Tom’s been looking forward to his summer photography course at the university ever since he signed up. Even more so recently since all of his friends seemed to be losing their minds.
A shapeshifting monster chasing them? Killing the children? It was absurd, but even Tom’s boyfriend, Dominic believes them.
Tom needs a break. A week away from the hysteria.
Paired with timid Elivia Spencer, a girl from the private school, on an assignment, Tom is reluctant at first. All rich people are the same in his eyes but he’s quick to learn that there’s something different about Elivia. And that afternoon, upon hearing the other kids talking about a secret tunnel beneath the campus, the two team together to investigate.
But this adventure soon goes awry when Tom and Elivia realise they’re not the only ones in these tunnels. And as they delve deeper, they will soon understand the true meaning of fear.
Maybe Tom will finally believe his friends’ tales of horror now he’s come face to face with his own nightmare…
Join the story now…
Click Here to read Chapter 8 of HSA vs IT
Lurking beneath the ancient streets of Lancaster is a secret. A deadly one.
It appears in the form of your worst nightmares; a wicked crone, a slithering merman, a dancing clown. It will hunt you. It will take you. It will eat you whole.
But the adults can’t see it. Only the children can. But the children are being killed. One by one it will devour them all. But one group of losers won’t let that happen. They will do everything in their young power to stop It.
Even if It kills them…
(To those who have read the original ‘IT’ by Stephen King, a note to say only the first chapter has been altered from the original text as a way of setting the tone for the book. The rest of the chapters are all original to this story)
FOREWORD & DISCLAIMER:
First and foremost, I do not own the characters of ‘IT’ nor the original concept. All rights remain with the original author, Stephen King. It’s important to note that this is a homage to the original story, which happens to be my favourite book. I was inspired by every single page and read it once a year, every summer, to be whisked away to Derry all over again. It occurred to me, after the two recent films (I prefer the 1990’s television series) that a lot of people love the story and adore ‘Pennywise the Dancing Clown’ but they never get the chance to read the book. Put off by its length, they miss out on the magic of the tale as King wrote it. With this crossover homage fan fiction I wanted to bring a piece of that magic (and horror) to life and it’s my hope, above all, that I’ll be able to encourage just one person to pick up the original book.
Secondly, the ‘Hillside Academy’ characters featured in this fan fiction are all my own. The only character I took from King’s story was ‘Pennywise’. The rest are mine and all belong to me by law. I will also add that much of the main characters’ backstories have been changed to fit this specific ‘alternative universe’ and several of the minor characters of the story have also been altered. To conclude, there are no spoilers to the main ‘Hillside Academy’ series. Rather, it is a way for me to highlight the main eight (Erika, Dominic, Sam, Anna, Emily, Will, Elivia and Tom) in this horror fan fiction that is dedicated to not only Stephen King for inspiring me to keep writing all these years, but also to the people of Lancaster, Lancashire.
Thus bringing me to the penultimate point of this disclaimer. Throughout the book, Lancaster is referred to not always kindly and sometimes in a negative light. This is fiction. I wanted to set this gruesome fan fiction homage in this city because for one, it’s truly beautiful and has a rich, fantastic history, and secondly, because I love it. I moved here just over two years ago and fell quickly in love with the history and architecture. My babies were born here and in a way, so was I. By leaving the place I grew up and all its ghosts, I was liberated. This city has quickly become not the place I was raised but the place I was born. And the people? The people of Lancaster are wonderful. They’re community-orientated, kind and generous, and during a rather arduous period, the community of Greaves specifically aided us greatly. My partner and I are eternally grateful for their generosity and kindness during this time and this is my strange way of saying thank you; of bringing Lancaster to the forefront again and displaying it in all its glory. So whatever you may read, remember it is fiction and that Lancaster, UK is my favourite place in the world. So to the people of Lancaster, thank you.
And last but not least, a disclaimer to say that the content of this chapter and all the following contain strong language, violence against children, sexual references, scenes of gore and peril and is quite frankly inappropriate for young readers or anyone easily offended. But if this is all to your taste, go ahead and read.
I hope you enjoy reading this ‘alternative universe’ fan fiction homage as much as I enjoyed writing it. All comments are welcome (though don’t be mean), shares are encouraged and remember –
Once you begin this story…you’ll float too.