Hello again Story Club members. I'm Ivy, your ghostly host with the most and keeper of the strangest,

spookiest tales on earth. Today is another Ivy's chilling tale. This shocking tale, story club members, might make you stay off your phone

for a while. It's one I call Streets of Fear. Oh, wow, check out this Vincent Van Gogh painting.

It's so small and, um, Scott, Ryan, hello. My friend Scott and Ryan had their noses in their phones, like they always did.

We were on a fifth grade field trip to see some paintings at the museum, but my friends hadn't looked up from their phones since we'd gotten here.

In fact, most of my class wasn't paying attention to the works of art. They were busy staring into their phones like, well, zombies.

I nudged Ryan.

She was texting someone.

I saw that it was Gloria.

Gloria, another kid in our class who was literally in the same room texting my friend back.

I suggested to Ryan that she should just walk over and talk

to Gloria face to face. Ryan shot me an annoyed look and then continued to text. Um, okay. Walking over to

Scott, I saw that he was on Instagram looking at funny videos of people falling down.

I asked Scott to go check out the Monet with me.

He shook his head and said that sounded boring.

I felt so alone.

I wanted to come to this museum in the park next to it, but I wanted to do it with my friends.

I'd been so excited for today, but they were completely checked out.

Their attention and focus had fallen down a phone hole. Then the museum light suddenly surged.

Everyone with a phone in their hand surged with the light as if electrocuted, and then they dropped their phones and gazed around with vacant eyes.

What had just happened?

Was it some kind of electronic magnetic pulse?

...