Welcome to micro Terrors, scary stories for kids where it's always the spooky season,
full of chills, thrills, and spine tingling spooks. Micro Terrors are
family friendly frights for those ages eight and up, and while our stories are
for younger years, we are still talking about things that go bump in the
night, and some children may not be able to handle what others can.
Parental consent is recommended now for tonights micro terror. The Haunted Cave written by
author Robert Duncan. Everyone in Castro Valley knew about the mysterious Mercy Cave.
Residents had been talking about it ever since the town was founded over one hundred
years ago. The older kids said it was made from an earthquake that caused
the ground to shift, and they tormented anyone who thought about finding it and
going inside, telling them there'll be another earthquake when you're inside, and you'll
be trapped forever. Jack Duncan knew this story. He'd heard it many times
before from the big kids to school, but he was still curious to experience
it for himself if he could find it. The thing is, no one
knew exactly where it was, or if they did, they kept its location
secret. If he could at least find it and see it in person,
part of the mystery would be solved. Take me to the Life Library,
Jack yelled out during an otherwise peaceful breakfast. Sure, said his dad Robert,
anything in particular, You want to read old maps of the town,
the ones that might have clues about the secret cave. Google doesn't have that,
said Jack. Oh well, finish your breakfast and we'll go. The
library was packed on a Saturday morning. While Jack's dad and little brother Arthur
were looking at toddler books, the librarian noticed how intently Jack was studying the
old surveying maps of the town. Can I help you find anything, young
lad, asked the librarian. The librarian tried to keep calm, but when
Jack told her he wanted to find Mercy Cave, she clearly got spooked.
It was as if a chill went through the whole library. Some other kids
nearby looked over in fear, hearing that someone was daring to find the cave.
I don't think that's such a good idea, even if it's real.
Isn't it hot? Replied the nervous librarian. How about I show you some
nice children's books over here. I'm not afraid, said Jack. I'm gonna
bring my flashlight and my little brother when I find it. Jack was clearly
going to hold his ground and had no interest in anything besides finding the map
with the location of that cave. Jack pored over archived news articles and maps
for over an hour, barely blinking an eye the whole time. Then finally,
a clue, handwritten on the side of an old county land survey next
to a map of a location only about two miles from his house, noted
the words beware the old mine shaft, mine shaft. Jack said aloud,
that must be it. Jack made a copy of the page and noted the
coordinates with a highlighter. Now he was timed to pack and plan out his
big adventure. Later that night, at the dinner table, Jack profoundly exclaimed,
I found the cave, and I'm gonna be the first boy to explore
it. The haunted cave, cried his mother Arby. Surely you can't be
serious. Ghosts aren't real, said Jack. Besides, I'm gonna bring Arthur
with me. Jack's father nearly coughed up the water he was drinking after hearing
about Jack's plan. Your brother isn't even three years old yet, Jack,
he can't go exploring some spooky dark cave with you. Later that night,
Jack packed his backpack with supplies, a flashlight, extra batteries, granola bar's
water, and his stuffed dragon Buddy in case he got scared. The thought
of being the first kid to find the cave and prove there were no ghosts
inside gave him visions of being a living legend in his small town. Too
excited to sleep in at first light, he got up and set out on
his adventure. His dad was right about leaving his little brother out of it.
This is a mission for big kids. Jack was only a few steps
away from his house when a booming voice made him jump about three feet off
the ground wall. Where are you headed so early? It was his goofy
old neighbor, Joe Senior. Geez, Joe, you scared me half to
death. Jack said, sorry, Buddy, just didn't expect to see you
up and about this early. I'm going to Mercy Cave, Jack said,
proudly. You gotta be kidding me, said Joe, that old mind Shaft
is haunted and dangerous. Jack stopped in his tracks. Mine Shaft how did
you know was a mine shaft? Shucks, I've been around so long.
I remember my grandfather telling me about when young men worked inside it looking for
gold and who knows what else. There was a terrible accident about one hundred
and fifty years ago and three miners got trapped inside. Oh that's left of
them? Now are skeletons? Skeletons, Jack said, trying not to look
scared. This was starting to become a bit more spooky than Jack wanted.
