It is raining. Mr. Plumley and five pupil from Stagfire School are going to a haunted house in a minibus.Ralpha, Claudia, Robbo, Collin and Pixie have been picked out by Miss O’Dell and herded into the minibus with Mr. Plumley. When they reach Creepsville, they think it is haunted. The last group tells tales of strangeshadows and footsteps and eerie figures in white gown melting through the walls.
There are no lights and Mr. Plumley is horrified to settle the pupils in pitch dark. They go upstairs as they pass by oil painted portraits of Harwicks of all ages staring at them. As it is a rainy night, Pixie preferredsafety in numbers. They have a rule “each bedroom is for either girls or boys.” Mr. Plumley does not know the rule. He tells the pupils to settle in while he goes to look for the housekeeper.
Robbo decides to explore two or three more stairs. He finds two more beds and a bathroom. The boys takethe present room meanwhile Claudia and Pixie take the other. Colin points at the wall. He insists there is adoor on the wall. When there is lightning, all of them see the wall papered door meeting the wall papered wall.
As they enter the room, cobwebs indicate no one has been there. A tower off a tower. The shelf, desk andchair are filled with dust. Claudia sees a wooden cow balancing on three legs. She strokes its nose.Suddenly, she hears a soft sound behind her. Robbo sets a globe of the world to spin on its axis.
By looking around, they came to a conclusion that the last child who slept in it came from a rich family.They find out it is a boy’s room. Claudia notices a dusty green album in spidery writing on thecover.
Richard Clayton Harwick – My Story. Read and Weep.
They hear the faint rumble of the bus. The other children have arrived. The 5 children rush to their roomsand pretend to be fast asleep. They do not want to miss the chance to read the album. Not many get achance to peep into someone else’s life and not many people are brave enough to tell you their story.By the time Miss O’Dell and Mr. Plumley come to the first tower room, they think that the children are fastasleep due to tiredness. Miss O’Dell continues to say that the five children have something in common.
Mr. Plumley is puzzled as nothing seemed to be common in the five. Pixie is a trouble maker. Claudia issensible. Ralph is quick-witted and hardworking unlike Colin who likes to daydream. Robbo is soccer-mad. As Miss O’Dell goes down, the lights come again. She shuts the tower door leaving the five children whohave been listening to their conversation.
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