Chapter 3
Fred, Daphne and Velma stood in the attic of Dinkley Hall thinking about the strange mystery that they had walked into which included a haunted house, a scaredy cat ghost who happened to be one of Velma's ancestors and who knows what else.
Fred gave the book that he had been reading back to Velma, the three of them locked up the attic and headed back towards Velma's bedroom.
"You know, the next time I see Shaggy and Scooby I'm going to give them each a big hug, a kiss and even take them out to a nice dinner" Velma remarked as she opened the door to her room.
The three friends then sat down in chairs and on the bed in the room and continued to talk about what their next plan of action was going to be.
"Velma, there's something I want to ask you" Fred said.
"Go ahead Fred" Velma replied.
"All three of us have known Shaggy and Scooby for years, and now you want to take them out to dinner, what's up?" Fred asked.
"Well, let's just say now that I know someone who's related to me is a scaredy cat I have a greater appreciation for what Shaggy and Scooby have had to go through all this time" Velma explained.
"How so?" Daphne asked.
"Shaggy and Scooby have been solving mysteries with us for so many years; they've been chased by so may ghosts and monsters, plus we've sent them out as bait for our traps I don't know how many times; now ever since I found out my ancestor's ghost was a scaredy cat ghost I've come to the realization that Shaggy and Scooby being cowards aren't necessarily a bad thing" Velma commented.
"Velma I don't think I've ever seen you like this; you certainly have changed since we got here" Fred commented.
"Hmm, I never thought of it that way Fred, but I guess I have changed a bit" Velma said.
"I guess this is going to take some getting used to" Daphne replied.
"There's one other thing that I haven't told you guys that I guess I should share" Velma remarked.
"What's that Velma?" Fred wondered.
"Well, to tell you guys the truth it's something about Shaggy and Scooby; I've been thinking about this for some time now and I think this is the time to share it" Velma commented.
"What about Shag and Scooby did you want to say?" Daphne asked.
"It's this: for many years I've well, had a crush on Shaggy; I just never told anybody about it until now because I was afraid people would laugh at me saying that it was just a silly crush and that he would never tell me how he felt" Velma explained.
"That's actually really sweet Velma; we would have never laughed at you for saying that, if you have a feeling for anyone you should tell them about it and not keep your emotions bottled up" Daphne told her.
"Yeah Velma I agree with Daphne, if you have a crush or have feelings for some one it's quite all right to share them with that person" Fred responded smiling.
"Thanks guys I knew you would understand how I felt and the next time we see them I'll tell Shaggy and Scooby exactly what I told you guys" Velma said.
"Now, let's get back to solving this mystery" Fred remarked.
"Right, what should we do know?" Daphne asked.
"Hmm, I think we should see if we can find out some more information about Captain Dinkley and see if we can help him out" Velma said.
"Good idea Velma" Fred commented.
"But where should we look for clues next?" Daphne asked.
"Well, if we want some more information than a good place to look would be in the library" Velma commented.
"Good thinking Velma" Fred replied.
So Fred, Daphne and Velma walked downstairs and began their search for the library; the three of them made their way through the hallway towards the library, after a few minutes of walking the three detectives found themselves in front of a large wooden door, Velma opened the door as Fred and Daphne followed her inside.
"Wow look at this place, there must be hundreds of bookshelves in here stacked all the way to the ceiling" Fred remarked.
"Then this must be the library" Daphne thought.
"I think you're right Daphne" Velma replied.
"Boy I've never seen so many books in one place before" Fred remarked.
"Me neither, but one thing's for sure; this is the place where we should find a way to help out Captain Dinkley" Velma commented.
"And possibly the answer to our mystery" Fred remarked.
"One problem though; there are so many books here I wouldn't know where to start" Daphne said.
"Hmm, why don't each of us take a section of the library; then we'll each bring some books to the table in the middle of the room and see if we can find any clues" Velma explained.
"Right, come on gang let's start searching" Fred commented.
Fred, Daphne and Velma each began searching different sections of the rather enormous room; within no time at all each of them had taken a stack of books and brought them over to a large table in the middle of the room.
Each of them began reading a book searching for anything that would help them solve the mystery of Dinkley Hall; during their time in the library Velma had a strange feeling that someone was watching them and decided to tell her friends about it.
