Author's Note: I am so sorry that this chapter took so long. I fully intended to have it done mid-May, but I found myself and my co-author, Mastermarker, to also be very busy. The past few chapters I wrote myself and I fully intended to do so here. However, I could not watch part of the ride-through video for the attraction and that's when I asked Mastermarker to help. However, since its taking him over a month, I decided to write the part of the chapter but not include a lot of details. However, I improvised by adding other things instead. I hope you enjoy, there will be another author's note after the chapter. BTW, Happy 4th of July!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything!


Geoff and Duncan exited the utilidors in The Hall of Presidents and braced themselves for what could be their last adventure. If there information was correct, there was a chance that Courtney could be hidden in the Haunted Mansion. The two teens walked out of said female's favorite attraction and walked toward the water. Though they were anxious to get their friend back safe, they both knew that anything could happen; something that they picked up from Pirates and if there was any place deadlier than Pirates, it would be the Haunted Mansion.

"Is this going to be the end?" Geoff asked, looking down at the water.

"No, remember you're with me. There is no one in school that can throw a punch better than me" Duncan gloated, trying to ease the fears of his childhood best friend.

"What about Eva?" Geoff asked.

"Let me rephrase that: there isn't another guy in the school that can throw a punch better than me" Duncan stated flatly, staring at the dark mass in the distance that was Tom Sawyer Island.

"Dude! Look down by Big Thunder!" Geoff pointed toward said attraction.

"There are gators in the water. So what? This is Florida" Duncan shrugged, moving away from the fence since he wanted to get a move on.

"Yeah but don't seem kinda large to you?" Geoff asked, looking in the direction of the gators.

"Maybe, but I don't care right now. We need to find Courtney" Duncan stated, walking away from his best friend.

Geoff took one last look and jogged up to his buddy, "Dude, why are we the only ones going in there again?" he asked as he and Duncan approached the mansion.

"Because the others, minus Gwen, are babies and because you wanted to keep Bridgette safe" Duncan replied, annoyed.

"Oh r-right" Geoff mumbled, slightly nervous.

"Wait, you're not scared are you?" the punk asked, snickering. The attraction was locked up for the night, but Duncan was given a set of keys to every door in the Mansion. The pair readied themselves and turned on the cast member flashlights that Jazz had let them borrow.

"N-no, of course not. Maybe nervous, but not scared" Geoff paled as they walked through the gate and started their walk up the attraction's grounds.

"Arrou!" wailed the attraction's old exterior sound effect.

Geoff grabbed Duncan's arm and Duncan burst into a fit of laugher.

"Coward!" Duncan managed to say in between laughs.

Geoff hung his head in shame followed his best friend as the two started to make their way through the grounds and queue line of the attraction.

"These tombstones are even creepier when there is no one waiting in the line" Geoff said, the eerie quiet of the fake cemetery making him even more nervous than he already was.

"Yeah I guess they are" Duncan shrugged, trying to sound indifferent. In reality Duncan was scared shitless but he had to maintain his image; even his best and closest friend was not allowed to see the wimpier side of the punk.

The two approached the entrance of the attraction and Duncan used the largest key on the ring to open the foreboding door. The pair stepped inside the pitch black foyer, and to their surprise, one of the stretching rooms was open. Jazz had informed them earlier that all of the stretching rooms would be locked and powered down as per usual each night. She had given them instructions on how to open the stretching room and how to make it "stretch"; half of those instructions were not even needed. They had not even entered the creepier parts of the attraction and they already had chills going up their spines non-stop.

"I guess the cast members who locked up did a shitty job tonight" Duncan stated, trying to find a logical explanation.

They walked into the open stretching room and all of a sudden the lights came on in both rooms and presumably the locked stretching room as well.

"And how do you explain that!?" Geoff panicked.

"Jazz went into the DACS room to turn off the security sensors and -" Duncan started.

"DACS?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, the Digital Animation Control System. I figured a little research would be handy" the Punk explained while trying to unsuccessfully keep the door open.

"Research from one of Noah's books?" Geoff inquired while looking over the instruction paper that Jazz had given them.

"Yep and I don't think the nerd even knows that its missing from his locker" Duncan laughed.

"Dude, why did you shut the door?" Geoff asked, looking up from the paper.

"It wouldn't stay open, it was like something wanted it to close on us. Have you figured out where the exit into the loading area is yet?" the bad boy inquired, leaning up against a back wall of the room.

