That’s a question everyone asks me. Actually, anything can suggest a story to me. This story came from one sentence I overheard. One sentence was all I needed to imagine what I think may be my most stomach-churning story ever. The sentence? I overheard it on a city bus. Two boys were talking in the seat in front of me, and I heard the one named Nate say, “I have to have my tonsils out on Halloween.” That’s all I had to hear. My mind whirred into action. A hospital can be a scary place, I thought. But on Halloween night? What special scares will Nate find in a hospital on Halloween night? I hurried home to write the story. If you have to go to the hospital, remember--it’s just a story. It could never really happen… Or could it? The first thing I noticed about the hospital was the sick, green walls. Such a drab, dull color. Almost gray. The color of the sky on a raw, stormy day. Someone had draped orange and black streamers from the ceiling because it was Halloween. And some of the doors had cardboard witches and jack-o’-lanterns taped to them.
