The Secret of the Haunted House

By Jack Yerby

Ghosts don’t leave footprints!
There’s a mysterious light in the old, burned down house across the road. Could it be the ghost of old lady Hampton? Or maybe the firefighter who died trying to save her? And why is Mrs. Tsosie so afraid to get close to the property? Kenny doesn't believe in ghosts, but when strange footprints are discovered in the neighborhood, he and his brother search the old ruins for clues. Kenny knows he is getting close to unraveling the mystery when he discovers firsthand just how dangerous crime solving can be!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crimson Dragon Publishing
• Release date: Sep 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781944644130

Jack Yerby

Jack Yerby is a retired high school French and English teacher living in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. He enjoys a good story, especially one with a bit of a mystery to it. And by writing young adult mysteries, he hopes to pass along his love of reading to the next generation, especially the boys. When not in the gym, Jack enjoys traveling to different countries, and in particular, France. He lives with his cats, Midnight and Twilight, who take turns napping in his lap while he writes on the computer.

Book preview

There is a partially burned down adobe house with debris in the yard. It is night, and two teens are approaching the house using flashlights.The Secret of The Haunted House

Jack Yerby

Cover Design by Sarah J. Yourzek

illustrations by Hanna Al-Shaer

Crimson Dragon Publishing

Copyright © 2013, 2021 Jack Yerby

Cover Design Sarah J. Yourzek • Illustrations Hanna Al-Shaer

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

Third Edition 2021

ISBN 978-1-944644-10-9

Ebook ISBN 978-1-944644-13-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020946874

Young Adult Mysteries & Detective Stories,

Action & Adventure, Survival

Crimson Dragon Publishing

Willow, Alaska

www.crimsondragonpublishing.com

One teen and one younger boy walkindgdown a dark staircase while shining flashlights. The young boy looks afraid, and the teen has a suspicious look on his face.The Secret of The Haunted HouseA partiallly burned and torn down old adobe house.

1

A Haunted House?

It is too haunted! said eleven-year-old James, his pudgy hands firmly on his hips.

No, it’s not! said his brother Kenny, putting his hands on his slim hips. Kenny was three years older and several inches taller. And that made him always right. Or so he thought.

Yes, it is! said James. He stuck his chubby chin out in a determined manner.

No it’s not! said Kenny, throwing his chin out. He dared his brother to say anything more.

Is!

Not!

"Is!"

"Not!"

The faces of the two boys were only inches apart, and the fight looked like it was going to get physical.

At that point Mike, their seventeen-year-old brother, stepped up to his two younger siblings, put his hands behind their heads and banged their foreheads together. They both looked up at him, surprised.

How do you know it’s haunted? Mike asked James. He looked down at his little brother from his six-foot-three height.

Cause Katie said it was, James said, rubbing his forehead where a red spot was forming. Kenny was doing the same thing to a similar red spot on his own head.

And you believe Katie? Mike said. He crossed his hands on his chest and looked down at James in amazement. Katie was sixteen and often pulled pranks on her two younger brothers.

Remember how she told you that you could catch a bird by putting salt on its tail?

James looked sheepishly at his feet. Even though Katie’s prank happened years ago when he was a lot younger, no one in the family let him forget it.

You spent all day chasing birds with a saltshaker, Mike continued. It never occurred to you that if you were close enough to put salt on its tail, you could reach out and just grab it.

Well, how do you explain that light across the dirt road in the Hampton house last night? James said looking up at Mike.

What light? said Kenny, interrupting his brother. I didn’t see a light over there.

That’s because you were too busy playing that silly ol’ video game to come see. I called you but you never even looked up from your computer.

I did too come see, Kenny said, but there wasn’t anything there. You’re just a kid. You believe everything people tell you.

I do not! said James.

You do too! Kenny retorted.

Do not!

Do too!

At this point Mike turned away, threw up his hands in frustration, and walked away. I give up, he said to himself. They just like to argue.

---

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Later that night in the bedroom they shared, Kenny heard his younger brother ask from the top bunk, Hey Kenny, do you believe in ghosts?

Naw, he said from the bottom bunk. They’re just stories for little kids. I’m too grown up to believe in them anymore.

But what about Katie? James asked. She says they’re real.

You know she likes to tell you crazy stuff and make you believe it, Kenny said. Just like when she told you the Boogie…

He stopped in mid-sentence, remembering that even at eleven years old, James was still afraid of monsters in the dark. When Katie had told him the Boogie Man lived under the bottom bunk, James had insisted on having the top bunk. To this day he never slept with one foot over the edge of the bed for fear the monster would grab it and drag him down to its lair.

Just look at Mike. And Mom, Kenny said, continuing in a hurry. He hoped James didn’t notice his slip of the tongue. They don’t say there are ghosts.

Yeah, said James from the top bunk, "but they don’t say there aren’t any ghosts. Just because they don’t say something exists doesn’t mean they’re not real."

