Carie Juettner

Growing Faces: A Creepy Autumn Poem

Ever since I was a kid, one my favorite Halloween decorations at my parents’ house has also been one of the most simple. Every year, my mom hangs “the witch’s laundry” on their clothesline. Black dresses and old Halloween costumes and a witch hat or two dangle there, cute and funny in the daytime and a little creepy at night when the wind makes a sleeve reach for you out of the darkness or your flashlight catches a shadowy shape just so. Cute and creepy– my favorite combination.

Now that we live right behind my parents, I treat their backyard as mine again, wandering through it at all hours, and I’ve been enjoying seeing the witch’s laundry swaying in the October breeze. One day recently, I got an idea and posed for a photo at the clothesline.

The picture reminded me of a line from a poem I wrote a few years ago. It was published in the 2019-2020 edition of Best Austin Poetry after winning the “Unexpected Award” in their annual contests that year. I wrote “Growing Faces” after seeing a face in a tree trunk, then imagining other objects acquiring human (or not-so-human) characteristics. I had fun creating the wordplay in this poem and hope you enjoy the imagery it conjures.

Growing Faces

The tree outside my window is growing faces.
The creek behind my fence is growing limbs.
The wind inside my chimney is growing voices.
The fog across the lake is growing skin.

The laundry on my clothesline is growing legs.
The chimes in my garden are growing lungs.
The cobwebs in my corners are growing eggs.
The loose boards on my staircase are growing tongues.

The street outside my house is growing shoulders.
The lids on my secrets are growing styes.
The cave beneath my land is growing molars.
The darkness beyond my lamp is growing eyes.

The cracks along my sidewalk are growing fingers.
The holes in my back porch are growing nails.
The inkblots on my paper are growing stingers.
The stories in my head are growing tails.

Enjoy the rest of October and have a
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

What Was That Noise?… Fill-in-the-Blank Story Reveal & Book Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my October story activity and book giveaway! You’ve waited long enough, so let’s get to the good stuff.

I received 32 entries for my fill-in-the-blank story activity and laughed so hard reading the various tales they created. I narrowed the entries down to 14 finalists and sent those anonymously to my guest judges… my niece and nephew! Austin and Caitlin, both recent graduates of Texas Tech University, are qualified judges of spooky, silly stories due to their excellent senses of humor and the fact that they grew up in our crazy Halloween-loving family and spent their childhood being scared by the annual haunted trail through my parents’ backyard. A big thanks for the time they took to select the story winners.

Interesting note: Austin and Caitlin did not judge together. I sent the finalists to them separately, and they both chose the SAME FOUR ENTRIES, so these were obviously the best. Without further ado, I give you the four most entertaining versions of…

What Was That Noise?

“What Was That Noise?” by Logan L.

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your SPOOKY, BLACK house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of TURKEY and are brushing your SKULL when you hear an ORANGE noise from the living room. Tiptoeing CREEPILY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a PUMPKIN PATCH .” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud MWUHHAHAHAHA. You SQUISH backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a GRIM REAPER. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two GREEN glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your SPINE stand up as the eyes RUN closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “HOLY JESUS!” you scream as something WHITE and GREY collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only CLYDE , your pet GIRAFFE . You lift them up, laughing at how much FEAR you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what CLYDE was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the DARK BLUE AND GREEN monster with 9767.1 heads RUNNING up behind you with BLOOD dripping from all of its fangs.

“What Was That Noise?” by Abigail H.

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your HAIRY, SLIMY house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of TIRAMISU and are brushing your HIPS when you hear a BUMPY noise from the living room. Tiptoeing QUICKLY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a HIPPOPOTAMUS.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud CRUNCHING. You DOUBLE PIKE backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a PUMPKIN. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two OLIVE GREEN glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your THUMB stand up as the eyes SKIPPING closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “OMG !” you scream as something FLUFFY and STINKY collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only LAYLA , your pet PLATYPUS . You lift them up, laughing at how much GUILT you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what LAYLA was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the MAGENTA, SHINY monster with 65,910 heads FROLICKING up behind you with PINK LEMONADE dripping from all of its fangs.

Double-piking backwards is a great move. Simone Biles could definitely escape a monster.

“What Was That Noise?” by Pat Kinder

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your EERIE, MISSHAPEN house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of CHILI CHEESE DOGS and are brushing your LEFT NOSTRIL when you hear a REPULSIVE noise from the living room. Tiptoeing CLUMSILY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a CHANDELIER.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud THUNDEROUS BOOM. You SKITTER backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a WITCH’S CAULDRON. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two SMOKE GREY glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your TONGUE stand up as the eyes BOUND closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “GHASTLY GOBLIN EYES!” you scream as something SHIMMERING and BONE-CHILLING collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only STONEY, your pet ANTEATER. You lift them up, laughing at how much FEAR you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what STONEY was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the ENORMOUS, EXHAUSTED monster with SEVEN heads HYPERVENTILATING up behind you with VINEGAR dripping from all of its fangs.

