The house

It was Halloween night, at 13 years old Chris and Kyle felt they were probably too old to go 'trick or treating', but they didn’t want their parents to know they felt this way. They had other plans for the evening, and they didn’t involve going door to door. There was an abandoned house several blocks away on the outskirts of town that was rumored to be haunted. They had heard a lot of rumors about the house, everything from people going in it and never being heard from again to people seeing children playing in the yard then fading out seconds later.

Like other people their age, Chris and Kyle were curious. On more then one occasion they had showed interest in exploring the house, but their parents always warned them to keep away saying

“bad things happen to people that go into that house”. But they were not to be deterred this time. They were determined to learn the truth about the house. It seemed fitting to explore the house on Halloween night. They had come up with a perfect

“cover story”. They would dress up and pretend they were going

“trick or treating”, and would in reality go to the house. Given their curiosity over the house and the fact that they would technically be ‘breaking into” it they chose raccoon costumes, as it seemed fitting. They had worked out a plan where they could search the whole house by each 'taking' certain parts of it. They brought flashlights and walkie-talkies to stay in communication while they searched.

Finally departing, they met up just outside their houses and began the walk over to the old house.

“I’ve heard that the house has 4 floors, what part do you want to explore?” Chris asked of Kyle.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to take the top floors and the attic” Kyle responded.

“No problem, I hear there is also a basement, Ill take the bottom 2 floors and it. This is going to be so cool. One question, what do we do if it really is haunted and scary stuff starts happening?” Chris asked. Kyle responded

“Then we run like heck, but tell no one of what happened, the last thing we need is for someone to say ‘I told you so’”. Chris nodded his head in acknowledgement and they continued to walk towards the house.

They arrived at the house, it looked almost menacing. It was the only house in the immediate area, and it had the look of a classic, old haunted house. A metal fence surrounded it, with a squeaky gate in the front. The gate opened and closed in the wind, and leafs blew around wildly. The air around the house felt cold, and even the clouds above it looked menacing. Chris and Kyle looked at each other and in unison said

“creepy”. Placing their bags on the ground and getting out their flashlights and walkie-talkies they opened the gate and walked towards the house. They both could swear they heard loud creaking sounds coming from the house, and both saw what appeared to be a little girl looking out the window of the top floor. Both were feeling very nervous, but their curiosity won over and they entered the house.

It was dark inside, and was full of cobwebs. It had an old musty smell. All of the furniture that remained was covered in blankets and everything had a thick layer of dust on it.

“This is so cool,” they both said. At the same time they knew that they should know better then to continue, but still curious, they continued. First testing their walkie-talkies and flashlights to make sure they were still working, they proceeded. Kyle walked towards a staircase near the front door and proceeded up it. Looking at each other one last time, they wished each other "good luck".

The forth floor of the house was huge, bedrooms all over the place. Scared out of his mind, yet still wanting to explore, Kyle slowly walked around. With each step the floor squeaked, walking into what was the master bedroom, Kyle brought his walk talkie up to his mouth.

“Chris, this is so cool, the bed is still made, and it look like one of those bed’s from the 1800’s. It’s cold up here; there is even Jewelry still in the bedroom. It looks like new.” Hearing a noise in the adjoining bathroom, Kyle jumped and dropped the walkie-talkie. Chris’s voice on it expressed concern.

“Kyle? You okay, what fell?” Picking it up, Kyle responded

“Yea, I heard something in another room, I’m going to go check it out.” As he left the master bedroom, his costume felt a bit itchy in the rear end for several seconds. Ignoring it, he went on.

Chris had been examining the second floor of the house. Like the forth, it’s floor creaked with every step. Walking by a room he could swear that he heard a TV on, playing an old western. Looking into the room, he saw a ghostly figure sitting on a dust-covered chair watching the TV.

“Oh my god” he said, shocked by what he saw. Suddenly distracted by a noise behind him, he looked back to see nothing there. Looking back into the room, the figure was gone and the TV was off. He had no idea the ghost was now standing behind him, slowly reaching towards him, it gently touched his costumes tail, then vanished. Chris felt an itch on his rear end, too embarrassed to even think about scratching, he tried to ignore it. Thankfully the itch quickly went away. Radioing Kyle, he told him what he had just seen as he walked into the room.

