Story Seeds Gothic Tales: Stories of the Mysterious & the Macabre

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ANtrim, down & louth 

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Cover illustration by an anonymous 

& most mysterious artist. 

Story Seeds is a cross-border project by Fighting Words and Fighting 

Words NI. The project promotes a positive sense of self and community 

through creative expression and is funded by Creative Ireland and the 

Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports & Media. 

The project ran from July 2023 to February 2024 in Counties Antrim, 

Louth, Down, Monaghan, Armagh, Donegal and Derry-Londonderry. Our 

facilitators and volunteers visited 120 schools and community groups, 

working with ten thousand children and young people. 

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to this collection of Gothic Tales – sometimes 

shocking, occasionally odd and at times truly terrifying. 

Since September 2023, we have travelled the lands, visiting 

schools, youth clubs and community groups, with a simple 

invitation: to write a Gothic story, set in your local area. 

The following tales will take you from Belfast’s Cherryvale 

Park to St Peter’s Church in Drogheda; from McCaughey’s 

ice cream shop in Castleblayney to Cascades swimming pool 

in Portadown; from Letterkenny’s Ballymacoool House to a 

ghost-town Dungiven. 

Fighting Words 

Fighting Words NI 

You may find comfort in the familiar places but be warned, 

the unexpected lies around every corner. Ominous & exciting 

adventures await. 

Safe travels! 

Editor, 

Belfast, February 2024 

Fighting Words is a creative writing centre 

established in 2009 by Roddy Doyle and Sean 

Love in Dublin. Fighting Words aims to help 

students of all age to develop their writing 

skills and to explore their love of writing. 

Since 2015 Fighting Words NI has been a 

force for creativity in Belfast and beyond, 

providing creative writing opportunities for 

schools, youth groups and young writers 

aged 6 to 18. 

Funded by: 

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STORY SEEDS - GOTHIC TALES 

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VOLUME I 

• Aquinas Grammar School, Belfast 

• St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast 

• Bloomfield Collegiate School, Belfast 

• St Mary’s High School, Newry 

• Our Lady’s Grammar School, Newry 

• Southern Regional College, Newry 

• Ardee Community School, Ardee 

• St Oliver’s Community School, Drogheda 

• St Mary’s College, Dundalk 

• Bush Post Primary School, Dundalk 

• Damolly Hockey Club & Newry Football Club 

• Newry Beavers & Cubs 

• Newry Scouts & Venturers and 

Carrickmacross Scouts 

• Youthreach, Ardee 

• Youthreach, Dundalk 

• Youthreach, Laytown 

• Youthreach, Drogheda 

4 STORY SEEDS - GOTHIC TALES 

ANtrim, down & louth 5

Separation 

Class 9P, Aquinas Grammar School, Belfast 

My name is Granny MacAdee and this is the story of me. 

It all started when Wemble-Womble was sucked into the 

hoover. I met the gerbil a few months ago. We had a very 

close connection before he got sucked in. He was sucked in 

when I was outside playing basketball. 

My house is right beside the abandoned Forster Green 

Hospital. There were times before when Jeffrey the hoover 

and Wemble-Womble had many quarrels. Jeffrey did not 

like Wemble-Womble and he sucked him up, separating 

Wemble from Womble. 

The hoover began moving jerkily. There was a gigantic 

explosion. 

Wemble, the good part, went into the abandoned hospital 

and got lost in the unclean, dark corridors. 

Womble, the bad part, went into my house to look for a 

phone. 

The lights were flickering in the corridors of the abandoned 

hospital. Suddenly, Wemble saw a dark figure standing in 

the middle of one of the corridors... 

The Swings 

Y9M, Aquinas Grammar School, , Belfast 

One snowy night in Cherryvale Park, a swing was creaking 

in the moonlight. A boy called Gerald walked through the 

gates. 

Gerald had his Airpods in. He looked up and saw the swing 

moving by itself. He took one Airpod out and looked ahead. 

All he could hear was the soft creaking of the swing. 

He decided to investigate. He reached out and stopped the 

swing. He turned around and walked towards the football 

pitch. Suddenly he heard the soft creaking of the swing 

behind him. 

“It must be the wind,” he thought. He felt a soft swoosh go 

past him and heard the sound of sobbing. For the first time 

that evening, he felt scared. He didn’t have a good feeling 

about this. 

Gerald pulled his hood down so that he could see more 

clearly. There was a roll of thunder and a flash of 

lightening. He saw the outline of a ghoulish figure. It 

looked sad. 

He took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, 

looking for someone to call. Before he could hit dial, a 

bone-chilling gust of wind knocked him to the ground. 

There was an instant pause in the creaking swing and 

Gerald felt himself being dragged by something back 

towards the trees… 

Illustration by 

Helen Nicholl 



WRATH 

Ardee Community School 

Chapter One: The Priest’s Demise - Year 2 

This story might be true. 

It was a stormy night at a Church in Ardee. A priest was 

ringing the bell up a clock tower and then lightning struck 

the bell. The priest got a shock and the tower crumbled, 

leading to the priest’s demise. After that happened, every 

Hallowe’en night a storm would visit the church. It was 

almost as if the church was stuck in the same time loop. 

One hundred years later, a group of four friends were 

together on Hallowe’en. They were having a trick or treat 

party at Marcus’s house. The other three friends were 

Bartholemew, Sara and Bethany. 

Marcus was telling a story about the church to try and scare 

his friends. 

“This is a good story… We could use it for my CBA history 

project. Let’s go to the church!” said Sara. 

Marcus said, “It might be fun?” 

But Bethany was scared and warned her friends not to go. 

“We’re going with or without you,” said Bartholomew. 

Bethany said, “I don’t like this. I’m going to go home.” And 

she left. 

Little did Marcus know… he was a direct descendant of the 

priest, Father McConaghy. 

Chapter Two: Visitors - Year 3 

As Sara, Bartholomew and Marcus walked to the church, 

rain began to fall. The leaves crunched on the ground under 

their feet. The trees were looming over them and cast long 

dark shadows across the road. It was eerily still and calm, 

and a crescent moon gave off a glint of light. 

Suddenly an aggressive wind picked up and the dead leaves 

billowed. Lightning struck, making decorative patterns 

on the ground, as the rusted gate of the graveyard slowly 

scraped open. 

Sara seemed unbothered. “C’mon guys,” she said, and 

walked through the gate. 

Marcus tried to pretend he wasn’t scared and muttered 

“Spooky!” in a low voice to Bartholomew as they followed 

Sara into the graveyard. The graveyard was filled with old 

crumbling graves with ivy hanging off the gravestones. 

“Come on!” said Sara impatiently. “Let’s go look for the 

oldest grave… I’m sure they have some really old ones 

here.” 

As they made their way through the graveyard, they noticed 

that there were some uprooted graves. 

In a strained voice, Bartholomew said “Are those footsteps? 

Let’s go see what’s inside.” 

They cautiously tip-toed up to the door of the church. The 

smell of rotting wood from the door made them hesitate to 

open it. Bartholomew jiggled the handle, but Sara strode 

past him and kicked the door, which broke open. The wind 

was now howling and forced them all to go in. 

Upon entering the church, the air was heavy, the ground 

was torn, and dust had gathered on the floor. Moonlight 

seeped through one big hole in the roof, and the cold wind 

was biting at their necks. 

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Marcus glimpsed a 

white glow to the left inside the church… 



Chapter Three: Flames of Fear - Transition Year 

Marcus yelped and Sara jokingly screamed. 

Bart said, “Stop messing, don’t scare me!” 

But Sara laughed, “Don’t be such a baby!” 

But Marcus was white in the face, staring, eyes wide in awe. 

“Did you see that?” he asked. 

The group of ghosts turned to Marcus and said, “You are 

Father McConaghy’s descendant! You are the only one 

who can end this, once and for all!” 

The book burst into flames, and they spread to the wood 

and tapestries of the church. As the church was set 

ablaze the group of friends struggled to escape, just as 

Bethany burst through the front door. Seeing Marcus, 

she dragged him out. 

“What are you on about?” Sara asked, trying to hide her 

voice shaking, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The 

wind suddenly howled through the broken glass windows. 

As the howl grew weaker, haunting, high-pitched whispers 

grew louder. Shadows shifted, retreating to the altar, when 

suddenly all the candles in the church set ablaze. 

The group’s attention was drawn to the centre of the altar, 

where a large book made of ageing mouldy leather lay 

surrounded by candles. 

Bart recoiled in fear but Marcus, apparently in trance, was 

drawn to the book. He slowly walked towards it and placed 

his hands on the cover. Upon contact with Marcus’s hands, 

the book violently slammed open. Suddenly a group of 

ghosts appeared, standing at the edge of the dais. An angry 

aura filled the room. 

A door opened at the back of the church. The friends turned 

around in horror and see a tall, burly, confident, glowing 

figure. It glided slowly up the aisle towards the group. The 

whispering grew louder as the friends made out what the 

ghosts were saying: 

“Murderer!” 

“McConaghy!” 

“We want our revenge!” 

Sara and Bartholomew turned toward Marcus with surprise. 

Bart said, “They want you?! Aren’t you a McConaghy?” 

But the ghost man replied, “No, it is you that they want.” 


Sam Savage 

The priest was slowly losing power and started to 

disintegrate. Outside the church, Bethany and Marcus 

watched the roof of the church collapse in. They heard 

the faint screams of Sara and Bart, as the ghostly howls 

grew faint. 

Bethany and Marcus fell to their knees in tears, watching 

the flames. In the distance, the sound of fire engines 

grew louder. 

Nobody ever believed Marcus and Bethany’s story. The 

papers called it a tragic fire. Only Bethany and Marcus 

ever knew the truth… 



The Night at the Moon Lake 

Class 8LO, St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast 

Jack was out one night at Moon Lake. The moon was full, and 

the light shone on the water. Jack was thinking about the story 

that he was working on when he heard something behind him. 

Crack! 

He turned around. No one was there. “I must be imagining it,” 

he thought to himself. He was tired because he’d been working 

on his book all day. 

Jack went back to thinking about the book when a black figure 

ran past. As the figure got closer to the lake, it disappeared. He 

saw the shadow of the figure reflected on the lake. 

“Jack, Jack, Jack,” whispered a voice. 

Jack’s heart started beating really fast. He decided to go to the 

train station and head home. When he reached the gate, it was 

locked. He felt scared and confused and didn’t know what to 

do. 

He looked around to see if there was another way out but he 

didn’t see one. He saw a girl about his own age climbing over 

the gate. She walked over to Jack. 

“Are you OK?” she asked Jack, seeing that he was crying. 

“Yeah, but how did you get in here?” 

“I know how to climb. I’m in here every night.” 

“Why do you come here?” asked Jack. 

“It was my dad’s favourite place; I come here to remember 

him.” 

“This was my mum’s favourite park, too,” replied Jack. “How 

do we get out?” 

White & Black: 

A City in the Darkness 

Class 8MG, St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast 

It was a dark, foggy night and Francesca was getting ready to visit her mummy’s grave. 

She was standing on the porch made of rotten wood. The light overhead was flickering 

and caught one of her eyes. 

It was raining so Francesca zipped up her coat and walked down the cracked path. As 

she walked down the road, she came across a black cat. The cat had one white eye and 

one black eye, just like her. She walked straight past it, not paying any attention. The 

cat followed her, but she didn’t notice. 

Francesca walked through the massive, rusty gates of Milltown Cemetery, past hundreds 

of graves, struggling to get up the hill. Her mummy’s grave was in the very back row. 

On her way she walked past a dark, dull old man. He had a hat on, his hood up and his 

hands in his pockets. He smiled. 

She got to her mummy’s grave and found it was just as it was before. There were no 

decorations; Francesca thought they were unnecessary and anyway, she couldn’t afford 

it. The only difference was a black cat sitting on top of the headstone. She ignored it. 

The cat jumped down and rubbed itself against her legs, miaowing. Francesca looked 

down and noticed for the first time its bright white eye. She picked the cat up and 

looked around. Her mum had always loved cats. 

“Where did you come from?” 

“She’s mine,” said a voice from behind her. 

Francesca turned around and saw the man from the bench. He took his hood down 

“Hello, my love,” he said with a smile… 

Just then, they heard a scream coming from the other side of 

the lake. Jack turned round to see who was there. When he 

turned back, Nancy was gone… 



The Girl in the Park 

Class 9CF, St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast 

The Book of Curses 

Class 8SB, St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast 

On a dark, foggy night, I heard a scream. I was by myself in Lady Dixon Park, all alone 

in total darkness. I felt something touch my shoulder. I looked around and there was 

nothing there. 

“What was that? Who’s there?” 

I heard a scream come from the trees. I walked towards them. A branch snapped behind 

me. I turned around and saw a beautiful girl standing there. 

“Who are you?” 

It was only then I realised what she was wearing – a white dress with red stains across 

the front. She was staring at me. 

“I’m a descendant from the Alter family.” 

“I’ve never heard of them.” 

“My family owns this park. I’ve been here for eleven years.” 

Just then, my dad arrived to pick me up. 

“Who are you talking to?” 

“Just this girl. She’s lost.” 

“What girl?” 

“She’s standing beside you...” 

The school bell rang at St Genevieve’s High School. As Violet was leaving the English 

corridor, she heard a scream. As she shoved her way through the crowd, she realised 

that she was the only person who heard her friend’s cry. 

Sweat dripping off her face, she finally made it to the library where she found Nora 

looking as pale as if she had seen a ghost. She was standing next to the shelf and all of 

the books were on the floor. 

“I haven’t touched any of this.” said Nora. “I just lifted one book and when I opened it a 

big gust of wind came out and knocked all of the other books down.” 

“But there’s no windows open!” 

Nora trembled with fear. 

“Are you sure you didn’t just imagine it?” said Violet. 

“Let’s just forget about it,” said Nora, “and go to Fun-da-mania.” 

The two girls headed out the door to the bus stop. Even though the bus was leaving soon 

but they were the only two at the bus stop. 

Nora didn’t know that Violet had put the book from the library in her bag. While they 

were on the bus Violet took the book out of her bag. It opened up by itself and light 

shone through the pages. She looked down at the page number – six hundred and 

sixty-six - even though the book had only 275 pages in it. 

Suddenly a gust of wind swept through the bus and lifted it off the ground. The doors 

opened and they found themselves in the Circus next to Fun-da-mania… 



The Childish Dare 

Class 8FB, St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast 

It was March 19th, 1939, and me and my sister were going 

to the Falls Park. That was the last day I ever saw her. Well, 

alive at least. 

It was really rainy, and our parents had told us not to go 

out, but we went out anyway. That was the biggest mistake 

I had ever made – so far. 

My best friend Billy was with me. He didn’t realise what 

could have happened with one single dare. 

We walked into the park. We were on the way to the rusty 

swings, our usual spot. As we were walking past the 

graveyard Billy stopped. 

“Oi, Tim, I dare ya to climb over ’at wall,” said Billy. 

“No sweat, but I want paid in bonbons. Can you look after 

my sister?” 

“I wanna go too,” said Clara. 

“No Clara, it’s too dangerous. I’ll see you on the other 

side.” 

I climbed the wall and dropped down to the other side. I 

could feel somebody watching me. As I walked around, I felt 

a presence and saw a shadow walking towards me. I turned 

around and saw someone standing with my sister. All I 

could make out was their long dark hair. 

“Who’s that?” I asked Billy. 

“What do you mean?” replied Billy … 

Illustrations by Sam Savage 



The Curse of the Church 

Illustration by Natalie Cole 

St Oliver’s Community School, Drogheda 

Chapter One 

The sky was dark that night and the cold winter air passed through my face. It was the 

start of the Winter Solstice and me and Juliette were walking down West Street towards 

St. Peter’s Church. We were going for a midnight walk; the street was deserted except 

for us, and I had the strangest feeling that we were being watched. 

We could hear sirens, but nothing ever came. The air started to feel heavy. We noticed 

a blurred light ahead of us and we couldn’t quite make out what it was. Maybe a 

streetlamp had lit up. 

A light came on in the church. I looked over at Juliette and saw her fiddling with her 

dark red hair because she was nervous. 

“Did you see a light come on up ahead?” I asked her. Juliette looked at me and nodded. I 

could see the fear creep upon her face; she was too nervous to talk. 

“Let’s go and find out!” I said. I tried to walk off and find out what it was but Juliette 

grabbed my hand. 

“We shouldn’t go. It’s probably nothing,” she said. 

I walked on and Juliette followed. I walked up the cobblestone steps. We could hear our 

feet pounding as we climbed. I tried to unlock the church door but it was already open. I 

saw a shadow, and suddenly Juliette was pulled into the church. 

Chapter Two 

I was pulled backwards into the church. Candles lit up from the corner of my eye. The 

unknown figure that pulled me in had bright blue eyes like neon lights. Behind me were 

loud footsteps that were coming closer. I heard someone calling my name from outside. 

I was scared and stiff as stone. 

In the middle of the room was a pentagram drawn with chalk, and a candle at every 

point of the star. One thing was odd about them: the flame was blue, like the eyes of the 

figure. More shadowy figures walked slowly towards me. 

There was a burst of blue flames. They felt oddly ice cold. The shadow people were 

standing in a circle, chanting in a language I did not understand. I felt as if it was 

winter, and I was frozen in ice too cold for comfort. 



Chapter 3 

I heard Juliette shouting. All I could see was pitch black and a glare of blue light through 

an open door the back of the church. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a person 

between the pews. They had red hair just like Juliette. 

“Are you alright?” I asked her. 

“Follow the blue light,” she mumbled. 

I ran towards the light. As I got to the door, I opened it to see another Juliette sitting 

on a broken chair. Her bright blue eyes glared at me. I jumped back and froze for a few 

seconds, but it felt like forever. Juliette blinked and her eyes went back to her normal 

dark green colour. 

I helped her up and put her arm around my neck to carry her out. As we walked out 

the room, I saw shadowy figures circling us, so we ran and hid. All of a sudden, it went 

deadly quiet. I looked out to see if anything was there. I saw blue eyes coming towards 

us, so I turned back to Juliet to see if she was okay, but her eyes were bright blue too. 

Chapter 5 

As we stepped down into the crypt, Juliette accidentally kicked something. I leaned down 

to find out what it was and saw an old box of matches. I opened the box; there were only 

four matches in it. I glanced around and spotted a candle holder bracketed to the wall. I 

grabbed the large candle off the wall and lit it. 

As we went down the stairs, we closed the trap door behind us. At the bottom was a long 

dark hallway with multiple old wooden and metal doors. We turned to speak to each 

other but were interrupted by a dull bang from behind a door on the left. 

Cautiously we walked up to the heavy wooden door. Just as I reached for the rusted 

handle, it rattled. The door opened and a man was there. He was old, tall, skinny and 

quite starved. He was wearing white robes with golden linings. Behind him were five 

other men, sitting with their backs against the wall and their knees up to their chests. 

