Original spooky stories by written by the students of Leigh Stringfellow. Each performer will share their story three times, first through writing, second through the art of live story telling and third, through a live performance on the harp at the Chapel Hill Public Library. This deepens the connection the performer has to the music they are sharing and explores the idea that music can be a form of story.

Ivy’s Story, inspired by “A Haunted House,” by Julie Guilford Keyes

On a dark stormy night I went to a haunted house, I knocked (no answer) I knocked again (no answer), so I went inside to see what was happening. I SAW A GHOST, I quickly ran outside slamming the door behind me. Was it just my imagination? I thought. So I never went to that house again.

Everly’s Spooky Story, inspired by “A Storm is Coming,” by Jacquelyn Bartlett

It was a dark and stormy night and then...

There was thunder and lightning. The lightning hit a tree and the tree disappeared.

And then...

Lightning hit another tree but this one turned into a rainbow and the rainbow fuzz disappeared.

And then...

The alarm clock rang and there was a skeleton playing the piano.

And then...

THE END

My first success story happened when I was ten.  A family of around three cats came to live at our school, they took refuge under the trailer that we had art in.  Eventually they started to grow very popular school wide, people started to bring in beds and food for the homeless cats.  Over a few months they were fully settled in and were happy hunting the moles that lived at school.  But one day at the school fall festival when the school had just started building a theater for the school plays, band recitals, and more, we saw a tiny orange, black and white kitten bolt underneath the fence into the busy construction site!  Since the cats under the art trailer chased her away, this three month old kitten could not find a home.  Over time the kitten came to live in the dangerous construction site. It was October and we were getting worried about the kitten getting to cold because we hadn't seen her for days until one day we started to ask around to see if anyone else had seen her in the construction site.  No one had except the sixth grade advisor.  We got in contact with her and apparently the reason we had not seen her was because this wonderful teacher had caught her over the weekend and taken her to the vet to be checked.  The kitten that would be now be known as Trick-Or-Treat was safe and happy at last, living with her rescuer, the sixth grade teacher.

Abby’s Poem, inspired by “Baroque Flamenco” by Deborah Henson-Conant

These creatures only come out at night
These things that are unholy to sight
Their bodies with cold white bones
They no longer lie beneath the stones

So they come out to play
And come out to dance
They sometimes dabble
In romance

We fear they’re horrible hollow skulls
But really emotions fill the holes
And with all their organs taken out
Still yet remains a faithful heart

So they sing this song
And it floats on the wind
To all who don’t
Believe in them

And though they may seem insincere
It’s just what you were brought up to hear

Though you can’t see it
And you don’t believe it
There is no one more honest
Then the skeletons and me.

Miner Gleason’s Story, inspired by “Pavane for a Dead Princess” by Ravel

 Once upon a time, many years ago, in a kingdom far, far away, magic did abound. The king’s magicians used this magic for good, to help the subjects throughout his fair kingdom.
     The king had a daughter who loved a dashing young knight, and her hand was promised to him in marriage. But an evil witch grew jealous of the lovely young princess and contrived to have the knight sent away into battle, and bewitched his sword so it would fail him when he needed it most. She then cast a spell upon the princess, putting her into a sleep like unto death, to be awakened only by a kiss from her knight. Alas, the knight’s sword shattered in battle and he fell, never to return.
     Still the princess sleeps on, waiting for a kiss from her knight that will never come.

Eliza’s Halloween Story, inspired by “Chason dans les nuit” by Carlos Salzedo

This is a story inspired by an encounter I had this summer while backpacking in the tundra of Alaska for a month. We had been hiking and stumbled upon a rib cage and a gut pile--we could tell it was a caribou, recently killed. So, this piece reflects the last moments for this caribou. 

An unsuspecting caribou wanders through the tundra as the light summer breeze blows. A little ground squirrel pops out, scaring it, but the caribou quickly goes back to eating the moss and lichen. Suddenly, heavy footsteps alert the caribou to danger, and it lifts its great head, searching for the threat: a hungry grizzly bear. The caribou holds its breath, hoping to be still, but the bear sees it.

A dance-like chase ensues, with the caribou leaping away and the bear storming after. At one point, the caribou tries to quietly creep away, but it snaps a branch and the bear is hot in pursuit again. Eventually, the caribou's stamina starts to fade, and the bear lunges with animal power. With its last bit of energy, the caribou kicks its hooves as the bear pins it down. With one last kick, the bear triumphs and the caribou draws its last breath.

With a full belly, the satisfied bear lumbers away, ready to hibernate for the winter. The wind whistles through the tundra as the caribou finally returns to the earth.

The nightingale, pictured above, is a bird best known for its beautiful song , frequently sung by single male birds throughout the night as well as during the day to serenade migrating females.  Deborah Henson-Conant wrote this harp arrangement in memory of her mother who would sing to her while in the car, while doing dishes, and every night at bedtime.

That fact, along with the charming children’s book, Love You Forever by  Robert Munsch, are the inspiration for my story:

Once there was a little girl named Deborah whose mother sang to her a song about a nightingale every night while tucking her into bed.  Her mother’s voice always washed away the child’s concerns of the day and quickly lulled her into sleep.  When Deborah grew to be a teenager and no longer needed to be tucked in, she would hear her mother singing that sweet song while pulling weeds in the garden, doing the dishes, or while driving the car.   When Deborah left home for college, she sometimes found herself a bit homesick and missing her mother’s voice, prompting her to phone her mom at the end of the day requesting the song.  Eventually, Deborah got married and had children of her own.   Not surprisingly, she chose to sing the same lullaby to her little ones just as her mother had sung to her all those years prior.  

Years pass and Deborah’s now elderly mother nears death.  At her mother’s bedside while holding her frail hand, it is Deborah’s turn to sing to her mother the song which had been central to their intertwined lives.  Recognizing she has just said her final goodbye, Deborah lingers in the now quiet room.  Gazing out at the dark sky and the twinkling stars, she hears a single nightingale off in the distance.  Laden with grief and with tears running down her cheek, she smiles, believing her mother’s soul is singing to her one final time.

Emma’s Story & Video Performance of “Hairy Scary Little Bat” by Julie Guilford Keyes

Harry Scary little bat, hanging from the roof like that. Please don’t fly into my hair that would give me such a scare.

Fly bat, back to your cave. Fly free away from me.

Black bat hanging from eave, I am asking you to leave.

You don’t have to be so mean.

Let me enjoy me Halloween!

Siona’s Poem, inspired by the “Boogeyman Blues” by Mitch Landy

In the midnight hour, when the shadows creep,

The bogeyman plays, while the world’s asleep. 

For in the shadows all alone lives a bogeyman playing the blues. 

Plucking his harp strings he plays a tune about his blues underneath the full blue moon.