Nightmare Fuel: 10 Creepy Stories

The Willows Are Calling

The Wind In The Willows is Larry's favorite novel. In fact, he had 13 different copies of it. Actually, he now had 14! The latest printing of the book just arrived on his doorstep! He took it and ripped the packaging paper off.

The cover was beautifully detailed. It looked almost as if it were an actual photograph. It had the four main characters (Mr. Toad, Mole, Rat and Mr. Badger) standing in a clearing. They all had big smiles on their faces, as if they were happy to see their old friend Larry again. It made him feel happy. The strangest thing about the cover was Mr. Badger's left arm. It looked like it was supposed to be over someone's shoulder, but no one was there. Larry thought it was strange that the artist chose to have his arm in that position.

He didn't care about that. He took the book to his bedroom and began reading. Every time he read that book, he felt as if he was reading it for the first time. Sweet tears of nostalgia welled in his eyes in his eyes. These characters were like family to him. He just wanted to run away to Toad Hall and live with them.

"Larry, really?" a disappointed voice said from his right. It was his Father peeking through the doorway. "You have three tests tomorrow. Study!". "I will." Larry lied. He continued reading when his father left.

The next day, Larry sat down at his desk at school. His algebra teacher handed out the tests. "This is an important test, class." he said. "It's part of your final grade, so you better do good.". He was glaring at Larry. Algebra was his weakest subject.

Larry looked down at the first question. "Solve: 5(- 3x - 2) - (x - 3) = -4(4x + 5) + 13
". "What does any of that even mean?" He thought to himself. He did what he could to solve, and put down an answer that was definitely incorrect. When the test was halfway done, full of incorrect answers, he heard the wind outside. It sounded like music, trying to lure him in.

"Larry!" his teacher barked. "Don't stare outside. You won't find the answers there.". He then continued working on his test, but he couldn't stop thinking about how the wind sounded. At the end of the period, Larry handed his test in along with the rest of the class. His teacher scowled at him as he exited the room. "Don't worry, Larry. I have plenty of red ink.". He was relieved he was done with that test. Now, he had to worry about his History and English test!

Three days later, his parents got his test results back. "A 25 in algebra, a 15 in History and a 31 in English?!" his Father roared. "We're very disappointed in you." his Mother added in. He was ordered to stay in his room until dinner.

He flopped on his bed and cried. He hated his life. Why couldn't he just go back being a kid? Life was fun and carefree. He picked up his book and stared at the cover. "Why can't I be with them?"

Suddenly, he heard the beautiful blow of the wind again. It was coming from his window. He knew it wanted him to follow. So, he climbed out his window and began to do so.

The wind took him down the street. "Where does it want me to go?" he thought to himself. Before he knew it, he was deep in a forest. He wasn't scared, there was something comforting and familiar about this forest. Then he saw a sign. "The Wild Wood" it read. "Could it? No-it couldn't be!" he said aloud as the wind got really strong.

It was a gale! The branches on the tree were wildly dancing! There was nothing Larry could do to get away. "Help! Help!" he cried as the wind pushed him further in the forest. "Don't be scared! You're almost there!" a voice in the distance shouted. Strangely, the voice was familiar too. The wind blew him in the direction the voice came from. Suddenly, it stopped in a clearing. All traces of the gale ceased to exist. The trees went back to normal.

"Welcome home, Larry." the voice said, right behind him this time. When he turned around, his eyes began to leak tears of joy. It was Mr. Toad! "You're Mr. Toad! You're real!" said Larry in disbelief. He lunged forward and gave him a big hug. Now that his arms were around him, he knew for sure he was real.

"Woah there! Don't squeeze so hard!" Mr. Toad said as he pried himself loose. "Okay guys, you can come out now!" he shouted towards the tree line. Mr. Badger, Mole and Rat came out of hiding. Larry ran over to hug all of them.

Mr. Toad explained what was going on. "We always wanted to meet you, you're one of our biggest fans! So, we lured you here so you can live with us!". Larry haven't felt this happy in his life. "Thank you so much!" he sobbed in happiness. "To celebrate our new friendship with Larry, let's go to Toad Hall for some ice cream!" Mr Badger announced. Larry sprinted with his favorite characters(now his best friends) to Toad Hall. This was where he wanted to be forever. There was no way he'd ever go back home!

     Larry's parents knocked on his bedroom door, no response. "C'mon, dinner's ready!". Still, no response. Eventually, they both kicked his door down. Not a sign of him, except for the opened window. "Dammit! He better not have ran away. If he did, he'll be real sorry when we find him." his father growled, peering through the said window. Behind him, he heard his wife scream. She was pointing at the book, still resting on Larry's bed. All she said was: "How did he get there?". The Father walked over the book and picked it up. Right on the cover was Larry, with Mr. Badger's arm around his shoulder.