Kenny couldn’t think of an answer to that. After a pause, he asked, "Did you really see a light over there last night?" His voice was quiet and thoughtful.

He knew James didn’t tell lies just to get attention. His little brother always told the truth, even if it got him in trouble.

Yeah, I did! James said excitedly. He leaned over the edge of the top bunk to look at Kenny. I tried to get you to come see, but you took so long on the computer you missed it.

What did it look like, that light? Kenny asked, his hands behind his head as he looked up at his little brother. Was it like the ghost’s whole body was shining? Or was the light little, like a flashlight or something?

I don’t know, James said, I just saw light shining through the cracks in the walls and in the gaps where the windows used to be.

I’ll bet it’s the ghost of that fireman who died in the fire, said Katie, poking her head into the room. Kenny jumped at her sudden appearance.

You mean the one who was trying to save ol’ lady Hampton? James said. He craned his head up to look at his sister while still leaning over the edge of the top bunk.

Yeah, Katie answered. He was in the house looking for her when the roof fell in on him and burned him up. They never found his body.

That doesn’t mean he’s a ghost, said Kenny. If they never found his body, then he probably didn’t die. He sat up in the bottom bunk and pulled the sheets up to his chin. He was self-conscious of his skinny body.

Oh yeah it does, said Katie as she walked into the room. He’s still in the house trying to rescue her. And sometimes when there’s a storm, you can hear him calling, ‘Where are you, lady?’

That’s just the wind! said Kenny. I thought I heard voices coming from over there too, but it was just the wind making it sound like somebody calling out.

After a moment of silence, James continued from the top bunk, I wonder why they never found her body. He was still leaning over the edge, and Kenny saw him straining his neck to look at their sister.

They did, silly, said Katie. She was in bed, all burned up by the fire.

She slept through the fire? said James, puzzled. Wouldn’t the sirens have waked her up?

Not if she wanted to die, said Katie. She committed suicide by setting the house on fire.

Why would she do that?

She didn’t want to live anymore because her son robbed a bank and was a criminal, said Katie. It made her sorry she ever had a kid. She set fire to her house after he was killed in that shoot-out with the cops.

Wouldn’t getting burned up in the house turn her into a ghost? said Kenny. People who commit suicide have to stay on earth and haunt the place where they died.

How do you know that? said Katie slyly. I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.

I saw it on the internet, Kenny said with a yawn. Now, turn out the light and leave so I can get to sleep. And he snuggled down in his bed, the sheets still pulled up to his chin.

A footprint from a heavy treaded shoe.

2

A Dirty Footprint

The next morning Kenny and James woke up to loud banging from the kitchen. They jumped out of bed, and since it was summer vacation, put on shorts and tee shirts and hurried to the kitchen. There they found their mother giving their older brother a strong tongue-lashing. Kenny walked into the kitchen quietly, James right behind him.

How could you have drunk all that milk? their mother said to Mike. There was almost a full gallon in the frig last night!

But I didn’t touch it, said Mike, trying to convince his mother he was blameless. He was sitting at the kitchen table, a bowl of dry cereal in front of him, a look of innocence on his face. At seventeen, he was tall and lanky. And always hungry. He often got up in the middle of the night to raid the refrigerator. Kenny couldn’t count the number of times this had gotten him into trouble with Mom. Mike seemed to have a knack for eating what was planned for dinner the next day.

Kenny and James probably got up in the middle of the night and drank it, Mike said, catching sight of his brothers sneaking into the kitchen.

Did you two drink all the milk last night? their mom asked, slamming one of the cabinet doors. Whenever she was angry with her children, she took it out on the kitchen cabinets. Their hinges had been replaced several times, and Mike was getting good at carpentry because of it.

Not me, said Kenny. I didn’t get up at all last night.

Me neither, James added. I slept like a bog.

A log, corrected Kenny. You got your words mixed up again, dummy.

James turned on his brother, his fists doubled up, ready for a fight. Just cause I gots Attention Defect Disorder doesn’t mean I’m dumb.

That’s right, said their mother, thumping Kenny on the top of his head. You stop calling your brother names just because he’s not in the gifted program at school like you are. He has other talents you don’t have, like honesty and politeness.

Then to James, "Honey, it’s attention deficit disorder, A. D. D."

Kenny sat down at the table and watched Mike’s face light up with a grin as he watched someone else get into trouble. Their mother seemed to have forgotten about yelling at him for the missing milk. But she immediately turned her attention back to Kenny’s older brother.

Yes, it was you, Michael Bassett, she said. You made sandwiches because a package of bologna and the rest of the bread are missing as well. She paused to catch his eye before continuing. And you tracked dirt on my clean kitchen floor when you got up. What were you doing outside that late at night anyway?

I didn’t go outside at all, Mike said in a defensive voice. What makes you think it was me who got the floor dirty? Kenny and James are always tracking in dirt ‘n mud.

That’s true, answered their mother, "but