My Mom was cleaning out her garage and found a handwritten story I wrote when I was ten, called THE GHOSTLY JUNKYARD. Here it is:
One day John and Juan went to the old house with a chicken coop and old cars. The old house was supposed to be haunted. So while Juan, who was 10, and John, who was 10, were looking around, John exclaimed: "LOOK, a ghost by the house!"
Juan looked back but there was nothing. Again John yelled the same thing but again Juan saw nothing. John said it was white in the shape of a person. Hair was white and shoes and everything.
The next day as they walked by the house they both saw a ghost run behind a tree. John and Juan had a reputation as Mystery Solvers. Last year they apprehended some bank robbers in Shanty Town. So to not attract attention they kept walking.
The next day they went in to the house and found a skeleton on the floor in front of the door! It had a hole in its head. It went right through his head. They quickly took a shovel from the junk and buried him. Later they went in the old house again and went to the haunted tower. When John saw a man laying bleeding from a hole through his head, he quickly ran to get Juan. When they came back it was gone! Later they searched the room and found a trapdoor and voices came out.
It was the bank robbers they arrested last year! Quickly they turned on Juan’s tape recorder and hid it while they got the police. An hour later they came back with the police and a police man said that John and Juan should go down the trapdoor so the police could arrest the robbers.
As they went down, a guy said "It’s those two finks who shot them." But the police came down and arrested them and the tape was solid evidence. So the robbers were sent to jail and Juan and John got rewarded.
What’s interesting to me is how much that reads like the stuff my nine-year-old daughter Madison is writing. Here is one of her latest stories, IN THE DARK MOVIE THEATRE.
On one rainy day a girl named Jenny and
her dad Andrew were going to the movie theaters. They were going to see
“Because of Winn Dixie.” In the middle of the movie, Jenny’s dad heard a terrifying
sound and he was pretty sure it was not from the movie.
Andrew looked for Jenny…but she wasn’t there.
Suddenly Andrew saw a strange tall man
behind him holding Jenny by the throat!
Andrew got his cell phone out and dialed
911!
Andrew said to the police, “ Help me my daughter is getting murderd by a
strange tall man. Come to the movie theaters immediately!”
Jenny’s dad knew Tae Kwon Do but he forgot
how to use the moves.
The strange tall man ran away with Jenny.
The strange tall man went in his car, and
took Jenny with him.
The police couldn’t find him.
The strange tall man went inside his house
with Jenny. He gave her a cup of something and said, “Drink this it will make
you feel better.”
Jenny drank it and was hypnotized. The man
ordered Jenny to kill her father!!
The strange tall man said, “Go find your
father and kill him! Do it now!”
Jenny said, “I will find my father and
will kill him with this large pointy knife!”
The strange man said, “Your father is at
your house calling everybody in the neighborhood.”
Jenny said, “How do you know??”
The man said, “ I have a special computer
that tells me where everybody is.”
“OH!” Jenny said.
Jenny went in the man’s car and went to
Jenny’s house. But one bad thing: she lived in a gated community!
Jenny had a great idea. Jenny said to the
guard, “You can let us in because I live here.”
The guard said, “Go in.”
Jenny and the strange man went to the
house, and got out of the car. The strange man hid behind a bush. Jenny hugged
Andrew and put the knife in her father’s back!
The strange man said, “Jenny we have to go
before your mother comes!”
Jenny saw her mother and said, “Hi Mom!”
Jenny’s Mom said, “What happened to
your father??”
Jenny said, “I have no clue what
happened!”
“What are you holding behind your back?” Jenny’s Mom took the knife out of Jenny’s hand. “Did you kill your father?”
Jenny started running to the car in got in.
Jenny’s Mom called the guard and said, “Don’t open the gate my daughter just
killed my husband!”
The guard said, “Okay.”
When Jenny’s Father was dead, Jenny’s
Mother invited many neighbors and many relatives to attend the funeral. Many
people were very sad, especially Jenny’s Mother.
The police found Jenny and the strange man. The man went to prison and
Jenny was normal again.
Jenny’s Mother got married and had a baby and everyone was happy. Very
happy!