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Authors: David A. Adler

The Mystery at the Haunted House (2 page)

BOOK: The Mystery at the Haunted House
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“Are you hurt?” Eric asked.
Aunt Katie smiled and said, “No, I'm fine. Let's go to the next ride. Let's go to the Haunted House.”
“Oh, yes,” Eric said. “I like to be scared.”
Cam puffed out her cheeks. She held her hands over her head, waved them, and yelled, “Boo!”
Uncle George held his hands to his heart. Aunt Katie said, “Oh, my!”
Eric said, “They're just being nice. You're not scary at all.”
“Well, then, let's go to the Haunted House,” Aunt Katie said. “I'm sure it will be
very
scary.”
Chapter Two
 
 
 
 
 
C
am
,
Eric, Aunt Katie, and Uncle George walked up the road to the left.
“Wa! Wa!”
“Oh, look, there's a baby crying,” Cam said. She and Eric walked quickly ahead.
“Why are you crying?” Cam asked the little girl.
“Wa! Wa!”
“She lost her balloon,” the child's mother said. “It's caught in the tree. I tied it to her stroller. Somehow it came off.”
Cam said, “If I stand on the bench, maybe I can reach it.”
“You might fall,” Aunt Katie said. “I think you should call one of the guards.”
“We could get a ladder,” Eric said.
Uncle George turned his cane around. With the curved end he caught the loop on the string and pulled the balloon down. He gave it to the child.
“Oh, thank you,” the child's mother said.
Uncle George touched his cap, smiled, and walked ahead.
“He doesn't talk much, does he,” Eric whispered to Cam.
“Uncle George says it's a noisy world. He says most people talk too much and too loud.”
“Oh, my,” Aunt Katie said. The teenage boys were skating toward them. Aunt Katie and Uncle George went quickly to the side of the road and let them skate past.
“They shouldn't be allowed to race around here like that,” Aunt Katie said.
Cam, Eric, Aunt Katie, and Uncle George walked to the Haunted House. They waited at the end of a long line outside the entrance.
A group was let into the house. Cam, Eric, and the others moved forward until they were near a large sign. Cam read it aloud.
WARNING.
SMALL CHILDREN AND
NERVOUS ADULTS KEEP OUT!
INSIDE ARE SUDDEN
NOISES AND SCARY EFFECTS.
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.
“Maybe we should try the merry-go-round instead,” Aunt Katie said.
“We're not small children,” Eric told her. “We're ten years old.”
“I want to go in,” Cam said as she ran her fingers through her hair. She has what people call bright red hair, even though it is more orange than red. Eric's hair is dark brown.
The exit door opened. A girl holding her mother's hand came out smiling. “That was great,” she said.
A few more people came out. They were smiling, talking, and laughing. Then a woman in a blue dress came out holding her hand to her chest. “That was scary,” she said. “I was never so scared in all my life.”
Cam, Eric, and the others watched her walk to a bench and sit down.
“She looks terrible,” Aunt Katie said. “Maybe we shouldn't go in.”
The entrance door opened. The guard standing there said, “Let's go. Move ahead. We have room inside for a few more people.”
Cam, Eric, and the others moved closer to the entrance.
“Are you together?” the guard asked.
“Yes,” Cam said.
“OK. All four of you can go in. The rest of you will have to wait.”
The door closed behind Cam, Eric, Aunt Katie, and Uncle George. It was dark inside the house. They followed dim purple lights past a painting with moving eyes.
A low, deep voice said, “Welcome to my home.”
“Oh, my,” Aunt Katie said.
Plastic skeletons that shone in the dark were hanging from the ceiling. A tape of scary sounds was playing.
Eric whispered to Cam, “This is not very scary.”
A door creaked open and they heard someone scream, “Oh! Help!”
“There is something scary ahead,” Cam whispered.
Eric moved closer to Cam and Uncle George.
A toy black cat that almost looked real jumped off a bookcase shelf. It fell close to Cam and Eric. Then it stopped. It was held by a string.
“Oh, my!” Aunt Katie said.
Eric grabbed her hand. “I'm not scared,” he said.
Then something dressed in black jumped at Aunt Katie.
“Oh! Help!” she screamed. “Let go of me!”
Chapter Three
 
