Have you ever seen a haunted house? Almost every neighborhood has one, that dark spooky looking house at the end of the road with a yard that looks like it hasn't been mowed in decades. All the windows are either broken or boarded up, and some people say that you can hear someone screaming or moaning in the basement.

Rumors swirl around that someone was murdered in there or someone lost their mind, people walk on the other side of the road when they come across this place. Our story tonight focuses on such a mansion, on a rainy night not long ago. A cute couple was on their way home from a date.

Lightning cracked across the sky as a chill wind blew through the air; thunder took over the sky and changed this nice evening into something to be remembered. One of the people walking down a dirt road was a figure wearing a blue coat with a white shirt and long white hair. This is Blanche, (Pokemon GO) and walking next to them was their significant other.

He was a handsome young man with spiky yellow hair, and he was wearing a black jacket with an orange hooded shirt underneath along with black pants, orange gloves and boots. This is Spark (Pokemon GO) and right now, he and Blanche were talking about how their date went.

Spark had his arm around Blanche who smiled warmly, but the moment was interrupted by the feeling of a single raindrop hitting Spark on the nose. "Hmm?" He asked, looking up at the sky. "Oh boy." He said as an army of dark clouds appeared overhead.

After a few seconds, rain began pouring down on the couple, Spark covering Blanche's head with his jacket. Blanche looked up at the rain and sighed contently. Spark groaned "Babe, I know you love rain but some shelter please?!"

Blanche sighed "Very well...come on, looks like there's a house this way, maybe they'll let us stay." Blanche said as the two ran forward down the dark street. Noticing a light up ahead, Spark parted some long strands of grass and saw what lied ahead.

In front of the two was a large mansion, each window emanating a strange green glow. In front of the house was a pair of wolf statues guarding the entrance, and right above the front door was another window, designed to look like a pair of eyes with an open fanged mouth.

"...You know, maybe we can stand a little rain. It's water, water's good for you!" Spark said, doing everything he could to convince his partner to stay outside. Blanche gave Spark an unimpressed look, only for another bolt of lightning to light up the sky and the front of the house.

"…OK let's go." Spark said as he grabbed Blanche's hand. The couple darted forward, pushing open the mansion's iron gates open and making their way to the front porch. Blanche rung out the back of their coat, making droplets of water fall onto the porch. "Darling as much as I love rain, we can't leave in it..." Blanche said.

"Yeah, I know...but it's not midnight yet! We got plenty of time!" Spark said. Blanche smiled softly and leaned into Spark. "I like your optimism darling…" They said. Spark smiled back and put his hand on his chin.

"Come on, let's try and get inside. Maybe they have food in there!" Spark said as he began to twist the front door's knob back and forth. "Darling I don't think that's a good idea. I have a bad feeling about this place, let's just turn around and go another way." Blanche said, but Spark being, well, Spark wasn't hearing it.

"Honey, last thing I want is for you to catch a cold. Plus, you and I both know the porch isn't enough to keep us dry." Spark said. Finally after a minute of trying, the door to the mansion slowly creaked open. The couple looked inside; the main hall was dark and dreary looking. Not a single bit of light was visible.

Spark gulped quietly and took Blanche by the hand. "Well, here we go." He said. Spark and Blanche stepped inside and took a look around the main entrance. "Hold on, I got this." Spark said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter.

With a single flick, the flame on the lighter started up, providing a miniscule but much welcome light source. "Jeez, looks like this place could use a roach motel or two." Spark said as he and Blanche looked around.

"That's strange, there's still furniture in here. I thought this place was abandoned." Blanche said as they eyed some cobweb covered chairs, a decrepit sofa, and dust coated house plants. Spark noticed a candelabra sitting on a table, he quickly grabbed in and lit up the three candles resting in it.

"And Spark said let there be light!" Spark quipped, getting a small chuckle and a headshake out of Blanche. "Greetings mortals, and welcome to my humble home!" A booming voice suddenly broke through the silence, nearly causing Spark and Blanche to jump out of their skin!

"You have entered the home of me, Merasmus! The most powerful wizard in the entire tri-state area! I would join you down there, but I have a heart condition so I must watch you from afar."

Spark yelped and got in front of Blanche protectively. "OH MY STARS!" He yelled out, his heart pounding in his chest. "A... a wizard?" Blanche blinked. "That can't be right...they don't exist." Blanche said as they put a hand on Spark's shoulder.

"Oh really? Well if I don't exist, can I do this?" The voice asked before the couple heard the front door slam behind them! Spark ran do the door and pulled on the handle to no avail. "Hey! Let us out of here!" Spark yelled before ramming the door with his shoulder.

