Had a clock just struck thirteen somewhere?

All of a sudden, from the other end of the room, he heard a loud, piercing noise, interrupting his thoughts. It sounded like the cry of a hoarse raven, but when Rick swiveled around, he saw that there wasn't anyone in the room. The only movement he could see was a single key lifting up by itself on the organ. Rick had taken music classes when he was young. He recognized the note.

A "G."

Suddenly, more notes followed it, very slowly, but in a distinct rhythm.

G AA E EE D# D# B…

All of a sudden, the tall windows of the ballroom flew open, causing the dusty curtains to whip about, and blow the thick layers of dust over the ballroom. But as the dust covered the room, it seemed to sparkle and glimmer…

As Rick squinted and spit out pieces of wild dust, he tried to focus on the scene that was occurring before him. What was going on?

It was hard to make out, but it looked like blue translucent blobs were slowly appearing in the ballroom. The wind still blowing furiously, the glittering dust flying about the room, Rick could see the mysterious shapes define and become clear.

Ghosts. Each a pale blue, yet having defining features like the color of an outfit, or makeup and hair color. Some were gathered around the table, an elderly woman at the end, blowing out what looked like ghostly fire on the candles on the cake. Ghosts swung from chandeliers, dancers in elegant gowns and tuxes materialized on the dance floor, bowed to each other, and began to waltz, and the various portraits on the wall featuring now deceased inhabitants rippled and shimmered as the subjects' spirits appeared out of the paintings. Two men, each with a gun in hand and back to back, appeared out of their paintings resembling the same thing, and shot at each other. Other spirits materialized out of paintings, looking exactly as they had been painted. And lastly, a man in a long cape and top hat appeared at the organ, cracked his knuckles, and began to play a faster version of the song Rick had just heard.

Rick gasped at the scene that was occurring. He thought all of the ghosts were zombies, like the one he had seen earlier…

These ghosts seemed competent, aware.

Or where they?

Rick quietly approached one sitting at the table, cleared his throat, and said "Excuse me."

The ghost didn't respond.

"HEY!" Rick yelled in the ghost's ear. It was oblivious to him. Just then a ghost couple walked right through Rick, unaware of his presence. He felt like he had just been hit by a blast of arctic wind that died down as soon as the ghosts had passed through him. Shivering and staring confusedly at the couple, he sat down in an empty chair next to an elderly woman, who was in a rocking chair and knitting.

All of a sudden, there was a rumble outside.

The ghosts quieted down and looked out the windows. Rick followed suit.

It was a clear night – hundreds of stars could be twinkling out the large windows.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning. But again, it was clear.

"What the hell?..." he muttered as he walked closer to the windows. Trying to look out them, he saw something suddenly fall from the sky. It was translucent, like it wasn't really there. And it looked like blood.

The other ghosts seemed to notice it too, only they took it a lot more seriously. They screamed, gasped, and generally acted as though it were a sign of the apocalypse.

Maybe it was.

Rick suddenly heard the ghosts start to moan. He turned, and saw them all gasping, eyes bulging out, and falling to the floor.

They were dying.

But that was impossible. They were already dead.

The woman celebrating with the cake suddenly keeled over, the side of her face landing in the cake, lining up perfectly with the old imprint.

The organist, who couldn't seem to stop playing, watched in horror as a pipe slowly creaked off the wall, and then crushed him. But it was just a 'ghost pipe' – Rick had watched as it split off from the normal, corporeal pipe and crashed down.

The ballroom dancers sped up, whirled around and around, so fast that they began to vomit, then collapsed in a sickly heap.

Soon, every spirit was lying on the floor, 'dead.'

Then the confusing part happened.

Rick watched in utter amazement as…ghosts of the ghosts, that was the best way he could describe it…rose out of their bodies, and looked at the scene before them with grief and horror stricken faces.

They vanished one by one in wisps of ethereal smoke, off to who knows where. Their spirits wouldn't actually return to the mansion until Gracey himself was killed.

Deathly quiet, Rick looked at the scene and wreckage around him. All of a sudden, he heard a soft clinking noise. Out of the fallen organ pipe shot a silver key with a diamond embedded in the end, just like the purple one he had gotten from Leota. It was translucent, like the pipe and the dead ghosts. Skittering across the floor, it eventually slowed and stopped right in front of Rick's feet.

Reaching for it apprehensively, unsure if he could pick it up or not, Rick slowly wrapped his hands around the ghostly key. It suddenly felt heavier, and when he opened his hand, the key was now solid as ever.

The wind picked up again, and all of the bodies and ghostly objects were whisked away in the glittering dust. After everything had vanished, the windows closed with a creaking snap. The ballroom was just as it had been. Rick backed out slowly, shut the door, and took off running down the hall.