Building+Suspense


 * Sometimes authors give away exciting information too soon. Good writers use the magic of three and give hints about what is to come without giving everything away all at once. Check out the improved versions created by students. Which version would send a shiver up your spine?**
 * // GIVE IT ALL AWAY VERSION: When I went in the basement I saw a ghost. // ||




 * SPINE TINGLING VERSION 1 (by Travis)**

There I was tiptoeing in the dark basement. "Wow, this is s-s-s-scary down here," cried Ed. Creek. Creek. Creek. "What was that noise?'

Tick, Tick. Tick. "The light doesn't work," Ed whispered as he flicked the switch.

BAM! "Show yourself or else,"

Just then Ed caught a glimpse of something white and foggy. "It's a ghost," he shrieked as he scrambled back up the stairs.


 * SPINE TINGLING VERSION 2 (by Erikah)**

"Screeeeeeeeach!" I turn around just in time to see a faint shadow lurking around the corner. I ran upstairs and grabbed a flashlight and my Nana's bat from under the bed.

"Nana? Nana? Are you awake?" I call. No answer. "She must be sleeping," I decide.

I hear a SMASH from downstairs so I run down and see a red puddle on the ground. I sniff. "Pickled beets," I realize. Then I hear murmuring. Someone walks into the beam of my flashlight. It looks like Nana but then she vanishes like a ghost. It wasn't Nana. If it wasn't her, then where was she and who or what was in the basement?


 * SPINE TINGLING VERSION 3 (by Scott)**

I was in my grandma's basement. I heard a sound. I looked around but there was nothing. Then something poked me in the shoulder. My heart skipped a beat. I felt something poke me in the shoulder again. I ran upstairs and grabbed the phonebook. I dialed the number. "Ghostbusters," a voice answered.


 * SPINE TINGLING VERSION 4 (by Justine)**

Jennifer went downstairs to get some jam. She heard whispering. She decided to go upstairs and get her dad to see what was making the noise. She was on the second step when the door slammed shut. Jennifer felt a cold breeze run past her. She was about to scream when she saw it. It was a spooky, see-through thing. Jennifer ran up the stairs and almost ran right through the door. The door opened and she fell into the kitchen.


 * SPINE TINGLING VERSION 5 (by Cody)**

I was going down to my basement to get some Doritos. I heard a noise. It sounded like someone saying, "Go away!" Now most people would turn around but I really love Doritos. I got to the bottom and I saw a shadow. I stepped on it. When I did, something yelled "Go away." The next thing I knew there was something black and red coming out of the spot where the shadow had been. I saw it and ran, leaving my beloved Doritos behind.


 * SPINE TINGLING VERSION 6 (by Jessica T.)**

It was a cold Monday morning. I sat eating my breakfast when the sound of breaking glasss came from the basement making me jump. I was the only one home. I tiptoed down the stairs into the damp, dark basement. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around. It was a ghost....