The Haunting of Spook House Page 3

  Inside is a single bed. There’s also a wooden desk with a mirror and a hairbrush, a stool and a cupboard. It’s very sparse.

  You walk in cautiously.

  The door slams and you whirl around. There’s a transparent woman standing by the door.

  She is dressed in a black skirt and jacket, with white shirt and gloves. Her hair is in a neat bun and she is clutching a teddy bear. She seems prim and proper, but there is a mad glint in her eyes. You think she looks like a demented Mary Poppins, and you suddenly remember the story about the nanny who murdered the boy.

  ‘Oh, dearie me,’ she says, her voice sounding distant. ‘You should not be in here. This is 1962. And you’re in my room.’ She tuts. ‘Very bad!’

  You back away, mumbling that you’ve seen another ghost.

  ‘I am no ghost,’ she whispers. ‘You’re the ghost. A ghost from the future.’

  You’re about to protest, but she raises a finger to her lips and shakes her head.

  ‘You’ve been naughty,’ she hisses and takes a step forward. ‘Naughty children need to be punished.’ She inches closer.

  The woman smiles, revealing crooked, black teeth. ‘I think I need to teach you some manners.’

  She continues to advance, backing you into a corner. ‘You probably don’t eat your brussels sprouts either.’ Her hand snakes out towards you. ‘I’d make you eat them.’ You gasp as her hand passes straight through you … into your chest. ‘Brussels sprouts are good for you!’

  You are racked by an icy chill, which spreads throughout the rest of your body. It’s as if your blood is being frozen in your veins.

  The nanny leans in close. ‘Time to go nigh-nigh, you naughty, naughty child,’ her harsh voice rasps in your ear.

  Your eyes close and you fall into cold, dark nothingness.

  You walk up the stairs to the second floor. There are three doors, all closed.

  The handle on the middle door turns and the panel shudders. It’s as if someone is trying to get out. You are about to investigate, when you hear an eerie whisper from downstairs.

  You look down to see a young boy standing at the bottom of the steps. He is transparent. A ghost! A real ghost! You swallow hard, trying to control your fear.

  Dressed in shorts and a polo shirt, the boy is shaking his head and gesturing for you to follow him. He turns and runs into the lounge room.

  You rub your eyes and wonder if you imagined the ghost. Behind you, the door is still rattling.

  If you want to check out the lounge room, to see where the boy has gone, go here.

  If you’d rather open the rattling door on the second floor, go here.

  You take a deep breath and open the door.

  You peer into a dim and dusty bedroom. A child’s bedroom. There is a single bed, a cupboard and a toy box.

  You step inside, walking to the centre. The curtains are drawn, making the space shadowy and gloomy.

  The door slams behind you. You whirl around and scream as you see a skeleton dangling from the door. You stumble backwards and fall to the floor. Your heart is pounding.

  You hear a muffled giggle.

  You get to your feet and wipe the dust from your hands. Something isn’t right.

  You take a closer look at the skeleton. It’s made of plastic.

  You look down at the ground and see scuff marks and footprints in the dust leading to the cupboard. Suddenly you know what’s going on.

  Carefully you unhook the skeleton from the door and tiptoe over to the cupboard.

  As quickly as you can you yank open the door, throwing the skeleton inside and slamming it shut.

  Someone in the cupboard starts shouting. You lean on the door to stop them from getting out. The screams become more frantic, and the banging from inside gets louder and louder.

  The bedroom door opens and your friend Anna rushes in.

  You step away from the cupboard, and your other friend, Josh, falls out. He’s tangled up in a sheet.

  You grin down at your friend.

  Anna and Josh have been trying to scare you … but it’s you who has scared them!

  They are annoyed with you at first, but soon all three of you are laughing and joking around as you head down the stairs and out of Spook House.

  More like Lame House!

  You jump towards the stairs.

  As you hop up onto the first step, you land on a wobbly brick. It shoots out from under your foot and you crash to the floor.

  Every bone in your body feels like it’s been jarred and you’re certain that you’ve acquired a whole lot of bruises. But the fall has loosened the ropes that bind you and you manage to free yourself.

  You’re about to run up the stairs, when you realise you’re being watched.

  You blink and stare at the step with the missing brick. From within that dark space, a pair of glowing eyes gazes out at you.

  Go here.

  You run up the stairs and try the door. It’s locked!

  You crouch down and look through the keyhole. He’s left the key in it. You know exactly what to do – you’ve seen it before on TV. You rush back down and search for a pen and paper, which you find on the table.

  You slip the paper under the door and use the pen to push the key out of the keyhole. It falls onto the paper, which you pull back underneath the door.

  You’re a bit surprised that it worked, but you unlock the door and head out.

  ‘I thought I told you to stay put,’ says the stocky guy, standing at the top of the main staircase. He’s still holding the boy-band doll, which he’s pointing at you.

  You look to the front door.

  ‘Don’t bother,’ he says. ‘I locked it.’

  He stalks down the stairs, whistling a One-Way Street song.

  You dash for the hallway, hoping to escape through the back door, but he speeds up, taking two steps at a time.

