Storytime Tapestry E-zine

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

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Halloween Contest ? Last day of contest

November 12, 2007

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Today?s Announcement

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Zinester was not working this weekend so there was no Storytime Tapestry from the 9^th to today the 12^th.? However, all the e-zines had been posted on the 10^th though not delivered. I am sorry that once the glitch was fixed, you received multiple copies.

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I am sorry but because of the e-zine being disabled on the weekend, I was not able to get out a Veteran?s Day addition.? However, Michael Smith does have a special treat for you to commemorate Veteran?s Day.

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Also, I would like to announce that Mary Dees got married yesterday, Nov 11^th. Please email and congratulate the new bride. Here is her email address is: ?marlena7694@yahoo.com

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The Halloween prose Contest finishes today. A separate email will be sent out for you to vote for your favourite prose writer shortly. If you sent in a Halloween story and it was not published or does not appear in the list below, please contact me immediately so I can correct the error before the voting starts for the prose contest.

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Please don?t forget to continue voting for the poetry contest, even though you have until the 15^th, please have mercy on me and not send in all your votes at once.? I still have to process them.

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Halloween Stories

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?A Ghost Flew Out of the Tree

?Sharon Bryant

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I was sixteen that Halloween long ago.? A friend, Betsy,?was spending the night.

Mom and dad had taken my little brother and sister out for trick or treating.

I guess?Betsy and I got bored, so that's why we came up with the idea that we did.

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We had a huge oak tree that was along the deep ditch by our house.? It's thick branches hung over the main road out in front of our house.? Traffic was usually heavy as more and more people moved into our area.

"Hey, you wanna scare some people?" Betsy asked.? I asked what she had in mind.

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"Let's wrap you in a white sheet, tie you to one of those limbs, then you jump when a car is coming."

I imagined what that would be like.?

"Boy, I don't know......." I said.? "What if we scared someone and they ran into the ditch? I asked her.

"Oh, nobody will run into the ditch," she said.

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So upstairs we went, digging in the linen closet for a plain white sheet.? Mom had several, so I was sure she wouldn't miss one, since we had to do some cutting on it.

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I got wrapped up in the sheet.? Betsy cut big holes out for my eyes and a slit for my nose.? We tied a cord around my waist to keep the sheet intact when I leaped from the tree.? We used some of dad's belts to make a sturdy "rope" so I could swing from the tree and climb back up.

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I climbed up in the tree.? I was watching cars coming and going in both directions, wondering when I should jump.? I saw a big car coming, and when it got within 20 foot of me, I jumped.? The driver slammed on the brakes, and as I was swinging from the tree, I wrapped my leg around another branch and crawled back up to the branch I had been sitting on.

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I did this for several cars.? And then came THE CAR.

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I remember it was a large automobile.? I couldn't see how many were in the car.? I jumped from the tree, the car slammed on its brakes, and slid into the ditch, sideways.? Not only did I have to get out of the tree, I had to get out fast and hike into the house.

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The ditch had water in it, but it wasn't deep.? But the angle the car was at, I knew whoever was in it would have to climb out as the?driver door was the roof at the angle it was at. ? I also knew they would need a wrecker to get the car out.

I also knew if I got caught, I was in deep trouble.

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By this time, traffic was piling up on the road, people stopping to help or see what was going on.

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Betsy and I watched from the window of our house.

I knew I had to call someone, so I dialed the police, gave our address, and told them a car was in the ditch on Fourteen Mile Road.

Just as the cops were arriving, so was my mom and dad with my brother and sister.

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I remember day say, "I wonder how that guy lost control and went into the ditch."

Mom was saying maybe he was drunk.

I was thinking, "If I tell them they're going to ground me until I'm 30 years old."

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The man was not injured.? I remember dad coming back into the house saying the guy HAD to be drunk, he kept telling the police, "A ghost flew out of the tree and scared the hell out of me."

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I have never tried a stunt like that again.?

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Sharon Bryant

1946@bellsouth.net

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The?Wormy Corn Field

Sharon Bryant

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The old chicken coop stood several yards from the house.? Behind the coop were two acres that dad and mom always planted corn in.? How I remember the wonderful taste of hot buttered corn we used to have.?

We had a swing set in the yard and my brother and I used to swing on both swings.? I loved to swing higher and higher and look over the corn field just before picking time.

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I used to help my folks pick the corn.? I helped mom in the kitchen shucking the corn.? I always hated it when we saw worms embedded in the kernels.? My brother many times refused to eat corn when he saw worms on the ears.

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It was the day before Halloween in '56.? My brother and I awaited the next day to go out trick or treating and get our bountiful bag of goodies.? I remember mom and dad were in the house and my brother and I went to the swing set to swing.?

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My brother hopped off his swing and I asked him where he was going.? "I'm gonna find a pumpkin," he said and off he ran down the path that ran through the corn field.? He was only seven at the time so his height vanished in the fields.? I figured he was going to the neighbors.? We didn't have any pumpkins growing in the corn field.? And my brother lied a lot.

