Chapter 1 Woodland Cemetery Jared’s Journal November 15 8 05 a m After twelve years of living next to Woodland Cemetery it is starting to freak me out My parents say there’s nothing to worry about But they haven’t seen what I’ve seen Last night I had a scary dream My legs were tied with rope and I was being dragged through the cemetery by two strange-looking men I could see right through them They smelled like rotten eggs I tried to yell at them but I had no voice I woke up panting and dripping with 6
sweat I looked out my window and saw two people walking slowly across the cemetery They were dragging something It looked like a body The moon was almost full so I could see them clearly I’ve seen them doing the same thing several times this month I opened my window and yelled What are you dragging They were about 200 feet away When they heard my voice they stopped and stared at me I think I heard them laugh And then they vanished They didn’t run or hide behind a tree or a gravestone They just disappeared into thin air The small town of Marsh eld is sometimes called Graveyard City There are four old cemeteries in town Each one has its share of scary stories Jared Jensen’s house is small and neat 7
It sits next to Woodland Cemetery in a far corner of town The cemetery is hilly and wooded Not much daylight gets through Stan Summer is Jared’s best friend They are both in sixth grade and after school or on weekends Jared often rides his bike to Stan’s house To get there he rides through Woodland Cemetery At the edge of the cemetery a path enters the forest That path leads to Hilltop Cemetery Stan lives on the other side of Hilltop Jared and Stan always it was funny that they both lived next to cemeteries But then spooky things started to happen thought I saw them again last night Jared said as he took his seat behind Stan in school The grave robbers Stan asked Yeah They were dragging another body Jared was sure that they had dug it up from a grave He hesitated to tell Stan about his nightmare He decided to keep it 8
to himself for now Where did they take it Stan asked Jared shook his head They didn’t take it anywhere They disappeared when I yelled at them They just vanished Yep Jared said They vanished like ghosts Stan let out a whistle He seemed to be thinking hard Maybe it was a bear he said It was dark out Maybe it was a bear dragging a dead deer How could you be sure it was people It wasn’t a bear Jared said The moon was bright I could see them pretty well If they vanished what happened to the body I don’t know Jared said It wasn’t there this morning Their sixth grade science teacher entered the classroom Stan turned around in his 9
