Note: This story was written for Ectober 2014. Themes: Ouija Board and Haunted House.
"You think we should what?" Sam asked.
"Haunt a house," said Tucker, shrugging. "We can even bring Danny in for the special effects."
"Nope, nope, absolutely not!" said Sam, crossing her arms. "Remember what happened the last time?"
"That was a fluke, Sam," Tucker said. "We know enough not to unleash a ghost invasion on Amity Park this year."
Sam couldn't think of anything to say, so Tucker went on. "It's simple! You know about everything there is to know about spooky stuff—"
"Just because I'm a goth, Tucker, doesn't necessarily mean—"
"Nonono, wait!" Tucker said. "You know about what people find scary. Last year, Danny tried to haunt a house. It's just that he's really bad at it, so he—"
"Don't remind me."
"I won't," said Tucker, waving his arms excitedly, "but he doesn't have to set everything up this time." He pointed at Sam, grinning. "Leave that to someone who knows exactly what buttons to push to freak people out."
"Thanks," said Sam. She smiled a little. "I do kind of—hey! Tucker, don't change the subject!"
Tucker just grinned.
"In the first place," Sam went on, "we don't have a house to haunt."
"That's easy." Tucker shrugged. "We'll just use the same one as last year. It's just as abandoned— and people don't even vandalize it or anything after what happened then, so it's the perfect location."
Sam thought it over for a second, then put her hands on her hips. "In the second place, I know you said I'd be good at it, but... how are we going to haunt a whole house? Remember what happened with just one room the last time?"
Tucker shrugged again. "We don't have to haunt the whole house." He stuttered as he tried to think how to answer her. "Uh... what about a seance? It only has to have one room again, and we can make it..." He spread his arms wide. "...an experience."
Sam smiled for just a second, but there was one final objection Tucker hadn't answered.
"O-kaaaay... in the third place," she said. "Who's going to show up? You said no one goes to the old abandoned house yourself, so what's going to bring people up there?"
"Well," said Tucker, typing something on his laptop, "at first I thought we could sell tickets, but then I had a better idea— a more... exclusive idea." He turned the screen, showing the design for a flyer. "We just have to make sure these get into exactly the wrong hands..."
Casper High
"Hey, Fentrance, what's that you're holding?"
Dash pushed his way between Danny and Sam, who'd been handing Danny a piece of paper. Grabbing the sheet, Dash read it:
You are INVITED
to an EXPLORATION
into the WORLD of SPIRITS
~ hosted by Ms. Manson, medium
tomorrow night, October 30
~ 9 PM; costumes obligatory
the old house on Maple Street
COME ALONE
Dash looked over at Sam, grinning. "Isn't your girlfriend more of a small than a medium, Fenton?"
"It's not a clothing size!"
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"What-ever, Fen-twerp," Dash said, pushing the note back at Danny. "Mind if I show up?"
"It's, private," said Sam, skewering Dash with her iciest glare.
"Course it is," said Dash. "Sounds like just the kinda thing I'd want to attend. See you two tomorrow!" He waved and took off down the hall.
When Dash was gone, Danny asked, "Do you think he'll be there?"
Sam smiled, a sharp expression. "He fell for it— and I saw his look when he read 'Come Alone'. He and Kwan'll both come tomorrow. I'm sure of it."
[~]
Paulina was easy.
Sam pulled the flier in front of her, lifted the old-fashioned calligraphy pen into her hand, and took a deep breath.
The text was already there; the invitation to a seance was the same as it was on the other copies Tucker had printed. The only question now was what to say.
After a few moments, and with a silent apology to Danny, Sam wrote, in a flowing, elegant hand:
I would be honored to see you there. ~Phantom
That was all. Sam folded the letter, and stuffed it into Paulina's locker when she arrived at school; the squeal two periods later was all the confirmation she needed.
[~]
Star was the last person they needed to invite, but Sam had no idea how to get her on board.
"Leave this to me," Tucker said to Sam, as they sat across the cafeteria. Taking a flyer, he marched over to sit next to her.
There was a pause. A discussion started, which quickly turned into a small argument, but Sam was too far away to hear what they were saying.
The voices died down, then Star and Tucker angrily walked away in opposite directions— and Tucker didn't have the flier with him.
"Done," he said as he returned to his seat by Sam and Danny.
And that was that.
917 Maple Street
Dash, Star, Kwan and Paulina watched as the old house's door swung slowly open. A dim purple glow came from within, followed by a voice.
"Welcome..."
Inside, the four found themselves staring at a figure in the house's old living room, sitting at the opposite end of an oval table.
"to this humble— what are you doing here?!"
Sam, wearing what Tucker had described as a 'mystic getup', rose from her chair to stare at the newcomers.
