2

Dear Odyssey,

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of many students and faculty who

have helped to make this project such a beautiful success. As always, a generous thank

you to Mrs. Donna Leppo for helping to proofread the final draft of the text and to assist

with binding and duplicating the copies. Thank you also to Mrs. Hankins, Mrs. Bilger

and Mr. Weidow for all their tech support. For helping to judge nearly fifty scary middle

school short stories, we wish to thank Ms. Sarah Bare, Ms. Laura Groseclose and Mrs.

Peggy Beidelman, our Lower School judges, and Mr. Rose, Mrs. Metzger and Mr. Gordon

who judged the Middle School submissions. Thanks also to Mrs. Smith and the Skipjack

and Schooner classes for submitting a variety of “Lost in a Cave” stories. Thank you to Mr.

Gordon and the Windjammers for their unique collection of odes. And to Mrs. Beidelman

and the Sloops for their poetry. To Mrs., Riordan and the Ketch thank you for the many

chinquapins and to all the Language Tutors who had their students participate we also ex-

tend our many thanks

We would like to thank Katie and Ms. Sara Bare for their painstaking efforts in

crafting our beautiful cover. Brynn and Riley deserve our special appreciation for their

many illustrations that are found throughout the magazine. Thanks also to those students

who helped with editing, typing copy and conducting research especially: Jack, Patrick

and Grace. Tucker also did a fine job with the Table of Contents and Sadie and Nikki

created our dedication to Charlie . A final thanks also go out to our photographers: Grace

and Riley. We also wish to thank Mrs. Siobhan Budnitz for her beautiful pictures of

Antietam National Battlefield. We hope that you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed

creating it.

Best wishes,

From All the Staff

3

Staff Artists

Augie

Brynn

Katie

Declan

Cover Art by Katie

Copy Editing/Layout

Sadie

Nikki

Patrick

Jack

Tucker

Photography Grace

Riley

Sadie

Nikki

Moderators: Mr. Philip Bender

Mr. Jason Gordon

Back Row: Katie, Sadie, Riley, Patrick, Tucker,

Brendan, Mr. Bender, Jack .

Front Row: Augie, Grace, Isabella , Brynn, Nikki,

Declan.

4

Our Staff Page

Artwork by Brynn

5

6

Mrs. Metzger: “Last year I got to cross the Odyssey Fun Run finish line with him”

Mrs. Palmieri:

“He came into homeroom one morning. He was jumping in the class room.

He was excited about the Jets winning. I said why are you so excited, he said

the Jets won and he said you can always be happy about something.”

Mr. Rose: “In Sloop Homeroom he was always really excited to play the games we had

in the morning. He didn’t care who played. He just wanted to play.”

Mrs. Bilger: “He always had a smile on his face.”

Mrs. Achziger: “He said that’s not their names because his class was saying what their

names are and people were giving fake names.”

Mrs. Scher: “Charlie was always smiling every time I saw him. He was always happy.”

Mr. Kroll: “I remember when they made him all-time quarterback at recess.”

Mrs. Lemieux: “Whenever I passed him in the hallway, he always had a smile.”

Mrs. Montgomery- Loy:

“He was always smiling, every morning when we would build things on the

computer and he loved playing. He would be so happy when able to play it.

I remember his laugh.”

Cooper: “He was always funny, fun to be around”

Harrison: “He shadowed me around the school.”

Liam: “Charlie would always tell funny jokes in Tutoring”

Ryan: “I remember how he would smile and play football all the time at recess”

Henry and Mr. Hutzler,

Philippe, Jack and Sam: “Red solo cup I fill you up. Let’s have a party”

Mr. Tikiob:

“I know this is hard to believe but not every student comes to math class

with a smile on his face. This was not true for Charlie. He came to math

class every day with a smile, an upbeat attitude, and his incredible sense of

humor. His positivity was contagious and he is dearly missed.”

Mrs. Smith:

“I loved how Charlie always had a smile on his face. I loved his work ethic

and how he cheerfully made up everything he missed. He always made the

group he worked with more fun!”

Shared Remembrances

7

“Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a

dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.” __ Sai Baba

8

Charlie’s Run...

On December the 8th friends and

family of Charlie Neave gathered at

Sparks Elementary School for the

first annual Charlie Neave Run. In

spite of the bitter cold and snow,

almost 900 people came to support

the cause. The money that was raised

will be used as financial aid to

support families who would other-

wise be unable to attend Odyssey. It

was a memorable day for all who

participated.

Friends and family of Charlie Neave gather to remember and honor Charlie.

More than 886 people participated in the run.

Gray, Mia and Tess pose for

Charlie’s Run.

9

Table of Contents

Scary Story

Contest Winners

12

Selected Scary Stories

Will Where’s the Rope 14-15

Christian The Haunted Mansion 16-17

Katie Waking Rage 18-21

Sadie The Old House 22-23

Brynn The Creepy Painting 24-25

Declan The Cabin 26-28

Henry The Trip 29

Patrick It’s Cold Out Here 30

Page and Sara Just Another Scary Story 31-32

Ryan A Figure in the Mist 33

Katie The Skeleton Key Chain 34

Cody The Spooky House 35

Cece The Disappearance 36-37

Twill The Trapped Boys 38

10

Connor All Alone 39

Lydia The Scary Story of the

Witch

40

Poetry in Season

Gracie, Riley

Katie

Photo Essay

Little Things

42

Sofia Autumn’s Senses 43

Riley Happiness is….. 44

Henry Ode to Assateague Island 45

Henry Ode to Canada 46

Jonathan Ode to the Real World 47

Kyle Ode to Homework 48

Riley Ode to a Kitty 49

Harrison Ode to Soccer 50

Brendan Ode to Ice Cream 51

Will Ode to the Grinch 52

Brynn Ode to Santa 53

Josh The Ocean 54

Jack Disney 55

Jake Winter 56

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Zachary

Months of the Year

57

Chris

Race Car Driving

58

Ryan

Horse

59

Twill

Bulldog

59

Cody

Turkey

59

Yvette

Dog

60

Libby

Bird

60

Armaan

Candy Cane

61

Bobby

Christmas

61

Remembering Our Family Stories

Declan A Visit to the Past

Remembering Thomas Francis Meagher

63-64

Augie My Great-grandfather's Story 65

Happy Holiday Wishes 66

12

Lower School Winners

First Ryan

Second Katie

Third Cody

Middle School Winners

First Will

Second Christian

Third Katie

13

Selected

Scary

Stories

“It is as much fun to scare as to be scared” — Vincent Price

Artwork by Brynn Peddy

14

Where’s the Rope? by Will

In 1915 just when World War I was starting, a disease hit in Germany

causing people’s hearts to stop and then start again in 48 hours. To keep people

from being buried alive, the government made it a law to have a rope that goes

down into the coffin so that if someone was still alive, the person could pull the

rope and a bell would go off. This happened to a lady but something went

wrong and the rope wasn’t set up. Her last words were, “Where’s the rope!!?” before she

suffocated.

