Chapter 3
"Beetlejuice, you better disguise yourself as something before we get in sight of the house," said Lydia. "Easier done than said. I knew it was time to change," said Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice started to grow smaller until he had changed into a watch and strapped himself to Lydia's wrist. "Good one Beej," laughed Lydia.
Lydia continued to walk along the driveway. On either side were a bunch of leafless trees. After rounding a bend, she finally saw the house. It looked like an old Victorian mansion. It was made of gray stone. Several windows were boarded up. More gargoyles decorated the roof of the mansion.
"It looks like the only things that could live here are things that aren't alive anymore," said Beetlejuice. "Someone must live here. If it were a ghost who put that notice on the bulletin board, it would be impossible. Ghosts seldom leave their haunting spots," said Lydia. "Except for me. I'm a freelance ghost. I haunt where I want," said Beetlejuice. "That is so true. And I'm glad you can haunt where you want because my life would be so boring if you were confined to one haunting spot," said Lydia with a laugh.
Lydia walked to the dark, ebony door. The door was carved with images of horrible monsters. Lydia located the doorbell button and pressed it. A terrified scream rang out the moment Lydia pressed the button. "Deadly vu!" she exclaimed. Then she noticed that the doorknob was turning. The door started to open. "Good afternoon. I'm Lydia Deetz and I'm here about the." stopped Lydia when she saw that no one was at the other side of the door.
"Beetlejuice, I'm starting to believe your ghost theory," she whispered as she stepped inside. Once she was inside, the door slowly closed. Lydia gazed at her surroundings. She was in a grand hallway patterned in black and white. There were various statues of famous movie monsters. The walls were covered in framed horror movie posters. At the end of the hallway, there was a long winding stairway led upstairs. A downward staircase was right next to it.
Then Lydia heard footsteps. They were coming from the stairway. The footsteps started to sound closer and closer. Then, walking up the downward stairs was a man. He was dressed in a white lab coat with black gloves and boots. His black hair was wild and he wore a small, pencil-thin moustache. His eyes gave a glimmer of madness behind his black glasses.
"Are you hear about the room for rent?" he asked. "Yes, I am. I must say, your place is definitely my kind of place that I would want to live in," said Lydia who was a bit nervous. "I expected you would be the kind of person who would want to live here, Lydia," said the man. "Hey, how did you know my name?" asked Lydia. The man started to step forward. As he came closer, Lydia got a better look at him. He looked like the famous horror star, Vincent Price. But Vincent Price was long dead and yet, this man was almost an exact clone of him. She looked at the man and suddenly gasped in disbelief. "Dr. Notrub?" she asked.
"Yes, it's me. Just for your information, this is how I make myself look in my off hours," said the man who was now beginning to sound like her favorite teacher. "I had no idea you were into horror stuff," said Lydia. "Being an eccentric, reclusive, incognito millionaire, I've become obsessed with horror stories and movies as well as the paranormal and the supernatural. You should see my library. It's full of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King and other horror writers. And my video collection has some of the best and worst horror movies of all time. But shall we discuss this room rental over a cup of tea?" asked Dr. Notrub. "Uh sure," said Lydia. Dr. Notrub led her into a corridor. But Lydia was little nervous. Sure, Dr. Notrub was her favorite teacher. But this was a side of him she never knew. At least Beetlejuice was with her.
Later, Dr. Notrub and Lydia walked into the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it was all patterned in black, white, and gray. A black cat was sleeping on the table. There was a whistling teapot on top of the stove. Lydia sat into a chair as Dr. Notrub strolled over to the cupboard and took out two teacups and two saucers. The cat suddenly woke up and screeched. It ran out of the room. "Don't mind Night Shade. She's just a little nervous around strangers. We don't get many visitors," said Dr. Notrub.
Suddenly, the teapot floated off the stove. Lydia gasped. But Dr. Notrub nonchalantly grabbed the teapot out of mid-air and started to pour the tea into the teacups. "Cream and sugar, Lydia?" asked Dr. Notrub. "No thanks, Dr. Notrub," said Lydia. Dr. Notrub placed the teapot, saucers and cups on a tea tray and carried it to the table where he sat down in a chair.
