Spookacular! (Third Chapter of 'Welcome to Red Creek;.)

"Who are you? When did my best toy start talking and wagging its tail? What to you mean, they're your mother and father? What are you all doing in my bedroom?"

Candice could not believe her eyes or her ears right then. Hugga Puppy gave a small giggle, and said, "We all live here in my house in Hick Street. Don't they both look happy? I used to love watching my parents dance, in the half light. My Dad only visited some evenings."

"So, you're a ghost, here after midnight. Do you have a name?"

"Yes, my name is Eddie. This is only a harmless haunting. My mother and I drowned in the cellar under here many long years ago. They live on, always dancing in love, in my visions of when we all so happy together."

Candice was trying to make some sense of this drama story. But she had not noticed any door leading to a cellar in the Flanagan's new, but vintage home. So she asked, "What was your full name? Is this a fake stooge?"

"My name is Edmund William Smythe, with a Y. I am still trapped in the cellar, underneath this room. Release me, so I can join my mother and father, and be a family again."

Candice could not hear the invisible romantic waltz music. The dancing shadows seemed to flicker and fade. Soon, they were transparent, only a hint of the supernatural remained to puzzle Candice.

Hugga Puppy's tail stopped wagging as his parents vanished once more, and he snuggled his long beloved head on Candice's shoulder. "Um, Hugga Puppy, either someone here is a terrible liar, or this is sort of for real. Where is the door for the cellar?"

Hugga Puppy gently kissed his suddenly wet snuffly nose on her face, seeming to whisper,

"Have some worms. Nothing but the dead and dying here in 7 Hick Street."

Candice tried to think about this experience, hoping her bedroom would not get flooded, and she might be the next ghost on the block. Eddie might be true, he could be a distant cousin of Mrs. Smythe with a Y and Lisa with an S.

Then why didn't he go and live with them? Apparently, the Smythe with a Y family lived at the end of Hick Street, right next to the Pony Club. They were the only other family currently living in Hick Street, each home surrounded by 100 acres of farmland. The rest of the houses in Hick Street were deserted, abandoned, windows smashed or shuttered, bits of iron roofing banging in the night. Was that a soft but scorching breeze stirring the neighbourhood?

At that hour, no one else was awake, only Candice. The candle glowed softly. Hugga Puppy was silent, the silhouettes of crinoline romance could no longer be seen. The vines on the porch still seemed to muttter, shrouding each window. Candice tried to keep her exhausted eyes open, but she eventually faded into a hot, troubled sleep. Her last thought before morning was to hope this spooktacular ghost story would look better when the sun rose again.

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Candice was woken by Montana pushing open her bedroom door, and hurling herself onto her sister's bed in the half light. The aroma of sizzling sausages, gifted by Mrs. Smythe with Y, tempted both the girls to appear in their pyjamas to follow the scents of waffles and frying to the kitchen. Their Dad was already up and about, dressed in his denim version of local farmer gear.

"Good morning, sleepy heads," he said, as their Mum poured him a cup of coffee. She believed in a decent cup of coffee to kick start each morning. Their Dad continued with his pep talk.

"It's early rising here now kiddos. You are now officially Paddy's farmhands, able to do anything at all."

"Is this the Pony Club day?" Montana asked.

Candice groaned, "Did you have to remind me? That ruined breakfast?"

Dad only smiled, "Come on, Candice, give things here your best shot. Pony Club is tomorrow. You can say Haaa-ay to the horsies then. Today I am planning to take on those vines on the porch, let some light in. You two are going to help your Mum unpack and stash as much as you can. Here are two more cans of bug spray. It is your mission to demolish as many spiders as you can."

Then he took his plate to the rusty sink, saying, "Great breakfasts here, eat up. Farmer Paddy's off the destroy those vines! Top of the morning to you."

Candice and Montana spent most of the day unpacking, and chasing spiders. Their Mum was very glad when Mrs. Smythe with a Y called in after a scrappy lunch. This time she had brought a chicken pot luck dinner, with dumplings. Candice wondered about the link to spooky Eddie's ghost, which now seemed to be residing in Hugga Puppy. The sunlight was emerging from where her Dad had hacked down as many vines as he could in one day.

Paddy Flanagan came indoors, groaning, "My back's on strike."

"So's mine!" Candice said, "All the spiders from the vine have made it indoors. They're everywhere."

Just as the family were sitting down to watch some country television, a hairy legged grey spider crept across the screen.

"I think they're immune to bug spray," Candice's mother said. The two girls were forced to sit through a show called Farmer's Hour, as they were both now farmer's daughters. The entire program was doom and gloom. Candice went to bed early, hoping she would survive the next few years, living off the land. Or was Eddie part of a fear campaign?

In her bedroom, Hugga Puppy was waiting, his head still looked cute on her pillow. Candice hid her soft toy under her bed covers, until her folks had said goodnight. Her LED candle was shining again, there were now drapes on the windows. The moon was riding high that night, as Candice cuddled Hugga Puppy. He remained silent, not like last night. There were no romantic dancing shadows on her mirror. But a large spider appeared, doing a creepy form of jitterbug as it started to weave a giant web across the specks on the old dim mirror on the dresser. Candice closed her eyes, surely Pony Club would not be so bad. Maybe, perhaps not. There might be other kids to meet, somewhere in the district.....