Chapter One: Welcome, Foolish Mortals
One, dark night, not too long ago, a group of five, fourteen-year-old friends were walking home from a double-feature day at the movies. The five youths consisted of five different species: a raccoon, hippo, turtle, fox, and mouse. The raccoon had grey fur with the usual black marking, which included his bushy ringed tail, short grey hair, and bright blue eyes. He wore a black short sleeve t-shirt, blue hoodie jacket, black fingerless gloves, faded blue jeans that were held up by a black leather belt, a red backpack that was slung over his right shoulder, and black Nikes. This raccoon was Sylvester James Cooper, or Sly to his friends, family, or any other person who knew him well. He was the son of Conner Cooper, local pharmacist and travel agent, and his wife, Sarah Cooper, the town's librarian.
The vixen had a womanly figure that brownish-orange and golden fur, long bushy tail, long braided blue hair, and hazelnut-brown eyes. She wore a blue sleeveless T-shirt, brown jacket, dark-blue jeans that were held up by a brown leather belt, brown gloves, and black boots. This young vixen was Carmelita Montoya-Fox, the second oldest of six siblings and first daughter of the town's Sheriff, Alexander (of whom which she inherited her fiery temper) and his wife, Alisa Fox (née Montoya). She was known to be law-abiding since she was only four-years-old and was one of the smartest (4th) youths in school.
The turtle, who was the second to shortest of the group, had skinny, green skin, short tail, green eyes, multi-brown colored turtle shell, and a short brown hair. He wore a grey button-up shirt underneath a black sleeveless vest, brown square-rimmed eyeglasses, white hoodie jacket, grey jeans, and brown Nikes. This reptile was Bentley Olsen, one of the most intelligent mind at school, his parents were an electronics repairman and science teacher, and was one of Sly's two best friends.
The hippo, who was the tallest and most muscular-looking of the group, had pink skin, short tail, a bald head, and dark-brown eyes. He wore a teal-colored shirt, black hoodie jacket, blue jeans, red fingerless gloves, and white Nikes. This person was Murray Murphy, son of the owners of the Swallow Falls sporting goods store, the second best friend of Sly, plus his aunt and uncle ran the best pastry shop in town. Two more things that should be noted is that he likes to refer to himself as "The Murray" and he loved horror, fantasy, and action-related media.
Finally, the mouse, who was the smallest (being two inches shorter than Bentley), had slim figure that had lavender fur, large rounded ears, long fleshy tail, dark-pink eyes, and long blonde hair that was tied back into a ponytail. She wore a yellow T-shirt, dark-blue overalls, grey hoodie jacket, black round-rimmed eyeglasses, and black boots. This young rodent was Penelope Toutonghi, the second smartest student at school and daughter of a local mechanic in town. She knew Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita, but had a skyscraper-sized crush on Bentley since they both were straight-A students and had a lot in common.
The night was cool and was full of gentle breezes as the five continued on their way home, when lightning suddenly broke through the sky, now full of grey storm clouds. The breezy wind began to pick up and blow harder as lightning cracked once more and thunder rolled across the heavens; changing this pleasant evening into a night that would not be soon forgotten. The group began to quicken the pace of their trek when the lightning illuminated a nearby house, when it started to rain. Being the quickest, Sly began to lead his friends towards said house. Though they had to squeeze through a gate in front of the house, the group had managed to make it to the porch before the rain poured hard. They thought they had found protection, if only they had known . . .
"The forecast said it was supposed to be minor showers tonight!" Bentley whined, shaking off the wetness from his jacket.
"Well, if this is the minor, I'd hate to see what the major looks like!" Carmelita shouted to the sky, but shrunk back when another lightning bolt lit up the stormy sky.
"Well, at least we're out of the rain." Sly pointed out.
"Point taken, plus there's-" Murray was about to say, when he felt someone bump his side. "Oh, sorry, Peng."
"Pardon me, Dimitri." Penelope said as she too bumped a person.
"Oh, it's no problem."
"A-OK, hon-ay."
. . . Wait a minuet!
"Peng?!"
"Dimitri?!"
The two in question were, for a fact, two guys that the five new from school and around town; Dimitri Lousteau and Peng King. Dimitri was a young marine iguana with a lanky build that purple scales, long whip-like tail, short (also purple) hair, and light-yellow eyes. He wore a plain red T-shirt, green hoodie jacket (which was bejeweled), green pants (also bejeweled) that were held up by a golden-buckled belt, and black Nikes. Peng was a young panda with a nice muscular build that had the usual black and white fur coloring (save for the blue patches over his eyes), bald head, small tush-tail, and dark-brown eyes. He wore a plain yellow T-shirt, red pants, and a dark-blue hoodie jacket. After a few minuets of silence, excluding the sound of the storm, it was safe to say; it was an awkward moment. The reason being that these two had use to be big bullies from two gangs, Peng from the Fiendish Five and Dimitri from the Klaww Gang. Though both gangs were really young, they had a nasty reputation of bullying, especially when it came to Sly and his friends. Recently, however, after "words" sly had said to the both of them, plus a few others, both gangs had broken up and hadn't been bullying since.