"Fred?" Velma said.
"What's up Velma?" Fred asked.
"I don't know but I get the distinct feeling that we're being watched" Velma replied.
"Don't be silly Velma, there can't be anybody watching us" Fred responded.
"You're probably right Fred, it must have been my imagination" Velma replied.
As the three investigators continued reading the eyes of a portrait behind Velma slid out and a pair of human eyes replaced them; in this case it was not Velma's imagination: some one was watching them.
The regular painted eyes of the portrait then slid back into place as the three continued looking for clues.
Suddenly a strange white figure began to materialize behind Velma; Daphne who was reading happened to see the figure out of the corner of her eye and gasped.
"Velma, I really think you should look behind you" Daphne remarked.
"Why Daphne?" Velma asked.
"Because there's something there" Daphne said nervously.
"Don't be silly Daphne, there can't be anything there" Velma replied.
The figure then finished materializing and took the shape of Captain Dinkley's ghost.
The ghost looked over Velma's shoulder and saw that she was reading; he was quite interested in what was going on and spoke up.
"So it looks like you're reading books huh?" the ghost asked.
Velma heard the ghostly voice and turned around to see the ghost of Captain Dinkley standing or rather floating right in front of a bookcase.
Velma gasped for a second but then smiled as she saw the very familiar figure.
"Hi Captain Dinkley" Velma said greeting the ghost.
"Oh no not you again; why are you still here?" asked Captain Dinkley with a tone of disappointment in his voice.
"What do you mean why am I still here?" Velma wondered.
"Well, I'm a ghost and usually mortals are easily frightened by ghosts; so I just assumed that you would have left by now" he replied.
"Oh, well that's where you're wrong Captain and I don't frighten easy" she responded.
"Oh I give up; I was a washout as a person and now I'm a washout as a ghost" Captain Dinkley replied beginning to sob uncontrollably.
The ghostly captain then decided to sit down in one of the chairs at the table along with Fred, Daphne and Velma.
"Don't feel bad Captain, just because you were a fraidy cat in the 1600's doesn't mean you have to be a coward now that you're a ghost" Velma explained.
"The 1600's? So I guess you know about my past cowardice" he replied.
"Pretty much" Velma responded.
"Great, just great; I guess I pretty much ruined the legacy of the Dinkley family forever" he replied.
"No, not necessarily; I'm a Dinkley and I don't think you ruined the family legacy" Velma said.
"You're a Dinkley? Wow I didn't realize that, I'm sorry I startled you miss, miss; what is your name by the way?" Captain Dinkley asked.
"That's all right, my name is Velma Dinkley, your ancestor from modern times and these are my friends Fred Jones and Daphne Blake" she answered introducing the gang.
"Nice to meet all of you" Captain Dinkley said.
"It's nice to meet you too sir" Daphne replied.
"Likewise" Fred added.
"Tell me how exactly did you get here Velma?" asked the captain.
"Well I inherited this place; I received a package one day which contained a letter detailing the history of this place, some miscellaneous papers and a set of keys for the house" Velma replied.
"That sounds pretty interesting, I guess my life is pretty dull compared to your life Velma; solving mysteries all over the world, plus once you worked as a scientist for NASA, I just wish my life was as exciting as yours" Captain Dinkley said lamenting his current situation.
"Oh come on Captain Dinkley, you were the captain of a merchant ship plus you delivered goods all over Europe; if you ask me that sounds like a pretty exciting life" Velma replied.
"Yes, but I was picked on almost all the time, plus my shipmates would play all kinds of practical jokes on me, and now as a ghost I'm a scaredy cat" Captain Dinkley whined.
"Listen Captain, I usually don't believe in ghosts but in this case I'll make an exception; you're a ghost and every other ghost, phantom and apparition my friends and I have encountered while phony were quite frightening, so my suggestion would be to start acting like the ghost you're supposed to be!" Velma said trying to give her ghostly ancestor some well needed confidence.
"I know, I know but I just don't think I'm up to it" Captain Dinkley replied.
"Captain, while we haven't been in these situations much before I still think we can help you out" Fred responded.
"But Fred, how are we going to help a ghost who is more of a chicken than even Shaggy and Scooby are?" Daphne asked.
"I think I have an idea that might work" Velma commented.
"OK Velma, let's hear it" Fred replied.
