How about a ghost story?

WEIRD NOISES IN THE NIGHT

            One rainy spring night, Bailey and her best friends, Jill and Summer, were in her room eating popcorn and working on their school project. Their assignment was to build different kinds of houses from the past to the present, and they’d been working on them all week. Bailey slapped a second coat of blue paint on her masterpiece. “Ta-da! I’m finished.”

            “Neat!” Summer said. “What kind of house is it?”

“It’s a Victorian mansion, like my grandparents lived in years ago. According to legend, a ghost prowled the attic on dark, gloomy nights, making spooky, moaning noises.”

            Jill snorted. “Ghosts, ha! There’s no such thing. I built a castle, the home of royalty in olden times. Even today the King and Queen of England live—”

Suddenly, a weird noise sliced through the air, cutting off Jill’s words.  

            WHOOSH–SWISH! GURGLE–GURGLE!

Bailey gulped. “Did you hear that?”

Summer almost choked on her popcorn. “I h-heard. W-what was it?”

Jill rolled her eyes. “Oh, pooh! You’re both such scaredy-cats. It’s just the wind and rain.”

Bailey wasn’t so sure. She looked out the window at the dark sky. Raindrops slapped against the windowpane. Not a single star twinkled. The noise had sounded like water, though. What else could it be? “You’re right, Jill. It is the rain. But we’re not scaredy-cats.”

“Scaredy-puppies?” Jill asked.

Everybody laughed, the weird noise forgotten. “Tell us about your house, Summer,” Bailey said. “It looks … out of this world.”

“It is. Since I like space creatures, I designed a futuristic house for a Martian. It spins through the universe, and when the Martian wants to visit another planet, he lands his home.”

“So it’s a house and airplane combined,” Bailey said.

“Yup.”

“Cool,” Jill said.

Outside, lightning lit up the sky like fireworks. Thunder grumbled.

And then—

The lamp blinked.

The lights went out.

The walls creaked.

Bailey gasped and pointed a trembly finger. “Look!”  

Two eyes, as red and shiny as marbles, sparkled in the dark. Three girls shrieked and dove under their sleeping bags, like dolphins plunging under a wave.

“It’s a dragon from your castle, Jill,” Summer whimpered, her voice muffled in the covers, “with flame-shooting nostrils.”

“No!” Bailey cried. “It’s your alien from Mars.”

Jill snorted. “There are no such things. It’s your brother, Bailey, playing tricks.”

“My brother’s spending the night at his friend’s house.”

The room got so still Bailey could hear her heartbeat.

And then—

Something walked across Bailey’s back. She held her breath. That same something crawled under the sleeping bag. A scratchy tongue licked her nose.

Her breath rushed out. She sat up. “Whee! It’s just Eei-oh.”

Eei-oh said, “Meow,” and marched out of the room.

Summer’s head peeked out. “I didn’t know you had a cat.”

Bailey could barely see her in the shadowy room. So she got up, took the flashlight from her dresser, and flicked it on. She settled back on the floor.

“Eei-oh’s not mine,” she said. “I found him on the front porch this morning. He was cold and shivery, so I brought him in the house. Mom says I have to find his owner. If nobody claims him, I can keep him.”

And then—

WHOOSH-SWISH! GURGLE-GURGLE!

No one moved.

But Bailey knew exactly what it was. “The ghost from my grandparents’ house. And she’s in the closet.”

“G-g-ghost!” Summer squealed. “Make her go away.”

“I repeat, ghosts are not real,” Jill said, but her voice was high and squeaky.

“Okay. I have an idea,” Bailey said, sounding a lot braver than she felt. “We’ll scare her away.”

“How?” Summer and Jill asked at the same time.

Bailey scratched her ear. “Well, ghosts say ‘boo’ to scare people. Why can’t people say ‘boo’ to scare ghosts?”

“Let’s try it,” Jill said. “Not that I believe there really is a ghost, you understand.”

“I believe,” Summer whispered.

“Me, too,” Bailey said. “But we’ll send her running, or flying, or whatever. On the count of three. Ready?

“Ready.” 

“One.” They rose.

“Two.” They crept to the closet.

“Three.” Bailey threw open the door and in unison they yelled, “Boo!”

And then—

WHOOSH-SWISH! GURGLE-GURGLE!

“Yeow!” three girls cried. “That came from the bathroom.”

“Okay, girls, be brave,” Bailey said. “One more time.”

They crunched in a huddle as she aimed the flashlight, and they tiptoed down the hallway. Thunder grumbled. A floorboard creaked. They paused. But no ghost leaped at them from hidden corners. The bathroom door was ajar. Inside, it was as black as a cave, and quieter than falling snowflakes.

“Maybe the gh-ghost has gone,” Summer said.

Bailey nodded. “She must have heard us say ‘boo.’”

And then—

WHOOSH-SWISH! GURGLE-GURGLE!

“Eek!” Jill screamed. “It is a ghost!"

            “Meow.”

Summer frowned. “Ghosts don’t meow.”

Bailey giggled. “Unless they’re cat ghosts.” She pushed open the bathroom door and flashed the light on a fuzzy creature, standing by the toilet. The ghost put a paw on the toilet handle and pushed down.

Eei-oh! Ghost Cat!

.

WHOOSH-SWISH! GURGLE-GURGLE!

	Getting dizzy Eei-oh!

His head spun in circles as he watched the water swirl around and around.

Bailey picked up the ghost and scratched his velvet-soft ears. “You certainly are a noisy cat, Eei-oh, but you’re no ghost.”

THE END

Now, try your hand at illustrating. Draw your own dragon, alien, and ghost.

You can even write your own ending to the story.

Have fun!