Scary Things Happen in Lakewood 2: Scary Things Happen in Lakewood, #2

By Kevin Densmore

Welcome back neighbors to the strangest neighborhood this side of Hell. Nothing much has changed in Lakewood. People still go missing and there are still strange noises coming from the cornfields. This time around though, we have angry landscapers, hungry dragonflies, and missing cats. So come on in!Take your shoes off, hang up your bowler hat and enjoy over twenty seperate, yet connected tales of modern day suburbia. You may only intend to stay for little awhile, but you may be lost here forever...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Densmore
• Release date: Oct 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393969204

Kevin Densmore

Kevin began writing short stories when he was an awkward teenager living in a small town in Alabama. Now as an awkward adult, Kevin now lives in a small town in Illinois and still writes short stories. Only this time he is releasing his madness into the world.

Book preview

Welcome Back to Lakewood

Hey everybody! How’ve you been? Not much has changed here in Lakewood. It’s quieted down a bit, and we still have some strange things happening, but for the past year, it’s actually been kind of tame. Dogs are still getting out and visiting that strange house on Veronica street, and no one seems to want to move into that little house on Paige Street. There are stories coming out about weird things happening on Alyssa Street and the dandelions are everywhere. People still complain online about fireworks and annoying children, and I’ve even seen people complain about the weather; as if anyone has any say in that. And while things may have been calm for a while, all good things must come to an end, right?

That’s where I come in. Here before you are twenty-nine new stories, all connected and all inspired by obscure events, urban legends, personal experiences, and comments made by people in the online community groups. All based in the very real and sometimes scary neighborhood of Lakewood Springs. All the stories and people in this book are fictional (except for Lindsey the Lawn Lady, she's real) the things they are based off of did happen in some way. I will explain what inspired each of these stories at the very end of the book, just like last time.

Speaking of last time, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you read the first Scary things Happen in Lakewood book. This book is a direct sequel, and while you could enjoy this book on it’s own; a lot of the connections or references might be lost without reading the first collection in the Lakewood saga.

So, are you ready? This time around we have cows, cats, dragonflies, and even something that looks like a bear. Lindsey and Officer Recker are back, so is the man with the bowler hat and the little girl dressed all in white. We have some new arrivals as well. New neighbors, new monsters, new legends and new mysteries. For now, enjoy your stay in Lakewood, where a few days could quite literally turn into forever.

Prologue: What Happened to Tara (Part One)

Tara had lived in Lakewood for seven years. She kept to herself and mostly voiced her displeasure for the community in the online forums. People referred to her as a bully, but Tara felt she was justified. After all, someone had to tell it like it was.

Tara didn’t have a job. Her husband was a chef, and his success afforded her the ability to stay at home. This led to hours of boredom, because they had no children and there wasn’t much housework that needed to be done. So Tara sat in her living room staring out of her window, most of the time.

She would always be the first one to complain online when she saw an unsupervised dog wandering the street. Tara would jump off of her couch, quickly take a picture of the offensive canine and post it’s picture on the first community page she opened. Things had gotten so bad, most people blocked her, while others just rolled their eyes and ignored her.

Tara began arguing on other people's posts, consistently disagreeing with everything anyone else had to say. Even if she had agreed or showed approval on a topic in the weeks prior, she would suddenly change her opinion just so that she could argue with someone. She was the epitome of a bored, busybody housewife.

Her negativity started to affect Tara’s personal life as well. Those close to her stopped coming around, and her neighbors avoided her outright. But the real impact of her negativity was on her marriage. Her husband grew tired of hearing about her online exploits and neighborhood watching. He suggested she get a helpful hobby or even a part time job to fill her time; but Tara quickly informed her husband that what she was doing was both a hobby and a job. Not only was she happy to do what she was doing but she felt that she had an obligation to Bailey Street, nay the entire community of Lakewood. To watch, report and argue.

Even though in all actuality, she was both a joke and a nuisance to everyone around her. But Tara, who seemingly lacked the ability to pick up on social cues, kept alienating everyone around her. Everyone except the man in the bowler hat.

Tara had seen that man once or twice, but figured he was some old guy who enjoyed a daily walk. Whenever he passed anyone on the street, he would politely tip his hat in their direction, an action that Tara saw as both gentlemanly and oddly attractive. She never noticed the man walking down her street before, and assumed he had just moved into the neighborhood this past year. Which coincidentally, was around the time all the disappearances and strange happenings began in Lakewood.

