As Mandy walked down the broken path to the Old Blue House, she heard a twig
snap, it was sharp and crisp through the dusk night air. Mandy was shaking so hard her glasses might fall off. As she pushed up her glasses, she drudgingly moved on. Why had she said yes- none of this would be happening if she had said no. As she got closer to the house, she stopped, in the reflection of her glasses she saw a white streak shoot from one tree- to the next. Trying to stay calm she stretched her arm out to grab the handle, when she pulled back; she couldn’t do this. What if no one came for her; what if no one heard her call. She stood there for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes. If she went back, she would be the laughing stalk of the whole school; but if she kept on, she would be admired by everyone. So, gathering her strength and courage, and wiping off her sweaty hands, she opened the door. Creeeaaaakk! The door was old and rusty. Mandy’s heart was pounding so hard; it felt like a drum beating against her chest. She took one-two-three steps in. Then, she heard something. It sounded like running footsteps; it was coming closer and closer until, it stopped in the hallway ahead of her. Mandy couldn’t move. Her feet felt like they were glued to the floor. The house was very old. Paint was peeling; the once golden carpet was now muddy and damp. The two golden staircases on either side of the long corridor were rusty and dark brown. This used to be the most beautiful house, until the owners went mad of talk of noises, and monsters lurking in the big, empty, dark house. As Mandy stood there she gathered her courage and trudged on. Since she wouldn’t dare go down the hallway, she quietly sneaked upstairs. Upstairs wasn’t too bad. It still had the creaky noises that echoed down the stairs. Once she got to the top stair, she peered down the hallway, she saw something disappear. Just as she thought it was her imagination, she looked down the opposite hallway and saw the same thing. Her thoughts were racing. She was remembering back to when her old boyfriend had barged into her house, and chased her down the hallway, threatening to kill her unless she gave him a second chance. But she promised herself to never give that jerk another chance. She couldn’t stand there forever. She ran to the closest door and went inside. The furniture, like every haunted movie she had seen, had white sheets covering the soft velvet furniture. She walked into the center of the room. She looked to the left and screamed.
“Ohhh.” she said, trying to calm down from the scare, “it’s just me.”
She had been scared by a big, old fashioned mirror. It still had its beauty; it was just a little dusty from sitting there over the years. She looked at her clock 8:30 p.m., 30 minutes until she could leave this retched place. She sat down on the furniture staring at the wall. As her eyes wandered, they focused on the doorknob. It was turning very slowly. Mandy’s eyes almost bulged out of her head. No one was here, at least she thought. She couldn’t believe she did this on a dare. Then finally, the door blasted open. Ahhhhh! . . . .
“Ahhhh! Marcie, you said you wouldn’t have someone sneak up on me like that. You know everyone gets scared by your scary stories, they’re just so creepy,” said Katie.
“Ya, I was the one to scare you, but even I got scared,” said Kathryn.
“Well, what can I say, I tell good ghost stories.” said Marcie.
“So, what did happen to Mandy?” asked Katie.
“Legends say she died at that house of heart failure, and haunts the woods she went through. Whereas, others say she survived but changed her name and moved.” explained Marcie.
SNAP!
“Good one guys, trying to get revenge on me?” said Marcie with a sarcastic face.
“What woods did you say Mandy went through?” asked Kathryn with a shaky voice.
“I said she was in the Redbrook Woods.” said Marcie.
“But we’re in the Redbrook Woods!” exclaimed Katie, practically screaming.
While the girls were sitting on logs around the campfire in their sleeping bags,
something was moving through the woods, closer and closer to them. All the girls huddled together.
“I can’t stand this anymore!” screamed Katie.
“Neither can I!” shouted Kathryn.
“Ok, I guess I’ll follow you guys,” said Marcie, sounding curios about the object moving through the woods.
None of them could run any farther. They were out of breath from running so fast while carrying some of their stuff. They were only carrying their sleeping bags and their jackets. Just a little farther ahead was a small: abandoned: yellow house. They thought it might have been yellow but it was to dark to tell. Even though they were about to catch on fire from wearing about all of their clothes, they could make it to the house, and maybe even rest. “SNAP!”
“Guys, its getting closer, let’s run!” said Kathryn with a scared tone.
So with that, they ran to the house. When they got inside, the house didn’t look to bad.
“Wow! Its actually pretty tidy in here.” said Katie, very amazed.
“Why thank you!”
“What was that?” shouted Kathryn.
“I don’t know but we didn’t bring food: flashlights: or our brothers.” said Katie. “Guys, there’s a light switch. Lets see if it works,” said Marcie……

“We are going to scare them so bad,” said Marty, Marcie’s little brother.
“Ya, we are!” replied Nick, Katie’s younger brother.
“Let’s get some sticks and bang them on the door,” exclaimed Marty.
“OK! Let’s go get some.” said Nick….
“WhooWhoo’s their?” asked scared Katie.
“Why aren’t you very scared Marcie?” asked Kathryn.
“I think someone is pranking us. Yes! The lights work,” replied Marcie.
Right after they got the lights on, they heard a soft noise. Tap – tap – tap.
“Is it raining?” asked Kathryn.
“I don’t think so,” replied Marcie.
“What time is it, Marcie?” asked Kathryn.
“It’s 12:30,” replied Marcie.
“That’s kind of late don’t you think,” asked Kathryn.
But, she was interrupted by Katie’s shouting.
“Guys, can we just leave? I think the thing is inside the house!” shouted Katie.
“I am not a thing!” yelled an echoing voice.


“Run!” shouted Katie.
All the girls ran screaming out the back door. Except for Marcie, who wasn’t really that scared. The girls ran all the way back to their cabin….

“Yes we got them!” exclaimed Nick and Marty, giving each other a big hi-5. They both ran off to the cabin with a great big smile on their faces. Thinking that it was their sticks that did the trick…..

“What? I was just having a little fun with the situation.” replied the ghost of Mandy. I guess ghosts can be real.

THE END