"Yeah I think I-SHIT!" Geoff jumped out of shock as the stretching room show turned on. "What did you do man!?" Geoff yelled over the music that started to play.

Then came the dialogue:

"Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host...your 'ghost host.' Kindly step all the way in, please, and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now..."

"I leaned back against the wall! I must have hit a button or something!" Duncan yelled back now trying to find the button to turn off the show.

"...And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows and no doors... which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out! Of course, there's always my way..."

Thunder and lightening cracked and boomed throughout the room as the scrim 'disappeared' to reveal...

"DUNCAN!" Geoff shouted pointing up at the ceiling, his mouth agape.

Duncan turned his head expecting to see the fake hanging skeletal remains of the 'ghost host' but instead, he saw an empty gallows - the skeleton was missing!

"I-I think they took him down for a refurb" Duncan guessed in a shaky voice, now trying to find the button ten times faster.

"Oh, I didn't mean to frighten you prematurely; the real chills come later. Now, as they say, look alive, and we'll continue our little tour. And let's all stay together, please..."

All of a sudden the lights came on again and the door opened automatically. The two teens bolted out of the room and to the nearest exit with Geoff in the lead. As the party boy put his hand on the well themed door handle, Duncan grabbed his wrist.

"Okay I admit that its freaky in here but we can't back down now. We have to find Courtney. Give me the papers that Jazz gave you, on them she told us what to avoid in order to stay safe" Duncan explained, taking the papers from Geoff.

"Dude are you sure we want to risk dying for Courtney? I mean we just met her, I am still not sure if I consider her a friend. I mean if I want to date Bridge, then I guess I have to but-" Geoff started, trying to make up an excuse to get the hell out of the attraction,

"We are NOT abandoning Princess. If you are too wimpy, then leave. But I am staying here and I am going to find her, with or without you" Duncan spat in annoyance. Yes, he liked Courtney but he did not want anyone to know it as it would ruin his highly valued tough guy image.

Duncan turned on his flashlight again and started to make his way through the doombuggies and into the ride part of the attraction. Geoff ultimately decided to go with his best friend since he did not want him to become the mansion's 1000th resident.

The punk swiftly made his way through the doombugies and all of a sudden, he heard a noise behind him. He flashed his light behind him and saw that Geoff was trying to catch up. Geoff, however, was not as good at maneuvering through the doombuggies and was taking awhile.

"I'LL WAIT RIGHT HERE MAN!" Duncan called back, gesturing to the doombuggie that he was standing on top of.

"THANKS DUDE!" Geoff called back, nearly falling on his ass while trying to climb around another doombuggie.

Duncan sat down sideways in the doombuggie with his legs hanging over the side and his arms behind his head. He knew better than to close his eyes in a place like this, but honestly he was exhausted. To keep himself awake, he thought about Courtney and where she would be. He never liked a girl this way before. He's had many girlfriends and they were great in many ways. However they were sluts, whores, and bitches - real bitches. Courtney could be bitchy too considering how uptight she is but Duncan was sure that he could get her to let loose and be badass. Well not too badass, it just wouldn't suit her. He smiled at the memory of when they met over a week ago and all of a sudden he heard a loud thud. Pissed at being taken from his thoughts, he got up and spun around with the flashlight firmly in his grasp. He looked for anything amiss and saw Geoff getting up off the floor.

The mohawked teen rolled his eyes and instead of getting lost in his thoughts again, decided to have a look around. He directed his flashlight at the left wall and took note of the extremely creepy wall paper.

"SHIT!" Duncan jumped backwards, falling out of the doombuggie that he was standing in. He had flashed his light on the right side of the wall and the painting that adorned it had just changed from a pretty young lady to Medusa. This was yet another special effect that should have been turned off for the night.

Having had enough of both waiting for Geoff and the creepy painting gallery, Duncan decided to move on. He got up off the ground and continued to go further into the attraction. After climbing over a few more doombuggies, he made it to the attraction's first scene - the library. He walked over to the shelves to browse the mansion's collection of books and found that the library was just a portrait with a few mechanical books sticking out of it.

"What the hell!?" Duncan yelled as he tripped over a mechanical book that was installed on the floor of the library scene.

"YOU OKAY?" Geoff yelled from behind.

"YEAH! WATCH OUT FOR THE BOOK ON THE LIBRARY FLOOR!" Duncan warned. "MEET ME AT THE STAIRCASES!" the punk yelled back hoping that Geoff heard and understood him.