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I was on the swing set just swinging away when I noticed a small cloud of smoke coming from a long section of the field.? Suddenly I saw flames and within seconds, the corn field was on fire.

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I jumped off the swing and ran screaming to the house yelling to mom and dad that the field was on fire.

Dad and mom?ran out of the house in time to see my brother high tailing it for the chicken coop.? I saw him too.? I knew then he had got hold of some matches.

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Dad yelled at me to grab the water hose and start wetting down the corn that was growing next to our yard.? I turned the spigot up full blast and ran back and forth watering down the edge of the lawn.? Mom had ran into the house and called the fire department.

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The neighbors who lived on the other side of the corn field were watering down their yard also.? But before the fire department could get there, the whole corn field was ablaze.? Smoke trailed into the fall sky and people were stopping on the road to gawk and see what was on fire.? I have never been so scared in my life.

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When the fire department got there and got the field watered down, dad began hunting down my brother.? He kept calling out his name but no reply came.? We knew he was hiding in the chicken coop somewhere.

He had been watching all the action from a hole in the chicken coop wall.

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My brother got a good "licking" that day and dad threatened to not let him go trick or treating the next day.

He was grounded for quite some time.

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When my brother and I got alone, I asked him why he set the corn field on fire.? "Corn's got worms, and I ain't eating any worms," he said.

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I've never had a corn field of my own.? Every time I'm driving down a highway and see a corn field, I think of the one we once had.? I know how fast they can go up in flames.

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Sharon Bryant

1946@bellsouth.net

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My Ghost Friends?
An Annual Hallowe?en Story
By Vance Agee?????

Most ?Hallowe?en? (the correct spelling) stories are supposed to be? ?scary?.? Since I believe in God and go no place without my appointed Guardian Angel, there are many things which I respect, but few of which I am afraid, since I know from experience an angel?s immense protective? power.??? Still, being scared can, for some unknown reason to me, be fun for most of us, as long as it is not from some serious danger.? Thus, I submit my little story for anyone who would like to be scared! Or not.

It is a true story.? By the way, next to Christmas, Hallowe?en has always been my favorite special day, from my first little tiger costume.?? (Although there are extensive historical studies on Hallowe?en, Christmas (Roman Saturnalia), et cetera, the Apostles Paul advises us to seek out not the evil but the beauty and truth in earthly things. I despise witches and demon worship, but I see clean fun in Hallowe?en, Christimas, Easter, etc., if celebrated in a Christian manner.) Let us not lose but rather redeem (Latin: buy back)! My story:

About 1998-99, I was President of my local Rotary Club.? Each week, as ?evening? clubs do, we met for dinner and business, generally with invited guests and a good program.? After a change of restaurants, we found a great one in historic Lewiston, NY. I?d rather not give out the name, since it has changed ownership, but for many years it was known as the ?Bloody Bucket?, first built around 1850. This place had seen decades of Niagara Frontier violence; hence, that name!???

The waitresses told us right away that the restaurant was ?haunted? by five ghosts, all of whom they had actually seen at some time and with whom they even talked!? One was in the kitchen area, where an old wall was actually about five walls built over one another.? One roamed the beautiful balcony outside.? Another was a young lady or girl, who just sat on the staircase, located directly across from the entrance and waited for her fiancee to arrive.? But he never would arrive, since he had been killed on his way to her.? I did not get all the stories, but the staff had, I believe, an old painting of one ghost. (N.B. This story takes place before TV ghost stories, but Mr. Hans Holtzer was known as a ?ghost hunter? and writer many years ago.)

One night, as we who go everywhere early arrived, the staff explained that one ghost was in a ?bad mood?. OK. All of us early arrivers were well inside and far from the veranda or the door or the front hallway. There was no one on the balcony, no one just then parking, and not one person not inside near the rest of us.? Well, no one except ......

?Suddenly we were jolted by a loud crash!? An old, huge wooden china cupboard had ?fallen? over flat onto the floor in the entrance foyer, along with the newer coat rack!? We hurried to investigate.? No living human was anywhere inside or outside near the scene!? It took two of us men to place the cupboard back upright.? Since it had fallen flat onto carpet, few, if any, china pieces had been damaged.??

However, at that moment I became angry with the ghosts.? ?If you do anything like this again, I will bring in an exorcist to send you on your way to a place from which you will never return? (Hell) was my threat.? I actually spoke this, but when the other men were out of sight.? Later, I discovered that an old lamp had been pushed over in my cellar at home.? Although the globe had been broken, I had another to replace it; there was not real loss.? Our dog at the time was a small breed and could never have pushed or pulled that lamp over.? This was a sign, and I thought about it.? I knew what I had done wrong. (I was not scared, just sorry.)

Please just imagine with me what it could be like, if ghosts are not? ?evil spirits? (or other phenomena) but actually the souls of dead humans who? have not let go of this world and are trapped in a dark land between two ?worlds? (Sheol?)!? I thought and could not fathom the feelings that such lost and trapped souls might have!? Now I felt guilty about my threat.?? It is written in Scripture that Jesus Christ, after His crucifixion, went down to free those trapped in Sheol, in the darkness below.? For us who choose Him now, there need be no fear; upon leaving this life, we will join Him, just as the thief on the cross next to Him. Although I could give other explanations of the phenomenon of the fallen cabinet and our apparent ghosts, I chose then to accept that they were lost and trapped humans, trapped by some desire or force beyond their own powers.? That girl would continue to wait for her fiancée for all time.??