Tara heard people referencing the man in the bowler hat when a woman was stoned to death in the middle of Courtney Street. Some even claimed to see him close to the playground on the northside of Lakewood when it caught fire. He was also seen in the crowd of people who gathered around the house of the old woman who died in a horrific firework accident, just a block from Tara’s home. And now, he was a regular visitor on her street.

At first, Tara didn’t think anything odd about the man as he walked past her house. She had even grown accustomed to seeing him on his daily stroll. She was sure that he could not see her, which made the day he turned and tipped his hat at her even more unnerving.

It was a beautiful, sunny, Wednesday afternoon. Tara was spying on the neighborhood as she always did, when the man in the bowler hat appeared in front of her house. He smiled slyly and graciously tipped his hat in Tara’s direction. Tara gasped at the gesture as she was quite sure he couldn’t see her. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and she caught herself ducking down, as if she was a child about to be discovered in their favorite hiding spot.

Tara rolled her eyes, giggled, looked out of a little slit in her curtains and saw that the man was still standing there, staring in her direction. Suddenly, Tara felt a warming sensation grow in her loins. She didn’t know where it was coming from, but she had not felt this way since she was a teenage girl discovering her sexuality. The man in the bowler hat was staring at her, even though she knew he should not be able to see her, and it was arousing her, though she had no idea why.

She saw a wide smile on the man’s face as he tipped his hat and began to walk away. Tara fought the sudden urge to run out her door and have that man violate her right there on her front lawn. Instead she turned from the window, dashed upstairs and undressed, quickly. She then got into her bathtub and turned on her shower, whereupon she took her handheld shower head, switched it to the massage setting and placed it between her legs. Slowly getting herself off, all the while thinking about the man in the bowler hat.

As soon as Tara climaxed, she felt a sudden rush of shame and guilt wash over her. She dropped the shower head as if it was a dangerous snake and fled from the shower. She ran into her bedroom, collapsed to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably. Hours passed before she was able to regain her composure. When she finally had her emotions in check, she stood up, got dressed and went downstairs to make dinner for her husband.

That night as they ate dinner, Tara could not speak to or look at her husband. She was ashamed of her actions that afternoon and the guilt inside of her was too much to bear. She was not a prude by any means of the imagination and loyal to a fault. And yet, she couldn’t understand why the tipping of that strange man’s hat drove her crazy. That night as she laid awake next to her sleeping husband, she swore that she would no longer spy on the neighborhood. Tara was done being a busybody.

For two days, Tara sat in her kitchen, staring out her patio door watching the birds and rabbits frolic in her yard. She saw nothing of any interest beyond her fence line and the guilt within her began to subside. Soon she began to think of other things besides the man in the bowler hat. On the third day, everything changed.

After her husband left for work, Tara went to her kitchen and sat at her small table by the door, drinking her first cup of coffee of the day. She smiled as a juvenile rabbit hopped into view. Her smile quickly turned into a grimace of horror when she saw a man's foot, wearing a shiny black dress shoe, come down hard on the little rabbit's head. There was a loud, wet pop as the rabbit’s head was instantly crushed under the well dressed foot. Then, the man wearing the bowler hat stepped completely into view. Tara’s first reaction was to leap to her feet at the horror show she had just witnessed. When she realized the man in the bowler hat was now standing in her backyard smiling at her, a cold chill ran down her spine and she fell to her knees. The man lifted his foot off of the now very deceased rabbit, and rubbed it on the grass to scrape whatever remained of the rabbit’s head off of the bottom of his shoe. All the while his gaze never left Tara. When their eyes locked Tara was completely under his spell.

The man in the bowler hat began to speak. Even though he was standing in Tara’s backyard with a closed, double sliding glass door between them; to Tara, it sounded as if he was standing right next to her, whispering in her ear. This both unnerved and excited Tara.

Tara my love, the man began, where have you been?

Tara’s eyes widened with fear. How could this man possibly know her name? Why did he call her his love?

Don’t answer me just yet dear, the man continued, but I think you’ve missed me, or at least parts of you have.

Tara felt a sudden rush of heat rise in her groin and spread through her entire lower abdominal area. She had dreamt of this man and longed for his touch. Now she wanted him even more.

