The Tale of Surlington Mansion
1
We moved into the Surlington mansion two weeks ago. Imagine moving to a new home and hearing all sorts of rumors that it's haunted. It's the last thing I'd wanted and of course, that's what I got. If you asked my mom, she'd say I was really skeptical about stuff like ghosts, but that's only when I see them in movies…. Not when it's actually happening to me. In the past two weeks, all we've all been hearing were strange noises, but what can you expect? I mean it is an old mansion. Dad says he'll have to do a lot of repairs on it. So far, everyone seems to be happy about the move except for my sister Elizabeth and I.
I just began school a week ago, and so far, I've been the talk of the town… Because my family happened to move into a mansion that hasn't been lived in for two hundred years. It's kind of annoying with people always looking at you with pity. Today, after class this girl told me that all the families that lived here had bad luck, and that something so terrible happened with the last family that lived here, no one else dared to move in from then on.
"So why didn't the town have the dumb thing demolished?" I asked exasperated. Then the girl turned to look at me straight in the eyes with a solemn expression on her face, and said darkly, "We were afraid to disturb the spirits."
"That's just crazy! That's hogwash!" I cried. "Fine." She said. " Suit yourself. But you'll be sorry you ever moved in." As she walked off, I called after her, "Well, nothing's happened yet!" Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped. "It's just me, Dana." My face turned bright red. Was I actually starting to let myself be taken in by this ghost nonsense? It was just my new friend Andrea. "I was just going to tell you not to listen to Maggie." She said. "Who?" "Maggie. She's always been the outcast. She just wants attention. She's really weird…nobody really understands her anyway. Just ignore her." I sighed. But the truth was that Maggie hadn't been the only one telling me about this stuff…I guess it was just some aura about her that gave me the chills. Shrugging it off, I asked Andrea if she wanted to come to the library with me after school. "Library? Why? I know you don't like to read much anyway." "I just thought it might be interesting for me to find out a little history about my home. Don't you think? I mean, it's quite famous, and pretty old. Just curious." "You don't really believe that ghost garbage, do you? I mean, people here just tell that stuff to scare new neighbors. It's some kind of tradition. Well, anyway, that's just what I think. Ask Maggie, and she'll tell you something completely different!" I chuckled, even though I felt a bit uneasy in the pit of my stomach. In the end, Andrea agreed to go to the library with me.
Clearing my throat, I asked the librarian if she had any books on Surlington Mansion. "Do we?" She laughed a bit too hard, and it made me feel uncomfortable. It ended up there was way too much history on my house. And then, something was bugging me. "…Andrea? Do you know about the last family that lived here?" "Oh," she said. I'd never seen her look so sick before. How could she act so nonchalantly about the mansion five minutes ago, and suddenly be really uneasy about it? "What's wrong?" I said. "I thought you didn't believe this stuff." But before I could say anything else, Andrea said quickly, "I've got to go." Looking bewildered I called after her. "But I thought you were going to help me look for books on…" But she ran as quickly as I had ever seen her go out of the library before. What was it with this town? Why was Andrea suddenly freaking out? She was supposed to be skeptical like me, practical. Now I felt like there was no one practical left to talk to around here. I decided not to ask the librarian about it… I suddenly felt the chills. The same kind I felt around Maggie. I had to go.
1
We moved into the Surlington mansion two weeks ago. Imagine moving to a new home and hearing all sorts of rumors that it's haunted. It's the last thing I'd wanted and of course, that's what I got. If you asked my mom, she'd say I was really skeptical about stuff like ghosts, but that's only when I see them in movies…. Not when it's actually happening to me. In the past two weeks, all we've all been hearing were strange noises, but what can you expect? I mean it is an old mansion. Dad says he'll have to do a lot of repairs on it. So far, everyone seems to be happy about the move except for my sister Elizabeth and I.
I just began school a week ago, and so far, I've been the talk of the town… Because my family happened to move into a mansion that hasn't been lived in for two hundred years. It's kind of annoying with people always looking at you with pity. Today, after class this girl told me that all the families that lived here had bad luck, and that something so terrible happened with the last family that lived here, no one else dared to move in from then on.
"So why didn't the town have the dumb thing demolished?" I asked exasperated. Then the girl turned to look at me straight in the eyes with a solemn expression on her face, and said darkly, "We were afraid to disturb the spirits."
"That's just crazy! That's hogwash!" I cried. "Fine." She said. " Suit yourself. But you'll be sorry you ever moved in." As she walked off, I called after her, "Well, nothing's happened yet!" Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped. "It's just me, Dana." My face turned bright red. Was I actually starting to let myself be taken in by this ghost nonsense? It was just my new friend Andrea. "I was just going to tell you not to listen to Maggie." She said. "Who?" "Maggie. She's always been the outcast. She just wants attention. She's really weird…nobody really understands her anyway. Just ignore her." I sighed. But the truth was that Maggie hadn't been the only one telling me about this stuff…I guess it was just some aura about her that gave me the chills. Shrugging it off, I asked Andrea if she wanted to come to the library with me after school. "Library? Why? I know you don't like to read much anyway." "I just thought it might be interesting for me to find out a little history about my home. Don't you think? I mean, it's quite famous, and pretty old. Just curious." "You don't really believe that ghost garbage, do you? I mean, people here just tell that stuff to scare new neighbors. It's some kind of tradition. Well, anyway, that's just what I think. Ask Maggie, and she'll tell you something completely different!" I chuckled, even though I felt a bit uneasy in the pit of my stomach. In the end, Andrea agreed to go to the library with me.
Clearing my throat, I asked the librarian if she had any books on Surlington Mansion. "Do we?" She laughed a bit too hard, and it made me feel uncomfortable. It ended up there was way too much history on my house. And then, something was bugging me. "…Andrea? Do you know about the last family that lived here?" "Oh," she said. I'd never seen her look so sick before. How could she act so nonchalantly about the mansion five minutes ago, and suddenly be really uneasy about it? "What's wrong?" I said. "I thought you didn't believe this stuff." But before I could say anything else, Andrea said quickly, "I've got to go." Looking bewildered I called after her. "But I thought you were going to help me look for books on…" But she ran as quickly as I had ever seen her go out of the library before. What was it with this town? Why was Andrea suddenly freaking out? She was supposed to be skeptical like me, practical. Now I felt like there was no one practical left to talk to around here. I decided not to ask the librarian about it… I suddenly felt the chills. The same kind I felt around Maggie. I had to go.