PART I – THE GREENBRIER HOUSE

Autumn’s dying leaves clutched at my ankles as I walked down the disserted street; their colorful reds, oranges, and yellows looked mystical in the light of the full moon. Most people avoided Elm Street during the day and always at night. Few houses still stood, many just piles of rubble no one ever bothered to remove. All of Salem thinks ghosts haunt this street, so no one ever moves in or builds a new home here. It has become a graveyard of empty lots and dilapidated houses ready to crumble into dust.

“This is kinda spooky,” I said. “There’s no one around, and it’s only eight o’clock at night on the weekend.”

“What’s wrong, Olivia? Are you afraid?” Dyanne, the tallest girl in the Beauty squad, asked, a devious grin creasing her face.

“No, I’m not afraid,” I said, but I knew the butterflies fluttering about in my stomach had a different opinion. After all, this was Elm Street . . . at night! No one came here at night if they didn’t have to, but I did.

I was trying to become a member of the Beauty Squad, the most exclusive clique at Salem Middle School. No one knew how long the Beauty Squad had been around. When the girls in the Squad reached eighth grade, they started recruiting new sixth graders so they could take over at the end of the year. I knew they’d already selected one girl, Jennifer Nurbury; she was in my math class, tall with beautiful – she’d probably be the next queen. I was hoping to be the second recruit, but first, I had to pass a test, which was why we were here on this terrifying street at night.

“Come on,” Gretchen, the current queen of the Beauty Squad, said. “I see the house up ahead.”

I walked behind the group, marveling at the four girls’ spectacular clothes. That was the thing with the Beauty Squad; they were always dressed in beautiful outfits. Never was there a hair out of place, smudged makeup, or tarnished jewelry. Everything about their appearance was perfection.

Some kids made fun of the Beauty Squad, saying all they cared about was their looks. Others thought them incredibly mean, the bullies of the female half of the school. Both of those statements were likely true, but being at the bottom of the popularity ladder, I’d grown tired of being ignored or picked on. Given the choice of being the hammer or the nail, I choose the hammer.

“Where are we going?” I shoved a hand into my coat pocket and clutched the crystal hidden there, the long cord attached to it wrapping around my wrist like a snake. My grandmother had given me that crystal many years ago. When she gave it to me, Gramma grew very serious and said, ‘Whenever you are afraid, put on this crystal, and it will reveal friends who can help you. Do not focus on your fears, for brooding on them will only make them stronger. Instead, focus on how you’ll feel after the fear has faded away. When you visualize success, it will be within your grasp.’ I never really understood all that, but her words had somehow become permanently engraved in my memory.

“Our destination is a little surprise,” Emilee said as she ran her fingers through her long, blond hair. I think she does that so people will notice her golden locks; however, I suspect the color comes from a bottle rather than genetics, but I’ve never said anything. To embarrass one of Beauty Squad would incur the wrath of them all. I had no desire to commit social self-destruction, so I kept my comments about her brown roots to myself. That didn’t stop me last year from taking a few pictures on my phone when I had the chance.

Most of the lots on Elm Street stood vacant, either empty or filled with piles of rubble where a house had once stood. A few homes still stood, but they were all old and forgotten, with holes in the walls and roofs where trees had crashed into the structure or evidence of destructive kids venting their violent desires. But one dilapidated house stood out amongst the rest: the Greenbrier house. This building was why Elm Street stood long abandoned. The Greenbrier house was haunted . . . at least that’s what everyone thought.

I’d heard the stories from kids at school. They claimed that a family of ghosts lived in the old house. In fact, some said there were ghosts all up and down this street. I knew that was ridiculous, but just its suggestion had driven families away. Now, Elm Street stood completely forsaken, crows and mice the only tenants.

As we walked, my skin prickled with nervous energy. It was like tiny sparks of electricity danced across my arms. I crossed my arms and rubbed them as if cold, trying to drive away the sensation.

The Greenbrier house was getting closer.

I didn’t believe in all the stories, but I still felt something deep within the pit of my stomach. Fear gurgled there in a bath of stomach acid, the emotion waiting to take over.

No, not tonight, Fear, I pleaded. That’s the name I gave my anxiety . . . Fear.

I have struggled with anxiety since maybe third grade. My therapist, Dr. Jen, had said I was making progress. I knew how to apply the strategies to keep Fear in control, at least that’s what I thought. But tonight, I could feel Fear’s sharp claws starting to scratch at my soul.

“Here we are, Olivia,” Gretchen said.

