did much now, I stepped out of the car trying to determine the problem. As I slowly walked around the car, I became aware that smoke was beginning to rise from under the hood. Sighing, I pulled out my cell phone and checked for service, none. I reached for my wand that was hidden in my back pocket, but realized that it would do me no good.

Looking around, I didn’t see anyone and I felt relatively safe. As I turned to walk down the road to try to walk home though, I saw the moonlight illuminating a lone figure standing under an oak tree. It looked like it was a woman, but the curiosity in me made me go closer to see if I was right. As I crept up behind her, the rational side of me wondered, what type of person would be standing on a grave in the middle of the freakin’ night? I became even more determined to find out who she was, and why in the world she was standing in a graveyard! I decided that if she were a muggle it wouldn’t be a good idea to have my wand out, so I stored it back into my pocket. Tapping her on the shoulder she turned around and I was face to face with a beautiful girl, probably about 18 who was... floating?! I stared in awe for a second at her but I quickly closed my mouth.

She was probably just a witch who had accidentally hexed herself into floating, oh well, it actually looked rather cool...

“Excuse me ma’am, but do you happen to have a cell phone on you that has service?” The woman looked at me oddly for a second, as if she didn’t believe that I could see her and then turned back to look at the grave she had been staring at.

“Ma’am, did you hear me?” I tapped her on the shoulder again, now beginning to get a little miffed that she wasn’t at least talking to me. The girl turned away again and stared at the grave. I was REALLY mad at this point, and I stood behind her thinking about what to do now.

“Can’t you see that this is a private moment?” The girl turned around and snapped at me, and then went back to staring at the grave. Leaning over her shoulder, I saw that she was staring intently at the name on the stone. Annabelle Marie Davis. I looked back, trying to figure it out, and then I looked at the girl a little more closely. She was emitting a strange, eerie glow, I now realized and besides that, when the moonlight shined on her, she was completely see- through.

“Are you a ghost?” I asked rather dumbly. I was awestruck that ghosts could appear outside of Hogwarts. The ghost turned to glare at me.

“Are you a muggle?” The ghost turned and sneered at me. “You must be a muggle, or at least have muggle blood to be so stupid.” The ghost turned away again, emanating an air of superiority.

“At least I’m not dead,” I replied, just as angry as she was. Probably a pure blood Slytherin to the bone, she was. I glared for a moment more and then continued to walk down the road. As I turned back for one more look, I saw something rather disconcerting. The girl was still standing above her grave, but there was someone below her, rising from their grave as well. I turned away, but I couldn’t help but think about the figure still rising from the grave beneath the girl’s feet. Then from behind me, I heard a scream. The rational part of my brain that I normally ignore, so it doesn’t show up a lot, yelled at me to keep walking, or even better, run away, far, far away, but why break my streak now? I stopped and turned to see the two figures again, but this time, it looked as if they were fighting.

“HEY! You, the ghosts!” I ran up to them and tried to break up the fight. The rude female ghost was wrapping her hands around the neck of a little girl who looked to be about five. “Stop it, now.” My voice was surprisingly firm, though my knees were shaking. I was the referee for a graveside brawl...

“Get out of here muggle.” The ghost I had encountered earlier obviously hadn’t forgotten me. She looked at me with enmity, and I’m sure that if her hands hadn’t already been strangling the girl, I would be dead.

Note to self: Ask Dumbledore if being dead makes you grumpy

“Help- me...” The little girl looked at me, and for a moment, she looked so human that I felt that she could die.

“Shut up you wretch!” The older ghost shook the girl like a dog shakes a rat and watched uncomfortably as the older girl’s hands slipped through the younger ones neck.

“Doing you a lot of good there, huh?” I asked dryly. “Do ghosts have like a court or something for murder attempts?” I smiled slightly, as the older ghost looked at me with abomination.

“You know nothing of death. Or of it’s laws.” The older girl sneered at me with so much hate that I honestly could have melted under her gaze.

“Well, I’m sorry if I’m an ignorant fool, Miss Snotty, but I must admit it is really pitiful when I see a teenager strangling a kid.” I glared at the ghost and inwardly scolded myself for involving myself in such a sticky situation. I glanced back down to see if the kid had run away or not, and was confronted with big staring eyes that seemed to see right through me, and were filling with lake sized tears.