One month later her house was sold to a 34 year old German

named Vilhem. On his second night he heard a scratching outside, EEEEEEK

EEEEEK. He went to his window and looked at his yard, and his fence was sway-

ing back and forth. Nothing was there so he figured it must have been a raccoon

trying to break the fence, so he went back to his bed and fell asleep.

In the morning he went outside to check the fence and the wood fence

was torn apart and spread all over. He had a new fence put in that was twice as

large. That night at 11:30 PM he heard the noise again only it lasted longer,

EEEEEEK!! EEEEEEEK!!! He checked the window but there was nothing there! His

terror kept him up all night and he continued to hear screeching and scratching

all night until 5:50 when it finally stopped. Once it was daylight he went

15

outside and saw the fence was ripped and battered and after a while he realized

the debris spelled Where’s the rope!!!? He freaked out, packed up his bags, and

went to a hotel for a week while a new metal fence was installed.

When he came home, the fence was all finished. “It would take a

monster to take down that fence,” said Vite, the man who installed the fence.

“Well I think that just might be it,” said Vilhem as Vite walked away.

That night Vilhem couldn’t fall asleep, and right when he was about to, he

heard a CRACKKKKK and an EEEEEEK, then a ROAR, then THUMP,

THUMP, BANG as the door was smashed in. Then a WOOSH and a BANG

CRACKK SMASH and the THUMP THUMP THUMP started again as it came

up the stairs.

“WHERE’S THE ROPE!! WHERE’S THE ROPE!!!”The voice just got

louder and louder and louder. Then CRASH and as the door was smashed in, he

pulled the covers up over his head, but before he got the covers over him, they

were immediately ripped away.

They say it takes 30 seconds for the human body to realize that it’s

dead and during those 30 seconds all he saw was the frail woman with 7-inch

fingernails and streaked makeup. It looked liked she’d been sobbing, and when

she spoke, she screamed the way people scream while they’re sobbing and she

said, “Where’s the Rope?”

Then she wrapped her hands around his neck and popped his head off. It

takes 10 seconds before you die if your head is popped off and for those 10

seconds he saw the woman pick up the bed as she screamed, Where Was it!!!

Where is it!!! Where’s the Rope!!!

16

THE HAUNTED MANSION

by Christian

My family and I went to Pittsburgh on a trip and stayed in a haunted

mansion. When we went to the front desk, the bellman screamed, “You’ve got to get out of

here!” and then he turned into dust.

We went to our rooms and played Go Fish. When we got tired of playing Go Fish,

we went to bed. During the night my eight-year-old sister got kidnapped. I heard a loud scream

and then an evil laugh. When I looked for her, I could not find her. I tripped and pulled down

the lamp which opened a trap door. I was afraid to go in. I turned around and saw the bellman

covered in tarantulas. He said that he would kill me as he pushed me down the trap door.

When I fell, I landed on a slide, but it was so dark that I could not see any-

thing. Man, it's a long way down here. Then all of a sudden all torches started lighting up, and

I found myself looking at dead corpses. There were three passages and I went in the one to the

left. I had to choose between three passages everywhere. Before I even knew it, I was lost. I

tried to go back but that got me more lost.

17

I could not believe there was such a big network under here. I heard a loud scream and

then a booming clap. I followed the sound and heard two men talking. I peeked around the

corner and saw two bodybuilders guarding the open door to the most colossal room I had ever

seen. I noticed my sister in there, and she was unconscious. I could see that they had whipped

her. There were 500 men standing around in masks. I did some quick thinking and came up

with a plan to get her out.

I ran across the hallway and found a closet full of the outfits which the men in masks

were wearing. I dressed up like the men in masks and went to the big room. One of the body-

builders stopped me and asked me what my name was. I said, “Yes-man,” and they somehow

let me go in. I went in and sat down.

As a man began whipping my sister, I noticed that all of the men had a large piece of

metal on the sides of their bodies. I also noticed that one of the walls in the room was a giant

magnet. I scurried to the magnet and was able to get it working. Almost immediately, about

490 men got stuck to the wall. I was a third degree black belt so I knew I could take the re-

maining 10 men out. I took down 9 of them very quickly but the last one was a karate master.

The karate master and I battled for what seemed like hours before my sister helped me defeat

him.

We then ventured back into the underground maze. We got lost again, so I went back to

the main room. We then noticed an “Exit” sign. We went up some stairs and got back to the

trap door. I slept in my sister’s bed for the rest of the night. We heard noises but it was OK.

We stayed for a couple of more nights but nothing happened. We only saw the bellman once

during the remainder of our visit. We left the hotel and I was never so happy in my life.

18

Waking Rage

by Katie

I heard the crunch of gravel under my feet as I walked down the lane. I made a

mental note to always check the gas meter. My grandfather’s car was on the side of the

gravel road .Since I wasn’t old enough to drive, my Granddad let me drive the Camry up and

down the lane while he was selling Doberman puppies. I’d been going up and down the half

a mile lane for about half an hour when the gas ran out. Dog sales normally take about four

hours and the chance of a customer giving me a ride back to the kennel wouldn’t happen

considering the fact that it was almost closing time. It wouldn’t have helped if I had brought

my phone because there was no cell service and it looked like I was going to have to walk.

The lane was boarded by trees about half way down the path and there was a break in

the trees large enough so that the occasional cow could escape from the Amen family farm

nearby. Mr. Amen was an old man with a goat named Thumper. Thumper was one for

attacking innocent bystanders who had gotten lost in the cornfield. The Amen farmhand had

always been a weird place, one time when we were taking my grandmother to the dentist we

were driving by and we saw a mama cow giving birth to a calf. It was cute until the rest of

the cattle came over and started eating it. It took about an hour for me to walk back to

the kennel. I went to the shed where they kept the gas for the tractor. After I had finished

with the car and returned the car to the kennel, I went to take a walk down by the creek.

19

My Grandfather’s estate has been around since the 1800’s. It once had a bridge where

horse and buggies could cross the river. It worked fine for a while until there was a crash on

the bridge and three people were killed. Two were drowned in the river. Only one died in the

car crash. And that was the end of it for sixteen years. Everything was fine until another death

happened. This time it was the wife of the man who was in charge of the bridge who was

found drowned in the shallow part of the river. After a while, the bridge was shut down and

the property abandoned. It was like that for thirty years until my grandfather bought it. He

built a kennel on the property and everything was fine nothing had happened and life went on

as it should.

