In the heart of the quiet town of Sleepy Mill, laid an old, tattered mansion, known to all as ‘The Rookery’. Despite the ghost stories, every Halloween, a daring soul would brave entering it. This Halloween, young Sam decided to rise to the challenge.
As midnight fell, Sam took a deep breath and stepped into The Rookery. The house groaned beneath his weight, as if awakening for the first time in years. As he wandered through the dusty rooms, he could hear something also moving, keeping pace with him. His heart pounded, fearing it might be the rumored ghost of Madame Zara.
He ventured into Zara’s bedroom and froze. There, reflected in the cracked mirror, was an ethereal figure – Madame Zara. She turned to him, her spectral eyes meeting his wide ones. But instead of bearing a ghostly scowl, she laughed heartily and shook her head.
“Sam, I’m not the menace people think I am,” she said warmly. “But, rest assured, they’ve gotten one thing right – every Halloween, I turn someone into a ghost.” She winked and just as he began to panic, added, “This year, it’s your turn…to scare the town!”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the not-so-scary ‘Haunted Halloween Scare-off’ of Sleepy Mill began!