Jemma And The Haunted Castle

• Chloe Jones, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2014

One cold, frosty July day, a little girl named Jemma was born. She was born to the King and Queen of England. Jemma grew up quickly. She was a very adventurous child and loved to explore new places. She had already explored the village, the misty, dark forest and the cold, green lagoon by the time she was 7.

On her 8th birthday she wanted to explore the castle. She wasn't allowed to explore it until she was eight. She was so exited to explore the castle but she didn't know what her parents were protecting her from. She heard that there could be ghost or venomous spiders that could kill her but she didn't mind. Knowing that made her want to explore even more.

First thing in the morning, Jemma ran to her mum and dad's bedroom, jumped on their bed and started calling, "It's my birthday! It's my birthday! Wake up!" They both woke up alright. "I think you woke up the whole village," said the King in a very tired voice. "Ok darling," said the king, still in a very tired voice, "What do you want?" "I want to explore the castle. NOW!" Said Jemma in a very loud voice. Her dad said that was fine, so she got her exploring bag ready and left with a set of keys for every room in the castle. First,she went to the ballroom and saw lots of cob webs, a bird's nest and the big, shiny, round disco ball. Then, she went to the great, great Hall of Legends. She felt like something or someone was watching her. Suddenly, she heard a 'oooooh' noise. She took her flashlight out of her bag and looked around. She heard a beeping noise. She then saw a flashing light in one of the pictures. She ran out screaming, "Ghost! Ghost! Help!" She ran to the kitchen. She told her mum and dad and they told her there was nothing to be scared of in the castle. She decided to go back and have a look at the haunted arcade room.

She tiptoed in. She could hear the creaking in the floorboards. When she got to the big door she put her key into it and turned it. She entered, calling out, "Hello? Is anyone here?" No one answered. Just then she felt a tingle going down her back. She slapped the back of her neck. Then she saw a flash of white come past. She heard a 'BOOOOOOO'. Now, this really scared her out of her mind! Once again she ran to the kitchen. She told her mum and dad and they told her that she shouldn't go back in. She really liked that idea so she decided that she wouldn't go and explore the castle any more.

A few days later she was thirsting for the excitement of an adventure so she decided that she was going to look around the garden. She had heard that in the garden there were rattle snakes and magpies, which freak her out a lot, but she wasn't allowed to explore the garden until she was ten so she waited and waited for two of the most boring years of her life to explore it.