Knowing how much my students enjoy a
good drama and suspense, I read them the beginning of a story I had
come upon and asked them to finish it. The following imaginative essays
are the endings they came up with.
...But she was no ordinary woman, she was a witch. ’Come in,’ she said. And they went into the house, which was big, warm and dark. All around the room there were some strange pictures of big, black eyes. Jack and Liza just stood there and looked around. It was a bit cold in the room.
The witch took them to a small, warm room at the back of the house. Jack and Liza were very tired, so they went to bed... But the witch wasn’t tired, no, she wanted to make a spell to curse them. The curse was about those eyes on the pictures. But to make the spells, she needed some hair, so she went up to the room to take one last ingredient – their hair. She took the hair and made the spell, but the spell wouldn’t work if there wasn’t a full moon. And they had to stand on the top of the closest hill.
The next morning, Jack and Liza got up earlier and went on a tour around the house. They found a secret room, where the witch had made her spells, and they decided to run away. So they did.
When the witch woke up, she found the room empty, with a message on the bed saying, ’We know who you are.’ The witch was desperate. She went to the town and tried to find them, but she never came back home. The curse fell on her!
...But she was no ordinary woman, she was a witch. ’Come in,’ she said. And they went into the house, which was big, warm and dark. All around the room there were some strange pictures of big, black eyes. Jack and Liza just stood there and looked around. It was a bit cold in the room.
The witch took them to a small, warm room at the back of the house. Jack and Liza were very tired, so they went to bed... But the witch wasn’t tired, no, she wanted to make a spell to curse them. The curse was about those eyes on the pictures. But to make the spells, she needed some hair, so she went up to the room to take one last ingredient – their hair. She took the hair and made the spell, but the spell wouldn’t work if there wasn’t a full moon. And they had to stand on the top of the closest hill.
The next morning, Jack and Liza got up earlier and went on a tour around the house. They found a secret room, where the witch had made her spells, and they decided to run away. So they did.
When the witch woke up, she found the room empty, with a message on the bed saying, ’We know who you are.’ The witch was desperate. She went to the town and tried to find them, but she never came back home. The curse fell on her!
Smiljana Karadžin, VIII2, March 2009
The old lady said, ‘Come in.’ Jack and Liza didn’t like her look or her voice. But, they entered the house. It was old and dark inside. The old lady turned on the light. Jack and Liza were very confused. The furniture was huge and white, and they expected something much more different.
The old lady showed them the whole place, and simply disappeared. Jack and Liza didn’t speak. They just put their things down and sat on the bed. They fell asleep and never woke up.
In the morning, the old lady came with her children and ate them. Nobody ever found out what happened.
Dunja Ilić, VIII2, March 2009
The old woman stood there. She had short, dark hair and big, cold, grey eyes. She was looking at Liza and Jack. The old woman invited them to come into the house. They entered a big, dark, cold and scary room. In the room, there was a big fireplace and some old furniture. On the walls, there were some animal heads, and in the air, there was a bad smell. Liza and Jack were frightened.
The woman said to them, ‘Go upstairs. Your room is on the left.’
When they entered their room, they saw an old man sitting on their bed. He was smiling. The man said to them, ‘Congratulations! You are in a trap.’
He opened a big wardrobe and with one swing sent Jack and Liza to the wardrobe. They screamed and tried to escape, but they couldn’t.
Then they heard someone’s steps. The old man opened the wardrobe and took them to another room. The room was full of needles. They had to enter the room and take the key to the middle of the room.
While the old man was unlocking the door, Jack hit him in his head and the old man fell down. They went downstairs and saw the old woman. She was boiling something, and then they saw that she was boiling the heads of some dead people. They were frightened.
Then Liza took the pan hanging on the wall and hit the woman. They ran to the front door, but when they wanted to open it, something started pulling them. They were running in one place.
Then Liza woke up and realised that she had a nightmare. Liza was lucky that it was just a dream...
Ivana Grubišić, VIII2, March 2009
They stood there, speechless, very surprised, when the old lady said, ‘Can I help you?’ Liza said, ‘Yes, we’ve been looking for a house to stay in for the past three hours.’ ‘Come in,’ said the lady. She looked a little bit scary. She had long, curly, black hair. Her dark eyes looked dangerous.
Anyway, Jack and Liza went into her house. It was dark in there, but they were not afraid. The old lady said, ‘Sit down, please. I’ll be right back. Feel yourselves at home.’ They sat down and waited for the lady.
A few seconds later, they heard a scream. Liza suggested Jack to get out of there, but Jack didn’t want to. ‘I’ll go and check out what’s happening,’ Jack said. ‘That’s not a good idea, Jack. I’m going out of this house. It’s quite scary and dangerous, Liza said that, but soon afterwards she agreed with Jack and they went to the other room together.
There was a lot of blood and dead bodies were lying around. The door closed. Liza felt somebody standing next to her and Jack. Somebody was breathing. ‘You are brave kids.’ And she killed them with a big axe. She started to cut their fingers. Suddenly, she heard somebody knocking. There were some other victims there, perhaps. But, who knows, maybe these people would be smarter and run away before the old lady opened the door.
Andrea Tapai, VIII2, March 2009
‘Come in,’ she said. The house was beautiful. They were happy. The old woman told them that the dinner was ready and left.
Jack and Liza went into the kitchen. They found a small piece of paper. It said, ‘Welcome home, Liza.’ That was very strange, because they hadn’t told anyone their names.
After dinner, they went to the living room. Soon, Liza had to go to the bathroom. When she came back, Jack wasn’t there. She started looking for him. ‘Jack, Jack,’ she shouted. ‘Help! Help!’ The sound was coming from the basement.
Jack was there. Five ghosts were there, too. Liza started running away. One ghost caught her. ‘Welcome home, Liza,’ he said. He also told her that he was her great-grandfather. He told her that old, wild-looking woman killed them and their spirits were trapped there.
Liza called the police. The bodies of the spirits were found in the lake. The police arrested the old woman and the spirits were free. Jack and Liza had a beautiful holiday after all.
Boris Škapik, VIII2, March 2009
...The lady said, 'Hello, what brings you to my modest home?; Jack answered, showing the newspapers, 'We saw this ad in the newspapers and we're not sure if it's yours.' 'Yes, it is', answered the lady, 'Would you like to take a look around?' 'We've travelled for three hours, why not?' said Jack.
They came in. A moment later, the door closed. 'Don't worry, it's just the wind,'said the lady. They continued upstairs. The lady led the way. Sudden;y, she started running. Jack and Liza stopped walking. Liza said, 'We'd better go out.' A moment later all the creatures from their nightmares appeared and started eating them.
Pavle Mandić, VIII2, March 2009