Shortly after walking by the creek, I noticed something shining in the water so I took

off my shoes and waded into the water. It was the middle of November so of course the water

was freezing but my feet were already half way numb so I kept walking. I was in the place

where I thought I saw the thing, whatever it was. So I started my way back to the shore when I

felt something pinch my toe. I thought it was Crayfish pinching my toe but it didn’t let go. The

pain started to grow so I quickly took my foot out of the water and the pain began to subside.

Standing on one foot , I fell over into the creek. I was soaking absolutely drenched. As I

walked up to the house, my teeth began to chatter. Once I got up to the house, I quickly

changed into dry cloths and brought the wet ones into the dryer. I was about to go start making

dinner when the dryer started to make a clanging sound. I hurried to open the dryer and found

inside a locket on a string of pearls. The pearls were slightly green as if they had been lying in

water for a long time. Then I realized that this must be the thing I saw in the river but how was

it here. I don’t know why but this question caused shivers to go down my spine. I went to the

guest room where I was staying and turned on the closet light .

20

Inside the closet was a giant bundle of blankets. I took them out of the closet, put

them on the bed and started unwrapping it. In side there was an old clock. I turned it around

and started to remove the back panel. Inside were various odds and ends I had found around

the property, a box of matches, a dried forget me not flower and an old piece of paper I had

written my favorite line of poetry on as a child. I took the locket and rapped it in a piece of

lace my grandmother put on the bedside table to give the room that homey feeling. Once I

had tucked the necklace safely away, I placed the clock back in the closet and went back to

the load of laundry. I checked on the locket again before I went to bed and was shore to lock

the closet. I couldn’t figure it out but something about hat locket scared me.

It was late at night when the clock started to toll. I was sound asleep at the time and

was awakened by it, I was pretty annoyed by the fact that it was four a clock in the morning

really who wouldn’t be. In my half awakened state, I tried to open the door to the closet.

Upon realizing it was locked, I proceeded to try to find the key. After about ten minutes of

searching and the clock continuing to toll, I lost my temper and started kicking the door.

Eventually my foot started to hurt and so giving up on silencing the clock, I took my pillow

and went to the other guest room. I placed the clock back in the closet and went back to the

load of laundry. I checked on the locket again before I went to bed and was sure to lock the

closet. I couldn’t figure it out, but something about that locket scared me.

After an hour of just staring at my ceiling, my mind begin to ask the question I had

been trying to avoid. What had caused the clock to do that? That clock hadn’t worked in

years and it’s an old fashion wind up clock and the key had been missing for well, probably

before I was born. Just then, I realized it. I was shaking and it wasn’t because I was cold. I

was scared. No, I was more then that I was horrified. Suddenly, I felt like all the darkness of

that long never ending night was pushing down on my chest. I couldn’t breathe, it was like I

had been hit in the chest with a bat, like someone had sucked all the oxygen out of the room

and then everything went black.

21

I came in to a scene of a woman walking along a the creek in a long floor length

dress. I tried to ask her what her name was. She didn’t turn around or even acknowledge I

was there. I ran up to ask her again. When she didn’t answer. I tried to tap her on the

shoulder but my finger when right through. My heart dropped. The woman unaware of what

was happening bent down to pick up a piece of river glass I stood in front of her trying to

ask her where I was. She held up the piece of glass to the sun to see it in the mid-morning

light. Then she saw me. Her face was as pale as if she was seeing a ghost and then I realized

she wasn’t looking at me. I turned around and saw the old Ford Bridge. I had been so busy

trying to get the woman’s attention I guess I didn’t noticed. And then I saw a woman almost

transparent her dress was torn and her neck was at an unnatural angle. Her face was a pale

green and her hair was flying around her. She started running towards me; I was too scared

to move. She ran right through me and grabbed the woman behind me.

“Where is she” the woman said. “Amber Rose” said the other woman almost in a

questioning voice. “Where is she? she said again.” But the woman didn’t answer. Her body

had gone limp. Then the ghost woman turned towards me as if she saw me .She dropped the

woman’s lifeless body into the river. I could barely breath, my lungs felt like they were on

fire with every breath She came towards me, I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed by fear. I

closed my eyes as if it would make the horrible woman go away. By now, she was in front of

me. I felt her hand on my face as if she was trying to suffocate me. Her hand was cold and

wet and then it went black. I opened my eyes to find myself in the extra guest bedroom. My

face was wet like I had been crying. Then it all came back to me, the tolling clock, the

woman at the river bank.

22

The Old House

by Sadie

One night, Carly and Danielle decided to take a walk. It was around 11 p.m. and a

cold October night. The air was crisp and chilly. There was no one outside that night. As

they walked, they heard a noise but thought nothing of it and continued walking. They

started to get tired so they turned around and walked back to Carly’s house. As they were

walking ,they heard the noise again but this time they turned around and across the street

there was a large house with chipped paint and a hole in the roof. The shutters on the house

were falling off and the hinges were rusty. If the house had been there 70 years ago it would

have been a cute family home but now it was rundown and sad looking. Neither one of the

girls had ever noticed the house before. “Come on let’s go look and see if there is anything

inside,” Danielle said, referring to the house. “I don’t know, It looks kind of creepy.” Carly

said. “Oh come on, it’s fine. If you don’t want to go inside, we can just look in the

windows.” Danielle said, “Fine.”

The girls walked to the house windows and looked inside but it was too dark to see

anything. Danielle pulled out her phone and held it up to the window for light but all she

got was a glare. Carly was watching the window and when Danielle shone the light on the

window, Carly noticed a small face in the bottom of the window. She screamed and covered

her face with her hand. “What’s the matter with you? Why did you scream”? Danielle asked.

“t-t-t-he-e-re was a f-f-ace i-n

Artwork by Brynn

23

the co-r-ner of the w-i-n-dow” Carly stuttered out. Danielle turned around and shone the

light on the corner of the window but there was nothing there. “Oh come on scaredy cat”

Danielle said while pulling Carly by the arm to the front of the house.

Both girls walked up the front steps of the house and looked in the windows. Then

Danielle made her way to the door and started to open it slowly. “Are you crazy! What are

you doing?!” Carly almost screamed, “It’s an old house what do you think is inside? A

ghost?” Danielle chuckled and walked inside the house. Carly slowly walked inside the

house. When she was standing in the hall of the house the door slammed shut behind her.

She turned around slowly and saw the face of the person she had seen in the window out-

side except the face had a body, a baby doll body but, with the head the size of a grown

human’s head. The doll looked at her and said “Do you remember me? I was your friend”.

