Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve

His light shone on a child-sized spinning wheel. It sat in the corner near a basket of wool and a tall, dusty mirror.
    The spinning wheel was spinning thread. But no one was touching it.
It was spinning all by itself.
    â€œLook!” whispered Annie.
    She pointed to a low table near the spinning wheel. On the table was a chessboard. Large wooden chess pieces sat on the squares of the board.
    But some of the pieces weren’t just sitting!
    As Jack, Annie, and Teddy watched, a horse piece slid slowly from one square to another. Then a queen piece did the same!
    â€œYikes!” said Annie.
    â€œGhosts!” said Teddy.
    â€œLet’s get out of here!” said Jack.

    They bolted across the room. Teddy threw open the door. The white bone was hanging in the air, right outside the door!
    â€œAHHH!” they all screamed.
    Teddy slammed the door shut. They huddled together, afraid to leave and afraid to stay. Jack’s heart was beating wildly. He couldn’t breathe.
    â€œI—I thought you weren’t afraid of ghosts!” he said to Teddy, gasping.
    â€œYes, well, I believe I just discovered that I am!” said Teddy.
    â€œWhat’ll we do?” said Jack.
    â€œA rhyme—a rhyme,” said Teddy. He gave Annie his lantern. He threw out his arms and started a rhyme:
    Spirits of the earth and air!
    He looked at Jack and Annie. “Quick, what rhymes with
air
?”
    â€œBear!” said Jack.
    Teddy shook his head. “I fear a bear might make things worse.”
    Jack tried hard to think of a better word to rhyme with
air.
    â€œWait a minute!” said Annie. “I get it now! I get it!” She grinned at Jack and Teddy.
    Has she lost her mind?
Jack wondered.
    â€œRemember what old Maggie said?” asked Annie. Then she recited:
    â€œWhere is the girl
who spins wool into thread?”
    Annie pointed at the spinning wheel in the corner. “There she is!” she said. “She’s spinning at that wheel.”
    Annie recited more:
    â€œWhere are the boys
who play chess before bed?”
    Annie pointed at the chess table. “There they are!” she said. “They’re probably her brothers! They’re playing chess!”
    She recited more:
    â€œWhere is the hound
who waits to be fed?”
    Annie threw open the door to the nursery.
    The bone was still hanging in the air. Jack and Teddy jumped back in fear.
    â€œDon’t be afraid!” said Annie. “It’s just a dog—a hound! He’s carrying a bone in his mouth. Don’t you see? The girl, the boys, the hound—they’re all here! They’re just
invisible
!”

J ack and Teddy were speechless. They kept staring at Annie as she got down on her knees and talked to the invisible dog.
    â€œHi, you,” she said in a soft voice. “Are you hungry?”
    The bone dropped toward the floor. It flipped over, then rocked from side to side.
    â€œSee,” Annie said to Jack and Teddy. “Now he’s rolling on his back with his bone in his mouth. Poor thing.”
    â€œPoor thing?” said Jack.
    â€œWe have to help him,” said Annie. She stood up. “We have to help
them
, too—the girl and her brothers.”
    She hurried across the room. Jack and Teddy followed. Annie stopped at the small spinning wheel.
    â€œWe can’t see you,” said Annie, “but we’re not afraid of you. We want to help you. Can you hear me?”
    The spinning wheel stopped spinning.
    â€œShe can hear us!” Annie said to Jack and Teddy. Annie turned back to the ghost girl. “What happened to you and your brothers and your dog and everyone else in the castle? How did you all become invisible?”
    Jack felt a wave of cold air whoosh past him.
    â€œI think she’s moving,” said Annie.
    â€œAye,” said Teddy, “to the looking glass. See?”
    An invisible finger had begun to write something in the thick dust of the mirror. Four words slowly appeared:

    â€œI can’t believe it!” said Teddy. “This must be the secret castle that guards the Diamond of Destiny!”
    â€œWhat’s
that
?” said Jack.
    â€œA magic diamond that belongs to Merlin,” said Teddy. “It was set in the handle of the very sword King Arthur pulled from the stone many years ago.”
    â€œOh, I know that story,” said Annie. “That’s how Arthur became king!”
    â€œYes!” said