I turned my head to look at Juliet. My eyes fixed on hers to see they were bright blue 

again. As I look round the room, I saw multiple Juliettes in every corner. The room fills 

with shadowy figures. They took off their masks and they all looked like Juliet. All of 

their eyes glowed a different colour. 

Chapter 4 

I closed my eyes. I felt trapped in my own mind. Around me there were loads of blue 

eyes staring at me. The eyes started slowly blinking and I saw a person come out of an 

eye; a woman with long white hair. She gave me her hand without saying a word. 

I took her hand, feeling secure. She pulled me into a portal. Dizziness struck me. I 

started falling and I kept falling. When I eventually landed, the woman helped me up. I 

found myself back in the church. 

Juliette looked worried, but thankful to have me back. All of the candles had gone out. 

The church was lit by moonlight, and in the middle of the altar lay a book. Juliette 

stuffed it in her bag and we ran to the front door of the church, only to find out that it 

was locked. 

Retracing our steps, we sneaked to the back door of the church and found a tall shadowy 

figure guarding it. We silently ran back to the altar and found a trap door. The stairs 

were old, cracked and made out of smooth stone. We descended the stairs into the crypt 

of the church. 

Chapter 6 

I had to figure out which was the real Juliet. 

The candles began to glow brighter. 

My mind was blank on how I could figure out which Juliet is the real one. I scanned 

my surroundings to find anything useful to get me out of this situation. As the ground 

shook, I noticed a plastic bottle fall off a shelf. It rolled up beside me. Upon closer 

inspection the bottle read ‘Holy Water’. When I reached to pick up the bottle, I felt cold 

skinny fingers grip my shoulder. 

I turned to see who had grabbed me. It was Juliet. But there was something about her 

that caught my attention, and it stood out from the rest of the Juliets. It was a shiny, 

gold pendant with an emerald in the middle. I realised it was the real Juliet and I 

struggled against her tight grip. 

Juliet suddenly snapped out of her trance. The other Juliettes disappeared, leaving us 

alone in the room.. 



Dr Dejection’s Ghost Detections 

Creative writing club, Bloomfield Collegiate School, Belfast 

The Murder in The Manor 

St Mary’s College (The Marist), Dundalk 

Dr Dejection was on his way to investigate a ghost 

sighting in the graveyard of Crumlin Road Gaol. 

When he entered the graveyard, he saw a figure that was 

different from the description he had been given by the 

warden. It was a translucent, white figure wrapped in 

cloth, with chains binding it to a tombstone. It had long 

hair that was waving around in the wind. 

“I have to make this quick,” he thought to himself, 

“there’s a storm coming.” 

He decided to head back into the safety of the jail, 

unaware that he was being followed. He opened the door 

that led away from the graveyard. It was stiff and rusted. 

He walked into the hanging room. The door slammed 

shut behind him. He heard glass shattering in front of 

him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw two figures 

walking around the room. The same silhouette from 

the graveyard was somehow in front of him now. It was 

dragging the tombstone as it walked. The other figure 

was a little girl sitting next to the ghost, playing with a 

rock from the crumbling wall. 

“Help us…” whispered the figure with long hair. “I’ve 

been trapped here for… I don’t know how long.” 

Dr Dejection’s knees went weak; he felt like he was 

going to collapse. He tried to leave but the door was 

locked. He fell back a few steps, startled. 

The girl cocked her head to the side. She looked up from 

the stone she was playing with. She opened her mouth; 

the voice that came out was faint from years of silence. 

“I’ve been so lonely for so long; won’t you please come 

and play with us?” 

Illustration by Sam Savage 

Chapter 1 - Class 1A 

It was the year 1800. It was a dark and stormy night. 

O’Reilly’s Melancholy Manor in Dundalk was dark, with medieval stone walls. It had 

four stories over a cellar, where the servants slept. Rusty old gates surrounded the 

house. It had nice gardens – small at the front, with a big one at the back. There 

was a cemetery at the back of the house. There was mist covering the cemetery and 

surrounding the house. The mist was thick and dark. 

The cemetery was big, with a lot of headstones for the previous owners. Some were 

small and grey, some were massive. There was a stone high cross, too. An old, old, old 

swing hung off a tree. The wind howled and the swing swayed. 

A young peasant woman, Josephine, a maid in the manor house, was going to check on 

the owner of the manor, Sir Edward O’Reilly. But the mist blocked Josephine’s vision. 

There was smashed glass on the ground. There was a scream and suddenly, silence. 

Josephine stepped closer to the smashed glass. Josephine let out a blood-curdling 

scream. She ran off. But before she did, she glanced up at the window, and saw the 

silhouette of a young lady. Her long black hair covered her face and she wore a white 

night dress. 

Josephine thought she recognized her. It was Sir Edward’s daughter, Elizabeth. She 

had clearly defenestrated her father. Elizabeth had an emotionless stare and grinned at 

Josephine. Josephine turned to run away—but Elizabeth was right behind her. 

Josephine didn’t see the empty grave ahead of her and fell into it. Elizabeth grabbed her 

and brought her back to the house. 

Chapter 2 - Class 1B 

It was the year 2010. There was a screech of car tires. 

The rusty gate of the manor creaked open, and a moving van drove up. Four friends were 

in the van – Andrew, Raymond, Lana and Alex. Andrew was driving. 

The friends were flabbergasted at the sight of the old manor house. It was overgrown, 

with some of the roof falling in. There was ivy on the walls. One window was smashed. 

Moss was seeping its way through the crevices of the house. 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this!” said Lana. Everybody else laughed. 



“Cop on, Lana!” said Andrew. 

“We can turn it into a tourist trap,” said Alex. 

“We can turn it into something spectacular!” said Raymond. 

“I want the biggest room,” said Alex. 

But Lana looked up and saw a shady macabre figure in a window. 

She pointed it out to the friends: “Look at that strange figure.” 

Everyone looked up, but the figure was strangely gone—much to Lana’s dismay. The 

friends looked at Lana in disbelief. 

Chapter 3 - Class 1C 

The first night in the house, Lana and Andrew were sitting in the living room when stuff 

started to randomly move. The couch that they were sitting on started to shake and the 

table flew to the far side of the room. 

Lana and Andrew looked at the table in disbelief. They ran out of the room and the door 

slammed shut behind them. They ran to the others and everything they said was all in a 

mumble because they were speaking too fast. 

“Quick! We have to get out of here. We’re being haunted!” said Lana. 

Raymond gasped, “Let’s get out of this house!” But the friends’ attempt to escape got 

cut off when the lamp died, leaving the group in the pitch black. They couldn’t see 

anything. Suddenly Lana screamed. 

The oil lamp flickered back on—Lana was gone. The group were in utter shock at Lana’s 

sudden disappearance. A misty figure suddenly appeared. The figure was around the 

same height as the skeleton and was wearing a maid’s outfit. 

“Who are you?” exclaimed Andrew. 

The figure pointed to the skeleton, and then back to herself. 

“That was me,” she hissed. “The daughter of Sir Edward O’Reilly got me. Now she’s 

taken your friend. Go to the grave of Sir Edward if you want your friend back.” 

They darted out of the cellar to look for Lana. It was a stormy night, and it was 

beginning to rain. A field of mist covered the garden. It started thundering, echoing. 

Whenever lightning struck, they saw Elizabeth’s figure standing at the grave of Sir 

Edward O’Reilly. She was wearing a big puffy dress and had a smirk on her face. Her 

dark hair was hanging down, and she wore a veil. 

Beside her stood Lana, screaming for help. “Help, I’m over here!” The friends ran over 

to Lana and together they sprinted back to their van and got in. 

“That was a lovely holiday,” said Raymond sarcastically. 

“Don’t be silly. There’s no such thing as ghosts!” replied Raymond. 

Andrew looked scared. “She’s telling the truth, I swear.” Suddenly all the friends heard 

a creepy laugh from the top of the stairs. Everybody ran upstairs to their respective 

bedrooms to get their suitcases—but they weren’t there. 

“Where could our bags be?” asked Raymond. 

They heard the laughter again, from down in the cellar, and the sound of four heavy 

bags being dragged down the stairs leading to the cellar. 

The cellar was cold, stone-walled and had cobwebs all over. It was completely dark 

except for a dying oil lamp in the corner. 

Raymond led the group towards the oil lamp, and there sat their suitcases, behind a 

barrel. 

As they got their suitcases, they uncovered… a skeleton. They all screamed. The skeleton 

wore a ripped and torn maid’s apron. 



The Chippie 

Classes 1D, 1E & 1F, St Mary’s College, Dundalk 

Ellie was walking down Clanbrassil Street in Dundalk. She was going home from school. 

She was in her uniform – a black jumper, a blue-black tie, a white shirt, and a long skirt. 

Clanbrassil Street was a dark, spooky street. It had run-down abandoned houses; some 

had boarded-up windows. Others were run-down by nature; they had vines on them, 

hanging down the walls. The first house was Mullins, an abandoned chipper. It was blue 

and black, and it looked burnt-down. The windows were boarded up. 

There was a massive storm in the distance, with huge grey storm clouds. Ellie heard the 

loudest thunder. There was a flash of lightning. Ellie jumped. Her pumpkin-orange hair 

was blowing in the storm. 

She started to hurry off when she met her friend, John. John was tall, with a red mohawk. 

John went to a different school and was wearing a blue jumper and skinny jeans. 

For shelter, Ellie and John found a way into the chipper. They found a side door that was 

smashed in and they entered. The rain thundered from above, heavy as an anvil. They 

started exploring. 

It was very dark inside. Everything was destroyed and in tatters. The kebabs were all 

expired. They tried the light switches – they didn’t work – so they decided to go look for 

a generator. 

John turned to Ellie and said, “I saw kebab on one of the posters outside and now I’m 

really hungry!” 

“There might be something in the fridge,” Ellie said. 

She ran back towards the fridge, but when she made it 

up the stairs, she realised with fear that the fridge had 

closed and was locked from the outside. 

Ellie took out her phone. “Let me ring someone!” 

But there was no signal. 

Ellie heard the floorboards creaking and the sound of 

children giggling, from upstairs. She whispered to John, 

asking if he had heard that. 

“Heard what?” whispered John back. 

“The faint laughter Quick, hide!” Ellie and John had the 

idea to play dead. As they did, the smell of the water was 

very strong. It was vinegar. 

A ghost appeared, floating out from the fridge. It glowed 

in the dark, baby-blue, almost green. It made splashes 

as it walked through the vinegar, which was waist deep. 

Ellie and John were terrified and gob-smacked… but 

Ellie accidentally nudged John towards the ghost. 

“Do you guys want some chips?” asked the ghost. 

“They’re only slightly moldy...” 

They walked towards the fridge. “Stop!” said Ellie. “It smells disgusting!” 

But John opened the fridge. There was no food, except soggy, moldy chips. In a temper, 

John hit the shelf and the back of the fridge moved aside. It made a “Errrrrrrrreeee” 

creak as it opened, and they saw a staircase leading to a pitch-black room. 

John used the flash on his phone to see the bottom of the stairwell… 

There were people floating in murky water. But there was something wrong... They 

looked like they were wearing clothes from the 1700s. 

John froze. 

“Oh my God!” gasped Ellie, trembling. 



The Secrets of Spelga Dam 

Year 10, St Mary’s High School, Newry 

Chapter 1: Bus 33 

Sean was waiting for the Hilltown bus in the lashing rain. The bus pulled up and Sean 

got on. He didn’t notice that there was no bus driver, so he walked on freely. There was 

nobody else on the bus, so Sean walked straight to the back and sat down. 

Sean put his earphones in and looked out the window. The bus drove down the windy 

road of the Seven Sisters. At a bend in the road, he noticed a girl walking her dog. She 

was tall and she was wearing a big fluffy coat with her hood up. 

All of a sudden, the bus came to a dead stop. The girl and her dog got on. She saw there 

was no bus driver. She was puzzled, so she went to ask the boy at the back. 

“Are you meant to be driving this bus?” the girl asked Sean. 

Sean took out his earphones. “Sorry, what was that?” 

“I said, are you meant to be driving this bus?” 

“No, I just walked on and didn’t think anything of it”. 

Sean got up to confront the driver, but nobody was there. 

The bus took a sharp turn and headed up the hill to Spelga Dam. The tall trees engulfed 

the bus, blocking out any moonlight. There was a faint scream in the distance. Sean and 

the girl got off the bus to go and investigate… 

Chapter 2: Scaredy-Cat 

The dog, whose name was Daisy, pulled on her lead. She pulled Sean and Claire into the 

forest. Claire felt scared. 

“What’s your name?” asked Sean. 

“Claire,” said the girl. 

They reached the abandoned convent. It had big, stained-glass windows. Some were 

cracked and broken, some not. 

Claire saw a shadow pass by a broken window. She jumped. 

“Scaredy-cat,” said Sean. 

Sean tried to open the door but couldn’t. Claire yanked on the handle and opened 

the door. 

Daisy was barking like mad. She ran straight up the stairs. 

Up the stairs, there was a hallway with peeling wallpaper and lots of rooms. There were 

burnt mattresses lining the hallway and none of the rooms had doors. Sean and Claire 

realised they were the belongings of the people who used to live there. 

One room was full of old toys. Sean peeked his head in and saw an apparition of a child 

ghost on a rocking horse. 

Creeeak 

Sean jumped, screamed and hid behind Claire. 

“Scaredy-cat” said Claire. 

An Alternate Chapter 2: Shadows in the Fog 

It was a dark, eerie night. The leaves crunched underfoot and sticks on the ground 

pierced their shoes as they walked towards the forest. 

“Have you ever felt like someone is watching you?” asked Seán. 

“What’s your name,” said the girl. 

“Seán,” he said. “You?” 

“Becky.” 

The dog whimpered as they went further into the darkness. They saw shadows cast by 

the bright light of the full moon. 

“Did you see that by the tree?” asked Becky. Suddenly the dog ran away. 

“Sandy!” cried Becky. 

They started running in the direction of the dog when the ground fell from beneath 

them. They looked up to see a dark figure looming above them… 

There were cracked blue stairs leading up to a half-busted door. 



Scarred for Life 

Bush Post Primary School, Dundalk 

Logan’s Mam was sick and wanted to move back to Ireland to be with her family. He boarded the 

plane with apprehension and doubt. The whole family left Kentucky, unsure of what was to come. 

Just a month earlier, Logan had been offered a basketball scholarship, but the family had to move 

back to Ireland. Logan felt a little nauseous and scared that he would not fit in with the new school 

and that he was leaving his basketball dreams behind. 

Logan had greyish blue eyes, black hair and a scar running down the left side of his face. He 

had dark tanned complexion which he got from his Egyptian dad. When he gets nervous, Logan 

distractedly scratches his scar. 

Logan was getting back on the bus on the last day before the spring midterm break of second year. 

The only seat left was beside Ellen, a girl in his class with moss green and big open expressive eyes, 

straight ginger hair in a long plait going down to the small of her back. He had only spoken to her a 

few times before but didn’t really know her. They sat in an awkward silence beside each other. 

“How is your season going?” asked Logan. 

“It’s going well but it is stressful being captain.” 

“I get what you mean, it is tough but then it gets easier.” 

“Are you the school captain?” 

“I was in my old school. But I didn’t get the chance to show what I could do here last year.” 

“Where did you go to school before here?” 

“I used to live in Kentucky and I went to Crescent View High School.” 

“That is so far away. Why the big move?” 

“My mother got sick. She is terminally ill. They are not really sure what is wrong with her. She 

wanted to come back to where she grew up because her family is still here. She has a very strong 

connection to the area.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like to practise after school?” 

“Yeah. I’d love that. See you after school at the gym.” 

Shortly afterwards, the bus arrived at the school. It was the last day before the February mid-term 

break. After a long day of school, they met up at the school gym to walk to the courts. 

“You don’t have to answer, but can you tell me how you got the scar?” Ellen asked hesitantly. 

“It’s a long story. You probably won’t believe me if I tell you. You’ll probably just laugh. I was very 

young and a lot of it I do not remember.” 

“It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me but if you do, I won’t laugh.” 

“Maybe later,” said Logan, as he threw her the ball. 

After a few minutes he started talking. “My dad collects and deals in Egyptian antiques. I was 

rooting around in my dad’s artefacts and a cursed mummified corpse attacked me. When people 

asked me what happened I said, ‘mummy attacked me,’ and they assumed it was my mother. Social 

services got involved but nothing happened because there was no proof. After that no one would 

believe me.” 

Suddenly the lights turned off as Ellen asked “What do you mean by a cursed mummified cor…” A 

spiralling rush of air whirls around the room. He heard Ellen scream “Logan!” 

When the lights came on, she was gone and the floor was covered in a heavy bed of sand. Logan 

staggered back out of the sand, scared at what just happened. 

He called her name and it echoed across the hall. He searched through the sand to try and 

find a sign as to where she might have gone. Eventually he found an old piece of papyrus with 

hieroglyphics written on it. Reading it Logan got an overwhelming sense of panic as on the papyrus 

he discovers his second name ‘Salah’. He recognises the hieroglyphics from his dad’s artefacts. 

He took the piece of paper and went back to his dad’s artefact office to compare the piece 

of parchment to the mummy that attacked him. The same symbols were on the mummy’s 

sarcophagus except for the last one which he does not understand. He dug through his dad’s 

unpacked boxes and found an aged, deteriorated worn book ‘A guide to hieroglyphics’ in yellow 

lettering. 

Some of the pages were falling out from the damaged leather covers. He translated part of the 

message as best he could. 

“Your friend can have a matching scar.” 

The parchment caught the light and Logan saw a faint outline of a map. He recognised the location 

as an abandoned house in the nearby famine village. Logan got on his bike and cycled to his friend 

Patrick’s house. As soon as he got there, he asked Patrick, “Will you come with me?” 

Without thinking he agreed. They cycled quickly, not too sure where they were going and 

half-following the map. After the steep ascent to the famine village, they arrived. They felt an 

unwelcome chill down their spines as they apprehensively entered through the gates. Logan noticed 

a change in Patrick’s attitude displaying the fear that they both felt. 

The village is mostly rubble, overgrown with grass and weeds. The wind whistled through the 

partially intact remains of the buildings, adding a lonely wail to the village’s emptiness. The sun 

was setting over the village, the shadows of the buildings stretching over the two boys. 

One of the houses was in better shape and less worn down than the others. They heard a sound 

that reminded Logan of the wind when Ellen was snatched out of the hall. Moss and ivy covered the 

walls of the house. 



The boys looked into a room and made out a tall dark figure with a cut to the face, similar to the 

one Logan has. She had long black hair and wearing ragged clothes. There was a blankness in her 

eyes. They got the feeling that she was looking through them rather than at them. 

“Are you OK?” asked Patrick hesitantly. 

She called out a name as if someone was looking for her. She walked towards them and they backed 

away, unsure of what to do. Logan noticed the similar cut on her face as she walks towards them. 

He touched his scar as he realised the similarity. 

“How did you get the cut?” 

She looked confused as if she did not understand the question. Logan moved his hair off his face 

to show her the scar. She said something in Arabic and he recognised some of the words. He 

understood the word help but is not sure if she wants help or is willing to give it. Logan showed her 

the map on the parchment. 