"Oh wow, wow, wow, wow…" Spark groaned as she slid down the door in pain. Blanche gasped and knelt down to him to make sure he was alright.

"Feel my wrath puny mortals; you aren't going anywhere until you reach the end of my home. But before you continue… can you slip me five bucks?" Merasmus asked as a slot in a nearby wall opened up, with a sign reading "Dispense money here" above it.

"It is truly a tale of horror and suspense! Short version, turns out I made a few bad investments years ago, so Merasmus now owes $12,000 to the Japanese mafia! Your contributions are greatly appreciated!"

Blanche raised an eyebrow and crossed their arms. "We're NOT doing that."

"You want to go home right?" Merasmus asked. "Pay your toll puny... uh, sir is your friend a boy or a girl?"

"Neither," Spark shrugged. "Their pronouns are they and them."

"...Times really have changed in the past thousand years. At least you aren't as bad as my last roommate before he got married to that hardhat wearing geek..." Merasmus groaned to himself as Spark relented and slipped a five dollar bill into the slot.

"Ah thank you! Now, kindly step forward mortals, into my gallery of the damned!" Merasmus proclaimed as a doorway slowly opened up, leading into a dimly lit room with only a few small candles around the ceiling.

Spark and Blanche, realizing there was no turning back took each other's hands and stepped into the gallery. Right as the couple entered the room, the wall behind them slid shut. "Alright, now what?" Spark asked.

The two looked up and saw four large paintings surrounding them, each one with a figure inside. On portrait one, there was a man in an old fashioned diving suit carrying a treasure chest. On portrait two was the image of a prospector holding a golden nugget between his thumb and pointer finger.

Over on portrait number three was a painting of a man clad in jungle explorer gear and holding a map, looking up from it with a wince. And over on portrait four was a ballerina with her arms crossed, sitting atop a unicycle.

"Our tour begins here where you can see a few of my mansion's residents as they appeared in their disgusting human state." As Merasmus spoke, Spark and Blanche looked up at the paintings, and a strange feeling suddenly overtook them.

The walls around them began to stretch as if they were made out of taffy. The two watched as the paintings got taller and they went down lower. It was there hidden details were revealed to them. With the diver, it was shown that he was in the ocean, but a large orange octopus had snagged his legs with it's tentacles and was trying to drag him under.

"…Babe are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Spark asked as his jaw dropped. Blanche clung to Spark and nodded quickly. "Yes, I don't believe it though!" They said.

With the old prospector, his painting revealed he was standing on a lit keg of dynamite that was ready to go off at any second.

"Your puny human minds must be racing right now! Filled with so many questions, is this room really stretching or are you freaking out and imagining it?" Merasmus asked. With the jungle explorer, his legs were revealed to be sinking into quick sand.

And as for the ballerina, her fate was too revealed. Right blow her was a small tightrope she was riding across, and underneath that was a bed of spikes.

"Merasmus would like to point out that he has taken this opportunity to get rid of all the windows and doors! So therefore he offers you a challenge, finding a way out!" Merasmus said, following that with a ghoulish cackle.

"But of course, there's always my way!" Lightning flashed up above Spark and Blanche, and the roof that once was there, suddenly vanished in a bright splash of light. Looking down from the rafters, a massive eyeball with a red iris glared down at Spark and Blanche!

"AHHH!" The two screamed as Blanche shut their eyes tightly, clinging to Spark! Just then the room fell silent, and the candles relit. Spark and Blanche looked up and saw the roof was back in it's normal place and the giant eye was nowhere to be seen.

"Sorry about that mortals, that's just Monoculus, Merasmus had no idea he was showing up today!" Merasmus chimed in. A second later, another door on the opposite side of the room opened up, revealing a dark hallway with a few windows on the left side, frequently lighting up from the lightning crashes.

"Look alive as you mortals say, our tour is just beginning! We have 999 happy haunts, but we're always open to having a thousand! Any volunteers?" Merasmus asked as Spark and Blanche continued on their way.

On the right side of the hallway were large paintings, but every time the lightning struck, the figures inside quickly transformed into decaying corpses. "That's… unsettling…" Blanche said as they clung to Spark's hand.

The two walked down the eerie corridor, the darkness slowly enveloping around them. The surrounding walls were covered in dust and cobwebs, and a lone staircase leading upstairs appeared in front of the couple. Mustering up all their courage, Spark and Blanche headed up the stairs, nervous about what awaited them.

Once they reached the top the air grew cold, a traditional sign that the undead was nearby. They slowly walked past a large grandfather clock, a spiral on it's perfectly round face, both clock hands spinning around and around with no signs of stopping.