Carly screamed and started to run down the hall. She turned around and the doll

was chasing after her. She ran all the way to the back of the house. When she got to the

back door, she stopped to catch her breath when she felt two hands on her shoulder. She

screamed and punched the thing in the face. But when she looked, it was Danielle. “Oh my

gosh! Danielle, I’m so sorry, I thought you were that creepy doll. I saw at the front of the

house”. “ Are you crazy?” Danielle asked. “I might be” Carly responded. Carly helped

Danielle up and they both walked home and vowed to never go back to that house again.

Artwork by Lauren Sterner

24

The Creepy Painting

by Brynn

Adam woke up one morning and walked down the hall to the stairs. He turned a cor-

ner and there it was, the painting that he saw in his dreams the night before. The lady in the

painting was staring straight at him. He walked faster to get out of sight and walked into the

kitchen. His parents weren’t home and he was all alone. He ate breakfast then went back up

stairs. He passed the painting again and he walked briskly to his room. The horrible image was

stuck in his head. He couldn’t get rid of it. He tried everything! He read a book, watched TV

and played outside with his dog Patches, but the image would not go away.

When his parents came home that night he asked how the painting got there. “Mom,

Dad, how did this strange painting get in the house?” said Adam. They didn’t answer; all they

did was nod their heads in an act of saying yes. He thought to himself, “that’s weird” he said,

“It’s almost as if they think I’m not here”. There must be a way to get rid of this painting.

Adam called his friend John and John was very interested in how the painting got there

but Adam said that he didn’t know. They painted the painting black and came back in an hour

and it looked as if it had never even been touched. They tried putting it in the garbage and hav-

ing the trash people pick it up, but the next morning it was back! They tried one more thing.

Artwork by Brynn

25

to let Patches attack it with his claws and in the end it looked like it had gone through a paper

shredder! They went to bed that night hoping for the best.

When they woke up and were heading down stairs they passed the painting. “The

creepy lady is gone!” said John. “So is Patches” cried Adam. They looked everywhere for

Patches, but couldn’t find him. They were about to give up when……. they looked at the

painting one last time and there inside the painting was Patches! Patches looked scared and

confused. Then there was a knock at the door. The two boys ran down stairs. They hesitated

to open the door, but they did and it was the creepy lady from the painting. “I’ve been watch-

ing you boys”, said the old lady. Next thing they knew they were trapped in a painting with

their dog and no way to get out.

Artwork by Nikki

26

The Cabin

by Declan

Once when I was eighteen years old I was with two close friends one was eighteen

and one was seventeen. My friend Alexander the eighteen year old was driving my old

1983 jeep. My other friend Brendan kept complaining how hungry he was, so I said “We

will stop in Scudsville.”

It started to hail very hard when we finally arrived in the town of Scudsville. We

found an old I hop and went inside and sat at a booth. The strange thing was no one was in

there. Finally, we got some service. The odd thing though was that the old man who

walked out of the shack was our waiter but he had changed his clothes. Another weird

thing was that we had passed him, because we were going forty miles an hour, and he was

only sprinting about six miles an hour. He took our orders and walked into the kitchen.

An hour passed when our food had still not arrived. We walked slowly toward the

kitchen. We looked through the window of the kitchen. We saw fog everywhere, and in

blood it said on the walls, “Anything can happen in Scudsville.” In addition to that , there

was something hunched over in the corner mumbling. It turned around and slammed open

the door. It had blood shot bright red eyes, long white hair, and green skin, and started

chasing us out the door!

We quickly ran to the jeep. Alexander tossed me the keys and I pulled out with

Brendan in shot gun, and Alexander in the back seat. It had stopped hailing which was

good because we were going to pass through a desert, and we had no air conditioning, so

we could put the roof down. Finally, after about ten minutes of driving, I felt safe to pull

over. We all talked and regrouped about what we had just seen.

Artwork by Grace

27

Then we began driving. We were driving through the desert when we saw a split in

the road. Alexander pulled out our map, he said our hotel is two hundred miles in the other

direction. So, I decided to go the other direction. We drove for another hour until my Jeep

started running out of gas. We saw a distant brown structure. After one last sputter, we were

out of gas.

We all hopped out of the jeep and started walking to the brown object. Once we got to

the thing, it turned out to be a cabin. I pulled out my cell phone. The strange thing was

instead of seeing bars, I saw a skull where the bars should have been.

So we decided to go inside. The door was locked, so I kicked it off its hinges. When

we entered we saw, in blood “Believe the day is cursed or you will sleep in the dirt.” I started

to feel a little uneasy. We ascended an old, dusty, and rickety staircase. We were at the

second level of the house when we all looked around. I heard a scream, Alexander and I ran

to where the scream was coming from, the source of the scream. It was Brendan and the

reason for his terror was there were two skeletons with a chest in between them. Alexander

noticed that one skeleton was holding up seven fingers, and the other skeleton was pointing to

his seventh finger. I slowly opened the chest, and there was a notebook inside. Brendan

dusted off the old note book, and read the note book. The date was Sunday October 19,1894.

It said “my name is Thomas Endleman and I am twenty six years of age and I am with my

wife Sofia Endleman. We are being chased by a dreadful creature with red eyes, green scaly

skin, and long white hair. The notebook also had scratch marks all over it. Chills ran down

my spine. We all ran outside.

We all talked over our plan. Brendan said “I’m not staying in that thing overnight.”

We all agreed that we would stay in the jeep. We started down the hill towards the jeep. Once

we arrived there it was almost completely dark. I got out three blankets, Alexander slept

across the front seats, Brendan slept across the back seats, and I slept in the trunk. I was

thinking this is Saturday I wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow, because it would be

Sunday.

I woke up the next morning to find the doors wide open and Alexander and Brendan

missing. I thought they probably went into the house. I got out of the Jeep and started walking

towards the house. I saw unusual tracks in the mud. They looked human but a lot bigger and

had claws.

28

I finally walked up to the house went through the door and saw the writing in blood

on the wall, but it said “believe today is cursed or you will sleep in the dirt.” I heard groans

coming from upstairs. At a snail`s pace, I walked upstairs. I traced where the groans were

echoing. It was the room where we had found the skeletons, but Alexander and Brendan were

lying there unconscious in place of the skeletons. I bent over Alexander and slapped him in

the face. He woke up but he had a look of horror. I heard in a raspy voice right behind me and

it said you will sleep in the dirt. I quickly threw an elbow behind me, and hit some thing. I

turned around; it was the beast with the green skin. Alexander picked up the chest and hit the

monster on the head about fifteen times, I think the first ten were in self-defense, but the last

five were just in pure rage.

While Alexander was doing that I slapped Brendan, and he woke up. We all thought

the thing was dead so we all ran out of the room, but it started chasing us. I told Alexander

and Brendan to keep running to the bottom of the hill, they kept running, and it kept chasing

them down the hill. I jumped into the jeep and put it in neutral, and started rolling down the

hill. Alexander baited it into the path of the jeep and I slammed the creature.

