"GHOULS NIGHT OUT"
HALLOWEEN 2007 HARDY BOYS FAN FICTION CONTEST ENTRY
THE GHOST OF VANDERBEEK MANOR
by
Author A
Chapter 2
The Chapters
Frank, Joe, Vanessa and Callie learned that the tall thin man dressed in black was Evan Spitz, the grandnephew of Mrs. Vanderbeek. The rude gentleman with the thin mustache was Nigel Spencer, another grandnephew. The older gentleman was Mr. Adam Vanderbeek, who turned out to be Mrs. Vanderbeek’s younger step-brother. The platinum blonde was Mrs. Vanderbeek’s grandniece, Cherry Vanderbeek. Her dog, much to Joe’s relief was not named Shaggy or Scooby, but Poopsie.
Once Mr. Pumpernickel was satisfied that everyone was seated he began the reading of the will. He took out the will and a pair of reading glasses.
“Ahem…‘I, Gloria Vanderbeek, being of sound mind, do bequeath my worldly goods to the person or persons who are still remaining in Vanderbeek Manor at ten a.m. the following morning. The sum of my property will be given to the person or persons who survived the night. There have been rumors that this house is haunted. I want to warn you that it’s true--”
There was a subdued murmur from the small group. Nigel Spencer proclaimed, “This is ridiculous!” Adam Vanderbeek thought it was “Utter rubbish!!” Cherry Vanderbeek gasped with fear while Evan Spitz sputtered with laughter. Callie’s eyes gleamed with excitement, while Vanessa held Joe’s hand tightly. Frank and Joe glanced at each other but made no comment.
“If I may continue,” said a very irritated Mr. Pumpernickel. “Now…‘I know some of you will find my claim unbelievable, but I have seen it…I have seen the Ghost of Vanderbeek Manor!’”
*****
Frank and Joe were getting settled into their room when there was a knock at the door.
“Can we come in?” asked Callie as she opened the door slightly.
“Come on in, Callie,” invited Joe.
Callie and Vanessa walked in – the ash-blonde seemed a little skittish but excited at the same time.
“Can you believe that Mr. Spencer?! If I were Mrs. Vanderbeek I would have left him out of my will!” said Callie a bit angrily. She plopped down on the bed.
“Wow, this room is huge!” Vanessa roamed around.
“Yeah it is. I’m glad it has a king-size bed. At least I won’t have to worry about Joe kicking me out of the bed,” laughed Frank.
“Did you get a look at the bathroom? I think it’s as big as my room!” Joe stood at the door. “Whoa – take a look at this tub! It’s got those clawed feet! This is soooo cool!”
Frank had to smile at his brother. This was a nice room but it had a musty smell to it – as if no one had slept here for a very long time. Vanessa went to sit with Callie, bouncing on the bed for a bit.
“What do you think about the ghost? Do you think Mrs. Vanderbeek really saw it?” asked Vanessa, looking at Frank.
Joe came out of the bathroom and stood by his brother, smiling at Vanessa to reassure her. The two girls were waiting to hear what Frank had to say when a piercing scream rang out. Frank and Joe bolted out of the room followed by Vanessa and Callie. The four teens ran into Evan Spitz.
“That sounded like Cherry!” Evan sounded terrified.
Joe could hear a dog barking and knew that Evan was right. The Hardys ran down to the end of the hallway, reached Cherry’s room and began banging on the door.
“Miss Vanderbeek – Miss Vanderbeek, open the door!” Frank shouted as Joe continued to turn the door knob without success.
“Cherry are you hurt?! Cherry, please open the door!” yelled Evan.
“We’re going to have to break the door down,” said Joe when they got no answer.
“Joe, this door is made of solid mahogany!”
“With Mr. Vanderbeek’s help I think we can do it.” Joe looked at Evan.
“I’m willing to try…and call me Evan,” the young man smiled at the Hardy brothers.
“On three,” said Joe: “One…two…three!”
All three young men kicked the door without causing a dent. They tried again – and again nothing happened. As they were about to try another attempt the door suddenly opened. Poopsie came running out, jumping into Joe’s arms. The small dog shivered and whimpered with fright. Frank glanced at Joe before he cautiously opened the door wider.
“Miss Vanderbeek?” Frank called out, his voice tinged with concern.
