Tales From the Loop

Hook : The old, abandoned Marsh house sits alone on the outskirts of Boulder City. Its chilling past is told in whispers around the campfires late at night. Murder, suicide, ghosts. Every year around Halloween, it becomes the topic of dares and displays of bravado. Two kids went missing last night. Did the Marsh ghosts finally claim another victim?   Oct 31 st , 1986 - the Witching Hours: Joshua Hutsenpilar , 1 4yo Bookworm (Julian): Joshua strapped the last piece of painted cardboard armor onto his arm as he stumbled out the door to join the other kids trick-or-treating (TOT). [Tinker 0] As he stopped to pick up a piece when it fell off, Randy and his bully crew chided, “What are you supposed to be?!” Joshua proudly claimed, “Optimus Prime… the Transmorpher I bought last summer.” Darrel corrected, “You mean ‘Optimus Dork’.” Randy leaned in to whisper, “You’re too old for TOTing. Wanna join us TPing some houses?” Joshua declined, “But I can share my can...

Oct 23 rd , 1986 : Halloween is rapidly approaching. Rumors are running wild of a monster in Hemenway Park. Meanwhile, a strange fog shrouds Lake Mead in mystery. As if the below-freezing nights are not enough! More eerie with the occasional blaring of a noise from the TV tower near Charlie Gate south of Boulder (cross between a foghorn and a sick cow mooing). 14yo Jimmy/Hick (Bill): Jimmy added height to his bowler hat by adding a paper-mache stovepipe crown. Wearing his black pinguin style long coat, he paraded before his mom, “So, how do you like my magician costume for Halloween?” But mom concerned, “Ms. Mary from church told me about a man roaming the streets lately. You know what I’ve said about strangers. Promise me you’ll be with friends when you go ‘Trick or Treating’.” She licked her finger to tame his cowlick. “MOM! I’m not a baby anymore!” Frank, 13yo Computer Geek (Thomas): Frank made another entry in his notebook as he recorde...

August 9th, 1986 : The last days of summer are here. School starts back up in two weeks and there is little respite from the long, hot days. Kids all over Boulder City swarm the arcade, the movie theater, and the beach in a desperate attempt to stay cool. After a wild time at summer camp, the kids look forward to a calm, relaxing break before the drudgery of school begins. Strange rumors of aggressive animal attacks are going around town, but it's probably nothing.   Jimmy, 14yo Hick (Bill) “Ouch! Hot, hot!” Jimmy asked Mr. Billy Parson for gloves so he could search the junkyard. “Metal is too hot to handle, and I want to find handlebars and other parts to trick out Tommy’s bike. He’s the newest kid in the school.” With Billy helping for a worthy cause, they had the parts in no time. “It’s going to be one rad bike. Everyone will be jealous.” As Jimmy stacked the parts in the basket of his dirt bike, a shadow crossed him.  Billy also looked up, “It’s ...