My great uncle passed away. The family met with the lawyer about the will.

“Diedra, I leave you my house with all the furnishings,” read the lawyer.

“Wow, I hardly knew my great uncle,” said Diedra.

“I know you don’t know me well Diedra though I’ve adored you from afar and your mother was special to me. I know you can handle the ominous feeling of my estate,” read the lawyer.

The family left the reading of the will happy and Diedra put the keys to the estate in her purse. She planned to check it out that evening.

After supper, Diedra drove to the estate. She drove down a hidden long drive lined with red pine trees along each side. Then she came to a cast iron fence. I hope the keys work on the fence, thought Diedra. She stepped out of the car, put the skeleton key in the hole and the gate opened wide. She drove through and the gate automatically shut behind her car.

As she approached the house, bats flew too and fro above the house and a crow called mysteriously. She parked her car in the circle drive in front of the main entrance. The two story house screamed horror.

She walked up to the front door and lights came on then the door opened with a creaky sound. Spider webs hung from the chandelier. A black cat hid under the open stairway. A cat, she thought, how awful I hope there is food somewhere to feed it. A mouse ran across the floor in the living room and the cat chased with the intent to kill.

She strolled to the kitchen and sure enough a note lay on the counter. She read the note: Diedra the cat droid is in the cupboard beside the stove as well as other staples for baking and meals. The bedrooms upstairs are fully furnished and the beds are made. Please make yourself at home.

As time passed, darkness appeared and Diedra found herself asleep upstairs in a bedroom. Oh goodness, she thought to herself, I wasn’t going to stay overnight. She jumped up and moved her hair out of her eyes. Then she skipped back to the kitchen.

On the way down stairs, she heard “Ooooooh……..Ooooooh! Diedra looked around and stepped carefully downstairs and went around the corner to find three ghosts sitting at the dining room table playing cards. Aghast she watched from afar. They played poker and spoke about the good old days.

She snuck into the library and heard, “creeeeaaak” and found a secret door that led down a candle lit stairwell into a basement full of ghouls, goblins, and witches. The witches stirred double trouble, and said,” add the grasshoppers and the bees we’ll make humans get on their knees.”

Diedra turned around to head upstairs. A rat ran squeaking as a snake slithered upstairs in front of her. Diedra held her scream because she didn’t want the witches to hear her.

Inside the library, the fireplace shown brightly. Hmmm she thought, I didn’t light the fire. She looked around to find two zombies sitting by the fire with hot chocolate. Diedra snuck through the room and heard, “Hey there come sit down!”

“Me?” said Diedra.

“Who else would I be talking to?” said a Zombie. “Are you Diedra? Your great uncle used to hang with us all the time.”

“Really because the people downstairs said they wanted to cook the humans,” said Diedra. “Well he did say he knew I could handle the ominous estate,” said Diedra.

“Oh don’t mind the witches they don’t know the upstairs is here,” said the Zombie.

She sat down to chat until bed time and went upstairs to find the black cat on the bed. She fell fast asleep and didn’t hear anything else throughout the night.