Chapter 1 A Gripping Fog Stan Summer wasn’t sure what he was seeing The evening was dark The moon was not up but a red glow was coming from somewhere in the cemetery Very odd he thought He left his skateboard on the back steps of his house Then he walked toward Hilltop Cemetery It began at the edge of his yard Stan checked his pockets He had a pen and his notepad a À ashlight and half of a candy bar 6
He swept the beam of light across the dark yard Then he shut it off and began to walk As he entered the cemetery he stopped The red glow was coming from the other side of the hill Was it a re He sniffed but he didn’t smell smoke Could it be a police car Or an ambulance He took out his notepad and began to write Stan’s Journal Sunday December 10 8 45 p m Red glow in cemetery Beyond Deadman’s Hill No unusual sounds or smells I’m on my way to check it out Deadman’s Hill was one of Stan’s favorite spots In the winter it was great for sledding steep and smooth On summer nights he liked to lie on the hill and look at the stars It didn’t scare him that the hill was in a 7
graveyard He’d always lived right next to Hilltop Cemetery It seemed like part of his yard The cemetery was lled with tall trees and was very peaceful He’d heard lots of scary stories about the place It was haunted by ghosts for example But none had ever bothered him Stan reached the start of the hill He À ashed his light again This side of the hill was clear so he started to climb The oldest graves in the cemetery were at the top of the slope Halfway up he stopped and looked around The red glow looked strange as he got closer It wasn’t like a regular light It was moving slowly Up and down Almost as if it were dancing Stan’s Journal Sunday December 10 8 48 p m Getting closer to the glow Haven’t reached the top of the hill yet Clear night Cool but no wind 8
Stan kept climbing But as he got near the top he slowed down Something wasn’t right He could feel it The glow had changed It wasn’t nearly as bright now He walked as softly as he could Soon he reached the top of the hill He stayed behind some trees and tried to see down the other side of the slope The glow was coming from a ball of light It was about the size of a van and it looked like a patch of fog Except that it was red and glowing and moving The fog swirled It lifted and seemed to À oat It got a little brighter as it moved along the slope It was at least fty yards away Stan took a step forward to see better He stepped on a fallen branch and it broke with a snap At the sound of the snap the fog lost most of its glow Stan could barely see it 9
