I forgot that Amanda and Josh's dog became undead in the book. I just thought it was fitting for him to become a vampire, since they're an undead creature like the Dark Falls residents. A Holly Jolly Holiday is a very popular short story.

"See that ghost?" Hannah whispered. She pointed to a young boy dressed in old-fashioned clothes, including a ruffled collar. "I'd like to scare him. He scared me before, and I want to get back at him."

"How?" Dan asked. "I mean, how can ghosts scare each other?"

"He snuck up behind me and touched my neck," Hannah shuddered. "His hands were so cold. I almost jumped out of my skin. He thought that was hilarious."

"Sounds like a harmless joke," Dan remarked.

"It is," agreed Hannah. "But I want to get back at him. With something equally harmless, of course."

"Like what?" asked Dan.

"You could help me," Hannah suggested. "Do you know Chiller House?"

"Yeah," said Dan. "My sister and I..." His voice broke. "We went there."

"Well, I got something from there," said Hannah. She pulled something out of her pocket that made Dan jump. Then she dropped it at his feet, causing him to jump back. It was a huge, hairy black spider.

"Won't he freak out when he sees this?" asked Hannah, disappointed by his lack of reaction.

Dan crouched over the spider. "It's very still," he noted dryly. "Must be dead."

"It looks realistic, doesn't it?" giggled Hannah. "It'll scare Andrew out of his skin."

"That seems extreme," remarked Dan. "He puts his hands on your neck, and you put a spider down his shirt?"

"It's not a real spider," Hannah pointed out. "Anyway, it's just a little joke."

"It does sound funny," Dan admitted. "But can ghosts feel it?"

"Yes, if they're in human form," said Hannah, looking at Andrew. "And he is. I need you to distract him. Go up to him and talk to him."

"But he's talking to someone else," noted Dan, staring at the man in black.

"Just go up to them," Hannah urged. "Say you're a ghost too. He'll be happy to meet another one. He was when he met me. Especially since I have the same name as his sister."

"You do?" asked Dan.

"Yeah," said Hannah. "His sister was named Hannah."

Dan glanced down at the mini Horror he was holding. He had picked it up from the gate. It reminded him of his sister. Was she holding the other one?

He walked up to Andrew, watching Hannah sneak up behind him. "Hey," he told Andrew.

Andrew looked at him. "My name's Dan. I just became a ghost," said Dan. "A monster from here killed me."

"Oh, my!" Andrew exclaimed. "I'm a ghost, too. You just died?"

"Yes," said Dan sadly. "I couldn't believe it. One moment I was there, and the next, I woke up and I was a ghost. Well, before that, I felt myself getting taken by the monster."

"Oh, God," the man gasped. "You poor child."

"At least my sister escaped," said Dan. "I just want to see her again." Behind him, he could see Hannah hesitate, looking shocked by his words. He quickly added in a more light-hearted tone, "You know, one time, we scared our cousin by pretending the attic was haunted by ghosts. And now I am a ghost. I could haunt him for real."

Andrew didn't reply, looking shocked. Hannah placed the spider on his ruffled collar. Dan let out a yelp. "Andrew, look!"

"How do you know my-" Then the man with him let out a yell, batting at the spider. Andrew saw it and started frantically shaking, trying to get it off. It fell to the ground. Then Andrew started stomping on it.

Dan burst out laughing. Andrew stared at him, confused. Hannah laughed as well.

Andrew turned to look at her. "Did you put the spider there?"

She nodded, laughing.

"That's not funny!" Andrew exclaimed, looking fearfully at the spider.

"It's not a real spider," said Dan.

Andrew stepped off it and bent down. "Oh, it's not. Well, it wasn't funny." He glared at Hannah. "You're just like my sister Hannah. She was just as annoying. And she had the same name."

"I think it was funny," said Hannah.

"You should've seen your face," added Dan.

"You two planned this?" exclaimed Andrew.

"Yeah," said Dan, grinning. Hannah grinned at him. It felt like he was with Trina, scaring Zane together. Maybe he had gotten his sister back, a little.

"Mr. Barber?"

Conan looked up from his cell. He was in a juvenile detention center. He had tried explaining what happened, but the police had locked him up and told him they'd question him later. Conan supposed he couldn't blame them. A police officer stood in front of him.

"We'd like to hear your side of things," said Officer Rawls. "Sorry for not letting you explain before, but our main concern was putting out the fire."