Well, yeah, said Joe, after one hundred and fifty years, that's
all that would be left. Hmm okay, said Jack. He quickly said
goodbye to Joe and pulled out his map, trying not to think about the
fact that there could be haunted skeletons lurking inside Mercy Cave. If I hurry,
he thought, I can make it there by lunchtime. After some careful
navigating and a long hike through valleys and hills, Jack felt confident he was
close. He sat down to enjoy his granola bars and water and searched the
edge of the valley for something that looked like a cave entrance. What an
adventure, Jack thought, He'll be the only person in town to go spelunking
at Castro Valley in over one hundred and fifty years now, if he could
only find the entrance. He sat down on a log to think about where
the opening could be and felt a mysterious cool breeze. Funny. Jack thought,
it's been nothing but hot and still this whole day. Wait a second,
the breeze was coming through that pile of rocks. That's the cave.
He quickly pushed some of the rocks out of the way, and sure enough,
a dark, gaping hole descended into darkness, just steep enough for him
to scurry inside without slipping. The cave was chilly and quiet, too quiet.
Jack turned on his flashlight and waited for his heart to slow down.
His breath was a cloud of steam over the flashlight, and Jack rubbed his
eyes to help them adjust to the darkness. It was an old mine.
There were tracks from a small rail car, old tools, and rope.
Jack took the rope and tied one end to the railcar and the other around
his waist. This way he could follow the rope back when he wanted to
leave and make sure he didn't get lost. He explored the various tunnels and
passageways with incredible curiosity, so much so that he realized he had lost track
of time. It was so dark in here he had no way of telling
how much daylight was left. How long will it take for me to get
out of here? What if a wild animal comes looking for me? Suddenly
Jack had a strange feeling that he wasn't alone. Did he hear some whispers
and faint rattling like the rattling of bones. Distracted by his imagination getting the
better of him, Jack tripped on something that felt like a stick and fell
to the ground, his flashlight clanging to the ground in front of him.
Jack waited for the dust to settle and watched, astonished as a large skeleton
began to appear in front of him. No, he thoughts, it can't
be real. Jack scrambled to it feet and reached for the flashlight, only
to find another skeleton and another Jack screamed. Three big skeletons with mouths wide
open, still wearing what looked like miner's clothes and old headlamps, seemed to
be staring right at him. It was time to get out of here.
Jack raced through the darkness, careful. This time not to trip or bang
into anything in this crazy cave. He tried to keep moving back the way
he came, but the rope must have gotten caught on something near the skeleton's
There was no way he was going back. Jack's heart was pounding and he
was starting to sweat. Okay, he thought, I'll just untie myself from
the rope and get out of here. He started to untie the rope,
but the knot had gotten too tight from him trying to pull away, and
his fingers were too dusty and slippery to untie it. Jack tried not to
panic, but the thought of being trapped in this cave was just too much.
Jackie yelled for help and heard sounds of the distance the skeletons. He
thought aloud, he must have awoken the haunted skeletons and now they were coming
to get him. Hep He yelled again. The sounds were getting louder and
louder, and there was nothing Jack could do. He crouched down and tried
to hide. Something grabbed him. Jack screamed, then it all went dark.
Jack must have fainted, because when he awoke there was a brighter light
and he was being carried out of the cave. Where am I? He
thought? Am I dead? Did I get turned into a skeleton? Well?
You sure had quite the adventure, Jack's dad said. Jack slowly realized
what was going on. It wasn't the skeletons who had carried him away,
it was his dad, Dad, Jack cried out in a burst of joy.
You're lucky, Joe told me about where you were going this morning.
Your mom and I didn't think you are really gonna leave on your own and
go looking for Mercycave. You've got quite the story to tell now, but
I hope you've learned your lesson never to leave on your own, especially out
in the middle of nowhere. If I hadn't followed you, you might have
ended up just like one of those skeletons. Thank you for listening to micro
Terrors. Join us each Saturday for another scary story. For more fun,
visit our website at microterrors dot com, where we will also have spooky games
you can print out and play like Wicked word searches, mysterious mazes, and
more. Microterrors dot com is also where you can find us on your favorite
social media and even send in your own scary story for us. To tell.
Plus you'll learn more about our author, Scott Donnelly, who has other
horrors for both young and old. I hope you'll join me again soon for
micro Terrors Scary Stories for kids