A Good Night for Ghosts

whispered. “So we better be
real
careful.”
    Dipper lit his last match. Jack slowly lifted the glass on both the lanterns. Very carefully, Dippertouched the match flame to the wick of the first lantern. The wick sputtered and flickered to life. A yellow glow filled the room.
    “Ahh!” said Dipper. He lit the second lantern. “Beautiful. You can each carry one.”
    Jack picked up one of the lanterns. Annie put down her trumpet and picked up the other one. The firelight cast eerie shadows on the walls.
    Screeeee!
    A sound from the back room startled them. It sounded like the creak of a door opening. Jack’s heart began to pound.
    WHAM!
The sound of a door slamming shut!
    Jack’s heart beat faster and faster.
    “Hey!” called Dipper. “Who’s back there?”
    No one answered.
    Clump. Clump. Clump
. The sound of footsteps on stairs!
    Jack held his breath.
    “Who’s there?” yelled Dipper.
    “WOOOOOOO!”
    “Show yourself!” yelled Dipper.
    The shutters outside banged harder against the walls.
    “WOOOOOOO!”
    “Mercy,” whispered Dipper.
    Jack’s hand trembled, shaking the lantern and making the shadows in the room dance even more wildly.
    The moaning came again: “WOOOOOOO!”
    “Annie!” said Jack. “The trumpet! The time is right!”
    “I know it! I feel it!” said Annie. She put down her lantern and grabbed the trumpet. “Sing, Jack!”
    Annie lifted the magic trumpet to her lips and blew. A pure, smooth sound flowed from the trumpet and filled the room. As Annie played, Jack started singing:
    Ghost, ghost
,
Leave us alone!

Stop, stop!

Stop your moan… ing!
    What a stupid song
, Jack thought, but they were the only words that came to his mind. Then he remembered Dipper’s advice:
When you can’t think of words, just sing sounds. Make ’em up. Put your heart in it
.
    So Jack started singing nonsense sounds. He sang with all his heart, pouring all his feelings into the sounds, telling the ghost to go:
    Skid-dat-de-dat!

Skid-dat-de-dow!

Skiddle-skiddle

Daddle-daddle

Outta here NOW!
    Thumping noises came from the other room, as if heavy things were falling.
    “Who’s there?” shouted Dipper.
    Annie stopped playing.
    Jack stepped back in fear, waiting for something awful to happen. Then he heard laughing and whispering.
    “Hey!” shouted Dipper. He picked up Annie’s lantern and headed into the other room. Jack and Annie followed.
    Little Mack, Happy, and Big Nose Sidney were crawling toward the back door.
    “Stop!” yelled Dipper. “What are y’all doing here?”
    The three boys all talked at once: “We fell out of the attic!” “Felt like something was pushing us out!” “Yeah! Then down the stairs and toward the door!”
    “Jack’s
song
pushed you downstairs!” said Annie, laughing. “He ordered the ghost to leave us alone! His singing was magic.”
    “Your playing was magic, too!” Dipper said to Annie. “You two really put your hearts in it.”
    “Thanks,” said Jack.
    Dipper looked down at Little Mack. “Now tell us what you three fools were up to!” he said.
    “We decided to play a joke on y’all,” said Little Mack. “So we snuck through the back door and up to the attic.”
    “We thought you left because you were scared of ghosts!” said Annie.
    “Heck no, man,” said Little Mack.
    “We’re not afraid of ghosts,” said Happy.
    “Not even a little bit,” said Big Nose Sidney.
    Suddenly a cold wind blasted through the room. The lanterns flickered out. An eerie green light lit the blacksmith shop.
    “WHAT?”
a voice roared.
“NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS?”
    The voice seemed to come from everywhere—and nowhere.
    “AHHHHHHH!” the kids all screamed together.
    “HAH-HAH-HAH!” Mean-sounding laughter echoed through the shop. It grew louder and louder. “HAH-HAH-HAH!”
    “AHHHHHHH!” the kids all screamed again.
    Stomping noises thundered in the attic overhead.
    Everyone shrieked and froze with terror.
    Down from the attic came a pirate. His facewas hidden by the brim of a black hat. He wore a gray jacket with a double row of buttons, a red sash, and dark pants tucked inside black boots.
    The pirate looked like a real person,
except you could see right through him
.

T under shook the night. The wind howled. The pirate ghost floated down the stairs.
    “The ghost of Jean Lafitte!” whispered Annie.
    The ghost pointed a bony finger at Happy. “NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS?” his voice boomed again. He pointed at Big Nose Sidney. “NOT EVEN A