“I DIDN’T SEE IT, I DIDN’T SEE IT, I DIDN’T SEE IT,” the old ghost kept shouting out in agony. Dazzling green mist crept along the crusty forest ground. The full moon stretched out behind the smooth, dark clouds in the late October night. The old ghost groaned out for a long, long time, the sound echoing out through the heavy neon green glowing forest. Dark orange light stretched out across the rough, black wall inside the front entryway. The dusty chandelier flickered on and off throwing out dark orange light over the cracked shelves. Dead, overgrown plants took over the shelves. A lady began crying in the corner. A small, shiny red painted wagon creaked along the lowest shelf between two cracked, pale green vases holding dead flowers.
Cade ran low to the ground from one towering evergreen to another, getting down behind several bushes. He stared out with a bright intensity. He slowly broke a smile. Pale shafts of moonlight lit up his short, dark spiraling hair falling low over his intense eyes. Blake shot fast across the cold ground, sliding to a stop next to Cade. His short, sandy hair glowed momentarily in the moonlight. He whispered something to Cade who shook his head. Then turning away, Blake mumbled something to himself. Both kids kept glancing back anxiously. Drew’s shadow slowly appeared. He barely crawled along the ground. Cade and Blake just shook their heads watching him moving incredibly slow. He shook his long, wild hair several times before finally reaching them. Then Cade pointed at them. The father and the mother remained still, watching the kids through the dark blue dusty window. The father held a worn out wrench, while the mother held a dusty, worn spoon. The two ghosts exchanged smiles. The father said, “They’re here.”
It’s almost time for Halloween, and the ghosts are restless. Cade, Blake, and Drew call themselves The Cashes Dade Ghost Strikers. They have made it their mission to start a revolution against the aliens who have ruined their school and their country. Check out the page at the top of this site called THE DADESTAR REVOLUTION to start an awesome adventure with endless, fun mysteries. If you want more great stories for Halloween, check out last year’s posts beginning with this one:
CHARACTER FUN FACTS: IS CADE MAYSON A GHOST?
Also, check out the first Halloween post from this year, the one right before this one called CHARACTER FUN FACTS: CADE’S MYSTERIOUS WAY.
It’s almost time to join the kids in their mission to solve the mystery of the Haunted Maysher House. Something tragic happened there, but no one knows what. There’s a secret message the ghosts want people to discover, but the only way is to find the ghost who appears in the mirror. Can you figure out which mirror the ghost will appear in? Who will it be? The grandfather, the father, the mother, the maid, the daughter, or the son? The clues will be there. Will you be able to figure it out? Don’t forget to come back here on Halloween night to see MYSTERY OF THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR: PART TWO. The ghosts will not let you leave if you don’t. Will you escape?
The dark blue sky turned black. The dark outlines of the trees grew still. Black clouds covered the moon. Dead leaves crunched under the kids’ shoes. The old house glowed in still murky green light. Blake reached for the door, then turned back to the other two, breaking a smile.
“Ready?”
“What do you think?” asked Drew. “What time is it?” he added, turning to Cade.
“Showtime,” he whispered with eyes lit. Blake slowly opened the silent door. Strong, bouncing dark orange light hit them as they entered the house. Chilling wind pushed them further in. Drew fell awkwardly on the black marble floor. The face of a middle-aged man appeared in the floor. He stared angrily at them. The wind knocked over several plants from the shelves behind them. The red wagon rolled across, stopping at the edge.
“Shut the door, you’re letting in a draft,” said Drew.
“What are you 85?” asked Blake. Cade turned around. The door slammed shut. A piano played a high-pitched flowing song, the same three high whistling chords over and over. “Happy now, Drew?”
“It’s still cold in here.”
“You want a blanket and some warm milk?”
“Well, a blanket and hot…”
“Quiet, quiet,” Cade whispered tensely. “Listen.” The house creaked and groaned around them. The black marble walls flashed in dark orange light flashing out from twisted chandeliers hanging high on the walls rising high. Dead whispers echoed out from the floor and walls. Shadows crept out from the black couch and black chairs set on each side of the dusty orange table holding a lamp with a dying, small flickering yellow light.
“It’s them,” Blake said in a low voice.
Cade shook his head. “No, there’s something else.” A low booming began, vibrating through the dusty, dirt covered floor. The green glowing square windows made of many smaller square panels rattled under the growing pressure. Just then, the door groaned so loud. The kids fell back and covered their ears. Then the door disappeared. Only a black wall remained. Neon green writing suddenly appeared:
THERE IS NO DOOR, NO ESCAPE, NO WAY OUT
UNLESS YOU SOLVE WHAT THE MYSTERY IS ABOUT
YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE UNLESS YOU SEE IT CLEARER
THAT IS, WHEN YOU SEE THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR
“What we do now?” asked Blake.
“Find a mirror,” said Drew with a shrug. The left chair started moving, dragging away from the wall. A faint white mist appeared. The dead yellow light flickered suddenly, then burned brighter against the black wall behind. As the kids watched, an older lady appeared, wearing a maid’s uniform. She got down and anxiously cleaned the floor where the chair was.
“Should we talk to her?” Drew whispered. The lady suddenly glided away toward the circular living room lit up by small dark orange candle clusters.
“Follow her,” said Blake.