"Wait, what are you even supposed to be?" she added. Paulina, Star, and Kwan were in costume, but Dash looked the same as ever, right down to the letter jacket.
"I'm a football player!" Dash said, spreading his arms like it was obvious. "Nice simple costume, huh?"
Sam didn't facepalm. She needed these four here, after all.
Paulina didn't hear who the question was addressed to. "And I'm Sayonara Pussycat!" she said, twirling. Her oversized cat-ear headband and virulently pink outfit already gave it away.
Star and Kwan decided they needed to get in on the fun. "I vaaaaaant to suuuuck at your bloooood," Kwan said, curling his hands into claws. His plastic vampire fangs were making his voice muffled.
"Well, you certainly suck at sucking," Star said. She smiled, smoothing down her witch costume for maximum effect.
Kwan grinned. "Thanks for the compliment! I think?"
Sam glared at them all a little, but stayed in character. "Please. Do be seated."
As all four sat around the table, the ancient door creaked open again. A weedy figure in a frilly, pastel-colored magical girl costume headed towards them. "Sorry I'm late, Sa..."
Danny trailed off as he caught sight of Dash and the others. "Oh. I should have figured."
"Hey Fenton!" Dash said. "Thought we might as well see what sort of 'other side' you've cooked up after last year!" He realized what Danny was wearing. "And what's with the getup, Princess?"
"I lost a bet," said Danny by way of explanation.
"Do not mock the paranormal," Sam said airily from the head of the table, "for it could be far closer than you would wish it very soon." Breaking character, she asked Danny, "Where's Tucker?"
Danny shrugged. "He said something about trying his luck trick-or-treating even though Halloween's tomorrow."
"Very well," said Sam, motioning for Danny to close the front door. "Let us begin."
From under the table, she took out a polished ouija board, hand-carved from a thick block of wood. Mystical creatures leered from the corners, while the letters and numbers in the center seemed almost to glow in the dim light.
"Everyone. Place your hands upon the planchette," Sam said, dropping the wooden piece upon the board with a clack. Everyone extended a hand; Dash first, followed by Paulina, Kwan, Danny, and finally Star.
In a back room of the old house, Tucker watched the scene through the cameras he'd hidden. Carefully, he placed his hand on the joystick beside him, making sure not to jostle it.
He smiled.
"Showtime."
[~]
Sam waited a few moments, then began, keeping her voice airy as before.
"Spirits. Attend. Are you here?"
For a few seconds, nothing. Then, slowly, the ouija board's planchette began to move, cycling around the board in a slow circle. Kwan's mouth opened in shock at the faint pull.
"R - Z - Y-E-S" spelled the planchette as it glided onwards, slowly speeding up. "Y-O-U H-A-V-E C-O-M-E"
The board was still again.
Sam looked up at the others, smiling slightly. "We have made contact," she said. "Greet the spirit! Politely, mind."
There was a pause while everyone tried to figure out what to say. Dash spoke first.
"Hey, spirit! How's it hanging?"
"E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T"
"Um, hello?" Paulina said. "Nice to meet you!"
"H-E-Y B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L"
"It's Phantom!" Paulina squealed excitedly, flailing her free arm in the air. "He's talking to us through the board!"
Star leaned back to try and avoid her. "Uh, how do you know it's Phantom?"
"Because he's a ghost, and he called me beautiful, and he invited me tonight, and I just know he's here!"
Star gave up.
"I W-I-L-L N-E-I-T-H-E-R C-O-N-F-I-R-M N-O-R D-E-N-Y"
Sam hastily got the session back on course.
"Enough. If you have questions, you may now—"
The planchette moved under her hands; Tucker picked up the pace a little on his joystick, so what once was a gentle glide became an insistent pressure.
"N-O T-I-M-E"
"What?" Danny said, sounding appropriately confused.
"I C-O-M-E T-O D-E-L-I-V-E-R A W-A-R-N-I-N-G"
Kwan said what everyone had been thinking. "Warning? About what? I mean—"
The lights flickered as the next message came in, and the sound of wind came from outside.
"T-W-O O-F Y-O-U W-I-L-L D-I-E T-O-N-I-G-H-T"
There was, understandably, another pause.
Paulina gasped. "B-... but, which two?!" she said, her voice shaking.
"F-I-R-S-T T-H-E N-E-R—"
The lights in the room went completely out. Sam had covered the windows with curtains, so it was completely dark, but for a few candles she'd lit on a side table. The planchette stopped moving.
"What happened?" said Paulina, after a second. "Could 'the ner' mean one of us...?"
Before she could get an answer, the planchette started to move again, traveling at a pace so fast Star and Dash couldn't keep up. Twirling madly, the wooden pointer started thrashing between Z and O, Z-O-Z-O-Z-O-Z until no one could hold on. From there, it kept moving, turning joyous loop-de-loops as it picked out three letters.
