Betty was a spirited and adventurous girl. She was very restless and was always getting into some sort of trouble or the other. Her parents soon found it very difficult to control her and decided to send her to a boarding school. Betty did not mind this either. She thought, ‘This will be a new experience and I will get to make more friends.’ Betty adjusted to her new surrounding very soon and laughed and played with her new friends. Here, she also found a new pastime. She would buy the books of ghost stories and read them. She would then narrate them to her friends in the boarding school. Some of them would get really scared and Betty would tease them about being timid. “These are just stories; don’t be too scared,” she would tell them. Yet, every day at night, someone or the other would go up to Betty and ask her to narrate a scary story.
Kurt and White Cloth
It was Friday night. The girls had just finished their prayers and were retiring to bed. As there did not have a class next morning, the girls decided to ask Betty to narrate a scary story. Betty was more than happy to share one. “But promise me, none of you will get scared,” she said and started laughing. The girls made faces and asked her to continue with the story. So, she narrated: “Once upon a time, there was a boy named Kurt. He was on his way to his friend Fred’s home as they had to work on a project together. His friend lived on the other end of the forest. So in the evening around 6 pm he set out to his friend’s place. After he had gone some distance he saw a piece of white cloth lying on the ground.” The girls listened wide‑eyed to the story.
What Kurt Found in the Forest
Betty could not help but smirk looking at the anxiety on her friends’ faces. She continued with the story: “Kurt picked the cloth up and put it into the basket of his bicycle. Suddenly, the wind started howling,” said Betty, making a swishing sound. The girls jumped back in terror and Betty laughed at them. She continued again: “Kurt continued on his journey and saw another piece of white cloth. He decided to pick that up, too. But this time, something else happened. No sooner did he touch the cloth than his feet started sinking into the ground. ‘Help me,’ he shouted. But there was no one to hear him. By now, it was almost 7 pm, and Kurt had not reached yet. So, Fred called up Kurt’s mother to ask about him.” As Betty narrated the story, she looked at the faces of the girls. Their eyebrows were knit together and their eyes were wide with worry.
Betty is Scared
Betty was happy that her friends were getting scared and continued: “When Kurt’s mother got Fred’s call, she was really worried. ‘Hasn’t Kurt reached yet? He left almost an hour ago,’ she cried. She immediately called up the police and informed them about Kurt. The police looked all over the forest but could not find Kurt anywhere. They continued their search the next day and finally, in a little corner under a bush, they found Kurt’s bicycle and two pieces of white cloth. But there was no Kurt and he never came back.” Betty observed her friends’ faces. There was fear in their eyes. After the girls had dispersed to their respective beds, Betty got up to switch off the lights of her room. Imagine her surprise when she saw a white cloth dangling in front of her! Betty was so terrified that she completely stopped reading and narrating ghost stories.
