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The next morning, his sister Jennifer doesn't believe anything he says, but Jake is sure he heard a ghost. Jake and the Halloween Ghosts Jake woke up to the sound of chains rattling. At least that's what it sounded like. He sat up in bed, his heart pounding, and looked at his alarm clock, the cow shaped one that Jennifer had given him as a joke because she said he had cow brains. 3:17am Great. Just great. He whispered. He listened hard, trying to hear the sound again, but now there was only silence. Well, almost silence. He could hear Jennifer's snorty snores from across the hall, which he would definitely bring up at breakfast. Jake pulled his covers up to his chin and closed his eyes. Just the house settling, he told himself. Or maybe the wind. Or maybe the heating system doing that weird clicking thing it always does. Or maybe it was a ghost. His eyes popped open. No, that's silly. Ghosts aren't real. But what if they were? Jake grabbed his phone from under his pillow. He wasn't supposed to have it in bed, but sometimes he just had to know something. Like right now. He searched. Do ghosts rattle chains? The first result said chain rattling is one of the most common signs of a haunting. Oh no, jake whispered. He did eventually get back to sleep. Eventually. The next morning, Jake plopped down at the kitchen table and reached for the cereal box. He shook it empty. Jennifer ate the last of it, his mother said, not looking up from her coffee. There's oatmeal on the stove. Oatmeal is just hot sadness in a bowl, jake muttered. Dramatic much? Jennifer said, walking into the kitchen, already dressed and looking annoyingly awake. You look terrible, by the way. Did you stay up watching those zombie videos again? No. I was woken up by a ghost. Jennifer stopped mid bite of her toast. Then she started laughing so hard that crumbs fell out of her mouth. A ghost. Oh, this is too good. Mom, did you hear? Jake thinks we have a ghost. I didn't say we have a ghost. I said I heard a ghost. There's a difference. His mother sighed the way she always did when Jake started one of his theories. Oh, what did you hear, sweetheart? Chains rattling. Chains at 3:17 in the morning? That's oddly specific, jennifer said. Did the ghost check in with you? About the time I looked at my clock, Jake, his mother said gently. The heating system has been making noises lately. Your father said he'd look at it this weekend. Eating systems don't rattle chains. Neither do ghosts, because ghosts aren't real, you stinky head, jennifer said. Jennifer, don't call your brother names, their mother said automatically, like she'd said it 10,000 times before. Jake ate his oatmeal in silence, which tasted exactly like hot sadness, just as he'd predicted. But he couldn't stop thinking about the chains. And the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that something wasn't right. After all, Halloween was only five days away. Wasn't that when the veil between worlds was supposed to be thinnest? He'd watched a video about it, a very educational video on a channel that definitely wasn't supposed to be scary, but kind of was. At swimming practice that morning, Jake was so tired he almost fell asleep during warm ups. Jake, 10 laps, backstroke. Let's go. Coach Tom yelled. Jake pushed off the wall and tried to focus, but his mind kept drifting back to the chains. What if there really was a ghost in the house? What if it was trying to communicate? What if? Jake, you're swimming in circles. Sorry, Coach. After practice, Lucas caught up with him in the locker room. You okay, man? You seem kind of out of it. Jake looked around to make sure no one else was listening, then leaned in close. I think my house might be haunted. Lucas blinked. Like haunted haunted? I heard chains rattling last night at 3:17am that's the witching hour, lucas said, his eyes getting wide. That's 3am Not 3:17. Close enough though, right? Jake felt a rush of relief. Finally, someone who didn't think he was crazy. You believe me? I mean, it's almost Halloween. That's when ghosts are most active, isn't it? That's what I thought. They started walking toward the parking lot where Jake's mom was waiting. We should investigate, lucas said. Like proper investigation. Document everything. Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. What are you two nerds talking about? Jennifer appeared out of nowhere, the way older sisters always do when you're trying to have a private conversation. Nothing, jake said quickly. Ghosts, lucas said. At the same time, Jennifer groaned. Ugh. You've infected Lucas now with your silliness. Great. Just great. That night, Jake lay in bed with his phone hidden under his covers, the voice memo app ready to record. He'd also borrowed his dad's old camera from the basement, the one with night vision that his dad used for that camping trip three years ago. He waited and waited. His eyes started to get heavy. Maybe tonight the ghost wouldn't creeeeek. Jake's eyes flew open. Creak. Creak. Footsteps. Slow, deliberate footsteps in the hallway. His heart hammered in his chest. He fumbled for his phone, pressed record on the voice memo app, and whispered, It's 2:47am I'm hearing footsteps outside my room. The footsteps stopped right outside his door. Jake held his breath. Then. Nothing. He waited for what felt like hours, but was probably only three minutes. Finally, he worked up the courage to crack open his door. The hallway was empty, but at the far end, near the bathroom, he saw something that made his blood run cold. A white, glowing figure. Jake slammed his door shut and dove back into bed, his whole body shaking. He'd seen it. He'd actually seen a ghost. A real ghost. In his house. He grabbed his phone and texted Lucas. I saw it. Glowing white figure in hallway. This is naughty drill, lucas replied immediately. Take a picture. But Jake was already under his covers, heart pounding, trying to remember if ghosts could walk through doors. The next morning, Jake shuffled into the kitchen looking like he hadn't slept at all. Which was basically true. You look like death warmed over, jennifer said cheerfully. Get it? Death because of your ghost. Not funny. His mother felt his forehead. Are you feeling okay? You don't have a fever? I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well. Ghost keep you up? Jennifer asked, barely containing her laughter. Actually, yes. Jake pulled out his phone and played the voice memo for everyone at the table. His whispered voice came through clearly. It's 2:47am I'm hearing footsteps outside my room. And then, clear as day, there was a creaking sound. His mother's eyebrows went up. Well, that is creepy. See? Jake said triumphantly. It's still probably just the house settling, his father said, but he didn't sound entirely convinced. I also saw something a Glowing white figure at the end of the hallway. Jennifer snorted. You probably saw your own reflection. Genius. I know what a reflection looks like. Do you, though? Both of you. Enough. Their mother said. Jake. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. There is. Ghosts. His father rubbed his temples. No more scary videos before bed. That's final. But dead final. Over the next three days, Jake documented everything. More chain rattling sounds. Two occurrences. Cold spots in the hallway. Three occurrences. His bedroom door opening by itself. One occurrence, though it might have been because he didn't close it all the way. A strange smell like old flowers. One occurrence. Near the bathroom, objects moving on their own. One occurrence. His swim goggles were on the floor instead of his desk, where he definitely left them. He kept a notebook, which Jennifer called his Diary of Dumbness, and showed everything to Lucas, who was fully on board with the ghost theory. Now we should do a seance, lucas suggested during lunch at school. What's a seance? It's where you try to communicate with the spirit. How do we do that? I don't know. I saw it in a movie once. I think you need candles. My parents will never let us light candles. Flashlights, then. Close enough. By Halloween day, Jake was convinced their house was definitely, absolutely, 100% haunted. And he had a plan to prove it. Absolutely not, his mother said when Jake presented his plan at dinner. But mom, you are not staying up all night on Halloween to catch a ghost. You have swim practice in the morning. Can I at least stay up until midnight? Please? Lucas can come over. We'll be quiet. His parents exchanged a look. Fine, his father said. But midnight is the absolute limit. And no waking up your sister. I'll be awake anyway, jennifer said. Someone has to make sure you two don't burn the house down. Halloween night, Jake and Lucas set up their ghost hunting station in the living room. They had Jake's dad's old camera with night vision, two flashlights, Jake's phone to record audio, a notebook to document everything, a bag of Halloween candy they were definitely supposed to be sharing with trick or treaters. But weren't. Jennifer sat on the couch, scrolling through her phone and occasionally making ghost noises to scare them. Which worked more than Jake wanted to admit. This is so silly, she said for the 15th time. You don't have to come down here, jake pointed out. Someone has to be the voice of reason. The voice of annoying, more like, lucas muttered, and Jake fist bumped him. At 10:47pm they heard it. Chains. Rattling chains. Jake and Lucas looked at each other, eyes wide. Did you hear that, Jake whispered. I heard it, lucas whispered back. Oh, please, jennifer said. That's obviously creak. Freak creak. Footsteps coming from upstairs. But everyone was downstairs. Jake's parents were in the kitchen. Jennifer was right there on the couch. The only one upstairs was. Oh my. Jake breathed. It's the ghost. Even Jennifer looked a little uncertain now. The footsteps continued, slow and deliberate, moving from one end of the upstairs hallway to the other. Should