“This is all your fault. I HATE YOU!” The older girl sprung back at the little ghost and I stepped in between them, only to experience the coldest, most creepy moment of my life. I had always avoided walking into ghosts at Hogwarts because of what the older students said about them, but now I knew why! It was as if I were soaking wet, and there was a freezing wind completely surrounding me, and it were turning my veins into ice.

“STOP!” I broke out of the reverie that the incapacitating cold had left me in and stood between the fighting ghosts. “All right now, I’m sick of ruining my already terrible day by freezing my poor butt off trying to stop two ghosts from beating each other to a pulp. Will one of you tell me what is going on here, so I can get back to my own life?” My face was heating up as my temper flared. I was sick of the two ghosts, but it wasn’t like I could just leave. After all, I didn’t really want to leave the little ghost girl to die (or whatever ghosts do) either.

“Jeez, calm down.” The older ghost looked surprised at my outburst. “All right now... where to begin... Well, first off, my name is Faeralina Gambrell. Call me Fae. This is Annabelle. And she’s not as young as she looks. Annabelle is 14 yrs old, or at least she was when she died.” Oh crap, I guess I wasn’t so top notch at guessing ages.

“None of this would have ever happened if you had let me have David.” Annabelle spoke clearly for the first time since I had met her. She looked at Fae with jealousy and just as much dislike as Fae probably held for her.

“David wasn’t a toy. He chose who he wanted and he chose me.” Fae looked slightly angrier, if that were possible, and glared into Annabelle’s eyes. Catching my curious glance, Fae nodded and continued the story. “Anyway, David was one of the sons of the noblemen who lived near us, Annabelle and I are half sisters. David was... amazing to say the least. Every girl in the household fancied him, but Annabelle and I were the only ones that really were a good match, rank wise. But, I had never really fancied David in the way other girls did, so when he began courting me it came as a bit of a surprise. I had thought we were just friends.” She laughed bitterly for a moment and resumed the story. “Before long, though, I was head over heels in love. In these long years alone, and dead, those hours that I spent with him have become the most precious things in the world to me. After dear Anne found out that he was courting me, she confronted me and told me to leave and break off the wedding, which had just been set. She told me that I could have anything in the world, but not David. Of course, I objected to this and refused to let go of my hold on my fiancé.” Fae put so much emphasis on the word fiancé that I wondered how stupid I was, until I saw the look on Annabelle’s face. “David and I were to be married,” she whispered blissfully lost in her own world again. “It was like a dream- a dream come true. Everything was perfect, until Annabelle poisoned me the day before the wedding. I suppose that she wanted my death to be dramatic and sweep in as a heroine to comfort poor David and take my role in the wedding, but the stupid girl mixed up the poisons and ended up killing herself as well.” Fae looked at my face, which I’m sure was frozen in shock, and turned back to Annabelle. “I never forgave you for that and I never will. Now will you please leave?” I turned, still in a half state of shock and nodded stiffly. I supposed that Annabelle deserved whatever she got from Fae.

“I can’t believe how foolish I was! I shouldn’t have poisoned myself at the same time. Darn it, I should’ve gotten married!” Annabelle was now beginning a tantrum, and I for one was stunned that there was someone so selfish that they would kill someone tied to them by blood to marry someone who didn’t love them.

“You’re sick. Really sick.” Now that I knew the truth, I was disgusted by Annabelle and her fake ‘good’ charade. I turned on my heel and left them standing. I looked back once or twice, but they had already evaporated into the mist that obscured the graveyard.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Tue Nov 06 2007, 14:46

It's exactly midnight and your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you are alone. The only thing surounding you is dense forrest and a nearby Cemetery. On the other side of the cemetery you see a few houses with lights on but you must pass through it in order to get to the houses, get to a phone to call for help.

While making your trip through the cemetery a few strange things happen. It is very haunted. In fact, what you don't know is that it's one of the most haunted places in the country...

