secret of the haunted swamp

8/11/2019 Secret of the Haunted Swamp

1/16

1

Secret of The Haunted

Swamp

A short story for children written by

Gennae AngelinaC. 2013


2/16

2

Shanda woke up and wonderedfor a moment what time

it was. She heard the television and knew mom and dad were still up, and she

guessed it was close to midnight.

Getting out of bed Shanda put her hand on the wall and counted the steps to the

corner, then down the hall to the water machine. She heard the cooling motor start

to hum and found it easily, then got her glass and filled it with water. She could

hear her brother snoring lightly in the other bedroom but he sounded snug enough

so she drank her water and made her way down the stairs.

Shanda knew Mom and Dad had noticed her because she heard them whisper

when she came down stairs. Hi sweetie. Mom said as she reached a handout

and guided Shanda to the couch. Are you okay? Mom asked. Shanda yawned.

Im fine. she replied. I just woke up and couldnt go back to sleep.

Shanda sat down and dad rubbed her back as he stared at the television as if in

another world. The television sounded boring so Shanda picked up a book and

began to finger the pages, going into a world of her own.


3/16

3

Soon enough, Mom and Dad were drifting off and Shanda began to chuckle.

She had joined them downstairs because she couldnt sleep, now they were both

sleeping. She felt the couch till she found the remote and turned the television

down. She could still hear it and suddenly she felt her interest perk up as True

Ghosts came on, so she listened intently.

Most of the stuff was from far away places, dark castles overseas that were

centuries old, filled with broken staircases and curtains of webs, lost tombs and

forgotten passages, or old Victorian mansions in other cities. As she listened to the

people on the television talk she could almost see in her mind the old wooden

houses, sagging and out of shape from age with old candle lamps clinging to

rotting walls, and frames exposed like bones inside the walls.

Shanda heard the sound affects on the television and as the images flashed

unseen in the room she began to smile slightly as she visualized moonbeams

spilling through windows and icy drafts of wind drifting through the halls of these

forgotten places, perhaps as the shape of a phantom might drift down a stairway or

through a wall, with a door creaking open and closed behind it, guided by some

unseen hand.


4/16

4

The person on the television began talking about the swamp down the road from

Shandas house. The swamp was a legendary hunting ground the native Americans

had used for centuries. The Natives had believed that ghosts would drift out of the

trees as they paddled down the river. They had told many frightening tales of the

swamp.

When the show was over Shanda turned off the television and felt her way

slowly back to her bedroom as her parents slept.

Soon enough Shanda felt the sun on her face and she got up, dressed and joined

the rest of her family down stairs. She began talking about the show and her

brother Gene began to smile naughtily and think about the show. Gene loved that

kind of stuff. He loved scary things that most of the people he knew would not go

near. His mother kidded him that he could have been born into the Addams

Family.

Finally Gene smiled and said gleefully gee, a swamp a few miles from here. I

wonder what those people saw! Dad looked stern for a moment and said

whatever they saw, you better never see any of it.

After everyone was done eating, the phone rang and Gene draped himself


5/16

5

bonelessly over the couch and talked to a friend of his for a while. Shanda helped

gather dishes, but Mom never had her wash them for fear she would cut herself on

something sharp.

Tim got off the phone and bounced into the kitchen. Hey parents of mine, that

was Kit. He asked if me and princess Shan wanted to come over and watch

movies. He got a copy of Dead house in 3D and wanted us to watch it and eat

unhealthy food.

Dad kicked a chair under the table and said its up to Shan thegreat if she

wants to go. Shanda shrugged. Thats cool. I can hear the movies, and the

screams coming from inside the room are more fun to listen to.

Kit had a drivers license and he pulled up in the yard soon after, with the radio

screaming loud. He turned it down as he saw Gene leading Shanda out of the

house. As they rode along toward his house, the conversation turned to the swamp

and pretty soon Kit was acting very excited about the idea of paying the swamp a

little visit.

As the car moved Shanda felt the air blowing on her face as the boys talked.


6/16

6

Yknow, Shanda said finally, dad made it pretty clear that he didnt want us

going down by the swamp.

