The Haunts of Hill Crossing: Ghost Story

The old house up on the hill was haunted, Eric was sure. He knew the truth. Mrs. Carson might claim that there were no such things as haunts, but he knew better. All the kids did. They'd all seen Roger Moor when he came back after drowning, sitting there in class with weeds in his hair and leaving a trail of old brown water behind him, even if the teacher had insisted that he wasn't there. They hadn't screamed after that, when the other dead kids showed up. They usually didn't stay long. Rupert with his purple face, Emily with the bruises all up and down her body where it showed through holes in her nightgown, Richard with the bite marks deep in the arms, and pretty Julie who looked like she was alive--but she really, really wasn't. Julie had fooled the teacher, too, at first. Eric saw Mrs. Carson smile at her when Julie came into the room. It took her a moment to realize that Julie was already dead.

Status: Written as "The Haunts of Hill Crossing."