Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion
by Kelly Shadowens

This story is dedicated to my grandsons, Bradyn, Logan, Gavin, and Easton. I created this story for my four year old grandson, Logan Alexander, when he asked me to tell him a story while he was hospitalized and suffering from Guillain Barre' Syndrome, a rare and excruciatingly painful illness that can temporarily leave a patient paralyzed.

          Once upon a time, there was a family known as the Talle family. After searching for just the perfect home for their growing family, the Talle family moved into their beautiful new home, a two-hundred year old stone mansion. Mrs. Talle cleaned the mansion and prepared it for the family's first night. Mr. Talle made dinner on the new stove in the kitchen. When dinner was finished, Mr. and Mrs. Talle cleaned the dishes while their four sons helped each other to prepare for bed. When they were all in pajamas and ready for bed, Mr. and Mrs. Talle tucked all four boys into their news beds, in their new rooms, in their new home. After all four sons fell fast alseep, Mr. and Mrs. Talle finally were able to climb into their own bed, in their own room, in their new home and joined their sons in sleep.

          Unfortunately, the family was not alone in their new home. Three brother ghosts and one cousin ghost also lived in the old mansion. The brother ghosts were always mean to young Melvin, their cousin ghost. Poor Melvin was forced to hide away from his cousins. Everytime a family moved into the mansion, the brothers would frighten the family leaving poor Melvin all alone. When the Talle family moved into the mansion, the Talle sons just happened to each sleep in one of the ghost's bedrooms.

          Duane was the first to encounter a ghost in his room. He fell fast asleep only to be awakened by a whisper in his ear.

          "Boo!" the whisper bellowed.

          Duane opened his eyes and looked around his new room. To his terrified surprise, a young boy with a hat on his head was looking down at him. Duane thought it was truly bizarre that he could see straight through the stranger. He was too terrified to scream, so he just stared at the apparition.

          "My name is Whisper the Ghost," Whisper announced. He yelled even louder, "Boo! Now get out of my room!"

          Duane didn't wait for Whisper to say anything else. He was scared and jumped out of bed. He ran across the room and down the hall to his parents' room. He climbed upon the end of the bed and dove beneath the covers. He came up between his parents. They looked at him with confusion on their sleepy faces. Duane refused to explain. He grabbed a pillow and hid beneath it. His parents decided to let him stay in their room since he was clearly too afraid to sleep alone.

          Back in Duane's room, Whisper smiled and climbed into bed where he fell into a satisfied slumber.

          Lee, sleeping peacefully in his own room, awakened when he heard a noise in his closet. A loud banging penetrated his closet door. Lee sat up in bed and stared curiously across his room. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and yawned. He stretched his arms in the air. Just then, the door opened so quickly it slammed against the wall. Lee, a curious child, climbed out of bed and walked to the closet. Just as he stood in front of the opened closet door, a boy stepped out. He was tall, taller than anyone little Lee had ever seen. He looked way up at the tall boy before him.

          The boy bent down and stared into Lee's curious eyes. They stood so close that their noses almost touched. "My name is Chase, I am a ghost. This used to be my room when I was a boy," the ghost announced in a strangely calm voice. His features changed into an angry mask of fury. "Get out of my room and never come back!"

          Lee crossed his arms over his chest and defiantly stared at the ghost before him.

          "NOW!" Chase screamed and blew so hard that he lifted Lee off of his feet and flung him toward the hall.

          Lee was now terrified of Chase. As soon as he landed, he ran down the hall away from the ghost. Chase followed him until the door of Mr. and Mrs. Talle's room slammed in his face. Chase smiled at the closed door. He turned slowly and sauntered back down the hall to his room where he climbed in bed and fell asleep.

          Lee didn't want anyone to know about the ghost. He slowly climbed beneath the blankets of his parents bed until he emerged between his mother and Duane. The four slept soundly.

          James was asleep in his own room. He was a toddler of only one year. When he was put to bed, his mother had given him a bottle full of warm milk. The baby slept quietly in his bed while holding his bottle in his arms. Bob, a chubby young ghost with a desire to eat all the time, climbed into the baby's bed and eyed the bottle. His invisible stomach growled loudly. James opened his eyes slowly and stared at the figure in his bed. He giggled and reached for the stranger showing no sign of fear.

          "Boo!" Bob yelled.

          Not used to being yelled at, the baby began to cry. His hands went to rub his eyes which gave Bob the opportunity to grab the bottle. He jumped from the bed and hid behind the door just as Mrs. Talle came into the room to check on the baby. James grinned up at his mother, quickly forgetting the stranger and his bottle. His mother smiled down at him and took him into her arms. She sang quietly to him until his eyes started to close. Just as they were closing, he saw Bob holding his bottle behind his mother. The baby began to scream again. After looking unsuccessfully around his bed for his bottle, Mrs. Talle took the baby downstairs where she prepared him another bottle. She took him to her room where she placed him in a playpen.