"Right," said Conan, surprised how friendly he was being. "Listen to me. I didn't start the fire. I know it looked like me, but-"

Officer Rawls raised a hand. "Before you say anything, Mr. Barber, let me make something clear. I spoke to some of the kids from your school, and they had quite a lot to say about you."

"They did?" Conan asked, his heart sinking.

"Yes, including Miss Morris and her brother, who witnessed the fire," said Officer Rawls. "They said you were quite the bully. You enjoyed beating up children and stealing their things."

"That's not true," Conan lied.

"It isn't?" Officer Rawls raised an eyebrow. "Please don't make things worse by lying, Mr. Barber."

"Okay, it is," Conan conceded. "But what does that have to do with the fire?"

"Quite a bit, actually," said Officer Rawls. "You see, most criminals start off as bullies. Then their crimes escalate to grievances such as murder or, in your case, arson."

"But I didn't do it!" Conan protested.

"Well, your record doesn't speak well about you," noted Officer Rawls. "Neither does the fact that you were spotted there."

For the first time, Conan regretted being such a bully. If only because he didn't know someone would take his body and use it to set fire to a town. "But I didn't," he insisted. "Someone took my body. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

Officer Rawls stared at him. "You know, some people said that before. They said someone took their body, and then set fire to a town with it."

"Really?" Conan asked excitedly. Maybe they would believe him.

"Maybe you've heard about it," said Officer Rawls. "It was a town called Highgrave. It got burned down twice, actually. Once centuries ago, by a pair of brothers. Oswald and Martin Manse. In life, they were criminals and bullies. That was before they set fire to a town."

Conan gasped. "Oswald Manse! That's who took my body."

"That's what they said too," said Officer Rawls. "Spencer Kassimir. He said Oswald Manse came back from the dead and took his body. And his brother Martin took a girl's, Audra Rusinas."

"He did it to me too," insisted Conan.

"At least he picked a different town this time," Officer Rawls remarked dryly. "Kassimir and Miss Rusinas were given therapy, but they kept insisting the Manse brothers came back from the dead and took their bodies. We eventually let them out of rehab, since their parents insisted they would never do such a thing. But we thought the story sounded unlikely. But now, with all the monsters, we suppose it is true. I've witnessed strange things. One boy insisted there was a comic strip on his computer he didn't draw, but when I looked at it, I didn't see any comic strip."

"And how are Spencer and Audra now?" asked Conan.

"They've mostly gotten over it," said Officer Rawls. "Their classmates are a little scared of them, though. Though it seems your classmates already were scared of you."

Conan shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, I know I wasn't great before, but I wouldn't burn down a town. It was that Oswald guy who did it. You believe me, right? Those kids said he took them over as well."

"Yes. I suppose I do," replied Officer Rawls, to Conan's relief. "But if Oswald Manse took your body, what about his brother, Martin?"

"He didn't mention having a brother," said Conan.

"Well, his brother could've taken someone else's body," said Officer Rawls. "But there was no one at the scene except for you. Your body, I mean. I guess we should be grateful he hasn't showed up. They burned towns down together."

"Great brotherly bonding activity," Conan remarked sarcastically.

"Alright, I apologise for the inconvenience, Mr. Barber," said Officer Rawls. "But you see, we had to be careful. We'll let you out. But before we do, may I give you a word of advice?"

Conan considered telling him no, but decided not to push his luck. "Sure."

"If I were you, I'd stop being a bully, and be a little nicer," suggested Officer Rawls. "We were considering the idea you actually did such a thing because your classmates reported that you were a bully."

Conan just stared at him. "Your parents will come to pick you up shortly," said Officer Rawls. "Have a good day, Mr. Barber."

"Hello," Bim said, staring at the purple aliens with a smile on his orange face.

"Commander, who's this?" asked Brenda.

"Another alien," Ricky replied.

"Bim," he said.

"He wanted to stay with us," explained Ricky. "He can't find his way to his home planet."

"Another alien?" David squinted at him. "Is he another Creep, like the other Creep we saw?"

"Uh..." Ricky had no idea.

"Bim is a Weirdo," he said.

"He's a Weirdo. Must be a cousin of Creeps," Ricky said sarcastically.

"No," said Wart seriously, observing him. "He's not one of us."

"Well, he wants to stay with us," said Ricky.

"Bim wants to return to Weirdo Planet," Bim said. "But Bim can't find Weirdo Planet. So Bim will stay with you."

