When I was in second grade, my teacher Mrs. Aragon (whom, with all the 2nd-grade wit I could muster, I christened Arrogant Aragon) had a low shelf of books under the window that we could borrow from to read during study times or if we finished our work earlier than the rest of the class. She had a great (but small) collection of Halloween books and ghost stories. I remember picking out a slim book one day. I cannot remember the title, but the cover was pale blue with a black pencil illustration of a haunted house. I think it was published by Troll books, and likely came from the Troll mail-order brochures. Well, I forgot to put the book back on the shelf at the end of the day. In fact, I never returned it. I could have, of course, just brought it back the next day, but I was an odd little kid. I was terrified of everything; especially falling out of favor with my teachers. I was too scared to bring the book back, so I never did. I never actually read the book either. It sat for years in my bedroom with Mrs. Aragon's name neatly written on the back of the front cover. I remember being scared all through the summer before 3rd grade started; worried to death that Mrs. Aragon was going to call my mom and tell her I stole a book from her classroom. Of course, she never called. She likely never even knew the book was missing.
I'm not sure what happened to the book. Chances are I still have it somewhere, as I have never thrown out a book, and rarely even give them away. I hope to find the book someday. It just may have been the book--albeit a stolen and never read one-- that started my love for Halloween books.
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