"Watch where you step mortals, every room of this mansion is filled wall to wall with creeps, and hot and cold chills! It took quite a long time to get that unlived in look, so I hope you appreciate all my hard work!" Merasmus said as the couple made their way down the hall. Up ahead, Spark and Blanche noticed an entrance to another hallway.

"Maybe we can get out through here!" Spark said as he held Blanche's hand, running forward. Much to their confusion, the hallway they discovered appeared to have no end. It looked like it stretched for infinity, leading to nothing but darkness.

But the thing that really gave the couple the willies was a lone candelabra, floating all by itself in the center of the hallway. "…No thanks." Spark quipped before dragging Blanche as far away from the endless hall as he could.

Suddenly a thudding sound echoed from the darkness! Spark and Blanche reacted by pressing themselves against the wall as tight as they could. Much to their surprise, a child who looked like the mini version of the Bride of Frankenstein strutted down the hall with her arms stretched out in front of her, a small friendly grin on her cheeks.

Spark and Blanche held their spot best they could so they didn't bump into her, having no idea if she'd freak out or not. Her loud footsteps passed by like small tremors before she walked off into the darkness. "Ah I see you met Elsa Frankenteen! She and her friends are living here for the time being, still waiting on them to pay their rent." Merasmus called out.

Spark gasped as a small gust of wind blew past him and Blanche, putting his candles out. The two looked and found themselves in an old conservatory, broken garden pots and dead plants littered the floor. Some of the broken windows let the two look outside, where they got a view of the home's private cemetery.

"Eesh, creepy…" Spark said. Leaning against a wall was a large Egyptian sarcophagus with the golden face of a Pharaoh carved on it. A loud creaking sound was heard coming from the sarcophagus, and the lid on it looked like it was moving!

"Spark, what is that?" Blanche asked. It was a bit too dark for them to see anything. "Hold on babe, I got this one!" Spark said as he pulled out his lighter and lit his candles again. Right as he did the front of the sarcophagus slowly opened up, Spark and Blanche too frightened to move.

Inside they saw a small mummy girl with a pink bow on her head, yawning and holding a teddy bear wearing a Pharaoh's crown. "Hey if you see Elsa, can you two tell her to keep it down? I'm trying to sleep here." The mummy tiredly said before pulling the lid shut. "Good night." She said.

"…What the actual HECK was that?!" Spark asked. "I don't know, but let's leave before another one of her friends show up…" Blanche said, taking Spark by the arm and moving down the hallway. They made their way past rows of closed doors, slowly making their way to the far end.

Grizzly and scary sounds were on the other sides of the doors, it almost sounded like something was trying to break out. "Do not fear mortals, the residents here don't bite… hard. Just follow my voice and please don't touch anything, Merasmus has no insurance."

Spark and Blanche entered a dark room that was lit by only a few candles. A circular table was in the middle of the room, and behind it was a large red chair with a flame design on the top. Much to their amazement, Spark and Blanche saw various musical instruments floating about the room.

Sitting in the chair was a little girl wearing a white hat and a matching dress. But the really freaky part was what was floating over the table. It was a large crystal ball with a green mist inside of it, and inside the mist, was what appeared to be a human head. It was the head of a lovely young woman with dark green hair.

"Enter the lair of Sabrina, the resident psychic here in the mansion! Just in time too mortals, she's just beginning her séance!" Merasmus said in excitement. The little girl sitting in the chair giggled eerily and clapped. "This is going to be fun!" She said in a high pitched voice.

"Horntoads and lizards, fiddle and strum. Please answer the roll by beating a drum." Sabrina (Pokemon) said, her voice echoing through the whole room. Spark gasped and ducked quickly as a tin drum flew over his head, being smacked by a floating drum stick.

"Harpies and furies, old friends and new, blow on a horn, so we'll know that it's you." Sabrina continued. Blanche let out a quick shriek as a miniature trumpet let out a loud screech right next to their head. "Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits, wherever they're at."

As Sabrina's words continued on, Spark and Blanche noticed small wisps of light appear over Sabrina's throne. "Hey, what's that?" Spark asked, pointing forward at the wisps.

"Yeah I see them too." Blanche said. The voice of Merasmus broke the silence, making Spark and Blanche jump. "Good news mortals, the happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations, and are beginning to materialize! Come, they're all gathering in the grand ballroom!"

"That was fun, let's play again sometime!" Sabrina's small companion said as she waved goodbye to the couple. "Come now mortals, we must leave this place, quickly!" Merasmus said as a door opened next to the couple.

"Unfortunately, the spirits are expecting me, for I am the guest of honor! I shall see you two a little later." Merasmus said before going dead silent.