  You duck through the nearest door into a sort of study. There’s a writing desk, lots of bookshelves, a glass cabinet and two swords on the wall.

  You grab one of the swords and turn to defend yourself, just as the thug enters.

  ‘You are becoming a bit of a problem,’ he growls, throwing the boy-band doll at you.

  At that moment, you swing the sword, decapitating the doll.

  The thug looks sadly at the head as it rolls across the floor. ‘Okay,’ he says, sounding defeated. ‘I guess I’ll let you go.’

  He steps backwards out of the room and waves his arm for you to pass. But then he gasps and steps out of view. You hear a guttural scream.

  Then all is silent.

  If you want to use this chance to climb out of the window and out of Spook House, go here.

  But if you choose to find out what happened to the thug, go here.

  You fling open the door and race into the room, sword held out in front of you. The curtains are drawn, making the room shadowy and gloomy.

  The door slams shut. Startled, you spin around to see a skeleton by the door. You charge at it with your sword, half closing your eyes as you do so.

  The next thing you know, you’re tangled up in the skeleton’s bones, stumbling around the room, waving your weapon in all directions.

  The cupboard door bursts open and a ghost emerges into the gloom. It’s all billowing whiteness, with a grinning skeletal face.

  You stumble forward into the creature, which screams and drops to the floor, the skeleton and sword falling on top of it.

  You race out into the corridor, where you are surprised to see your friend Anna.

  ‘What have you done to Josh?’ she screams, pushing past you into the room.

  Josh? What you saw wasn’t a ghost?

  Now you’re scared that you might have hurt your friend. But you’re also angry at being tricked.

  If your ire is greater than your fear, leave your friends and go home. Go here.

  But if you’re really worried about Josh, follow Anna into the room. Go here.

  You quickly place the
box on the floor in front of you and stand back.

  You are just in time, as a little shower of sparks erupts from the box. And in the dazzling blaze, a ghostly figure rises up – a tall man with an intense gaze, wearing a trench coat. As the sparks subside, he stretches and yawns.

  ‘So good to be out of there. Oh, Mumsie, why did you have to put my ashes in a box?’

  He stretches again and looks at you.

  ‘My name is Gabriel Thurston von Chase the Third,’ he announces, as if he very much likes the sound of his own name. ‘Thank you for opening that box and giving me more room to move.’ He bows low then straightens. ‘Now, if I could beg a little assistance? As you may have guessed, I’m a ghost. So long as my ashes are in that box, I am tied to it. If you could perhaps tip them out, I’ll be free to finish the task that was cut short by my untimely death.’

  You look from von Chase to his box of ashes. Should you release him? Do you really want to set free a ghost into the world? He seems nice enough …

  If you decide to do as the spirit asks and tip the ashes out, go here.

  If you think it might be safer to leave the ghost in the box for now, go here.

  With a yelp, you throw the box away from yourself.

  As it hits the floor, it explodes in a shower of sparks.

  When the smoke clears, you see that there is someone standing right where the box has landed – a tall man with an intense gaze, wearing a trench coat. But something’s not right. You can see through him.

  ‘Free!’ shouts the man. Then he fixes you with his manic stare. ‘And it’s all thanks to you.’

  The man starts striding about the room. ‘So good to be out of that box. Oh, Mumsie, why did you have to put my ashes in there?’

  He stretches and looks at you.

  ‘Let me tell you about my KABOOM!’

  Go here.

  Your curiosity gets the better of you and you pull the stuffing that’s poking out of the old teddy bear.

  The bear bursts apart and you jump back.

  Amidst the cloud of stuffing and torn fabric stands the ghost of a woman.

  She is dressed in a black skirt and jacket, and a white shirt with gloves. Her hair is in a neat bun. She seems prim and proper, but there is a mad glint in her eyes. You think she looks like a demented Mary Poppins.

  ‘Oh, dearie me,’ she says, stretching out her arms. ‘So nice to be out of that mouldy old bear. It’s been too long … much too long. There are so many naughty children in this world and now I’m back to dole out the punishment. And to make them eat their brussels sprouts!’ She fixes you with an intense gaze. ‘I think I’ll start with you. You’ve been naughty, haven’t you, pulling the stuffing out of that toy. I’ll have to punish you!’

  She waves her arms, and the torn teddy-bear pieces rise into the air and reassemble themselves.

  ‘Get out of the way,’ orders Josiah. ‘You’re blocking me.’

  You step back and look around. Josiah aims the plastic hose at the ghost nanny, and thumbs a switch on its side. It’s as if he’s turning on a futuristic vacuum cleaner. Light spills from the end and there is a high-pitched humming.

  The nanny screeches and flies out of the way. She zooms across the room, Josiah trying desperately to train his ghost vacuum on her. She swoops under his feet and trips him over. But the heavy pack on Josiah’s back weighs him down and he’s struggling to get up.

  The nanny pounces on you, shoving the teddy bear into your face. Fur and stuffing are pushed into your mouth. You can’t breathe! You try to fight her, but you can’t seem to touch her ghostly form.

  ‘I bet you never eat your brussels sprouts!’ she hisses.

