The Stories We Tell about Ghosts
By A. C. Wise, first published in Looming Low Volume 1
A group of kids use an app to find ghosts around their town, which seems to reflect real people who have died. One of the boys develops special relationship with the app and mysteriously disappears.
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Plot Summary
A boy brings his younger brother, Gen, along to hang out with him and his friends at their neighbors’ clubhouse. The six kids — the boy, Gen, Adam, Luke, Heather, and Holly — are told by Adam about a new app called "Ghost Hunt!" where they can collect virtual ghosts by walking around their town and taking pictures of them. Gen is a little scared of the app, but the boy reassures him that they can quit anytime. As the kids play they begin to tell stories of the different ghosts around the town. The first story, told by Holly, is about “The Starving Man” who used to be a man, named Martin, who lived near the edge of town. Holly says that after a snowstorm Martin, his wife, and his baby were all trapped in their house and he ended up eating his baby and his wife. Martin was later strung up in a tree by the angry townspeople. After school one day, the boy and Gen catch their first ghost on the app — a drowned girl who seems to be talking to them through their phones. Adam informs them that the app has a feature where they can hear the ghost voices, but the two brothers can’t make out what the girl is saying. That night, the boy and his parents are awoken to the sound of Gen screaming, as he is having a night terror in the hallway. Their mother saves Gen from falling down the stairs, but the event frightens them all. The boy does some research the next day and finds that the ghost girl that they had caught on their app is based on a real girl who had drowned in their town. Later, Adam tells them a story of another ghost girl who used to live at “The House at the End of the Street.” The girl supposedly disappeared, and years later drawings were found all around an oak tree near her house, all containing a skinny black figure. The kids speculate that it is The Starving Man. The boy decides to stop playing the game for a little bit for Gen’s sake. The two don’t see the other kids for a week, but soon see a ghost through their phones hanging from a swingset. The sight frightens Gen, but the two don’t discuss the ordeal. They begin to hang out with the other kids again and they make plans to visit The House at the End of the Street, which Gen strangely helps plan out. The kids all sneak out that night and go to the house. They watch as Gen approaches the front door and steps in. The boy runs after him, but cannot find him. Later, after Gen has disappeared, the boy visits his friends at the clubhouse one last time. The boys' phone pings from the app "Ghost Hunt!" and he checks it — hearing only the sound of Gen calling his name.
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