Kit didnt say anything, he was nervously glancing in the mirror, glad that

Shanda could not read the tension on his face. Gene chuckled. I know, but Dad is

always worked up over stuff. Hes being over protective. All we have to do is take

the metal boat and paddle down a ways and look around. It would be fun, and

nothing would happen anyhow.

The boys talked about it some more and decided that a fast little short trip in the

evening couldnt hurt anything. Shanda was going to protest more but she knew

that it wouldnt do any good. Besides that she wascurious what secrets were in the

old swamp too. It was another of those times she felt extremely awkward for being

dependant on others from time to time.

Gene, Kit and Shanda watched two movies and ate lunch, then Shanda could

feel the sun getting low in the sky, drawing up on time for them to go and get their

eerie little thrill ride started.

Kit asked his dad if they could take out the small metal boat that was tied to an

old wooden dock behind the house, and he looked over his glasses and asked isnt


7/16

7

it a bit late for that? Kit argued persuasively for a few minutes till his dad told

him not to be out too late, and he then took his friends out back and got into the

boat. It rocked hard as he got in and Gene took Shanda by the hand and steadied

the boat. Kit looked wide eyed for a moment and said Oh man, Im sorry! He

sat still and tried to steady the boat as the other two boarded.

Shanda smelled the breeze and told the boys that they were in for some

dangerous weather. They replied as if they barely heard her and she heard the

motor on the boat, named Little Fishy, roar to life and it jerked under her as they

took off.

AS the boat cruised the wind blew in Shandas face and she listened to Kit and

Gene as they joked and goofed off while Little Fishy went through the water.

Finally they slowed and she could smell greenery as willows loomed overhead and

the boys began to coo about being in a scary place. Shanda could smell rotting

wood and she could tell by the change in the boys tones as they chattered that they

were seeing what they wanted to see. The water smacked at the bottom of the boat,

just a sheet of metal away, making Shanda nervous.

The trees became taller and more menacing as Little Fishy moved slowly


8/16

8

through the water, hanging over it like monsters waiting patiently for the right

moment to move. Here and there something would ripple in the water and vanish

and the breeze made the long hanging arms of the willows move slowly as the lake

went from being a pleasant urban waterway to being a green, smelly bog around

them filled with mysterious secrets. The conversation from earlier about the

television show was still fresh in their minds, adding to the air of mystery.

Kit looked up at the sky and Shanda felt a shock of horror as he said well lady

and gents, it seems the weather is about to turn a wee bit foul. As he spoke rain

began to pelt them gently and thunder rumbled menacingly in the distance.

Shanda could hear animals skittering for cover in the trees around them and she

secretly wished they could go home. She did not want to say anything though, so

she swallowed hard and listened to the boat motor as Kit gently changed direction.

Kit smiled. Gotta admire your courage, Shan, for not being able to see youre

a nice adventurer. Shanda grinned. No kiddin. She said sarcastically.

After a while it began to appear that there was nothing to see, and Kit saw fog

rolling in. Well I cant say its been fun, so lets go home while we can still see.

The others agreed and he turned the boat, revved the engine and took off. But after


9/16

9

a few minutes it was evident something was wrong and Shanda spoke up. It

didnt take us this long to get into the swamp, are you sure were going right?

Kit was about to reply when the boat began to get quite, then it faded out and

died. A lump of fear knotted in all three of their stomaches and Gene said

anxiously tell me the Fish did not run out of fuel! Kit unscrewed the tank lid and

said awe man, bone dry.

Shanda normally did not worry about being sightless, having been that way all

her life she had long accepted it as normal. But now she wished earnestly to be

able to see what was around her, and felt desperate that her eyes would not work.

Shanda was about to say that she smelled something when she was interrupted

by the sounds of the boys crying out in fear. In sudden panic she began to yell

WHAT, WHAT IS IT?!

Kit and Gene saw the trees begin to glow gently, then brighter till they saw

faces begin to appear in foggy, glowing light, and take the shapes of human beings

in the darkness. Gene quickly and shakily moved to shandas side and wished very

loudly that the boat had gas in the tank, as it bobbed helplessly in the middle of

what was fast becoming a menagerie of ghosts.