“Why won’t you answer the question?” Patrick asked with a sharp tongue. She flinched back at the 

tone of his voice. 

Logan explained their situation to her in broken Arabic. She responded to Ellen’s name and pointed 

to King John’s castle. He asked her if she would come with them, and she agreed. Cautiously sitting 

on the crossbar of Logan’s bike, the three headed to Carlingford. 

On the way there they stopped at Logan’s house to get the girl a change of clothes and some 

food. After that the girl eased up a wee bit. Logan brought her into his dad’s office to see if she 

recognised anything. Her hand brushed over the sarcophagus and she muttered something. 

“Do you recognise this?” Logan asked her. 

“Anubis.” 

“How do you know of her?” 

“She was there.” 

“Where is there?” 

“At the castle.” 

Patrick ran on ahead to the castle while Logan follows with the girl. 

“What do you mean? Can you explain?” 

She points to the scar and repeats ‘mother’ again. 

She points to herself and says, “Risa.” 

They reached the castle and there is a sense of foreboding. They saw a layer of sand at the entrance 

but no sign of Patrick. A set of footprints walked into the middle of the sand. Logan’s stomach 

dropped. He knew something was wrong. 

They saw a broken lock on one of the smaller gates. Logan didn’t want to go through the gate but 

had to for his friend. The gate opened up into a barren courtyard. On the far side of the courtyard 

was a set of steps leading down. The courtyard was surrounded by spikey stone walls and echoed 

the smallest sound. 

As they crossed the yard, they heard running that sounded like it was in the walls. Up above, a 

murder of crows circled the castle screeching and squawking as they went. The decrepit walls were 

lined with ivy and vines. It felt like the place has been frozen in time like an old photograph. 

They saw a faint blue light coming from the stairs and walked over to it. As they looked down the 

entrance, the rotten wood stairwell quickly faded into blackness. 

Risa was entranced by the darkness and went down the stairs. Logan tried to grab her and stop her 

but he was too late. He was scared to be left alone and followed her. Suddenly the stairs fell out 

from under them and they plummeted into a pile of sand. 

On one side they could see a wall with a mounted burning torch and an opening leading to a 

passage. On all other sides, the sand faded into darkness. Risa took he torch and started to walk 

off into the darkness. As she stepped forward, more torches lit up on the distant walls of the 

huge circular chamber. As she looked around the room, her gaze landed on two mummies in open 

sarcophaguses. Lying on the ground was a third, unwrapped body of Patrick. 

Logan scrambled over to the bodies and reached Patrick. There was a familiar scar on his cheek. 

Logan welled up and he started scratching his scar while he heard footsteps behind him. He turned 

around to the footsteps and saw his mother holding Risa’s hand. 

“Mam? Ma-am what are y-you doing here?” 

Her eyes are glowing yellow. “Welcome home, Logan. We have been expecting you.” 

“Where are you from by the way?” 

“Cairo.” 

“My dad, Abdul, is from Cairo too. How did you end up here?” 

“My dad, Abdul, is from Cairo too. How did you end up here?” 

“Mother.” 



The Myths of Gullion 

Our Lady’s Grammar School, Newry 

Chapter One - Class 10J3A 

Once upon a myth, there were three monsters: Jackson the Giant, 

Lenny the Gullion Creature and Khosta the Wolfhound. They all lived 

normal, happy lives until tragedy happened to each and every one of 

them. 

’Twas the night before Hallowe’en and the villagers could feel it 

closing in. 

“We don’t have much time,” said Jackson. “We have to think fast.” 

Khosta was pacing back and forth. “We haven’t lured enough people 

and Hallowe’en is almost over.” 

Khosta climbed up onto the roof of the cave to see where the nearest 

village was. 

“Lenny has been away forever. Do you think he’s got enough people yet?” 

“No sign yet of his colourful tail.” 

Jackson went inside the cave to wait patiently. 

Meanwhile in the abandoned church in Hilltown, a man had 

captured Lenny and was keeping him hostage... 

“That shouldn’t go there!” growled Khosta. 

“Yeah, it does,” answered Jackson, setting down the candelabra 

with fingers as candles. “You said the skulls go over there.” 

“No, that’s where I’m putting the toenail bunting.” 

There was a mighty thud outside. Khosta rushed outside to find an owl with a letter in 

its beak. He took the letter from the owl and went back inside. 

“It’s a Screamer,” said Jackson, worried that the villagers nearby might hear. 

“WE HAVE FOUND FOOTPRINTS OF THE MAN IS WHO HAD CAPTURED LENNY. 

WE ARE TRYING TO FIND HIS LOCATION RIGHT NOW. 

WE WILL UPDATE YOU AS SOON AS WE KNOW ANYTHING,” screamed a voice. 

Chapter Three - Class 10J3C 

It was a very cold night. Lenny was crying because he missed his friend. He thought 

they weren’t coming for him, and he felt very sad and lonely. He decided to try to break 

out of the cage. 

Lenny heard the door open and saw a man walk in. Jasper went to 

greet him at the door. 

“Finally,” said Jasper. “I’ve been expecting you.” 

Chapter Two - Class 10J1C 

Lenny was getting tired and hungry. He was in a cage that was 

hanging from the roof. “I wonder if I’m ever going to see my 

friends again,” thought Lenny. 

“I’m hungry, can I have some food please? I haven’t eaten in days!” he shouted. 

“Quit that whining,” said the man whose name was Jasper. “I need all the money I can 

get. I’m selling you to Will Hates.” 

Meanwhile in the cave, Jackson and Khosta were putting up the old Hallowe’en 

decorations that they kept in boxes at the back of the cave. 

“Hello, brother,” said Will. “Have you got the creature 

like I asked?” 

“How much are you looking it for?” 

“Ten million kanyons.” 

“Ten million? I need to see it first.” 

Jasper pointed proudly at the cage above. 

“Well, where is it?” asked Will. 

There were a few ceiling tiles missing. Lenny 

had escaped… 




Weedee Catastrophe 

Youthreach, Ardee 

After dropping the children to school and crèche, John and 

Sarah left Ardee and drove their newish blue Ford Fiesta for 

an appointment in Drogheda. On the way back they were 

fighting in the car, as usual. 

They were arguing over John’s betting on the horses. Sarah 

had just inherited money from her granny and did not 

want John to waste it. John was annoyed, and they drove 

back in awkward silence. They arrived back in Ardee about 

lunchtime. 

Sarah walked to work at Deli-licious, and John went for a 

drive with the dog out to the countryside. He brought the 

dog for a walk in the forest. It was coming into autumn 

and the forest was wet, windy and gloomy. The trees were 

whistling with the wind sounding like faint screaming. The 

leaves were starting to get brown. 

Sarah was on the phone to John’s brother Richard, planning the party. “I don’t know 

how I am going to tell him. What if he gives out that we went behind his back. I can’t 

talk much right now, he’s home.” 

John quickly picked up the phone in the kitchen to hear a man say, “Let’s meet at half 

eight at the Weedee blue benches.” Sarah said, “OK,” and hung up. 

They sat down and had dinner in the kitchen. John was still thinking about the phone 

call and didn’t say much. After dinner when the children were in bed Sarah said, “I’m 

going to Polly’s”. She put her shoes on, grabbed her handbag and left, walking towards 

Polly’s, and then took a detour towards Blackbridge when she was out of sight of her 

house. She turned left on to Luna Road and took another left at the top of the road onto 

the Weedee bridge after a fifteen-minute walk. 

As soon as she left the house, John jumped into the car and sped to the Weedee, parking 

the car at Annie’s News… 

Illustration by RJ Lively 

John left the forest to go home to feed the dog and get ready 

for work. When he got home, he was going through the 

post, and he found an unusual envelope. He recognised the 

handwriting on the front of the envelope as his brother’s, 

addressed to Sarah. 

At half three, the boss, Seamus, told Sarah that she was 

done work and to go home. He told her to take some 

leftover food from the deli counter: sausage rolls, curry, 

bread rolls and chips. She grabbed her umbrella, left work 

and headed to go and collect the children from the National 

School in Clonmore. 

She saw her friend Polly collecting her twin girls. Polly 

lived on the same estate as Sarah, and they walked home 

with the children together. Sarah left Polly at her house and 

walked another five minutes to her house at the back. Sarah 

and the children walked in the front door. 

It was Friday, so the children didn’t have homework and 

Sarah went to bathe the children while the dinner heated. 

Sarah heard the phone ring, and she quickly left the 

children to go to the phone on the hall table. 



The Magic Roundabout 

Southern Regional College 

Sunday Surgery 

Southern Regional College 

“Get out of my shop!” shouted the shopkeeper. Pookie 

fled in terror, knocking over a stand of Moam bars as he 

went. He jumped into his Porshe which was parked outside 

the shop. 

Pookie paused in shock as he saw Squirrel the traffic 

warden applying the finishing touches, fitting the clamp to 

the rear wheel. 

“What the cluck, this happens every time, I’m plucking sick 

of it!” 

“You’re very welcome,” smirked Squirrel as she raised her 

eyebrow. 

“How am I ever to get to the Europa now?” exclaimed 

Pookie. 

Pookie wanted to meet with a famous Plastic Surgeon who 

was attending a Conference in Belfast and staying at the 

Europa Hotel. The surgeon’s name was Dr. Hope, and they 

were the second worst Surgeon in the world. 

It was a dark and misty morning and Elizabeth was trying to avoid the mirror. 

Just then the No.666 bus pulled up and who should be 

driving it but your man, Caser… 

Her one desire was to rule the world, and she knew if she was going to rule the world 

she would have to start off with a smaller circle. 

Elizabeth glanced down at her gangly limbs and felt nothing but disgust. She winced and 

looked away, avian features turned towards the window. 

“I’ve missed the turn again,” she said. “When will I ever get off this roundabout?” 

At first Elizabeth thought she hadn’t been paying attention, but it increasingly dawned 

on her that this was taking a lot longer that it should. 

Suddenly there was a loud thud against the windscreen. Shards of glass shattered around 

her and a discombobulated black crow landed on her lap… 

Illustrations by Sam Savage 



The Drop 

Youthreach, Dundalk 

A thick fog, thunder, and lightning filled the night while dark grey clouds hung in a 

low sky. A gang of five graverobbers entered the graveyard. Two kept watch, one held a 

torch, and two started digging. 

The leader, Boss, was holding the torch and gave instructions to the others. “Dig faster 

in case someone shows up.” 

Michael, standing in the grave replied, “Hold the torch a bit better and I can dig faster.” 

“Hurry up, your man’s waiting in the car. He’s going to crush on if you don’t get the 

jewels to him in ten minutes.” Michael and Baby D carried on digging. 

Sean and Gavin kept watch by the rusted graveyard gates and saw someone coming so 

they both ran to the grave. “There is someone coming! Turn off the torch.” 

They stopped digging and all five hid in the grave. 

The graveyard digger was walking through the graveyard. While the five men were in 

the grave hiding, one stepped on a lock and it opened up a secret door. They all slid 

down a shaft along with the coffin into the graveyard crypt. 

They found themselves in a circular room about 20 meters wide. Michael turned on the 

torch and shone it around the room. The block stone walls were covered in cobwebs. The 

vaulted wooden ceiling was rotting, with some of the timbers falling in. In the centre of 

the room was a round well, roughly seven meters wide. 

Running around the edge of the well was a one-meter wall made of the same stone as 

the walls of the room. The floor was covered in tiles like a Roman mosaic. Sean saw a 

strange pattern of eyes throughout the mosaic leaving him with a creepy feeling of being 

watched. 

There were three old wooden doors on the opposite side of the chute they fell through. 

The doors were painted black and peeling, revealing the wood underneath. The boss took 

the torch from Michael and walked around the well to the left-hand door. He pushed the 

door and saw a hallway receding into the darkness behind it. 

Against the right-hand wall lay a small golden chest. The boss went over to it and put 

his hand on it to open it up. As he did so, an arrow shot out from the wall. Baby D heard 

a bang and shouted out, “What’s the story, boss man? What happened?” 

Michael looked at the boss on the floor and said, “We shouldn’t go down this corridor 

because there might be more traps.” 

Michael and Baby D went over to check on the boss man. Baby D saw fifty euro poking 

out of the boss man’s pocket. 

He said to himself, “That’s the fifty he owes me from last week.” He leaned down to 

take it as he went to get the torch. The floor opened up beneath Baby D and he fell 

through into a pit. Michael was standing at the edge of the collapsed floor and backed 

out slowly of the room. 

Michael heard the argument between Sean and Gavin and went towards the sound. 

“Are you OK? Where’s Gavin?” Michael says. 

“Gavin’s dead?” 

“How did he die?” 

“There was a trap on the wall.” 

“Where is Baby D?” 

“He fell into a pit when the floor 

collapsed. The place is a death trap. We 

need to get out of here!” 

Michael helped Sean to limp to the right 

door. The door was unlocked, and they 

opened it to see a stairway leading up. 

The stairs were cracked and chipped. 

Sean found it difficult to go up the 

stairs. The stairs opened up into a tomb 

with one empty coffin. The name of the 

gravedigger was on it. The gravedigger 

was waiting in the tomb for them. The 

gravedigger looked knowingly at Sean. 

Sean crawled through the darkness. 

There was no reply and Baby D thought to himself, “Stall, we are going to be taken!” 

Illustration by Matthew Beattie 



Penelope 

Damolly Hockey Club & Newry Football Club 

There is a girl called Penelope. She is 13 years old and tall with green eyes. Penelope is 

good at boxing. She enters lots of competitions and wins most of the time. 

Penelope has a friend called Robbie who is 14 years old. They met at the boxing club and 

if Penelope and Robbie had a match she would win. She is tough. 

Penelope and Robbie are both from Shandon Park in Newry. Penelope has lived in the 

Lissummon Road but moved to Shandon Park where Robbie lives. 

Penelope texts Robbie asking him to meet up. “Robbie, do you want to have a catch-up 

in Costa?” 

“No, I want to stay in my bed,” replies Robbie. 

Penelope texts back, “It will be fun!” 

Robbie texts back, “Why not.” 

Penelope is still wearing her boxing gear. She just came from boxing when she goes 

to meet Robbie at the Buttercrane. But Robbie has made a mistake and has gone to the 

Quays instead. Penelope is wondering where Robbie is. But Robbie thinks that Penelope 

has set him up. 

Penelope texts “Where are you?” 

Robbie texts back “I’m at the shopping center! Where are you?” 

“Are you still in bed?” asks Penelope. 

Robbie replies with a picture of him standing outside Costa in the Quays. They realise 

the mistake. 

The two shopping centers are very close so Robbie walks through Lidl to go into the 

Buttercrane to meet Penelope. But she is fuming!! Her coffee is cold. Penelope squeezes 

her cup of coffee in her hand in anger. Robbie offers to get Penelope a new cup of coffee. 

Robbie goes and gets a pumpkin spiced iced latte for Penelope and a white-hot chocolate 

with white marshmallows for himself. Some guy is watching Penelope. They recognise 

him from boxing, it is Johnny. He is tall with brown eyes. He’s giving Penelope the side 

eye because she beat him in a boxing match. 

Robbie wants to go to the local theatre show in the Town Hall. Robbie’s little sister is 

performing in Wicked and he asks Penelope. “Do you want to go to see Wicked in the 

Town Hall? My little sister is acting in it. Then we could go to Friar Tucks afterwards?” 

Illustration by Sinead Farry 



“Ok, let’s go to the play and then get food. Do you want to go for a dander down by the 

canal until it starts?” 

“I don’t want to go down there, it’s a bit dark!” 

“Ok, fine, scaredy cat!” 

They walk out of Costa and they spot a lonely car on the road. They think nothing of it 

although it is moving very slowly and approaching them. It is Johnny. He is in a yellow 

mini although he is too young to drive. He is very slowly following them. 

Robbie and Penelope look through the car window, but it is dark and they can’t see who 

is in the car. They feel apprehensive as they walk along the pavement towards the canal. 

Neither one wants to admit they are scared so they don’t say anything to each other. 

The bats are coming out flying around in the air. It is a cold evening, and they can see 

their breath. 

The car stops in the scary car park. There is one flickering light. A full moon is in the 

sky, but it is cloudy with only some breaks letting bits of light through. They can hardly 

see. They can hear water running, the fountain spray and dogs barking. The leaves are 

crunching under their feet. 

It is quarter past seven and the play starts at eight. They need to get to the theatre, but 

the car is still following them. They are walking down a cobbled street and as they pass 

Grounded, they see one lonely person with their French bulldog. The dog is on a chain 

lead and wearing a muzzle. 

The person is drinking a black coffee with steam coming off it. They arrive at the theatre 

and it is busy. They see people they recognise. 

The Town Hall is old. It is a triangular building built from red bricks with white 

windows. Penelope and Robbie go into the theatre and open a big, heavy door which 

creaks when they open it. They go through the reception area and up the curved stairs 

and through another big door. 

They walk into the theatre hall and the old wooden floors creak. Robbie and Penelope 

have a good view from where they are sitting but the seats are very low and they sink 

into them as though they are sitting on clouds. 

As they sit in their seats the theatre begins to fill and the room echoes with the sound of 

people talking. There are announcements to tell people to turn their phones off. Johnny 

is the announcer! 

Then the lights go off. 

Silence falls across the room as the big red curtains draw apart and the actors come on 

stage. There is a bang, and all the emergency lights go off. It sounds like the old cannon 

from outside has gone off. 

The power has gone off too. 

the lights come back on. Everyone can see the lights on their phone and suddenly they 

hear someone scream. “Rebecca has gone missing!” 

Robbie jumps up out of his seat in worry. He runs backstage and outside. Penelope 

follows quickly behind him. Suddenly Johnny’s yellow mini drives off. 

A scream can be heard from the back of it. Robbie sees a witch’s cape in the car door and 

green paint on the door handle. Robbie finds a bike and Penelope jumps onto the back of 

it and they follow the car. They take a detour to catch up with the car. 

Once the car is back in sight, it comes to a screeching halt. They stop outside a small 

graffiti covered building behind Tesco. There is a witch’s hat in the boot. The door of 

the house is open. Penelope and Robbie decide to sneak around the house. 

They have to stamp on the nettles that are all around the house to get to the back yard. 

They see more green paint and different graffiti. It is a tiny house with only a door at 

door at the front. They can’t get inside from the back. The windows are all broken but 

they can’t see anything in the house. 

At the side of the house, they see a black cat running along the wall. The cat stops and 

looks at Robbie and Penelope and then rubbed its head against them. They spot some 

concrete blocks and decide to use to them to climb up through the window. 

It is really dusty inside, dust on the carpets, graffiti on the walls. One old sofa, a broken 

TV and an old, broken doll sitting on a rocking chair. The doll is facing the window, 

looking right at them. 

Robbie goes into the house to make sure it is safe for Penelope. He lays his jacket over 

the broken glass so he doesn’t get cut and climbs through the window. Damp, moldy, 

peeling, flowery wallpaper covers the walls. 