"I know this is kind of sudden," said Ricky. "If you guys don't want another alien, I'll understand-"

"No. It's nice to see another alien," said Brenda, to Ricky's relief. He didn't want to anger Bim.

"You can stay with us, Bim," said David.

Bim smiled widely, showing his sharp teeth. "Really? Bim thanks you so much!" Then, his smile faded. "Bim has more food coming."

"What?" For the second time, Ricky saw Bim open his mouth and let out disgusting contents.

"Eww." Ricky stepped back in disgust at the putrid smell. But the other Creeps looked intrigued.

"It's a raccoon," noted Wart. "Too bad it's not a squirrel. I liked those."

"He threw up a squirrel before," said Ricky.

"Ricky didn't want to eat it," said Bim.

"You should try, Commander," suggested Wart. "They're delicious."

"I'm sure they are," agreed Ricky weakly.

Then, he watched as Brenda picked up a piece of the putrid raccoon and shoved it into her purple mouth. He cringed and closed his eyes as she swallowed.

"Not bad," said Brenda. "You should try it, Wart. It's almost as good a squirrel."

Then Ricky watched with suppressed disgust as Wart pick up a piece. Then, David did as well.

"Try some, Commander," David suggested, holding out a piece to him.

"No thanks," said Ricky weakly, closing his eyes. He thought he could feel his lunch coming up. It had been Horrorland food, which already wasn't appetising either. This was one aspect of being a Creep that he'd never get used to. Along with beating up and seeking vengeance on humans.

"You're their Commander?" Hyborg Xrxuz gasped.

"I must meet them immediately," said Commander Xannx. "We have the same goal, to turn the humans into aliens."

"They are currently in Horrorland," informed Hyborg Xrxuz. "I was supposed to meet them there, but decided to check on my babies first. I mean, the monsters."

Hyborg Xrxuz nodded approvingly. "As you should have."

She started taking him to Horrorland, which was a good thing, because shortly afterwards, the police arrived at her house, accompanied by Michael Munroe.

"It'll take a while to get to Horrorland," said Commander Xannx. "Perhaps we should try feeding the special eggs to more children."

She shook her head. "Everyone knows about my plans now. It said on television. The Creeps managed to turn one boy into an alien."

"Oh, that's good," said Commander Xannx. "But if it was a Creep who did it, surely they won't suspect you?"

"He got turned back," said Hyborg Xrxuz. "And another boy I turned, Michael Munroe, told them about me."

Commander Xannx's eyes widened. "So the police will be looking for you."

"And my monsters!" she exclaimed, eyes widening. She was more concerned by that idea.. "I have to hide them. Before the police come to my house."

She quickly raced back to her house. "Come on, my babies," she urged the monsters. "You're coming to Horrorland too."

"You were so mean to me, Slappy," said Mary-Ellen, her violet eyes boring into him. "I just wanted to be your bride, and you ignored me. You wanted that stupid human girl instead. What did she have that I didn't?"

"A brain," Slappy spat.

Mary-Ellen looked shocked. "You know, I wanted to be your bride, but now, I want revenge... and to be your bride."

"I'd rather marry one of the Creeps," retorted Slappy.

"You're always forcing yourself on children, including that girl," said Mary-Ellen. "So why can't I force you to take me as your bride?"

She walked forward, her frizzy brown hair bouncing around her face. She approached him until they were face to face, and then leaned forward. Slappy stepped out of the way in disgust.

"Here's some advice. Get another doll to marry you," suggested Slappy. "Not a dummy. There was this pretty doll named Abigail. She was owned by one of my slaves, Molly Barker. I bet you'd make a cute couple."

Mary-Ellen made a face. "I don't want a doll. I want you!"

"Well, I don't," said Slappy. "There's a woman who makes dolls. Ask her to make a doll for you."

"We can rule over the other monsters together," declared Mary-Ellen. "I'll be at your side. Your bride. Every leader needs one."

"No they don't!" Slappy insisted.

Suddenly, Mary-Ellen's expression became angry. Her red cheeks deepened in color, and her violet eyes narrowed. "Don't try to escape, Slappy," she growled. "I will be your bride, and you will be my husband."

Slappy shuddered. Was this how his slaves felt when he tried to make them slaves?

"Hello, Vanessa."

Vanessa gasped as she saw who she was looking at. It couldn't be. "No! Is it really you?"

She was in Horrorland, away from Clarissa, Sarabeth, and Iris, who were doing their own thing. None of the monsters she had seen in the park had startled her as much as this.

