0:00

Hello, this is Bertie and

0:02

welcome to the results of our Halloween

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writing competition 2023 in

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conjunction with Ocarina Player

0:11

in Italy and Blum La Radio

0:13

des Enfants in France. These

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are the English results. They

0:18

are all so good that I am going to squeeze

0:20

as many spooky stories as

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I can into this programme. So

0:25

sit back and be afraid,

0:28

very afraid. And

0:31

I'm going to start with Clara the

0:33

Secret Witch by Lydia from

0:36

Idaho. There was once

0:38

a witch. She belonged to a

0:40

club for witches and wizards. One

0:43

day she was in her kitchen making

0:45

toad stew for her witch

0:47

meeting. Her watch

0:50

beeped,

0:51

time to go, she

0:53

cackled. So she took the handle off

0:55

the pot that the toad stew was in and

0:58

walked over to the little building that

1:00

had been abandoned and was now used

1:03

for witches and wizards meetings.

1:05

She walked in. There were

1:08

about ten rows of benches.

1:10

There was also a table at the back with

1:13

other kinds of food. There

1:15

was eyeball salsa,

1:17

a mushroom cake and a pot

1:19

of worm spaghetti. The

1:22

witch set her stew on the table

1:24

beside the others and sat down

1:27

in an empty space by a wizard

1:29

with a big red beard.

1:31

The lady who ran the meeting

1:33

was at the front.

1:35

She began to speak.

1:37

Now that we are all

1:39

here, I have

1:41

decided that we should

1:44

do something evil

1:47

since we are all witches and

1:49

wizards.

1:51

Let's make candy

1:54

for the kids and put poison

1:56

in it. "'Hey,'

2:01

said our witch, "'you never

2:04

said we would do anything evil.' "'Well,

2:07

I do now,' said

2:10

the lady, and our witch

2:12

replied, "'Then

2:13

I'm leaving and I'm never

2:15

coming back.' And she never went

2:17

to the meeting again. Later

2:20

she married a human man and had a child

2:23

named Clara. A few weeks

2:25

after Clara was born, the witch decided

2:28

to go for a walk. She

2:30

accidentally crossed paths with the

2:32

witch who ran the club. "'You

2:36

are the witch who disagreed

2:38

with me,' the witch in

2:40

charge of the club said.

2:42

Our witch gulped.

2:44

Then the witch in charge of the club put

2:46

a spell on her,

2:49

known as a freezing spell, and

2:52

walked away.

2:53

So Clara

2:55

and her dad lived together alone.

2:58

When Clara turned five, she

3:01

invited all of her friends and ate her

3:03

birthday dinner happily. After

3:05

dinner Clara heard a strange

3:10

noise. She must have

3:12

been the only one who heard it, because

3:14

nobody was acting like they had heard anything

3:16

strange. Clara

3:19

silently crept to where the noise

3:21

came from. She climbed

3:23

through a picture frame and then through

3:26

a magic mirror. Clara

3:28

found herself in a dark room with

3:31

her mum. Her

3:34

mum's body was under a spell,

3:37

but her mind and spirit were in the dark

3:39

room. Clara was speechless,

3:42

but her mum exclaimed, "'How

3:44

did you get here?'"

3:48

Meanwhile Clara's

3:50

dad was worried. He

3:52

looked for Clara and when he couldn't find

3:54

her, he opened the picture

3:57

frame. He was curious, so he could

3:59

have been the one who had the best of luck. went in. Inside

4:02

he found the mirror lying on the ground.

4:05

He looked into it. Suddenly,

4:08

Clara's dad got sucked in. Since

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he did not know any magic, he

4:14

turned into a big, huge,

4:17

ape-like monster. There was a

4:19

big rivit, and then,

4:22

nobody knew what happened

4:25

after that. Wow,

4:28

and that's where the story of Clara the Secret

4:30

Witch ends, on a very dramatic

4:32

note. Thank you, Lydia,

4:35

for that amazing story which you wrote

4:37

in your own handwriting. We

4:39

particularly enjoyed the details about the weird

4:41

food and the witches' meeting. And

4:45

our next story is by Eliam,

4:47

who is ten years old from the state of Oregon,

4:50

USA. It's called Engrave

4:53

Danger, which you will see

4:56

is a word pun. Warning, it

4:58

features scary zombies. He's

5:01

suggesting various noises and sound

5:04

effects along the way, which we'll try

5:06

to put in. Once upon

5:08

a time, there was a house on

5:10

the edge of town, where

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there was a graveyard. One

5:15

day, a boy named Jimmy was playing

5:17

outside, when from the graveyard

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he heard strange noises.

