The Girl in the Attic
Sadie and her family moved to the haunted house shortly after her 12th birthday. That was a week ago. Sadie still had a bad feeling about the house. She didn't know why anyone in their right mind would buy the run down old place. But her Mom was an interior decorator. And her Dad made his living on flipping houses (that's when you renovate an old house and then sell it).They were wild about the place. Her sister Tammy said she hated the house too.
But Sadie knew better. Tammy loved mysteries. She's read almost all of the books in both the Hardy Boys series and the Nancy Drew series. Sadie knew this was like a dream come true for her sister. A creepy old house with all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore? It was perfect for a 14 year old spy-in-training. Her 16 year old brother Zach said it was going to collapse on top of them at any moment.
Sadie agreed with him.
Every step she took made a protesting squeak come from the floor. Every time you sat down on the ugly floral patterned couch, you were engulfed in a dust cloud. Her room was a nightmare. Her closet is full of old clothes covered in moth balls. The old canopy bed was caked in dust and when she had pulled off the moldy covers? Three dead mice lay on the sheets. She had screamed so loudly she thought the grimy window would shatter.
But her mom and dad were crazy about the place. It was a new project for them. Her mom kept buying new lamps and glasses and plates and stuff. But there was something strange going on. When her mom replaced the old lamp with a new one, she asked Sadie's dad to throw it away. But the next day the old lamp was back in its place and the new lamp was smashed to pieces on the kitchen floor.
"Who did this?" her mom asked angrily when they discovered it. "Not me mom" Sadie said "I loved the new lamp." Tammy said "I didn't do it either. The new lamp was much nicer then the old one." "Not me mom" said Zach but he said it with a mouth full of banana so it sounded like "nod me mumf" "Well, somebody did!" their mom shouted "that was a $40 lamp!" The next day all the new dishes were glued to the ceiling and the old dishes were back in their place.
Her mom was ready to erupt so Sadie decided to check out the one place she hadn't explored yet, the attic. When she was about to ascend the stairs she thought heard someone crying. That's impossible she thought No one, not even Dad has been up to the attic yet. Sadie crept up the stairs as quietly as she could and when she reached the trap door she pushed it open just enough so that she could see inside.
And what did she see? Sadie though she was going to fall done the stairs. She saw a typical creepy and scary horror movie attic: boxes filled with junk, boarded up windows, dark corners, and many cobwebs. But it was the thing in the middle of the room that scared and fascinated her the most. There was a girl standing in the middle of the room. But the girl was transparent. Sadie was looking at (or rather through) a ghost. Without meaning to, Sadie gasped. The ghost girl turned. "Who's there?" The ghost girl sounded scared but defiant, like she was ready to face whoever came through the door. Sadie admired her for that so she slowly pushed open the trap door. The girl stood right in the middle of the room. She looked to be around Sadie's age, 12 but she was already very pretty. She had flowing light blond hair, pale skin, and beautiful sky blue eyes. She wore an old fashioned dress.
Sadie realized her mouth was hanging open.
After closing it and swallowing she said "Y-you're a ghost" "Yes" said the girl "I am."
"What is your name?" Sadie asked. The girl tilted her head as if she had forgotten "Kate" she said "What is yours?"
"My name is Sadie" Sadie replied "Why are you a ghost?" Kate's transparent eyes filled with tears. "A murderer broke into this house shortly after my 12th birthday back in 1943 she said "He killed my family before my very eyes. Then he dragged me up to the attic where he cut me."
As she said this she showed Sadie a large scar leading from her left shoulder to her right armpit. "As I slowly bled to death, I wished to become a ghost so I could take revenge on every person who dares enter my house." "Today is the anniversary of my death."
"Oh, I'm sorry" Sadie said "We didn't know about all that" "We didn't mean to intrude…. Hey, are you the one who broke our lamp?" Kate nodded "Sorry about that, I dropped it."
"And glued our dishes to the ceiling?" asked Sadie. Kate grinned "I heard you laughing."
"That was pretty funny" Sadie admitted. Kate's face grew serious. "Can you keep me a secret from your family?" Sadie said "Sure, if you promise to let us renovate the house so we can live here." Kate smiled and said "It's a deal. I have a feeling we are going to be good friends."
The End