YA Spooktacular: The Corn Stalker!

Welcome to another stop for the YASpooktacular, hosted by Frenzy of Noise and Wicked Awesome Books! YASpooktacular is an awesome event that makes October a little more exciting for us book lovers--a bunch of YA authors and bloggers came together to celebrate Halloween with scary stories as well as treats (which I'm sure you guys will love)! To see all the other blogs who are participating, click here.   I have the great honor of hosting Jessica Spotswood (author of BORN WICKED--which comes out in 2012!) today for my part of the event. I hope everyone enjoys the creepiness! xD

THE CORN STALKER
by Jessica Spotswood

“Yeah, okay,” I agreed hastily, trying not to sound like that scream freaked me out. “Let’s go.”

We took off back toward the exit, retracing our steps. It was dark without the floodlights. Really dark. Flashlight beams carved into the night sky as other couples tried to find their way. I heard whispering but couldn’t make out the words as the wind picked up, rustling the corn stalks, sending clouds scudding over the half-moon. Leaves skittered past with a dry death rattle. Kara slipped her hand into mine.

“This is not my idea of fun, Josh. This is like the complete opposite of my idea of fun.”

“Chill out. It’ll be fine,” I insisted.

“Don’t tell me to chill out,” she snapped, yanking her hand away and shoving it into the pocket of her orange hoodie. So much for my hope of getting laid tonight. She was wearing her seriously mad face now. “I didn’t want to do this in the--”

Her words were interrupted by screams. Two voices--one male, one female, both terrified. Closer this time, maybe only a row or two away. Kara froze. The cornstalks thrashed to our right, and then the guy’s scream ended with this awful sort of gurgle. Whatever was happening, it was happening three feet away. There was a meaty thud of something heavy hitting the ground. The dude’s body?

No way. This was just the trick part of trick or treat--it had to be. Maybe they hired some drama students from the college.

“Help! Oh my God, help us!” the girl shrieked. “Adam!”

I put my finger to my lips in the universal symbol for shhh and stepped toward the corn, pushing the stalks apart with one hand and peeking through as quietly as I could. There was a flash of orange. The guy on the loudspeaker had said something about an orange sickle, right?

There was a crunching. Footsteps lurched away down the row, an uneven shuffling that reminded me of zombie movies.

“Help us! Someone, please!” That girl didn’t sound like she was acting. She sounded like something scared the hell out of her.

“Josh,” Kara whispered, grabbing my arm. “Come on. Let’s go.” I couldn’t just leave. Could I?

The girl on the other side of the corn was crying now: big, gasping sobs like she couldn’t breathe.

She must have grabbed her flashlight because there was a sudden blinding flash, and for a second I couldn’t see anything, and then all I saw was blood. Red splattered everywhere. And a shoe. A dude’s blue Converse. I cursed under my breath.

Yeah, I was officially freaked out now.

“Hello? Is someone there?” the girl whispered.

Do I answer her and provide help? If so, go to Ivy Reads. http://ivyreads.info/


Do I ignore her and save myself, keep going toward the exit? If so, go to Chick Loves Lit. http://chickloveslit.com/

Author Bio: Jessica Spotswood has wanted to be a writer since the fourth grade. She got in trouble in the fifth grade for reading under her desk and had the life-changing experience of reading Gone with the Wind in the sixth grade. After years on stage and an M.A. in Theatre History & Criticism at Catholic University, Jessica found her way back to her love of reading and writing; and in 2007 she began writing her manuscript that snagged her an agent. Unfortunately, that one didn’t sell, but Born Wicked, the first in a trilogy, will be released February 2012 from Putnam.

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