"Honestly, couldn't you guys have found cover elsewhere?" Carmelita questioned.
"It's no feast on my end either, Foxy!" Dimitri shot back.
"If I had a choice, do you really think I'd share cover with this guy?" Peng, demanded pointing at Dimitri.
The group thought for a moment, then came to a decision.
"He actually brings up a good point." Bentley stated, which everyone agreed and made the iguana huff.
it was then that another bolt of lightning cracked through the stormy sky and thunder rumbled louder than it had minuets ago; startling the seven youths.
"Man, looks like it's really coming down." Murray stated.
"You said a mouthful, it's pouring canines and felines in every which way but loose." Dimitri stated in his own jive talk.
"Doesn't look like we'll be getting home on time." Penelope observed with her ears low.
"Well, standing here on this porch won't keep us dry." Sly stated as he walked up to the door, started knocking, then pressed the doorbell.
"Sly, what are you doing?" Carmelita questioned when she saw the raccoon at the door.
"I'm seeing if anyone's home, I'm getting no reception on my phone and our parents might get worried of we're not home in the next hour."
"Okay, but who lives here anyway?" Murray asked as he saw a plaque with a name, possibly of the owners of the house, on right side of door. But the name was slightly withered out, making hard to read. "Hey, there's a plaque right here."
"Really, what does it say?" Peng asked.
"Groc . . . Grac . . . Grace . . . Graci . . ."
"Here, let me see." Bentley said as he walked up to the plaque and adjusted his glasses to read what was etched on it. "It's not Graci, Murray, it's Gracey."
It took only a few minuets, but when everyone (including Bentley) heard what the turtle had said, all the blood in their bodies began to chill over even worse than it was from the storm.
"Guys . . . I'm not the one to be superstitious . . . But I'm starting to think that this is the Gracey Manor . . ."
"You m-m-mean the Gracey Manor with all t-t-those stories around it?" Murray asked, his voice just as shakily as his turtle friend's.
"The very same."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
These two had every right to be surprised for the seven youths stood on the porch of the abandoned Gracey Manor, which was (if it wasn't obvious enough) owned by the rich Gracey family. The history of the Gracey family went back as far as the 1800s, starting with Ambrose Gracey, who was the one who had built the mansion for his entire family. However, the family had abruptly ended when William Gracey, of which whom vanished along with his bride Emily de Claire, without a trace. Before that, each member of the had died in mysterious ways, no one could really explain what had happened. Some say the family was cursed, some say bad luck, some even says it was the work of Madame Leota, a psychic medium who was a close friend of the Graceys. The disappearance of William and the last straw and the entire mansion was searched high and low for any signs of life, but it as if they vanished into thin air. It was a mystery what had happened to them, but it was safe to say one thing: they all must've been a very close family as they had a graveyard right next to the mansion. It was a mystery to this very day about what had happened to the family, but no one ever wanted to set foot near the old mansion, especially at night.
"Out of all the roofs and walls to end up on, we end up at the freaky-dickey one." Dimitri remarked distastefully.
"Well, stories or no stories, it's all we got." Sly said as he reached for the knob, but was stopped by Penelope.
"What do you think you're doing?" The mouse questioned her raccoon friend.
"I'm opening the door so we can go in."
"Sly, my parents told me never to go near this place at night, if they find out where I've been, they'll freak!"
"Same goes for me, plus, what if my dad drives by and sees us." Carmelita added worriedly. "Even if this place is abandoned, it's still counts as breaking and entering."
"Look, guys, if we had another choice I'd take it, but it's either we stay out here and get drenched or we go inside for shelter." Sly firmly said as he finally got the door open. "Besides, I brought a flashlight and some matches in my backpack in case of emergencies."
"Yeah, "The Murray's" not scared of some old house, bring it on!" Murray announced valiantly, though he was shivering deep down inside.
"Coming, Dimitri?" Bentley asked when he noticed the iguana not moving.
"What, no way, Joe-say, is Dimitri setting one tippy-toe in this fashion victim!" Dimitri stated stubbornly, but his eyes snapped open when more lightning cracked through the sky. "Although, he is more than willing to make at least one exception."
With that said, the iguana rushed inside with his tail (literally) between his legs, which caused Sly and Bentley to share a look of annoyance. It had been indeed dryer inside the old mansion than outside, but without electricity, it would have been pitch-black if it weren't for Sly's flashlight. The raccoon shined the flashlight all around to see that they were in the mansion's foyer, which had a marble statue of what appeared to be a male wolf, possible of the male Gracey's. What really surprised the group was that there was furniture in the den to their right.
"Hey, if this place is abandoned, then why is there still furniture here?" Murray questioned in confusion.
"Not sure, hey, there are candelabras over there, let's light some candles." Carmelita suggested, which held no arguments.
