THE MYSTERY
OF THE HAUNTED
HOUSE
by
AUTHOR B
Chapter 4
The Chapters
When Joe and Iola first walked into the room, they weren’t really afraid. They laughed at some of the decorations that were supposed to scare them. The glow-in-the-dark decals…the cotton-made spider webs with plastic spiders…the rubber vampire bats hanging down from the ceiling…but they soon began to notice a change. The walls seemed to have an eerie glow; a strange yellowish light appeared to come out from the walls. Iola’s grip on Joe’s hand became tighter as they continued on.
As they moved along the room, Joe began to get a bad felling. They should have found the exit; the two rooms were not that large. For some reason the room didn’t seem to end.
Iola let out a frightened gasp. “I felt something touch me!” she whispered to Joe.
He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “It – it was probably a – a spider web.”
Now it was Joe’s turn to cry out in fright as he felt a cold, slippery hand glide down his cheek. The two teens stopped walking, holding onto each other, as a child started to giggle. Joe was glad that he had taken off his wolf mask as he tried to see where the laughing child was.
“Joe, I want to get out of here – let’s go back the way we came!”
“Yeah, me too!”
Joe and Iola turned around…and Iola let out a scream. Joe stared wide-eyed, not believing what he saw…as they had turned, a pair of red-rimmed eyes glared at them.
******
Frank entered the room, followed by Chet, moving cautiously as he saw the glowing decals, the fake spiders and bats. Callie followed right behind them; she was reaching out to take Frank’s arm when they heard Iola’s screams.
“Iola – where are you?!” Chet yelled as he pushed past Frank.
“Chet, wait!”
Frank started to run after his friend when Callie suddenly let out a frightened shriek. He turned around to see the pretty girl apparently disappear into the wall…
*****
Holding Iola tightly in his arms, Joe backed away from the glowing red eyes. Iola let out another scream when she felt something bump into her…
*****
Leaping forward, Frank stretched out his arm; he managed to grab hold of Callie’s wrist. He pulled hard and she came flying out, crashing hard into his chest. Callie looked up at Frank, her eyes wild with fear and excitement.
“Frank – I saw them – I saw Joe and Iola! They’re inside the wall!!”
“What – are you sure?!”
“Yes! I mean – I’m pretty sure! He looked like the picture you showed me!”
Stepping closer to the wall, Frank reached out to touch it, staring in shock as his hand went through as if it wasn’t there. His expression changed to one of determination.
“Callie I want you to get out of here. Make sure no one else comes in.”
“Frank, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going after my brother.”
“Well then, I’m going with you!” Callie said with a stubborn note in her voice.
“Callie, I can’t let you…”
“Can’t let me? I never took you for a Neanderthal, Frank Hardy! Besides – I’m not about to let some weird house ruin my date with you!”
Frank didn’t know whether to smile or not as he stared at the determined girl. He finally let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine – but you have to do what I say! And stay by my side!”
Callie took his hand and smiled. “I’m here to stay – no matter what happens!”
*****
Anna-Maria Prito had an uneasy feeling about the Miller house. Since she had first stepped inside she could feel an evil presence. Mrs. Prito had heard the stories about the house when her family moved to Bayport. She didn’t believe half of what she heard, but being inside the house – Mrs. Prito shivered with apprehension.
Mr. Hooper watched as several teens left the party, making sure they made it safely to the awaiting parents. He was turning to go back inside the house when Chet Morton came running from the back of the house.
“Chet, what are you doing in the back of the house?”
“I – I can’t find my sister!” he gasped. “She and Joe went into the back room – to see the haunted maze – I heard Iola scream but I can’t find her anywhere!”
Guiding Chet back inside, Mr. Hooper tried to calm the young teen. “I’m sure she’s okay, Chet. Maybe she’s back inside having something to eat?”
Going back into the living room, they were alarmed when…the lights went out and the front door slammed shut!
******
Frank took a deep breath; he glanced at Callie to make sure she still wanted to come with him. Noting the expression on her face, he knew she wasn’t going to back down.
Suddenly the room went dark.
*******
Joe and Iola continued to back away. The sound of a child giggling became louder. Iola let go of Joe’s hand and clapped her hands against her ears.
“No! Don’t let go of my hand!”
Joe didn’t know why, but he knew that they had to hold on to each other.
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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.