Once a year, in the shadowy suburb of Prowse Pines, there was a house, seemingly normal, yet whispered to be haunted. Splintery wooden shutters that slammed spontaneously and a monolithic oak door, behind which strange noises could be heard, had marked it as a house of terror in neighborhood lore.
Every Halloween, the courageous children of Prowse Pines dared each other to knock on the derelict door of the dreaded house. As time ticked by with each Halloween night, the dare became a tradition, though the door remained unanswered for years on end.
On this particular Halloween, a group of three daring friends, Lily, Tim, and Sam, with hearts thumping in their chests, approached the daunting doorstep. Sam, the bravest among them, raised his quivering hand to knock. Boom! Boom! He knocked twice and the door opened with an eerie creak.
A gust of cold air hit their faces and before them stood…a kindly old woman! She greeted them with a genial smile, holding a tray of freshly baked pumpkin cookies. Astonished, the children exclaimed, ‘The ghost house is haunted after all… by the spirit of hospitality!’