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He looked over the wall into the graveyard

5:34

and saw a hand wriggling

5:36

in the dirt. Suddenly, with a

5:38

tremendous scream, a

5:42

zombie burst out from under the ground.

5:46

Rain,

5:50

rain. The zombie

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moaned, and it turned and lurched

5:56

in Jimmy's direction. Jimmy ran

5:58

into the town, calling,

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Zombie! Zombie!

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With a zombie in hot pursuit,

6:07

villagers came out to the houses to see

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what the commotion was all about. Immediately

6:13

one was bitten by the zombie and in

6:15

horrible transformation became

6:18

a zombie himself. Jimmy

6:20

ran for the royal palace where he knew

6:23

help could be found. He

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burst into the palace, tore past the guards

6:29

and ran straight into the throne room. Who

6:32

is this impudent boy? yelled

6:35

the king.

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Please! Please, your

6:38

majesty, the kingdom is in terrible

6:41

danger! replied

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Jimmy. The

6:44

king could plainly see that the boy

6:47

was terrified and he decided

6:49

that he had better take him seriously.

6:52

The king gave orders that the royal wizard

6:55

should be summoned immediately.

6:59

The wizard was an extremely old

7:01

man with an extremely

7:03

long silver beard, wearing

7:06

his pajamas and fluffy bunny

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slippers. He shuffled

7:11

into the room.

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What's going on? What's

7:14

happened? he asked. Jimmy

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shouted, My lord, my

7:19

wizard, the kingdom is under attack!

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Look at me zombies!

7:24

The wizard stretched and

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yawned.

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I'm annoyed that you interrupted my eighteen

7:33

hours of beauty sleep but since

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I'm already awake I'll help

7:37

you. Jimmy begged,

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Please let me help. This

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is my village too. The

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people

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I love and care for are

7:48

being zombified.

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The wizard extended a glowing finger

7:53

and touched Jimmy on the nose. An

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electric shock flowed into Jimmy and

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his body glowed. for a few seconds.

8:02

He felt all tingly, the wizard

8:04

whispered. Now you

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have the power to fight the zombies.

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But only until

8:12

midnight, then your

8:15

powers will disappear, and

8:17

you will be as before.

8:21

By now half the villagers had been turned

8:23

into zombies. Each villager was

8:25

bitten, changed, and then bit someone

8:28

else. Really, on the wizard used

8:30

their powers to turn everybody back

8:33

to normal. Suddenly Jimmy

8:35

realised that he couldn't find

8:38

the wizard. The wizard had

8:40

been bitten. Now

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it was up to Jimmy

8:45

to save the village. Jimmy

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began dueling with the wizard zombie.

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Jimmy was young and spry, but

8:54

inexperienced with his powers. The

8:56

wizard was old and zombified, but

8:58

still very, very skilled.

9:01

The two seemed evenly matched

9:04

as they shot spells back and

9:06

forth at each other. Suddenly

9:09

the sound of the church clock began

9:12

to strike in the distance. It

9:15

was just a few seconds

9:18

before midnight.

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With a great effort that took

9:28

all of his strength, he shook

9:30

and gave one magical blast in

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an orb that covered the whole town.

9:38

The wizard was cured and so

9:40

was everyone in the village.

9:42

Jimmy was a hero. Thank

9:47

you Elium for that very lively and

9:49

scary zombie story. We loved

9:51

all the action. And a

9:53

quick mention for Sophie Lynn who

9:56

wrote about her sister Ella staying

9:58

at home to hand out candy to Jimmy. the trick or

10:00

treaters, and she gets a fright

10:03

when some real Halloween spirits visit

10:05

her. Sophie centres a picture

10:07

which we are including on the website, and

10:10

Preeti who is ten years old centres

10:12

a story from India called The

10:14

Ghost of Kalashwati. It's

10:17

tragic and creepy and I'm going to give you

10:19

a summary. In the village

10:21

of Rampur, a couple, Ramnal

10:23

and Kalashwati, desperate for

10:25

a child, sought the help of a

10:27

tantric who lived in the forest. A

10:30

tantric is a kind of spiritual advisor.

10:34

On the way there, Kalashwati tragically

10:36

drowned in a well and her vengeful

10:39

spirit haunted the vicinity.