"Um, Dr. Notrub? Is this house haunted?" asked Lydia sounding as if she had been itching to ask that question. Dr. Notrub chuckled. "Oh Lydia, how I wish it was. Since I was very young, paranormal research has always been an interest of mine. When I made my large fortune, I bought this house. It had been abandoned for years. It had been my dream to live in a haunted house. But much to my disappointment, there wasn't a bit of supernatural activity. I was so disappointed that it wasn't haunted. I continued to live here with just Night Shade to keep me company. I still have a large fortune. But hardly anyone remembers me. I'm now just a photography teacher. In order to make myself feel better, I've used my inventions to rig this house with various special effects. For example, invisible wires reeled that floating teapot up. I simply took it off the transparent hooks. And the door is rigged to respond to the doorbell once in a while and open by itself. There are also projections of false ghosts and shadows throughout the house," said Dr. Notrub.
"Fascinating. Now about the room for rent; how much are you asking?" asked Lydia. "To tell you the truth, Lydia, I'm not asking anything. You can stay in my mansion for as long as you want for free," replied Dr. Notrub. "You're serious? I can move in without any charge?" said Lydia sounding excited and looking at Beetlejuice's grinning watch face.
"I've got plenty of millions of dollars to last. I only put that notice up in the bulletin boards throughout the campus because I wanted some company. Everyone in this town thinks this house is really haunted so they avoid it. The only people who come even near the gate of the house are the mailman and the paperboy. Once they finish their delivery, they run away in fear. It gets pretty lonely for a horror story obsessed person who has only a cat and his collection of horror stories and movies to keep him company. This house is too big for just me. The only thing I really want is some company. So the only question I have to ask is: how soon can you move in?" asked Dr. Notrub.
"I can move out of the dormitory right now. My friend can help me," said Lydia. "This friend must be really close to you. Is he the same friend who found those excellent insects? I'd like to meet him. Would you like to see the room first?" asked Dr. Notrub. "Of course. I would love to see what your rooms are like," replied Lydia. "Follow me," said Dr. Notrub as he got up and headed for the door of the kitchen, opened it and exited. Lydia followed him.
"Beetlejuice, you better disguise yourself as something before we get in sight of the house," said Lydia. "Easier done than said. I knew it was time to change," said Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice started to grow smaller until he had changed into a watch and strapped himself to Lydia's wrist. "Good one Beej," laughed Lydia.
Lydia continued to walk along the driveway. On either side were a bunch of leafless trees. After rounding a bend, she finally saw the house. It looked like an old Victorian mansion. It was made of gray stone. Several windows were boarded up. More gargoyles decorated the roof of the mansion.
"It looks like the only things that could live here are things that aren't alive anymore," said Beetlejuice. "Someone must live here. If it were a ghost who put that notice on the bulletin board, it would be impossible. Ghosts seldom leave their haunting spots," said Lydia. "Except for me. I'm a freelance ghost. I haunt where I want," said Beetlejuice. "That is so true. And I'm glad you can haunt where you want because my life would be so boring if you were confined to one haunting spot," said Lydia with a laugh.
Lydia walked to the dark, ebony door. The door was carved with images of horrible monsters. Lydia located the doorbell button and pressed it. A terrified scream rang out the moment Lydia pressed the button. "Deadly vu!" she exclaimed. Then she noticed that the doorknob was turning. The door started to open. "Good afternoon. I'm Lydia Deetz and I'm here about the." stopped Lydia when she saw that no one was at the other side of the door.
"Beetlejuice, I'm starting to believe your ghost theory," she whispered as she stepped inside. Once she was inside, the door slowly closed. Lydia gazed at her surroundings. She was in a grand hallway patterned in black and white. There were various statues of famous movie monsters. The walls were covered in framed horror movie posters. At the end of the hallway, there was a long winding stairway led upstairs. A downward staircase was right next to it.
Then Lydia heard footsteps. They were coming from the stairway. The footsteps started to sound closer and closer. Then, walking up the downward stairs was a man. He was dressed in a white lab coat with black gloves and boots. His black hair was wild and he wore a small, pencil-thin moustache. His eyes gave a glimmer of madness behind his black glasses.
