House of a Thousand Screams Read Online Free PDF Page A

disappeared. His kids could hear him in the walls, but they never saw him again!” Freddy pushed his glasses up his nose. His eyes were wide. “What if that happened to Dad? Or to us?”
    I decided there was no point thinking about that. “How do you get rid of them?” I asked. “Do you call a ghostbuster or something?”
    Freddy shook his head. “I don’t know. In most of those stories, it seems like the people just give up and leave. Or go crazy.”
    â€œOr disappear,” I whispered. My mouth went dry. I felt a strange, tingly fear at the base of my spine. “What are we going to do?”
    â€œMove,” Freddy declared.
    â€œWe can’t. It would break Mom’s heart! Anyway, how could we possibly convince Mom and Dad to leave this house?”
    â€œI keep telling you. We have to talk to them! We need to tell them the truth about what’s been going on,” Freddy insisted. “Do you really think they’ll want to live in a house that has a poltergeist?”
    â€œDo you really think they’ll believe us?” I shot back. “Freddy, haven’t you noticed that none of this stuff ever happens in front of them? Would you believe it if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes?”
    Freddy’s forehead wrinkled as he thought. “You’re right,” he said slowly. “I wonder why? Maybe the poltergeist is trying to make us look bad. Maybe it wants to get us in trouble.”
    That made me mad. I felt my hands curl into fists. “There has to be a way to get rid of this thing,” I muttered. “And whatever that way is, we’re going to find it.”
    â€œRight!” Freddy agreed.
    Then we both sat there on my bed, staring at the walls. I knew Freddy was thinking the same thing I was.
    We talked tough. But, really, we didn’t have a clue how to get rid of a poltergeist!
    After a moment I stood up. “We can’t just sit around here spooked. We need to do something. Anything.”
    â€œLet’s do something for Mom,” said Freddy. “She’s been pretty annoyed with us lately. Let’s surprise her.”
    â€œYou want to? What should we do?”
    â€œLet’s bake her a pie,” Freddy suggested. “You make great pies.”
    I laughed. Freddy was the original pie eater. “Bake Mom a pie, huh?”
    Freddy grinned at me. “Yeah. Cherry.”
    â€œWhich just happens to be your favorite flavor.”
    Freddy made an innocent face. “It’s for Mom. Nothing’s too good for Mom.”
    â€œAll right,” I agreed. “But let’s do it now, before she gets home and tells us no.”
    We ran downstairs, taking three steps at a time.
    â€œWhat should I set the oven for?” Freddy called as he ran ahead.
    â€œThree-fifty. But not so fast, bonehead. Let’s make sure we have cherry pie filling first.”
    Freddy rifled the pantry while I took out a big mixing bowl.
    â€œTa-da!” He hurried over with two cans of cherry filling.
    â€œOkay. You open them while I start the crust.”
    â€œWe’re making two, right?” Freddy demanded, licking his lips.
    I shook my head, smiling. What a pig! “Yeah, sure. We’re making two.”
    While Freddy opened the cans, I measured and sifted the flour. I’d been baking since I was eight years old. Dad claimed I made the best pie crust in the country.
    We laughed and joked as we worked. Freddy brought me a measuring cup of ice water for the crust. I moved the big plastic flour canister over to make room for rolling the pie dough. Then I sprinkled flour across the countertop.
    I was reaching into the canister for a little more, when I heard a bang behind me. I turned, just in time to see all our baking pans falling out of the cupboard.
    â€œOw! Ouch!” Freddy hollered. Baking sheets bounced off his head.
    â€œClutz,” I called.
    â€œI didn’t do it!” he