10:42

The fearful villagers sought the

10:44

tantric's guidance. On

10:46

a moonless night, he performed

10:48

a ritual by the well, attempting

10:51

to free her spirit. Recognising

10:53

Kalashwati's yearning for her unborn

10:56

child, tantric brought forth

10:58

a boy who communicated with her

11:00

spirit. Addressing her

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as his mother, he expressed his

11:05

love and wished for her peace, imploring

11:08

her to leave and not haunt the villagers.

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Kalashwati's spirit, touched by

11:13

the child's words, disappeared, bringing

11:16

peace to Rampur. Thank

11:18

you Preeti for that spooky story. We

11:20

loved the plot and I hope you don't mind

11:22

that we read the shortened version. Zara

11:26

Bhavya Shah sent us a story called

11:28

The Spectral Scholar. Here's

11:30

the set-up. On Halloween

11:33

at Rosewood High School, year seven

11:35

students are excited for the disco

11:37

after school. Ezra Sharma,

11:40

dressed as a clown, joins his friends

11:42

Lila Campbell, Ophelia Moore, dressed

11:45

as a pumpkin, and Otto Driscoll,

11:47

dressed as a ghost. Julian

11:49

Palmer, a classmate who thinks he's too

11:52

mature for Halloween, taunts

11:54

them. Then he shares

11:56

a story of a ghost named Samantha,

11:59

the Spectral Spectral Scholar, who

12:01

haunts the school on Halloween. Do

12:04

you think that Samantha the Spectral

12:06

Scholar is real, or are you

12:08

a skeptic? Thank

12:11

you, Zara, we really enjoyed reading your story.

12:14

And a quick shout out to Cohen, who

12:16

sent us a story about woodland fungus

12:18

turning into rampaging monsters

12:21

with gloopy yellow teeth and slimy

12:24

green eyes. And

12:26

we had six entries from Richard

12:29

Avenue Elementary. This

12:31

one is by Kinsley, and I guess

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it's in a girl's voice, so I'll do my best.

12:36

I'm afraid Jana's not feeling very well today,

12:38

which is why I'm reading all the stories.

12:41

Hi, I am the witch, and

12:44

my name is Cora.

12:46

I like to make a smoky

12:49

drink that are spooky. When

12:51

I see kids, I

12:54

tell them to drink my smoky

12:56

drinks. When they

12:58

do, they turn into mean witches

13:01

like me. I send them

13:03

back home, it's so funny.

13:09

I have a friend named

13:11

Spooky Boy Witch, and he loves

13:13

to do what I do too. My

13:21

pet is a ghost dog.

13:24

It says, bloop, and bloop outside.

13:29

Ah, kids are scared of my house because

13:31

it's so scary. My

13:35

jack-o'-lanterns can talk. And

13:37

when they do, all the little boys

13:40

scream in here, just like this kid right

13:42

now. Yay!

13:45

It's

13:45

so funny to me. Kids

13:48

screaming, kids are scared

13:50

of me.

13:53

As myself, I love

13:55

to scare kids, and when I do,

13:57

they're not happy. I have a baby.

13:59

my eyes set on this smart, ugly

14:02

boy named Jack. I

14:04

planned to spook him today and

14:07

he won't be smart anymore. And you

14:10

know what? I have a wolf tied

14:12

up at the front of my house. It's hilarious

14:15

because it almost got someone's

14:17

candy. One boy even

14:20

tried to pet it and almost got

14:22

hurt. I got away. Oh, pity

14:24

about that. After that there was no

14:27

more Halloween and

14:27

that was sad for all the kids who came by

14:30

my house. But it was funny for me, for

14:32

my whole family, we laughed so

14:34

much that the house was shaking side to side.

14:37

We yelled loudly like Reliance.

14:40

A little girl told us,

14:42

You're not nice. And

14:45

after that

14:47

no more kids came by.

14:51

Well, thanks Kinsley. You've got a wild

14:53

imagination and a great sense of humour

14:56

and that was really well written. And

14:58

thank you to your schoolmates who sent us stories

15:01

in Lillianne, Alison, Cora

15:04

and Jar for sending us your

15:06

stories from the fourth grade at Richard

15:08

Avenue Elementary School in Ohio,

15:11

USA. We enjoyed all

15:13

of your stories. Sorry, we're just reading

15:16

one as a representative one of

15:18

the school. Now, if

15:21

you are frightened of snakes as I

15:23

am, you might want to put your fingers

15:25

in your ears for the next story.