10/16

10

The boys began to cry out in terror and Shanda felt tears streaming down her

cheeks as she gripped Gene by the arm and Kit crunched protectively beside her.

All around them were the shapes of people from the past, skeletons, leering faces

and misty forms that rose out of the ground, drifted out of the trees and swirled

around them.

Shanda was nearly overcome with terror when she heard Kit sputter there are

ghosts, everywhere.

As the boat was surrounded by moving specters, the sky was split by lightning,

causing Kit, Gene and Shanda to scream in terror. The lightning sizzled through

the sky and the two boys were screeching like school girls as Shanda felt

something against her hand and a slight smell came to her nose. She realized that

under the seat was a gas can! She kicked it and felt a thud. It was full.

Shanda could only guess what the boys were seeing that was terrifying them at

this point, and she had just an instant to be glad that she could NOT see. She

focused on the gas can and pulled it out from under the seat, then forced herself to

push through the darkness with her hand out till she felt the handle of the boat

motor. She ran her hand over it as Kit screamed something she could not


11/16

11

understand.

Shanda was shaking as she unscrewed the lid on the motor and then undid the

lid on the gas can. She was surprised that the smell of gas was pleasant to her. She

used one hand to guide the nozzle of the gas can to the fuel filler, and she lifted the

can carefully, hoping the boys would not rock the boat too much and get gas all

over. At this moment she could hear them whimpering in fear and for the first time

she realized that she was able to get calm based on what she could NOT see.

Shanda filled the gas tank till the can was light and she let it fall to the bottom

of the boat. She then screwed the cap on the engine enough to hold and her hand

found the ignition cord. Shanda grabbed the handle and yanked the cord. Kit was

almost in tears as he stared around him describing horrors he was seeing. Shanda

turned to him and yelled KIT HELP ME!

Shanda had yanked the cord but Little Fishy only sputtered. Kit saw what she

was trying to do and he yelped squeeze the. and he tried to get to her, falling

down in the boat as he did so.

Shanda then realized that there was a switch on the handle. She squeezed it and


12/16

12

yanked again. The cord pulled easily and Little Fishy roared to life again.

Shanda felt the boat moving and she yelled again at Kit to steer the boat and get

them out of there. Kit suddenly smashed into her as he tried to stand and was

knocked off his feet. Shanda felt herself tumble backward and she reached for the

edge of the boat and feltnothing.

The water exploded as Shanda hit the surface and she felt herself bob down as

the boys, suddenly jolted from their fears, screamed her name in unison.

Kit forgot his fear as he saw Shanda go into the swamp water and he turned the

boat hard to go back. Shanda had felt herself sinking then suddenly felt sand under

her and realized that they were in water that was very shallow. She got her feet

under her and stood up with cold, smelly water gushing off of her.

Shanda felt something on her face and realized she was under the long arm of a

willow tree hanging down. She grasped it for a moment as she heard Little Fishy

trolling toward her.

Suddenly there was a blast of thunder overhead and Shanda heard Kit and Gene


13/16


14/16

14

Shanda went to turn her head and she fluttered her eyes open. Her family began

to chatter excitedly as she opened her eyes, then the strangest thing happened.

Shanda saw a shadow loom over her face and it faded into view, till she realized

that for the first time in her life she could see her mother. Shanda sat stunned as

the others continued to talk. Then Kit said loudly HEY FOLKS, HAS ANYONE

BUT ME NOTICED SOMETHING WEIRD? SHANDA IS LOOKING AT HER

MOM!

Everyone got silent and Shanda reached out a hand and Mom took it. Gene

and Kit were astonished and Dad was not saying anything. Shanda sat up and

looked around the room, seeing light and people for the first time.

After the excitement of the moment had passed, a doctor examined Shanda.

Ive seen it before, where a jolt of electricity makes a persons eyes work

again. How wonderful for you. He told her.

Shanda went home looking around, discovering the world for the first time. No

one in the family cared about anything except the fact that their blind girl could see


15/16

15

now.

Later when Gene was not around Mom and Dad, Shanda came into his room.

So, what all did you guys see out there? She asked.

The smile on Genes face vanished faster than it ever had before.

SX5


16/16

16

secret of the haunted swamp

Documents