Hello, folks! Welcome to another story, The Mourninghelm Mysteries, by yours truly.

For this year's Open Novella Contest, I am doing something slightly different—a middle grade horror-mystery. This has been a story idea for many years that has never come into fruition until now. When I was still in school, I had an idea for a Famous Five/Scooby Doo/Goosebumps/Fear Street-inspired story. 

Unfortunately, any progress I made on this story was lost to my infamous (between family members) murder of the family computer where I saved snippets from this story. Now, it is being reinvigorated as a new story for the Open Novella Contest after not being touched for over ten years. Luckily, I remember some of the more prominent details. 

The prompts I have chosen for this year's ONC are:

#66. It's not a mystery — it's the walls. They hold secrets, but what are they hiding?

#110. 20 days of freedom.

#114. For as long as you can remember, you've worn a key around your neck. But what does it unlock? Maybe it's that mysterious box at the back of your mother's closet. 

As much as I am really looking forward to this year's ONC, I don't know whether this story will do well in it considering the use of verticals in the prompts this year. However, I am not going to let this deter me from competing. I love writing genre-bending stories, so I will continue to do so with this story. I never know—maybe there is a small corner on Wattpad that likes this. 

Anyhow, I am looking forward to reading your thoughts (don't forget to comment and vote) and finding out what you think. Without further ado, I give you The Mourninghelm Mysteries.