15:29

It's called Jack and the Haunted Castle by Caius

15:31

who will be seven years old just ten days

15:34

after Halloween. As time

15:36

is short, I'm just going to read you the scariest

15:38

passage from inside the

15:41

haunted castle. Jack

15:44

pulls out his flashlight and finds

15:46

that there are snakes everywhere.

15:49

There is a green anaconda hanging

15:51

upside down from the shelves on the walls.

15:54

There are black mampers all

15:57

over the floor. There is a giant

15:59

bow. constrictor curled up on

16:02

a lower shelf. Jack

16:04

even notices that there is a pit

16:06

viper in the middle of the floor staring

16:09

at him. Jack also sees

16:11

a skeleton key on the other side of the room and

16:13

thinks it might come in handy. Jack

16:16

heads across the room to get the key but the

16:18

pit viper is about to strike.

16:21

Jack dodges the viper and then the

16:23

green anaconda wakes up.

16:26

It sees Jack and slithers down

16:28

the shelves towards him. The

16:30

green anaconda bumps into the boa

16:32

constrictor. The boa constrictor becomes

16:35

angry. All the black mambas wake

16:37

up and all slither towards Jack.

16:39

Jack quickly runs to get the skeleton

16:42

key and then runs out of that room but

16:44

the snakes slither after

16:47

him. Jack runs down the hallway

16:49

and finds another door which brings him to a different

16:52

room. The room is damp, dark

16:54

and smells like fish.

16:56

Jack finds a pond in the room. There

16:59

are alligators but

17:01

that is not the worst thing he will find

17:04

in the castle. His flashlight

17:06

gets water in it and the batteries won't

17:08

work anymore. It

17:11

is now very

17:13

dark. Well

17:14

I hate snakes but I love that

17:16

story and and Kias

17:19

you really do know your snakes. You

17:21

know all about black mambas and pythons

17:24

and bit snakes and well you're an expert

17:26

and your story made my flesh creep

17:29

well done. And a big shout out

17:31

to your little sister Finley who is

17:33

four and who sent us a story about two

17:35

cats Lucy and Padfoot and a lovely picture

17:38

of the cats which we are publishing. Our

17:41

next spooky story starts more

17:43

gently and builds up. It's

17:45

by Adia from Austin

17:48

Texas and it's in a very different style.

18:00

with joy. This year

18:02

she was determined to find a costume that

18:04

would make her stand out from the crowd.

18:08

As she strolled through the aisles of

18:10

the new Halloween store called Odds

18:12

and Ends, Rebecca's eyes widened

18:15

with delight. There were countless

18:17

options to choose from witches, ghosts,

18:20

superheroes and most importantly,

18:22

vampires. She was

18:25

immediately drawn to a box containing

18:27

a set of vampire teeth, a

18:29

cape with a hood and what appeared to

18:31

be a tiny pack of fake blood.

18:34

The package was alluring with its dark

18:36

and mysterious design. Rebecca

18:39

couldn't resist the temptation and decided

18:41

to purchase it. That

18:43

evening Rebecca eagerly opened the box.

18:46

She carefully placed the vampire fangs

18:48

in her mouth admiring her reflection

18:51

in the mirror. They fit perfectly,

18:53

giving her an eerie and captivating

18:56

appearance. Excited

18:58

to complete her transformation, Rebecca

19:00

turned her attention to the packet of fake

19:02

blood. However, to

19:05

her surprise, the packet was unusually

19:08

thick and refused to open.

19:11

Frustration began to creep in, but

19:14

Rebecca was determined not to

19:16

let it dampen her spirit. In

19:18

a moment of impulsive decision, she

19:21

decided to use her teeth and tear open

19:23

the packet. As

19:25

the plastic gave way, a small amount

19:27

of red fluid splashed into

19:30

her mouth.

19:31

It tasted strangely like ketchup,

19:34

which brought a smile to Rebecca's face.

19:37

She loved ketchup and the unexpected

19:40

flavour only added to the authenticity

19:43

of the vampire experience.

19:45

Unable to resist the temptation,

19:48

Rebecca tilted her head back and gulped

19:50

down the remaining contents of the packet. But

19:54

as the last drop slid

19:56

down her throat,

19:58

a sudden wave of unease washed

20:01

over her. The taste

20:03

of the ketchup vanished, replaced

20:06

by a metallic tang that

20:08

sent shivers down her spine.