Since I first wrote this story about 9 years ago, there has been a great increase of interest in trapped human souls (and demons).

On the next meeting evening, I went even earlier.? I stood alone at the foot of the staircase, looked up, and said: ?Guys, I am sorry for what I said.? I love you guys!?? Love.??? At that instant there was not the expected cold feeling, about which I have read.? Instead a feeling of warmth spread over me!? As long as we ate there, I always greeted whomever was in the front entrance way. (When no one else was around!)??? During the years, I prayed for ?my ghosts?, but I have never taken a real man of God back with me to free them.? May God have mercy on them and free them from their bondage!?? That is my ?ghost story?.

I felt that, as a Christian, perhaps God might want me to go. I have few psychic gifts, but I do believe in the Name and Power of Jesus of Nazareth.

Anyone want to go with me?!

vgagee@roadrunner.com

(Written about 2000, long before TV shows began to portray trapped souls.)
Rev. October 23, 2006, November, 2007.

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Published Stories and Poems to date; only works that have been published already will appear here.

If you would like to review some the entries before voting please go to this link:? http://archives.zinester.com/98907

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Story Contest

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Name:????????????????????????? Title:???????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????? Date:

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Tanja Cilia??????????????????? Present Tension ? The Novel??????????????? ??????????? Oct 30

Violet Apted???????????????? Whatever Happened to Grandma???????? ??????????? Oct 30

Bill Walker?????????????????? The Devil?s Night????????????????????????????????????????????? Oct 30

Hart Dowd?????????????????? I?m Alive, I?m Alive????????????????????????????????????????? Oct 30

John Pagan?????????????????? Fury In The Garden????????????????????????????????????????? Oct 31

Janice Marler??????????????? Pandora?s Box???????????????????????????????????????????????? Oct 31

David Wainland??????????? Bullet Hole View????????????????????????????????????????????? Oct 31

Hart Dowd?????????????????? Evangeline Your Neighbourhood for

??????????????????????????????????? Halloween??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 1

B.J. Cassady??????????????? The Other???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 1

Corina Carrasco?????????? Pumpkin Head????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 1

Vance Agee???????????????? Demon???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 1

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Arthur Levine?????????????? Staring Into the Face of Death on Halloween Nov 2

Mary Ann Reed??????????? Halloween was a Serious Matter?????????????????????? Nov 2

Mary Ann Reed??????????? The Basement Steps???????????????????????????????????????? Nov 2

Cheryl Williams??????????? The Night the Devil Came to Visit: A True

??????????? ??????????????? ????????Story??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 2

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Rosanne Catalano???????? Mystery at Shatick Estate???????????????????????????????? Nov 3

Earla Hollon???????????????? The Weeping Ghost????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 3

Earla Hollon???????????????? Rattling Chains????????????????????????????????????? Nov 3

Earla Hollon???????????????? Can You Hear the Baby Cry??????????????????????????? Nov 3

Earla Hollon???????????????? Who Was That Woman?????????????????????????????????? Nov 3

Lynne Stevenson????????? The Doctor?s Wife??????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 3

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Bruce Cornely????????????? The Ghosts of Baskerbeagle Hall????????????????????? Nov 4

Surinder Jandu? Shradh???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 4

Surinder Jandu? Chudel The Female Ghost???????????????????????????????? Nov 4

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Michael Smith?????????????? The Painting Talked????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 5

Sharon Bryant????????????? Jaime??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 5

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Lisa Westerfield??????????? A Victim Speaks????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 6

Joan Hobernicht?????????? Bad Move??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 6

Joan Hobernicht?????????? Bea and Ben?s Halloween???????????????????????????????? Nov 6

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Hart Dowd?????????????????? Footprints in the Snow????????????????????????? Nov 7

B.J. Cassady??????????????? The Fear????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 7

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Carol Roach???????????????? Old Man Jack????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 8

B. J. Cassady?????????????? Illegal Aliens???????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 8

Sharon Bryant????????????? Fairyland????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 8

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Mary-Ellen Grisham ?Night Adventure for Laddie and the Little

????????????????????????????????? ?Flower????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 9

B.J. Cassady??????????????? Killing Them With Kindness????????????????????????????? Nov 9

Dr. Harmander Singh??? Ghost in the House: Happy Halloween Day?????? Nov 9

Sharon Bryant????????????? The Boogie Man?????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 9

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Terrence Marshall???????? A Nice Lady??????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 10

Terrence Marshall???????? The Pub Quiz?????????????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 10

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Sharon Bryant????????????? A Ghost Flew out of the Tree??????????????????????????? Nov 12

Sharon Bryant????????????? The Wormy Corn Field???????????????????????? Nov 12

Vance Agee???????????????? My Ghost Friends???????????????????????????????????????????? Nov 12

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