Dyanne, Hailey, and Emilee looked at me with savage smiles as if expecting something terrible about to happen and were going to enjoy watching.

“What do you mean, here we are?” I asked, my eyes pleading for mercy.

“This is your test, the Greenbrier house,” Hailey said as she flung her red hair over a shoulder with a flick of her head. “We decided that you might be worthy of the Beauty Squad if you can last an hour in the Greenbrier house.”

“An hour?” I asked.

“An hour,” Dyanne said with a sneer.

I swallowed only to find my throat bone dry.

Emilee stepped up to the metal gate blocking the walkway and pulled it open. The hinges screeched as if in pain. A cloud of rust fell from the hinges and floated to Emilee’s shoes, coating their leather tops.

“My shoes!” She glared at me as if I had caused it to happen. Emilee remained silent, her cold stare remaining laser-focused on me.

With a sigh, I reached into my coat pocket and brushed past the crystal until I found a tissue. I handed it to Emilee, who used it to clean her shoes, then tossed the tissue to the ground. The wind picked it up and carried it across the street; it looked like a tiny little white ghost seeking freedom from the terrifying neighborhood.

Gretchen pushed past Emilee and headed up the walkway. Waist-high weeds brushed across her shirt, their dry fingers making a soft rasping sound against the expensive material. The other members of the Beauty Squad followed her, leaving me at the metal gate. I stared at the house and shuddered. Weeds grew everywhere, thorny stalks and prickly seeds awaiting unwary skin. Huge shrubs grew across the front of the house, the plants reaching over the porch’s railing. Autumn had stripped them of their leaves, their branches bare, sap sparkling in the moonlight. Now, they looked like an explosion of sticks and stubs trying to pull the home into their scratchy embrace. Massive oak trees ringed the house like silent guards warning the foolish to stay away. Their leafless branches appeared dark against the dark sky, skeletal fingers clawing up at the heavens. It was something from a nightmare.

I shuffled up the concrete walkway until I reached the wooden steps leading to the front door, the four girls waiting impatiently.

“Having second thoughts, Olivia?” Emilee said, then chuckled. She was enjoying my discomfort.

I put my foot on the first step, then walked up to the front door. The porch looked as if it had been painted white at some point in its history, but now, the milky coating had mostly flaked off, curling pieces of paint lying about like feathers from some exotic bird. A pile of old tires lay in a jumble at one end of the porch, their sizes mismatched. Water sat in some of the tires, a disgusting layer of slime on the surface.

Something scurried out from beneath the pile of debris.

Was that a rat? I thought. I hate rats.

My whole body shuddered.

Dyanne shoved me to the side and knocked on the door. “Anyone home? Evil spirits, are you there?” She giggled and then stepped back.

My pulse boomed in my ears as my heartbeat accelerated.

Gretchen stood next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “You must stay in there for one hour. You can leave anytime, but if you quit before the hour is up, you’re out and won’t be considered for membership in the Beauty Squad. Understand?”

“What do you mean, considered?” I asked. “Does that mean I’m in, or are there more tests?”

“No more questions,” Gretchen snapped.

Emilee chuckled, her eyes twinkling with mischievous delight.

She reached past me, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it open. It gave a long, high-pitched creak like in a horror movie. My mouth went completely dry. I looked into the house and saw jagged shadows knifing across the entrance as moonlight found its way into the structure through holes and cracks. Dark passages reached deeper into the place, but I couldn’t see anything within those corridors. It was as if they stretched into nothingness.

“In you go.” Hailey shoved me into the house, then slammed the door shut.

BANG!

Dust fell to the ground when the door landed home. My hands started to shake as I stared at the door just inches from my face. Faint whispers drifted through the door, the Beauty Squad discussing something they didn’t want me to hear. Emilee’s maniacal laugh seeped through the wood, and then footsteps pounded across the front porch. A dragging sound percolated into the home, followed by another and another. Something heavy banged against the front door, then another something and another.

“Hey, what was that?” I asked.

“What was what?” Dyanne replied, the other two girls laughing.

“Enjoy your stay, Olivia,” Gretchen said.

Their footsteps echoed across the porch, then grew softer and softer.

“Are you still there?” I asked.

 . . . nothing.

“Gretchen, Dyanne?”

. . . nothing.

Panic seeped into my mind as my anxiety started to surface from that dark place in my soul. I grabbed the door handle and pushed. It didn’t move. I tried again, this time using all my strength, but nothing happened.

I was alone and trapped in a haunted house.

PART II – UNEXPECTED FRIENDS

I could feel my anxiety increasing. My heartbeat raced. My palms were clammy. Sweat trickled down my face. All the signs of a panic attack were there.

