and tolling bells resonate from somewhere nearby as a single stray cat screetches mournfully in the distance in the howling wind...>
Narrator: Have you ever seen a haunted house? You know the kind I mean. That old, dark house that's usually at the end of a dimly lit street. The owners haven't been seen for years; no one really knows why. The windows are broken and boarded, and the shutters hang loose on their hinges. The trees have grown wild; their branches brush against the sides of the weathering house, making strange noises in the night. There's a high, vine-covered fence around the property... is it there to keep somebody out? Or is it there to keep some... THING inside? It's a house that people avoid walking past at night. Strange sounds come from within the walls, and it's said that eerie lights have been seen both in the attic windows, and in the graveyard at the side of the house. Our story revolves around this mysterious mansion. One night, not long ago, two teenagers were walking home from a date. The night was cool, and lightning broke through the sky. The wind began to blow, and the lightning cracked again. Thunder rolled across the heavens and changed this pleasant evening into a night to be remembered. Karen held Mike's hand tightly as they began to walk faster down that dark street. The lightning struck again and illuminated the front of the old mansion. It began to rain. Mike and Karen ran toward the old house, through the old iron gate, and onto the porch for protection. Protection? If only they had known...
Karen: Oh Mike, look at that rain come down. We'll never get home on time.
Mike: Sure we will. It's not quite midnight. This old porch isn't going to keep us dry, though.
Karen: What are you doing?
Mike: Trying to get the front door open. No one lives here... we can wait inside until the storm's over.
Karen: Not me. I'm not going in that old house! I'd rather stay out here and get wet.