20:11

Rebecca's heart raced as

20:13

she realised something was wrong.

20:16

Panic set in as she felt a strong sensation

20:19

coursing through her veins. Her

20:21

vision blurred and she stumbled

20:23

backward, touching her chest. The

20:26

room seemed to spin around her as

20:28

she struggled to catch her breath.

20:31

Within seconds, Rebecca's body

20:34

underwent a terrifying transformation.

20:37

Her skin grew pale, her eyes

20:40

turned a deep crimson and her

20:42

once beating heart fell

20:45

silent. She had unwittingly

20:48

unleashed a curse upon

20:50

herself, transforming

20:54

into a vampire. And

20:57

Adia tells us that if she

20:59

had more time, she would have written

21:01

more. But we thought that was a good

21:03

ending and Adia it was really

21:06

well written. Thank you. Our

21:08

next story is by Armond Gross aged 7. And

21:12

the younger ages do write in a very

21:14

different sort of style.

21:16

This one's a little bit like a book.

21:19

Chapter 1

21:20

Halloween in the Forest

21:23

In the forest everything was fine.

21:27

Chapter 2

21:36

Tree fell down. It was

21:38

Jake who cut the tree down. He heard

21:41

an ultimate hammer. Chapter 3

21:44

Peter knocked on doors to ask for

21:46

help. The people planted

21:49

seeds for new trees. The

21:51

End Thank you Armond

21:54

for that concise storytelling and

21:57

it suggested a great sound effect. And

21:59

thank you to your brother, Fionton, for his

22:01

story about nights. And

22:04

now for a little night music. In

22:07

this story by Ashweth, who is 13.

22:12

Once, on a cool October evening,

22:15

amid falling leaves and dimming

22:18

twilight, two friends, Nico

22:20

and Leo, found themselves

22:23

drawn to the edge of whispering

22:25

woods. Legend

22:27

spoke of the forest being home

22:29

to eerie whispers and unsettled

22:32

spirits. But Leo

22:35

was always sceptical and

22:37

believed those rumours to be just

22:39

tales. As

22:42

they ventured deeper, the moonlight cast

22:44

long shadows over the twisted trees,

22:47

branches crunched underfoot,

22:50

the only sound in the quiet woods.

22:54

The further they walked, the colder

22:56

the air grew, with whispers blending

22:59

with the rustling leaves. Suddenly

23:01

a soft, haunting melody played,

23:04

making them shiver. They looked

23:06

at each other.

23:08

Did you hear that, Nico?

23:10

Leo whispered. Following

23:13

the melody, they discovered an old,

23:16

overgrown mansion. Its

23:19

windows shimmered with a strange

23:21

light, and a tune seemed to emanate

23:24

from within. Do you think

23:27

a ghost's playing? Nico

23:29

pondered. They crept in. Leo

23:33

wide-eyed, admitted, I've always

23:35

been a sceptic, but this is unsettling.

23:39

I've never seen a mansion here in the woods before.

23:41

Bracing themselves, they neared the mansion.

23:44

With every step, the tune felt more

23:46

enchanting. Pushing

23:49

the creaking door open, they

23:51

saw a dusty grand hall. At

23:53

its centre was a piano, its keys,

23:56

moving on their own. The

23:58

phantom pianist was unseen.

23:59

but its presence was

24:02

undeniable.

24:08

The two friends shared a glance, then

24:10

sat at the piano, letting their fingers

24:12

join the ghostly tune. As

24:14

they played, the whole room came

24:17

alive with shadows, dancing

24:19

gracefully.

24:21

Nico looked at Leo smiling.

24:24

It seems Leo. Even

24:26

sceptics can find wonder

24:29

in unexpected places.

24:35

Hmm, thank you Ashrith. That's

24:37

an atmospheric story. And thank

24:40

you too to Annika in Ontario,

24:42

who sent us a funny story called The White Lady,

24:45

about a ghost who hitched a ride on the back

24:47

of a bicycle. And

24:50

a quick mention to Olivia, six years old in Ontario,

24:53

who sent us a story about two girls called

24:55

Amy and Amelia, who sneak out

24:57

on their own for Halloween. Here's

24:59

just a very short extract from

25:01

Olivia's story. Just

25:04

then there was a vampire with sabre teeth.