The dark, reddy-brown patterned carpet is layered with dust that leaves Robbie’s 

footprint marks on it. There is a door on the righthand side. The paint on the green door 

is chipped. 

Robbie is losing hope that he will find his sister. Then he hears a noise downstairs. He 

goes to the window and waves Penelope in with his hand. 

Downstairs has gone quiet. 

Suddenly someone jumps behind Robbie and Penelope and grabs them by the hands… 



Five People Camping 

Youthreach, Layton 

There is a legend of a Skinwalker in the woods near 

the abandoned Mosney Train Station. The Skinwalker 

manipulates people by taking different forms, mimicking 

sounds to lure people into the woods. It would imitate the 

sound of a mother calling her children, and children from 

the carnival at Mosney would wander off and disappear. 

Legend has it you can still hear the sound of a mother 

calling and the children faintly crying. 

When he was sixteen, one of the children, Timothy Smith, 

went into the woods to look for his missing younger 

brother. He returned from the woods and kept talking 

crazily about what happened. Nobody would believe what 

he said. Eighty years later, Timothy is in his nineties, and 

he is still telling the same story. People think the story is 

dementia ramblings. 

One of Timothy’s carers, Pamela, listens to his stories and 

says to her son Alex, “I have been working there for thirty 

years and Timothy Smith is still telling the same story.” 

Alex says nothing but keeps it in mind. He has heard the 

story for all his life. This time she mentions a book that 

Timothy says he took belonging to the Skinwalker. 

Five students decide to go and interview Timothy for a 

Youth Reach group project on local history and myths. As 

they were walking down the hall, they could hear Timothy 

mumbling. When they enter the dimly lit room, they see 

him sitting in a wheelchair, very still. He has fear behind 

his eyes, looking worn out and lost. Almost trance like, 

staring at one spot in the room. 

Pamela goes up and kneels beside Timothy’s chair and 

says, “Do you remember I told you yesterday my son and 

his friends are here to interview you for a school project?” 

He sits there motionless and ignores her. Her pager goes 

Illustration by Sarah Martin 



off and she has to rush off to another patient. As soon as she has left the room his head 

snaps towards the visitors, and he grabs Alex’s arm. Alex flinches and jumps back. The 

old man whispers into Alex’s ear, “The book says everything. Go now before it is too 

late. Don’t tell anybody.” As he tells Alex this, he hands him a tarnished key from a 

necklace from around his neck. 

A few days later, the lads are heading out and one of them mentions that they found a 

new abandoned house. “Let’s go see it,” suggests Owen. 

They set off and after walking through a few fields, get to the house. As they approach, 

they notice the house is weathered and old with peeling paint. A high moss-covered 

stone wall surrounds the property. The only entrance is an imposing large, rusted gate. 

The lads look through the gate and see the windows are all boarded up and covered in 

briars. The whole garden is overgrown. They climb over the gate and fight their way 

through the briars to the front door. 

“How will we get in?” Nicky asks, as he tries the locked front door. 

“Maybe this will work”, Alex jokes, as he takes Timothy’s key out of his pocket. He 

stumbles up to the door, tries the key and manages to unlock it to the surprise of the 

rest of them. 

“No way! This must be Timothy’s old house!” Owen says. 

As the door creaks open, the heavy smell of damp and decay hits the group. Karl runs 

in and heads to the back of the house, finding the kitchen. There he starts rummaging 

through presses as the rest of the group cautiously make their way through the house. 

By the time they get to Karl, he has found a few half-full bottles of spirits and some 

glasses. 

Karl decides to explore the rest of the house on his own. On the way up the stairs he 

trips on the frayed carpet, stumbles and falls back down the stairs and crashes on to 

the floor. The rest of the group go to see what happened and discover Karl has fallen 

through the floorboards into the basement. 

Jake takes it upon himself to go down and see if Karl is OK. They see a gap behind some 

old wooden planks and find a door to the basement. Jake opens the door and heads down 

the worn wooden stairs using his phone torch. 

Meanwhile Karl has been exploring the basement. While he is searching, he finds a dusty 

leather-bound book with gold inscription saying ‘Skinwalker’. He opens up the book and 

is intrigued by the writing on the page and begins to read it aloud until he gets startled 

by Jake entering the basement. Hurriedly, he hides it behind his back. Jake calls down 

the rest of the group and the group yell they found something. Jake turns around to the 

stairs as Karl tries to hide the book under some old cloth. Karl then runs up ahead of 

Jake, but Jake notices the book poking out from under the fabric and grabs the it before 

he follows Karl. 

They re-join the others and Jake says, “Lads I’ll be with you in a sec. I just need to go to 

the bathroom.” As he goes down the hallway, he finds an old bedroom and sits down on 

the squeaky wooden bed to begin reading the book. As he begins to read, a map falls on 

to the floor. A camping site in the nearby Mosney Woods is marked in the centre of the 

stained ragged map. Jake wonders why Karl would want to hide the book they had heard 

of and is now a little suspicious of Karl. 

Jake goes to the group. “What’s up?” says Nicky. “You look a bit off.” Jake pulls the 

book and map out of his jacket and shows it to the group. 

Karl says “Oh, I used to go camping there with my family. Lads, we should go and spend 

a night there.” 

They leave the house through the back door and follow a path out of the back of the 

garden that leads to the campsite. Towards dusk, they find a small grassy clearing. 

There is a small lake towards the middle surrounded by reeds. Owen lights a fire too, for 

them to sit around and talk. As the night creeps in, the possibility, reality and anxiety of 

finding the Skinwalker begins to kick in… 



A Bit of a Pickle 

Newry Beavers & Cubs 

Once there was a lonely black cat with glowing green eyes. He was called Pickles and had 

a little tuft of white fur on his head in the shape of a crescent moon. He wore a purple 

collar and could shapeshift. Pickle wanted a friend. 

It was a dark spooky evening with a blood moon, coming up to Halloween. Pickles was 

walking through a forest in Slieve Gullion when he saw a man. The man looked like a 

wizard and wore a navy velvet cloak. He had a beard shaped like forked lightning. He 

also had a scar of a crescent moon and had red eyes. 

“Do you want to be friends? I’m all alone,” said Pickles. 

“Wow, I’ve never seen a talking cat before,” the man said. “Yes, I’ll do it! I’m Macaroni 

and Cheese, or M.C. for short.” 

“I’m Pickles, and Pickles isn’t short for anything because I’m a cat!” Pickles replied. 

“I’ve got another friend who’s a pickle. Do you want to meet him?” said M.C. 

M.C.’s pickle-friend was stuck in a fountain near the sewers. When they got to the 

fountain, they saw that it was squirting poisonous slime. If you touched the slime, it 

started evaporating your body. 

When M.C. saw his friend stuck in the fountain surrounded by slime, he said, “OH NO!” 

He was surprised, confused and petrified. 

Pickles looked for something to help. He stretched out his tail for the pickle in the 

fountain to grab. As he stretched his tail out, he shapeshifted it into a dragon’s tail and 

dragged the pickle out! 

When the pickle was pulled out, the slime started spilling out and oozing all over Newry, 

spreading into people’s houses. Pickles got a hose and sprayed the slime into the canal, 

but the slime got even stickier when it mixed with the water. Now the canal was covered 

in slime too! The pickle turned into the Slime King... 

Illustration by Eileen Neill 



Return of the Soldier 

Youthreach, Drogheda 

Mikoslav was born in Germany to an American service man and an Irish woman. The 

family moved to Ireland when he was 18, in 1928. During World War II, Mikoslav 

enlisted with the American army as he was entitled to a US passport because of his 

father. In 1945, after the war, he returned home to Ireland. This story is set in 1970s 

Drogheda. 

Schools are breaking for Hallowe’en. Alison is standing outside the school gate. She has 

blonde wavy hair, hippy clothes and crystals. Her best friend Heather walks up to her. 

“Hey, bestie,” she says. Heather has long butterfly dreadlocks and silver jewellery. Her 

purple eyeshadow and black lipstick compliment her dark skin. 

Two guys pull up in front of the school in a convertible. The driver leans his arm out the 

window. 

“Hi, Chad,” laughs Heather. Henry gets out of the passenger seat and gets in the back. 

Alison sits in beside Chad. Heather gets in, too. 

They drop off the car at Chad’s house, get their bikes and speed to Johnny’s house. As 

soon as they get in, they burst in the door. 

“Oh, to be a kid again” thinks Johnny’s mam. She goes up to get Johnny. Johnny comes 

down the stairs and uses sign language to say hello. They all grew up together, so they 

have a basic understanding of sign language. They tell Johnny their plan and all five 

leave with Johnny’s dog, Shaggy. 

It is autumn and the leaves are dark brown and falling, leaving the trees bare. The day is 

bright, sunny and cool. As they cycle, they pass a roadside cafe and an old arcade. They 

keep cycling along the road lined with corn fields. 

The bare branches looked like skeletal hands closing in on them. The shadows on the 

ground had a strobe like effect as they cycled through them. Alison stops. 

“There is someone there,” she says. “I saw a soldier in the distance.” 

As they cycle on, Alison looks down and sees something catching the light. She stops 

and finds an old army medal. While they are stopped, Shaggy barks in the direction of an 

old house in the distance and starts running towards it. They get back on their bikes and 

follow the dog. 

huge chain and padlock. They help each other over and leave their bikes on the outside of 

the gates. 

The driveway is paved with cracked cobblestone. Moss and tufts of grass are growing 

between the cobbles. A large stone farmhouse stands at the end of the drive. The house is 

cobble grey with pealing white paint on the window frames. The windows have seen better 

days; some are broken with the shattered glass on the ground, others are boarded up. 

There are four steps up to a front porch and a swing chair with a snapped chain sits at one 

end. Behind the house to the right is a battered barn. It’s flaking dusty paint reveal the 

wood underneath. Rusted holes dot the galvanised roof, letting crows come and go. An old 

rooster weathervane creaks as it catches the autumn breeze. 

Alison thinks she sees someone in the large round window at the top centre of the house 

over the front door. 

“There’s someone there!” she cries, pointing at the window. 

“Chill out. It’s just your imagination, says Chad. 

“Your right. It was probably nothing.” 

The door is unlocked. They push it open and see stairs on either side of a large entrance 

room. The stairs curl around the walls to meet on a first-floor mezzanine, The cracks 

between the shutters let thin beams of light into the hall. 

Henry pulls out a Zippo and sparks it. The small flame picks out an oil lantern on a table. It 

still has a wick and a small amount of oil. He lights it. After a short discussion, they agree 

to go up the stairs. 

The stairs open onto a first-floor mezzanine with several doors leading off it. The stairs 

continue upwards and they decided follow it. At the back of the stairs, they see a door 

hidden in a corner. It wis unlocked. Inside they find a small room with a spiral stairs 

leading up to the attic. 

In the centre of the landing, flanked by two doors, is a warped bookcase. All of the books 

look like they have been there for years, caked in cobwebs and dust. A disturbed bat flies 

down the stairwell, giving them all a jump before it flies out the door… 

When they catch up with Shaggy, they see rusted, misshapen gates at the start of the 

long driveway. They shake the gates to see if they will open, but they are locked with a 



aliens 

Chapter One - Newry Scouts & Venturers 

It was lunch break and Denise and her colleagues were going into the staffroom to get 

tea and biscuits. Denise took a packet of chocolate digestives out of the cupboard. 

“Whoever said the customer was always right needs to be disciplined,” said Dervla. 

Denise and the others ignored her because Dervla was always moaning. Chris stared at 

the damp, peeling wall. Suddenly the lights started to flicker. 

“By God, that’s strange,” said Denise picking up a pencil and tinkering with the lights. 

They looked around and saw a green glow coming from the floor. Chris snapped out of 

his trance. “We should call the police.” 

But they didn’t get to the phone on time… 

Chapter Two - Carrickmacross Scouts 

Chris raced for the tinfoil on the counter and started making hats. Dervla’s heart 

fluttered under her sensible cardigan as he placed a hat on her head. Inside, she was 

doing a victory dance like the dances she did when she watched Chris’s DJ sets every 

weekend. 

Denise continued eating biscuits. This was typical Chris – he always thought something 

weird was going on. Slime started oozing out of the floor. 

Denise pointed to it. “Look, cool Halloween decorations.” 

Chris yelled. “That’s not decorations! Someone call the military!” His speech descended 

into babbling, but Denise caught the word “aliens”. 

Chris ran to the cupboard and pulled out his survival kit. He gripped a bat in one hand 

and a plastic spoon in the other. He put on a pair of reflective swimming goggles, which 

he thought would stop him getting hypnotized. Dervla had bought them for him. 

Denise thought, “I need to get out of here before this gets any weirder.” 

Dervla thought she’d never seen anything so brilliant. She swooned towards him, Chris 

flailing as he unwillingly steadied her. 

Denise ate another biscuit. The slime continued to creep and then the room went dark as 

the power went out completely. 

Chapter Three - Carrickmacross Scouts 

Detective Shortstuff lifted the police tape sealing off the 

workhouse office and stepped underneath. He had to crouch 

extremely low because of his height. His head was exactly 

as wide as his neck. 

“It’s bad, boss,” said one of the guards at the tape. “I’ve 

never seen anything like this.” 

He felt confident. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m Detective 

Shortstuff. I’ll fix this.” 

The detective stopped at the threshold of the office. Green 

slime was everywhere. Half the floorboards had been 

ripped up, and scratched on the remaining board was the 

word “HELP”. The removed floorboards exposed a tunnel, 

pulsating green. Halfway into the hole was a tinfoil hat. 

Detective Shortstuff climbed into the hole, sitting down 

on something sharp. He thought for a second it was alien 

remains, and jumped out of his skin. Then he saw it was a 

broken plastic spoon. He scoffed. “I wasn’t scared.” 

The sharp edges of the spoon were slimed with acidic 

green blood. The word “HELP” was scratched on the floor 

here, too. The floor dropped out below him. He felt the air 

rushing past his face and his shoes fell off. His stomach 

dropped. 

He was surprised to land on a set of cushions. Denise was 

sitting on one, mechanically eating biscuits. Her eyes were 

popping out of her head and half her hair was gone. 

“How did you find my den?” she said. 

“Weren’t there three of you?” said Detective Shortstuff. 

“Where are the others?” 

“Taken,” said Denise, missing her mouth with her biscuit. 

“They were taken.” Her usually perfect makeup was 

smeared with chocolate. 



Denise noticed a mirror in the den and walked over to fix her makeup. As she stood in 

front of it, the crumbs of biscuit on her shirt were pulled through its surface. She stood 

there blinking and pointing silently. Detective Shortstuff walked confidently towards the 

mirror but accidentally jostled Denise with his broad shoulders. They both stumbled into 

the mirror and fell through. 

They emerged in a bedroom. There was no light coming into the room. The windows 

were dirty, and the curtains were pulled almost completely closed. On a mattress in the 

middle of the room sat Chris. He was writing furiously on a sheet of paper. Denise was 

so relieved to see him and called his name. He didn’t turn around. 

“OI!” came a voice from outside the room, “Get down here now!” 

Chris started on the mattress, scattering his pile of papers. He stood up and left the 

room with a sigh. Denise went to look at the papers. They were covered with what 

looked like poems. At the top of the one he’d been writing, she could read “For Denise, 

the amazing new girl at work”. 

She frowned. She hadn’t been the new girl for a long time. She realised she was looking 

into the past. Chris and Dervla were gone, and they were never coming back. 

Illustration by Louise Macartney 



VOLUME II 

• Castleblayney Scouts and Markethill Cubs & Scouts 

• Castleblayney Beavers 

• 1st Mountnorris Rangers 

• Castleblayney Cubs 

• Carrick Beavers (Monday group) 

• Carrick Beavers (Tuesday group) 

• Epicentre, Armagh 

• Give & Take Project, Include Youth, Armagh 

• Rise, Monaghan 

• Youthreach, Castleblayney 

• Castleblaney College 

• Tandragee High School 

• Our Lady’s Secondary School, Castleblayney 

• St John the Baptist’s College, Portadown 

• Beech Hill College, Monaghan 

• Newtownhamilton High School 

• St Joseph’s High School, Crossmaglen 

• Castleblaney College, Castleblayney; Inver College, 

Carrickmacross and St Patrick’s College, Keady 


armagh & Monaghan 59

The Curse of The Hope Diamond 

Castleblayney Scouts & Markethill Scouts 

A Scout Group long ago were walking through the woods led by Baden Powell, the head 

Scout Leader, when suddenly they came across an old castle. 

“Have you ever heard of the curse of the Hope Diamond?” Emily asked her friend 

Vincent. 

“No,” he replied. “It sounds scary.” 

“Apparently,” she continued, “it got lost in a tomb thousands of years ago!” 

Tom, another Scout, dared Vincent to go inside the castle to find the diamond. “No 

way!” Cried Vincent, “I’m not stupid! Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie? Splitting up 

is how someone dies!” 

“Let’s all go together,” suggested Emily. “Unless you’re too scared.” 

Vincent looked up and saw the rundown castle. They could hear the wind whistling 

through the cracked bricks and creaking rafters. It blew through the broken boarded 

windows. 

Tom grabbed Vincent and dramatically pulled him by the neckerchief into the castle. 

Vincent let out a little scream. 

“Stop being such a sour puss!” Said Tom. Suddenly, the door swung shut behind them. 

They tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. 

Emily was also rattling the door, trying to open it from the outside. She was about to 

barge through the door when she heard a rustling from behind her. 

The blue sky was quickly blocked by dark black clouds, and lightning erupted from the 

sky. In the flash of lighting, Emily saw the dark shape of a pig, with one red eye. 

She had heard a legend before about a pig emerging from the lake, and she tried to 

remember as much as she could. 

She heard the boys shouting from the other side of the door. 

“Stop praying, we’re the ones stuck in here!” 

“What are you talking about?” Replied Emily. “I’m not praying…” 

The boys suddenly stopped shouting. 

“If you’re not praying, then who is?” They said. 

Before Emily could answer, she heard a scream from the other side of the door. 

Illustration by William Robin Conway 



“HELLO?!” She shouted. “Are you there?” But there was no answer… 

Suddenly, a flash came down upon her. She felt her hair stand up on end. 

She saw the pig with the red eye. It was just staring at her. 

It started to charge towards her. As it ran, it started to rise up onto two legs. Its body 

began to grow longer, it’s black fur slowly turning into brown robes. Its curly tail 

disappeared. 

She saw the shape of a holy figure. Emily started to wail, and suddenly a cloud of smoke 

wiped the figure away. Its grin had pierced her soul. 

“Don’t be chickens,” said Emily. She could see that Tom was the one terrified now. 

“You were the one who called me a sourpuss earlier!” Said Vincent. “And now you’re the 

one who is scared!” 

They all heard a bang at the door, and slowly turned their heads towards it. The door 

began to slowly creak open. Emily Tom and Vincent stood staring at what was behind 

the door. A creepy, raspy squeaky voice echoed into the room. 

“May the Father be with you…” 

She felt faint. She stumbled backwards and felt herself bump into something. 