The old woman smiled at her, a sarcastic smile, and tucked a strand of grey hair away from her withered face. "Hello, Vanessa. It's such a surprise to see you here." For some reason, she smiled at the word "surprise".

"Hello, Aunt," said Vanessa after a while. "I wasn't expecting to see you either." She felt a mixture of joy and anger. She remembered their last conversation.

"I wasn't expecting to end up here," her aunt retorted. "I woke up here after dying."

"Dying?" Vanessa gasped. Then she forced herself to become expressionless. "Well, that's expected, Aunt Sylvia. Several monsters here were revived after dying."

"Do you know how I died?" Sylvia asked.

"No," said Vanessa. She resisted the urge to add, "And I don't really care."

"Well, you'll find it very amusing," Sylvia said. "It was a result of one of my spells backfiring."

"What?" Vanessa hid a laugh. "That is amusing."

"Well, not really a spell," Sylvia said. "A concoction."

"You tested those on me as well," recalled Vanessa. "You forced me to drink some."

"Remember Marshmallow Surprise?" Sylvia asked.

"Marshmallow Surprise?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I remember. The one that turns children into marshmallows. That's the surprising part. Thank goodness you didn't test it on me."

"Then you wouldn't be able to try any other spells," Sylvia pointed out. "I offered the drink to some children. Some very irritating children. I pretended to be friendly, but I was really cursing them."

"That seems rather extreme, don't you think?" Vanessa noted, knowing how that hypocritical that sounded. "Turning them into marshmallows?"

"They were rude, insolent children," Sylvia said. "They needed to be taught a lesson."

"Children can be very rude," Vanessa conceded.

"They drank the hot chocolate," Sylvia continued. "But they didn't turn into marshmallows."

"Did you get the recipe wrong?" Vanessa fought back a laugh.

"No," Sylvia said, glaring at her. "The recipe was perfect. It was the children who went wrong. You see, they were no ordinary children. They... they were werewolves."

"What?" Vanessa actually burst out laughing then.

"It does sound pretty ridiculous," Sylvia admitted, though she couldn't prevent glaring at Vanessa. "They were werewolves, so the drink did nothing to them. Instead, they ate me."

Vanessa stopped laughing. "They... ate you?"

"I'd rather not recall it," she said. "I imagine it was reported all over town how the weird, cranky old Mrs. Spooner disappeared. But nobody liked me much, so it wasn't a big deal for anyone."

"Nobody liked me in my town, either," noted Vanessa. "They thought I was strange as well. It must be a curse for witches themselves."

"Or maybe it runs in the family," Mrs. Spooner griped. "How did you end up here, Vanessa? Did you die?"

"No," replied Vanessa. "I heard about this place, so I came here. I was hoping to find other witches. And I did."

"Yes, you found me," said Mrs. Spooner.

"That's not what I meant," said Vanessa. "I found other witches. We formed a... a club, I guess you could call it. We show each other our magic."

"Really?" Mrs. Spooner asked. "Like you, me, and your mother."

"Yes, except we don't test spells on each other," retorted Vanessa. "Well, not always. We help each other and teach each other magic."

"It helped you learn, didn't it?" Mrs. Spooner pointed out. "You learned those spells in no time, thanks to us."

"Yes, because I was terrified of them being tested on me," said Vanessa. "It was so satisfying when I got to test them on you and Mother."

"See? Our method did work," Mrs. Spooner noted. "Your mother and I helped you learn to your best ability."

"Speaking of..." Vanessa trailed off. She was about to ask about her mother, but decided against it.

"Your mother?" Mrs. Spooner guessed. "Yes, I was just about to mention her. I'm with her as well. We found each other in this place."

"What?" Vanessa gasped, unable to hide the shock on her face.

"You look more shocked than when I mentioned I died," Mrs. Spooner noted. "Yes, we just separated briefly. I'll find her if you want."

"I don't want," Vanessa lied. She remembered their last argument, but she was still her mother.

"You do," Mrs. Spooner accused. "Don't lie, Vanessa. You want to see her."

Vanessa didn't reply. Sylvia walked over to Quicksand Beach. They were currently in Black Lagoon Water Park. She walked through the quicksand as if it were dry cement, her magic keeping her afloat. Suddenly, Vanessa noticed part of the quicksand was swirling, shifting around instead of sinking down. There was someone standing there, glancing down as the quicksand swirled. Then Sylvia stepped in front of her sister and caused the quicksand to start swirling faster, before it abruptly stopped.

