Free Ghost at the Drive-In Movie by Gertrude Chandler Warner

CHAPTER 1
The Diamond in the Sky
    Benny Alden was getting sleepy in the car. It was a long ride, and he had just closed his eyes. But then he heard his grandfather say something about … a diamond!
    “Diamonds!” cried Benny. “Where?” The six-year-old loved mysteries and looking for hidden treasure.
    His older sister Jessie looked back from the front seat of the minivan. “Oh, not real diamonds, Benny,” she said, laughing.
    Their grandfather nodded as he drove. “I was just talking about the place where we’re going,” he said. “It’s called the Diamond Drive-in Theater.” The Aldens were on their way to visit a friend of Grandfather’s, Frederick Fletcher, who lived in the countryside beyond Silver City.
    “It’s so great Mr. Fletcher owns a movie theater!” Violet said. At ten, she was the shyest of the Alden children, but even she couldn’t hide her excitement.
    Henry, who was the oldest, spoke up. “I’ve read about drive-in movie theaters, but I’ve never seen one. I guess they’re pretty hard to find these days.” He was fourteen and he liked looking up information on the internet.
    “There used to be hundreds of them all over the country,” said Grandfather. “There were dozens right here in Connecticut, back in the old days. Now there are only a few.”
    “I bet the front door of a drive-in theater has to be really wide,” said Benny. “So that you can get your car inside.”
    Jessie had to keep from laughing again. “That’s not how it works, Benny,” she said. Since she was twelve, she was always trying to explain things to her younger brother and sister. “Drive-in theaters are outdoors—right, Grandfather?”
    “Indeed they are,” said Grandfather.
    “And then you sit in your car and watch the movie,” Henry added. “So in a way, you’re indoors, too—inside your car, at least.”
    “It sounds so strange,” Violet said. “I can’t wait to see what it’s like.”
    “You’ll see it soon,” Grandfather said. They were driving past wide fields, and sometimes, shopping centers. “This used to be all farmland,” he told the children, “But it’s changing, bit by bit.” There were lots of billboards and signs.
    The minivan turned left. Jessie noticed a hot dog stand with a neon sign on one side of the road. On the other was a big store that sold new cars. She looked around for the drive-in theater.
    “Look!” said Benny. “There’s a great big billboard that’s turned backwards!” He pointed out the window.
    Grandfather grinned as he turned the car down a side road. They drove right past the thing that Benny was pointing at. “It’s not a billboard,” said Grandfather. “But can you guess what it is?”
    Violet, who was an artist, had a good eye. “It’s a movie screen!” she said. “See how it’s all white on the other side?”
    The screen stood with its back to the road. In front of it was a large gravel lot that stretched off towards the open field behind the theater.
    “It looks like an empty parking lot,” said Jessie.
    “I think it is a parking lot,” Henry said. “People must park their cars in rows—just like seats in a theater—and watch the movie.”
    Grandfather drove slowly around the edge of the big lot, towards a nearby house. He stopped the car, and he and the children got out. Their dog, Watch, woke up from his nap in the back seat. He leapt out happily and ran a circle around the car.
    “I’m glad we brought Watch,” Violet said.”He’ll have lots of space to run around.”
    Watch trotted over toward the house, which had a big front porch. A man had come outside to talk to Grandfather. He looked almost Grandfather’s age, but he was shorter, and more stout.
    “This is my good friend from college, Mr. Frederick Fletcher,” Grandfather said.
    “But everyone calls me Uncle Flick,” the man added.
    “Are you really everyone’s uncle?” Benny asked.
    Uncle Flick laughed. “No, not really,” he said. “Though I do