“Stay in the shadows,” whispered Cade. They hurried into the large, empty living room. A circular thick orange carpet covered the floor. The lady got down and furiously scrubbed the carpet with a worn out rag. The dark orange candle clusters barely lit the room, not reaching the center.
“Hey, there’s a mirror,” said Blake pointing to a large, oval shaped mirror with a blue crystal border. “This is our chance.”
“If she stands up,” said Cade. The high-pitched piano chords started up again, playing slowly. A lady screamed from another part of the house. The maid just kept gliding around the carpet, cleaning with something in her hands. The distant lady began crying.
“We should check that out,” said Blake.
“No, wait until she stands up,” said Cade.
Drew sighed heavily, stood up and approached her saying loudly, “HEY LADY, CAN YOU STAND UP FOR A SECOND?” She kept gliding around in frantic circles. “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
“She can’t hear you,” said Blake standing next to him. Fast footsteps ran above them. Loud dragging cut over the soft piano music. Finally she stood up. The kids looked to the mirror. But all they could see was the dark wall behind, even as she walked past.
“Maybe it’s not a mirror,” said Drew. Cade walked over and pointed to his reflection.
“See? See?” Then he started making funny faces, stretching his mouth in ways that didn’t seem possible.
“Okay, I get it. It’s a mirror.” A loud crash upstairs knocked them back. The kids hurried up a long, winding staircase lit by small dark orange candles. Cade and Blake hurried ahead, while Drew slid to a stop. A bouncing neon green light cut into the dark hall. Drew opened the door showing a bedroom with a massive dollhouse in the center. Numerous small green candles lit up the many different rooms of the house. Drew looked around with wide eyes, his face twisting in amazement as he scanned from room to room. One room had a bunch of slides. Another had small figurines on a dance floor. Another had small pools with a fountain flowing in the center. Another one had all kinds of tubes with colourful waters.
Then Drew turned his gaze to a young girl building a new room near the top left corner. Another loud crash shook the walls. Drew turned to see a large mirror covered with blue and red jewels. He walked up to it, straining to see the reflection not covered, but the girl did not appear.
Drew walked out of the room into the dim circular hallway. Small clusters of dark orange candles barely lit up small cracked shelves holding various flower pots. A green model wagon sat between two. A bright, shiny red horse-drawn carriage with carved horses sat between two large, towering flower pots. He passed another bedroom with small, dark orange lights along various shelves holding small objects. Loud hammering started up echoing all around him. Drew followed the sound to a massive-half oval shaped bedroom.
The bed was covered in bright, colourful blankets. The frames and headboard were black with all kinds of designs carved throughout. A man with sad, empty eyes hammered on a rocking chair in the corner. Drew saw the chair reflected in a small oval shaped mirror with a shimmering glowing green border. It was rocking, but empty all around. He turned back and saw the man hammering on it. Fast footsteps ran in the hall past the room. Drew hurried out into the hall. He saw a young boy disappear up a staircase around the corner. Drew started after him. Another heavy crash rocked the walls. All the lights went out. Total, cold darkness surrounded him. He felt along the wall, his shoes barely tapping the floor. The lady’s crying broke the silence, coming from the first floor. A strong, sharp chill rushed into the hall. Slow footsteps creaked toward him.
Drew started nervously whistling a hopeful tune. He smiled, reaching the staircase, whistling louder and faster, until he heard another voice whistling behind him. He stopped cold. Drew slowly turned around trying to see in the cold dark. The whistling voice drifted past them.
“Yeah I can.”
“No, you can’t.”
“I totally can, I totally can, you’ll see.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“It’ll be easy.”
“You’re crazy.” Drew finally saw a dim, dark orange light cut into the top of the staircase. A young boy disappeared into the top room. Drew entered a massive, wide room with high, grand blue crystal glass windows letting in passing moonlight. High winds beat against the walls. The room was full of massive evergreens holding smooth, triangular neon green glowing leaves. A small, pale bucket sat on a branch near a misty figure. Another crash turned their gazes toward the far corner where the bucket went flying high, hitting the next branch while an old man holding an axe came down a rope ladder held by the branch. He began walking the floor, gazing around at the trees with a strong, concerned gaze.
“What’s going on?” asked Drew.
“Cade’s acting crazy.”
“He’s always acting crazy.”
“No, you don’t understand, he thinks he’s climbing up there,” said Blake pointing to a high balcony with a tall, rectangular mirror. The trees had large branches spiraling around the tree to the top, each row of branches widely spaced.
“No way,” said Drew shaking his head wildly, “no way, he can’t jump that high, no way he does that, he must be joking.“
“He’s not,” said Blake. “I asked him ten times.”
“Cade, how do…where’d he go?” Blake pointed up, while shaking his head. Cade jumped on the branch and bounced up to the next one. He bounced from branch to branch, circling around the tree. Near the top, he jumped to the next branch, didn’t quite get there, grabbed the leaves, hung there for a moment, then dropped back to the lower branch.
“Well, I guess he’ll have to come down now, right?” asked Drew.
“Did you just meet Cade?” The two kids gazed up to see Cade stare up with a strong, fiery gaze, then jump and bounce up, this time almost past the next branch. A few minutes later, Cade reached the balcony. He gazed down to them with a confident smile before turning to the mirror. Just then, a lady screamed, and the place went completely dark and silent…
