Once Upon a Midnight Eerie: Book #2 (Misadventures of Edgar/Allan) by Gordon McAlpine Read Free Book Online

haunted.”
    Clarence turned from the lot to face the boys. “Wait a minute. . . .” He took a long, deep breath, his eyes expressing new concern. “What do you mean ‘vacant lot’?”
    “What else would you call this?”
    “That’s all you boys see here, a vacant lot?”
    The Poe twins nodded.
    Clarence turned to Em and Milly. “Is that all you two see?”
    The girls nodded.
    “Is it at least haunted?” Edgar asked.
    Genevieve touched her husband gently on the shoulder, worry in her eyes. Then she turned to the four twins. “No,
it’s
not haunted.”
    “So what’s up with this tour, anyway?” Milly asked.
    “We came to see haunted places,” Edgar reminded him.
    The man sighed. “Ah, a misunderstanding.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “These ‘vacant lots’ do not appear vacant to us,” Genevieve explained gently. She seemed to be sorting through the misunderstanding as she spoke. “Instead, my young friends, they’re alive with what to you must seem the distant past.”
    “Are you speaking in metaphor?” Em asked, confused.
    The Du Valiers shook their heads.
    “So you actually
see
these long-gone, historical places?” asked Edgar.
    “We see them because my wife and I are of the same long-gone, historical time,” Clarence said.
    “We thought you boys understood that,” Genevieve added. Seeing the twins’ baffled expressions, she continued: “This ‘ghost tour’ is not a tour of ghostly places, but a tour of New Orleans as we knew it,
conducted
by ghosts.”
    The two sets of twins stepped back as all began to comprehend.
    “Our apologies,” Clarence Du Valier said, removing his head from his shoulders and cradling it in one arm, like the Headless Horseman, only real.
    Em and Milly gasped.
    Edgar and Allan groaned—this was
almost
too much, even for them.
    Genevieve Du Valier sighed and began to grow transparent.
    Edgar, Allan, Em, and Milly stood Stuffed Cat–still beside one another, their faces white as the moon overhead.
    Only Roderick seemed unfazed.
    “Please don’t be afraid, children,” Clarence said, putting his head back on his shoulders.
    “We mean you no harm,” Genevieve assured them, growing ever more transparent. “We mean no harm to anyone.”
    Shock stilled the tongues of both sets of twins.
    But after a moment, Roderick sauntered toward Clarence and Genevieve, purring.
    This reassured the boys.
    “So, you two are . . . dead,” Edgar said uncertainly.
    “Well, in a manner of speaking,” Clarence began, adjusting the fit of his head on his neck. “Biologically, I suppose it’s undeniable.” He rubbed his hands together, looking for the right words. “Physiologically, anatomically, organically, so to speak—”
    “In a word, ‘yes,’” Genevieve interrupted, for clarity’s sake.
    Edgar and Allan looked at each other in delight.
    This was the best ghost tour ever!
    “Is this one of your tricks?” Milly whispered to the boys.
    “We’ve heard about you two,” Em added.
    The Poes shook their heads. It was true they’d pulled some ghoulish Halloween hijinks in the past, most recently turning their house into a dungeon to take revenge on neighborhood bullies. But this was the real thing.
    The girls looked at each other, understanding.
    “Death is a dialogue Between
    The Spirit and the Dust,”
    Em muttered.
    This time, even Milly thought the quote perfect.

WHAT THE POE TWINS DID NOT KNOW  .  .  .
    A LETTER DELIVERED THAT DAY:
    IGER COFFIN MAKERS
Serving discreet customers since 1845
    Ms. Cassandra Perry
    P.O. Box 3273
    New Orleans, LA 70116
    Dear Ms. Perry,
    I received a phone call from your lovely grandmother today and she informed me that you may be interested in my services. As you know, your family is very special to me. In that light, I can make you an outstanding offer on TWO child-sized models. And I will be happy to throw in a cat-sized coffin for free.
    Please let me know if I can be of any other service to you.

5

    “WE SHALL MAKE A