25:07

And it was so scary. It almost

25:09

made Amelia faint. They ran,

25:11

but whenever they looked, it was there. Then

25:14

it shape-shifted into a snake with

25:16

sabre teeth too. It was about to

25:19

bite Amelia

25:19

when Amy punched it, whack,

25:22

right in the face, slam! It was

25:24

so angry!

25:27

And I'm glad to say that the story ends happily.

25:29

Thank you Olivia for that lively story

25:31

about two very spirited young girls. Next

25:35

up, a story by Daphne from New Mexico

25:37

in the USA. It's called Repeat. Trick

25:40

or treat! I called out

25:42

as the door swung open, revealing

25:45

a sweet old lady wearing a witch

25:47

hat. The bucket of candy

25:49

she held was labelled Wish

25:52

Candy. Using us each

25:54

a sparkly candy, she called

25:56

out,

25:57

Use it to make a wish!

27:59

get the point. Everyone was getting

28:02

sick from eating all of the candy

28:04

every day. I decided

28:08

to put a stop to this and

28:10

to do that I needed to get a wish candy

28:13

from that lady again. As

28:16

you know we were no longer stopping at the house

28:19

that held the wish candy but I had a plan.

28:22

I asked Sarah for her shiny blue candy.

28:24

I already ate it she told me.

28:27

Oh no! I yelled.

28:28

I need that candy.

28:31

Have you made a wish on it yet?

28:33

I asked.

28:34

No she said. Quick make

28:37

a wish. Just think in your head. Stop

28:40

Daphne's wish.

28:42

She did and I spent

28:45

my day waiting for it

28:47

to end. I woke

28:49

up with a gasp remembering what Sarah

28:51

and I did yesterday. Running

28:54

to the kitchen I saw my mom making

28:56

breakfast. Happy day after

28:58

Halloween she said.

29:02

I sighed in relief.

29:05

Well thank you Daphne for that story

29:08

and you can have too much of a good thing.

29:10

Well especially sugar and sweets. Nope

29:13

they're not good for you. Sorry kids.

29:16

We received several stories from

29:18

the pristine academy in Baliya in India.

29:21

Adhrit's story was about two friends

29:24

one of whom was afraid of Halloween and the

29:26

other who had a pumpkin army that protected

29:28

him. We really liked it but time

29:30

is a bit short. Sakshi wrote us a

29:32

story about a haunted bus. She

29:35

also sent us a really cool picture. If

29:37

there was a prize for a picture that would get it.

29:40

And Shwarya sent us a story

29:42

about a truck driver on his way to

29:44

Baliya at night. Anunushka

29:47

sent us a nice story about the haunted fort.

29:50

Thank you to all of you. Radhika

29:52

Kalkani sent us a story that we thought was

29:54

very original and striking called The Curse

29:57

of the Devil. It's about a girl called

29:59

Milly. who accidentally told a devil

30:02

about her greatest fear, being bullied

30:04

at school. From then on, the

30:06

bullying got worse. It's a story

30:08

with some authentic psychology, so

30:11

well done, though the ending is a bit

30:14

dark.

30:15

Anayab Sahul sent

30:17

us a story set in France. Thank you

30:19

very much for that story. And

30:21

Kuzmati Day, who is 14 years old

30:24

from India, sent us a clever story

30:26

set in London. We don't

30:28

have time to read it, but here's an

30:30

overview. I hope it gives you the flavour.

30:33

Named Mrs

30:35

Brown from Baker Street, who

30:38

hands her a pair of gold embroidery

30:40

scissors, belonging to their maid, Alice.

30:43

And

30:43

then the old lady mysteriously

30:46

vanishes. The

30:48

next day Alice sees the golden

30:50

pair of scissors, and is shocked

30:53

when she learns that Mrs Brown brought

30:55

them round in person. She

30:58

reveals that Mrs Brown was her former

31:00

employer, and that she has been bedridden

31:03

for years following an accident. Later

31:07

a note arrives, stating that Mrs

31:09

Brown had passed away the

31:11

previous night, leaving

31:14

Susan and Alice stunned

31:16

by the supernatural encounter. Thank

31:20

you Kuzmati. It's a clever plot, and it was

31:22

well written with lots of name checks for London

31:24

places, including Baker Street, the home

31:26

of Sherlock Holmes, a hint at mystery

31:29

and intrigue. Josiah

31:31

Delora, I hope I said your name correctly, sent

31:34

us a story that combined two great English

31:36

legends, Salan Salot and Robin

31:38

Hood. Thank you Josiah for your story,

31:40

The Cursed Hallows. And

31:43

thank you Oscar for Little Ant and

31:45

Gentle Mole Come Alive, and hello

31:47

to your dog Mr Sausage.