          Bob couldn't believe his luck. He had a bottle of warm milk and his room back. Life as a ghost couldn't be better.

          Alexander, the second born Talle son, was sleeping peacefully in his room dreaming of running in the fields behind the mansion. A smile played across his face.

          "Boo!" a voice whispered into his ear, "Wake up."

          Alexander awakened at the sound of a young boy's voice. He saw a young lad dressed in knickers, a button up shirt, penny loafers, and a cap on his head. He was strangely unaffected by the stranger in his room. Alexander was a boy who was always kind to everyone. He could make friends with anyone.

          "Hi," Alexander said. "Are you my new friend?"

          The boy sent the ghost a strange gaze before a smile crossed his face as he waited for the ghost's response.

          The ghost returned the smile. "I would like to be your friend." The smile turned into a frown. "But, alas, we can't."

          "Why?" Alexander asked.

          The ghost sighed. A serious look appeared upon his face. "My name is Melvin. My cousins, Whisper, Chase, and Bob, live here with me. They are bad. Every family that lives here runs off because of my cousins. Even as humans, they liked to annoy people. Now, as ghosts, they are much worse. You will be here a short time if my cousins have their way. There is no reason for us to become friends."

          "We have to stop them then," Alexander replied with confidence.

          Melvin shook his head. "I don't think you understand. Your brothers are now sleeping with your parents because of my cousins. Tomorrow. or the next day, your brothers will tell their story about ghosts in their rooms. Your parents won't believe them, at first. Eventually they will hang out in the rooms and see the truth for themselves. That is how it always happens."

          "Why are they so mean?" the young boy questioned. He had never really met a mean person before. In his short life, people had always been kind.

          "They were spoilt by their parents. I was the cousin that came to live here when my parents died. They hated that people felt sorry for me and was kind to me. They even argued amongst themselves if one of them received more attention from their parents. Jealousy is really a dangerous behavior."

          "When were you born?"

          The ghost answered quickly, "September 1, 1908. I was very young when my father died on a ship that sank. My uncle used to say he went down with the ship. My mother survived but died a few days later of pneumonia. It was very cold in the ocean when the ship went down. She was on a lifeboat all night long. I came to live here and my cousins never forgave me for that."

          Alexander thought about the story for a moment before asking, "How were they mean to you?"

          The ghost waited a long moment before answering. "They put a snake in my bed. I made the snake my pet. They salted my food when no one was paying attention. I threw up on them for that. Auntie Bee put me to bed and sat by my bedside all night. My cousins were furious. Once they even pushed me down the stairs. I grabbed hold of Bob's foot and he followed me down. Auntie Bee saw what happened. Luckily, we weren't hurt, but the cousins were grounded to their room. They locked me in my closet when Auntie Bee and Uncle Ted were in town. I was there for hours. When they let me out, they were furious to see I had found a door to the dungeon. They had never been to the dungeons before. They snuck in and I slammed the door behind them. I let them out a few hours later. They were angry with me, but they realized I wasn't going to put up with their bullying anymore."

          "They left you alone?"

          Melvin shook his head. "Not for long, but they were very cautious about what they did do. They knew I would retaliate if they went too far."

          "How did you die?" Alexander asked, the curiosity getting the better of him.

          "I think they called it an epidemic. We were all sick. Auntie Bee and Uncle Ted left us with the maids and went away for a week. They rushed back when they heard the news, but it was too late. Bob was the first to get sick. I was next, then Whisper, and finally Chase. We died in that order. Auntie Bee was so sad. I felt so bad for her. So did my cousins. They cried when they saw her crying for them."

          He stopped and bowed his head. A tear ran down his cheek. "Auntie Bee and Uncle Ted had one more child after we all passed away. Her name was Juliette. My cousins hated her. They originally couldn't leave because they hated Auntie Bee being sad. When she had Juliette, they became angry. I stayed around to protect Juliette. She was such a sweet child, and the cousins were so mean to her. Eventually I convinced her to talk to her parents and beg them to move. When Auntie Bee found out that her sons still lived in the mansion, she refused to move. Instead, she sent Juliette away to a boarding school."

          He began pacing in front of Alexander. "Juliette never returned for long. Auntie Bee died of a broken heart. Uncle Ted moved away to the city to be near Juliette and left the mansion abandoned. Juliette's children inherited the mansion and moved in. That's when the cousins started their hauntings again. Her children finally sold the mansion. It's been sold four or five times since then. The cousins enjoy terrifying the families. They particularly enjoy scaring children that try to sneak in on Halloween."