I got out of the jeep. We all gave each other around of high fives. We moved the jeep

away from its body. We then dug a five-foot grave, and buried it, to make sure it was dead.

We then walked quickly down the hill, to the road. I got out my cell phone, but as soon as I

did, a tour bus passed, and we quickly jumped into the road. The bus came to a complete

stop. I asked the driver where the bus was going and he said the Marriott in Denver, and that

was exactly where the hotel was that we were supposed to stay in last night. We gave the

driver $15.00.

After another four hours, we were at the hotel. We told our story to the police, and

they tried to make us not believe what we had seen. I am about thirty years old now. I visited

the old cabin for the first time since then. I have heard similar stories from the same area

residents, but none of them compare to the legend of the cabin.

29

The Trip

by Henry

Our story begins when the Boy Scout troop set out for a trip to the caves in Pennsyl-

vania. The ranger told us that there used to be Indians that lived in the caves and they had

monsters that they kept in the caves. But they did not just keep the monsters, they played

games with them such as tag. None of the scouts believed the ranger because they thought

that he was just trying to freak us out. We started the hike to the caves and we all were

anxious to get to the caves. When we arrived to the caves we ate lunch and started to climb

the jagged rocks up to the mouth of the cave. Everyone forgot to bring a flash except for Ben

the youngest scout in the troop. So we all pushed together around him and walked deeper and

deeper into the cave.

We soon reached the end of the cave and there I saw Ben walking towards the back

wall of the cave .In the light of his flash light, there was something hairy and it was larger

then a bear. I saw Ben’s hand reach out to touch it and I screamed ‘’NOOOO!’’ He didn’t

listen. At the exact second that he touched the creature, it popped up and yelled an awful yell

and all the scouts ran out of the cave in a big blob.

We made a beeline for the forest and the creature was chasing us. I saw a fork in the

trail and I yelled ‘’Split UP’’ and we broke in half but the creature was still chasing us and I

saw another fork in the road and we split up again and again but it was following me. Sudden-

ly the trail stopped and Ben and I were standing face to face with the creature and it stared

back. The creature reached out with one band and started walking closer. I grabbed a log and

threw it at the creature but it bounced right off and the creature did not even flinch. Walking

toward us until it was right over me and Ben. Its hand the size of my head reached toward

me and tapped me on the shoulder . The creature yelled something that sounded like ‘’Tag

your it.’’ The creature dashed down the trail and out of sight . Ben and I walked back down

the trail both thinking the same thing. The creature just wanted to play tag. I knew I would

never forget the trip.

30

It’s Cold Out Here

by Patrick

On September 3, 2009 I was home alone watching TV. I got hungry so I walked over

to the fridge to get a piece of leftover cheese pizza. Just as I grabbed a piece, my phone went

“ding”. I looked at it and I had a text from an unknown number. The text said, “You should

probably eat pepperoni pizza instead”. At this point, I freaked out. I pulled every shade down

and I tried to call my parents to tell them to come home. but my phone said, “No signal”.

I went over to a window to see if that would help get a signal, when someone

knocked on the front door. It was 9:30, so no one should be at my door. Then my phone,

which was in my hand, went “ding” again and it was the same number. The text said, “It’s

cold out here”. I ran upstairs so I could see the front door from a window. There was no one

there. Then there was a knock on the back door. I couldn’t move. Two minutes passed, but it

felt like a year. Then I heard a bang. Someone was trying to enter!

I was too scared to move. Finally, the door was busted down and I heard footsteps. I

opened the window and jumped onto the roof. I ran to the side of my house where there was

a porch because I figured that would be the shortest fall. I jumped. Even though I thought I

broke my ankle, I still made my way to my neighbor’s house. No one answered the door

when I banged on it. When I glanced back at my house, I saw a shadowy figure walk out the

back door. The shadow saw me and I started hobbling to another neighbor’s house. With my

broken ankle, I couldn’t go very fast.

I got to the neighbor’s door and knocked as hard as I could. I looked back towards my

house and the shadow was coming fast. It was only 100 yards away now. I saw the lights in-

side flick on and I was relieved to know that someone was coming to the door. They slowly

opened it, but by the time the door was opened, they were too late!

31

Just Another Scary Story

by Page and Sara

Ivy, Natalie, Wilson and Liam decided to go on a trip to the lake to

celebrate Wilson getting his drivers license. They had been driving in the car for

two hours and had two more to go. It was getting dark when Wilson slammed on

his brakes because there was a dark big shadow that ran across the windy road.

Wilson hesitated, but kept on driving. Ivy hardly saw the shadow, but she was

positive that she saw a skinny hunch back person running on all fours. They

kept on going until they got to the cabin and then went right to sleep.

The next morning, they were all excited for the day at the lake. The girls

got their bathing suits on and started to tan. Natalie went inside to get some

snacks. Thirty minutes went by and Natalie had not returned. Ivy decided to go

see where Natalie was and went to check in the cabin, but Natalie wasn't there.

She went outside looking everywhere for Natalie and to find the boys. Ivy found

the boys fishing. She ran up to them and told them that she couldn’t find Natalie.

All of a sudden, Liam saw the hunchback swimming in the water with floaties

on. The Hunchback saw Liam and screamed "DON’T LOOK AT ME." It started

to swim full speed at Liam. Liam got scared. He did not know what to do.

32

He pushed Ivy in the water and said "Here, you can have her because I did not

even like her anyway" then they all ran. It started to get dark and they all were

hungry. They checked in the cabin and there was no food some one ate all of it.

“It was probably that crazy Hunchback lady,” said Wilson.

That night the kids had no food and they were starving. They were so fam-

ished that they could not move and the car was missing. They all decided to get

in bed and rest. That night everyone was sound asleep, but Wilson woke up to a

nibbling noise and thought it was a mouse so he went back to bed. Wilson woke

up again to a snoring noise. He turned around and saw the Hunchback in bed

with him. He screamed. The hunchback replied "HEY, IM TRYING TO GO TO

SLEEP GOSH, KIDS THESE DAYS!"

Wilson quickly got out of bed and there were crackers all in the bed. The

Hunchback said, " Would you fetch me some socks? my feet are cold and plus

you take all the covers." Wilson fainted and fell smack on the ground. Liam got

up and started hitting the Hunchback with his pillow. The hunchback back yelled,

“HEY, WATCH OUT FOR THE BACK I GOT KYPHOSIS!" "WHAT ARE

YOU DOING?" said Liam. "I’M EATING MAH CRACKERS AND PLUS I

WAS COLD, gezzz.!"