31:49

And Sarah from India

31:51

sent us a story about a haunted well. It's

31:54

a little long for us, but it involves

31:57

a clever prank involving ghostly lights,

31:59

voices and ghosts. chilling winds. Thank

32:01

you Sarah, and I'm going to finish

32:04

with a short story about a haunted cellar

32:06

by Helena Eichlin. Emma

32:09

had always been scared to go down the cellar

32:11

stairs, but when on the night before

32:13

Halloween her brother Samuel actually

32:16

dared her to go down, she had

32:18

had enough. It was at

32:20

dinner when they were staring daggers at

32:22

each other. She got up, slammed

32:24

her hands down on the table and made the dishes

32:27

rattle as she bellowed, I'll

32:29

go, I'll go, I'll go, so you can forget

32:31

about it. Emma? Her

32:34

mother said quietly. Uh oh,

32:37

if there was anything worse than being yelled

32:39

at, it was being talked to.

32:41

I

32:42

don't care! Emma

32:44

exploded. Emma

32:46

Rose Baker. Now

32:49

they were both angry. Oops! Go

32:51

to your room this instant!

32:55

She obeyed, only stopping to hiss in

32:57

her brother's ear. I'll do it! A

33:00

dinner in her room of rice and broccoli

33:02

was not at all enjoyable. However,

33:06

after dinner she had the satisfaction of

33:08

her brother coming in to spit out

33:10

a heartless apology. Ma'am

33:13

says I got to say sorry, but

33:16

so do you. So sorry, not.

33:19

Emma got up, smiled primly

33:22

and shut the door in his face. But

33:24

on the night of Halloween, all this

33:27

was forgotten, except for

33:29

the dare.

33:30

They watched as Emma descended

33:33

the stairs,

33:34

darkness everywhere.

33:36

She knew this was a bad idea.

33:39

One step, one frantic sprint she was

33:41

in. She could smell cleaning

33:44

products. She could hear only

33:46

the slow drip,

33:48

drip, drip of the water from the ceiling.

33:50

One more step. A chill

33:53

ran down her spine. Her eyes darted

33:55

around frantically. Another step. She

33:57

bit her nail. Stupidly, she.

33:59

She called out, �Hello!

34:02

Anyone?�

34:04

No answer.

34:06

She stopped.

34:07

She gasped. Something

34:09

was wrapping its icy fingers

34:12

around her neck.

34:13

She swallowed a scream. Then

34:15

she waved her arms around frantically to

34:17

fend off whoever or whatever

34:20

it was. She turned, expecting

34:22

to come face to face with her

34:24

attacker.

34:26

But instead she was just

34:28

in time to see an old mop fall

34:30

onto the floor behind her with a

34:33

clunk.

34:35

At least her eyes had adjusted to

34:37

the dark and she could see a little.

34:41

Trembling she took another step.

34:43

Footprints. That was odd.

34:46

She followed them. �Mmm, it

34:48

must be a beast� A werewolf.

34:52

A manwolf. A regular

34:54

wolf. One

34:56

more step. There were scratching

34:58

noises. Definitely

35:02

a wolf.

35:03

No!

35:05

No!

35:06

No!

35:07

Growling in the distance.

35:11

In the cupboard. That was where it was coming

35:13

from.

35:14

She took another step.

35:16

And slowly, slowly she

35:19

eased open the creaky

35:21

cupboard door.

35:25

And she found

35:27

her cat,

35:28

basking in the heat of the boiler.

35:31

Well Helena, well done. I really like that story a lot

35:34

actually. It was really well written. It

35:36

was very evocative of family life and

35:39

well done. So let�s

35:41

have another writing competition for

35:43

the holiday season. What I want

35:45

you to do is write about a magical

35:48

holiday. It can be any

35:50

type of holiday or seasonal celebration

35:53

and something magic has to happen.

35:56

Let us know your age, your name and

35:59

roughly where you are. you live, and send

36:01

them to me, Bertie, at StoryNorrie.com,

36:04

and mark them Holiday Writing

36:07

Competition. That's really important,

36:09

so that when I search my emails, I can find

36:11

your stories.

36:14

From me, Bertie, at StoryNorrie.com,

36:17

bye for now.