Duncan flashed his light from side to side, he did not trust this attraction or its paranormal inhabitants in the slightest. He then found himself in the music parlor. The piano was still, the keys were obviously turned off for the night. He checked his pocket for the papers from Jazz and realized that Geoff still had the one that listed where they shouldn't check. Not taking any chances of missing Courtney, he walked up to the dusty black piano and grabbed the candelabra that sits atop it. To his surprise the candelabra was bolted down. He then attempted to lift the top off the piano - again bolted down. The punk then sat down on the dusty piano bench and retreated back into his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Geoff had just approached the library scene and sat down in the big red armchair that happened to be the centerpiece of the scene. Catching his breath, he shined his flashlight on the bookcase and saw that all of the author busts were looking straight at him. His eyes widened and he bolted out of the scene but not before tripping over the same mechanical book that his best friend had tripped on not ten minutes ago. Now that he had the hang of climbing over and around the doombuggies, he started to move at a quicker pace.

Duncan heard Geoff coming and knew that he was close, so he hid behind one of the chairs and waited for Geoff to arrive at the music parlor.

Geoff came up to the next scene and instead of sitting on he kept going as he assumed that Duncan was waiting for him at the endless staircase scene. Duncan emerged from behind the chair and tiptoed behind Geoff.

"Hello foolish mortal" Duncan did an impression of the ghost host and touched Geoff's shoulder.

Geoff jumped twenty five in the air before turning around and flashing his light directly in the punk's face.

"What the f**k man!?" Geoff yelled clearly pissed as he rarely used the f-word.

Duncan was rolling on the ground laughing his ass off.

"I knew you wouldn't abandon your best friend" Duncan teased Geoff as he got up off the floor.

Geoff's only response was a glare that read 'don't you dare do that again and if I die because of her I'll kill you'

They continued walking deeper into the attraction and had decided to keep talking since the silence creeped them out.

"Big D, did you just see those footsteps? Geoff gulped knowing that the footstep affect on the endless staircase scene show be turned off.

The eerie glow of feet lit the spaces above and next to them. Although it was too dark to make out the staircases, the footprints stood out like stars in the night's sky.

"Uh huh, lets just keep moving man" Duncan said while helping Geoff over another doombuggie. The climbing was getting kind of annoying but Jazz had told them not to walk on the path used to evacuate guests when the brakes down. There were, apparently, things that she did not want them stepping on.

"Dude I hate this wallpaper, its like the mansion is watching us" Geoff commented, pointing his flashlight on the wall on their righthand side.

"Agreed man. I am not sure if its creepier with or without that damn blinking affect turned on" Duncan added.

They went around the corner and past another wall of eyes as well as the endless hallway. Duncan stopped in front of a suit of armor and started to study it.

"What are you doing man?" Geoff asked, curious.

"Noah mentioned once that a cast member used to wear the armor and scare people. The guy in the costume got so injured from defending himself that they stopped doing it. I am trying to take it apart so that we can protect ourselves. I don't believe in ghosts but I do believe that the "happy haunts" want to kill us" Duncan explained.

"I like your idea man but Jazz told us not to break anything" Geoff reminded his friend. As much he wanted to wear that armor, he knew that breaking Jazz's number one rule would be even worse than getting killed.

They started to walk away from the knight but Duncan turned around.

"Those pirates could have hidden her in there. It was made for a person but turned into a prop. Not many people would think to look in there" Duncan said excitedly, hoping he was onto something.

Geoff followed Duncan's lead and the pair carefully pried open the knight's helmet.

"Sorry man, lets keep looking" the blonde put his hand on his mohawked buddy's shoulder.

Duncan wasn't paying attention to Geoff but instead trying to pull something out of the knight's helmet. A few minutes later, his arm emerged with a few strands of mocha brown hair.

"She was here!" Duncan smirked holding up the hairs clenched firmly in his fist. "I'm actually pretty good at this detective stuff."

"It was a lucky guess. Now I really want to get out of here" Geoff said, walking forward a little.

"I think who ever is behind the kidnapping somehow knew that we were coming in here and moved her" Duncan reasoned, pocketing the hairs.

As they passed by the coffin with the hands coming out. Its occupant, who was normally begging to be released was now silent as the grave, as was the raven perched on top.

"So dude, think she's in the coffin?" Geoff asked.