“Go away, Beast. I don’t want you here.” My words felt hollow; Beast wasn’t listening . . . he never listened.

What if my heart beats too fast? Will I die?

What if I can’t get out?

What if there are spiders here, poisonous ones?

­The What-ifs flooded through my mind, causing me to focus on negative thoughts . . . on panic . . . on Beast.

“Maybe there’s a back door I can use to get out?” I said, hoping to distract myself from the thoughts in my head.

I took a step toward a dark passage and then stopped. A cold sensation spread across my body, like stepping outside just after a snowstorm. The frigid air penetrated my jacket and moved into my body until the biting chill wrapped its grip around my bones and squeezed, making them ache. My breath clouded in the air with every exhale, the mist billowing into the dark room before fading away—but it wasn’t that cold out tonight.

What’s happening?

I shivered as sweat trickled down my forehead, a bead finding the corner of my eye, stinging. Beast came to life from within my soul like a massive serpent rising from dark waters. He was here . . . Beast had arrived.

“Go away, Beast. I don’t want you here.” It was something Dr. Jen had taught me. ‘Imagine your anxiety to be a physical thing you can crush under your foot or throw across the room.’ The problem was that my mind changed my anxiety into a monster I’d named Beast. I couldn’t stomp on a monster, could I?

“I have to find a way out.”

My heart pounded in my chest; cannon fire run amok.

Amok, amok, amok. The word ­echoed in my head.

A living room sat to the right of the entryway, the windows there covered with crisscrossed boards. They didn’t completely seal up openings, but the triangular spaces were too small for me. Moonlight stabbed through the gaps, casting strange shadows on the ground. Currents of dust floated through the shafts of light, giving them a magical appearance.

I moved into the room and walked across an old rug. Clouds of dust wafted up from each footstep, causing the air to coat my tongue with dirt and grime; it tasted terrible. I stood there, staring at the boarded windows as I tried to come up with a plan and . . . I heard something.

. . . creak . . .

The wood floor by the front door creaked as if something had just stepped on it. I turned, hoping to find one of the Beauty Squad, but there was nothing; the entrance was completely empty.

What made that sound?

Goosebumps started crawling up my arm, but only my right arm . . . how can that be?

Beast reached up from my inner depths, grabbed hold of my body, and shook me like a rag doll. I quivered uncontrollably. The ability to think was slowly fading away as Beast took control of my mind.

I thought about all the things Dr. Jen had taught me.

“7 . . . 14 . . . 21 . . . 28 . . . 35 . . . umm, 42 . . . 49 . . .” I counted by sevens to keep myself distracted. Focusing on my anxiety would just magnify it and make it worse. I had to distract myself.

“Music.” I reached into a pocket and pulled out my AirPods. I shoved them into my ears and started my favorite Harry Styles playlist. The first song played for about thirty seconds, pushing Beast back into his place. But then . . . silence. I glanced at my phone, and . . . it was dead; I forgot to charge it last night.

“No . . .  not now,” I moaned.

I put the phone away and headed for the back of the house. Darkness cloaked the hallways, the shafts of moonlight leaking into the home completely absent here. My breaths came in shallow and raspy as more dust filled my nose. Hot, spikey fear blurred my mind with a fog of what-ifs.

What if there are monsters in the darkness? I thought.

What if they have pointed teeth and deadly claws?

 I knew this made no sense, but in a battle against Beast, logic didn’t matter. The only important thing was to maintain the ability to think.

But what if the panic doesn’t stop? The thought burst into my mind, coming directly from Beast; he’d gone to his endgame sooner than usual.

These feeling were never going to stop, I thought. I can’t do it.

Never-ending anxiety was always the worst possible thing. I knew this wouldn’t last forever, but that wasn’t how it felt. In these moments, what I thought wasn’t important, only what I felt mattered. And right now, I felt terrified.

A whisper percolated out of the darkness up ahead. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight. Goosebumps pricked the skin between the upright strands of hair. I started breathing faster and faster.

“I have to get out of here.” The words came out rapid like machine gun fire.

I forced myself through the dark passage until I ended up in the kitchen. Rusted pots lay in a tumble in the stained sink. Moonlight streaked through a hole in the roof and—

Clank . . . one of the pots moved.

I stopped, my feet suddenly dumb and unable to perform their only task. Moving my eyes from left to right, I scanned the back of the house for an exit and found it . . . the back door. It looked like it would open, but I couldn’t get to it; terror paralyzed me. My old friend, Beast, was here, and he was in command. Panicked thoughts surged through my mind, each more terrible than the last, as the what-ifs tortured me from within.

