The Tunnel of the never ending darkness

Everyone at school were talking about it, they didn't know if it was true or a coincidence. A man disappeared from coming to the never ending tunnel of darkness at the night before, they said he kept running to go back out but he never came back. Alyssa was a twelve year old girl who never believed in such stories, but her two friends Michelle and Hunter believed in it.
"That story is so ridiculous! The man must have disappeared because... because." Alyssa said to the other students.
"Because?" the students said, "Because, maybe he found a secret city and he went there forever." she replied.
Everyone didn't believe her, so Alyssa said she would go to that tunnel of darkness the current night and come back from the tunnel, proving that it is not true. Everyone spread the rumor, classmates to classmates, and parents to parents. So that night Alyssa asked her two friends Michelle and Hunter to come with her, but they declined by saying they were too scared to die. Alyssa didn't care and went alone, bringing her flashlight. She finally arrived at the tunnel of darkness, it was a huge tunnel that had spiders, bats and rumor has it, the tunnel was built right on the haunted castle where ghosts and all monsters lived. Alyssa gulped and went in with her flashlight on, she saw dents on the tunnel walls and many red stains. As Alyssa got to the middle of the tunnel, she went back running, but her flashlight turned off and she could hear ghosts flying and grabbing her hands, legs, and her body, so Alyssa screamed and the ghosts stopped grabbing her. Running for her life she saw a light, as she ran for the light, she saw her two friends Michelle and Hunter with flashlights. Alyssa cried and hugged her two friends, "I'm sorry, I went in." Alyssa said. And so the next day, Alyssa went to school with Hunter and Michelle with bruises from when the ghosts grabbed her. All students asked if she was okay and she said "Don't ever go in there, you will die, but thanks to my friends I lived." Alyssa started to cry again and when the city mayor heard about it, he made a statue of her with her two friends on the front of the tunnel, on the statue it read 'Michelle and Hunter has saved Alyssa from the tunnel'. So now everyone has stopped going in that tunnel ever again...... but did they stop?