"No, Jazz wrote that down on the do not check list. There are too many mechanisms and other tech stuff inside. As far as we know, she is being held hostage not being electrocuted. Also, they would not move her like two feet away from the previous hiding place" Duncan replied, rolling his eyes. Geoff could be very slow at times. Instead of stopping, the punk continued climbing over the doombuggies.

"Its quiet, way too quiet" Geoff commented as they made their way through the corridor of doors.

"No kidding" Duncan agreed. All of a sudden he comes to a halt.

"What up man?" Geoff asked.

Duncan directed his light toward the door at the very end of the corridor. There was an eerie green glow around it.

"I think its an effect from the ride, but I am not positive" he warned.

"We should ask Noah about that later" Geoff directed his flashlight on the wall on their right, illuminating the thirteen hour clock. Its demon tailed hands both pointed toward the huge thirteen. "What scene is next?"

"The seance room. Madame Leota" Duncan replied.

"Is she evil?" Geoff asked. "I mean, what's her story?"

"I think she had something to do with the death of Master Gracey. I think she killed his bride out of jealousy" Duncan informed.

"Where did you hear that?" the party boy inquired.

"I read it in one of the comic books that I stole from Harold" Duncan laughed.

"You actually read those?" Geoff asked, surprised.

"Only the Haunted Mansion ones. They're like horror comics" the punk defended himself.

"You know that I can hear you two" came a voice from the next room.

"Is that her?" Geoff paled.

"Who else would it be? The grim reaper?" the voice shot back sarcastically.

The two walked into the room and saw the glowing head of Madame Leota looking right at them.

"Look lady we don't want any trouble. We're here to find a kidnapped friend of ours" Duncan started.

"You've got the story wrong" she interrupted."

"Wait what?" Duncan replied, seriously confused.

"I didn't lay a finger on Gracey's precious Emily. She locked herself in a chest in the attic and someone framed me. Gracey thought that I gave her the idea and strangled me before he hung himself" Leota explained.

"Why would she lock herself in a chest?" Duncan asked, not entirely believing the bodyless ghost.

"She was intrested in magic and tricks. She wanted to do something special on their wedding night" Leota answered.

"Is Emily still in the attic?" Geoff asked. "And where is Gracey?" added.

"The attic was recently, "reimagined", as you mortals would call it to tell the story of George Gracey Jr and his bride, Constance. Emily's spirit has never left these haunted halls nor have the Graceys' spirits. The Graceys, however, are more reclusive in death" Leota explained.

"Yeah, Jazz warned us about Constance. By the way, which incarnation of Emily was the most accurate?" Duncan happened to be a fan of this attraction, it was his favorite dark ride in the park. He was more than interested in learning the true stories of the souls who haunt this attraction.

"The original incarnation, the decaying corpse with glowing eyes. The blue faced bride looked nothing like her and was very offensive. Not every mortal turns blue when they die" Leota scoffed at the thought of the blue faced Emily figure.

"We should get moving Big D" Geoff was not a fan of ghosts, seemingly friendly or not.

"I can help you find her" Leota stated.

"Okay so then tell us where she is" Duncan asked.

"One condition; I go with you. The rest of the nine hundred and ninety nine ghosts have already partnered with the evil ones, well except for Lucius the Caretaker. Even Emily and the Graceys have given in. I, however, am not easily persuaded. I am in as much danger as yourself and your friends" Leota vaguely explained. Leota was never a dark spirit and never wanted to be, she wanted to get out of the mansion before it was too late.

"Jazz told us not to remove or break anything" Geoff reminded Duncan.

"I can protect you from Constance. I have seen what will happen once you face her, trust me, you are in need of my assistance" Leota warned.

"We can take care of ourselves sweetheart, but since I'm a nice guy I'll let Jazz know about your problem as soon as we get out of here" Duncan told her as he and Geoff made their way out of the seance room.

"You are making a grave mistake!" she called as the two teens left the room.

As they walked forward they came upon a rather curious and boisterous party. The ballroom scene as the next part of the attraction was called, was well known for its life-like ghosts created using an old magic trick called "Pepper's Ghost". The lighting in this scene happened to be dimmer than usual but that was expected as the attraction was supposedly shut down for the night. What wasn't expected was for real ghosts to take the place of the "Pepper's Ghosts".

"I guess Leota already awakened the spirits before we arrived at her seance room. I wish that the ghosts were this lively during the day; it would make this scene a lot more interesting and not to mention entertaining. I mean really, look at that fat ghost dive bombing off the chandelier" Duncan commented as he and Geoff looked down at the ballroom scene.