I let out a deep sigh and headed out to her car. My good friend Schuyler had just left, and I felt like I needed to get some air. It had been a long day, and I was happy to be able to have some time to myself. I slowly drove towards a quite neighborhood, at only around 20 mph. Then, The car made a funny noise and stopped. I took my foot off the gas and sat there for a moment. I tried to get it started, but it was hopeless. I cursed under my breath and stepped out. I looked under the hood, but, being a witch and all, I did not know quite how to fix whatever was wrong. I reached in my jacket pocket for my wand, only to realize I had left it back at the house.
“Dang it all....” I sighed and grabbed a flashlight out of the trunk. The leaves below me crunched as I walked on them, working my way to the cemetery. On the other side of the cemetery, less than a mile away, was the quite neighborhood I had been driving towards. From the looks of it, I had to go through it. I hopped over the fence and stepped onto the path, as not to disturb the graves. I read the headstones of some as I passed. I noticed that one grave looked rather new. I avoided it, for the thought of a fresh corpse made me gag. An owl called somewhere close by, and the bushes beside me rustled. I paid little attention to them, thinking a small cat or rabbit had been spooked by the owls call.
I should have known better than to ignore any sound in a cemetery. A gurgling noise came from behind a large oak. I swallowed and glanced over at it, but I saw nothing. I considered for a moment going to take a peek behind it, but I knew that the girls who did that in the movies where always killed first. So I walked on, trying not to look behind me. Girls who did that in movies died as well. I herd the freakish noise come from somewhere above me. I froze on the spot, and I felt the hair on my neck stand up. My hand began to shake.
“Who's there?” I kept my voice steady, but I knew I was shaking like a leaf. I listened for another moment, and when nobody answered, I began to walk towards the houses again. The wind blew gently across my face, and I felt sweat drip down my cheek. Before long, I heard the gurgling sound, and this time, it was louder, and closer. I did not stop or call out, but this time I picked up speed and entered a light jog. The sound did not cease, and I broke into a flat out run. I dropped the flashlight and sprinted for my life. I soon tripped over a broken headstone, falling face first on the hard ground. I gasped and struggled to get up, but something was holding me down. The wretched noise was now echoing through my head, and, since I had forgotten to breath, I felt faint, and everything went black...

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Tue Nov 06 2007, 18:11

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

What I want you do do for this assignment is to write me a detailed account of what your expereinces are while making your way through this haunted place. What did you see? How did you feel? Were you afraid? It's completely up to you. All that I ask is that you be as detailed as possible and make it as realistic as you can. "I saw a ghost and ran." Is simply NOT acceptable. Have fun with it and be creative!

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Christmas break is always a hectic time. Everyone’s so energetic that the house can get hectic. So, I took off for the mall about eight hours ago. Now, I know that eight hours sounds like a long time, but really, when you’re as big of a shopaholic as I am, no time is a long enough time to be at the mall. Anyways, I was taking a shortcut that my friend had suggested a while back, and I was humming along to one of my favorite songs. (“Little House” from The Fray.) I was driving along in my Porsche (of course), and it was late I guess. (It was maybe eleven o’clock or so at night.)

I didn’t expect any trouble from my car that night. It always worked great, and I absolutely adored it. Aya worked better than any other car that I’d ever driven.(OK, so I named it! Doesn’t every girl name her car? Alright, don’t answer that.) However, Aya failed on me that night, and I suddenly heard a grumble that I suspected could not be good at all. So, I stopped the car, turned it off, grabbed my cell phone and keys, and then got out of the car. I shut my door with a loud clunk and then went to the front of my car. I knew nothing about cars whatsoever. The mechanics of cars and me really don’t mix at all. My brain works for things like writing and talking…but cars? Haha. No. I took a deep breath in and then out. It was time to make a call. I slipped my chocolate open and looked down. Oh, I was stupid. My phone had been off the whole car ride! I tried to turn it on, but the screen remained dark. Uh-oh.

So then I had a car making a bad sound and a dead phone. Well, I thought to myself, I could still drive my car even with the funny noise. Sure, it wouldn’t be all that safe, but it was worth a shot. I walked back around to my door, opened it, and slid into my car. I stuck the key in the egnition and waited for it to come to life. Oh Merlin. The car wouldn’t start now. “Shoot, shoot, shoot!” I screamed, banging my head down against the steering wheel.

Finally, I picked my head up and looked at my surroundings. Bleh. It was mostly woods, but I could see a cemetery in the distance. And...oh yes! I could see dim lights beyond that. I was saved! I quickly grabbed my purse, threw my dead phone and keys into it and got out of the car. I walked to the edge of the woods and then stopped dead in my tracks. Shoot. Walking through all of this in heels was not going to be fun at all. I glanced down at my shoes. “Sorry,” I apologized to my lovely shoes. I really should’ve apologized to my feet as well, now that I think about it.

I took a step into the woods, and then kept on going. I had always believed in the supernatural, so of course, I felt jumpy. I had always been a spazz as well. Every time something would twitch or move, I would let out a small scream and start hurrying even more. The woods were dark and the only thing that was allowing me any light was the pale moon. I finally reached the edge of the woods and saw the cemetery. Just what I need when I’m already spooked beyond belief! I swore under my breath, laughing as I thought about what my parents would say about my state at the moment.

