Free 37 - The Headless Ghost by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)

turned and motioned with his flashlight.
“Come on. Everyone out.”

 
 
32
     
     
    After our scary night at Hill House, Stephanie and I gave up haunting the
neighborhood.
    It just wasn’t that exciting anymore. Especially since we’d seen a real
ghost.
    We stopped sneaking out at night. We stopped peeking into kids’ windows in
scary masks. We stopped hiding behind bushes and howling like werewolves in the
middle of the night.
    We gave up all the scary stuff. And we never even talked about ghosts.
    Stephanie and I found other things to be interested in. I tried out for the
basketball team at school, and I became a starting forward.
    Stephanie joined the Theater Arts Club. This spring, she’s going to be
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Either Dorothy or a Munchkin.
    We had a good winter. Lots of snow. Lots of unscary fun.
    Then late one evening we were heading home from a birthday party. It was the
first warm night of spring. Tulips were blooming in some of the front yards we passed. The air
smelled fresh and sweet.
    I stopped in front of Hill House and gazed up at the old mansion. Stephanie
stopped beside me. She read my mind. “You want to go in, don’t you, Duane?”
    I nodded. “How about taking the tour? We haven’t been in there since…” My
voice trailed off.
    “Hey, why not?” Stephanie replied.
    We climbed the steep hill. Tall weeds brushed the legs of my jeans as I made
my way to the front door. The huge old house stood as dark and as creepy as
ever.
    As Stephanie and I climbed onto the front stoop, the door creaked open. As it
always had.
    We stepped into the small front entryway. A few seconds later, Otto bounced
into view. Dressed all in black. A friendly smile on his round, bald head.
    “You two!” he exclaimed happily. “Welcome back.” He called into the front
room. “Edna, come see who is here.”
    Edna came tottering into the room. “Oh, my!” she cried, pressing a hand
against her pale, wrinkled face. “We were wondering if we would see you two
again.”
    I gazed into the front room. No other customers.
    “Could you take us on the tour?” I asked Otto.
    He smiled his toothy smile. “Of course. Wait. I’ll get my lantern.”
    Otto took us around Hill House. He gave us the complete tour.
    It was great to see the house again. But it no longer held any secrets for
Stephanie and me.
    After the tour, we thanked Otto and said good night.
    We were halfway down the hill when a police car pulled up to the curb. A
dark-uniformed officer stuck his head out of the passenger window. “What were
you kids doing up there?” he called.
    Stephanie and I made our way down to the police car. The two officers eyed us
suspiciously.
    “We just took the tour,” I explained, pointing up to Hill House.
    “Tour? What tour?” the officer demanded gruffly.
    “You know. The haunted house tour,” Stephanie replied impatiently.
    The police officer stuck his head farther out the window. He had blue eyes,
and freckles all over his face. “What were you really doing up there?” he
asked softly.
    “We told you,” I said shrilly. “Taking the tour. That’s all.”
    Behind the wheel, the other policeman chuckled. “Maybe a ghost gave them the
tour,” he told his partner.
    “There are no tours,” the freckle-faced officer said, frowning. “There
haven’t been any tours in that house for months.”
    Stephanie and I both uttered cries of surprise.
    “The house is empty,” the police officer continued. “Shut down. There hasn’t
been anyone in there all winter. Hill House went out of business three months
ago.”
    “Huh?” Stephanie and I exchanged startled glances. Then we both turned to
gaze up at the house.
    The gray stone turrets rose up into the purple-black sky. Nothing but
darkness all around.
    And then I saw a trail of soft light across the front window. Lantern light.
Orange and soft as smoke.
    In the soft light, I saw Otto and Edna. They floated in front of the window.
I