2025 Spooky Story Competition

The Haunting of the Midnight Crypt

Rowan descended into the Midnight Crypt, an eerie sepulchre standing, silent and watchful, on the outskirts of Hawkley. The off-putting name was given to it by the villagers who sworn to have heard low moans and a phantom green light surrounding it at midnight. Rowan, a thrill seeker, was never scared by this name, and he continued into the depths of the crypt. As he reached the bottom, a cold gust of wind made his candle flicker in ways that cast ghostly projections on the rough sandstone of the crypt. Coffins lined the walls, heaving with an unseen weight. Portraits of long-lost ancients lined the columns standing still in the dark muskiness of the sepulchre. At the end of the row, a coffin lay slightly ajar, and low moans echoed from somewhere deep in the caverns of the crypt. Rowan, restless and craving excitement, eagerly followed the sound. Suddenly, high wails pierced the air like an arrow and phantoms were crawling out of the portraits stretching their long, green fingers out to Rowan. He checked his clock. 00:00. Midnight. He ran, but the crypt's tunnels twisted and morphed, constantly changing direction. Rowan finally stopped in the centre of a low circular room. In the centre stood a woman in tattered white clothes, stained with blood. Her low growl sent chills into Rowan's soul, and he gazed with terror into black, endless eyes. Blood splattered the walls, and a blood-curdling scream rang through the night. Rowan was never seen again.

BY CAELAN MACDONALD