Mystery Inc
By Hunter White
Chapter One: A Ghost Story
As the car winded down the road in between the tall pine trees, a father and his son were headed to begin their new life in the sleepy little town of Coolsville, Ohio.
"Dad, why did you buy this place again?" The son was puzzled by his father's rather unusually hasty decision to buy an old Victorian mansion.
"Because Norville, this house was my uncle's house. It's got some history you know. Like did you know the house once belonged to the first mayor of Coolsville? Or that it is one of the oldest house in the county?"
"Fascinating Dad, real fascinating." Norville was too occupied with researching Coolsville on his laptop to listen to his dad's less than breath-taking tales of wonder.
"Norville, lighten up. I know it's going to be hard not having your mom or Scooby around for a couple of days, but you'll get used it, I swear."
"Don't worry about it, dad. But hey, listen to this. Here it says that Coolsville is one of the most haunted cities in Ohio. Cool, huh?
"No, Norville!" Noville's father snapped at him as if he had dome something horrible. He soon calmed down, having realized his change of tone. "No ghosts. No ghouls, no monsters, and most of all, NO magic. You Understand? We don't want anything like last time to happen." Norville, slowly nodding yes, silently slipped further back into his seat.
Norville's father looked over to see his frightened son. He had felt guilty for both the family moving and the great deal of stress the move has put on them. He turned to apologize, but stopped himself before he could say anything. Time soon slipped away as the car passed sign after sign, before coming across just one stating "Welcome to Coolsville."
Norville and his father pulled up in front of the old brick mansion early in the afternoon. At a first glance, the mansion was in shambles and looked as if it was about to fall apart.
"Dad, are you sure this place is safe to live in?" Norville showed a bit concern in his voice, hoping his father would notice and apologize for snapping earlier.
"Don't worry, Norville, this house is perfectly safe. It's been in my family for generations." Norvile's father assured his son. He paused for a bit, but then spoke again. " Norville, I'm sorry for what I did early. I didn't mean to snap. Just, please promise me you won't get involved with the supernatural."
Norville ignored his father, as he knew that his father didn't really mean what he said. Norville stepped out of the car towards the mansion, fidgeting the key to the house in his hand. Even thought he seem calm on the outside, Norville was deathly afraid of his new life in his mind, as if a gaged animal was trying to escape. As he made his way to the front porch, Norville sensed an aura surrounded the house, but try as he might, he couldn't shake the feeling that something watching him.
Despite the crumbling exterior of the mansion, the interior of the house something to behold. Norville walked through the mansion until he came across the sitting room. In the center of the room, there was a magnificent spiral staircase going up towards the second and third stories of the house. Norville was in awe at the sights.
"It really is something, isn't it?" Norville's father creeped up behind him, frightening Norville.
"Yeah, Dad, It's uh, really something. You said this was your uncle's house?"
"Yes, Why? Something bothering you?"
"No. It's just that I didn't know our family had this much money."
"Well, our family lost most of it in the 1970's, due to some bad decisions on my father's part. He made some bad business deals with some guy named Jonathan Lodge. We never forgave him after that."