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News around Campus - January 2006
Writing Contest Winner
Congratulations to Irma
F. Carey for her winning entry to The Writing Center. Irma won a $75 gift
certificate to the OU-C bookstore. A spooky story was the theme of the
contest, below his her frightening tale!
In the Attic
It was a
soft, moonlit night, and I found myself drifting slowly to sleep. I had had
many nights filled with nightmares of people dying but couldn’t understand
why. Every night was a constant struggle to sleep. These dreams were
frightening and so real. Sometimes, I felt the pain of these people; other
times, I swore I could hear them. One particular nightmare kept coming back
like a bad omen. “Why is this happening?” I would ask myself. “A little
girl screaming for help, but why? Who is she?” Every night was a battle.
It was a battle for sleep, a battle for truth, and a battle for peace of
mind.
There I sat that night, contemplating this dream. I waited for
it to happen as soon as I closed my eyes. But that night was different. I
felt a presence around my bed in this cool, lonely house. I turned the
light on and looked around but saw nothing. Locking all the doors and
checking all the windows, I rushed back to my room.
Back in bed, I slowly drifted off to sleep. Before I fell
asleep, I heard help me in a child’s voice that echoed through the house. I
swear my body turned white as a ghost, and I couldn’t breathe or scream for
help. “What the Hell is going on?” I thought to myself. I tried to sit up,
but my heart was racing. Looking around the dark room, I heard the voice
again, but it sounded closer now. “Oh my God” I mumbled to myself. Then, I
heard a little crack or creak in the old wall closet. I wanted to go look,
but I was too afraid. My heart beat faster and faster as the air in the
room got colder and colder.
Sitting in bed, I pulled my covers over to the side and slowly
slid my cold body to the edge. One foot touched the floor and then the
other as I got up. I could see my heavy breathing in the cold room. “Why
is it cold in here?” I thought to myself as I walked slowly to the old
closet. It creaked slowly open as I reached for the handle. As I peeked
around the door of the closet, I saw a light through the clothes. Moving
the clothes to the side, I discovered a door. I was so scared; it felt like
my heart was in my throat.
“What the heck am I doing? This is crazy! What if there is
some psycho behind this door?” So many things raced through my mind. “I
must be freaken crazy to be doing this,” I mumbled quietly. “Should I open
this door?” Then, I reached my hand toward the back of the closet where the
door was. I tried to open it quietly, but a spine-tingling feeling came
over my entire body. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were
standing up. Still, I tried to open the door. My body shook with fear as I
tried. The doorknob turned slowly by itself. Then, it creaked open. I
stepped backward, unsure what would happen next. I tilted my body to the
left and peeked around the edge of the door. Nothing, nothing was there. I
saw steps, probably leading to an old attic. “Oh, man! Why am I even doing
this?” I thought as I stepped into the door and onto the first step. The
steps were old and worn. The first step creaked as I tried to step onto the
next.
I was so scared, and, still, I continued. This small passageway
of steps was dark and creepy. There was no light at all. “Damn,” I
thought, “I have got to be stupid for trying this, especially by myself.”
Then, at that moment, I heard it again. Please, help me. It sounded like a
small child. Then, I heard something moving around. I heard the movements
of someone running into furniture or brushing against a desk in the
distance.
At the top of the steps, I saw a dim light. Something started
to drip down the steps. What was it? I looked at it again and couldn’t
believe what I saw. “This looks like blood,” I thought. I touched the red
stuff to see what it was when something walked by at the top of the steps.
“Whhooo is theereee? Hellllloooo,” I stuttered. I heard no answer. My
stupid ass proceeded. Still climbing, I hated to think about what it was.
Trying not to step in the puddle of blood coming down the steps, I kept
going. Almost to the top, I heard wind whipping around the room. “I swear
I’m freakin crazy!” I thought.
Popping my held up slowly through the top, I looked around. The
attic was huge and dark with only one light-source through the small
window. I saw a shadow in the corner slowly shifting across the furniture.
The shadow was getting closer and closer to me. I started to panic as I
took my lighter out and tried to light it. Something caused me to drop it.
As I reached down to grab it, I felt as if someone had shoved me as I fell
to the floor. What was going on? I finally found my lighter, then stood up
and lit it. Right in front of me was a little girl with a teddy bear. She
was in the corner crying out help me and rocking back and forth. I felt so
sad and forgot I was afraid. I walked toward the little girl. “What is
wrong?” I asked. She lifted her head, looking at me with her sad eyes. Her
face was very pale.
“Is this real?” I thought. “How can I help this little girl?
Is she dead?” I was no longer afraid of her. It has been said that ghosts
rest in peace if they die peacefully. Something tragic must have happened
to her. I helped her stand up. She had scratches and bruises all over her
as if she had been beaten to death. This must have been her house, and
someone she knew had beaten her constantly. Maybe all she needed was
someone to care for her. That was where I came in.
I finally got some sleep. I woke up, and she wasn’t there. I
guessed it was all over. Then again, it just might be the beginning. I
closed my eyes, but when I opened them again, I was surrounded by many other
ghosts, calling my name and calling for help. “Will this ever end?” I
thought as I sat screaming. Then, those shadows of people got angry and
howled into the cool air; they started attacking me. What would happen
next?
THE END IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Story by Irma F. Carey, Ohio University-Chillicothe Sophomore
RHE Outstanding Professor Award
OU-C
has another fortunate opportunity to submit a nomination this year for the
RHE Outstanding Professor Award. Please send your nomination of a Group I
faculty member you believe should receive this award and recognition to
Michael Lafreniere by Friday, February 17th at 5:00 pm . Nominated
individuals will forwarded to the Academic Council on Tuesday, February 21st
for final consideration and submission of one person from Ohio
University-Chillicothe to the RHE Award Selection Committee. The final
determination of the recipient for the RHE Outstanding Professor Award is
made by the RHE Award Selection Committee.
Below is a timeline to follow:
-
February 17 (Friday) - Submit
nomination by this date to Michael Lafreniere
-
February 21 (Tuesday) -
Evaluated by Academic Council
-
February 24 (Friday) - Submit
one Group I faculty member from the Chillicothe campus to RHE (Bill
Willan)
RHE Outstanding Professors will
retain that distinction for two years and receive an honorarium in each
of those two years. All five regional campuses participate in this
effort, so please send your nominations by
Friday, February 17th at 5:00
pm.
For more information about the
RHE Outstanding Professor Award, please visit the following websites:
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