“It’s the pig!” she thought, but when she turned around, it was a sign, on two poles. It 

was a sign about the Castle. 

Their scout leader had spoken about it before and she wasn’t bothered, but now she was 

very interested. Legend said there was a church at the bottom of the lake. 

She read that it used to be a huge hollow in the hills, but it flooded many years ago. The 

church used to be on higher ground, but it mysteriously sank down into the ground, and 

the rain and rivers flooded it into the lake it is today. 

Legend says the Hope Diamond is the key to this church, where the Hope family kept all 

their valuables, jewels, goods treasures, and secrets. 

It also read that the Hope Diamond was in the Hope castle, buried somewhere, marked 

with an “X”. 

Emily took her pocketknife out from her coat and used it to cut one of the boards 

covering one of the windows. 

She pushed the board really hard, and it disappeared under her hands. She tumbled 

through the window and rolled into the old kitchen of the castle. 

She looked back at the window and saw the red eye of the pig once again, looking back 

at her. Out of nowhere, the window board reappeared, trapping her in the castle. 

She started looking for a light switch. She found a long pull-string hanging from the 

ceiling. She gave it a yank, and suddenly the lights flickered to life. 

She suddenly spotted Tom and Vincent, right here in front of her, frozen in fear. Tom 

screamed in fright at the sudden light. 



Max’s Terrifying Adventure 

Castleblayney Beavers 

Tuesday’s Troubles 

1st Mountnorris Rangers, Mountnorris 

It was the very middle of the night. A giant red moon hung in the sky, looking like it 

was covered in blood. It was raining and the rain looked red in the light from the moon. 

Max stood in front of Hope Castle, which he was afraid of. He was afraid of lots of 

things, but the bullies had told him to go there tonight, or else. 

The wind was rustling the leaves. The castle looked red in the light. It looked like it was 

on fire again. Down the hill, he could see the playground. The swings were moving even 

though there was no one there. The ground felt creaky under his feet as he went into the 

castle. It felt like the floor was stretching underneath him. The door closed behind him. 

He put his hand to his mouth and gasped. He tried to open it, but it was locked. It was 

dark inside the castle but the fire in the fireplace was lit. He could taste the smoke. 

There were pumpkins around, carved into little faces, with candles inside. The shadows 

moved in weird ways. There were bats scuttling and flying around. Max could hear 

them squeaking. The stairs were gone. There were only three left and one more rotten 

and on its side. Max was scared that a wall might fall on him. 

Suddenly, Max saw someone in the room. It looked like a ghost, but with glowing red 

eyes, pointy teeth and skeleton hands. He pinched himself and rubbed his eyes to check 

it wasn’t only in his imagination. 

Max ran away, closing the door. He could see the figure on the other side of the door. A 

voice came through the hole. 

“Wait,” said the figure, “It’s just a costume. Or it used to be a costume.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I put on this costume thousands of years ago, before the castle burned down. But then I 

got stuck and now this is me. It’s a curse. And now everyone is frightened of me.” 

Max didn’t know what to say. He still felt frightened. 

“My name is Junior,” said the figure. His voice sounded so sad. 

Tuesday is practising volleyball with her friends. She 

is wearing pink. She is playing in the sports hall in 

Markethill in her high school. 

Someone is watching Tuesday. 

The ghost of an owl comes flying in and lands on her to 

get her attention. Tuesday screams, “What’s wrong?!” 

The owl is trying to tell her a man is here and watching 

her. He has a moustache and is wearing a black hoodie. 

Tuesday looks around. The owl flaps its wings, the wind 

turning her around in the direction of the man. She is 

discombobulated. 

Tuesday’s friend Matilda is here. Matilda is tall, with 

hair as dark as the night’s sky and eyes as blue and 

serene as the ocean. 

Tuesday says, “Look over there, there is a man.” He 

disappears around the corner. 

Matilda says, “Am I dreaming?” Tuesday goes in the 

direction of where the man is and shouts at the man. 

Matilda says, “Don’t go any further.” 

The ghost of the owl hides in the bag of volley balls. 

Tuesday picks up a volleyball and goes after the man. 

Matilda goes to get the principal. Tuesday sprints after 

the man with the volleyball under her arm. She is going 

to chuck it at him, but he ran off into the trees… 

“My name is Max,” said Max. 

“The castle is haunted and I got stuck,” said Junior. 

Illustrations by Helen Nicholl 

Max wanted to be brave. “I’ll help you,” he said… 

Illustration by Ruairi Brogan 



The Cinema and the Storm 

Castleblayney Cubs 

Chloe and the Lost Souls 

Carrick Beavers (Monday group) 

It was midnight on a stormy Hallowe’en night. The storm had knocked out the power 

and the town was in darkness. Everyone was inside sleeping. 

Jack was walking around the town, looking for somewhere to go. He went towards the 

old cinema. People said it was haunted, but Jack didn’t pay any attention to that. He just 

wanted somewhere to stay dry. 

He went into the cinema and the door slammed shut behind him. He could smell 

popcorn, along with a disgusting rotten smell. There was electricity zapping in the 

cinema, but the lights were still off. He could see a broken wire hanging down with 

sparks coming off it. 

He went into the cinema screen and saw there were people in every seat. They turned 

towards him exactly in sync and smiled blankly at him. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. 

He realised everyone on the screen was looking at him too. 

“Hello, Jack,” they said in unison. “We’ve been expecting you.” Their voices were shrill 

and creaky. The sound of a creepy children’s nursery rhyme echoed through the room. 

The person standing in the centre of the crowd on screen clicked their fingers, and the 

door to the auditorium swung shut. Jack ran to the door, but the door wouldn’t open. 

The people sitting in the cinema got to their feet and limped jerkily towards Jack. There 

were purple sparks flying from a man’s fingers and as they reached the people in the 

auditorium, they transformed into horrible monsters. 

Jack realised a hole in the wall. He pulled at the hole, hoping to find a way out. As he 

turned back to look at the man, he had a sudden flashback to his wife’s death. For a 

second, he could picture his wife and the kids they hoped they’d have. 

He was worried that he might be next. He felt woozy, as if he was going to faint. He 

gathered all his strength and ran and found a secret door. He hoped it would be a way 

out, but as the floor fell out from under him, he realised he’d run into a trap. 

He could hear shuffling footsteps coming behind him and a voice saying “You haven’t 

defeated me yet…” 

It was Friday 13th October. The sun was 

going down and it was starting to get dark. 

Chloe was standing in the graveyard of St 

Joseph’s church, visiting her grandad’s 

grave. It got even darker as clouds covered 

the sky and it started to rain. Thunder and 

lightning rumbled in the air. 

Chloe looked down and saw a skeleton 

crawling out of her grandad’s grave. Her 

heart gave a huge thump. She felt herself 

get very, very hot and then very, very cold. 

She felt frozen. Then she screamed and ran 

away. 

She was so frightened that she didn’t really 

look where she was going and ran into the 

church. When she got inside, the doors 

slammed closed behind her. She suddenly 

felt as though someone was watching her. 

She turned around and saw a white figure 

coming towards her. It was wearing a long, 

white cloak and she couldn’t see its face – 

only its glowing white eyes. 

She ran away and tried to hide behind the altar. She picked up a candle and waved it at 

the figure, trying to frighten it away. But the figure had a sword. A huge, purple sword. 

She climbed up to where the choir normally practised and played the keyboard to try and 

scare the ghost. But the ghost wasn’t scared. 

Suddenly, all of the lights went out. The church was completely dark. She followed to 

a door with an old rusty key sticking out of it. Chloe went through the door, hoping 

she had found a way out, but when she got outside, she found herself surrounded by 

skeletons. The skeleton pointed a bony finger at her. 

“Now the only place for you to go is down with your grandad…” 

Illustration by Despina Rangou 



The Christmas Eve Disaster 

Carrick Beavers (Tuesday group) 

It was a dark Christmas Eve. There were so many stormy clouds in the sky that it looked 

like there might be a tornado. Jimmy was in Apache Pizza, waiting for some pizza and 

chips. He needed to go to the toilet, so he walked down the corridor. The lights in the 

corridor were flickering, making strange clicky sounds, and it was dark. The floorboards 

creaked under Jimmy’s feet. Suddenly, they gave way and he fell through them into a 

secret basement. 

The walls of the basement were covered in bars and chains. The floor was sticky, and 

Jimmy realised there was a body in front of him. His knees went wobbly and he fell to 

the ground, scrambling backwards. He bumped into something and turned to look. He 

screamed. 

A week ago, Jimmy had lost his golden retriever, Max. The thing he bumped into looked 

a bit like Max, but it looked all wrong. Jimmy could see bones. He turned his head and 

saw a monster coming towards him. It was dark and shadowy. It looked sort of like a 

creepy doll, with big horns on its head. Jimmy’s brain was all muddled, he didn’t know 

what he was seeing. 

“I don’t believe it,” he said, “It’s…it’s…it’s a real monster!” 

Skeleton Max jumped in front of Jimmy and bit the monster’s leg. Jimmy thought this 

might be his chance to get away. He ran towards a door he could see but when he opened 

it, it was only a cupboard. There was a head inside. The head grinned at Jimmy. 

“I’m going to eat you!” it said. Its voice was growly, as if it had swallowed stones. 

Jimmy could hear the monster coming towards him again. 

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” it called. 

Jimmy spotted a sewer grate in the floor and climbed inside. The pipe smelled foul and 

oniony. The ground was squishy under his hands. Jimmy tried to stand up, but it was 

too slippery, and he fell forwards with a SPLAT! 

The monster didn’t see him lying on the ground and ran past. Jimmy got to his feet. He 

felt something brush his leg and looked down. It was Skeleton Max. He wagged his bony 

tail. Jimmy decided they should go home. He didn’t feel like pizza anymore. 

Illustration by Ben Claxton 



Oakley and the Goblin 

The Cabin Club, Drumcree Community Trust, Armagh 

Outside Drumcree Community Centre in Portadown there was a tree called Oakley and he 

was sad. 

He had spent all day on his own and had no friends. He had lost all his leaves, felt very 

bare and it was ice cold. 

Suddenly, out of the quiet, he heard laughing and talking as the children came back to 

their youth club from a winter walk. A few boys and girls approached him and started to 

roughly climb on Oakley’s branches and kick him and he couldn’t hold it in anymore. 

“Get off me!” he screeched. 

The children jumped back in shock. 

“Did you hear something?” 

“Did that tree just speak?” 

Oakley shook and the children screamed. Out of nowhere a purple sparkly shadow flew 

through the branches of the tree. 

“Is it bird, is it a plane, is it a balloon?” The children asked as they followed the 

purple streak. 

“Excuse me,” said a gruff, raspy voice, “Do I look like a balloon to you?” 

Out from the darkness, a creature appeared and she had her hands on her hips and was 

wearing a purple dress. She had horns and hair all over her body. She had a wrinkly face 

with warts and a big, hooked nose. 

The children ran and hid behind a bush. 

Oakley sighed with relief when they left and said, “Why were those children getting up 

in my roots?’ 

“Well, you were loud enough,” the strange creature said. “The fairies told me they could 

hear you from a mile away!” 

“Who said that?” Oakley looked all around, twisting his trunk. 

‘My name is Agnes. I’ve been sent on a quest to save you Oakley. The fairy queen wanted 

me to see you because she knows that you have a wish.” 

“My dearest wish is to feel happy and included with friends. A bird flew past and 

dropped an acorn on the grass beside me and it made me realise how lonely I am. I 

tower over everything but never get to be part of anything.” 

The children heard what Oakley said and felt sorry for him. 

Agnes overheard them whispering and even though she was quite scary the children 

came out and looked at her as they were curious. 

“You are all here two nights a week and instead of climbing all over Oakley, why don’t 

you talk to him? Did you know that trees love hugs?” 

One by one the children stepped forward and put their hands on Oakley. As soon as he 

felt their touch luscious green leaves started to sprout. It was the first time that the 

children noticed his brown bark face. They saw him smile and felt the branches move 

around their shoulders. 

At that moment rap music started to play in the distance and in a puff of smoke there 

appeared a lovely fairy. She had long blonde hair, was wearing a rainbow ball gown and 

was carrying a staff with a gemstone on the top. 

With a flourish, she said grandly, “It is I, Brianna, and I am the goddess of the River 

Bann and I am here to transform Agnes into the princess she once was!” 

Turning to Agnes she said, “You have shown kindness to Oakley and I am going to do 

the same for you.” 

Brianna banged her staff on the ground and a bright light appeared and from that 

emerged a beautiful princess with a purple sparkly dress and a tiara. 

“I was turned into a goblin for making mean comments and not being a good friend. 

I’ve learnt an important lesson now,” Princess Agnes said. 

As the parents picked their children up and the youth leaders waved them off, Oakley 

stood proud and tall and looked forward to the next night. Even the little acorn was 

smiling. 

The children texted each other on snapchat, and one messaged the others and said, “You 

should never judge a book by its cover!” 



Jacob 

Give & Take Project, Include Youth, Armagh 

Jacob was in the gym hall during PE, playing dodge ball. As 

he got put out, a staff member came to speak to him. 

“There’s a call for you in the office,” Mrs Jones told him 

with a sorrowful expression. 

“Okay, let me grab my stuff.” 

In the office, he picked up the phone and it was the police. 

“We have some sad news for you. Can you come home? It’s 

about your mum.” 

There was a pause for a second. Jacob said, “What’s going 

on?” 

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything over the phone.” 

“Fine. I’ll be there right away,” he said in frustration. 

He rang his Auntie Louise. “Can you come and get me 

quickly? I’ll explain more when I see you.” Louise got off 

the phone in a blind panic and drove to the school as fast as 

she could. 

Suddenly Jacob saw his father arrive in a white van and he looked to be in just as much 

shock as Jacob. Mr Rodriguez looked worried to see the police there. Jacob gave his 

father a dirty look, but Mr Rodriguez ignored this as there were police around and he 

was on his best behaviour. 

With a caring heart, Louise followed him shouting his name and telling him to stop. 

Eventually he stopped and waited for her to catch up. 

“Are you alright, Jacob?” 

“What do you think?” he stuttered. 

“Do you want to go for a drive?” 

As they walked back to the car Jacob saw his father and shoved him and said, “This is all 

your fault!” 

“What do you mean?” 

Mr Rodriguez started to flap around. He ran towards one of the police cars and hopped 

in seeing the keys still in the ignition. As he started up the car in a rush the police ran 

over and pulled him out. 

A policeman came over and asked Jacob, “Where are you going to stay tonight?” His 

auntie stepped forward and said, “He can stay with me.” 

Jacob was waiting outside and saw his auntie pulling up. He 

jumped into the front seat and told her about the phone call 

and asked if she knew anything about his mum. 

“I know nothing,” said Louise, in shock. 

“I don’t believe you,” Jacob said angrily. There was silence 

for the rest of the journey. 

Louise swerved up to the house and saw police cars parked 

outside. Jacob jumped out and slammed the door and ran 

underneath the police tape that was around the scene. Two 

policemen were standing at the front door and told him he 

wasn’t allowed in. 

Jacob pushed forward shouting, “Let me see my mum.” 

“Sorry, son. You can’t.” 


Tracy Zitnik 



Winter’s Eve 

Youthreach, Castleblayney 

It was a cold winter’s eve, going towards the night. Bitter frost bit the back of my neck 

and my fingers. 

Tyrese stood looking up at the castle, watching the last of the day’s lights glint on the 

broken glass. He could feel the cold air on his fresh new fade. He thought it would be an 

amazing place to throw a Hallowe’en party. 

Sabrina stood a little away from him, deciding how she would make her entrance. She 

felt flustered, her cheeks were pink. She called out Tyrese’s name. Tyrese jumped, 

peering into the dark. He was worried he was going to get jumped, so he ran into the 

castle with a scream. 

Sabrina heard his scream and ran towards the castle door. Goosebumps rose on her 

skin. She was afraid of the dark but put her fear aside. She put her hand on the broken 

wooden door, the charred wood crumbling under her fingertips. With a deep breath, she 

pushed it open. 

When Tyrese saw that it was Sabrina, he thought he would rather it had been a ghost. 

He didn’t say anything, just raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. His gaze fell on the wall 

opposite and Sabrina followed his eyes. 

The smell of spray paint filled their noses. There was a giant red pentagram painted 

on the wall. Tyrese took a step back and stumbled over nothing. Sabrina reached in to 

steady him, and he batted her away. 

Sabrina said, “Let’s go upstairs.” 

They followed the stairs up into a small, dark room. They heard a slam. When they 

turned, the door had shut behind them. Before they could decide what to do, the floor 

fell through beneath them. 

They landed in a basement. Cold water puddled on the floor under their hands. 

Suddenly, a bookcase along the wall started to move. There was a tunnel behind it. A 

strange, whispering sound echoed along the tunnel. Tyrese moved towards it. 

Illustration by Doris Noe 

“I think we should go back upstairs,” said Sabrina nervously. Tyrese looked at her 

suspiciously. 

“Wait, why are you only scared now?” he said. Sabrina gulped. Tyrese pushed past her 

into the tunnel… 



In A Secret, Haunted School 

Rise, Monaghan 

Chapter One 

Libby was in her office. It was a small room with a computer, and she was drinking coffee. The cup 

was warm in one hand. With the other, she was typing up what she was going to say on the news. 

She could hear the bustle of people setting up for the next news report. She could see Jason, her 

cameraman, getting ready. Jason was big, even taller than she was. Some people thought he was 

rude, but Libby thought that people just didn’t understand him sometimes. 

A member of the news crew popped their head into Libby’s office. 

“Libby, remember you’re going out to the old convent school for your report.” 

Libby gave him a thumbs up. She felt nervous about going back to her old school. She remembered 

the harsh punishments the nuns used and how scared she had been of her teacher. But she also felt 

a bit excited to face her fears. There was a weird sensation in her stomach. Her heart was beating 

fast. 

Jason pulled his camera bag onto his shoulder. 

“How was your day?” said Libby. 

“The morning was awful,” said Jason, who worked in a shop on Saturday mornings. 

“We had a new console in the shop and there was a riot.” 

“Oh no,” said Libby, “Maybe the rest of the day will be better.” 

Jason looked into Libby’s blue eyes. The lights in the office made the highlights in her ginger hair 

shine. 

“I hope so,” he said. 

They went to the school. Jason set up his camera, attaching the microphone. They stepped into a 

long, white corridor with doors along both sides. The lights were flickering and buzzing. Libby felt 

empowered as she was facing her fear. 

Jason stepped forward onto a little platform in the ground and it sank under his feet. A sharp 

pendulum swung from the roof towards them. They jumped in fright and got away just in time. As 

the pendulum slowed down, Libby could read the message on it: TURN BACK NOW. 

Chapter Two 

They decided to keep going with their report. A rat dashed across the floor in front of them. Libby 

screamed and grabbed Jason’s arm. Once she saw that it was just a rat, she pushed him away. Jason 

sighed and scowled. 

