The Haunted Mask Part 3

Chapter 4: Magically Managed

Noah's eyes become wider and his heart thumps against his chest as the creepy Keelbolt house comes into view. Even if Adriana said that the Ghostbusters came and got rid of all the ghosts, it didn't make the place any less scary, especially to a little kid. As described before, the entire structure leaned to the left, all the windows were dark and dusty, some of the shutters were crooked or missing and the entire front lawn was overgrown with weeds. He swallows and tries to avoid looking up, thinking the house was looking at him.

"I'm surprised your parents bought this place," Carly Beth says, as she and Sabrina tow their bikes alongside Adi.

"Why?"

"The place has been empty for years and it honestly seemed like they were going to knock it down and build something else."

"My mom has a thing for older houses. She says they have more 'character' and she loves filling them with antique furniture and one of our house actually became a tourist attraction."

"Wow. What does your mom do for a living?" Sabrina asks.

"She's pretty much a historian, and basically a tour guide for whatever museum will have her. My dad is an army sergeant so we move around a lot, meaning my mom can't teach at a university or do research like a lot of professors."

"Your Mom's a professor?" Sabrina gasps.

"Yes, she is, Dr. Andrea Walton, specialization in history. She could literally do archeological digs if she wanted to, but with us moving around, we make the most of what we're given."

"Must be hard to move all the time," Carly Beth adds.

"You have no idea," Adi sighs.

They've reached the driveway of the house and Adriana turns around and unties the skateboard from Noah's bike. Carly Beth goes over and holds her brother's hand, helping him as he limps towards the door. The older sister can sense his fear.

"It's okay Noah, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"But it looks so scary."

"Appearances can be deceiving. Remember what Mom says about never judging a book by its cover?"

He nods.

"It's the same for houses. Just because something is old, doesn't make it scary."

Adi pauses at the door on the front porch and turns to the group. "Before we go in, please don't mention that you think the place is haunted?"

"How come?" Sabrina asks

"I have a four-year-old sister who's afraid of everything. If you mention that there might be ghosts in the house, she'll be sleeping in a tent outside for the rest of her life."

"That bad huh?" Carly Beth asks. She could relate to this mentality. For a long time, she was scared of many things and unfortunately, a lot of people took advantage of that, especially Steve and Chuck. She hated being afraid of everything, but since her experiences three Halloweens ago, she'd become braver and knew that there was real evil out there and stupid campfire stories were nothing to be afraid of.

"You have no idea," Adi rolls her eyes before opening the door.

"Mom I'm home!" she calls into the place.

The three other kids cautiously follow her inside. The place looked even older on the inside and was also crammed full of boxes of the family's things. There was a large black chandelier hanging above them in the foyer, it had no candles in it, but there were spider webs and thick layers of dust on the branches. Speaking of spider webs, it hung from the high ceiling like a big black spider. To their left was the living room, filled with old furniture covered in white sheets that surrounded a fancy looking fireplace made out of thick gray stones. On their right was a staircase leading up to the second floor. There was very old looking wallpaper on the wall beside the stairs and some spots were more faded than others revealing shapes where picture frames likely hung. At the end of the foyer was a door, leading into another part of the house.