When he entered the room he found it in disarray. Clothes were strewn everywhere – a small night table and lamp were lying on the floor. Frank began an immediate search of the room, looking in the closets…under the bed…the bathroom (first knocking on the door).
Evan searched every place that Frank had, becoming frantic with each passing moment.
“Where is she?! How can she not be here?! There’s no other way out!” Evan kept looking about the room as if expecting his cousin to appear.
Callie and Vanessa were standing just outside the door when Adam Vanderbeek and Nigel Spencer approached the room.
“What’s going on here?” asked Mr. Vanderbeek.
“Is Cherry throwing a party and forgot to invite us?” sneered Nigel.
“No, it seems that Miss Vanderbeek has disappeared,” replied Vanessa.
“What?!” Nigel pushed his way inside the bedroom.
Callie grew concerned when she noticed how pale Adam Vanderbeek had become.
“Mr. Vanderbeek, are you all right – do you need to sit down?” she asked him.
With Vanessa’s help, Callie slowly led him inside the bedroom and had him sit on the bed.
“It was the ghost,” gasped Vanderbeek. “It was the ghost….It took her…it took Cherry!”
*****
It took several minutes to calm Mr. Vanderbeek down. By the time he was finally calm enough to go back to his room it was time for dinner.
Much to Joe’s chagrin, Cherry Vanderbeek’s dog Poopsie took an instant liking to him. The dog followed him wherever he went and sat on his lap when Joe sat down in the large dining room. Poopsie gave a low growl when Vanessa sat next to Joe.
“Hey, stop that! Listen, dog…if it comes down to a choice between you and the blonde…the blonde wins, hands down!!” Joe scolded.
“It looks like I’ve got some competition,” giggled Vanessa as Poopsie settled down.
Servers from catering services, that Mrs. Vanderbeek had pre-hired for this occasion, began to serve dinner. Suddenly Poopsie jumped up and began growling and barking. Joe, thinking that the dog was frightened by the strange people from the catering service, didn’t notice that Mr. Pumpernickel had walked into the room.
“Where’s Miss Vanderbeek – is she not feeling well?” asked Mr. Pumpernickel with concern.
“N-no Julius…she’s disappeared!” replied Mr. Vanderbeek. “The ghost…the ghost has taken her!”
“Really Uncle, you don’t believe that nonsense about a ghost!” said a haughty Nigel Spencer.
At that moment coldness filled the room, then just as quickly disappeared. Mr. Vanderbeek gulped, his body shaking in fear. Making a decision, he flung his napkin down on the table and rose from his chair.
“That’s it! First my niece vanishes and now this…this sudden chill…”
“Mr. Vanderbeek, I’m sure there is a logical explanation for this.” Frank tried to calm the old man.
“Mr. Pumpernickel, my brother and I noticed a portrait when we first came in. It was of an older gentleman dressed in a tuxedo. He had graying temples and a hawk-like nose. We saw the same man in another portrait hanging in the library.” Joe was hoping to change the subject.
“Oh yes, that would be Sebastian Vanderbeek. He was Mrs. Vanderbeek’s great-great-grandfather. And, I might add, who is the supposed ghost of Vanderbeek Manor.”
“I don’t think you should have mentioned ghosts, Mr. Pumpernickel,” commented Evan as his uncle let out a weary sigh.
When dinner was over, everyone went back to their rooms. To pass the time Frank, Joe, Callie and Vanessa decided to play a game. Callie had found a deck of cards in her room – Joe suggested they play strip poker, but Frank vetoed that idea, and the four teens played bridge instead.
Tired of the game, Joe wanted to search Cherry’s room for any clues. Frank checked his watch and noted that it was past nine p.m.
“Mr. Vanderbeek and Mr. Pumpernickel might be in bed already. We’ll have to be careful of Mr. Spencer and Evan.”
“So we can go search for clues?!” Joe looked at his brother with anticipation.
“What about Poopsie? We can’t take her along.” Callie glanced at the dog, who was lying on top of the bed.
“We might have to take her…what if she starts barking?” Vanessa stared at Poopsie.
“Since she loves Joe so much…he’s responsible for the dog!”
Joe let out a groan but picked up the dog and followed Frank out the door.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.