The Haunting at Walnut Lane
By: Todd Hoffman
The house at 234 Walnut Lane had been vacant for years before the Peeper family bought it. Some people in town thought the house was haunted. The Peepers, who didn’t believe in things like ghosts, took one look at the old house and said, “We’ll take it!”
Just days after they moved in, weird things started to happen.
Nine-year-old Ned was the first to notice. He was asleep when he felt something warm and wet lick his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing but darkness. “Strange,” he said to himself.
The next day, more weird things happened.
When Mr. Peepers woke up, he found his favorite pair of slippers had been chewed apart. When he asked Ned and his sister, Nora, which one of them had been chewing on his slippers, they looked at him like he was crazy.
Mrs. Peepers was the next to notice something strange. She was walking into the living room when she tripped over something large and soft and completely invisible.
“That’s odd,” she said to herself.
Later that night, things got really weird. The Peepers were sitting down to dinner when one of Ned’s tennis balls began floating in the middle of the living room.
At first no one said anything.
Eventually, Mr. Peepers spoke up. “Ummmm, I don’t want to sound crazy, but does anyone else notice something strange?”
“Do you mean the tennis ball floating in the middle of the living room?” Nora asked.
“Yes,” Mr. Peepers said as he slurped his soup. “Do you see it too, Ned?”
Ned nodded his head.
Just then the ball began floating toward them. It dropped to the ground by Mrs. Peeper’s feet. She kicked it across the room.
Seconds later, the ball once again lifted into the air. This time it landed next to Nora, who flung it into the kitchen.
When the ball began floating toward them again, Mr. Peepers rushed everyone into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. Moments later, they heard something scratching the door.
“Quick!” Mr. Peepers said. “Everyone lean against the door!”
As everyone leaned against the door, they thought they heard something else.
Ned and Nora looked at each other.
“Is that a dog barking?” Nora said.
“It couldn’t be,” Ned said with disbelief.
They placed their ears to the door. They could hear what sounded like a dog whimpering.
“I . . . I think it’s a dog,” Ned said.
“Or maybe a dog’s ghost,” Nora said.
“I have an idea,” Ned said. He then stuck his hand through the crack in the door.
“Be careful!” Mrs. Peepers said.
Whatever was on the other side of the door started sniffing Ned’s hand. Then it gave his hand a warm and friendly lick.
“It is a dog! Or at least I think it’s a dog!” Ned said. “And I think he wants to play!”
The Peepers opened the door slowly. The ghost dog barked happily and bounded into the room.
“He sure seems friendly!” Mr. Peepers said.
“Can we keep him?” Nora said.
“Let’s call him Barkley!” Ned said.
~The End~
Illustration Copyright © 2009 Roberta Baird
Copyright © 2009 by Todd Hoffman