Yes dear, don’t speak, the man said, I can feel your longing, but this time, don’t rush off to the shower. Why not save that warmth for me, later night? The man tipped his hat before turning to leave. As he walked away, Tara heard him say one last thing, you just need to make room in your bed for me.

Tara sat there on the floor of her kitchen. Her loins burned and ached, she needed the man in the bowler hat to come back and ravage her. She wanted him to put out the fire that was growing inside of her soul. He told her he would be back later tonight, she just had a few things to take care of first.

When Tara’s husband arrived home that evening, he was shocked to see his wife standing in their living room, wearing the negligee he had gotten for their anniversary. He smiled a sheepish grin, as he was not expecting this from his wife when he came home. Tara filled out that negligee nicely, and he was unable to resist her. What Tara did next, he definitely did not expect.

Tara stood there solemnly, her hands behind her back with a smirk on her face. Her husband didn’t know it, but he was about to die. As he approached her, Tara gripped the handle of the knife she had been hiding behind her back. Just as he was about to put his arms around her, Tara produced the knife. Distracted by her nearly naked body, Tara’s husband didn’t see the knife as she plunged it forcefully into the side of his neck. His eyes grew wide as she ripped the blade free, destroying his jugular vein. His neck was now gushing blood all over the place. The sight of the blood as it sprayed from her husband’s now gaping neck wound, turned her on even more. Tara’s husband tried to cover the wound with his hands, but he was already growing weak. Tara almost climaxed when her husband slowly turned away from her and the spray of blood covered her body. It was so warm and sticky, and she was so close. She took a deep, shaky breath and moved toward her husband, raised the knife above her head and brought it down, violently. The knife slid into her husband's chest with ease. When she pulled it free another warm spray of blood splashed her face. Soon, her husband fell backwards to the floor and Tara mounted him. She then proceeded to stab him twenty-seven more times.

Tara stood up and looked down at her husband's lifeless corpse. She was covered in his blood and her loins were an inferno. Then suddenly, she heard the voice of the man in the bowler hat coming from directly behind her.

Now that's my good girl, the man in the bowler hat said.

Tara spun around and was not at all surprised to see the man in the bowler hat standing in her hallway. He was completely nude, but still had the hat on. He carefully reached out his arms to her, beckoning her to come to him. Tara slid the straps of the now blood soaked negligee off of her shoulders as she walked toward him and let it fall to the floor around her feet; before stepping into the arms of her newfound lover.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Cow on Alyssa Street

Stephen didn’t like the fact that he was getting to be a little out of shape, but he was a man of practical means. He wasn’t making enough money to join a gym, and even though home gym equipment made more sense, he could barely afford a treadmill. So, he did the most frugal thing he could think of: Stephen took up jogging.

He plotted a course through the neighborhood that was exactly two miles long. Stephen started at his front door on the corner of Alyssa and Veronica Streets. He would run down Veronica Street, then Paige Street, then turn right at the corner of Alyssa and Paige Streets and head home. The first two times he ventured out were a bit of a struggle. He had trouble finding the right rhythm at first. But Stephen kept at it, and once he found his stride, everything went fantastically.

That was until he saw the cow on Alyssa Street. At first Stephen wasn’t at all certain of what he was looking at. His sudden confusion was enough to make him trip and fall. When he hit the ground, he did a double take and sure enough, he was indeed looking at a cow.

The cow was standing in the fenced yard of a house that Stephen knew had been empty since last winter. The guy who lived there moved out after apparently being hounded, harassed, and threatened by someone who only wanted a cigarette. Stephen just noticed that the for sale sign was gone. Someone had moved into the house, and they brought a cow.

The Lakewood H.O.A. rules and regulations required that their homeowners only install 4 foot high, standard shadow box fences. At that moment, the cow hung it’s head over the fence and stared at Stephen. Utterly perplexed at the sight of a cow in someone’s backyard, Stephen stood there gawking at the cow for what felt like an hour. Some time later, confused and a little perturbed, Stephen turned away from the home with the cow, and began jogging home. He was going to call his property management representative to find out if livestock was allowed in the community when he arrived at home.

It didn’t take long for Stephen to get back home, he was barely in the door when he took his phone out of his pocket. He opened his list of contacts and searched until he found the name ‘Melanie.’ She was always in the office at this time, so Stephen knew he would get through to her right away plus, he loved