Getting out of the room as quick as they could, Spark and Blanche walked out onto a balcony that was overlooking a large ballroom. Down below, the two saw a long wooden table that was covered in rotten food, and a cobweb covered chandelier was hanging up above.

Surrounding the table and on a nearby dance floor was a group of transparent ghosts, and it seemed they were celebrating a birthday party. A large woman ghost was sloppily trying to blow out candles on a cake, sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry with each attempt.

Hanging from the chandelier was another portly looking ghost, a glass of wine stuck in his hand. He was twirling about, laughing in his drunken stupor. "Whoa, watch it! Might just slip and fall to my death, hahaha!" he cackled. Next to him were a male and female ghost, clanking their wine glasses together and sitting on the edge.

Above the dance floor were two portraits of men wearing nice suits, armed with pistols. Their spirits suddenly appeared in front of their painted images and they fired their guns at each other, vanishing as soon as the bullets hit.

A group of finely dressed ghosts were in the middle of a waltz, while an organist played a loud tune on a dusty old pipe organ that nearly reached the ceiling. Emerging from the pipes on the organ were dozens of small ghost heads, each one with a shocked expression.

"I think I've seen enough, let's go!" Spark said as he led Blanche towards the end of the balcony. Spark and Blanche entered the door and found themselves in a dingy attic, surrounded by old relics of a bygone day. A large black piano was sitting next to the wall, and a white clawed disembodied hand was playing some music on the keys.

Spark gulped and lead Blanche deeper into the attic, but the silence was cut by the eerie call of a female voice. "My love, I've been waiting for you." It said, getting louder and louder with each second. Turning a corner, the couple saw a statue of a woman carved out of rock.

Once they got closer, the pale ghostly image of a beautiful maiden emerged from the statue, gently holding out her hand to Spark in particular. "There you are my love, come and stay with me, like you promised." The ghostly maiden said.

"…Excuse me?" Blanche asked, their tone darker. "I've been waiting for my love to return, for so long." The maiden said, Spark looked down at her hand, seeing the floor through her transparent skin. "Oh no, you don't." Blanche growled, pulling Spark to them. "Get your own significant other."

Right as they turned to leave, our adventurous pair was faced with another one of the mansion's residents, blocking their way. She was a tall, skinny figure wearing a ragged long blue shirt with torn up sleeves and white boots. She had a large pompadour hairstyle with a dark blue stripe through it.

In one of her hands was a large hatbox. "Hahahaha, say we don't get a lot of visitors around here! Pleased to meet ya, the name's Phantasma!" The blue ghost said. She held up her hatbox in excitement towards Spark and Blanche.

"You guys wanna see a neat trick? Ka-poof!" Phantasma said, making her head vanish in a quick puff of smoke. To Spark and Blanche's surprise, her head magically re-appeared in the hatbox. "Ta-da! Neat huh?!" She giddily asked.

"Look that's great but we really should be going…" Spark said as he held Blanche close, only for the ghostly maiden to appear in front of them. "I've been waiting, you will not interfere!" The maiden said. Immediately after, her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, her pupils shrank to the size of dimes and her jaw elongated like a snake!

Blanche let out a high pitched yelp, clinging to Spark. "Let's go!" Spark nodded at 100 MPH and grabbed Blanche's arm. "Good idea! This way!" he said, zipping over to a single window that lead to a balcony. Spark opened it quickly and he and Blanche climbed out as fast they could.

"Watch it babe, everything's slippery out here!" Spark said as Blanche stepped out of the window. Blanche held up their candelabra and noticed the candles were once again put out. "Darling, look!" they said.

"Just leave it, we're outside now." Spark said. Blanche nodded and dropped the candelabra onto the balcony. The couple held each other's hands tightly as they walked along the balcony and towards a set of stairs. Much to Spark's chagrin, the bottom of the stairs led to the mansion's private graveyard.

It was better than staying any longer. As they headed towards the graveyard's entrance, the couple passed by an old caretaker who was frozen in fight, his knees knocking together. His poor dog sat at his feet, whimpering.

"CAW! CAW CAW!" A large black crow screeched loudly as it watched the couple from a top a dead tree.

Spark and Blanche entered through a metal gate, and their ears were filled with what sounded like… music? As they headed into the graveyard, the music kept getting louder and louder with each second. Voices that were singing along with the music were nearby, and our couple had no choice but to approach them.

Turning a corner, lined up in a row, were five stone gargoyles each one with a sad expression and their front paw resting on a stone skull. A picket sign nearby read "DON'T TOUCH THE SOUL GARGOYLES". The gargoyles lips flapped as they sang loudly, their eyes darting about in a somewhat playful way.