          Alexander crossed his arms over his chest. "We have to stop them. Have you ever tried to stop them before?"

          "I have been working on a plan," Melvin began. "I just don't know if it will work."

          "What is it?" the boy asked.

          "Well, once Chase snuck into my room. He wanted to visit the dungeon. The door to the dungeon at the bottom of the stairs shut behind him and locked him in. I don't know why, but he was unable to walk through the door. We can go through walls up here, but down there, he was stuck. It took weeks before Whisper and Bob found him. There was no other way out of the dungeon. Since then, I have went down there a few times. I always keep the door propped open so that it doesn't close on me. There is water that drips down the wall and lots of mice to eat. That is good because Bob will eat anything. Believe it or not, ghosts still try to eat. We don't have to, but we still enjoy a meal now and again. There are also lots of rooms to hide in. It would be a great place for a ghost to live for a few hundred years. Or it might convince them to move on to the other side. I just have to find a way to get them in there."

          "Lock all three in the dungeon! That's a brilliant plan," Alexander shouted.

          "Shhhh," Melvin replied, placing a finger over his mouth. "They can't hear you and don't forget, we don't have a plan to get them there."

          "We should trap them. What kind of door goes to the dungeon?" Alexander asked.

          "Metal, I don't know what kind," Melvin said with a shrug.

          "All we need is a metal box, or three metal boxes, I think I have a plan," Alexander said with a grin.

          Within an hour, the pair walked into Whisper's room and shut the door behind them. They stood over the bed of the sleeping ghost and smiled at each other.

          "Boo!" Alexander growled into the ghost's ear.

          Whisper's eyes opened instantly and looked up into the human boy's eyes. A frown played across his face.

          "I want you to leave my brothers alone," Alexander said.

          "And if I don't?" Whisper asked. He sat up in bed, crossing his arms over his chest.

          "How 'bout we bet?" Melvin asked. "I bet you can't fit into this chest." He pointed at a small metal chest sitting on the floor near the door. Whisper frowned at it, he knew it hadn't been there before. Melvin interrupted the other ghost's thoughts, "If you can, you can haunt all you want. If you can't, you have to leave the boys alone from now on. Do we have a deal?"

          Whisper laughed, blowing the curtains as he did. "You silly ghost. I can fit into anything now, I'm a ghost." He stood up and walked over to the chest. He lifted the lid and stepped inside. Slowly his body melted into the chest. The lid dropped down and covered the ghost. Before Whisper could re-emerge, Alexander was sitting on the lid while Melvin placed the lock on the chest. Together they carried the chest to the dungeon. With a smile, they told Whisper to take a nap and promised to return soon to set him free. They left the locked chest in the room and shut the dungeon door on their way out.

          A few minutes later, they entered Chase's room. The ghost slept quietly upon the bed. His feet bounced against the mattress as he slept. Even in sleep, he wanted to run.

          Alexander groaned into the sleeping ghost's ear, "Boo!"

          Chase jumped out of bed and scowled at the two in front of him. His gaze landed on his cousin. "I should have known you would have become friends with the family. You always ruin the fun!"

          "Fun!" Alexander growled. "Scaring my brothers is fun?" His face reddened in anger.

          Melvin saw the boy's reaction and stepped between his cousin and the young boy. "Chase always likes to have fun," Melvin told his new friend. "And we have a fun game to play. Hummm, do you think we should let him play with us?"

          Chase laughed sarcastically, "As if I would want to play with you."

          Alexander shook his head. "No! I would never play with him. He scared my brother. So Melvin, you have to choose, play our new game with me or play with him. You can't play with both of us."

          Melvin's face fell in disappointment. "This is so terrible. We have to have three to play or it isn't as much fun. We could have had so much fun."

          Chase, loving new games, chewed at his lower lip. He asked skeptically,"What game are you playing?"

          "Hide and Seek," Melvin said, sniffling tears.

          "That sounds like fun," Chase replied.

          "I don't want to play with him," Alexander demanded.

          "But he's good at this game," Melvin begged. "Please, just one game?"

          Alexander crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Chase with annoyance written all over his face. The boy replied hesitantly, "I suppose one game wouldn't hurt."

          "Thank you, thank you, you will have a great time, I promise. We'll let you be It first," Melvin giggled. "Go out to the hall and count to one-hundred." Alexander did as he was told, giving Chase a glare on his way out the door.

          Melvin giggled and ran to a small metal jewelry case that sat atop a table. He opened it up and grinned at Chase. "I'm hiding in here. He will never realize a ghost of my size could fit into something so small."

