Monica's Birthday
You might reasonably be wondering why a thumbnail image that looks remarkably similar to other thumbnails from As They Grow Older appears here. Well, yes. Monica’s Birthday was one of the original spooky stories, but alas it has not quite stood the test of time. It still reads as well as it ever did, but an important bit of tech that appears in the story has been significantly updated since it was written. So significantly that children nowadays would probably wonder what I was going on about.
No more spoilers. Luckily Monica’s Birthday is the only story in the spooky collection that has been affected by advances in technology. And luckily the description of it that used to appear on my old website still holds true. Here it is.
For her birthday Monica asks for a puppy (she always does), a magic set, a puppet and a camera. She gets all of these things, and a party too. She enjoys herself, but some things happen which make the whole occasion feel weird, and Monica experiences a nightmare about her presents too.
One of her presents isn't quite what it is supposed to be...
Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek is part of the Cashmore Halloween Universe, but it focuses on Xiao Xiao (Dylan) rather than on the original three children Philip, Michal and Sarah, and it didn’t feel right to add it into the As They Grow Older collection.
In fact Philip, Michael and Sarah all appear in this story as ‘older’ children, and a number of Xiao Xiao’s friends (all real children) do too. All of these other children are roaming around the house, searching for each other in a game of hide and seek. But they don’t find Xiao Xiao, because he has disobeyed Dad’s explicit instruction not to hide in the attic outside Philip’s room.
What he finds in there is something of a spooky surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed writing about it. I also enjoyed writing about the game of hide and seek, about where everyone went to hide and how they were eventually discovered. I fact I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this little story, and I hope you do too.
Toothmarks
Toothmarks is also part of the Cashmore Halloween Universe but, for similar reasons to Hide and Seek, it didn’t seem right to add it to the As They Grow Older collection, as it focuses on a different generation. In fact in this story, Dad is now Grandad, Philip is now Dad, Michael is Uncle Mike and Sarah… well, she’s away in New Zealand so she doesn’t appear in this story at all. Dylan, or Xiao Xiao, is much bigger now and is able to carry Philip’s boys on his shoulders.
It’s Halloween, and as it happens one of Philip’s sons was born on Halloween. I am able to report that this is true. The boy in question is Cade, who in the story is as naughty as Xiao Xiao was in Hide and Seek. I can report that this is also based on fact. And in this story Cade too goes into Grandad’s mysterious attic, even though he knows perfectly well that he’s forbidden from doing so. And when he goes in…
Read the story and find out what happens when he defies the rules and goes in.
Being Small and Feeling Tall
Being Small and Feeling Tall is definitely not part of the Cashmore Halloween Universe. I can’t remember why I wrote it; perhaps it was just the start of a school term that made it jump into my mind.
It tells the story of Gordon, who is terrified at the thought of starting a new school, where he won’t know anybody because he has moved away from the area where all his old friends live. I tried to make his fear real without being overwhelming, and I balanced it with the antics of his absent-minded mum, who is supposed to be driving him to school. I think I must have known how the story was going to end when I wrote it, but I honestly can’t remember now.
It’s a good ending, though. I hope you like it.