Adolescence can be quite an ordeal.
Some children grow up with a strong sense of independence, a strong sense of self.
But for most young teens, their biggest desire is to become friends with the most popular kids in school.
Shrouded in Tales…
Updated 2/11/2020 – For Sacramento sophomore Natalie (Names changed for privacy), that was the case.
She would stare at the popular kids every day at lunch with envy.
Until one day when it seemed the planets aligned and she got her big break.
“Aaron and I were assigned as lab partners in biology, and I thought my heart would explode with happiness,” she admitted, blushing furiously.
“Not only was he popular, but he was also my crush.
So I made it a point to be funny and flirty and he seemed to like me okay.
“After about a month of this, he invited me to sit with him and his friends at lunch.
They talked about a haunted ice skating rink in town and how they wanted to sneak in and visit it late at night.
I wanted to seem cool, so I told them I had been there before and that it was really creepy,” Natalie said a bit sheepishly.
“So the next night, I snuck out of my house around 4 in the morning and they came and picked me up.
We snuck into the ice rink and stood in the center of the rink, waiting for something to happen.
I was so nervous I started making all kinds of jokes.
“When one of the girls complained she was cold, Aaron suggested that they go back to the car to warm up while I stand in the rink alone—since I had been there before.”
Natalie began to tear up.
“The idea scared the crap out of me,” she whispered.
“But I couldn’t very well tell them that I had lied, either.
So I agreed.
Not long after they disappeared, I began to hear this strange scuffing sound on the edge of the rink.
Terror in Sacramento
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“It kind of sounded like somebody was moving forward but they were dragging their back legs behind them.
I began to tremble all over, but I just kept telling myself that the noise was just in my head, just in my imagination.
The noise grew steadily louder and I got into a fetal position, convinced that the spirit knew that I had lied about it, and that it was going to punish me for it.
“As I cried, I heard a door click open and a boy named Doug appeared.
He looked frightened as he called my name and beckoned me.
I skidded across the ice as quickly as I dared, certain that at any moment the ghost would grab my ankles and trip me.
“The moment I stepped out of the rink, Doug grabbed my hand and we ran all the way back to the car.
When my new friends dropped me off at my house a while later, Doug walked me to the front porch.
He told me that he had seen a disfigured apparition crawling towards me on the ice, and that is why he told me come with him.
“I think the ice rink is the scariest place in all of Sacramento.”