Who's There...?

 by Charlotte Bennardo

Who doesn't love a good ghost story? 

Especially those that happen to us?

 Photo by Aidan Roof: https://www.pexels.com/photo/view-of-dark-hallway-2449605/

When I was in middle school, we moved to an old farmhouse near the end of Long Island. The house had been built in the mid 1800's, and at one point was a 'rest home' for Civil War vets. Some died in the house. I wasn't bothered by that; if there were ghosts, I had questions...

Because the house was old it creaked a lot. I never attributed the noises to ghosts.

Except for one night....

The house had two staircases; one from the kitchen up to the rooms above (which was my bedroom), and the other near the front of the house which led up to my parents', sister's, and brother's bedroom. The staircase in the kitchen creaked when you stepped on the third step. Always. Every time. And I could hear it in my room. When my older brother was out late, he'd sneak in the house and up to his room using the staircase in the kitchen. He got wise to the fact that the stairs creaked and would step over that third step.

One night, I hear the step creak. Oh, my brother's sneaking up the stairs. I leave my room and tiptoe down the hall, hoping to catch him (good bribery material).

There's no one there. 

Go back to my room.

Creak.

No one there.

The stairs didn't creak all the time, but I never got out of bed to check again. 

I'll keep my questions to myself.

Char

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has two short stories in the Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) and Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) anthologies. Currently she is working on several novels for both children and adults, and her MFA. She lives in NJ with her family and her floofy cat. When they trimmed the backyard tree, the crazy squirrel couple had to move out.