we check it out? Lucas asked. Are you crazy? Jennifer hissed. That's how people get hurt in horror movies. But we need proof, Jake said. His hands were shaking, but he picked up the camera anyway. This was it. This was his moment. He was going to prove that ghosts were real, and then everyone would have to apologize for calling himself silly and Stinky Head. And the lights went out. All of them. The whole house plunged into darkness. Jennifer screamed. Lucas grabbed Jake's arm so hard it hurt. And then from upstairs, they heard a long, low moaning sound. Moment. Jake yelled. His parents came running from the kitchen with their phone flashlights on. What's wrong? What happened? The ghost. Jake practically shrieked. It's upstairs. We heard chains and footsteps and moaning. And then the lights went out. His father was already heading toward the stairs. Stay here, dad. No. Jake shouted. You can't go up there alone. That's how you get possessed. But his father was already climbing the stairs, his phone light casting weird shadows on the walls. They waited in tense silence. Even Jennifer had stopped making sarcastic comments. Then they heard his father's voice from upstairs. Oh, for crying out loud. That didn't sound like someone encountering a supernatural entity. False alarm. Father called down. Come see this. Slowly, nervously, Jake climbed the stairs with Lucas and Jennifer behind him. His mother brought up the rear. At the top of the stairs, Jake's father was standing in the hallway holding something. It was a cat. A very fat, very annoyed looking orange cat wearing a collar with a little bell on it. This, his father said, is what's been haunting us. What? But how? Jake stammered. Must have gotten in through the basement window. I noticed it was cracked open earlier. The chain rattling. That's this. He jiggled the collar, which had a nameplate attached with a small chain. It made a rattling sound. The footsteps, Jake's mother said, shining her light down the hallway. Cat walking around the glowing white figure. Jennifer was grinning now, clearly delighted by this turn of events. She opened the bathroom door where the nightlight was plugged in, casting a white glow. Probably this reflected off the mirror. And the moaning? Lucas asked weakly. Right on cue, the cat let out a long, mournful meow. But. But the lights went out, Jake protested. His father sighed. I was trying to fix the circuit breaker before you all noticed. Old wiring probably needs to be replaced. I flipped the wrong switch, trying to isolate the problem. The cat meowed again, louder this time, struggling in his father's arms. The cold spots. Jake tried one more time. That's actually a real thing, his mother said. The heating system needs repair. I told you your father was going to look at it. Jake looked at the cat. The very normal, very alive, very non supernatural cat. So no ghost? No ghost, his father confirmed. Jennifer burst out laughing. Oh my brother. Oh my. You were terrified of a cat. This is the best Halloween ever. I'm telling everyone at school. Jennifer, their mother started. Let's see whose cat this is, his father said, checking the nameplate on the collar. Says here his name is Boo. And and he belongs to the Hendersons two streets over. I'll give them a call. Lucas patted Jake on the shoulder. I mean, we couldn't have known you were scared too, jake protested. Oh, I was absolutely terrified, lucas admitted. But I'm not the one who's been keeping a ghost diary for the past week. The next morning, Jake came down to breakfast to find a gift bag on the table with his name on it. What's this? Open it, his mother said, smiling that smile that meant she thought something was cute. But Jake probably wouldn't. He opened the bag. Inside was a stuffed toy cat, orange fat, with a collar that had a little bell on it. From Jennifer, his mother said. She stayed up late making the collar. Where is she? Jake asked suspiciously. Sleeping in. But she wanted me to give you this. There was a note attached to the cat. For my stinky little brother who got haunted by Boo the cat. Love your annoying older sister who is always right. Jake couldn't help but smile a little bit. Just a little bit. So, his father said, sitting down with his coffee. Learned anything from all this? Jake thought about it. The chains that were a collar. The footsteps that were tiny cat feet. The glowing figure that was just a nightlight. The moaning that was just cat sounds. Yeah, jake said. I learned that cats are very suspicious. Suspicious and probably secret agents of some kind. His father choked on his coffee. His mother laughed so hard she had to sit down. And Jake grabbed a bowl of cereal, the good kind, full of sugar, and started planning what he'd investigate next. Because just because the ghost wasn't real didn't mean there wasn't something weird going on in the neighborhood. He was almost positive he'd seen a UFO last week? Almost positive. And that is the end of our story. Good night. Sleep tight. Sa.