I heard myself holler. Oh no. That voice wouldn’t do. It sounded exactly like me. “Coming!” I repeated in my deepest, creepiest voice. “The spirits are preparing to let you in!” Oh yes. That was much better. Ashley dashed back into the haunted house and stuck her head through the hole in the cardboard. I was on my way to the front door but stopped halfway. I turned, ran back to Ashley, and blasted a few last-minute squirts of ketchup on her cheeks. If I didn’t know better myself, I would’ve thought she was nothing more than a bloody head on a plate. I threw the napkin over her head. “Hank, the flashlight!” she whispered. I handed it to her. Frankie took his position at the spider fishing pole and flashed me the okay sign. I went to the front door, turning on the tape recorder just before I got there. The apartment echoed with the sounds of Frankie’s moans and groans. I opened the door just a crack. “Do you dare enter the chamber of fear?” I growled. There was silence on the other side of the door, so I went for it even more.
