Here’s my 2014 entry into Susanna Leonard Hill’s annual Halloweensie contest.
The entries must be 100 words or less and contain the words pumpkin, broomstick and creak (some version of creak). Rules can be found here, if you are interested.
Behind You!
By Stacy S. Jensen
Milo scratched under his pumpkin costume.
An itchy breath tickled his neck.
The step creaked at his neighbor’s door.
“Trick or Treat!” he yelled, but the neighbor stuttered, “B-behind you!”
Milo saw a monster-sized Tag.
The monster chased him as he ran home.
Milo wiggled out of his costume.
He hit the monster with a broomstick.
He tried to rip the monster off with his teeth.
His bare hands couldn’t tame the monster.
Nothing worked, until Milo found his special weapon — blue scissors.
With one snip, the monster Tag vanished.
Word tells me this is 90 words without the title.
Please visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog, because there will be dozens if not hundreds of fun and scary short stories for Halloween.
Very clever Stacy. Loved your entry. Hilarious that it was his Monster Tag…ha!
Hi Stacy! Clever and fun story!
Thanks Janet.
Stac, love this entry. Love the ending. What a wonderful idea. You’re GENIUS! Hugs, my friend.
Haha! I could picture this well with an adorable tow-headed mc! (Hoping you’ll more wedding pics too!)
Oh that it too funny! Aren’t tags a nuisance. Really creative, Stacy
Ha! This one hits a little close to home though, because I wore my yoga pants inside out last week. So I know what it’s like to have a monster tag attack!
*giggle*! What a brilliant concept, Stacy!
Great story, Stacy! I Love that it was his costume tag that chased him home. so funny! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
My kids wanted all the tags clipped out as soon as we got home. No itchy necks but it made it hard to figure out hand-me-down sizes!
Those tags are solo creepy!
This is adorable. Great job, Stacy! 🙂
This was awesome! And kids and adults can relate to that darn monster tag :-).
Very cute, Stacy! Tags can definitely sneak up on us and be monstrously irritating. Thank goodness for blue scissors!
The Blue Scissors trick!! Hooray! Delightful fun, Stacy.
Thanks Linda!
Those awful monster tags! Blue scissors are a must. Fun story.
They are awful Johnell!
Hilarious! This is soooo much my son and his sensitive skin! Great story, Stacy!
Stacy…that is so clever and fun! And true…especially the tags that are sewn in the back of the neck…owie!…why do they put them there. And when I try to cut them, I wind up cutting the fabric and making a hole in the shirt.
But I digress…great story and great ending!
Such an original story. It’s relatable. I mean, who hasn’t been chased by a Tag Monster at some point in their life. And this was funny too. Can’t you just see the illustrations for this? So glad I stopped by to read your story.
Thanks Pamela. I’m glad you stopped by too!
Scissors save the day! I wish I had a tootsie roll for every tag I’ve clipped. Great idea!
A tootsie roll for a tag! Now that would be a good Halloween treat! Thanks Deborah!
Scary, scary story, Stacy! BWAHAHA! :0)
I have a very low level for scary, as you can tell Donna. Thanks for stopping by.
Hahaha, Stacy! What fun! And how kid-true! I’ve got one of those boys who couldn’t stand tags, or wool, or pants that were too rough or too tight in the waist – all those sensory details that can be so bothersome 🙂 How clever to turn it into a Halloween monster 🙂 Thanks so much for joining in the fun all the way from Disney 🙂
Thanks Susanna for the inspiration to write. I must say I had a time working creak into a story…. not sure why, but my brain wanted to resist it. I’m loving all the stories I’ve read. I was able to read a few while in Disney, but the number of entries has gotten away from me.
That’s it! Scissors. I was told that I get a ‘bigger hammer’ when things don’t work… Took me a day to realize it was funny (and true). Thank you and sounds like you are having fun in Disney 🙂
Ooh. Milo could use a “bigger hammer” too! Yep, we had a blast at Disney … not trying to catchup.
Good one, Stacy! And so true – kids who don’t like tags REALLY don’t like tags!
Carrie I had some in-house inspiration for this one!
So fun! Awesome, Stacy.
Thanks Sylvia!
Stacy, this is so clever. Love that Tag becomes real. A very possible contender for BIG prizes.
Thanks Kathy and for stopping by!
Ahh, the trusty blue scissors. Most original!
Scissors are a very trusty!
Ha! We have wielded the blue scissors a few times over here. : ) Great story!
Blue scissors are an awesome defense.
The dreaded tag. Perfect, Stacy!
They are dreadful Cathy!
cute – love the tag…
Thanks Sue!
Those dreaded tags! I cut them off as soon I get home from the shops.
We play a game of “will he” or “won’t he” notice. Most tags are on the shirt now… so that’s nice.
Scitchy tags are like pebbles in the shoe. They feel monsterous until you can see how tiny they are!
Thank goodness for the boo (I mean BLUE) scissors!
Face palm Cathy! Boo scissors! Brilliant. Even cut out they are monstrous in our house.
I remember those days of kids with monstrous tags–glad Milo found the scissors!
Milo loves his scissors!
That is veryy clever. Remember those itchy tags. You caught me by surprise.
Yay. I surprised you Patricia!
Aarrgh those itchy tags! Scissors always win at our house too. Great job!
Yes. We employ the scissors a lot.
Those darn tags can be quite annoying! I love how you turned this into a Halloween story. Cute!
Very annoying. Thanks for stopping by Carrie.
Oh, I get it 🙂 Cute!
Thanks!
Those terrible tags are gonna get you! Cute take on those hideous things.
They are always after us … so my 4 year old says!
Oh, this would be excellent for kids who are sensory sensitive. The sale of blue scissors would increase like crazy. 😉 Way to go!
Very Creative! Tags are monstrous!
Very cool! Loved this, Stacy!
What a great story, Stacy! Lots of luck to you!
Stacy,
This story is very apropos for all the kids out there with autism and sensory processing disorder!
Sara
AWESOME! 😀