“Am I gonna die here?” I said to the spooky shadows. “Will I become another ghost in the Greenbrier house?”

Just then, my grandmother’s words rose through the hurricane of dread raging within me. ‘Whenever you are afraid, put on this crystal, and it will reveal friends who can help you.’

“I’m not sure what that means, gramma.” It took every bit of effort I had to speak. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”

I closed my eyes, forced my hand into my jacket pocket, and grabbed the crystal. It felt warm in my palm. Yanking it out, I put the cord over my head and shoved the crystal under my blouse. When it touched my skin, a feeling of warmth spread through my body, the wave of peace erasing the goosebumps from my flesh. Words seemed to float out of the crystal and deposit themselves into my mind.

“Liv, I am here with you.” The words were in my Gramma’s voice . . . how is that possible?

“What you just put on is called a ghost crystal. It will show you the spirits from the land of the dead who live amongst us. Do not be afraid. Ghosts are our friends and are always willing to help someone in need.”

My breathing slowed, as did my heart.

“Witches can see ghosts all the time. Those without powers can only see them when they are wearing a ghost crystal. Now, open your eyes and greet your new friends.”

I slowly opened my eyes. Standing before me was a heavy-set man, maybe forty years old, a ring of black hair surrounding a bald head.

“Who are . . .” Before finishing the question, I noticed I could see the back door through the old man’s body.

“It’s okay, child,” the old man said. “No need to be afraid. My name is Albert Greenbrier, and as you have probably guessed, I am a ghost.”

“A ghost?” Panic flared in the back of my mind.

“I see you have a ghost crystal,” Albert said. “You must know a witch who is keeping you safe. You have nothing to fear in this house.” He pointed at the bulge of the crystal under my blouse. “That enchanted crystal gives you the ability to see and hear us.”

“Us . . . there are more ghosts here?” I glanced to the left and right but only saw Albert.

The ghost nodded. “Yes, there are others. I live here with my family. This was our home before we all died in a tragic accident.” He lowered his gaze to the ground, a look of sadness spreading across his pale face, then looked up again. “Do you want to meet the rest of my family? I promise, no harm will come to you.”

“Well . . . I . . . umm . . .”

“Great!” A huge smile spread across Albert’s face. “Turn around.”

I slowly turned and found a beautiful woman in a long, puffy skirt, an eight-year-old boy, and a girl of seven, each holding their mother’s hands.

“Hello.” The woman curtsied, then gave me the warmest smile I’d ever seen. “My name is Doris. These rascals are Jake and Alyssa.”

The two kids bowed like actors thanking an audience for a standing ovation. It was super cute.

“Hi. I’m Olivia, but my friends call me Liv,” I said. “You’re all ghosts?” The questing was kinda stupid; I could see through each of them. That was when I noticed their eyes; they were white on white. No pupil, no color . . . only white. In fact, there was no color to them at all, as if they’d just stepped out of a black and white movie.

“I guess, I mean, I‘m pleased to meet you.” I smiled at the two young ghosts, then turned back to Albert. “Those sounds, the creaking boards, the cold, the whispers . . . that was you.”

He nodded. “You could probably sense us because you had the ghost crystal with you. We didn’t mean to scare you. It took a bit of wrangling to coax the kids into the kitchen so they wouldn’t scare you.”

“So, this house is haunted?” I asked.

“I guess,” Doris said as she moved to Albert’s side. Jake and Alyssa took off running through the living room. “But we’d rather you keep it quiet. It would be best if people didn’t come to bother us.”

“You mean like me?” I looked down, a little ashamed.

“We heard you outside.” Doris stepped closer to me. “Those girls are not your friends, Liv. They’re mean and disrespectful. Why would you want to be like them?”

“They’re the most popular girls in school,” I said.

“The most popular or the most feared?” Albert asked.

“Well, I guess . . .” The dust finally drew out a sneeze. “I understand what you’re saying, but—”

“We can see you’re a nice girl, Liv.” Doris gave me another warm smile. “Changing who you are just to be accepted is like a fish pretending to be a bird. The bird cannot swim, and the fish cannot fly. Neither is at peace with whom they are. Be yourself, and you will find true friends.” She pointed to the front of the house. “I heard them talking after they blocked the front door; those four have no intention of letting you join their club. They are doing this just to torture you.”

“Really?” Anger pushed the last echoes of Beast back into the deepest part of my soul. “Maybe you can help me with something?”

