Free Horror at the Haunted House by Peg Kehret Page A

on and get committed to a mental institution.
    Why did I follow her downstairs? Ellen wondered. I should have stayed in bed. Does she have some power over me, to make me do what she wants me to do? Or was I still half-asleep untilPrince came along and brought me to my senses? What if Prince had not been there? Would I have followed Lydia? Followed her where?
    Where had Lydia planned to go? To Clayton House? That was much too far for Ellen to walk, although perhaps a ghost had no sense of distance. Lydia just materialized wherever she wanted to be. Maybe she thought Ellen could do the same.
    Too bad I can’t, Ellen thought. If I could, I would materialize in the dining room of the mansion when Agnes isn’t there and try to figure out if there’s something about the Wedgwood collection that Lydia is trying to show me.
    Eventually, Ellen dozed, awoke, dozed again, and finally fell asleep.
    Lydia did not return.

Chapter
9
    A re ghosts logical? Ellen wondered. If they aren’t, Lydia’s strange behavior will never make sense, no matter how hard I try to explain it. If they are, then I must discover what Lydia is trying to tell me.
    Ellen’s head told her to stay out of the dining room. Her curiosity told her to examine the Wedgwood again.
    The next night, Ellen and Corey got to the haunted house later than usual, arriving just in time to get to their places before the doors opened. As Ellen hurried through the great hall and up the stairs, she hoped Agnes wouldn’t be annoyed with her for being so late. There had been an accident on the freeway and traffic was a mess.
    When Ellen entered the parlor, Agnes wasn’t waiting. Moments later, Mrs. Whittacker announced on the loudspeaker, “All actors in place, please. The doors will open in five minutes.”
    Since Agnes wasn’t there, Ellen turned on the switches herself to start all of the special effects for the Joan of Arc scene.Then she got on the platform and held her hands behind her, as if they were tied.
    Mrs. Whittacker rushed into the room. “I nearly forgot!” she cried. “I’m supposed to get your scene ready tonight.”
    “Where’s Agnes?”
    “She’s sick. She called this afternoon and I couldn’t find anyone to replace her. We expect a small crowd tonight, since it’s Monday, so I thought we could manage but someone from Sheltering Arms showed up to make a video and I had to show her around.”
    As she spoke she wound the rope around Ellen’s knees and shoulders and tied her to the stake. “I see I didn’t need to panic. I might have known you would start all your special effects without any help. You and Corey are wonderful.”
    Mrs. Whittacker hurried away just in time. The first visitors of the night entered the viewing space as Ellen closed her eyes and tried to look saintly.
    As the fake crowd shouted, “Witch! Heretic!” and the real audience murmured their sympathy and fright, Ellen’s excitement grew. She could inspect the Wedgwood tonight, to see if it held some clue to what Lydia wanted Ellen to know. She could go behind the rope and examine each piece as much as she wanted, without worrying that Agnes would find her and order her out of the dining room.
    Mrs. Whittacker came promptly at ten to untie Ellen. As soon as she put her shoes on, Ellen hurried across the hall to the dining room. It was empty. She glanced in the mirror as she passed it and saw only her own reflection. Good. Maybe Agnes
and
Lydia would leave her alone long enough for her to get a good, close look at the Wedgwood collection.
    Quickly, she crossed the room to the Wedgwood display and ducked underneath the rope. She had already decided that she would begin with the earliest pieces and examine each one in order. It had occurred to her that maybe Lydia was trying to get her to admire the older Wedgwood, the pieces Lydia herself had collected. Until now, Ellen had focused all her attention on the Fairylustre and perhaps Lydia didn’t like that.
    As she leaned toward a