It was Halloween and I was trick or treating with my brother, Austin. We lived in a small town by the name of Normal Valley. We came across a mansion. At the gate there was a sign that read Someplace Else.
"I heard that this place is haunted." Austin said as he looked at the mansion in awe. Then he turned to me. "I dare you to go in."
"What? N-no." I said.
"What are you? Chicken?" He said teasingly.
"I'm not a chicken." I said defensively. "I'll go in."
As I walked up to the gate it opened. I froze. I heard Austin chuckle and at that, I slowly walked forward to the mansion. The doors opened by themselves and when I was inside, they slammed shut. I tried to open them, but they were locked. I was trapped.
"And just where do you think you're going." A voice behind me said.
I turned around to see a tall man with curly black hair wearing a long black cloak.
He had an evil smile on his face.
"You came into my house, so now you're my guest. I insist you stay awhile." He said.
I looked around to see we were standing in a ballroom.
"So, what's your name sweetheart?" He asked.
I was too in shock to say anything. He became annoyed at my silence. He clapped his hands together loudly.
"Hello! I asked you a question." He snapped.
"M-my name is Kayla." I said.
"Kayla. Tell me, do you believe in ghosts?" He asked.
"No." I said.
He chuckled.
"Well, that's funny because, sweetheart," he paused. Then, he put his face close to mine before whispering "you're looking at one."
I gasped. He stepped back and the evil smile returned to his lips. That's impossible. Ghosts aren't real.
"Are you scared?" He asked.
"No. I'm a little uncomfortable, but not scared." I said.
"Well, that's too bad. Looks like I have to step it up a little bit."
He took off the black cloak to reveal a white button-up shirt and black pants.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"They call me the Maestro." He said.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the center of the room.
"Would you care to meet the family?" He asked.
"Okay." I said, unsure.
"Excellent." He said in a barely audible tone before projecting what looked like blue gel out of the palms of his hands. Figures started to form out of that gel. Soon enough there was a room full of people.
He stood turned away from me, his arms outstretched. The group of people looked old, a thin veil of web covering some of their faces. He turned around and began to dance, the other people dancing with him as if they were back up dancers. Lighting began to flash and the thunder rolled. I felt my body start to shake as he came closer to me within the dance.
He held my face in his hands and suddenly, I felt like I was frozen right there in front of him. He looked into my eyes as if he was looking into my soul. Then, he pulled his hands away from my face. He backed up and looked down at his shoes.
After a second he looked back up at me. I must have looked frightened because he looked slightly satisfied. Before I knew what was happening, he reached down and ripped off his clothes, turning into a skeleton. He snapped and music started to play. He began to dance. At the end of the dance he took off his head, bowed, and put it back. Slowly, he walked towards me. I cringed as he put a bony hand under my chin.
"Are you scared yet, sweetheart?" He asked then chuckled.
I wasn't able to speak, I was only able to nod.
He stepped back and spun around. He spun quite a few times. As he spun, the people started to disappear. He finally stopped. He wasn't a skeleton anymore. He stretched out his arms and then bowed.
"So did you have a good time." He asked.
"Y-yes." I said a little unsure of what just happened.
He smiled, but it wasn't an evil smile like before, it was sincere and gentle.
"Maestro?" I said.
He laughed and said "you can call me Michael."
"Okay, Michael, how did you do all that? You know, making all the people appear and turning into a skeleton." I asked.
"I told you. I'm a ghost. For a ghost, anything is possible." He said.
So he really was a ghost. It was hard not to believe in ghosts after what I had seen tonight.
"So do you still want to leave?" He asked.
"No, I don't want to leave, but I have to. My brother is waiting outside. He's probably worried about me."
"Okay, I'll let you go on one condition. Promise me that you'll come back sometime." He said.
"I will, I promise." I said.
He smiled and then winked at me. Then, he disappeared out of thin air.
I opened the door and went outside to where Austin was.
"Wow. You were in there for awhile. Did you find anything." He asked.
"Nothing." I said.
I smiled to myself as we continued trick or treating.
