Story- "The Haunted House" (A girl has to spend the night in a haunted house, but she has a few unwelcomed visitors. . .the end is great)
... She grabs her bag and pulls out her things. She brought many things with her ranging from food to games. Manny also had reading to catch up on in her English IV class. She takes out her English novel, “The Man in the Iron Mask,” and begins reading. Manny reads for fifteen minutes when she hears the chimes on the clock signifying nine o’clock. She places her nose back in her book. She jumps at the sound of a knock on the door. She contemplates answering the door or not, but decides to anyway. “Probably Angie,” thinks Manny. She strolls down the stairs. Before she can reach the door, she hears another knock, but this time louder. Manny reaches the door and opens it. Nothing. “Hello,” said Manny uneasy. No response. She closes the door and begins to walk back upstairs. She hears knocking again. With hesitation she walks back to the door and opens it. “Hello Susie,” speaks a short plump man with red hair. The man’s voice startles Manny because of its delightful tone. His appearance bothers Manny. His skin colored with a very light tint. His clothes seem to come from the early 1900’s, but they resemble new clothing. “My name is not Susie,” replies Manny. “Of course it is not. My name is Barry, and I am coming to confirm the . . .” Manny slams the door in his face and locks it before he completes his statement. She sprints upstairs and quickly places her nose back in her book. Manny begins reading her book which she lost interest in. Her mind reviews over and over what she thinks she just saw. It wonders about who or what the man came for. Time slips by as she questions what went on. Next thing, she hears chimes again reporting half past nine o’clock. Manny regains her sanity that she feels she lost. She buries her face deeper in her book. Trying to concentrate, she reads faster. Her mind fools her into believing she hears things. She begins reading aloud. She tries to keep herself busy. She assumes that staying occupied makes time pass faster. Indeed! Time passes faster. Before Manny knows it, the clock chimes ten o’clock. Manny lifts her head out of her book, looks and listens for anything unusual, and places her eyes back on her book hoping nothing will happen. Against her desires she hears, “Knock. Knock. Knock.” She jumps up. The look on Manny’s face drops. She remembers that she did not lock the door. She runs out of the room and down the stairs. Once Manny reaches the bottom of the stairs, she sees a tall slender woman. At the sound of Manny running down the stairs, the woman turns to face her. “Aah, there you are, my dear Susan. So has there been any change in the guest count? If so, we need to know to make the extras.” Confused, Manny responds, “Who are you and what are you talking about? My name is not Susan!” The woman begins to talk to Manny, but Manny zones out into space. She tries to put things together. Manny steadily stares at the woman. Her voice’s deep and business-like tone, and her beauty catch Manny’s attention. Another item catches Manny’s eye, her dress. This dress’s design belongs to the 20 and 30 decades. It looks very antique. Manny keeps examining the woman. Manny notices something fall on the floor. She looks, and it appears to be a drop of something. Blood. Manny feels a shiver run through her whole spine when she sees it drip off the woman’s arm. Manny looks. Blood covers the whole backside of her arm. When Manny sees this, she screams and runs the woman out of the house. She locks the door after the woman. Manny, with tears in her eyes, backs up slowly until she reaches the stairs. Manny sits down and then proceeds to lay back. Tears slowly drip down each one of her cheeks. “Why this happens to me?” She asks. “I knew I should not have taken the stupid bet,” she sobbed. She regains her calmness and walks up the stairs back to her room. To calm herself even more she begins gazing around the room. She figures that the room belonged to a woman at one time because of the femininity. She strolls over to a bookcase that overflows with books. The books range from education to entertainment. Manny finds a yearbook in the very back on the bottom shelf. She assumes it belonged to the person who occupied the home last. She takes it to the rug where she sat earlier. Sitting down with the book in her lap she scans over the cover and the first couple of pages. Manny then comes across the page of seniors, which to her surprise includes the women who just met her at the door. She gasps at the sight of the women, and the person by her als...