The Midnight Hour & Other Scary Stories

Sticks and Stones

They had tried everything with Dillan. His parents were a good sort and not at all mean. But Dillan was mean. He was the kind of boy to hurt other kids and bully them. He stole, he lied, and he cheated. He did whatever he wanted. It got so bad that they had to send him away to a very small town in the middle of what most people would be considered 'nowhere'.

The town was called Styx, and it was in Kansas, right in the middle of golden plains that stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. The people of Styx were kind, and in their town, there was no crime. Most people would have wondered why this was so, but not Dillan. In fact, he thought that being here was the worst punishment imaginable. Dillan was sent to Styx to live with his uncle Zebediah and Aunt Rachel. They had a daughter, Morgan.

Dillan was told that if he was a good boy, he could go live with his parents again. He would have to work hard and do his best.

It was a good deal and more than fair, given all the mean things Dillan had done, but he would have none of it. While he couldn't do bad things out in the open, he could be clever, and so Dillan would make his mean pranks look like accidents.

No one suffered more than Morgan. She was a sweet girl who wouldn't have hurt a soul. Perhaps that's why he was constantly playing mean pranks on her and making her life miserable. No matter what he did, Morgan wouldn't fight back. This made him play even more pranks on her. Finally, one day, Morgan (who had realized it was Dillan pranking her) said, "If you're not careful, Sticks and Stones will break your bones."

"Are you threatening me?" Dillan asked.

But Morgan shook her head. She said, "A long time ago, a man came to this town. Back then, the people were a lot meaner. He offered to sell them some of his rare antiques, but they robbed him and beat him within an inch of his life. The man's bones were broken. He tried to warn them that if they didn't treat each other nicer, the same would happen to them. They were so angry, they killed the man."

"Sounds like he deserved it." Dillan said.

Morgan narrowed her eyes. She continued, "They then burned his body in the center of town. He didn't stay dead, however. That night, the man killed each and every one of those people that had hurt him. Those that chose to change their lives were spared. Those that didn't were killed. From that time on, the town changed. Everyone treated each other with kindness, because if they didn't, the spirit of the man they killed would come back on the anniversary of his murder and kill anyone who had been cruel. We call him Sticks and Stones."

"You and everyone in this town are crazy!" Dillan said.

"We will see." Morgan said.

Of course, Dillan didn't believe her. He continued to be mean, not just to her, but anyone and everyone he could find. This went on for months until the anniversary of the murder loomed on the horizon.

The people of Styx had a very special festival they would celebrate at this time. Every last member of the town would make a scarecrow resembling themselves and then, they would take their scarecrows to the center of town to be burned. This was called the Cleansing. It was supposed to be a time of celebration, but for Dillan, he saw it as an opportunity to play the ultimate prank.

The people of Styx were deathly afraid of this 'Sticks and Stones'. What if he were to 'pretend' to be their worst nightmare? So Dillan feverishly set to work at creating his costume. As the time of the festival drew closer, Morgan, Zeb and Rachel had all created their effigies and were ready to bring them into town. On the night of the festival, Dillan finally finished his costume. He told the others that he would join them at the festival a little later, and his distant family, being trusting people, left with their scarecrows. Now it was just Dillan in that big old farmhouse.