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Weekly Reader Books presents
tttastratedty
•
—
-
m
From
E. L.
To the Campus School and
Sugarman
Dr.
From M. G. To the Evergreen Avenue School This book
a presentation of
is
Weekly Reader Books. Weekly Reader Books offers book clubs for children from preschool through junior high school. For further information write
to:
Weekly Reader Books 1250 Fairwood Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43216 Published by Delacortc Press 1
Dag Hammarskjold
New
Text copyright
Plaza
York, N.Y. 10017
©
Illustrations copyright
1982 by Elizabeth Levy
©
1982 by Mordicai Gerstein
No part of this book may be reproduced or any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage All rights reserved.
transmitted
and
in
retrieval
system, without the written permission of the
Publisher, except where permitted by law.
Manufactured
in
the United States of America
First printing
Library of Congress Cataloging
in
Publication Data
Levy, Elizabeth.
Something queer
at
Summary: Two amateur
the haunted school. detectives investigate a
haunting of their school that starts
around Halloween. [1.
Mystery and detective
stories.]
I.
stories. 2.
Gerstein. Mordicai.
II.
Ghost Title.
81-1940 P7Z7.L5827Smo [E] ISBN 0-440-08349-4 AACR2 ISBN 0-440-08355-9 (lib. bdg.)
1
Gwen and
Jill
were planning their Halloween
costumes. "What do you think Fletcher would want to
be for Halloween?" asked
Jill.
There were so many
possibilities.
Fletcher Roller Disco Star
Fletcher Fire
Hydrant
Fletcher Lion
Fletcher Parakeet
Fletcher Giraffe
Fletcher Ghost
i^WP^
Fletcher Vampire
"I've got
wagged
it!
his
actually got
"He must
A
tail.
vampire!" exclaimed
Jill.
Fletcher
Fletcher hated to move, but he
up and really
licked
want
Jill's
face.
to be a vampire!" said
Gwen
The
next day, after school,
Gwen and
Jill
got
permission from their art teacher, Ms. Willoughby, to stay late
and make Fletcher's costume. She
let
them
bring Fletcher so they could be sure his costume
Then she
left
them alone
to
go
to her studio.
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EEAAAAAARRRRGGHAIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
Suddenly
Gwen and
Jill
heard a bloodcurdling
scream. Fletcher jumped into the air and right into
Gwen's and
Jill's
arms.
Ms. Willoughby ran into the
"Why
art
room screaming.
did you sneak up behind me, pretending to be a
ghost?" she demanded.
"Why
did you
make
that weird
howling noise?"
"We
haven't
left
the room," protested
Ms. Willoughby looked as
if
Gwen.
she didn't believe them.
and
Jill's
Gwen
in class,
when
Mr. Murdoch,
history teacher,
went
to erase the black-
The next day
board, the whole class screamed.
The words
WEREWOLF POWER appeared
as
if
written by a
ghostly hand.
Mr.
Murdoch dropped
the eraser.
All that
week a ghost seemed
to be haunting the
school. At first everyone thought a child it,
was doing
b ut no child could
1.
2.
hang
all
the flags upside
make weird howling
down
noises
every morning.
come out
of the
public-address system.
3.
cause strange glowing lights to dance across the stage during a class play about Greek gods.
Soon newspaper and investigate the
TV
came to strange hauntings. Mr. Murdoch went reporters
out to talk to them. "I
have been doing some research," he
said.
"Nearly one hundred years ago a young
stood here, the very built.
site
woman
on which this school was
People believed she turned herself into a
werewolf."
"A werewolf!" believe
"Can you
Jill.
it!"
"No," said
_
cried
Gwen
flatly.
"Meet
the school library."
me
in
Later in the day,
Jill
found
Gwen up
to her ears in
books about hauntings, werewolves, and Halloween.
"What
are
you doing?" asked
"Research," answered
ghosts or werewolves.
going on."
Gwen
I
Jill.
Gwen.
"I don't believe in
think something queer
is
tapped her braces. She always
tapped her braces whenever something queer was going on.