They headed towards the crooked steps at the end of the corridor. The uneven steps were annoying 

to walk on. They wobbled up the stairs carefully and arrived in a classroom. Libby’s face went pale. 

She started to shake. She could see the figure of a nun. It looked like her old teacher. But that was 

impossible – her teacher was dead. 

The nun was wearing glasses and her face looked decayed. Her eyes were black with white dots in 

the middle. She was standing at her desk, tapping her ruler. Libby recognised the sound. 

Jason and Libby were frozen with fear as the nun slowly turned her head towards them. Suddenly, 

she dashed past them out the door. Libby and Jason looked for somewhere to hide. They went into 

another classroom and ducked under a desk. 

They heard the nun’s voice. “Where are you hiding, child?” Her voice sounded decrepit and croaky. 

She approached the desk they were under and swung her ruler at them. Jason grabbed Libby and 

they both shouted as the ruler came towards them. 

“Get away from us!” 

Libby felt a cold heaviness as the ghostly ruler went through her body. Instead of the pain she 

expected, she felt something like a freezing wind. 

“We have to get out of here!” they agreed. 

They didn’t waste a minute and made a run for the exit. They flew down the crooked stairs, hearing 

the nun shouting behind them. They were both frightened for their lives. Their hearts were racing. 

They squeezed past the pendulum and out of the door. 

Libby looked back at the school. She could see the blank face of the nun behind the door, who 

slowly melted backwards into the shadows. She slapped her ruler into her hand. 

“I always knew you were a scaredy-cat, Libby,” she said in her croaky voice. She cackled and 

disappeared into the dark. 

Libby and Jason caught their breath. They laughed shakily. 

“Oh my goodness,” said Jason, “I caught that all on video.” 

“This is going to be the greatest story in history!” said Libby. She felt blessed. But then they looked 

at each other. 

“Wait,” said Libby, “I don’t think this is a great idea. I think something bad might happen if we 

show that video to anyone.” 

Jason sighed. “I think you’re right.” 

Libby took the camera and pressed the delete button. She’d have to find another story. 



Hope Island 

Class 1A, Castleblayney College 

Long ago in a creepy land on the 31st October, two teenagers, Humphrey and Melissa, 

went missing. One of them was curious, and one of them was afraid. Humphrey would 

be interested in things others wouldn’t. Melissa didn’t like to be around other people. 

Their day started off with Humphrey begging Melissa to go the firework display. Melissa 

didn’t want to go. Humphrey invited Melissa to get an ice cream at McCaughey’s. 

Melissa got strawberry and Humphrey got honeycomb, and they decided to eat them 

while watching the firework display. 

They walked through Barney’s Green, past the burnt-out stables and arrived behind 

Hope Castle. They walked across the bridge to the Black Island. Melissa was staring at 

the water. Humphrey knew that she was bored. They heard the bridge creaking. 

Humphrey spotted a boat at the edge of the island. Humphrey smelled a burning smell 

and they thought they were in a blanket of fog. They both looked up. 

“Do you know why there’s smoke coming off the castle?” said Humphrey. 

“No.” 

“Why does a burnt castle have fire in it?” 

“Because it burned.” 

“I say we go and get a boat to go there.” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because…” 

“It’s a burnt castle, for 

crying out loud!” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“I have asthma.” 

The dark hand 

Class 1M, Castleblaney College 

Humphrey and Melissa heard the rustling 

of a bush moving behind them. They 

looked behind them and no one was there. 

“Ignore it, you’re overthinking,” 

Humphrey said. 

This time Melissa saw the bush rustle and 

saw part of a hooded cape and some lights, 

but Humphrey said, 

“You’re hearing nothing. It’s probably just 

the wind.” 

Somebody had been living around there. They were heartless and secretive. They didn’t 

like to talk about their family because they had fallen out with them. Some people said 

their family didn’t want them. Their mother had died on the lake and was buried on the 

Black Island. When they were younger, they got bullied for years and the anger got to 

them. They wanted to get revenge. 

Melissa finally decided to get into the boat to get away from the noises. Little did they 

know that disaster was about to strike. The boat started to sink. They tried to patch it up 

with their jumper. The unknown person had entered the water. 

A hand grabbed Melissa’s leg and she was dragged into the water. Humphrey was scared 

he might be next. 

Humphrey reached into the water. He took the attacker’s hand and pulled them into the 

boat, leaving Melissa... 

“I have asthma and I’m 

still going.” 


Illustrations by Katya Buryakova 


The Chase 

Y10EG, Y10JH & Y10LN, Tandragee High School 

Leo & Bella 

JCSP, Our Ladies Secondary School, Castleblayney 

It was a dark and stormy night in Portadown. Albert was swimming in the Bann, as he 

usually did every morning at 8am. He had been busy that morning. Everything seemed 

normal but Albert felt empty. It had been two weeks since he had seen his dog, Gerry. 

I heard him yelping in the yard and when I ran out there was nothing. No struggle, just 

nothing. Albert heard a bark that interrupted his thoughts. He got out of the river to go 

and investigate. 

Albert headed towards the bridge. He had heard rumours that people disappeared there. 

Vanished without a trace … 

Albert looked up. On top of the bridge was his friend Mo’s lorry. It was red and white 

with a grey trailer. There was no sign of Mo. He heard a bark coming from the trailer 

and ran up to see what was happening. He tried to pull the door up, but it wasn’t 

budging. 

“Gerry!” shouted Albert, and he heard another bark. He heard running footsteps echoing 

in the distance and the dog barks got quieter and further away. 

Albert took out his phone and turned his flashlight see what was going on, but it didn’t 

turn on. He decided to look in the van for a charger. He ran to the door and pulled the 

handle, but it was locked. He peered through the window. Sitting on the driver seat was 

a coupon from Rumbles. 

It was an advert for a hotdog, but it was a photo of his dog. 

‘Come to Rumbles NOW’ was written is black ink under the picture… 

Leo was in the Cosy. He was drinking a coke and had a plate of pancakes in front of him, 

and an order of chicken goujons and chips. It was nice and warm in the Cosy, and his 

chair was comfy. 

Bella was sitting in the Cosy, too. She was eating a pizza. Leo looked over at her. Bella 

moved over to join Leo’s table. He started to feel butterflies. His heart was beating really 

fast. His face started to get pink. He was nervous. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, “What’s your name?” 

“I’m Bella.” 

“I’m Leo. Would you like to go for dinner with me? We could go to the Shirley Arms or 

the Glencarn.” 

Bella jumped up and down. Her heart was beating fast. She felt a little nervous. 

“Yeah, I would like to go for dinner with you. Let’s go to the Shirley Arms.” 

They smiled at each other shyly. They were really happy. Bella reached across and 

started to eat Leo’s chicken goujons. That made Leo feel sad. 

Leo said. “Well, I’ll see you later, where would you like to meet?” 

“Let’s meet in the park.” 

In the park, Leo could see water. He could see the swings. He sat down on the bench. He 

could hear people playing. He could smell water. 

When she arrived, Leo gave Bella a flower. 



Jamie’s New Friend 

Our Ladies Secondary School, Castleblayney 

Chapter One - Class 1B 

Jamie was in Lidl. He stood by the deli, waiting for his 

friend to arrive. The sugary sweet smell of the bakery 

tickled his nose and the back of his throat. He could hear 

the beep of the supermarket scanners, the crash of the cash 

register. 

He had planned to get some chicken so they could have a 

picnic. Then he remembered he was saving his money to 

buy a car. The chef turned his back for a second and Jamie 

reached out and grabbed a piece of chicken. 

He felt an ache in his stomach. His heart pounded. 

Adrenaline ran through his veins. 

“I’ve gotten away with it,” he thought. He was so happy 

that he had a piece of chicken to celebrate, realising too late 

that it meant he once again had nothing for the picnic. 

Britney had been standing in the candy aisle of Lidl, looking 

for Kool-Aid. But they didn’t have any, so she picked up 

some Prime instead. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw 

Jamie standing by the deli. He was her sister’s friend. Her 

sister had said she would be hanging out with him, but 

Britney couldn’t see her. She felt suspicious. She saw him 

reach out and steal a piece of chicken and followed him out. 

“I saw you!” she yelled, “I saw you steal the chicken and 

I’m going to tell!” 

Jamie felt scared, and also a little annoyed. 

“Don’t,” he said, “But you can come along to our picnic if 

you want.” 

He heard familiar laughter behind him and realised it was Karen. 

“It’s only a joke,” she said, sliding into the seat beside him. 

“Forget the park, I know a great place for a picnic.” 

Britney said, “You’re not leaving without me” and jumped into the drivers’ seat. She 

could barely see over the steering wheel, but she put the car in gear. 

As Britney drove out of the car park, a racoon leapt on the windscreen. Jamie and Karen 

suddenly realised who was driving the car. 

Chapter Two - Class 1C 

The car freewheeled into the side of an abandoned petrol station. The pumps were rusty 

and had dried up, but the stale smell of petrol hung in the air. Rats scuttled between the 

broken bottles covering the ground. The car spun in doughnuts. 

Jamie and Karen got out of the car, Jamie aiming a kick at Britney. Karen was horrified. 

They heard the tinkle of a bell and saw a shape emerge from the abandoned shop. It was 

a man wearing tattered overalls and a cap. 

“What are you doing?” he shouted, “Why are you here?” 

He took his long brush and started to sweep. As he brushed, the handle of his brush got 

stuck under his chin and revealed that his face was a mask. Out of the shadows came the 

chef that Jamie had stolen the chicken from. 

Jamie and Britney left Aldi and looked around for Karen, 

Jamie’s friend. They couldn’t see her, but they headed 

towards Jamie’s car. Jamie slid into the front seat and saw 

something move behind him. He panicked. 



Cascades 

St John the Baptist’s College, Portadown 

Chapter 1: What Lies in the Deep - Class 9A 

It all started ten years ago when the boy called James drowned in Cascades swimming pool. He had 

been trapped there ever since. There was an eerie ominous feeling in the air. James felt lonely and 

isolated. Darkness painted the building, and the only light was coming for the moon. 

James had slipped and fallen into the deep end of the pool, and ever since, that end has been a black 

hole. His friends had tricked him to go to the pool at night and forever more, the evil lies had covered 

the truth and he sought revenge. 

“Are you ever going to forgive me?” asked Anton, the ghost of a lifeguard. 

“Why did you push me in?” replied James. 

“I told you a thousand times, I slipped,” said Anton. 

“I much prefer the pool empty,” said James. 

Suddenly, there was the sound of jeering outside. It echoed throughout the empty pool. James 

recognised the croaky voices that had tricked him into the pool. Anger filled James’ body. Now was the 

time for revenge… 

Chapter 2: Horror at Gilbin’s Lane - Class 10A 

Chapter 3: The Third Alleyway - Class 9C 

Meanwhile, Detective Jam was standing in the Third Alleyway in the Ballyoran Estate. It was 8 

o’clock on a very windy night on a very windy and spooky night. The detective was sitting on a wall 

covered in colourful graffiti. 

Detective Chloe handed Jam a yellow folder with the details of the missing children. 

“There’s another three gone,” said Detective Chloe. 

“That’s it, I’m going on the hunt,” said Jam. 

He stood up and heard a strange rattling noise at the other end of the alleyway. Some rats had 

scattered rubbish. 

“I hate it here,” said Jam. 

“The three children are missing at the abandoned house at Gilbin’s Lane,” said Chloe. 

Detective Jam sprinted to his motorbike. He hopped on the bike and flew off in the direction of 

Gilbin’s Lane. There were large potholes and he nearly fell off. It had started to rain harder. 

“It looks like a storm is coming,” Jam said to himself. 

The headlight of his motorbike shone like a torch on the abandoned house. In the distance he heard 

screaming. 

Detective Jam kicked down the front door and ran into the house. Ava and Ross were tied up in the 

middle of the room. Immediately, he recognised his son’s friends. “It’s OK, kids, I’ve got you.” 

“The door is locked!” said Ross. 

“OK then, let’s go to Gilbin’s Lane instead,” replied Steven. 

James decided to follow them. He couldn’t let them get away. They arrived at the abandoned house on 

Gilbin’s Lane. The house was once a large family home. It was a horribly haunted house. The paint was 

peeling of the walls. There was water dripping from the roof. The grass was knee high and covered in 

weeds. 

They trudged over the cornfield and through the battered rusty gate to the front door. They clambered 

in through an open window and into the living room. It had an ashy crumbling fireplace. 

“What was that noise?” asked Ross. “It sounded like a scream.” 

“This isn’t a good idea,” said Ava. 

“Don’t be so boring,” sneered Steven, “I’m going to investigate.” 

Steven disappeared down the corridor leaving Ava and Ross in the room. Ava shivered as a cold breeze 

entered the room… 


Illustration by Alexander McCormick 


Samantha’s Nightmare 

Transition Year, Beech Hill College 

Chapter One 

The sun was shining in the park. Samantha could hear the birds singing as the sun lightly heated 

her hair. There were dogs playing on the grass. She was sitting on the bank under a tree. 

Samantha heard a shout and turned to look. There was a girl standing in the shadows by the trees. 

She could see the shape of her chunky Doc Martens. The flame of a lighter lit up her face. Samantha 

stayed awkwardly on her bench. The atmosphere was tense. 

The girl walked over. “Why haven’t I seen you before?” 

Samantha’s stomach clenched and her heart was beating in her chest like the wings of a bird. Her 

brain overloaded with anxious thoughts. 

“I just moved into town.” 

The girl gestured at the book in Samantha’s hands. 

“Are you interested in that sort of stuff then?” 

Samantha turned over the book in her hands. The Conjuring. A red door was visible on the cover. 

She looked back up at the girl. She was as pale as corpse, with long dark hair falling around her 

face. Samantha felt her shoulders drop and her jaw unclench. She felt relieved to know that she 

wasn’t weird. 

“Yeah, I am. I’m Samantha by the way.” 

“I’m Deborah. Have you seen the inside of the cathedral yet?” 

Samantha felt a cold finger running down her spine. 

“I just got a chill.” 

Deborah frowned. “I don’t feel anything.” 

Samantha shrugged it off. “No, I haven’t been in yet.” She turned and looked at the imposing 

building behind her. St Macartan’s Cathedral. The main turret was crumbling, surrounded by 

scaffolding. 

Samantha felt as though someone was watching her. She looked across the front of the building 

until her eyes met with the hideous face of a gargoyle. She shifted her weight on the bench, the 

leaves crunching under her feet. 

Deborah moved over to the door of the cathedral. Samantha hung back. 

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” said Samantha. 

“I come here all the time, it’s fine,” said Deborah. 

Samantha’s shoulders were back up around her ears. Cold sweat dripped down her forehead. She 

took a deep breath and followed Deborah into the cathedral. 

Chapter Two 

It was dark inside the cathedral, and dusty. Samantha could smell the candles, undercut with the 

scent of mould. The organ rumbled into life, filling the cathedral with music. Samantha started to 

walk towards the organ. As she turned the corner, she stopped. There was no one there. 

A door at the other side of the organ crashed open. Samantha’s stomach dropped, and she froze. 

A man emerged. At first, Samantha thought he was tiny but then she realised that it was just that 

he was so hunched over. He looked like one of the gargoyles. An enormous set of keys jangled on 

his belt. 

“Get out!” 

Samantha frowned. “I thought you were allowed to come into churches?” 

“Certainly not the likes of you,” he said. 

A stab of fear pierced Samantha’s middle. Deborah appeared by her side. 

“Don’t worry,” said Deborah, “I thought this might happen, so I opened a window. It’s better at 

night anyway.” 

The lights in the cathedral were turned off, offering no respite from the dark skies. The gargoyle 

that Samantha had laughed at earlier didn’t seem so funny now. His grin now appeared pained. She 

didn’t want to take her eyes off of it, for fear that it would move. 

A flash of something bright caught her eyes. Her heart thudded as two eyes came into focus. She 

put a hand to her chest. It was only a cat. A black cat, winding its way through the gravestones in 

the cemetery. 



Chapter Three 

Deborah beckoned Samantha to the window she had opened. Samantha’s stomach curled up. Her 

breathing quickened. She weas scared, but she was more curious than she was scared. She thought of 

her mum, of how religious she had been when she was alive. Samantha thought that if she was going 

to speak to her again, it might be somewhere like this. 

Clutching the necklace her mum gave her, she cautiously climbed through the window. The smell of 

the burned candles reached Samantha. She could hear a door creaking somewhere. 

Suddenly, a candle lit at the top of the altar. Samantha jumped and grabbed for Deborah’s arm. 

“That was probably just a coincidence,” said Samantha. 

Deborah felt something land on her. She screamed and tore away from Samantha, running into the 

dark. 

“Wait!” shouted Samantha, “It’s just a cat!” 

But Deborah was already gone. 

Samantha turned as something moved in one of the pews. She recognised the shape of her father. He 

stumbled against the pew. She felt terrified but took a step towards him anyway. 

Another shape emerged from behind her father. Her eyes filled with tears. It was her mother. 

Deborah found herself in the priest’s office. She was terrified because she was alone. She hated being 

alone. She suddenly felt like she was seven years old, surrounded by the school bullies. She could 

see them, could hear their taunts about her family. They started to change as she looked at them, 

morphing into Samantha, yelling the same taunts. When she was little, she had been too scared to fight 

back. But now she could. 

Samantha could see her father’s face. But he looked strange. He almost looked like a completely 

different person. He almost looked like Deborah. 

“What are you doing?” came a voice from behind Samantha. 

She spun around, her heart beating fast. She struggled to catch her breath. 

“I’m…” 

She stopped. There was no one else there. Her dad, her mum, Deborah. They were all gone. 


Illustration by Anastasia Ní Riabhaighers 


The Maid Mare 

Newtownhamilton High School 

Chapter 1: He’s Back - Year 9 

It was one Saturday in late October. It was a cold dry day and just starting to get dark. 

There he was, standing in the shadows. Shiniqua blinked and he was gone again. 

Although it was only for a split second, she knew it was him because of his distinctive 

appearance. He was scruffy and wearing his black hoody. 

Shiniqua’s heart was beating like a drum, her palms were sweaty, and her breathing was 

rapid. 

“Leave me alone!” Shiniqua cried out to the empty street. 

She put her head down and cycled fast all the way home. When she got there, she 

immediately locked the door behind her. She caught her breath and began to close all the 

curtains. A shadow swiftly moved across the window… 

Chapter 2: The Truth - Year 10 

The maid appeared behind Shiniqua and asked, “Why have you locked the doors?” 

“There’s someone outside the window,” Shiniqua stuttered. 

The maid laughed and said, “Don’t be so silly. I’m away home.” She marched towards 

the front door, opened it, and slammed it behind her. 

Outside, a fog had begun to descend. The maid wrapped her black coat around her and 

put on a black velvet hat. She creeped round the side of the house and glanced behind 

her making sure she wasn’t being followed. There was a loud roar and a quad bike pulled 

up beside her. 

“Be careful next time, she almost caught you,” said the maid. 

“There won’t be a next time,” said Wilfred and revved the quad. 