Ok, full disclosure? Pat Kinder is the guest judges’ father. But they read the contest entries anonymously, so there were no shenanigans at play. This is Pat last Halloween.

“What Was That Noise?” by Annie Neugebauer

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your SPRITELY, STINKY house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of CANDY CORN and are brushing your SKULL when you hear a FUNKY noise from the living room. Tiptoeing SWIFTLY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a PUMPKIN.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud SNORT . You FLY backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a BOOGER. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two ORANGE glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your NOSE stand up as the eyes SQUEEZE closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “YIKES !” you scream as something SNARKY and MACABRE collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only ELIZABETH SPRIGSLY , your pet PENGUIN . You lift them up, laughing at how much ANGER you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what ELIZABETH SPRIGSLY was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the HAUGHTY, GOOEY monster with NINE heads SPURTING up behind you with SUNNY DELIGHT dripping from all of its fangs.

Annie Neugebauer is an award-winning horror author, so it’s no wonder her story was chosen! Check out her website to read some of her truly terrifying tales. BEWARE: Annie mostly writes for adult audiences.

Awesome job, Logan, Abigail, Pat and Annie! Those were some creative word lists. I can’t stop laughing at the idea of the hair on your tongue standing up (ew) and the fact that in Annie’s story, the sound was a “snort” and the object turned out to be a booger. LOL! If your story didn’t make the cut, don’t worry. You can read your version of “What Was That Noise?” by filling in your words to the blanks below.

“What Was That Noise?” — A Fill-in-the-Blanks Story

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your 1. ________, 2. ________ house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of 3. ________ and are brushing your 4. ________ when you hear a 5. ________ noise from the living room. Tiptoeing 6. ________ down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a 7. ________.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud 8. ________. You 9. ________ backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a/an 10. ________. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two 11. ________ glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your 12. ________ stand up as the eyes 13. ________ closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “14. ________!” you scream as something 15. ________ and 16. ________ collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only 17. ________, your pet 18. ________. You lift them up, laughing at how much 19. ________ you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what 20. ________ was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the 21. ________, 22. ________ monster with 23. ________ heads 24. ________ up behind you with 25. ________ dripping from all of its fangs.

Spooky America Book Giveaway

And now… (drum roll)… for the winners of the book giveaway!

I wanted Indigo to help me choose the lucky recipients. This is how that turned out…

In the end, I had to get Uno to help instead…

Congratulations to Emerson Z and Evelyn W! You’re winners! You both get to choose a signed Spooky America book. I’ll be contacting you today to find out which title you want and where to send it.

Thanks again for helping make my favorite month even more fun. Enjoy your last week before Halloween, and remember to be careful when investigating those strange noises. You never know when it might be a grim reaper or a booger.

October Activity: Help Me Tell a Story (and Maybe Win a Book!)

Let’s Write a Story

We’re halfway through October, and the brisk fall weather, beautiful autumn sunsets, and creepy Halloween decorations have got me in the mood to tell a spooky story. But I’m feeling lazy, so I want your help.

My story, titled “What Was That Noise?” is missing some words. Fill them in for me and send me your answers. You can share your ideas in a comment on this post or email them to me via my contact page. Just keep your suggestions PG and get them to me by Sunday, October 22nd. My guest judge will read the stories your responses create and choose the best ones to be published on my blog.

But wait! There’s more!

October is my birthday month, and I like giving gifts as much as I enjoy receiving them, so I’ll be giving away two signed, personalized Spooky America books to two lucky winners just in time for Halloween. In order to be entered in the giveaway, you can…

Participate in this story activity! Your story doesn’t even have to be selected for publication. Anyone who sends a word list by 10/22 will be entered in the giveaway.
Sign up for my newsletter! All NEW subscribers between now and 10/22 will be included in the drawing.
Share one of my books on Facebook or Instagram! Tag me in your post by 10/22, and I’ll add your name to the raffle. (Instagram = @CarieJuettner Facebook = @CarieJuettnerWriter)

Winners and winning spooky stories will be announced here on my website next week. If you win, you get to choose which of my five Spooky America books you’d like to read by the campfire or give to a young ghost enthusiast as a Halloween gift.

What are you waiting for? Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and get to work on that story! Here’s what I need help with…

What Was That Noise?

Fill in the missing words of my story to help me complete it. Post your words in a comment, or send them through my contact page. Here’s a quick parts-of-speech reminder in case you need it. Have fun, and please keep suggestions family-friendly!

NOUN = person, place, or thing
VERB = word that shows action
ADJECTIVE = word that describes a noun
ADVERB = word that describes verb
(Adverbs usually shows how the verb was done & often end in -ly).