"Well, I figure that Captain Dinkley could help us out in solving the mystery of who's haunting this place" Velma explained.
"I thought that Captain Dinkley was haunting this place" Daphne wondered aloud.
"Yes I have been haunting Dinkley Hall for centuries now" he replied.
"If that's true then what about the rattling chains and moaning sounds that I heard the night I came here?" Velma asked.
"Moaning sounds and rattling chains? I sure don't remember doing any of that" Captain Dinkley remarked.
"Hmm, it sounds like there's another ghost in the house besides the Captain here" Velma thought.
"Another ghost? That's just great, I thought I was the only ghost in town and now there's somebody else? I don't know about you three but I'm leaving" Captain Dinkley said with a whimper.
"You can't leave Captain, not yet at least" Fred commented.
"Oh and why is that?" he asked.
"Because you're going to help us catch the other ghost" Velma said.
"I am? Oh no; I'm not going after some spook, that creepy ghost could figure out someway to make me disappear or worse" Captain Dinkley remarked nervously.
"Oh yes you are, you're going to help us and that's that!" Velma replied as her voice went up a few octaves.
"I still don't know about this" Captain Dinkley said.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to you" Daphne replied.
"Yeah, we won't let anything happen to you no matter what" Velma remarked.
"Well, I still don't know; I would still feel safer if you had some other plan that didn't involve me" Captain Dinkley replied.
"Hmm, whenever Shaggy and Scooby didn't want to go into or do something that they thought was creepy or frightening we usually gave them Scooby Snacks and they would usually take the assignment with no problems" Velma thought.
"I'm curious about a couple things; first: what are Scooby Snacks and second who are Shaggy and Scooby?" Captain Dinkley asked.
"I'll be glad to answer both questions for you captain; first, Scooby Snacks are a special item that we give to our two other friends/investigators to calm their nerves when preparing to investigate a creepy or haunted place; and second Shaggy and Scooby are the two other members of our group, they're really funny and they have been really great friends to us for as long as we've known them" Velma explained.
"I'm guessing Shaggy and Scooby get as easily frightened of things as I do" Captain Dinkley replied.
"They certainly do; of course if they ever saw you Captain they would probably freak out, they usually get scared of ghosts, monsters and any other supernatural creature you can think of" Velma commented.
"Hmm, I bet I would like them if I ever met them; they sound like my kind of mortals" he remarked.
"Yeah they are pretty cool; now Captain Dinkley will you help us track down the ghost?" Velma asked.
"I suppose I could" he replied.
"Good, now let's figure out a plan to flush the ghost out of hiding" Velma remarked.
"I think I have one" Fred said.
"OK Freddie what is it?" Daphne asked.
"My plan is this, we'll split up and see if we can find that so-called spook; then when we find him Captain Dinkley will act as bait in order to trap him" Fred explained.
"Sounds good, let's get going" Velma remarked.
"Right, come on gang" Fred said.
The gang walked out of the library and headed back out into the passageway; Fred and Daphne explored one part of the passageway while Velma and Captain Dinkley headed in the opposite direction.
Velma and Captain Dinkley walked through the passageway, as the walked the both of them noticed all sorts of paintings and artwork on the walls; the two of them had been walking for quite a while when they heard some very familiar sounds.
"Oh, not that chain rattling and ghostly moaning again; those sounds make me so nervous" Captain Dinkley said.
"Now don't start acting like a fraidy cat, come on let's see if we can find out where those sounds are coming from" Velma replied.
"You go right ahead, I'll wait right here if you don't mind" Captain Dinkley remarked.
"Come on" Velma said pushing the captain along through the passage.
As the two of them made their way through the passage they noticed that an old suit of armor was walking along the hallway.
"What's that?" the captain asked.
"We'll soon find out, come on" Velma said.
Captain Dinkley followed her as they began running after the now alive suit of armor.
"You know, I've always thought that suits of armor couldn't walk around" Captain Dinkley said.
"Well I guess we found one that's an exception to the rule" Velma replied.
The two of them cornered the suit of armor and walked over to it to see who was inside; however the pair received a surprise when Velma lifted the helmet and no one was inside it.
"Oh great, whoever was in the armor's disappeared" Velma remarked.