"Dude check it out, those ghosts near the Mickey plates are drinking ghost beer!" Geoff exclaimed, being a big fan of the beverage even though he is under age.

"I think two of the ghosts are doing it under the table. Look at the two pairs of legs sticking out!" Duncan laughed. "Its like the ghost version of one of your parties man!"

"Except for the music, its way too eerie for one of my rockin' parties" The party boy somewhat agreed. "What's the chance of Courtney being down there?"

"Very low because almost everything is transparent. Unless she's underneath our feat where the figures of the "Pepper's Ghosts" are kept but we have no way of getting down there" the punk informed scratching his chin in thought.

"Since we can't get down there without Jazz or Danny, then wouldn't that be smart?" Geoff asked.

"You're right man, it is smart. We need help but there is a chance that Princess is in the attic or the graveyard. Jazz suggested that we try the large chests in the attic and the tombs in the graveyard" Duncan had pulled out the papers from his pocket and read them over so that he had a plan.

"Dude there's a killer bride in the attic maybe we should turn around and go back the way we came. It could be safer" Geoff reminded Duncan of the danger in the next scene.

"We've been through this already, no girl aside from Eva will ever beat me in a fight. Especially a dead bride" Duncan stated, he could be very cocky at times.

"Fine" was all Geoff said they made their way to the ominous attic.

Jumping over the doombuggies, Duncan again turned his attention to the ghostly gathering below. In the far corner of the room, he spotted a floating candlestick moving side to side in time with the melancholy melodies coming from the organ. He realized that the floating candlestick was not ordinarily a part of this scene, it was the one from the endless hallway.

They entered the attic scene on high alert for the infamous bride known for her intense greed and the beheading of her many husbands.

"This won't take long at all man. Only like four of these chests could fit a person" Geoff pointed out, relieved.

"Are you high or something? Courtney is only slightly shorter than me, she could never fit in that fourth box" Duncan corrected, not amused.

"Okay yeah so lets just open these chests and get out of here" Geoff walked over to the first chest located behind the portrait of Constance and her second husband. The portraits' effect of the husbands' heads disappearing and reappearing seemed to be turned off for the night. The heart beat sound was also off.

The two teens carefully lifted the top off and coughed as the stage dust went into their faces. Duncan flashed his light and saw nothing unusual, only a few props from earlier versions of the attic, specifically the top half of one of the pop-up grooms and a candle that the blue-faced Emily once held. There were also various props used for quick refurbishments of the current attic version.

They then walked forward to the second chest that was on the opposite side of the scene near the portrait of Constance and her fourth husband. Duncan made a mental note that Constance was not in her usual spot by the end of the scene, and that could mean trouble. They opened the chest, this time using Geoff's light to look around. Another two pop-up grooms, other various props from the second attic incarnation, most notably Emily's gown, bouquet and veil were all they found.

Both boys felt a chilly breeze swirl around them as they made their way toward the final chest. This chest was located in the back-most corner of the scene and was uncomfortably close to Constance's normal spot.

"OH SHIT!" Both teens jumped backwards after looking in the final chest. All long with props from the first version of the attic, the chest also contained the original bride. Her eyes still glowed yellow and her heart still glowed red.

"That explains why they never removed the heart beat sound from the attic. The original bride never left the attic, and that is why guests still hear a heart beat. Speak of the devil, I hear the heartbeat" Duncan explained to a pallid Geoff.

"Let's close this thing and fast!" Geoff grabbed the lid and slammed it down, the heartbeat sound now only audible if one put their ear to the chest.

"D-didn't the second Emily also have a glowing beating heart?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah true, but they are the same spirit, so it does not matter. This is her final resting place" Duncan locked the trunk and they started to leave the attic.

"Going somewhere boys?" A sinister female voice singsonged behind them.

Geoff and Duncan, now standing next to the scene's window shaped exit, looked at each other. All of the color had drained from their faces.

"D-did you say something dude?" Geoff asked, fear evident in his voice.

"That wasn't me man" Duncan replied shakily.

"I said, going somewhere boys?" Constance materialized a few feet behind them, her axe in hand.

Geoff turned around and replied "we were just leaving."

"Leaving so soon? Oh, well then let me show you the proper way out!" She cackled, throwing her axe at the wall, narrowly missing Geoff's head.

"AGGH!" They screamed, ducking behind furniture and other various objects.

