“It was a dark and stormy night,” Cal started.

“Shut up. It was not,” Trey insisted.

“I swear, this is a true story.”

“Well, it didn’t happen at night.”

Fine. It was day. I was trying to set the mood for the little ones.

“Mom was gone, and I was bored. I decided to sneak downstairs.”

“You went downstairs alone?” Kit asked. His eyes were wide already. Sara was hunched into a ball.

“I was bored,” Cal said again. “I heard a thump on my way down. I thought it was the house, or maybe Mom was coming home.”

“Weren’t you scared?” Sara’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Not yet. I waited to see if it was Mom then I continued. When I got down, I heard glass rattle. I went to investigate and saw light coming under the door.”

“A light in the daytime?” Trey asked.

“I said it was stormy. Quit interrupting.

“Slowly, I slipped through the door. There were two of them. They turned and saw me.”

“What did they look like?” Kit asked.

“They were hideous. They were different sizes and all covered in flesh. Their mouths were bright red, and they had lots of hair. You could even see their eyeballs.”

“They saw you? What did they do?” Sara asked. She was hiding behind Kit.

“They made a horrid, loud noise. I flew back up here as fast as I could. I don’t go down there anymore even though Mom got rid of them. I’m not taking any chances.”

“Did this really happen?” Kit asked.

Cal nodded. “It was just before you and Sara came.”

Sara shuddered. “I never want to see a human.”

Kit agreed. “Us ghosts should always stay in the attic where it’s safe.”

word count: 292