          He started to shrink when Chase bellowed, "No, I'll hide there. Get out of my way." Chase shoved Melvin aside, who fell to the floor with a thud. Before Melvin could stop him, Chase had shrunk himself and filled the metal box. His eyes looked up at Melvin with a hint of amusement. "Close the lid," he demanded of his cousin.

          Melvin grinned down at his cousin, "If you insist." He closed the lid, twisted the lock, and carried the box to the door.

          Stepping into the hallway, he grinned at Alexander who was leaning against the wall. He whispered, "Keep quiet." The boy followed the ghost to the dungeon where they sat the jewelry case right on top of the metal chest. They snuck quietly out of the room hoping Chase did not hear them. If he did, he would roar loud enough to awaken Whisper. If both ghosts screamed, they could awaken Bob.

          The two headed upstairs to Bob's room. When they entered, they found Bob still awake enjoying his new bottle of milk. He grinned at Melvin, and then he frowned at Alexander. Curiosity got the better of him. He asked his cousin, "What are you doing with a human?"

          "You took my brother's bottle and I want it back," Alexander said before Melvin could respond.

          "That doesn't mean I have to give it to you. Silly boy, I'm a ghost. Don't you know you are supposed to be afraid of me?" Bob stood up and made his teeth grow so large that for just a moment, Alexander was afraid. He stepped back and glanced at Melvin.

          "Stop trying to scare the boy," Melvin demanded.

          "Who is going to make me?" Bob asked. He stepped close enough to Melvin that their noses actually touched.

          "Me," Alexander replied. He shoved himself between the cousins.

          Bob began laughing. He laughed so hard that he fell to the floor. His belly bounced at the humor of the situation.

          "You don't frighten me," the boy confessed. He balled his hands into fists at his sides. "And you have to catch me to hurt me." With that, Alexander ran out of the room and headed toward his own room.

          Melvin jumped between Bob and the door. "Don't do it. The boy is young. Please stop trying to scare humans."

          "NEVER!" Bob screamed. He skimmed past his cousin and flew out the door, his feet were not touching the ground as he went. Melvin followed closely behind. Hearing sound coming from Melvin's room, he slowly entered the room. He instantly saw the closet door closing. For just a second, the ghost hesitated, but he soon gathered his courage and followed the boy into the closet.

          He emerged in the dungeon where he stopped just at the door.

          "Don't go in there," Melvin demanded. "It is scary in there."

          Bob stuck his chest out, checked the prop against the door to make certain it was in place, and entered the room. Melvin poaked his head into the room. He whispered, "I don't see him. Maybe he is hiding in another room."

          Bob frowned, "Don't lock me in. If you do, my brothers will find me. When they do, we will make you pay." He turned and floated down the hallway to search for the missing boy."

          "He won't be gone long," Alexander whispered behind Melvin.

          The ghost turned around and grinned at his new friend who was coming down the staircase. "You timed that perfectly. The door to the closet was closing and you were nowhere to be seen."

          "I was behind the curtain and pushed on the door when I saw him entering the room. It was our only chance," Alexander replied.

          He started to close the dungeon door when Melvin stopped him. "No, I have to stay with them. They could make a lot of noise down here. If I stay, I will be able to keep them quiet."

          "They will hurt you," Alexander reminded him.

          The ghost shook his head. "They can't hurt me anymore. They are my cousins, and I will convince them to pass on to the other side. I'll call on my aunt and uncle to help me. If that doesn't work, I'll take them further into the dungeon where noone will be able to hear them. All will be fine. I promise you. Don't forget, I have learned how to play pranks on them over the years we have been together. Now this mansion can finally have peace."

          "I'll miss you," Alexander replied with tears forming in his eyes.

          "I'll miss you too, but it will be great to have this house full of laughing children. Take care of my room," Melvin said. A sound down the hall penetrated the silence. They both knew it was Bob. "We have to hurry. Close the door and lock it. Have a great life, Alexander." He hugged the boy, as best he could for a ghost and stepped inside the room.

          Alexander took one last look at his new friend and closed the door between them. He dropped the lock in place and stepped back just as a loud bellow sounded inside. He waited, and listened, as the three brother ghosts yelled and fumed at their young cousin. After a few moments, the dungeon became quiet.

          Alexander slowly climbed the stairs to his room. When he reached the top of the staircase, he looked down into the darkness at the door below. He sighed in resignation as he realized he had found and lost a friend all in the same night. Slowly, he entered his room and shut the door on the entrance to the dungeon. He turned and walked slowly to his new bed, in his new room, of his new home. He plopped upon the mattress and fluffed his pillow before he rested his head and fell into a satisfied slumber.

The End