"Everyone thinks something queer going on," said
"But
I
is
Jill.
don't think
kind of queer," said
it's
a supernatural
Gwen
with a tap.
\P
Suddenly from within the wall next
Gwen came Tap.
.
.
tap.
.
to
an answering ghostly sound: .
TAP.
Gwen's knees began
CGW GlM'S
K/vlGC-s)
to shake.
Gwen and empty.
It
Jill
ran to the room next door, but
looked as
if
no person could have made
those taps.
"Now do you believe in ghosts?" cried Jill. "I don't know what to believe," said Gwen. "I think we should tell Mr. Murdoch what happened," said
Jill.
it
was
Murdoch had left school for the day. Gwen and Jill picked up Fletcher at Jill's house and walked him to Mr. Mr.
Murdoch's house.
Mr. "I
Murdoch had two names by
his bell,
MURDOCH/ROSS.
thought Mr. Murdoch was a bachelor," said Gwen.
"Don't be nosy," said
Jill.
Mr.
Murdoch was
surprised to see them.
He
had a
on
set of blueprints
his desk,
which he put
hastily into a drawer.
"Just looking at the plans for said.
"What can
Gwen library.
I
do
for
my dream
house," he
you?"
explained about the mysterious tapping
in the
Mr.
Murdoch was very
excited
by her news. "Historically ghosts often communicate by taps,"
he said. "I'm going to
look into these tappings
very closely."
As they
left
Mr. Murdoch's house
she thought she
saw
Jill
was so
scared,
ghostly werewolves behind every
tree.
"There's got to be a rational explanation," muttered
Gwen. "Someone wants us
to think the school is
haunted."
"Or
it
really is haunted,"
added
Jill.
The next day Gwen and Jill went back to the library. Gwen was sure she had missed something. Suddenly she slammed one of the books down on the table and started tapping her braces.
This time there was no answering tap.
"Look
at this!"
exclaimed Gwen, showing
Haunted Laundromat by Veronica Ross. written before
we were
Laundromat near I've
read about.
I
born, but
it's
"It
Jill
was
about a
us. It's the only other local
think
we should
The
haunting
investigate."
Gwen, Jill, and Fletcher took off for the Laundromat across town. The Laundromat looked haunted. It was shabby and full of cobwebs. After school
A
bell
rang as they opened the door.
An girls
old
man came
out of the back room.
"Do you
have laundry?" he asked hopefully.
Gwen that's
shook her head no.
supposed
to be
"Is this the
Laundromat
haunted?" she asked.
"OH, NO!" screamed Fletcher,
who
the
man
so loudly that he scared
started to shake. "I thought after ten years
everyone had forgotten." "Forgotten what?" asked Gwen.
"About that horrible book," said the man.
His voice was so loud that his wife came running
from the back. "Be careful, Sam," she warned.
"Remember your
heart."
"That book ruined our
lives," said
the
man. "Our
Laundromat was never haunted. Somebody just made it all up. We never met that woman — Veronica Ross, the author."
"Ross!" whispered Gwen.
thought
it
sounded
"I
familiar."
Gwen began to tap her braces. "Why is she doing that?" asked the owner.
"She's thinking," explained
Jill.
Finally Halloween arrived.
The school was holding a big party, and everyone in town wanted to come to see what horrible spooky things the ghost would do.
Gwen and
Jill
touches on their
went up
room to put the final costumes. They had made themselves
vampire costumes
to the art
too.
Ms. Willoughby admired
made
their
work.
"I like
the
a plan before you began, almost like a blueprint."
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"A
blueprint!
I
bet there's a clue in the blueprints,"
exclaimed Gwen. "Ms. Willoughby, can you get us blueprints of the school? "It just
art
It's
important."
so happens the blueprints are stored in the
department because we have the long
them," said Ms. Willoughby.
bottom drawer."
"I
have a
flat files for
set in the
Gwen and
Jill
studied the blueprints. "These stairs
aren't here today," said
Jill,
pointing to
some
lines
on the
blueprints.
