Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy

By Sandy Deutscher Green

Your new pen pal has a grave secret.

A lakeside summer vacation is just what 13-year-old Jayce needs...except he's convinced the ghost from his nightmares lives in the creepy house next door. But when he decides to team up with his twin sister to write a letter to the phantom neighbor, he's shocked whe

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
• Release date: May 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9781957656458

Sandy Deutscher Green

Sandy Deutscher Green's poetry has appeared in university, national, and international journals. Her children's work is included in Chicken Soup for the Child's Soul, Highlights for Children, and poetry anthology Words and Other Wild Things. Sandy is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the author of two children's novels and two poetry collections. Before the pandemic, she served as the literature judge for her local Reflections Art Program. Sandy and her husband live in Virginia, USA and have two children and four rescue pets.

Book preview

The Tale of Lake Lucy

Evie swims over to us

hauls herself aboard the bouncy raft

using the rope ladder:

"I just heard the weirdest thing

from that boy in the blue bathing suit."

Oh, him,

Crystal says:

He doesn’t know anything.

Crystal could get on my nerves

without a whole lot of effort:

What’d he say?

"It’s about how the lake got its name.

Kind of creepy."

Evie dangles her legs over the edge

I know that story, Crystal says

Go on, Evie.

wish a hundred horse flies

would pick Crystal up and carry her off

Evie clears her throat:

"Lake Lucy got its name

a long time ago when this girl…"

Named Lucy, of course,

Crystal says:

Tell the story right, if you’re going to tell it.

I’m getting to that.

Evie presses her lips together as if she’s cold

You’re too slow.

Crystal shakes her head

Fine, you tell it.

Blas huffs:

Will somebody finish?

two spots flame on Evie’s cheeks:

Lucy got in a rowboat one night.

Halloween, Crystal says

He didn’t say it was Halloween.

Crystal shifts her gaze around the trampoline:

I’m pretty sure it was.

I bark:

What happened?

everyone on the beach snaps

their heads toward us

Dad’s right

sound travels well over water

Evie stares across the lake:

"There was a terrible storm. Lucy got

in her rowboat to row to the other side."

she lowers her voice:

"She disappeared into the fog

and was never seen again."

Never?

I frown

Crystal nods at us:

And they never found the boat either.

So? Blas says:

"What’s that got to do

with anything?"

"Crystal’s eyes widen

like two inflatable inner tubes:

"Haven’t you heard about people’s towels

and rafts and floaties going missing?"

she flings her arms toward the shore:

Right off their docks.

she shudders:

"Swallowed by Lake Lucy.

Never to be seen again."

we gaze at the peaceful lake

Evie draws her legs from the rim of the float

sunshine bakes our backs

a white motorboat with a blood red band

surges along the opposite shore

waves strum the sides of the raft

Evie balances on its lip:

"I’m not going to let a dumb ghost story

and careless people losing their stuff

keep me from swimming."

drops like a cannonball into the water

wait for the bubbles to clear

for Evie to pop up.

The Almost Invitation

Blas and I hang our heads

over the edge of the raft

his eyes are alarm bells:

How long can Evie hold her breath?

lake water is smooth and quiet

my own rippling scared face

stares back at me

What are you all looking for? A ghost?

Evie laughs as she clings to the rope ladder

on the other side of the trampoline

paddles back to the slide

Is she your sister?

Crystal’s hair sticks to her head in strips:

She’s stupid.

slides into the water like a seal

follows Evie

Hey, only I can insult my sister,

I yell to Crystal’s splashing feet

Forget about Crystal,

Blas says:

I have an RC car. We can share it.

Race you.

swim my best steady strokes

to the shore

I’m a strong runner

but Blas beats me in swimming

shoots ahead to get his car

year-round boy scowls at him

from behind his game

an offer to join us

dies in my throat.

Mr. Crunch is a Pillow

Evie comes ashore uses Mr. Crunch as a pillow while she reads yuck all that sand and water she’s long stopped talking about Noah she must not care what happens to her favorite stuffed animal either.

House of My Dreams

Blas sets aside a hydro lacrosse set

we can use in the water:

We bought these, too.

we move away from people:

Where’d you get them?

Blas shows me how the car drives on two wheels:

"Doogie’s Dollar Emporium

in Stanley."

Doogie? What a funny name.

he laughs:

"They have everything. Even a

big pet section. We got a new collar

and toys to bring home to our dog."

he and I take turns

with his remote-control car

no problem spinning on the sand

or churning water on the lake

When did you get to Lake Lucy?

he hands me the control

I spin the car three-sixty

before it gets stuck in a hole

Blas hurries to scoop up the car

ticks off his fingers:

"Four days ago. What

about you?"

"Three days. We fished

from the dock yesterday."

"We don’t have a dock. Too

steep to the