"Y-"
"What's it doing?!" Dash said. He looked like he was ready to run already.
"Quick, try and grasp the planchette!" Sam ordered. "If you don't hold on it could break free!"
As Dash tried to grab the thing, it neatly dodged, spinning in a circle over the second letter.
"-O-"
A strange whispering seemed to be coming just under the sound of the wind. As Danny slapped his gloved fingers on the pointer, it stopped on the third letter.
"-U!"
Danny looked down and realized that it was pointing directly at him.
"Guys..." he said. "I don't feel so..."
The wind stopped, but the whispers were still there. The candles flickered, and a glow slowly appeared around Danny, surging, drawing towards the board.
"aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Danny yelled, as the glow fumed towards the table. With a flash, Danny began to turn transparent from the back forwards, trailing shards of light that ran down his torso, arms, and hands...
and then he was gone.
Sam looked around nervously, but before she could say anything Dash spoke first.
"W-...where'd he go?!" he asked, his teeth chattering.
Paulina was looking just as nervous; Star merely looked puzzled.
Kwan, amazingly, looked just as happy as he had been when he'd got here.
Sam waited a few seconds— enough to buy Danny time to get ready— and then sighed.
"I'm sorry," she said, "this... I didn't... I don't know where he is. I think you need to leave, before anything else—"
Above, in the high ceiling, something snapped.
Before anyone could step away from the table, the body fell, slamming into the table. The planchette went flying; Paulina shrieked as everyone recognized who it was.
It was Danny, face permanently gritted by the noose around his neck. His eyes were closed; he wasn't breathing, and his hands were frozen in clawing at his throat.
Dash almost bolted, and Kwan and Paulina almost followed him. The only one who didn't look ready to run was Star, who squinted at the body on the table.
"Is... is that Danny?" Kwan said.
Sam inhaled sharply as she saw the body. "Danny..." she said.
"...wait..." Star said to herself.
Once Dash saw that nothing else was going to fall from the ceiling, he let out a nervous laugh. "H-hah!" he said, looking closer at Danny. "Bad luck for Fenton, coming to 'meet with the spirits', huh?"
"Guys! Listen!" Star said. "Danny's not d—"
Now.
Danny's eyes opened, flashing green; in one movement he thrust his arms out, clawing at Dash and the others, and screamed like the world was ending.
That did it. Dash, Paulina, Kwan, and Star screamed in four-part harmony. Then, they were all running, flying for the abandoned house's front door, slamming together in their made rush to get out of there. Their screams followed them through the driveway, onto the sidewalk, and even halfway down the block before the four ran out of breath and had to walk as fast as they could to get farther away.
When they were gone, Danny sat up, slipping the fake noose (from the costume shop) off from around his neck. Tucker turned the lights back on, then came out from the back room and started taking down all the gear they'd hidden.
Sam and Danny high-fived.
"Think anyone'll believe them when they try and say what happened tonight?" asked Danny.
"Well, I think they'll remember that scare for quite a while," Sam said, grinning. "But I think it'll be a hard sell."
"At least, not until the video's up," Tucker said, tapping buttons on his PDA. "I've got it compressing now!"
Sam picked up the last of the stuff they'd brought— the antique-looking Ouija board, complete with electromagnet to help Tucker spell out messages— and looked at Tucker. "I admit it, you were right. Haunting a house was... pretty fun!"
"Told ya." Tucker grinned, then looked at Danny. "Now let's get out of here in case one of them has the bright idea of going to your parents for help."
Casper High - The Next Day [Halloween]
It was October 31st. All across Casper High, strange and spooky monsters roamed; screams could be heard (from the students who received their grades on the most recent set of exams). Even Mr. Lancer got into the act, with a white whale hat that was supposed to represent Moby Dick.
Between classes, Dash (still in his 'football-player costume') stopped Danny, who was wearing a 'Ghostbusters' outfit.
"Uh, Fenton..." Dash said.
"Yes?"
"About what happened yesterday... at the seance... um..."
"What seance?" said Danny, blinking. He saw Dash's face pale.
"Don't you remember, Fenton? You were there! At the old house on Maple Street! You came as a magical girl because you lost a bet, and there was the ouija board and..."
Slowly, Danny looked at Dash like he'd grown an extra head.
"Dash," he said. "Are you... feeling all right? I spent all of yesterday getting this costume ready, and I'm not going anywhere near that house ever since what happened last year."
"But... b-but..."
The bell rang before Dash could say anything more. Danny grabbed his books and headed off to Math.
For Dash, that closed the incident of the seance at Maple Street. For the rest of the day, Dash (and later Kwan, Paulina, and Star) all seemed... downcast. Jumpy.
As though something was lurking just behind their collective shoulders.
It wasn't until Dash saw the video, a week later, that they knew the truth for sure.