Surprise at the Haunted House

Maggie and her eighth grade friends were enjoying their lunch at Hudson Middle School when a group of boys entered and sat at the next table. The boys were engaged in a noticeably loud discussion about how scary the old Thompson house was.

The girls laughed at them for believing in ghosts and haunted houses. So the boys dared the girls to enter the house after dark on Friday night and record themselves moving around inside for at least half an hour. The challenge was confidently accepted.

When the girls met in Maggie’s backyard after dinner on Friday, Maggie said, “They’re playing a trick on us. I’m sure of it. They’ll probably be in there making spooky noises trying to frighten us. So I’ve come up with an idea for turning the tables on them. Here’s the plan.”

Arriving at the old Thompson house later that evening, the girls got their phones out of their backpacks and used them to video themselves timidly entering the house. A minute later, they began hearing weird noises, chains rattling and a variety of groans and moans.

The girls all rushed to the front door screaming their heads off, then acted like the door wouldn’t open. Laughing hysterically, the boys emerged from various halls and doorways, pointing at Maggie and her friends and making fun of them.

The girls all suddenly stopped shouting and smiled. Then they opened their backpacks and started pelting the boys with water balloons.