"I guess whoever this other ghost is, he's going to be hard to track down" Captain Dinkley replied.
In the other part of the passageway Fred and Daphne searched a number of rooms looking for any clues that would help them solve the mystery of Dinkley Hall.
"Let's look in this room Daphne" Fred commented.
"OK" Daphne replied.
Fred opened the door and the two of them walked inside; in the room were a bed, a nightstand, a lamp and a few other items.
"I wonder what this room is" Daphne wondered.
"Hmm, if I didn't know any better I would say that this is the caretaker's room" Fred replied.
"How can you tell?" Daphne asked.
"Easy, look over here" Fred said as he walked over to the nightstand.
Fred picked up a set of keys that were sitting on top of the nightstand next to the lamp.
"Hey, those look like the same keys that Velma has" Daphne said.
"I think you're right Daphne, let's see if there any other clues in here" Fred replied.
Fred and Daphne began going over the room; each of them took a side and started to look for clues once again; Daphne had been looking through the drawers of the night stand and found a couple of very interesting items.
"Fred look what I found!" Daphne called.
"Uh, Daphne you don't have to yell I'm only a couple of feet away" Fred replied.
"Oh sorry Fred, but take a look at what I found in the night stand" Daphne commented.
She handed Fred a tape recorder with a tape still in it and an old looking set of chains.
"Hmm very interesting; Velma described rattling chains and ghostly moaning the first night she was here right" Fred remarked.
"Yes, that's correct" Daphne responded.
"Well I have a hunch that these were the rattling chains that she described; and I have an idea that when I start this tape recorder we'll have the other piece of the puzzle" Fred explained.
"I think you're right Fred, let's play the tape and find out" Daphne replied.
Fred and Daphne sat down on the bed as he placed the tape recorder on one of the pillows; Fred then pushed the play button and the tape started.
As Fred expected the recorder began to play the sounds of ghosts, or at least ghostly wailing and moaning.
Fred pushed the stop button on the recorder and thought for a second.
"Daphne, I think we've just solved this mystery; come on let's get Velma and Captain Dinkley and set a trap for our ghost" Fred said.
Fred and Daphne took the clues that they found with them and left the room; the two of them walked back into the hallway to rejoin Velma and the captain.
Suddenly the pair of sleuths began to hear more strange noises and wondered where they were coming from.
"Fred, we have that tape recorder with us right?" Daphne asked.
"Yes and the tape isn't playing either" Fred replied.
"Well then how come we're hearing noises again?" Daphne asked.
"I don't know but I think we're about to meet up with the so-called phantom" Fred commented.
The two of them then saw a white figure appear out of nowhere and began to walk towards them.
"Fred, you and I both know that this thing whatever it isn't real right" Daphne remarked.
"Of course it's not but still just in case" Fred replied.
"We should run" Daphne commented.
"Good idea, let's go!" Fred remarked.
The two of them ran back through the passageway towards where Velma and the captain were.
As they searched one of the rooms Velma and Captain Dinkley began to hear footsteps coming from the hallway.
"Oh, it sounds like somebody's coming" Captain Dinkley whined.
"Come on, we'll hide around the corner and capture whoever it is" Velma remarked.
"O-ok" the captain replied nervously.
Velma and the Captain hid out of sight waiting for the so-called ghost; the two of them heard the footsteps getting much louder as they came closer.
"Ready captain?" Velma asked with a whisper.
"I-I'm ready as I'll ever be I guess" he remarked nervously.
"Ready, one two three!" Velma yelled as she and the captain rushed into the hallway; they had hoped to capture the other ghost but instead had captured Fred and Daphne.
"Ooh, next time you decide to that Velma, could you warn us" Fred said.
"Sorry guys we thought you were the ghost" Velma explained.
"No, but we did see him" Daphne replied.
"Y-you did?" Captain Dinkley asked nervously.
"Right and we found a couple of clues as well" Fred remarked handing Velma the tape recorder and the chains.
"Jinkies, I think these clues should just about wrap up the mystery; not only that but if you guys found these where I think you found them I know who's behind this and why they're doing it" Velma replied.
"We did and I agree Velma, it's about time to trap ourselves a ghost" Fred explained.
Fred, Daphne, Velma and the captain walked back down the hallway and into the library; after doing so Fred explained his plan to capture the phony ghost to Velma, Captain Dinkley and Daphne.
