One breezy night in a small town near the river, there were six teenagers who gathered around a campfire, and told ghost stories to keep themselves warm.

All six of them were camp members of 'Unsettling Waters', and their summer days of fun were about to end. 

Shelley, Casper, Belinda, Mason, Ilene and Nate all got along with each other, and didn't want their friendship to end after this escapade, so they decided to gather near the beach at night.  They snuck out of their cabins, and ran to the their favorite place  to hang out. 

Here, they built a bonfire to celebrate the good memories they had together.

~~

After all the boys gathered some wood and lit a match to start a fire, Casper shared a ghost story he knew from memory.  To add emphasis to it, Casper turned on a flashlight, which he acquired in one of the cabins, and shined it upon his face.

"Welcome my friends, I am glad you all could come as we will have to go back to school soon.  I would like to share with you a story I heard about the abandoned Victorian house that is located a few blocks from here.  My grandmother told me it used to have a "For Sale" sign in front of it, but after a decade without any buyers, the realtors decided to remove the post and gated it instead".

"Okay Casper. Why are you telling this to us?" interrupted Mason.

"Can you please be quiet brother, and let Casper continue?" Shelly retorted.

"Thank you Shell, you should listen up too Mason, because I want to go in there on Halloween and prove to all of you the legend of a monster named "Snacker" is false.  Besides, who doesn't want to have a good scare once in a while?" Casper laughed as he said this, but his audience kept their straight faces on.  Seeing this happening, he continued talking.

"Anyway, my grandma said that the family that used to live there – the Burton's were rich. They owned several houses, and one of them just happens to be that Victorian holiday home that they built in the 1920's."  The storyteller pointed to the direction of Elm Street.

Casper's audience now gathered closely next to him, but Mason was still confused on where this tale was leading to.  He thought that it was just like any normal house that wasn't haunted at all.  Mason also suspected that Casper was telling a fib, and just wanted to scare the daylights out of him. 

But there is a common phrase Mason should be in fear of ... be careful before you say something out loud, because later you might just find out the truth is real!

~~

Casper picked up his bottle of water and drank from it, before continuing his dialogue, since the next part would bring back his weird nightmares of the past.  But since he started it, there was no turning back now.  So, after he placed the bottle down on the ground, he continued his story.

"The breadwinner of the family, Mr. Henry Burton was a prominent business man, and his wife Beatrice was a home maker, who took care of their three children, Homer, Henry Jr. and Helen.  Now, since the family moved constantly between houses, they hired a caretaker to take care of each one.  My grandmother believed they had three other house somewhere in the Western states, but she couldn't verify that."

"The caretaker of the house down the street was a man by the name of Snapper Woodrow, and for some reason he was given the nickname 'Snacker' since he was always hungry".

Casper didn't want to continue with his story, because he knew what he had just done ... and that was to release his fear of hearing his grandmother's story again.

He dropped the flashlight on the ground, closed his eyes, and placed his hands upon his face.

Before she was taken away to a nursing home, his grandmother would put a young Casper on her lap, and tell him the story repeatedly before he went to sleep.  He never told his parents or any other adult about this legend out of fear.  And as Casper grew up, the more he wanted to prove that the monster/ghost of Snacker was false.

So, he drew up a plan in his mind that he would gather some friends to go with him when the right time came about.  He was now 16 years old and felt that he was brave enough to explore the unknown.  Unfortunately, the poor souls he chose would be the five friends that were sitting next to him.

"Go on Casper, don't keep us waiting ... the story is getting good," Nate replied.

However his girlfriend, Ilene, told him that it was giving her icy shivers down her spine and embraced her curly haired boyfriend tightly.

"Oh, Ilene are you scared?  It's only a story, right Casper?

"Well, Nate, I wish I could say so, but I'm afraid not.  Let me continue with what my Grandma said. There was one year, when the Burton's  didn't show up to their vacation home for some reason.  I assume Snapper was very disappointed when he heard this, since the man lived alone.  He loved playing with the little children, and he would watch Mrs. Burton make her beautiful artwork."

Casper paused and drank another sip of his water bottle.  All of this talking, made him thirstier than usual.

"The next year on a Halloween night, Mr. Burton came alone to visit the house, and told the caretaker that he was relieved of his duties.  His three children all fell ill with typhoid fever when they came home from a trip from Europe.  Therefore, the children were now bed-ridden, and could not travel anymore.  When Mr. Woodrow heard this, he was shook up.  He didn't know what to do, since he really didn't have any other living family members to assist him.  He begged Mr. Burton to let him stay in the house, but Henry refused.  Soon an altercation came about, and Mr. Burton was never heard from again.  His poor wife waited for him to return to Oklahoma, but she also caught the typhoid fever, and died with her children.  Therefore, they never knew what became of Henry.   Some say that 'Snacker' killed him and hid his body somewhere in the house. Others say that Mr. Burton ran away to avoid the typhoid fever that attacked his family, but we may never know what really happened."

"Well, what happened to 'Snacker?" asked Shelly.

"I really don't know, Shell.  Grandma said that when the police came to investigate the house, no one was there.  They searched upstairs and downstairs, even the basement!  But there wasn't any sign of him.  But legend has it that he won't show up for adults anymore, he only likes to be with children.  Snacker would 'eat them', but in reality he just wants to play with them.  But others say since Woodrow was considered a snacker, he really was a ... a....."

"A ... what Casper?"

"I hate to say it Shell, because the word 'leaves a bad taste in my mouth'.  (Casper bit his lips) But if you know what big animals do to their prey ... you might get the picture."

"Say  no more Casper," Mason exclaimed!  " You brought us here to hear that?  Do you know that stupid story is now in our heads? Thanks a lot!  Bet our girls are now scared half to ... let's just say as a frightened scarecrow!"

Mason got up, dusted off his pants from the sand he was sitting on, and stomped back into the cabin.

The rest of the group stayed with their friend, and Casper told them of his plan to search the house and seek this 'Snacker' person.

~~

Dedication of this chapter goes to Paraeeks, the co- author of No Children Allowed.  I hope you enjoy my own version of "Snacker" and how he came to be.  The song included above is "Everybody" by the BackStreet Boys. They were quite young back then, and this music video is pretty cool! Please watch it and show me some love by leaving a comment or vote please.  Thanks!