Spooky Ghost's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Spooky Ghost floated onto the porch of the old manor and let out his best moan. He wanted to scare the trick-or-treaters before they reached the crooked door. Instead the two children giggled. "He sounds like a sleepy kitten," one said. They patted the air where he hovered and walked right past him. Halloween was days away, and Spooky Ghost still could not frighten a single soul. His moan came out soft and gentle every time. He slumped through the manor's broken wall and into the parlor. Three other ghosts already lived there. Cornelius Ashworth leaned against the fireplace in his long gray coat, his black eye-sockets watching everything. Edmund Holloway sat on a crooked chair, swinging his boots, his smooth round head tilted. And Eliza Whitmore, small and white-haired, drifted near the window. "They laughed at me again," Spooky Ghost said. "My moan is too kind." Cornelius pushed off the mantel. "Then stop moaning," he said. His voice was flat and cold. "A moan begs for pity. Scaring is not about sound. It is about the wait." Edmund hopped down. "He means the quiet part," he said, grinning. "Let them see you slow. Then vanish. Their own heads do the rest." Eliza said nothing. She only floated behind Spooky Ghost and gently turned his shoulders toward the tall cracked mirror. "Watch," she whispered. The three ghosts showed him. Cornelius stood in the shadow of the doorway and went utterly still. Edmund flickered, here then gone, here then gone. Eliza let her white hair fall over her face and did not move at all. The room went cold and heavy. Even Spooky Ghost felt his own edges prickle. "No moan," Cornelius said. "Just be there when they least want you." Spooky Ghost tried. He drifted to the porch and waited beside the leaning post. A group of trick-or-treaters climbed the sagging steps. He did not moan. He held still, half-seen, his pale body glowing between the broken rails. The children slowed. Their smiles faded. Then Spooky Ghost snapped forward and vanished through the wall in one blink. The children screamed. Candy bags dropped. They tumbled down the steps and ran into the dark, shrieking all the way to the gate. For the first time, Spooky Ghost had truly scared someone. He reappeared in the parlor, buzzing with joy. "They ran! They actually ran!" Edmund cheered. Even Cornelius almost smiled. But Eliza looked toward the gate and frowned. "Those children live nearby," she said softly. "They will tell the grown-ups. And the grown-ups do not run from ghosts. They come with lanterns and hammers." Cornelius went cold again. "She is right. We scared the wrong ones first." Outside, far down the road, a light flickered on in a window. Then another. Spooky Ghost had finally learned to frighten. Now the whole town knew a ghost was waiting in the manor, and they were coming to see for themselves.