A Wizard on Oak Street

By Andrew Carmitchel

Christopher had always been afraid to go near the haunted Marston Mansion, just like everyone else. The very day he decided he was going to be the first one to go into the gates, he got the scare of his life. But he was determined to confront his own fear; even if it meant doing it alone. What he found was so powerful, he could tell no one about it. If he did, he would lose it all

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 13, 2007
• ISBN: 9781469757865

Andrew Carmitchel

Andrew Carmitchel is a recently retired educator who spent over 30 years in education. This is one of two books written for his grandchildren. A Wizard on Oak Street is a book for anyone who loves mystery, magic and adventure. Mr. Carmitchel continues writing every day in Highland, Illinois.

Book preview

Chapter 1

I got the idea walking home from school. It was a chilly, sunny late October afternoon, and I was taking my time getting home. It had been a bad day at school. I had forgotten to do two homework assignments, and both teachers went ape on me, and I had nothing to look forward to when I got home, except chores that my Grandma would give me, and a ton of homework.

Anyway, I was dawdling around, kicking a stone down the sidewalk in front of me, when for some reason I looked up and saw I was in front of the old Marston Mansion. It was scary, and it was a legend. I’m sure that in every town there’s a house, or a cemetery or something, that everyone says is haunted, and has all kinds of weird and spooky stories going around about it. The Marston Mansion was ours. Dark and gloomy, it was set way back from the street, and it had all these castle-like columns and stuff, with an overgrown yard and trees that looked like witches; the whole works. It gave a guy the creeps during the daytime and at night—it was terrifying.

Maybe it was because it was so close to Halloween, or maybe it was just because I was in the middle of a rotten, boring day, but it hit me right then and there: I was going get that house on Halloween night! And I meant the tricking part of trick or treating—rotten eggs, soaping windows, flaming poop bags that had to be stamped out—whatever it took. I would be the first kid ever to have the guts to go up to the place, and to do something when I got there. I’d be the first kid ever to risk the mean old man who supposedly lived there; Marston himself. The kids at school would be talking about it for weeks if I could pull it off. Months. I’d be famous!

The very idea of this gave me the shivers, but it also thrilled me. This was brilliant! I was so excited about the idea that I just stood there staring at the old mansion, frozen in thought. For my whole life up to that point, I’d been too afraid to even look at the place, just like everybody else. But now here I was, planning to vandalize it!

I don’t know how long I’d been standing there when it happened, but when it did, it was like an electric bolt went through me. I jumped straight up before I knew why. One of the upstairs curtains had moved! Someone was watching me!

Panic is a funny thing. It makes some people run blindly away, usually until they collide into a tree or something. Others just grab their hair and scream. Me? I just kept staring, and yelled the most ridiculous thing anybody has ever yelled. I screamed out OH … BUTT!!

I’m not proud of it, but that’s what came out. People say some strange things when they’re all excited or panicky. My Grandfather once yelled out the words NO COOL! when he was all excited about something. We still tease him about that. Maybe that’s where I inherited my reaction to panic. My Grandfather. Who knows?

In any case, you’ve got to understand what a big deal this was; this curtain moving. No one ever saw anything at that place. It was a house that just stood there, with no sign of life, for years and years. Oh you could go by there at night and see the faint glow of what looked like a lantern from deep inside the house once in a while, but that was it. No one, except a few adults, had even seen old man Marston before.

Once Billy Jenkins said he saw him. He said the old man was out raking leaves, and that he looked like a vampire. We could buy into the vampire part, but raking leaves? Most of us think Billy probably dreamed it. He’s goofy like that.

Anyway, to see a curtain move was big. It was horrifying and great at the same time, if that makes any sense. As I finally got my nerves a little under control and forced myself pull my eyes away from the place (I realized that I was shaking), I started to think