  You fall to the floor. And still, she keeps smothering your face with the old teddy bear.

  ‘Naughty children must be punished,’ her harsh voice rasps in your ear. ‘Time to go nigh-nigh!’

  You gasp for breath … until consciousness slips away.

  You follow the ghost boy into the lounge room.

  ‘Help me!’ His voice is an ethereal whisper. You can hear it, but it seems distant.

  The boy looks about eight years old. He’s standing in the middle of the room. He appears frightened.

  ‘The nanny,’ he says, his voice shaking. ‘She’s coming to get me.’

  You remember reading about the boy who was murdered here in the 1960s. Could this be his ghost? You look around the room – still no dusts or cobwebs or sheets. Perhaps the boy isn’t a ghost. Maybe you’ve gone back in time?

  You ask the boy what year it is. He looks at you strangely before answering.

  ‘1962.’

  You hear banging sounds from upstairs. The boy looks even more frightened.

  ‘She’s going to punish me,’ he says. ‘And she’s locked all the doors and windows so I can’t get out!’

  You run from the lounge room to the front door. You reach out to see if it’s locked, but your fingers pass straight through it. You pull your hand back quickly. It’s very cold, as if you’ve touched a block of ice.

  You stare at your hand and try to think things through. And then it dawns on you. You realise that you must be a ghost in 1962 – a ghost of the future! Somehow, climbing through that window has sent you back into the past.

  The banging continues upstairs.

  Should you go through the front door and try to get help for the boy? Go here.

  But what can you do? You’re just an apparition. Maybe you should climb back out the window and return to your own time? Go here.

  You jump across the room to the table with the vent above it.

  You hop up so that you are sitting on the table, swing your feet up onto it and then use the wall to brace yourself so you can stand. Standing on the table, you can reach the vent.

  You start yelling for help.

  It’s not long before your friends Anna and Josh arrive. They tell you that they’ve been hiding on the second floor of the house, waiting for you to come so that they can play a trick on you. When you didn’t show, they started searching for you around the house. They saw a man and woman drive off in a car and then they heard you yelling.

  Anna has a mobile phone with her, so she rings the police.

  Go here.

  You run back into the room.

  Anna is kneeling on the floor beside Josh. There is a sheet and a plastic skeleton mask next to him.

  Josh is lying very still.

  ‘I think he’s dead!’ sobs Anna. ‘What are we going to do?’

  You look at Josh. He’s not moving. Could he really be dead? Maybe there’s still a chance?

  Anna has a mobile phone, so you decide to call for emergency.

  It’s not long before an ambulance arrives.

  Josh is not dead – but he is badly hurt. The paramedics quickly get him onto a stretcher and rush him to hospital.

  If you hadn’t called the ambulance straight away, it might’ve been worse!

  A week later, Josh is still recovering in hospital. You and Anna go to visit him. He apologises for setting you up and trying to play a trick on you. And you say sorry for hurting him.

  Now that it’s all over, the three of you can sit around and laugh about it. But you realise just how lucky you were. Josh could have been killed. It seems that you did make at least one good decision!

  You rush down the stairs, out of the house and straight home.

  That night you have strange dreams. Josh is chasing you with a sword. He is wrapped in a sheet and wearing the plastic skeleton mask. But as he runs after you, he changes. The sheet and the mask melt into a transparent, wispy nothingness.

  Josh morphs into a real ghost.

  You wake up in a cold sweat, heart thumping.

  In the darkness you see a glowing shape by your bedroom door. It’s an ethereal outline of Josh.

  ‘You killed me,’ he moans.

  You killed him? But you didn’t mean to!

  Josh rises up into the air and floats towards you.

 
‘So now I’m going to haunt you … for the rest of your life!’

  He swoops down towards you. You close your eyes and your ears are filled with Josh’s manic laughter and the sound of your own screams!

  You agree to tip the ashes out, but as you reach for the box, you snap the lid closed. The ghost of von Chase disappears.

  You pick up the container and it rattles in your hand.

  ‘Traitor!’ comes a muffled voice from inside. ‘You’re as bad as Mumsie! I’ll get you for this. I’ll make you go KABOOM!’

  You quickly use the key to lock the box. It stops shaking.

  Now, what are you going to do with the box? If you leave it here, someone else might find it and open it.

  Then, you get an idea.

  You race out of the house and all the way to the local shopping street. At the end of the street is a dingy little alley. And concealed at the end of this alley is a shabby little shop. You came across this store a few weeks ago, by accident. There’s no sign, but there’s an assortment of weird things in the window – tarot cards, pentagrams, grotesque statues and all manner of occult objects.

  This seems like a good place to get rid of the box.

  You push the door open and enter. It’s dark and gloomy inside. Tables and shelves overflow with dusty curiosities and books.

  ‘Vhat do you vant, young person?’ asks a woman with an odd accent, appearing behind the counter. She looks old – ancient, in fact. She is covered in beaded shawls and scarves, bangles and bracelets, rings and brooches, looking just like you would expect a mad gypsy fortune-teller to look like.

  You step forward slowly and place the box and its key on the counter, quickly retreating. Her eyes widen as she runs her hands along the lid.