Saturday Shivers

Another tale from Kat O'Shea, Editor-in-Chief at Leap Books:

When I was about eight, we went to visit my cousins in Maryland. They took us into the woods behind their house to this ramshackle old building that had once been a crude cabin, but was now falling apart. We stepped inside, but couldn't go far because the splintered, rotting boards of the floor gave way to a huge hole. The jagged edges of the floorboards exposed a dank cellar far below constructed of irregular stones.

Across the room in the dim light, we could see a staircase to the second floor with most of the treads gone. As we stared at the creepy railing, with gaps like missing teeth, festooned with cobwebs, we heard footsteps overhead. Not the scritchy-scratching of squirrels or rodents, but the heavy tread of a man's boots. It sounded as if it was coming toward us. We screamed and ran, tripping over each other in our haste to get away.

When we were some distance from the house and convinced that no one was chasing us, we looked back. In a first floor window, we could see the shadowy face of a man peering out at us. We hightailed it out of the woods and never went back.

Was the man a figment of our overactive imaginations? I don't think so. A tramp? But if he was, why was he standing in the exact spot where the floor had caved in? A ghost?


Photograph Courtesy of  Nick Coombs

Saturday Shivers by Editor Kat O'Shea

Photo by Dr Joseph Valks

 It's Saturday again, and time for some spooky encounters with the paranormal. This one comes courtesy of Kat O'Shea, Editor-in-Chief of Leap Books. Is it any wonder Kat likes to edit the Leap Books line of paranormals?

When I was in high school, I was eating lunch with my friend Alice at a picnic table outside. Two girls sat at the table in front of us, spread out their lunches, and began making fun of Alice. When they made ape sounds and kissing noises, Alice’s eyes filled with tears. (Some people called the guy Alice had a crush on “Apeman.”) She gathered up her stuff and started to flee, but I’d had enough.

I stood and said, “You’d better watch out because I’m a witch. If you don’t leave Alice alone, I’ll cast  a spell on you.”

The girls giggled and pretended to cower.

“Ooo, scary,” one of them said.

I have no idea why I did this, but I held out my arms and wriggled my fingers toward their lunches in what I hoped looked like a witchlike motion.

A sudden breeze blew their bags of chips off the table and dumped them into their laps. Their eyes got wider.

The wind grew stronger. The plastic wrap on their sandwiches and cookies flapped open, a partially eaten pack of Tastycakes slid to the ground. They clutched each other and screamed as a carton of chocolate milk tipped over and doused the cookies.

As the puddle of milk flowed toward their laps, they leapt up. Throwing frightened glances over their shoulders, they fled, leaving their lunches behind.

Truth was, I was as petrified as they were. I have no idea if the wind was a coincidence or if I caused it, but I’ve been afraid to repeat that performance. I worry that nothing will happen, or even worse, that something will. I’m not sure which I’d prefer.

I still wonder: Can people really cause things like that to happen? Why did the wind stop as soon as I lowered my hands? How come only their table was affected by the wind? Nothing on our table or nearby tables even moved.

 Any thoughts? Anyone else ever have an experience like this? Feel free to leave comments or send your story to Lexie North and we’ll post it on the blog.

Russian Adoptive Parents Fear for Their Safety

St. Basil by Paul Martin Eldridge

Many people have been following the story of Artyom Savelyev (Artyem Saveliev). This incident also shed a spotlight on the difficulties adoptive parents face. Parents fearful for the safety of other family members or their communities have spoken out about some of the challenges they’ve confronted with their adopted children. One mother profiled on The Stir: A Café Mom Blog sleeps with a lock on her door, and another warned school officials her son was violent before the eighth grader pulled out a gun at school (Star Tribune, MN,  4/8/10).

Photo by Simon Howden

Many children in Russian orphanages suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause attachment disorders and developmental delays. So living with and loving these children can be difficult. One organization that offers support for these parents is the Ranch for Kids Project, which helps adopted children, especially those from Russia. Its equine therapy and outdoor program provide healing benefits for these "at risk" kids.

Leap Books author Jacqueline Horsfall also explores the ties between Russian adoptees and nature through the eyes of her 16-year-old protagonist, Darya, who was adopted from Russia and brought to America as a child. Darya feels a strange, mystical connection to the deer the rest of the town is intent on hunting. But is that tie strong enough to fight her whole community, especially when she is struggling to overcome deep feelings of isolation and insecurity?

Watch for Horsfall’s timely book, For the Love of Strangers, coming from Leap Books in Fall 2010.