Does a malevolent poltergeist haunt the girls locker room? If you believe the number of stories that have been passed down from one generation to another then the answer is a firm yes. Now, I've had my own fair share of paranormal encounters before. I think we've all had it. And if you come from the south then you've grown up listening to ghost stories of ghosts.

Now, the story I'm going to tell you is true. I'm sure you, the lovely reader, have read a number of ghost stories that we, the members of New Midnight Society, tell each other around the dying embers of a once roaring bonfire. Our lovely leader Madeline has made an amazing effort to write down those stories, edit them and even publish them. And I'm glad, because these stories need to be told, they are the bedrock of our childhood.

Anyway, in our last story we've told you of Lily's encounter with “Lizzy”. Now I've never encountered “Lizzy” but I have encountered another spirit. It's not really a spirit in the true sense. Ghostlore would call it a poltergeist that German for “noisy ghost” or “noisy ghost” take your pick dear reader.

We cheerleaders often call this spirit “It” and it's not limited to just the locker room, though that is its main haunt. But “It” has been known to follow the cheerleaders as they travel from one event to another. Often the spirit brings misfortune and is known for having a cruel sense of humor. I have a theory about the spirit, and I'm going to tell you that theory before I go on with my tale because it makes sense to me.

I personally believe that the negativity of high school feeds this thing. The girls locker room is in a way our own personal space. A conclave where the mysteries of girlhood are discussed and rumors are exchanged. Here girls tell other girls what boys they are going after, here girls talk about crushes. And more often than not, justice is melted out to girls who have done things that go against the grain. I personally believe that all that energy has super charged the air. Making this a rich feeding ground for “It”.

Now my story is like a thousand other stories I've heard. What makes my story different is I've been touched if you will by “It”. Cerridwen our schools token pagan said sometimes fey can attach themselves to certain people. I asked if she thought “It” was a fey, and she just shrugged her head. And so I asked her to do a reading if you will of the girls locker room.

At first Cerridwen was very reluctant. But after a while I finally got her to agree to check things out. But the moment her hands touched the doorknob was the moment things changed her for. She turned around, looked me dead in the eye and in a hollow tone of voice said to me. And I will never forget these words. Nope, I will carry them to the grave with me. “Something very evil lives in this locker room. Two very evil spirits.” She said in a compelling tone of voice.

And then she walked away. Weird right? It was like she was totally freaked out by something. I mean I know pagan's are different, but Cerridwen has always struck me as this kind of brave girl who's not afraid of anything. But she just froze up and stood there the moment her fingers brushed up against the metal surface of the door handle. Had she sensed something? Something evil was lying in wait just behind the door. And what really freaked me out, she said that there were two spirits. Like as far as I know, nobody has told Cerridwen about “Lizzy” and I never mentioned a thing about “It” could she have been sensing them too?

Looking back, I should have known something was up. I should have stayed away from the room. I should have known better, but instead I had to poke the lion. And I learned when you poke the lion, you better have a really sharp stick, because it's going to roar and attack you.

Now we have this tradition that after each practice we draw straws, the girl with the shortest straw is the one who stays behind the others and cleans up. You know, making sure things are in pretty good shape, you gotta make sure all the lights are off, all the stuff is put up. You gotta return the keys. It's not a hassle, but it kills a good hour, sometimes an hour and a half. A drag if you will.

Anyway this one afternoon I had drawn the shortest straw and it had fallen to my small, frail shoulders to get everything cleaned up and put all the stuff away. It was during the winter months, and the sun had already set, the sky outside was gray and cloudy and a cold wind was blowing across the open fields that lay before the school. I don't know why I remember those details, but they seem to matter. It was like the quiet before the storm if you catch my drift. Just another cold, windy afternoon.

About a week or two had passed since I had asked my friend Cerridwen to do a reading. And well things had been kind of building, small things, for example my friend Taylor had lost her wallet, and since she was a member of the team we all pitched in to help her find it. We found it alright, after searching the whole school, I mean we searched that school from top to bottom without finding a trace of the wallet we found it, and guess where it was, right on top of her backpack. I'll never forget the moment she picked that wallet up was the moment this loud giggle filled the locker room. It gave us all the chills.

A few days later, somebody's phone went missing, again being a team we all pitched in and searched the school from top to bottom, and when we found the phone it was in plain sight. It was like somebody or something was messing with us. At first we kind of laughed it off, and heck we even joked about it. But as I stood there, alone in that changing room, going through the checklist of things that needed to be done. I swear I felt something watching me.

Then it happened, the door flew open, the fluorescent lights of the locker room started to flicker on and off. Then one by one they started to pop, sending a shower of sparks and glass down upon me. I was stunned and I quickly duck down and throw my arms over my head. I felt those tiny shards of glass cut my arms as they rain down on my head. It all happened in a blink of an eye, like one moment I was standing there in the center of the room, minding my own business, the next all hell had broken loose.

Then I heard a deep, dark growl that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. Then I heard a voice, a dark, demonic voice, it came from inside my head. I heard the voice tell me, “DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH ME LITTLE GIRL.” I felt my blood run cold.

It was a total sensory overload for me, the voice, the popping of the fluorescent light bulbs above my head, the banging of the door, then to make matters worse all the showers seemed to turn on, and soon the air inside the room was filled with hot steam, the steam caused me to choke, I felt a growing sense of doom, and finally, I something took over me, somebody told me to bolt and I bolted out of that room. I ran down the hallway, I ran as quick as my feet could carry me, and I did not stop running till I had bolted out of the door and was breathing that cold, winter air.

After that, I stopped using the girls locker room. I changed in the bathroom. Or kind of changed in the staff bathroom. I guess, by asking Cerridwen to do a reading of that room I had poked something. I just know, I'm not giving that thing another chance to get at me. Once was enough.

The End.