The Howler Read Online Free PDF Page A

light into the room.
    A man stepped out. He was very short. Very thin and weary-looking. Sort of stooped over, as if he didn’t have the strength to stand up straight.
    He had shiny white hair pulled behind his head in a long ponytail. As he came closer, I could see the square-shaped eyeglasses resting low on his long, slender nose.
    Even in the dim light, I could see how pale he was. He smiled a thin smile, his gray eyes moving from Vanessa to me. He walked slowly, with a slight limp. He seemed so fragile.
    “Come in,” he said. I expected a tiny, frail voice. But his voice was booming and deep. “Welcome to the Little House of Spirits.”
    “Are—are you open?” I stammered.
    His smile grew wider, making his pale cheeks crease up into thousands of tiny lines. “I’m always open. The spirits never rest. And neither do I.”
    He leaned back against the desk and tugged at his long white ponytail. “Are you looking for ghost traps?”
    I stared at him. “Uh…what?”
    “You want to get rid of ghosts? I have a very popular product called Ghost-Proof. It comes in a spray can.”
    “No,” I replied. “My house isn’t haunted.”
    He nodded. “Most people come here for traps or alarms. They have unwanted ghosts to chase away.” He squinted at me over the square glasses. “Did your parents send you? Were they embarrassed to come here themselves?”
    “No,” I said. “My parents don’t believe in ghosts.”
    He pulled himself up straight. “And you want to prove to them that ghosts really do exist?”
    “No,” I said. I glanced at Vanessa. She looked really uncomfortable. She signaled with her eyes toward the door.
    I turned back to the strange little man. “I’m trying to find a ghost,” I blurted out.
    “Ah-ha!” he declared. He rubbed his thin hands together. “You want to find a ghost who lives in your house?”
    “I don’t even know if he’s a ghost or not,” I said. “It’s…it’s hard to explain.”
    The man nodded. “The spirit world is not easy,” he said softly. “The spirits move in ways we cannot imagine. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just pick up the phone…”
    He lifted the phone off his desk and raised it to his ear.
    “…just pick up the phone, and call a certain number, and be in touch…in touch with the dead?”
    I felt a chill run down my back. The phone he held—could it really reach ghosts? Something about the way he spoke made me believe that he really was in touch with spirits.
    Or was I just getting carried away again?
    “Sometimes ghosts don’t speak at all,” the man said. He kept the phone at his ear. His glasses gleamed in the light. The glare made it look as if his eyes were on fire.
    “Sometimes they howl,” he said, grinning at Vanessa and me. “Sometimes they howl out all the pain that is inside them.”
    I started to say something. But he tilted back his head and opened his mouth in a high, shrill howl.
    “Let’s go,” Vanessa whispered, edging to the door. “I mean it, Spencer.”
    The little man laughed. “Sorry. Sometimes I just feel like howling. Does it ever happen to you?”
    “Not really,” I replied.
    He set down the phone. Then he rubbed his hands together again. His hands were so flat and thin, they reminded me of butterfly wings.
    “So what exactly are you looking for?” he asked. “A detector, right? You want to detect if ghosts are there or not.”
    “Well—” I started.
    “No. We have to go,” Vanessa interrupted. “We’re late. We really can’t spend any more time.”
    “I guess I have to go,” I said. “Uh…maybe I’ll come back some other time.” Vanessa was already at the door. I took a few steps after her.
    “I know what you need,” the man said. “I have one here for you. It’s exactly what you need.”
    I stopped and turned back to him. I knew I couldn’t leave. I knew I had to see what he was talking about.
    “Exactly what you need,” he repeated in that deep voice. A tiny, frail man with