"Those are the old
fire stairs,"
"They were closed when we open onto the
my
roof, right
said Ms. Willoughby.
built the annex, but the stairs
near the
little
room
that
I
use for
studio."
OF
^
"Excellent!" said
Gwen, with
a tap to her fang.
"Someone howled at you from the stairs." "The stairs go right by the library," added
Jill.
"He
or
she could tap as well as howl."
"We can
catch that someone tonight," said
whispered her plan to Ms. Willoughby and
IT'6
HaR;> To
UrtP<5*?ST*NC>
Heft FAA/6S.)
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<^
Gwen. She
Jill.
Ms. Willoughby dressed up as a major league ballplayer for the Halloween party. She carried a bat. In the middle of the party 'it's time,"
Gwen and
whispered Gwen.
Jill
went up
to her.
Ms. Willoughby nodded.
She took Gwen,
Jill,
and
Fletcher, all dressed as
vampires, up to the school
Gwen was vampire who carried a
roof.
one
However,
flashlight.
Suddenly they heard a spooky howling sound. "Is that Fletcher?"
asked
Jill
hopefully.
Gwen Fletcher.
any
looked
He
down
at
wasn't making
noise.
"It's
not Fletcher," said
Gwen. "Come
on!"
a ^V
*&'
Gwen opened
the door to the secret stairwell. Some-
jumped out at them. "YIKES!" shouted Jill. "A WEREWOLF!"
thing huge and hairy
U
A human
let it
werewolf!" shouted Gwen. "Don't
get away."
Ms. Willoughby waved her
baseball bat at the creature.
leaped back
down
It
growled and
the stairwell,
w
I,
*
I
"After
it!"
They chased
shouted Gwen. the creature
back down the
and
stairs
into the party.
Many people had come dressed as werewolves, and for moment Gwen and Jill lost their creature in the crowd.
a
"THERE feet
IT IS!" yelled
Jill,
spotting the creature's big
near the stage.
Gwen and cornered
it
Jill
chased
right in the
it
all
around the party and
middle of the stage.
finally
"TAKE OFF YOUR WEREWOLF COSTUME, YOU FAKE!" Gwen demanded. Jill
reached over and tore the werewolf head off the
cowering form.
It
was
Mr. Murdoch.
Ms. Willoughby went JILL
to the
microphone.
"GWEN AND
HAVE EXPOSED THE WEREWOLF GHOST!"
said, as her voice
system.
boomed
'THE SCHOOL
out over the public-address
IS
NOT HAUNTED."
she
Ms. Willoughby handed the microphone to Gwen, blushed. Mr.
Murdoch glared
who
at her.
Gwen. "Ten years ago. under the name of Veronica Ross, Mr. Murdoch wrote a book, The Haunted Laundromat. He made it all up. The Laundromat was never haunted. Jill and saw the name Ross on Mr. Murdoch's doorbell. We figured out he was planning on writing a new book. The Haunted School."
"My
research has paid
off,"
said
I
"I
needed the money to build
Mr. Murdoch.
"I
wanted
my dream
house," sniveled
to write another best seller."
ERA5E*
"You scared innocent people," said Jill.
"You used the old stairwell
to
create ghostly happenings."
"You even hid a piece of chalk
in
an eraser to write 'Werewolf Power,' said
Gwen.
CHALK
"I'll
fired,"
see that you get said the principal.
"Someday I'd like to come back and haunt you," hissed Mr. Murdoch to Gwen. "Luckily
I
don't believe in
ghosts or werewolves," said
Gwen"
Or.
VLU. u
n)0 Suddenly everyone heard a
faint,
howling. The room grew quiet.
down
at Fletcher.
mysterious
Gwen and
Jill
looked
V
He was howling
Gwen and rolled over
was
over.
Jill
in his sleep.
patted him on the head. Fletcher
and then seemed
to smile. His
nightmare
Original Publisher's Price: $8.95
HEreit.'Eii£Mng*BBilfiin
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OS
Halloween is coming and Jill and Gwen are working on scary costumes for themselves and Jill's dog, Fletcher. One afternoon in the school art room they hear a hideous scream. Is someone pretending »9i>tH
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