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Dawn was certain there was a haunt in the secret passage behind her bedroom. After a week of sleepless nights, listening to the haunt’s moans, she decided to take matters into her own hands. On her next trip to the Washington Mall, Dawn picked up some paranormal nonfiction at BookCenter, a bundle of sage at Tiger Lily, and some vegan tacos at Tortilla House, just because.
Dawn packed her boombox and some Enya CDs, her “Harvest” scented Yankee Candle, and set up camp just outside the secret passage. She sat there reading The Scholastic Fun Fact Book of Ghosts. Then just before midnight, she heard something start up in the passage – walking back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. Then it sounded like somebody was trying to scream and got choked off. Then, there was a lot of thrashing and struggling, and finally everything got quiet.
Dawn took up her ghost book again, but before she could start reading, she heard footsteps behind the passage wall. She sat watching the door, and the footsteps kept coming closer and closer. She saw the panel in the wall shudder, and when it slowly began to open, she jumped up and hollered, “What do you want?”
The panel slid back easy-like, and there wasn't a sound. Dawn was trembling a little, but she finally opened the book and read a while. Then she got up and laid the book on the chair and lit her bundle of sage. Then the haunt started walking again and step!—step!—step!—behind the passage wall. Dawn sat watching the door, seeing the wall shake and the passage open. Standing there was a young girl.
Dawn backed up and said, “Who are you? What do you want?”
The haunt sort of swayed like she didn’t know what to do—then she just faded out. Dawn waited, waited, and when she didn’t hear any more noises, she went over and shut the door. She was sweating and trembling all over, but she was a brave girl and she thought that she'd be able to see it through. So she sat back down crisscross applesauce where she could watch; she sat down and waited.
It wasn’t long before she heard the haunt start up again, slowly...then it was right behind the wall. Dawn stood up and held her sage out before her. The passage slowly slid open wide. This time, Dawn spoke quietly. She said, "I ask for clear communication between myself and this spirit so that we may live in harmony with each other. I smudge this passage to clear any negative memories in this space. Spirit, what do you want?”
The haunt came right across the room, straight to Dawn, and took hold of her jean jacket. It was a girl, about 8 years old. Her hair was torn and tangled, and the flesh was dropping off her face so Dawn could see the bones and what was left of her baby teeth. She had no eyeballs, but there was a sort of blue light way back in her eye sockets. And she had no nose on her face.
Then she started talking. It sounded like her voice was coming and going with the wind blowing it. She told how her father had killed her for the insurance money after she won the Little Miss Stoneybrook Pageant, and buried her in the cellar. She said if someone would dig up her bones and bury her properly, she could rest.
Then she led Dawn to the corner of the passage, where a dusty plastic pink barrette lay almost hidden beneath the radiator. She told Dawn to leave it in the take a penny leave a penny plate the next time she and her friends went to the Rosebud Cafe —and she’d find out who had murdered her. And she said, “If you come back here once more after that--you’ll hear my voice at midnight, and I’ll tell you where my money is hid, and you can give it to the BSC.” The haunt sobbed like she was tired, and she sunk down toward the floor, and was gone.
The next Sunday, Dawn met the BSC at Rosebud Cafe, where she put the barrette in the take a penny leave a penny plate. When a certain man happened to touch it, it stuck to his hand. The man jumped up and rubbed and scraped and tore at the barrette, trying to get it off. Then he went to screaming, like he was going crazy. Well he confessed to the murder, and they took him on to jail. The bones were excavated from Dawn's house, and properly buried at Stoneybrook Cemetery.
After the man was tried, Dawn went back to the passage one midnight, and the haunt's voice told her to dig under the hearthrock. She did, and she found a big Caboodle full of money. And where that haunt had held on to her jean jacket, the print of those bony fingers was burned right into the denim. It never did come out.