by
Late at night, they say you can hear the children screaming.
All the kids are afraid of someone in the neighborhood. They call him the Boo Man. Six-year-old Mateo is pushed into the Boo Man's yard and discovers it may be a secret graveyard. Although he fears for his life, Mateo is determined to prove something is buried in the Boo Man’s back yard…without getting caught. It’s rumored the Boo Man captures little kids and tortures them in his basement. Mateo doesn’t want to be next.
Publisher: Various Independent Authors
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Word Count: 32,000
Setting: USA
Languages Available: English
Word Count: 32,000
Setting: USA
Languages Available: English
There is a scary man in the neighborhood we are all afraid of. We call him the Boo Man. He lives in a big, old house all by himself now that his parents have died. People say he locks up little kids and tortures them in his basement. They say late at night, after everyone’s asleep, you can hear the children screaming.
It’s no wonder my older sister Vivian grabs my hand and leads me to the other side of the street as we pass his house on our way home from school. She doesn’t even want to go near his house and isn’t alone.
* * *
Two weeks earlier
READ MOREIt’s Halloween, and I have my zombie mask on. We turn the corner and see the group of kids ahead of us suddenly stop in their tracks. Their eyes gaze up, looking at the Boo Man’s house. They’ve all heard the stories, and quickly walk past it. No one knocks on his door for trick or treat. Not a single kid in the neighborhood dares because they know what’s on the other side of the door. He is scarier than any of our costumes, that’s for sure.
Vivian, Alex, Josh and I walk past his house, which we normally don’t. Strange that on Halloween we would. I’m walking the slowest because I notice a dim light in one of the upper floor windows. I see something move in front of the window. My heart skips a beat. I stop walking and look up at it. It’s him! I can see the outline of the Boo Man in the window. I shudder. He is up there watching us, but not like most people would. He’s lurking, not wanting to be seen, peeking out the window at all the Halloweeners. There is no mistaking his silhouette and there’s no doubt he’s looking down and knows all the kids are avoiding his house. I wonder what he is thinking. I get an image of him up there with a bowl of candy, sad that there is no one to give it to. I never felt sorry for him before, but it doesn’t last long because as soon as I gaze back up at him, it appears he’s looking right at me, and it gives me the creeps. I quiver at the site of his shadowy figure and catch up with my brothers and sister.
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