 
 
 
 
A
unt Katie reached for Uncle George and held onto his hand. They followed the small purple lights past spiderwebs and creaking furniture. A chair walked past them. The walls seemed to be falling in.
Cam, Eric, Aunt Katie, and Uncle George walked faster. A door opened. They were outside the Haunted House.
“Oh, my,” Aunt Katie said. “That was scary, but I liked it.”
“That wasn't so scary,” Eric said, “but I liked it, too.”
“Did you see that?” a woman behind them asked. “Something jumped right out at me.” She opened her handbag and took out a candy. “Would you like one?”
“No, thank you,” Cam said.
“I need something, but not candy,” Aunt Katie said. “I need a cup of hot tea.”
Cam closed her eyes and said,
“Click.”
“There's a refreshment stand just past the log ride,” Cam said. She opened her eyes. “Follow me.”
“Will you look at that!” Aunt Katie said when they reached the refreshment stand. “We even have to wait in line to buy a drink.”
Aunt Katie and Uncle George stood at the end of the line. Cam and Eric went to the log ride. They watched people sitting in cutout logs slide into a large pool of water.
“That looks like fun,” Eric said. “Maybe we can do that next.”
Cam and Eric walked back to the refreshment stand. Aunt Katie and Uncle George were still near the end of the line.
“Tell me what you want to eat,” Aunt Katie said. “This is the only chance we'll have for refreshments. I won't wait in this line again.”
Cam and Eric looked at the list of items being sold. “I'd like to have some orange juice and pretzels,” Cam said.
“Please, could I have a vanilla ice cream pop?” Eric asked.
“Hmm,” Aunt Katie said. “Vanilla tea for me, an orange pop for George, coffee and pretzels for Cam. And what did you want, Eric?”
“I want a vanilla pop.”
“I'm all mixed up,” Aunt Katie said. “Why don't you wait until it's our turn. Then you can all tell me what you want.”
The line moved slowly. When they reached the counter, the man there asked, “What would you like?”
“I want tea with lemon. I know that,” Aunt Katie said. “And George wants a regular coffee.”
Cam and Eric told the man what they wanted. He put it all on a cardboard tray and brought it to the counter. He told Aunt Katie what everything cost.
Aunt Katie opened her handbag and reached in. Then she looked inside her handbag. She took out something wrapped in aluminum foil, a small note pad, and some pencils and gave them to Cam to hold.
“Please,” the man behind the counter said. “There are other people waiting.”
“I can't find my wallet,” Aunt Katie told him.
Uncle George paid for the refreshments. He carried them from the counter to a table. Cam, Eric, and Aunt Katie followed him. As Aunt Katie walked to the table, she was still looking in her handbag.
Aunt Katie took the pencils, note pad, and the small package wrapped in foil back from Cam. She put the pencils and note pad in her handbag.
“Maybe my wallet is in here,” she said. She unwrapped the foil. Inside was a jelly sandwich.
“Oh, my,” Aunt Katie said. “My wallet
is
gone. I know I had it when we came into the park. I paid for the entrance tickets.”
Aunt Katie took a bite of the jelly sandwich and then wrapped it in the foil again. “Or did you pay for the tickets?” she asked Uncle George. “Maybe I left my wallet at home.”
“No,” Uncle George said. “You paid for the tickets.” He took Aunt Katie's hand and said, “Let's go. We have to find that wallet.”
Chapter Four
 
 
 
 
 
“H
e spoke!” Eric whispered.
Aunt Katie quickly drank her tea and went with Uncle George. Cam and Eric ran to catch up with them.
“Where are you going?” Cam asked.
“We're looking for one of the park policemen,” Aunt Katie said. “I saw one here before. He wore a nice blue uniform, had a badge on, and carried a walkie-talkie.”
“I think you should go to the park entrance,” Eric said. “That's the last place you remember having your wallet. My father once left his wallet at the ticket booth of a movie theater.”
BOOK: The Mystery at the Haunted House
11.46Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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