Little Evangeline Paige

"Whatever you do, Evangeline, don't go into the woods. There's a bad man out there and he'll get you," said Little Evangeline Paige's mother as she tucked her in that night. She told her young daughter this every night as she kissed her goodnight every night. She knew what was in those woods and had found Evangeline staring hypnotically into the forest, demanding to be allowed to go play in the dark, menacing forest.

And like every night, Evangeline promised her mother she'd never go into the woods, that she didn't want to be got by the bad man. This night was different, though, for the man who hid in the forest would call upon Little Evangeline Paige.

It was around midnight, and the little girl of seven years found herself drawn to the window in her bedroom. She wiped at her eyes and stared out into the dark, menacing forest that seemed to lurk behind her home.

"Little Evangeline Paige, please come play with me this beautiful evening, nothing would delight me more. Won't you come into the forest with me?" said a voice in the back of Little Evangeline Paige's mind. It was a man's voice and sounded very sweet and polite, inviting.

So Little Evangeline Paige quietly but quickly creeped out the back door of her home, disregarding what her mother had warned her of, and went to play with the man with the polite voice. And there he stood, waiting for her. He was tall, taller than any man she'd ever seen, and didn't have a face. Though this frightened her somewhat, she couldn't bring herself to run from him. In fact, she moved closer to him and smiled widely when he offered her a flower. They then played for hours, hide and seek, tea, everything she wanted.

"Won't you come play with me at my home? It's much too dark to play here." He said in the back of her mind. She wondered why he didn't speak, but realized he didn't have a mouth and it would be rude to say anything about it.

"I don't know if I should, my mommy told me not to come here in the first place, but thank you so much for your offer. I should probably go home now," Little Evangeline Paige said, turning to leave.

"No! You will come play with me at my house, Little Evangeline Paige, and you'll never come back! You are mine now!" cried the tall man, but this time his voice wasn't polite and sweet. It was dark and menacing, just like the woods, and Little Evangeline Paige tried to run, but the tall man suddenly sprouted extra arms and took her into them and before she could scream, they were gone.

Little Evangeline Paige was never seen again. And her mother cried for the rest of her life, for she knew that the bad man in the woods had taken her Little Evangeline Paige away.