The Hunchback jumped up and started pacing around on all fours. Liam

hit it with a water bottle and it was knocked out. They put the hunchback in the

closet. They packed up and went to the car that mysteriously had reappeared. The

hunchback woke up and ran across the road and Liam and Wilson pressed the gas

and they ran over it. They both sighed with relief. A voice in the back of the car

said " Oh ,kill em, that was a sweet move!" The two boys looked back and it was

the Hunchback.

33

A Figure in the Mist

by Ryan

My mom and dad set up our latest Halloween decoration—an old mummy. It had

lost most of its hair. It wore a bead necklace and its skin was as tight and smooth as leather.

It sat on a three-legged stool on our front porch. We gathered lots of candy that Halloween

and lots of frightened kindergartners. I went to bed with the test of lemon heads still in my

mouth.

I woke up in the middle of the night hearing, “Thud…., thud,,,,” I looked through the

tiny peephole on my bedroom door. At first I saw a green mist. Then I saw the mummy. It

wasn’t sitting down anymore. Green smoke came out of its nose, mouth and ears. It had a

rope in one hand and a hook in the other. Luckily, I had already locked the door because my

cat patrolled the halls meowing like an abandoned soul. I hid in the closet, but when I did,

the thumping stopped. I wondered if my parents were somehow still asleep or if the mummy

had killed them. After a long while, I crept back over to the peep hole with my dagger in one

hand.

The mummy was gone. Then… I saw the mummy again! This time, it had found an

ax. The first swing dented the door. The second swing cracked it and the third swing broke

the door down. I ran to hide in the closet and jumped out the small high window in the closet

onto our metal awning, After a quick slide into the rose bushes, I was running to my friend’s

house six doors away. When I was half way there, the mummy came out of the gloom

chasing me. “Only a few more steps,” I thought to myself, running even faster. Then I felt

the mummy’s cold rope wrap around my neck. I blacked out and all was darkness.

34

The Skeleton Key Chain

by Katie

On a rainy and cold night in October, I walk home from school. It’s my usual route,

though the “enchanted forest” I call it. I hear the leaves crackling as I step my foot down. It’s

foggy and hard to see, but I’m not scared because I know my way around. I can just barely see

my house through the dense layer of fog. As I walk, I trip on a rock and fall. I get up and look

at the leaves and see a key chain. In fact, a skeleton key chain! I look at it for a minute and

think that I saw it before. My stomach growled and it was getting dark. I decide to stuff it in

my backpack and run home. When I arrived home, I finished my homework and then I went

to bed not realizing that I forgot my skeleton keychain in my backpack!

When I wake up I hear a noise, so I try turning off my alarm clock. But after at least 20

tries, I open my eyes and see my hamster, Cheesy making weird noises in the corner of her

cage. I slowly get out of my bed to see what’s causing the big commotion. But to my surprise,

I see the skeleton keychain in the cage! “How did that get in there?” I thought to myself. My

hamster is freaking out so I popped the skeleton in my pocket and ran downstairs. When I get

downstairs for breakfast, I gasped. Now it was getting scary, I thought. The oven was on, and

smoke was pouring out, the plates were smashed, the drawers were open and it was a mess!

Now this was scary because I knew no one else was awake.

Suddenly a creepy thought popped into my mind. Did the skeleton keychain do all

this? How could it? So I reach into my pocket to find the skeleton keychain, but to my sur-

prise there was nothing there! Then I hear footstep behind me. I turn around to see a large

bony skeleton hand open the kitchen door…. I SCREAM! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

35

The Spooky House

by Cody

On Halloween night, John and Michael went trick or treating.

They got lots of good treats. They went to every house except one.

John said, “Should we go to that last house?”

Michael answered, “I’m scared! I’m not going.”

John said, “Come on Michael…we made a promise!”

Michael said softly, “O.K. I guess we’ll go.”

So they went to the last house to get a treat. They knocked on the door. Suddenly, they felt

themselves being pushed in the door. The house was dark.

“John, help me open the door!” Michael shouted.

John answered, “It’s no use. The door won’t open. Do you have those flashlights we can

use?”

“Oh yeah. Good idea,” said Michael. “You go downstairs and I will go upstairs.”

Suddenly, Michael screamed, “Ahhhhhh!”

John ran upstairs to see what was wrong.

“It’s a monster!” screamed Michael! “RUN!”

They ran down the stairs and saw another monster! They jumped off the railing.

“Own! I hit my bottom!” said John.

“I know but, you have to keep running!” said Michael. “We have to look for a se-

cret passage way or some way to get out of here. Wait, I think I found one. It is our only

way out of here. Let’s go!”

The two boys ran and were able to get in the back yard of the house. Then they ran all the

way home. When they were safe inside their house, John said, “Know what? I want to

check out that house again in the morning.”

I want to also! answered Michael.

Artwork by Cody

36

The Disappearance

by Cece

It was the last day of September when my best friend, Juliana and I

found something peculiar in her basement. She and her family had just moved

into a house older then one hundred years. Everything in the house seemed

murky and dilapidated. I could feel the drafty cold air passing through the tall

doorways in the shadowy darkness. We started exploring the great house when

suddenly from the basement we heard a screeching high pitched voice coming

up from the basement stairs. Juliana and I became so curious that we ran

down toward the noise. Then we found an old file cabinet. The noise hesitat-

ed and then ceased.

We opened the file cabinet and inside it had old faded pictures of murder

witnesses. There were pictures of a lady named Katie and one child named

Macy. One picture of a man whose was unlabeled. I said,” Maybe he was the

suspect and the name was confidential to the public.” Juliana

replied ‘’ Anna you could be right but, this house is so old I don’t think they

had records.’’

That night we had a sleepover. We woke up and we heard something

shrieking down the hall so we ran through the hallway. Louder the noise

yelled. The closer we got the louder it yelled. We heard her sister crying so we

went to her room, but she was sound asleep so, we went back to bed. Then, on

Halloween night while we were getting ready for trick or treating

37

we heard a voice saying our names. The voice was like a witch scraping

her fingers down my back. Juliana ran toward the noise even though I told her

not to. I heard her scream. I ran down to find she was not there. I called the

police they could not find her. I looked in the filing cabinet one last time and

there lay her picture with the same traumatized face. Her name was labeled. I

never went to the house again.

38

The Trapped Boys

by Twill

On Halloween night Sam and Connor walked to a lonely house. When

they knocked on the door it creaked open slowly. The two boys got pushed into

the house and the door slammed shut. They tried to get out but the door was

locked. The boys then saw a skeleton coming towards them. They screamed!

Then the skeleton disappeared and hid from them. Connor and Sam run

upstairs. Suddenly, a bat swooped down and scared the shaking boys.