Constance continued throwing axes at them and did not look close to stopping. They needed to get out of there now. Duncan quickly thought up a slapdash plan and pulled Geoff behind the trunk containing Emily's "remains".

"You just had to speak to her!" Duncan whispered, annoyed.

"Well you didn't stop me!" Geoff whispered back, aggravated.

"I thought that you were smart enough not to! Anyway, we need to get out of here and I happen to have a plan" Duncan informed the party boy. He pulled Geoff in close and whispered his slipshod plan into his friend's ear. When Duncan finished, Geoff nodded and they began attempting their escape.

Duncan jumped up and hollered at the bride, allowing Geoff a head start to the exit. Constance threw an axe at Duncan's head and he easily ducked.

"Hah you've got no aim lady!" Duncan laughed as he continued to avoid the flying axes.

"Oh really? We'll see about that!" She cackled, now determined to kill or mortally wound the punk.

Out of the corner of his eye, Duncan saw Geoff make it safely out of the attic and the punk silently prayed for the graveyard ghosts to be friendly. Duncan carefully directed himself toward the exit as he continued to dodge the axes. Now close enough to what was hopefully sanctuary, he knew he had to make his move. Eyeing both Constance and the exit, Duncan took a leap of faith and "jumped out the window".

"F*C* OW!" Duncan yelled, now falling down the steepest part of the ride. As soon as he had jumped, Constance had thrown one final axe and this time she didn't miss. The punk turned his head and saw an axe deeply lodged into his back, right below his left shoulder. As he fell he could hear the crazy bride cackling, clearly relishing her success.

Geoff had quickly made his way into the graveyard scene, hoping the crazy ass bride would not follow him. He had forgotten how steep the incline was going from the attic down into the graveyard and so he was extra careful not to trip as he climbed over the doombuggies. Taking a moment to breathe, he looked out over the graveyard and to his surprise, it was even livelier than the ballroom party that he and Duncan had observed not even thirty minutes ago. The biggest difference was that the spooks and spirits were no longer translucent. As he approached the bottom, he made the decision to rest in a doombuggie and wait for Duncan. If Duncan did not make it down after twenty minutes, he had made a plan to run the remainder of the attraction and all the way back to the group so that he could get help.

The party boy leaned back, placing his hat over his face and closed his eyes. All of a sudden, he felt something jump onto his lamp.

"Aww hey little dude, where'd you come from?" Geoff asked, smiling at and petting the malnourished dachshund that now shared the doombuggie with him.

"He's mine" a voiced called from the right side of the doombuggie.

"Who-who's there?" Geoff asked, nerves kicking in for the millionth time that night.

An old man emerged from behind the other side of the brick wall meant to symbolize the exterior of the mansion. He wore a black hat on top of his messy white hair and donned a brown coat, blue shirt, green scarf, grey pants, and black loafers.

"Don't worry lad, I'm not goin' to harm you" he smiled, his bright blue eyes shined brightly despite the darkness of the scene. "I am Lucius Grieve, the caretaker and only livin' inhabitant besides Asher. He seems to really like you" Lucius walked over and petted his canine pal.

"Yeah he's a cute dog, but why is he malnourished?" Geoff asked, letting the dog lick his hand.

"Asher doesn't eat a lot, which baffles me cause' he used to eat like a pig. I guess its cause' the ghosts constantly scare away his appetite. Even still he's a hard worker, helpin' me keep these spooks from escapin' or causin' too much of a fuss" Lucius explained.

"So wait? You're like in charge of this ride?" Geoff asked, scratching his head.

"That would be my purpose. I was actually a last minute addition, cause' originally they wanted this attraction to have dead souls only. They realized later on that they needed a livin' soul to take care of all the dead ones" Lucius informed the party boy. "Now its your turn to answer questions lad. Who are you and why are you here after nightfall?"

"I'm Geoff Wakeler and I'm here because one of my friends was captured and we thought that she was taken here" Geoff explained.

"You're on the right track laddy, those witches had er' here but quickly moved er' once you arrived" Lucius explained, looking up at the attic window. "Constance has been crazier tonight than usual..."

"My friend Duncan is still up there" Geoff added. All of a sudden a wicked cackle boomed from the attic and the party boy saw a body falling out the window. "...Was up there. Damn it Duncan!"

Duncan reached out in the darkness and grabbed onto one of the doombuggies' safety bars. Now dangling way above ground and fighting to remain consciousness, he called for help: "Geoff! She got me! Geoff!"