The three of them listened to Fred's plan closely and carefully; the plan was one of Fred's usual capture the ghost plans: setting up a convoluted trap in the hallway, having Captain Dinkley as bait to lure the ghost out of hiding and so on.
After explaining his plan Fred, Daphne and Velma walked into the hallway, the three of them then set up their Rube Goldberg style trap as the girls listened.
"Here's how the trap will work, those suits of armor are connected to a long pulley rope and the rope is connected to a large net which is hanging from that chandelier, when Captain Dinkley lures the ghost into the hallway we'll pull the rope which releases the net trapping the ghost" Fred said.
"Sounds good, come on let's stay out of sight and watch for the ghost" Daphne remarked.
The three of them hid while Captain Dinkley stood in the hallway walking along waiting for the ghost to show.
"I guess I know what Shaggy and Scooby feel like whenever they have to the bait for one of Fred, Daphne and Velma's traps, this luring the ghost out of hiding thing is for the birds" Captain Dinkley remarked as he nervously walked down the hall.
Suddenly strange laughter began to ring through the hallway, which made the captain quite nervous.
"Gulp, I guess it's time to for me to face my fears; hey ghost come out, come out wherever you are!" Captain Dinkley said.
A few second later, a strange white figure appeared in the hallway; the captain shook nervously but he knew that he had a job to do and that job was to lure the ghost into the gang's trap.
The captain ran down the hallway as fast as possible with the ghost in tow, Captain Dinkley then led the phantom past numerous doors and into the area where Fred, Daphne and Velma were hiding.
He waited for the ghost to show and when he did the captain led the ghost over to the suits of armor before disappearing, the phony ghost smacked right into them; then after the ghost hit the armor Fred pulled the rope which caused the net to fall right on top of the so-called ghost.
"Good work gang, we've caught him!' Fred exclaimed.
"OK Captain Dinkley you can reappear now" Velma said.
"D-d-did you guys capture him?" the captain asked.
"Yes captain we've caught him" Daphne remarked.
Captain Dinkley then re-materialized and stayed out of sight because he knew that if the fake ghost saw him there would be problems.
"Now, let's see who this ghost really is, Velma would like to do the honors?" Fred asked.
"Certainly Fred, and if my calculations are correct then I know exactly who this is" Velma replied.
The bespectacled sleuth walked over to the phony ghost to unmask him; the ghost growled as Velma reached for his face to take off his mask; she removed the disguise and was not surprised by who was underneath it.
"Just as I figured it's Mr. Collins the castle care-taker; Fred, when I told you guys about the chains and the ghostly sounds I originally thought that there was a real ghost here; but I knew from so many years of solving mysteries that it had to be someone who was trying to scare me away for some reason" she explained.
"Right Velma, then when we found the tape recorder with tape of ghostly sound effects still in it and the old chains in the Mr. Collins room we were able to put two and two together and realized what was going on" Fred continued the explanation.
"Mr. Collins dressed up as the ghost and probably dressed up in that suit of armor too, and all just to scare me away from Dinkley Hall" Velma remarked.
"There's still one thing I don't understand why did he do it?" Daphne asked.
"Why, I'll tell you why; my family has been care-taking for this castle for generations and I wanted the castle for my own, so I dressed up as a ghost and tried to scare miss Velma here away from the castle for good and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" he declared angrily.
"Well it looks like any haunting you do from now on will be from behind bars" Fred commented.
Later on in the day the gang called the local constabulary and told them what had been going on; a few minutes later a police car parked in the driveway, the officer from the car knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
Velma heard the knocking and opened the door; the officer walked inside and looked around at the gang and the now unmasked Mr. Collins.
Fred, Daphne and Velma explained how the gang arrived at the castle, how the gang found out the castle was haunted and how Mr. Collins dressed up as the ghost in order to scare Velma away from Dinkley Hall so that he could take the castle for himself.
The officer listened intently throughout the entire story; then after the gang was finished the constable walked over to Mr. Collins and placed a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.
The Constable led Mr. Collins through the door and into his car; the car then drove out of the driveway and out of sight back towards town.
After having lunch and dinner the gang talked for a little while longer, after that each member of the group took showers and went to bed still thinking about the incredible adventure they had at Dinkley Hall.