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.

Today's story comes to us from a beloved listener named Hudson,

only aged six if you can believe it,

and it's called the chicken thief.

In the rugged and serene mountains of Pine Falls

lived a loving family of three,

Tom, Gretel, and their hard-working dad. Gretel was 10 years old and loved working outside, chopping wood and gardening. Tom was two

years younger than Gretel, being just eight years old, and he loved living and working up in the mountains, too.

There was no other place he'd rather be than with his dad and his older sister up on the mountains.

Together, they worked hard, and they made their home in a humble, cozy cabin amidst the towering pine trees and crisp mountain air.

Each morning they were greeted by their beloved chickens, Joey and Cluckers, whose cheerful

clucks echoed throughout the valley. The chickens provided fresh eggs, a precious gift that

helped sustain Gretel Tom and their father. But late one moonlit night, a growling sound

pierced the silence on the mountain, followed by frantic clucking and snaps. What was that? cried Tom.

I hope it wasn't our chickens. Tom and Gretel huddled close together in their bedroom,

not knowing what to do. Their father was nowhere to be found. Gretel huddled close together in their bedroom, not knowing what to do.

Their father was nowhere to be found.

Gretel, being the braver of the two children, told Tom that they had to go outside and check the chicken coop.

So, the brother and sister, clinging tightly to one another, walked outside the cabin to find their father standing in front of the

...