At that moment, the boys heard someone walk into the house and say in

a loud voice, “Turner! Where are you? What is going on in here?!”All the

lights come on. Connor and Sam can now see that Turner, the boy who lived

in the house, was dressed in a skeleton costume. Turner was now the one look-

ing frightened.

Turner’s mom came upstairs and figured out how mean her son had

been. Turner got grounded! Sam and Connor walked home. They felt

shocked that they were trapped in a house. They were surprised that it hap-

pened and they went to go home and have a warm cup of hot chocolate!

Artwork by Twill

39

All Alone

by Connor

I was all alone in the school. My heart was beating so hard because I was

very afraid something bad was going to happen to me. I was breathing so hard

because I was running around trying to open every door in the school. Every

door was locked but one, the very last one. I took one step into the room, and the

next thing I knew I was falling.

After a little bit, I hit the ground. When I looked up, I saw I was in a

graveyard. I looked around and saw lots of graves. One was very unusual. It

had a skeleton on it, so I walked over to it. I stood and stared at it, and then it

spoke. I shouted so loudly it felt like the whole place shook. Then it spoke again,

“You can spend the rest of your days with us.”

All of a sudden hands came out of the ground grabbing me. I started to

shout again. The hands began to pull me into the ground. I tried not to let them,

but it was too late. I was never seen again.

40

The Scary Story of the Witch

by Lydia

It was a dark and stormy night. A witch decided to put the whole town

and kingdom to sleep! Her cat and her witchy spider helped her. Then, a wiz-

ard appeared, and figured out how the witch put everyone to sleep. The wizard

said “NO!” to the witch. A friendly bat and a friendly spider named Bitsy

helped the wizard make a formula to capture the witch. The witch was sur-

prised by the trap! A net went over the witch. She got mad because the wizard

caught her!

A few days later, the witch escaped and ran away from the town because

the wizard was too strong for her. Then the wizard found a formula in the

witch’s garden, and he put his rosemary with her flowers and that made the

town awaken from the spell!

Artwork by Lydia

41

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thoughts and the thought has found

words.” — Robert Frost

Poetry in Season

Artwork by Blake

42

Autumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness a closed bosomed friend

of the maturing sun —- John Keats

Photography by Riley and Grace

The Little Things

by Katie

The cool crisp air of an Autumn morning

and the way damp grass feels under my feet

When it starts to rain without warning

And the sound of the rain drops in stead beat

The sound of people splashing in the street after the rain

Dancing, so gracefully

Cause they have nothing to lose and everything to gain

Enjoying the water that feels warm and then cool

The sound of runner at the start of a race

Trying not to stop till she crosses the line

And it sounds more like horses galloping at their fastest pace

Trying to leave the others behind

Swinging on a hammock in the summer air

It’s the little things we often forget

Often its reading a book like you don’t have a care

So try cause you’ll be happier, I bet

43

Autumn’s Senses

by Sofia

Autumn has sweet tastes like caramel and cinnamon,

Autumn’s sights are beautiful like the harvest moon glowing in the dark,

Autumn’s crisp cool air hitting your face makes it scarlet like a rose,

Autumn’s sounds are howling, “hoo…” like the wind chirping wildly as the

birds crunch down on dry cold leaves,

Autumn brings you closer to your family and brings you warmth like a cozy

fire,

Autumn is a beautiful and colorful season that brings your senses to

attention!

44

Happiness is…..

by Riley

Happiness is winning a field hockey game

When you hit the ball you hear a whack

If you lose you go down in a flame

But you don’t want to hack

The beach is a happy place

It’s fun to go into the cold ocean

But you don’t want to freeze your face

But make sure a see witch won’t steal your potion

Happiness is when you wake up and don’t have school

And you play outside

If you want you can go to the pool

Or you could take a drive

Happiness is field hockey

You get hit in the face with hockey ball

It’s exciting when you score a goal

45

Ode to Assateague Island

by Henry

Sandy.

As sandy as a desert.

Windy.

Windy as the tallest mountain.

Sunny.

Sunny as a planet with no clouds.

Hotter than fire.

I found a dead hobo and I poked him with a stick.

More boring than Canada.

More fun than a tornado in a trailer park.

Help I’m trapped in a Chinese cookie factory!

Nooooo I broke my pencil!

Dangerous.

Artwork by Brynn

46

Ode to Canada

by Henry

Grassy.

As grassy as the great planes.

Calm.

As calm as a glass of water.

Dark.

Dark as Batman.

Colder than the North Pole.

More boring than watching paint dry.

A Chinese cookie told me I will die.

Okay, I’m done sharpening my pencil.

Softer than bubble rap.

Artwork by Grace

47

Ode to the Real World

by Jonathan

The real world is as circular as you could imagine.

It is peaceful people like you are full of happiness.

It’s not crafting like an un-crafter.

The real world is real surviving.

It is making houses.

Playing Mine craft to kill hero Brian.

Do forget…

Not killing cows!

No magical armor!

Not making a snowman that moves in the summer!

48

Ode to Homework

by Kyle Livernois

Dreadful.

Painful.

Homework is like garbage.

When popcorn pieces watch movies they eat pop humans.

Boring.

Homework is like a ghost haunting me.

Cheese sticks live in cotton candy houses.

If homework was a bird I’d make it fly away.

Artwork by Grace

49

Ode to a Kitty

-by Riley

A kitty is a prickly square.

Ashes.

A kitty is as ugly as a zipper.

Desert.

Big.

Ugly.

A kitty is as big as a lion.

Black, white, tan.

A kitty is the son of laziness.

Hours.

Slow.

Purebred.

A kitty is as slow as a snail.

A kitty is black rain.

Artwork by Brynn

50

Ode to Soccer

by Harrison

Soccer is as fun as cross country.

My dribbling is as good as Messi.

My shooting is as bad as a tree.

Fun.

Active.

Easy.

Non-physical.

Rules.

Smart Board.

Brackish.

My coach is a cheetah.

My teammates are sitting rocks.

The other team is a bad apple.

Artwork by Brynn

51

Ode to Ice Cream

by Brendan

Ice cream is as cold as a freezer.

Ice cream is a monster of delicious.

Unicorns barf glitter rainbows.

Ice cream is as messy as mud.

Creamy.

Cold.

Awesome.

Ice cream is as creamy as milk.

Chipotle.

Ice cream is a unicorn flying.

Messy.

Delicious.

Poooop!

Ice cream cones are party hats for gingerbread men.

Artwork by Brynn

52

Ode to the Grinch

by Will

The Grinch is like an eagle.

Skinny.

The Grinch is not a magical horse.

The Grinch is a skinny peasant.

Poop.

Young.

Walk.

The Grinch is a non-magical man.

Not sick.

Smaller than a cow.

Doesn’t carry presents.

Hates Rudolph.