"Are you hear about the room for rent?" he asked. "Yes, I am. I must say, your place is definitely my kind of place that I would want to live in," said Lydia who was a bit nervous. "I expected you would be the kind of person who would want to live here, Lydia," said the man. "Hey, how did you know my name?" asked Lydia. The man started to step forward. As he came closer, Lydia got a better look at him. He looked like the famous horror star, Vincent Price. But Vincent Price was long dead and yet, this man was almost an exact clone of him. She looked at the man and suddenly gasped in disbelief. "Dr. Notrub?" she asked.
"Yes, it's me. Just for your information, this is how I make myself look in my off hours," said the man who was now beginning to sound like her favorite teacher. "I had no idea you were into horror stuff," said Lydia. "Being an eccentric, reclusive, incognito millionaire, I've become obsessed with horror stories and movies as well as the paranormal and the supernatural. You should see my library. It's full of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King and other horror writers. And my video collection has some of the best and worst horror movies of all time. But shall we discuss this room rental over a cup of tea?" asked Dr. Notrub. "Uh sure," said Lydia. Dr. Notrub led her into a corridor. But Lydia was little nervous. Sure, Dr. Notrub was her favorite teacher. But this was a side of him she never knew. At least Beetlejuice was with her.
Later, Dr. Notrub and Lydia walked into the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it was all patterned in black, white, and gray. A black cat was sleeping on the table. There was a whistling teapot on top of the stove. Lydia sat into a chair as Dr. Notrub strolled over to the cupboard and took out two teacups and two saucers. The cat suddenly woke up and screeched. It ran out of the room. "Don't mind Night Shade. She's just a little nervous around strangers. We don't get many visitors," said Dr. Notrub.
Suddenly, the teapot floated off the stove. Lydia gasped. But Dr. Notrub nonchalantly grabbed the teapot out of mid-air and started to pour the tea into the teacups. "Cream and sugar, Lydia?" asked Dr. Notrub. "No thanks, Dr. Notrub," said Lydia. Dr. Notrub placed the teapot, saucers and cups on a tea tray and carried it to the table where he sat down in a chair.
"Um, Dr. Notrub? Is this house haunted?" asked Lydia sounding as if she had been itching to ask that question. Dr. Notrub chuckled. "Oh Lydia, how I wish it was. Since I was very young, paranormal research has always been an interest of mine. When I made my large fortune, I bought this house. It had been abandoned for years. It had been my dream to live in a haunted house. But much to my disappointment, there wasn't a bit of supernatural activity. I was so disappointed that it wasn't haunted. I continued to live here with just Night Shade to keep me company. I still have a large fortune. But hardly anyone remembers me. I'm now just a photography teacher. In order to make myself feel better, I've used my inventions to rig this house with various special effects. For example, invisible wires reeled that floating teapot up. I simply took it off the transparent hooks. And the door is rigged to respond to the doorbell once in a while and open by itself. There are also projections of false ghosts and shadows throughout the house," said Dr. Notrub.
"Fascinating. Now about the room for rent; how much are you asking?" asked Lydia. "To tell you the truth, Lydia, I'm not asking anything. You can stay in my mansion for as long as you want for free," replied Dr. Notrub. "You're serious? I can move in without any charge?" said Lydia sounding excited and looking at Beetlejuice's grinning watch face.
"I've got plenty of millions of dollars to last. I only put that notice up in the bulletin boards throughout the campus because I wanted some company. Everyone in this town thinks this house is really haunted so they avoid it. The only people who come even near the gate of the house are the mailman and the paperboy. Once they finish their delivery, they run away in fear. It gets pretty lonely for a horror story obsessed person who has only a cat and his collection of horror stories and movies to keep him company. This house is too big for just me. The only thing I really want is some company. So the only question I have to ask is: how soon can you move in?" asked Dr. Notrub.
"I can move out of the dormitory right now. My friend can help me," said Lydia. "This friend must be really close to you. Is he the same friend who found those excellent insects? I'd like to meet him. Would you like to see the room first?" asked Dr. Notrub. "Of course. I would love to see what your rooms are like," replied Lydia. "Follow me," said Dr. Notrub as he got up and headed for the door of the kitchen, opened it and exited. Lydia followed him.