"Dude I'm coming!" Geoff started to climb back up but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Allow me Geoffrey" Lucius gave his new acquaintance a reassuring smile. "Phineas, Ezra, Gus!" he called.

Three ghosts emerged from the Crypt and flew over to the Caretaker. One was short, hairy, and had a ball & chain cuffed to his ankle. Another was very tall, wore a suit as well as a bowler hat, and happened to have a skeletal appearance. The last one was also on the short side but not as short as the hairy one; he wore a top hat, suit, and carried a suitcase.

"I need you boys to help get that poor fella down. If you could fly him over into the Crypt, that would also be swell" Lucius asked them nicely, and without replying they flew up and grabbed Duncan.

"Let go of me you creeps!" Duncan yelled with all the energy he could muster.

"Don't worry, we won't harm you...yet" the Skeleton joked. The Prisoner and the Traveller laughed along with their companion as they flew the injured teen over to their usual haunting grounds.

Oh dear, bloodstains. My superiors aren't going to like that" Lucius' expression was grim as he shined his flashlight on the various bloodstains.

"Let's get to Duncan fast!" Geoff started move at a fast pace, not caring if Lucius followed them or not. "S**T!" the party boy was caught off guard by one of the pop-up ghosts and flew back into a doombuggie. "Damn it I hate those things" he muttered under his breath as he got up off the doombuggie.

"Ghoulvin, you know better. No scaring after hours unless the superiors tell you to, understand?" Lucius chided the pop-up ghost, who now looked like a young child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He then walked over to the pissed off teenager who was checking his shoulder for bruises. "Are you okay Geoffrey?"

"Yeah I'm fine" he grumbled, not looking at the old Caretaker.

All of a sudden, the pair heard a quintet of voices singing an ominous but familiar tune:

When the crypt doors creak,

And the two teens quake,

Ghouls arise for a swingin' wake,

Deadly haunts materialize,

Axes thrown of every size,

Grim Grinning Ghosts come out,

And leave a clue.

"Clue, what clue?" Geoff wondered aloud as he and Lucius walked over to the five singing busts.

As he, Lucius, and Asher got closer to the busts, Geoff noticed that they were all looking down at the ground. Geoff carefully stepped into the set and flashed his light at the ground surrounding the five busts. To his surprise, directly in front of the busts was Courtney's PDA.

"I told you she was here, lad" Lucius smiled.

"Thanks singing dudes!" Geoff thanked, pocketing the PDA.

The busts sang "you're welcome" and went back to chatting amongst themselves perfectly in key.

Geoff, Lucius, and Asher rapidly made their way to the Crypt, hoping for no more diversons or interruptions. Duncan was bleeding out and needed immediate medical attention. When they got to the Crypt, they found the Hitchhiking Ghosts and a smaller, female ghost all huddled around the dying teenager.

"Is he still alive boys?" Lucius asked, hopeful.

To the Caretaker's suprise, it was the small female ghost who replied, "he still lives, but I'd prepare his death certificate."

"Not with Sternus tonight, Agatha?" the Caretaker questioned, curious.

The small ghost, who wore a white gown and veil, picked up her tiny bouquet of dead flowers and replied, "I was with my dear Sternus earlier but he has now gone off to...take care of a few things.

"Agatha? I thought she was Little Leota" Duncan mumbled out weakly, gaining consciousness again.

"That's what our superiors call her. Her real name is Agatha Reapler, she is the wife of Sternus Reapler. Sternus is the one whom you call the Ghost Host. You could say that Agatha is the Ghost Hostess, or better yet, Ghostess" Lucius laughed.

"Are you also a bride?" Geoff asked her.

"Yes, on my wedding day I was a bride" she replied dryly. "These are not bridal garments, they are just ordinary white garments" she corrected.

The Caretaker walked over to the two teens. Duncan, partly conscious, was leaning on Geoff's shoulder.

"This is where we will part but Asher will help you to get past the pet cemetery safely." He petted the emaciated canine and Asher licked his hand.

"Thank you for everything man, you too guys" Geoff smiled, now finally exiting the attraction.

The hitchhikers and the groundskeeper waved as the duo along with Asher made their way through the unloading area and out the doors of the attraction.

"Let's try to pick up the pace man. This thing hurts like a b*t*h and I don't know how much blood I have left" Duncan urged. His voiced clearly sounded both pained and weak. The party boy hated hearing and seeing his best friend like this.