I decided that I was going to try and be calm in the cemetery. There was no point in being so freaked out. After all, I had been in many cemeteries in my life, and there had never been anything terribly bad that happened. I smiled a little at my own naïve mind as I stepped through part of the cemetery. Suddenly, I saw something flash in the corner of my eye. My head spun around and my hair fell into my eyes. My bangs were sticking to my forehead. When had I started sweating so much? I thought I had decided that I was going to be calm! I took another deep breath and took another few steps forward. “Who are you to be walking on our ground?” came a voice that sent chills up my back.

At this point, I was extremely worried. “Who are you? What do you want with me?” I asked back frantically, frozen to my spot even though I knew I should’ve been running like bloody murder.

The wind suddenly picked up and I got the random urge to burst out in tears. I feel to my knees and grabbed my sweaty head. What was wrong with me? I let go of my purse and laid down right there on the cemetery ground. Finally, the feeling washed away and the wind went back to normal. I grabbed my purse, stood up, and took off running like a penguin in my heels.

By the time I reached the gate of the cemetery, I was shaking more than I ever had before. I was out of breath from running, so I stopped to catch my breath. I clutched the metal gate extremely tightly, and I thought about what had just happened. Whose voice had asked me that question? Where did that unbearable feeling of sadness come from? There was only one explanation. I had encountered some ghosts. Or something like that. Oh crap! I turned my head around and looked behind me. Oh Merlin! There was a figure floating toward me. “Wh-what do you want?” I asked shakily.

“What’s your name?” The figure asked in that creepy voice.

“B-Becca!” I answered as quickly as I could, afraid of upsetting this figure.

“My name is Aileen.”

“Umm…good for you? Really though, what do you want? My car broke down and I’d really like to get to those houses so I can call for some help.”

The figure named Aileen cackled with laughter. “Call for help? You’re trespassing! This is our territory!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” I apologized quickly, wrapping my arms around me. My purse banged against my hip hard. “Ouch,” I winced.

The girl just kept howling with laughter. I took my chance and unwrapped my arms, turning to open the gate. I stepped through it quickly and then shut it as fast and hard as I could. I locked the lock that I found and ran toward one of the houses with a light on.

I stepped on to the porch of one house and knocked on the door. “Please, please answer! My car broke down, my phone’s dead, and I’m really, really upset!” The people at that house were not very hospitable, though.

I sighed after a few more minutes of waiting and hurried over to the next porch. I knocked hard on the door and this time, I barely had to wait until someone answered the door. An old man opened the door. “Hi! I’m Becca and I was wondering if I could use your phone. My car is broken down and my cell phone died, so I would really like to use your phone if that’s alright with you!” The words all fell out of my mouth in a jumble.

He grinned a toothy grin and stepped back to let me in. I smiled and muttered a thank you. He pointed me in the direction of the phone. I walked there, quickly dialed my dad’s number and asked him to come and get me. When he asked where I was, I told him I had no idea. He laughed and said he thought he might have an idea. I just nodded a lot until we hung up.

“May I use your bathroom?” I asked the old man.

“Of course, second door on your left.”

“Thanks,” I whispered as I headed there.

I looked over at the lady sitting in a chair as I passed the living room. I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks, it was the same face as the figure in the cemetery.

Subject: Re: Midnight in the Cemetery Wed Jan 09 2008, 07:05

You all did an amazing job on this assignment! I enjoyed reading them all and a lot of you got full marks. WOOT!!

Midnight in the Cemetery

Just_Ginny - Hufflepuff - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

dragonweaver - Hufflepuff - 34

Stephy - Ravenclaw - 35

Ellemanae - Hufflepuff - 37

MarieC - Hufflepuff - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

jennifer Williams - Hufflepuff - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

Elana - Ravenclaw - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

EshghiAtash - Hufflepuff - 38

Dancingsunset - Huffplepuff - 37

WytchKitty - Slytherin - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

PrincessPotter - Ravenclaw - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

Rhiannon - Gryffindor - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

Constica18 - Ravenclaw - 36

Herbaceoustraitorous - Raven claw - 38

Vulcan/Blackjack - Hufflepuff - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

Snape_Luffer - Hufflepuff - 36

The5Potters - Gryffindor - 40 *Full marks. This was excellent*

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