They drove up the creepy, twisty lane towards the bog. There was darkness all around 

except for the beam of the quad lights. The light shone on the windows of a ruined 

house. 

“Let’s go inside and make a plan,” said Wilfred. 

Meanwhile, Shiniqua was in her bed hiding under her duvet when her phone dinged with 

a new headline: 

“DANGER! Woman suspected of husband’s murder. Any information – call 0900 300300. 

Possible Reward.” 

Shiniqua gasped as she looked at the picture. She had to look twice because she was so 

shocked. The picture was of her maid… 

Chapter 3: The Reckoning - Year 12 

“It couldn’t be!” Shiniqua said to herself. 

Her mind raced. She looked below to see the picture of the husband. He was slim and 

tall and called Nick. Shiniqua’s jaw dropped. A flicker of recognition flashed across her 

brain. She raced to the study to find the family documents in a box. 

Shiniqua’s sister Amber, who was downstairs in the kitchen, heard all the commotion 

upstairs. She dashed up the stairs and burst into the study to see what the commotion 

was. 

“It’s … Nick,” Shiniqua stuttered. 

Amber looked confused and her jaw dropped also looking at the picture of Nick. 

Shiniqua continued, “Our maid is suspected of murdering cousin Nick.” 

Shiniqua’s mind raced. She heard a howl coming from outside and a piercing scream of 

“Help!” from the distance. Her heart dropped as she cautiously approached the door. 

There was lightning and thunder. Every bone in her body was shaking but she knew that 

she had to go to the forest. The howl and the “Help!” were luring her there. 

Meanwhile, Amber was looking further and further through the old family letters. Her 

face went pale and she was paralysed in shock. 

She found a document that showed that Shiniqua was in fact not her sister and the 

family mansion indeed belonged to her. 



Forest of Fear 

Chapter 1 - St. Patrick’s High School, Keady 

It is a cold frosty early morning. The sun is hiding behind trees. It is dead silent. 

Conor is on the bus on his way to Tayto Park and is sitting by himself. He’s counting down the 

minutes to lunch. Jessica sits down beside him. His stomach drops and his throat closes up. 

Jessica feels sorry for him. She tries to start a conversation. 

“Are you all right?” 

He blanks her. 

Suddenly the bus starts jolting. The air smells of diesel. They can see black smoke coming from the 

front of the bus. The bus comes to a stop and there is an eerie silence. They can’t breathe because of 

the fumes, so they get off and find themselves at Creggan Graveyard. 

The shadows of the trees fall across the graveyard and it feels like the sun is avoiding it. There is 

fog on the ground. 

“I wonder what happened to the sandwich in my bag,” Conor thinks to himself. 

All they can see is the cracked old gravestones peeking out of the fog. They look like they’d been 

through a lot. They can hear the water running in the river. On the outskirts of the graveyard, they 

can see overgrown trees and bushes. 

The teacher is taking attendance but they can’t find one of the people. It’s Jessica. 

Conor clambers through the weeds and reaches the holey steps of the porch. As he steps up onto the 

porch, it collapses. He falls through the porch, trapping his foot. He is stuck. He hears something in 

the house. A distant scream. He panics. 

“How do I get out?” he thinks to himself. 

His adrenaline starts. He breathes heavily. He feels lightheaded. His survival instincts kick in and 

he steadies himself. He tugs himself out of the hole. He goes inside the house and the door slams 

behind him. He kicks the door to see if it will open. It makes no difference. 

In the shadows, he thinks he sees a figure. He calls Jessica’s name. He hears footsteps. He walks 

towards the figure and realises it’s a skeleton. He is frozen with fear for a couple of seconds. Then 

he walks backward from the skeleton, keeping his eye on it. He bumps into something. 

“BOO!” comes a voice from behind him. 

He jumps and starts running. He hears laughter behind him. 

The voice comes again. “Conor, it’s me – Jessica!” 

She is bent over, slapping her knees as she laughs. Conor feels annoyed, but then he sees the joke 

and calms down. 

“Come look at this,” Jessica says. 

Chapter 2 - Inver College, Carrickmacross 

Conor sees an open gate out the corner of his eye. There are some steps leading from the gate into 

the forest. Conor thinks maybe Jessica has gone down there. 

He walks down the steps slowly and cautiously. He thinks he sees something out the corner of his 

eye – a black cat. He hears leaves rustling and crunching as if someone was walking on them. His 

heart races. He feels more wary. He feels completely alone. Chills run down his spine. 

Through the trees, he sees an abandoned house. He thinks about his lost sandwich and wonders if 

there might be a cooker in the house. Slowly, he walks towards the house. The door to the house 

creaks open, and he thinks Jessica might be in there. 

“I think we should get back to the rest of the group.” 

“Don’t be so boring. I’ll give you my lunch.” 

Conor follows Jessica into the kitchen. Old newspapers are scattered on the island and on the front 

page is a headline in big bold writing 

“Emily ___ is still Missing.” 

The surname was torn out of the paper. Beneath the headline is a photo of the house they are 

standing in it is captioned ‘Emily was allegedly last seen near Dr Allen’s house.’ 

They look through a doorway on the left and see a coffin on the floor… 

The door creaks and sways on its one hinge. The fence around the house is black and rusted, 

covered with moss. The gate is hanging slightly open. He squeezes through. The path is overgrown 

with nettles and long grass. It feels like a wasteland. The house feels like it’s been abandoned for 

100 years. 



Chapter 3 - St. Joseph’s High School, Crossmaglen 

They creep over to the coffin to open it, but it is empty. Their shock makes them short of breath 

and they are a little bit relieved. They hear a bang moving along the walls and curiosity makes 

them decide to follow the sound. The sound leads them back on to the porch. 

The door is now unlocked and easy to open. They carefully tiptoe out onto the porch cautiously 

avoiding the hole. Looking down the hole, they see a black body-bag and some bones scattered on 

the ground. Conor is speechless. They sprint back across the forest. 

“It could have been us next,” thinks Conor while Jessica looks behind as she is running to see if 

anyone is there. 

They are panicking and not thinking straight, accidently running deeper into the forest. As they 

are running, they can see figures out of the corner of their eyes. Jessica falls. Connor runs and 

trips over a rope and falls into an underground cave. Jessica hops over to where Conor fell and 

tries to find him. 

She feels scared and worried for both of them when she cannot see Conor in the cave. 

“Conor! Where are you?!” she shouts. It echoes through the cave. “This isn’t funny!” 

“I’m in here!” Conor shouts back. 

As Conor tries to climb back up to Jessica, an old, bearded man grabs Conor and tries to pull 

him back in. His clothes are worn and he looks like he has been down there a long time. Conor 

wriggles away – his small size makes him hard to catch and the old man is weak. 

Conor looks for a way out. He sees a ladder. When he gets to the bottom, he realises he’s too short 

to reach it. He calls for Jessica. The old man came after him and Conor tries to climb up on him to 

reach the ladder. 

Jessica finds the rope that Conor tripped over, unties it and throws the end down to him. The rope 

snaps and Conor falls onto the old man. He notices a name tag on his coat: Dr Allen. 

He uses Dr Allen as a springboard to jump and grab the ladder. Jessica and Conor hold onto each 

other and hop slowly towards the bus. As they hop, they can hear Dr Allen screaming. They feel 

exhausted and hungry, and still scared. 

Conor says, “I want that sandwich you promised me.” 

As they reach the graveyard, they see their class getting on a replacement bus. The teacher spots 

them as they leave the forest. They feel haunted. They see Dr Allen through the window of the 

bus. He throws a stone at the bus. The stone pops a tire on the bus and they’re left at the mercy 

of Dr Allen. 

Photography by Lauren Connery 



Chapter 2 - Inver College, Carrickmacross 

It was the year 1847, the year known as ‘Black 47’ – the worst year of the famine. 

Jonesy’s Journey 

Chapter 1 - St. Patrick’s High School, Keady 

Once upon a time, there was a convent in Keady called St. Claire’s. There was a local 

butcher called Jonesy and he would visit the convent every day. Everybody in Keady 

thought that he was an undercover priest, he was so generous. He had a scar of a cross 

on his head. 

It was the year 1880 and the leaves were falling from the trees that surrounded the 

convent. It was cold and dark inside the hallways, holy pictures plastered along their 

walls. It was eerie. 

Mother Superior was short, but she was very tough and intimidating. She walked around 

with her fists clenched. Unusually, Mother superior had almost the exact same scar in 

the exact same place as Jonesy the Butcher. 

There was an old mill underneath the old viaduct in Keady. Jonesy was often seen with a 

horse and cart, slinging a bag over his shoulder, heading towards it. Nobody knew what 

he was doing there, or what was in those sacks. One by one however, the nuns were 

starting to disappear. 

Jonesy was playing outside on a rainy afternoon. His mother had warned him not to go 

near the gates of the Carrickmacross workhouse in case he was mistaken as an orphan. 

If he was, he might never be able to leave the workhouse again. 

One day, Jonsey’s mum caught him trying to climb over the gate of the workhouse. 

With the shock of seeing his mother, he slipped off the gate and hit his forehead on a 

decorative cross that was on the gate. 

He woke up a few days later, in the care of the nuns in St’ Louis’ Convent. The first 

thing he saw, with a pounding pain in his head, was a nun called sister Patricia standing 

over him. Curiously, she had the exact same mark of a cross on her head. Little did 

Jonesy know, Sister Patricia was actually his mother, forced to give him up when she 

joined the nunnery all that time ago. 

Years later, when he was 15, his adopted mother (really his aunt), told him he had to go 

and get a job. He had searched for other jobs but the only place that would take him in 

was Steve, the local butcher. One day, a man came into the butchers, and asked him to 

supply to a new convent, the one in Keady, but warned him not to tell anyone. 

Chapter 3 - St. Josephs High School, Crossmaglen 

In the mid-1880s, Jonesy was travelling through Cross on his horse and Cart. He 

decided to pull into the market. He didn’t want anyone to suspect him; that’s why 

he travelled somewhere else. 

“What are you up to?” asked the curious salesman of the market stall. 

Jonesy became nervous. “Why? It’s none of your business,” he said defensively. 

The man gave Jonesy a dirty look and muttered, “Sorry I asked.” 

Nobody actually knew that Jonesy was just an accomplice to Craig, the head butchers 

in Keady… 



VOLUME III 

• St Columb’s College, Derry 

• St Patrick’s College, Maghera 

• Errigal College, Letterkenny 

• Moville Community College, Moville 

• Mulroy College, Milford 

• Deele College, Raphoe 

• Finn Valley College, Stranorlar 


Derry-Londonderry & Donegal 99

A Haunting at Ballymacool House 

Errigal College, Letterkenny 

Chapter 1 

On a rainy Saturday in Letterkenny, Raven woke up and noticed she hadn’t received a message from 

her friend Alex in 24 hours. This was weird because they had plans to go to Ballymacool House that 

afternoon to go exploring. 

Ballymacool House had been there since 1865 but was destroyed after Home Rule. Some people said 

that the house was haunted. 

Little did Raven know that Alex was already at the house. Alex had received a text from a number 

that was pretending to be Raven. She travelled to Ballymacool House on her bike expecting to see 

her friend. By now it was beginning to get dark. She searched all around the perimeter of the ruins 

but there was no sign of Raven anywhere. 

As Alex turned a corner, she was suddenly hit by something. The last words she heard were “home 

run!” 

Alex woke up, tied to a chair. She could see the shadow of a person – a tall, skinny person with 

broad shoulders. She was petrified and knew she must have been hit with something. 

With a terrified scream Alex shouted “Raven, stop that!” 

The shadowy creature revealed himself. In an ironic tone he said, “I’m just an old friend”. 

Chapter 3 

“Why are you doing this to me?” begged Alex. 

The shadow man answered slowly. “I remember children used to come here to play. But I started 

hearing voices and they sent me away. I tried to be myself, to be kind, to let love in, but people 

didn’t love in return. I became isolated and this is my only space”. 

Alex replied with something that made the shadow man feel like a human being for the first time in 

over 150 years. “I overheard my father talking about what they did to you. There was always a fear 

that you would return. I want to apologise for what happened to you,” she said. 

Now Raven entered the ruins. 

“Who are you?” asked the shadow man. 

“I’m Alex’s friend, Raven. I’m not here to cause any harm. And who are you?” she asked. 

The room fell silent. The shadow man spoke in a low, clear voice. “I’m Alfred Strouss” he said. 

Because he’d been shown kindness by the girls, he could remember who he really was. Raven and 

Alex left Ballymacool House and promised not to return. After that night, no one ever heard or saw 

Alfred again. 

The room fell silent. The shadow man spoke in a low, clear voice. “I’m Alfred Strouss” he said. 

Because he’d been shown kindness by the girls, he could remember who he really was. Raven and 

Alex left Ballymacool House and promised not to return. After that night, no one ever heard or saw 

Alfred again. 

Chapter 2 

The shadow man was in fact a former patient of St. Conal’s Hospital. He had been part of a trial 

where he’d been given medication but one of the ingredients in it had made him immortal. Ever 

since he’d been inhabiting Ballymacool House, which was his childhood home. 

Alex’s great, great grandfather was the doctor who carried out the trial. 

“I’ve been waiting for you for some time. Your family has destroyed my life so now I will destroy 

yours,” said the shadow man. 

Meanwhile, Raven went to Alex’s house. Her parents were surprised to see her. 

“We thought she was with you,” they said. 

Raven did a location check and discovered that Alex was already at Ballymacool house. When she 

arrived, she noticed Alex’s bike sitting outside the house. Her flashlight was on the ground, shining 

into the ruins. 


Illustration by Philip Elliott 


The Crutch-ed Man 

St Columb’s College, Derry 

Chapter 1: Spud Tragedy - Class 8A 

This is a story about a famous Gaelic player. His name is Danny Armstrong and he’s 94 years of age 

but he looks young. Danny is completely bald. When he was younger, he was known for being big 

and bad on the Gaelic pitch. He is 6 foot 7 with big bushy brown beard. 

Danny lives in a broken-down cabin on his potato farm. Part of the farm is on a graveyard. Danny 

broke his leg 3 days before when he was working on the farm. 

“We need to move the ball quicker,” Danny complained to Ciaran. 

They were standing on the side of a pitch watching the county semi-final. 

“I agree,” replied Ciaran, “and by the way, how’s the leg?” he asked Danny. “I bet you wish you 

were out there playing again.” 

“I would be if it wasn’t for this leg,” he said. He stamped his crutch in frustration. 

Suddenly, the full forward knuckle-balled the ball, and it swerved in the air. It swirled past the net 

and walloped Danny on the head. Danny staggered back and collapsed on the ground… 

Chapter 2: Linda’s Creaky Taxi - Class 9B 

A taxi screeched up to the side of the pitch, throwing its tail. 

Danny’s friends brought him into the vehicle. Linda’s taxi skirted away to A&E. 

“Are you all right?” asked Linda. 

“Naw,” Danny replied, “I got hit on the head. 

Where am I?” he asked in confusion. 

“You’ll be in a good place in no time,” said 

Linda. 

“Aye, A&E,” Danny said. 

Linda sped from the Stadium past A&E to the 

Bogside. It was dark and rainy in the Bogside. 

That night, lightning struck through the 

dark. The lightning startled Linda and she 

crashed the car. Linda saw the darkness and 

when she looked in the car, with the flash of 

the lightning, Danny was gone! 

Linda’s purple paint job was off her Ford Fiesta and the car was all crumpled like McCoy’s Crisps. 

Linda grabbed the nearest lamp post with her super strength, and she rolled the crinkle away off 

the bonnet of her car. She tightened the bolts on the wheels and replaced the light on her car with 

the lamp post light. 

Linda pulled open the creaky door of her car, sat in, put the headlights on and revved away from the 

crash scene to the Bogside. 

Suddenly, Linda saw a shadowy figure with crutches. She felt scared. There was a flash of 

lightning, and he was gone again … 

Chapter 3: Baily Bopper - Class 9A 

Meanwhile, Lucy Johnson, the 10 year old singer ran into Block K of the Brandywell. She was 

stopped by a big 6’5” Security guard with a company cap on. 

“Are you lost?” he asked. 

“Help!” she cried, “I’m being chased by an old man on crutches!” 

“Where?” he asked. 

Lucy turned round and the old man had vanished. She turned back towards the security guard who 

was now the old man. 

Lucy fell back in shock and tumbled over a seat. 

“I’ve got you now!” said the old man. 

Lucy spiked up her mohawk with her hands to summon her invisibility powers, but they didn’t 

work. 

Lucy began to panic. 

“Don’t worry,” said the old man “I’m here to save you.” 




Murder in Moville 

Moville Community College 

Chapter 1 

Carol had just finished her working day at St. Peter’s Primary School, Harare City. She looked out 

sadly over the horizon, at the dusty, dry landscape. It was always on days like this that she felt 

especially homesick. She missed her mum and dad. She even missed her annoying little brother. 

But she couldn’t leave this place just yet. She had important work to do here in Zimbabwe. The 

children needed her more than her family in Ireland did. 

Just then, her Nokia 3000 rang. It was an unknown Irish number. She hesitated to pick up the 

phone because she had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. Nevertheless, she answered 

and there was a male voice she didn’t recognise at the other end. 

“Come home immediately,” he said, and hung up. 

Meanwhile a bunch of Transition Year students from Moville Community College had decided to 

skip school for the morning and dared each other to go into a disused Fruit of the Loom factory on 

the outskirts of the town. 

Daniel Fisher, the rebel of the class, was first to go in after breaking a window. A pungent stench 

immediately hit his nostrils. He stumbled across a carcass of a dead crow. His friends who were 

all standing outside heard a loud scream. Some of them ran away and the others jumped in the 

window after him. 

Daniel spotted another blackbird in the distance and another until he realised this was a trail of 

crows. Despite his terror, he needed to find out what or where the trail led to. He tiptoed down the 

dark corridor and at the end of it he saw a bony hand sticking out from underneath a dusty old 

desk. He froze. 

Chapter 2 

“What are you doing in there?” shouted Niall. There was no response. “Who’s in there?” 

“Get in here quick, there’s something you need to see inside.” Daniel replied from inside the 

factory. 

Niall couldn’t fit through the window, so he kicked a door down instead and rushed inside. The 

hair on the back of his neck stood up. He walked over to Daniel, saw the bony hand sticking up 

from behind the desk, glanced down and quickly realised it was the body of his best friend, Gerard 

McEnroe. 

Meanwhile, Carol, who was confused about the earlier phone call, tried to ring her dad to find out 

what was going on. There was still no response. She decided it was time to go home. She booked a 

last-minute seat on the next flight to Dublin. 

The guards went into Moville Community College and called all the students out who had been off 

school that day. Everybody except a boy known as Left Hand Lee arrived and lined up in single file 

in the corridor outside the office. 

The guards interrogated them all one by one and found out the names of everyone that had been 

there. They heard it was Daniel Fisher who had discovered the body. They went in search of Left 

Hand Lee and word began to spread around the town that a murder had taken place. 