As they both walked back, the quicksand stopped swirling, but they stayed walking on it. As they neared Vanessa, she gasped.

Of course, the other woman was Vanessa's mother. She had aged, her face even more weathered and wrinkled, her long white hair previously black like Vanessa's, and there was still a black streak through it. But her dark eyes, also the same Vanessa's, were as sharp and mysterious as ever.

"Vanessa." A shocked expression crossed her mother's face. She tossed her black shawl over her shoulder. "Is it really you?"

Vanessa could've sworn she heard emotion in her mother's voice. "Yes, Mother. It's me."

Her mother stared at her. "Oh, my... it's been so many years..."

"I remember our last interaction well," said Vanessa coldly. "Do you, Mother?"

Her mother winced slightly, her white hair falling over her face. Vanessa felt like she was looking at an older version of herself. "Vanessa, I... I wanted to apologise."

Vanessa was silent for a moment. "What?" That was the last thing she had expected to hear.

"I think we were too hasty in kicking you out," her mother said. "You wanted to practice your own magic and become a powerful witch in your own right. You didn't want to always follow in our footsteps. I guess I can't blame you. We were always pushing you to learn everything, using spells on you when you failed to perform them."

"You did," said Vanessa. "But it wasn't too bad. It is satisfying to practice spells on others."

"Except when they backfire on you," Mrs. Spooner muttered.

"Perhaps we were too hard on you," said Vanessa's mother. "I fear we made you hate magic instead of embracing it."

"You didn't," Vanessa assured. "You made me appreciate magic more. I have plenty of spellbooks, and I have a cat."

"A cat?" Vanessa's mother exclaimed. "That's wonderful! Every witch needs a cat. I remember our one. Remember Orion?"

"Yes, he was a dear little thing," said Vanessa. "I still wanted to be a witch. You didn't discourage me, Mother. I just didn't want to always be under you two. I wanted to be a witch by myself, without anyone pushing me around."

"But you said you joined more witches," noted Mrs. Spooner. "You taught each other your magic."

"Well, yes," admitted Vanessa. "But they don't push me around and tell me how to do my magic. Actually, I'm the one teaching them."

"Oh," said Vanessa's mother. "That must be satisfying, after being taught by us for so long."

"It is," said Vanessa. "But even then, only one of the witches really requires my teachings. The others are just as competent as me. We help each other and show each other our magic, like... like friends."

"Friends?" her mother scoffed. "You didn't have any when you were younger."

"Yes, because I spent all my time learning spells," said Vanessa. "You never let me make friends with anyone, Mother."

"They wouldn't want to be friends with you, if you wanted to be a witch," her mother retorted. "They'd see you and your powers as strange and frightening. We did you a favor by forbidding you from contact with other children."

"Then what's the point of learning magic?" Vanessa asked.

"You know why," her mother said. "So we can use it to better our own lives, and help others by teaching them valuable lessons."

"Well, I did that," said Vanessa. "I taught several children lessons. I cursed them for their rudeness and insolence. They learned manners after my lessons."

A smile spread across her mother's face. "Well done, Vanessa. You have made me proud."

Usually, such words would send warmth through Vanessa. But now, she wasn't so sure.

"But maybe there are other ways to help others," Vanessa suggested. "Perhaps, instead of cursing them to teach them lessons, we should help them when they're struggling or in need."

Her mother stared at her as if she had grown an extra head. Which would be possible, with certain spells. "Vanessa, what are you going on about?"

Vanessa blushed, looking down. "Nothing, Mother."

"I taught two children a lesson once," her mother said. "I pretended to be nice and invited them into my home for candy."

"I did as well," Mrs. Spooner spoke up. "It's most amusing. Pretend to be friendly, and then curse them."

"Maybe I should've done that," said Vanessa.

"They threw a ball through my window," her mother said. "But it wasn't just because of that. It was all the rude things they did to me. I made them think twice before messing with that strange old Mrs. Eakins."

Dan is kind of using Trina as a replacement for Trina. Andrew has a sister named Hannah. She apparently went mad after his death. Do you know which book Officer Rawls is from?

I heard a theory that Vanessa and Mrs. Eakins were related. She's related to two witches. Vanessa Eakins has a nice ring to it, more than Vanessa Spooner. Have I gone crazy in trying to redeem her? No, not at all. People redeem Slappy all the time.