"All right dude, just try not to lose consciousness on me" Geoff turned to look at his best friend. Duncan's head was slumped and unresponsive. "Never mind."

The trio approached the pet cemetery and Asher started to bark at the graves. Geoff assumed that he was telling the occupants of the graves not to come out. While Asher continued to bark, Geoff turned his head around. He thought he was being watched and he was right. The ghost host, noose and all, was grinning sinisterly at Geoff from atop the, normally horseless, hearse. The hearse now had a skeletal horse at its reigns and two coffins sticking out its windows. The ghost host, still grinning sinisterly, pointed down at the coffins and then at the two teens.

"Uh, little bud, thanks for the help. Can we, uh, go now?" Geoff asked Asher nervously.

The dog barked in response and the two teens exited the gates of the attraction. Geoff turned around and called "Hey Asher, I can't remember my way around the Utilidors. If you help me out, I'll hook you up with a nice, juicy steak. Sound good lil' dude?"

Asher did not reply and started to make his way toward the Hall of Presidents. Geoff, supporting Duncan as best as he could, followed behind the skinny dog as fast as he could. As they approached the Hall of Presidents, Geoff sighed, relieved that the nightmare was almost over.


Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a pain to write but if you have enjoyed it then its all worth it. This chapter was what got me all excited to write this story in the first place and ironically this chapter nearly made me put this story on hiatus. However, after all is said and done, I am pleased with the final product. I went through so many drafts and versions of this chapter. I originally had one scene where Duncan and Geoff fall through the safety net that surround's Leota's table in the Seance room and they wound up in a fight to the death with all of the old attic brides (the Emilys). Another version had Constance's only axe miss Duncan's head by less than an inch. One other version had Duncan and Geoff screaming when they saw Leota because they were still badly shaken by a previous scare in a different scene. I think this is the most drafting that I've ever done for a chapter, that just shows how important this chapter is to me. I remember when I had written the first drafts of the story and realized that I would have to push this back, I believe that I had originally intended to make this chapter nine. Anyway, I was unhappy and anxious to get up to his scene and here I am today. Wow, just wow. One last note that I would like to make is that I tried to make a cohesive story for the mansion. I plan to have Jazz fully explain my story of the mansion in my next chapter, but I might be willing to share it beforehand with those of you who are nice enough to leave reviews. Okay, I'm done with my rambling for now, onto the facts!

Pepper's Ghost: Panes of glass are supposedly see-through, but most of them are at least partial mirrors. They reflect back some of the light that hits them, which is why we often see our own reflections in the windows of stores and houses (just before we heave a brick on through for that sweet, sweet looting). This never works when there is light on the other side of the glass (and not just because bright lights signify that it's a bad time to loot). The flood of light through the windows drowns out the "ghostly" image of the reflection. John Henry Pepper saw this and figured out how to rig it on stage. A section of plate glass was placed on a dark stage. If a spotlight shone on a person standing in front of it, the light from that person would hit the glass, and some of it would reflect back. The bright areas would glow and look opaque, but the dark areas would look see-through. Because people are used to light traveling in straight lines — and because glass is for the most part transparent — viewers would interpret this light as coming from behind the unseen glass instead of a reflection. If the lighted person is ten feet in front of the glass, the people would see the "ghost" as being ten feet behind the glass. Of course, the illusion doesn't work if people can see both. If you angle the glass at one end of the stage, keep the edges of the glass concealed, and hide the brightly-lit person at the other edge of the stage behind a curtain, the audience will only see the "ghostly" reflection. - www. i09. com

When the idea of the Haunted Mansion was concieved, four versions were thrown around. The first had Walt himself as the Ghost Host. In the second, guests would meet famous monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein. Number three revolved around the story of the murderous Captain Gore and the final version told the story of a cursed mansion from the 1800s whose ominous fate was sealed when a tragic event prevented the matrimony of the son and daughter of two wealthy families. On every anniversary, the ghosts try to complete the ceremony and lift the curse. While none of these ideas made the cut in their entirety, numbers three and four have left their marks on the mansion that we tour today. For instance, the stretching room hanging was taken from Captain Gore's story, as was the bride in the attic because Captain Gore killed his bride in the attic on their wedding night and then hanged himself. The bridal scene in the attic also took inspirations from version four, however, the famous ballroom scene was heavily inspired from version four. - Vacation Magic (Disney Files) Magazine