“What did you have in mind?” Albert asked, a mischievous smirk on his pale face.

I explained what I had in mind; Doris and Albert chuckled and agreed to help.

After an hour and a half, the Beauty Squad finally returned to the Greenbrier house. The metal gate at the front of the walkway squeaked as they opened it. Their heels clip-clopped up the porch steps. When they reached the front door, they stopped . . . confused. 

“How did Olivia get the front door open?” Gretchen asked.

“I don’t know,” Dyanne said.

“Maybe someone heard her crying and rescued her,” Hailey said.

“Come on it,” I shouted from the living room.

The four girls cautiously entered the house, glancing at the strange shadows and boarded windows.

“I’m in the living room.” I suppressed a laugh but allowed the smile to remain in place.

“What are you doing?” Emilee asked. “How did you get the door open?”

I shrugged, not knowing would drive them crazy.

Just then, the wood floor creaked next to Hailey. I could see the goosebumps crawling up Gretchen’s arm. Dyanne’s breath came out in clouds of white as the temperature around them dropped. Their faces turned a little pale.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Are you feeling a little uncomfortable?” I stretched out my arms, Jake and Alyssa sitting next to me, giggling.

Doris and Albert stood next to the Beauty Squad, their hand extended, almost touching the girls’ skin. Jake jumped off the sofa and moved next to Emilee, then jumped up as high as possible. When he landed, the board next to her creaked again. Emilee glanced at the floor, then back at me, her eyes wide with fear.

“What’s g-g-going on?” Emilee’s voice quivered.

“Nothing. It’s just the empty house you trapped me in.” I smiled. “Maybe, if the four of you stay here for an hour, I’ll let you join my club. I’m gonna call it the Ghost Club. I think Salem Middle School needs a club like that.”

Alyssa shot off the sofa and joined the fun. The kids jumped up and down around the Beauty Squad, making the boards creek while Doris and Albert chilled the air even more.

“I’m outa here,” Gretchen said and ran from the door, screaming.

Emilee and Dyanne followed their leader, but Hailey remained. The heel of her shoe had gotten jammed into a hole in the floor. She pulled her foot up, trying to wiggle it free, but it didn’t work. The cold air had contracted the wood; the shoe was stuck.

“Forget it.” Hailey yanked her foot from the shoe and ran, hobbling like a peg-leg pirate.

Their terrified cries grew softer and softer until the four bullies had fled from Elm Street.

I chuckled. “Thank you. The Beauty Squad deserved that.”

Doris nodded. “They certainly did.”

“I’ll go now and leave you alone,” I said. “I won’t tell anyone about you. When the Beauty Squad returns to school and tells this tale, I’m sure no one will ever bother you again.”

“Well . . .” Albert glanced at Doris, and his wife nodded. “We wouldn’t mind if you come back to visit. A new friend is a valuable thing, regardless of whether they are amongst the living or the dead.”

“Absolutely,” Doris said and smiled, then wrapped an arm around her husband. “Maybe, when you come back, you could bring some books? We’d love to do some reading with the kids.”

“I can make that happen,” I said.

“As long as you open the books, Albert and I can turn the pages,” Doris said. “We can lift that much weight.”

“Consider it done.” I stood and smiled at the family, then looked down at Jake and Alyssa.

“Maybe, when you come back, we can introduce you to some of the other ghosts on Elm Street.” Doris grabbed Jake as he sped past and hugged him, then caught Alyssa as she ran.

I nodded. “That would be great. Maybe I can bring some newspapers or magazines for them?”

“They would love that,” Albert said with a nod, “especially that ghost with the dark hair. I don’t remember her first name, but her last name was Borden, I think.”

I chuckled, thinking about the old tale. The thought made me shudder a little but meeting her . . . what a glorious adventure.

Kneeling, I looked at Alyssa and Jake. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Okay,” the kids said simultaneously.

“You two be good and try not to scare anyone.”

The two kids giggled as I headed for the door. I turned to look at the ghosts and smiled.

“It was wonderful meeting all of you,” I said.

“And you, Liv,” Albert replied.

I slowly closed the door, removed the ghost crystal from my neck, and stuffed it in my pocket.

“So, Gramma is a witch?” I said in a low voice. “Interesting.”

I thought about what Doris had said, ‘A new friend is a valuable thing, regardless of whether they are amongst the living or the dead.’ She was certainly right, and I didn’t have to change who I was to get these new friends.

“Maybe I’ll make some friends like me when I form the Ghost Club. I hope so,” and I headed for home, Beast a faint, almost insubstantial echo in the back of my mind.