The Vampire’s Haunted Castle

Welcome to Story Quest, a weekly podcast where we bring your stories to life!

In this episode we bring Imogen’s story, The Vampire’s Haunted Castle to life!

If you have a story idea, you could be like Imogen and have it turned into a Story Quest. All you have to do is send us your story idea here. We know you have the best imaginations and together we can create the most brilliant stories!

That’s just what Imogen did. You can listen to the story they suggested come to life below, plus they tell us all about the inspiration behind the story at the end.

Listen out for brand new Story Quest episodes every Thursday!

You can read along to The Vampire’s Haunted Castle below!

“The Vampire’s Haunted Castle” featuring Obi, the fox-red Labrador: 

The letter was in shaky handwriting, and Obi knew immediately that something was wrong. His little tail stopped wagging as he read the letter from a nearby village. 

Obi got a lot of letters from people, because he was no ordinary dog. He was Obi The Fox Red Labrador, and he was known across the land for his magical powers of super speed and teleportation. If anyone could fix a problem, it was Obi. 

However, this latest caper might be a bit much, even for Obi. The letter was written in elegant but shaky handwriting, and the residents of the nearby village were pleading for Obi’s help because they were being haunted by strange noises and eerie lights. The noises were coming from an ancient castle on the hill and the villagers suspected the old legend of the vampire who once lived there might be true. 

Obi’s ears pricked up when he read this. He was straining to hear the noises himself. He’d heard the tale of the vampire who lives in the castle on the hill. He thought it was just an old tale that people told to scare children. He had never imagined it might be true. 

There was not a minute to lose, Obi used his super speed to run out the door, jump over fences, gallop through fields, over rivers and get to the nearby village in a matter of a few minutes. And as he moved into the village, there it was. The castle on the hill. 

As Obi approached the castle, the air got colder, the sky got darker and he could see his own breath in front of him. Everything became dark and foreboding, which was scary because Obi didn’t know what foreboding was. All he knew was, it didn’t sound good! However, Obi remained determined. He had to help those villagers out.  

There were many obstacles in his way. As he entered the castle ground there was an enchanted forest surrounding the castle. The trees seem alive, twisting and turning to create confusing paths and illusions that confused him. One of them looked like a giant bird, and the other like a clown with a sad face. Obi used his super speed to race through the forest, but the trees moved around and tried to block his path. Obi knew he needed to think differently so he used his teleportation powers, jumping to the top of the forest canopy, where he can see the castle clearly and find a proper path through the forest. 

He howled with delight. He knew where to go. He used his super speed to run through the castle gate and into the castle. He’d done it. He was in! And oh boy was it spooky. 

At that moment he was challenged. Two ghostly knights were guarding the entrance to the main hall. The phantom knights were remnants of the vampire’s old army, bound to protect the castle even after their death. They had peculiar, other worldly swords and the stood there, staring, blocking Obi’s path. “uh oh. This doesn’t look good” he said to himself. 

But he had to go on. He had to help the villagers! But the knights moved forwards, wielding their swords and trying to attack Obi. using his speed, Obi dodged their attacks, creating gusts of wind that disoriented the knights. Then, in a flash, he teleported behind them! Confused, the knights bumped into each other, and with an incredible CLANG, fell to the floor. 

This was Obi’s chance. He darted into the main hall before they could get back up! 

The castle’s main hall was very grand. There were huge pictures on the walls – and every one of them was of a vampire. Obi walked down the long, red carpet in the centre of the hall, and at the end of it, was standing a shadowy figure. As Obi finally approached it, he cam face to face with the Count Nocturne – a vampire with glowing red eyes.  

Obi was scared. Obi was very scared. But he had to do something for the villagers, except, at that point, something unusual happened. 

“Hello. Pleased to meet you” said Count Nocturne, in a rather weak, sad voice. 

Obi had no idea to react to this. He sat in front of the Count, he offered a paw, and barked his best hello. 

“At last, someone has seen my signs and come to have dinner” said Count Nocturne. 

“Aren’t you going to try to eat me?” Asked Obi. 

“No” said The Count.  

The Count explained that he preferred company and that he just wanted friends and that the only reason he was haunting the village was to get attention, in the hope someone would come to the castle. 

Obi took a second. Here was this vampire that everyone was scared of, and all he wanted was friends? 

Obi looked around and said, “You know what this castle needs? A makeover” 

Obi used his super speed to change the scary castle into something more welcoming. The dark corners were transformed into cosy nooks, the big towers were given fairy lights, and the pictures of vampires were replaced with pictures of landscapes. 

It was like one of those television shows where they take a place and turn it from looking a bit rubbish into looking like royalty live there. 

In a matter of seconds – because Obi was very fast – the whole castle was transformed into a welcoming place, and then, with his tail wagging, Obi offered The Count a paw of friendship. 

The count sat with Obi and revealed that he has been lonely for centuries and only wanted to make friends, but his attempts have always frightened people away. Obi explained that the villagers are scared but might be willing to befriend him if he invited them to his less scary, transformed castle. 

“Absolutely. I’ll hold an open day” said Count Nocturne. Obi, went and spread the news, and the next day there was a huge party at the castle. Where there were screams, there was laughter. Where there were ghostly noises, there was the sound of friends talking. Obi was just starting to enjoy himself when a carrier pigeon came in with another letter. There was trouble in a nearby village. Quietly, Obi slipped away knowing that his job at the castle was done, but that there was now a new problem to solve.