A Bad Case of Ghosts by Kenneth Oppel Read Free Book Online Page B

from Tom’s dog once?” Kevin asked politely.
    Tina went red in the face. “Yes, that was in the early stages. It’s much more reliable now.”
    “Hang on a second,” said Giles. “You think my house is haunted?”
    “It’s possible,” said Tina gravely.
    “I don’t believe in ghosts,” Giles said firmly, trying to sound like his mother.
    “Are you sure you haven’t seen anything spooky or creepy or basically weird in there?” Kevin wanted to know.
    “No,” said Giles quickly, “absolutely not.”
    He couldn’t help thinking about the strange noises he’d heard in his room last night. But that was just his imagination. It had nothing whatsoever to do with ghosts.
    “Well,” said Kevin eagerly, “no one’s lived in this house for years. I bet it’s haunted. They say a crazy lady used to live there. She never left the house. There’s bound to be ghosts coming out of every nook and cranny!”
    “Kevin, please,” said Tina in a tired voice, “this is all very unscientific. We haven’t proven anything yet.”
    Giles took a look at his house. Now that he thought about it, it did look a little haunted. He felt a tingling at the base of his skull. Had a crazy lady really lived here? Could there really be ghosts?
    “Well, look,” said Tina, “we’ve got to do some work on the ghostometer.”
    “And if anything zany happens,” said Kevin hopefully, “give us a call and we’ll be right over. Here’s our card.”
    “Good-bye,” said Giles, feeling slightly overwhelmed. He looked at the business card Kevin put in his hand. It said:
Tina and Kevin Quark .
Local Geniuses .
    Capable of just about everything.
Reasonable Rates .
    “I’ve never met geniuses before,” Giles mumbled, going inside.

Chapter 3
Haunted
    “I met some kids who said this house is haunted,” Giles told his parents at lunch.
    “There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Mrs Barnes said with a smile. Mrs Barnes was a professor of mathematics at the university. She liked numbers, she liked long equations, she liked things you could solve on paper. She did not believe in ghosts.
    “Aunt Lillian believes in ghosts,” Giles pointed out.
    “Yes, well, Aunt Lillian believes in quite a few odd things,” said Mrs Barnes.
    Giles liked Aunt Lillian, no matter what his Mom said. Aunt Lillian dressed like a gypsy with scarves and headbands, and wore too much makeup. She always told ghost stories when she came.
    “Dad, do you believe in ghosts?” Giles asked.
    “Well, I’m not sure,” said his father. “I’ve certainly never seen a ghost.”
    “There you go,” said Mrs Barnes. “No one I know has ever seen a ghost. That’s because they’re not real.”
    “But there’s lots of things we haven’t seen which we know are real,” said Giles.
    “Like what?” Mrs Barnes asked.
    “Like…like atoms!” said Giles.
    “Ah, well, that’s different,” said Mrs Barnes. “That’s science.”
    “They said a crazy woman used to live here.”
    “Oh, please,” said Mrs Barnes.
    “Don’t you like the house, Giles?” his father asked.
    “It’s a little creepy,” said Giles.
    “It’s just an old house, that’s all,” said Mr Barnes. “Once we get it all fixed up, you won’t think it’s so bad.”
    Giles’s father was right. After a few days, he’d almost forgotten about the Quarks and their stories about ghosts and crazy ladies. The house was getting more and more cheerful as they arranged their furniture and brought in plants and put up paintings. Mr Barnes was even givingthe house a fresh coat of paint on the outside, and he promised to get new wallpaper for Giles’s bedroom.
    “This house isn’t so bad after all,” Giles said to himself. He was in his bedroom, working on a model airplane. The sun and the smell of summer were streaming through his window and he was just about to glue a particularly delicate bit of his model together—when he heard it.
    He put down his model and listened. There it was again,