After an exhausting 10-hour flight, Carole landed in Dublin airport. She noticed missed calls from 

her brother and also from Niall, her father’s best friend. She listened to the voice message which 

said, “I’m very sorry for your loss Carole. I’m absolutely flabbergasted, your father was a great 

man. The last time I saw him was at the Corner Bar when we went for a pint after the match.” 

Carole dropped to her knees. 

By the time all of his friends arrived on the scene, Daniel was standing beside the desk, still as a 

statue, in a state of absolute shock. 

One of the boys wanted to call the guards and another wanted to leave and pretend he hadn’t 

seen anything at all. This caused the group to split up and half of them went back to school. They 

figured it would be better to be punished by the principal than to be found in the company of a dead 

body. Daniel Fisher worked hard to convince the others not to call the guards. 

Photography by 

Joe Laverty 

Suddenly there was a large bang and a piercing noise echoed throughout the factory. The huge 

industrial textile machines started to operate of their own accord, or so it seemed. Just at that 

moment the entire trail of crows rose from the ground and took flight leaving hastily through the 

tall factory chimney. 

Trisha Devlin, who lived across the road from the factory, heard the bang and saw the crows 

escaping through the tall, thin chimney. Trisha asked her husband Niall to run over to the factory 

to see if everything was okay. 

Niall looked through the window and saw the silhouette of a young man surrounded by sewing 

machines, hard at work, with nobody seeming to operate them. 



Meanwhile, Lee made his way to Trisha and Niall’s house. He was freaking out and didn’t know 

what else to do. Lee had been told his medical expenses would be covered if he performed a 

malicious deed. 

Lee had always been a bit gullible, and he believed he would be rewarded if he lured his friends 

into the factory and pushed the overall power switch for the Fruit of the Loom machines when they 

weren’t looking. But now he wanted the whole truth from Niall Devlin. 

Carole took another flight to Derry Airport where she hired a car to drive home. By the time she 

arrived in Moville two hours later, the town was buzzing with gossip. By then, Daniel was the key 

suspect in the investigation. All his friends had all said that Daniel’s first reaction was to persuade 

them not to ring the guards. 

24 hours later, Daniel was released from any suspicion. Daniel had been at home doing his 

homework and his parents could both vouch for him. 

The next day as Gerard McEnroe was being waked in his house, Carole took her neighbour out the 

back garden. 

“What do you know about my father?” she demanded to know. Carole questioned some more until 

he broke down and told her everything about the vast sum of money he’d been offered to switch on 

the power in the Fruit of the Loom plant. 

Outside the window, a murder of crows, the size of vultures, lined up on the telephone wire 

screeching loudly and triumphantly. 

Chapter 2: The Wrath of Bartholomew Murray - Class 10CO 

Kate was astonished. She was put into a car and she could see the driver, who was a man with 

glaring red eyes. They were driving fast along the Glenshane and they got to Dungiven. There were 

streetlights and no other cars. Dungiven was like a ghost town. The driver, called Barthlomew 

Murray, drifted round a corner, hit a speed bump and the car started to roll eventually hitting a 

statue of a dragon. 

The dragon’s sleep had been disturbed. It had been asleep for two thousand years. 

“It’s been many years since I last ate. My fifty-two stomachs are rumbling,” it said. 

Barthlomew was planning to feed Kate to the dragon. The dragon rose above them and swung her 

tail towards them... 

Chapter 3: The Clash of The Candlemakers - Class 10XE 

Meanwhile, Tyrone Smith, the candlemaker, was at the bar sipping a pint. Just as he finished his 

pint, he heard a loud bang from the road. The nosey candlemaker went to investigate. Before going 

outside, he reached into his back pocket to reveal a large coconut-scented candle to light his way. 

He saw Barthlomew getting out of his car. He was disgusted by the sight of his previous colleague 

and rival. He heard someone screaming in the back of the car. He sensed something was wrong and 

charged towards the car. 

“What have you done now, old friend?” he roared. 

The Dungiven Dragon Disruption 

St Patrick’s College, Maghera 

Chapter 1: The Message - Class 10ZN 

Before Barthlomew could speak, the dragon’s tail wrapped around them and flung them into 

Crawford’s carpark. 

“Come quickly!” Tyrone said to Kate, pointing towards Crawford’s shop. They locked themselves 

in the shop for protection. Barthlomew kicked the door down just as Tyrone realised where the 

brightest candle was. 

It was a dreary night in February and Kate had just finished camogie training. She felt tired and was 

grumpy about the walk home. The night was foggy, and it was starting to drizzle. 

“I can’t bear this weather, she grumbled. Her phone pinged. She looked at the screen: “Meet me at 

the Bawn.” She didn’t know the number. 

She was weirded out. Her friend Anna asked, “Is everything okay?” 

Kate turned and said, “Yes, everything’s fine,” and started to walk towards the Bawn. Her camogie 

bag weighed her down as she walked the short way to the Bawn. It had started pouring now. 

She saw a dim light coming from the Bawn, like a torch. A distant car engine revved, and a stick 

cracked under her foot. The torch light turned towards her… 



Journey To Be Together 

Classes 2C, 2D and 2G, Deele College, Raphoe 

Chapter 1 

On a misty afternoon at the end of November, George sat in silence in Raphoe Castle. He had 

walked out of school because he was being bullied. He wanted to isolate himself because he couldn’t 

go back to the boarding school where he lived. 

George was from Cork and had moved to Raphoe in County Donegal only a week ago. He had been 

sent there by his parents to discipline him. They said they were disappointed in him, and this made 

him feel small and sad. He felt like an outsider. 

He sat on a rock with everything going through his mind. A raindrop fell on his head; he looked 

around and saw what’s left of the castle roof. Then he noticed a hole in the wall. He spotted two 

big eyes staring right at him. Intrigued, he went to investigate and suddenly he felt massive wings 

flapping in front of him. 

“Oh my Gosh, an owl! Where did you come from?” asked George. It was a snowy owl, so majestic! 

He reached out his hand and the owl rested on it. George sat down on a rock and started to talk to 

the owl. 

“What happened at school today?” Mr Simms asked. 

“Someone is giving me a hard time,” George replied. 

Then Mr Simms had an idea. They both went to the head office to talk to the principal to see if it 

would be possible for George to keep the owl as a comfort animal. 

George stepped forward and said, “I promise I can train him!” 

They went to the metalwork teacher and said that they needed a huge cage made for the owl, now 

named Jeffrey Michaels. 

Some of the LCA’s volunteered, then animal lovers came on board along with Mr Simms, the 

principal, and finally the people who had bullied George. People became interested in the owl and 

asked George where it came from. 

George told them the owl came from a hole in the castle wall. 

“Are you hungry, little wan?” He laughed to himself as he used a Donegal word to his own surprise. 

He gave the bird the remains of a cookie out of this pocket. Because the bird had come out of the 

hole in the wall, George felt it was a sign that he should leave the castle. 

Chapter 2 

Leaving with the owl perched on his arm, George heads towards the Diamond in the centre of the 

town to get a chicken chunk roll in Centra. There he met Mr Simms, the Geography teacher. 

“What are you doing out of class?” asked Mr Simms, “and why do you have an owl on your arm?” 

“I am scheming. I had a hard day at school,” George said straight up. 

They walked over to the diamond and sat down on one of the benches. George let Mr. Simms know 

that he’s being made fun of at school. 

“What brings you to Donegal?” Mr Simms asks. 

George took a deep breath, hesitating to answer and the owl nodded. 

“My mum and dad sent me up for bad behaviour, but I don’t think I deserved it,” he answered. 

They start walking back to the school. 


Photography by Joe Laverty 


Chapter 3 

George and Mr Simms decided to do some research on the history of Raphoe Castle and discovered 

that a bishop called Archibald used to live there until 1968. Archibald had died under mysterious 

circumstances. There was a local legend that when Archibald’s wife died soon after, her spirit had 

occupied a snowy owl that reappeared once every year. Everyone at school was trying to win the 

owls affections but the bird always made his way back to George. 

Meanwhile, there was a very old, abandoned hotel in the centre of Raphoe called the Central Hotel. 

Jeffery Michaels had led George there and when he went in, he found it desolate, dark and covered 

with peeling wallpaper. 

Behind a piece of wallpaper, George spotted a metal door. He entered nervously using the light on 

his phone, but Jeffery Michaels remained sitting on the door handle. George found that he was in a 

tunnel. This was an underground tunnel that led all the way back to the castle. 

George followed it until it opened up and he saw a man standing in purple robes right in front of 

him. The man had bushy hair and a long white beard. He seemed kind and in a deep gravelly voice 

he said, “Yes, boy.” 

George laughed and said, “What’s your name?” 

The man replied, “My name is the one and only Archibald!” 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!” said George with surprise. 

Archibald replied, “I have been looking for the spirit of my wife since 1968; she died soon after me 

from a broken heart.” 

George let out a loud whistle and the owl’s wings echoed from all the way back at the start of the 

tunnel. The owl instantly recognised Archibald to be her husband and with that she transformed 

into her human self. 

Archibald was in shock. 

“I can’t believe my eyes; I can finally see you again,” he said. They embraced and thanked George 

for reuniting them. 

The woman said “George, you were the last piece of our puzzle.” Then suddenly, a shard of light 

shone through a hole in the castle wall and they both turned to dust. 

At Christmas time, George returned to Cork by bus. He had more self-confidence and he was 

happier. The owl had helped him discover his true wisdom. He got off the bus and his parents were 

waiting there with some Christmas shopping. They could tell straight away by the look in his eyes 

that he was a different person. 

Ophelia and Ramona 

Finn Valley College 

Chapter 1 

Somewhere in the middle of Drumboe Woods in Stranorlar sit Ramona Smith and Ophelia 

Greenwood, scheming from school. It is a mild day in April. The river flows, ducks quack in the 

River Finn. On a stone island on the river bend, Ramona takes out a box of Benson and Hedges Gold 

and searches for her lighter. 

“You smoke?!” asked Ophelia. “Is something going on with you?” Ophelia wondered. 

“Why do you care?” Ramona snapped back. “I was just asking.” 

Ramona suddenly breaks down crying. She takes a drag of her cigarette and inhales too deeply 

because of how hard she is crying. She starts coughing and spluttering. Just then, a teacher from 

their school Ms. Mc Ginty comes around the corner. 

Ms. Mc Ginty notices the two girls who immediately run to the bus stop to get to Convoy and to 

Ramona’s house. She notices a bit of smoke coming from the ground and realises the girls have 

been smoking. Ramona and Ophelia catch the bus to Convoy. Both of them are a little shaken up, 

anxious about their parents being called and the inevitable trouble that may lie ahead... 

They both head upstairs to Ramona’s bedroom which is really messy. Dirty plates with bits of 

congealed food on them are piled up in a corner. You can barely see the floor with strewn clothes 

and to Ophelia’s surprise, there was a putrid smell of stale cigarette smoke in the air. Ophelia 

begins to see that her friend might be going through a depressive episode. She opens the window to 

let in some fresh air and they both sit down on the bed. “Do you wanna talk?” said Ophelia. 

Meanwhile in the principal’s office, a phone call is being made to Mr. and Ms. Smith. 

“Are you aware your daughter is not in school today?” the principal barked at Ms. Smith. 

“Well, her dad left her off this morning so it should be him you’re ringing.” Ms. Smith answered. 

“Do you know where she is?” the principal asked her. 

“Maybe ask Derek.” she said and hung up abruptly. Ms Smith wonders who is in more trouble here, 

her or her daughter and reels from the abrupt tone of the conversation. 

Back in Ramona’s room, Ophelia is trying to help clean her room by starting with the dirty dishes 

and asks her friend if she would like something to eat. Ramona stays silent for a moment. 

“There’s something I need to say. My parents are splitting up. I’m fuming with them.” 



Chapter 2 

Ophelia sits and listens as Ramona talks about her parents’ divorce and why she’s been off recently. 

Ophelia tries to give the best advice she can, but she knows nothing she says will get through 

to Ramona. The girls wait in the house talking about everything, but the girls find it still a bit 

awkward between them. Ramona seems as if she’s over being told what to do and suggests they 

just leave. 

The girls leave Ramona’s room to get fresh air. They walk up the street till they’re across from the 

park. In front of the park is a bus stop, where there is a group gathered. 

“Right, let’s go” Ophelia sighs. 

Meantime, Mr. Smith is sitting on his couch watching Liverpool play until he gets a phone call from 

Ramonas school. He grumbles as he picks up the phone, “What?” he asks. 

“Ramona didn’t arrive at school today. We called her mother, but…” the receptionist pauses. 

“She told us she was with you this morning,” she says. 

“I dropped her off, not my problem what she does after that” he spits. 

“Well Sir, it is both yours and your wife’s problem. I don’t mean to be rude, but she needs to be in 

school,” the woman on the other line says as carefully as possible. 

“Uh huh,” he agrees. 

“Do you mind coming into the school to have a meeting with our principal?” she asks. 

The line goes dead. 

The group starts walking down to the chapel. It’s closed today so Tiernan thought there was no 

chance of getting caught. With a screwdriver in hand Tiernan walks up to the back window of the 

chapel. Ramona and Tiernan climb in and leave Ophelia out to watch if anyone’s coming. 

Tiernan leads her through as they duck past every window. They reach the box and he starts to 

unscrew it from the table it’s stuck to. 

Before Ramona could answer Ophelia calls in, “Someone’s here! Come out quick” 

The pair sprint out with the box, dodging benches before they reach the window. They help each 

other out the window, then meet with Opheila. The three run through the graveyard behind the 

chapel and hop over a fence into a field. They duck from whoever’s out there and when they think 

the coast is clear they leave. 

Ophelia drops Ramona off and begins to walk home, in the rain. 

Ramona trips into the house knocking over a candle grabbing her mother’s attention. 

“Where have you been?” her mother asks. 

“Out” Ramona snaps back. 

“Right, well your school called as well” Ms. Smith looks at her but with zero concern in her eye. 

“Of course they did” Ramona slurs climbing up the stairs, into the room, and slamming the door shut. 

Chapter 3 

“Ramona and Ophelia to the principal’s office, please,” announces the intercom. The girls looked at 

each other, their eyes wide. At that moment, they both knew what was in store. They both slowly 

got up from their seats and walked what felt like a walk of shame to the principal’s office while the 

rest of the classroom stared. 

As the two girls walked down the stairs, they had the panicked realisation that they had no real 

excuse for their scheming. 

“What if I say you fell in a puddle and were too embarrassed to come back?” whispered Ramona. 

“I don’t know if they’re gonna accept that as an excuse.” Ophelia started awkwardly messing with 

her hands before suggesting, “What if we tell them the truth about how you’re feeling, I’m sure 

they’ll understand.” 

For a second, Ramona was a little too stunned to speak, shocked that was even a suggestion. “No,” 

she whispered, quite loudly for a whisper. 

The girls were quiet the rest of their walk up to the principal’s office. They silently agreed to just go 

with Ramonas first suggestion. The walk felt like it took years before they finally reached the bench 

in front of the principal’s office and sat down. 

Mr. Jones stepped out of the office looking more disappointed than the girls had ever seen before. 

“Ophelia, you can come in first,” he said. 

Ophelia gave Ramona one last look before walking in. She sat down on the big blue chairs furthest 

away from him to establish some distance. He gave her a confused look but nonetheless stayed 

where he is. 

“Do you realise how disgraceful it was to go scheming? You put shame on your school and 

completely embarrassed yourself. Do you have anything to say to that?” he said. 

Ophelia grows a bit nervous but tries her best to explain their reasoning for not coming in. “and we 

just never came back after that. We’re really sorry Mr. Jones, I swear we didn’t mean to cause so 

much trouble” Ophelia apologised whilst starting to cry. 



Mr Jones wrapped up their conversation quite quickly after that. Telling Ophelia to think about her 

actions while he decides her punishment. 

When she leaves the office she starts crying even more. Ramona stares up at her but she doesn’t 

feel sorry. She’s still angry at Ophelia for her even suggesting they tell the principal her business. 

“Ramona,” Mr. Jones called, holding the door open this time. 

Ramona silently got up and walked right past him into the room. She sat legs crossed in the chair 

opposite his. Mr. Jones sits down types something on his computer and then looks at her, she 

smiles. 

“Do you find what you did funny Ms. Smith?” he asked not at all seeming amused. 

“A little,” she replied. 

“Very mature of you.” He pauses and sighs. “Ophelia has already explained to me what happened 

but i would love for you to tell me as well, in detail”. Ramona began telling the same story as they 

had planned, she tried to make her detail as broad as possible in case the stories didn’t line up. 

When she finished her story she didn’t apologise. 

Mr Jones gave her the same speech that he gave Ophelia. 

“Well it doesn’t really embarrass you, does it, because who really cares about seeing us out and 

about?” Ramona said giving him a smirk fully believing she was in the right. 

“The guards? I’m sure they are when they see two students dressed in full uniform walking alone 

during school hours,” Ramona only got more cheeky after that before Mr. Jones kicked her out. She 

laughed as she left the room, and sat back on the bench beside Ophelia, who was very confused as 

to why she was laughing and not crying like her. 

We would like to thank: 

Every young writer who shared their ideas and words to celebrate the places 

they live and the communities they are part of; 

The school staff and youth leaders, for their enthusiasm, commitment and 

warmest of welcomes to their schools and youth centres; 

Our volunteer writing mentors, who give their best to each and every young 

person they meet: Paul Browne, Susan Burrows, Clare Cavanagh, Siobhan 

Dignan, Helen Evans, Niav Fisher, Holly Fitzpatrick, Kathy Lynch, David 

Maine, Katherine McAllister, Conal McManus, Finn Monaghan, Clare O’Hare, 

Sucheta Thakkar and Margaret Timoney; 

Our workshop facilitators, for their energy, enthusiasm and enjoyment of 

the process: Julie Blain, Valerie Bryce, Pierina Campbell, Fionnuala Cassidy, 

Natasha Geary, Adeline Henry, Paul Hutchinson, Dan Leith, JJ Harrington, 

Fiona Longuir, Molly Martin and Hugh McElveen; 

Our volunteer illustrators and photographers for their talents and generosity: 

Matthew Beattie, Ruari Brogan, Katya Buryakova, Ben Claxton, Lauren 

Connery, William Robin Conway, Natalie Cole, Siobhan Dignan, Philip Elliot, 

Sinead Farry, Joe Laverty, Sarah Martin, Louise Macartney, Eileen Neill, 

Alexander McCormick, Aidan McDermott, Helen Nicholl, Doris Noe, Despina 

Rangou, Sam Savage, Tracy Zitnik and Nancy Udodenko; 

Me, Him & Her for their graphic design skills; 

And all the staff of Fighting Words and Fighting Words NI, for their support 

in bringing this project to fruition. 

— Hannah Armstrong and Colm Quearney, Project Co-ordinators. 

This is a Fighting Words NI publication, © 2024. 

Edit & proofing by Molly Martin & Hannah Armstrong 

Graphic design by Me, Him & Her Design Ltd. 

Printed by GPS Colour Graphics. 



Fighting Words NI 

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