After the candles were light, the front door had sudden slammed shut, which startled the group, causing them to jump back.
"Must've been the wind, I'll get it." Sly said as he grabbed the doorknob, but try as hard as he could, the door wouldn't budge. "That's strange . . ."
"What?" Bentley asked after recovering from his shock.
""The door's stuck."
"No way, here, let "The Murray" help." Murray stated, but even with his help, the door still would open" "Okay, this is freaky."
"Let me help." Peng elected.
"Me too." Carmelita added, but, as the first couple of times, the door remained shut. "Ay Dios Mio, what is wrong with this thing."
"Well given how old this place is, it's not a surprise." Bentley dismissed, despite having a sense of dread taking him over. "I'm sure we'll be fine."
"Good evening . . ."
Upon hearing this new voice, the group stood frozen in place as if they were caught in a blizzard. Where did that voice come from? Weren't they suppose to be alone in this old mansion?
"Uh . . .who said that . . ?" Sly asked looking around.
"Wasn't "The Murray" . . ." Murray answered first, eyes wide open.
"I didn't say anything . . ." Peng said, looking over both his shoulders.
"It wasn't me . . ." Carmelita said, hugging herself to calm down.
"Me neither . . ." Penelope added, hiding behind Carmelita.
"Dimitri never utters in an old voice . . ." Dimitri stated, fear overcoming his demeanor.
"I-I-it seems to b-b-be coming from the w-w-walls . . ." Bentley stated, fear clear in his every being.
it was then that the air around the seven became eerily still, even the sound of the storm wasn't bothering what was going on inside. It was at that same moment that he voice spoke up once more.
"When hinges creak, in doorless chambers, and frightening sounds echo through the walls; whenever candle lights flicker where the air is deathly still. That is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror, with ghoulish delight!"
It was then that everything that the voice had said started happening, much to the group's horror. It eventually stopped, but not before leaving their marks on the seven teens.
"Hello, is someone there?" Sly reluctantly called out and was met by the mysterious voice.
"Welcome! Foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your Ghost Host."
With that said, the apparent "Ghost Host" let out a sinister chuckle, which made the group uncomfortable.
"H-h-h-haunted M-m-m-mansion . . ?" Bentley and Murray whimpered in absolute fright.
"G-g-g-ghost H-h-h-host . . . ?" Dimitri also whimpered in an equally frightened voice.
"Um, hi, are-are you William Gracey?" Sly called out once again, which wasn't answered until a few seconds later.
"I am."
"Okay, we are really, truly sorry for trespassing on your property, my friends and I just wanted shelter from the storm. So, if you'd be so kind as to open the front door, we'd be more than happy to leave and never bother you ever again."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that."
"Why c-c-can't you?" Penelope asked in a small, squeaky voice.
"Let me assure that you will not be harmed-"
"That's a relief." Carmelita sighed, feeling as though a great weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"-but you shall not be released, until-"
"Until, what?" Peng asked reluctantly.
"Until you all take a tour of my home."
"Voice-of-no-body-ghosty says what?" Dimitri asked in confusion.
"We have so few visitors . . . well, live ones, that is!"
The Ghost Host let out another sinister chuckle, frightening the group some more.
"Hold that thought, Willy; huddle!" Sly called as he and the other six gathered in a football circle. "Okay, it's official: we're trapped."
"Tragic, isn't it?" Dimitri asked sarcastically.
"Sly, I don't want to be here anymore, I want to go home . . ." Bentley pleaded shakily.
"Me too, storm or no storm, I really don't want to be here now . . ." Penelope mumbled in absolute fright.
"Look, I wanna get out of here too, but what choice do we have?" Sly asked, feeling that they had limited options.
"Yeah, besides, our generous Ghost Host just said he won't let us go, until we take a "tour" of this place." Carmelita added, though she was ready to leave, there was nothing she could do.
"As much as I want to leave, I see no other options." Peng stated.
"Well, "The Murray" is ready to do whatever." Murray said, trying hard to hide his own fear.
"Peng, Dimitri, I know we're not anywhere near friends, but we'll need to stick together to get through this." Sly stated, which made the panda and iguana share a glance, then nod. "Ready?"
"Break!" The six muttered.
"Okay, Willy, you've twisted our arms; we'll take your tour."
"Splendid! Kindly step this way . . . there's no turning back now . . ."
The Ghost Host let out another sinister chuckle as candles on the walls began to light up a hallway to what appeared to be a sort of parlor.
"Of course there isn't." Bentley muttered, the looked towards his raccoon, vixen, and hippo friends. "You'd think we'd be use to things like this after the past three years."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Dimitri asked, which had Peng and Penelope interested.
"Oh, nothing." Carmelita dismissed.
"Long story." Murray stated.
"Tell you some other time, right now we need to keep moving." Sly said, ushering his friends (plus the two tagalongs) towards the parlor.
And so, their tour has officially begun.