Skinny Prince.

Artwork by Brynn

53

Ode to Santa

by Will

Santa is like a cow.

Fat.

Santa is a magical unicorn.

Santa is like a fat prince.

Pie.

Old.

Flying sleigh.

Santa is as magical as a snowman.

Sick.

Santa is bigger than a cow.

Carries presents.

Loves Rudolph.

Santa is like a fat princess.

Artwork by Brynn

54

The Ocean

by Josh

Like a peaceful yoga class in a silent room

Very sparkly and beautiful at night time

Very deep and dangerous with creatures

A salty splash in your eye feels like the ocean is laughing at you

Playful kids and sand castles

As bright as drinking lemonade on a hot day

As calm as a dying deer

As deep as a whirlpool sucking everything in

Surfers trying to conquer colossal waves

are like mountain climbers

55

Disney

by Jack

Disney is as fun as an Xbox360

Disney’s lines are as long as the Nile River

Disney is as huge as a hurricane

The trip is as long as a giraffe’s neck

Disney is warmer than the sun

Everybody is as crazy as dogs barking

My hotel is as grand as a princess’ palace

The ride is as bumpy as a rhino

My sisters are as wild as turkeys

Disney’s parks are as confusing as Baltimore City

At the airport everybody is as mad as bulls

My Mom and Dad are as tired as a lazy bear

56

Winter

by Jake

Frosty hills snowy trees

Hot chocolate tasting lake a warm fire

Snowmen white like a blank sheet of paper

Dad and I cutting down the pine tree

Mom and Liza skating on the frozen pond like they are flying

Playing with my pony and its brand new sleigh

Sledding down the hills as fast as a cheetah

The tree looks like a beautiful angel

Playing with the trains as if I were a conductor

The best part is sitting by the fire watching Christmas TV

57

Months of the Year

by Zachary

January is as boring as watching paint dry

February is as busy as Black Friday

March is as peaceful as the ocean

April is as wet as a melted snowman

May is as lovely as a field of roses

June is as fun as playing soccer

July is as hot as an oven

August is as tiring as running a marathon

September is as horrible as eating potatoes

October is as colorful as the sunset

November is as pale as the color white

December is as cold as ice cream

58

Race Car Driving

by Chris

Dangerous as a tiger.

Fast as a cheetah.

Loud as a roaring lion.

Feels like a hot desert.

Exciting as having dinner with the president

Cool as getting a present.

Fun as going to a birthday party.

Amazing as getting an A+ in school.

Awesome as a puppy.

Great as going to the mall.

59

Horse

by Ryan

Horse

tall, fat trotting,

jumping, fast

sleeps in a barn

Indigo

Bulldog

by Twill

Bulldog

slimy, funny

loving, running, jumping

someday my own pet

Dog

Turkey

by Cody

Turkey

yummy, smooth

running, gobbling, eating

really good on Thanksgiving

bird

60

Dog

by Yvette

Loud, cute

barking, growling sniffling

fun to play with

animal

Bird

by Libby

Loud, soft

whistling, chirping, humming

birds are really loud

Blue jay

61

Candy Cane

by Armaan

Candy Cane

hard, minty, tasty

crack, sizzle, crunch

fun to eat it

candy

Christmas

by Bobby

Christmas frost, fun

unwrap, wrap, celebrate

fun day to play

holiday

62

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

— Abraham Lincoln

Remembering

Our Family

Stories

Artwork by Brynn

63

A Visit to the Past

Remembering Thomas Francis Meagher

by Declan

Thomas Francis Meagher was a great general during the American Civil War and a

decorated hero . I am proud to share that he is related to my family on my mother’s side. He was

born in my grandfather’s home town of Tramore, Ireland. In his twenties he started many

rebellions against the unfair English rule over Ireland, After many rebellious acts, he was arrested

for treason because Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. He was sent to a penal colony near

Australia, but he escaped prison and came to America. Once in the states, he joined the Union

Army. He went through the war unrecognized until the Battle of Antietam which occurred

September 17, 1862..

The Confederates were hiding in the Sunken road there and ambushed several “green”

regiments of Union soldiers, after they charged over a ridge in a corn field. Thomas Meagher

then in command of the brave Irish Brigade, led a counter attack that forced the Confederates to

retreat from their positions. The Irish lost sixty percent of their force that day. For his courage,

Thomas Meagre was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Scene of the attack by the Confederates

along the Sunken Road which caused

horrific union losses.

Photo by Mrs. Siobhan Budnitz

64

Photo of the Sunken Road the location

of the Confederate attack against the

Irish Brigade on the afternoon of

September 17, 1862.

Images of Antietam National Battlefield

Photo of the field across which the

Irish Brigade advanced. They suffered

60% losses.

Images of Tremor , Ireland, near

the birthplace of Thomas Meagher.

Photography by Mrs. Siobhan Budnitz

65

My Great-grandfather's Story

by Augie

More than a century ago, at the age of ten a young man who hid his life

savings of gifts, allowance money and the pawning of his belongings escaped

from Sicily and came to America on board a ship to start a new life. The

government of Italy at the time was very corrupt and there were many uprising

among the people.

After arriving in Baltimore, Maryland, he met cousins whom he had

never met before. He began working as a barber and could not speak English.

In the neighborhood of Little Italy, he lived with his many cousins in a row

house. He worked very hard and eventually became manager of the shop.

After a time, he saved up enough money to buy the shop and soon married.

He was very successful as a barber and eventually returned to Italy many

decades later once the unrest was over. He lived there the rest of his life.

The youngest of his five children, my grandfather, Augie Miceli chose to

purse a free education at the Citadel and served as a military policeman for

more than four years married and raised three children. He teaches still today

at Calvert Hall College High School where has taught math for 54 years.

66

Happy Holidays

Little Tree

by E. E. Cummings 1894–1962

little tree

little silent Christmas tree

you are so little

you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest

and were you very sorry to come away?

see i will comfort you

because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark

and hug you safe and tight

just as your mother would,

only don't be afraid

Light the Festive Candles

by Aileen Lucia Fisher 1906–2002

Light the first of eight tonight—

the farthest candle to the right.

Light the first and second, too,

when tomorrow's day is through.

Then light three, and then light four—

every dusk one candle more

Till all eight burn bright and high,

honoring a day gone by

When the Temple was restored,

rescued from the Syrian lord,

And an eight-day feast proclaimed—

The Festival of Lights—well named

Artwork by Brynn

67

"A memory is a photograph taken by the heart to make a special

moment last forever." Unknown

Remembering Founder’s Day

Artwork by Hunter

68

Cover Art by Katie

The Odyssey School

3257 Bridle Ridge Lane

Stevenson, MD 21153

410-580-5551

www.theodysseyschool.org