Gargoyles: When the crypt doors creak

And the tombstones quake

Spooks come out for a swinging wake

Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize

Grim Grinning Ghosts, come out to socialize

Spark and Blanche moved past the gargoyles, but their voices were so loud they could still hear them clear as crystal. There was music playing all around them and the sky was filled with green spirits, floating above them.

Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide

Or a silly spook may sit by your side

Shrouded in a daft disguise

They pretend to terrorize

Grim Grinning Ghosts, come out to socialize

Our young couple passed a band of minstrels playing in a front of a group of family crypts, none of them paying them any mind. One was playing a bagpipe, the other a flute, and another a horn. Nearby were two open graves, one reading "RIP Redmond" and the one next to it reading "RIP Blutarch".

Two rotting bodies, each one with a knife in their back, were yanking on a deed to some land. Upon closer inspection it was nothing more than a lot filled with gravel.

As the moon climbs high 'or the dead oak tree

Spooks arrive for the midnight spree

Creepy creeps with eerie eyes

Start to shriek and harmonize

Grim Grinning Ghosts, come out to socialize

"Hand it over Blutarch, that land is mine and you know it!" Redmond snarled at his good for nothing brother. "Like Hell it is Redmond, father gave me that land with his dying breath!" Blutarch hissed at his equally good for nothing brother.

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell

Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell

Restless bones etherealize

Rise as spooks of every size

Up on a hill groups of spirits were having a bicycle ride through the tombstones while an undead duchess sipped on a cup of tea. A horse drawn hearse was next to her, it's wheels stuck in the mud. It's contents, a coffin holding a shrouded corpse had spilled out of the back. The corpse was sitting upwards, also enjoying a cup of tea.

"AWOOOOO! AWOOOOOO!" Perched up on a gravestone, howling at the moon, was a small werewolf with curly red hair, wearing a tattered blue dress and a bow. She continued howling over and over at the full moon, which was beaming light down into the graveyard.

A massive pumpkin headed figure, the Horsless Headless Horsemann, was casually leaning against a large battle axe with a jack-o-lantern face on the blade. He had one of his arms around the headless body of a woman clad in Victorian era garb.

Spark jumped and squirmed as her cross-eyed severed head slithered across the ground next to his feet. Next to the couple was a small pong, where a skeletal fisherman was in the middle of trying to get a bite. In the water, a lone shark fin was swimming around his lure, but he didn't seem to mind.

Spark and Blanche made their way through the party and seeing no other way out, they spotted an open crypt. Surely there had to be an exit in there somewhere! "Come on, done here!" Spark said as he led Blanche into the crypt.

The echoing of the couple's footsteps filled the corridor as they headed into the crypt. "Spark, are you sure we're going the right way?" Blanche nervously asked. "I think so, there's only one path!" Spark replied.

"Ahh there you are mortals! Just in time too, there's a teensy weensy little problem Merasmus forgot to mention. You must beware, of hitchhiking ghosts!" Merasmus cackled. Spark and Blanche felt a presence right next to them, the ending notes of the graveyard song traveling through the hallway.

If you would like to join our jamboree

There's a simple rule that's compulsory

Mortals pay a token fee

Rest in peace the hauntings free

So hurry back we would like your company…

Spark and Blanche slowly looked to their side and saw three ghost Pokemon staring back at them. A Gengar, Gastly and Haunter were sticking their thumbs out as if trying to hitch a ride. Gastly was forming one with it's tail of smoke.

"They have decided to let you fill up our quota, and they just might follow you home!" Merasmus said before breaking out into a cackle! Spark's hair stood up on his head, he'd finally seen enough! He scooped up Blanche, who gasped quickly.

"Let's get outta here!" Spark yelled as he ran in place for a few seconds before zipping forward towards the exit of the crypt! "I'm afraid Merasmus must leave you now mortals, midnight has arrived. I thank you for spending time with us!" Merasmus said as Spark and Blanche heard a door up ahead unlock.

"Pleasant dreams…" Merasmus said before cackling once again. Spark and Blanche opened the door and saw a path leading back to the main road from where they came. Wasting no time, they ran out of the crypt, away from the mansion and didn't look back even once.

Hanging upside down in a tree with a small bat with bright green eyes and purple hair, she was watching as the couple took their leave. And she quietly said…

"Hurry back, hurry back. Be sure to bring your death certificate, if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now, that would just be fangtastic! We've been dying to have you." She giggled, watching as Spark and Blanche vanished into the distance.

THE END

(Credits song: Grim Grinning Ghosts – Barenaked Ladies)