This story was selected as the winner our Scary Story Contest for our Oct. 4 , 2024 Spooky Issue.
This short story was written by Mason Baughfman, a 10-year-old at Los Cerritos Elementary School.
Creepy Species of the Jungle
The jungle was filled with humongous trees. The sunlight felt like it was burning Ronnie’s skin. All around the boy it sounded like a zoo. Birds were chirping, monkeys were screaming, and bugs were buzzing.
“Dad, I’m sweaty!” said Ronnie. “Can we leave yet?”
Dad was hiking next to Ronnie. He said to his son, “Stop begging to leave. I need to research these animals.”
Ronnie whined, “Please! I thought Bring Your Kid to Work Day would be fun! But your work is boring!”
Ronnie wanted Bring Your Kid to Work Day to be exciting. He imagined Dad would be setting up nets and cages to catch creatures. But all Dad did was write in a notebook and take photos. And there was so much walking!
“The only thing we saw was a gray bird!” Ronnie said.
“I can’t make the animals more interesting. If they want to stay hidden behind leaves they can.”
“But Dad! I want to see other animals!”
Just then they saw something fly from one tree to another. It looked like a moving shadow.
“I’ve never seen this kind of species before,” Dad whispered. “Follow me quietly.”
They tiptoed toward the mysterious shadow. Then they gasped.
The tree was covered in hundreds of… “SPIDERS!” yelled Dad.
“No, it’s tarantulas!” shrieked Ronnie.
Their loud voices caused the spiders to jump off! And they… FLEW! The spiders had wings!
Dad took a picture *click*
The spiders covered Dad like a bunch of flies. Ronnie couldn’t see Dad under all the spiders. He could only hear him. “AHHHHH!” Dad screamed.
Ronnie screamed too. The spiders flew at him.
All that was left of Dad was his shoes and his camera. The spiders carried Ronnie up into the air. Back to their tree nest.
Up in the tree Ronnie realized something shocking! Dad was also alive in the branches! The spiders had lifted him out of his shoes.
Also the tarantulas weren’t tarantulas! They were mutant birds with many many legs!
Dad said, “Maybe radioactive spiders bit these birds to change their appearance.”
Just then a glowing green spider climbed out of the leaves. The spider was the size of a bulldog. It said, “Welcome. Be one of us.”
The Spider King bit both Ronnie and Dad. When the venom went into their bellies it felt like getting hit with a wrecking ball. Soon the son and Dad fell asleep from the pain.
When they woke up they had extra arms and extra legs. As many as a spider! They also had multiple black eyes and red fangs.
Ronnie and Dad were now a new creepy species of the jungle.