Kyle now in the other room, listened in

“It was amazing, I could see a little girl watching the TV, but something distracted me. When I looked back she was gone. There is no sign she was ever here.” Responding, Kyle spoke,

“I’m in that room where I heard the strange noise, there is a strange breeze blowing in here, yet no windows are open.” Suddenly hearing what sounded like water running in a bathroom attached to the room, Kyle shined his flashlight towards it. He saw the same little girl Chris has seen. She was getting a drink of water.

“Hi” Kyle said, but as soon as he spoke, she vanished. Walking into the bathroom, the sink was of the old type, as was the bath and toilet.

“Chris, you said you saw a little girl? Well now I just did, she was getting a drink of water. I tried to say something to her, but she vanished.” Finishing the sentence, Kyle felt a strange tingling sensation in his rear, thinking it was just the ghost, he turned around to see no one standing behind him. Walking out of the room, he didn’t notice his costumes tail had fallen of, and a real one had taken its place.

As Chris left the room with the TV, he also felt a strange tingling in his rear end, he too thought it was the ghost, but since nothing was there when he turned around, he assumed it was his imagination. He had no idea his costumes tail has also fallen off, also replaced by a real one.

Having seen most of the second floor, he walked down to the main floor. Heading towards the kitchen, he again thought he saw the little girl. This time she appeared to running into the kitchen. As he approached the kitchen, he could have sworn he saw a woman cooking several things on the stove. The little girl was talking to her, and he could even smell food cooking. Hearing him enter the kitchen, the woman turned and smiled. Suddenly feeling an itchy feeling running over his face, his didn’t seem to notice that the fur on his face was now real, and that he now how a muzzle and whiskers. With this, the woman and little girl vanished, causing a very cold breeze to run though the kitchen. The smell of food cooking vanished, and there was no sign that someone had been there seconds earlier. The stove was covered in dust, and the kitchen table had plates on it, also covered in a thick layer of dust. Everything looked very old, from the kitchen to the table to the fridge. It was almost like walking through a museum. Brining his walkie-talkie up, he told Kyle about what he has just seen.

Kyle was now in the attic, having found the entrance to it in a hallway on the 4th floor. It was very dark in there so he needed his flashlight. It was full of dust, but it also had old clothes, and several chests. The floor creaked badly and he was worried it was going to

“give out” so he walked slowly. He was surprised that the chests were not locked, inside were mostly clothes. Some of them dated back to the 1800’s.

“This is amazing” he though to himself. Careful not to disturb the dust on each chest, he carefully closed them. In the corner, he saw an old couch. Walking towards it, he saw another ghostly image sitting on it. This time it was 2 little boys. They appeared to be playing a board game on the table in front of the couch. At first they didn’t seem to notice him. When he shined his flashlight on the table to see what they were playing, they both looked up at him and giggled. He looked at them to say something, but they both vanished. Feeling a cold breeze, his chest began to feel very itchy, and he could have sworn he was now shorter. Continuing to explore the attic, the feeling went away. He was unaware that the fur on his chest was now no longer a part of the costume and was now real.

Walking into a large room off of the kitchen, Chris looked around it. It has several large windows looking out to the side of the house. There was a piano in the corner of the room and a bookcase at the other end. On one wall there were a couple of couches with coffee tables beside them. One of the tables had a book on it, still opened. Carefully, Chris picked the book up. He was reading though the page when he could have sworn he saw a ghostly image sitting at the piano playing, with another ghostly image watching. Silently, he looked towards it. A little boy, one of the ones who Kyle had seen, was playing it with an older man watching and instructing him. Fascinated, he watched them and listened to them play for several minutes, not realizing that with each note, his costumes ‘arms’ were disappearing and his own arms were being changed. When his arms had been totally changed and were fur covered and his hands looked like paws, with small claws at the end of each finger, he heard a tapping noise on one of the windows. Looking towards it he saw a tree branch hitting it. Looking back at the piano, the man and child were gone. Walking over to it, the chair was covered in dust, as were the piano’s keys. There was no evidence anyone had been sitting there or had been playing the piano.

Kyle walked down the stairs to the 3rd floor, having finished his exploration of the attic and 3rd floors. The stairs creaked, and felt brittle. Still in disbelief at some of the things he had seen, he wasn’t sure what to think. He had read stories of haunted houses before, but never had he heard of people experiencing anything this specific or compelling. Finally arriving on the 3rd floor, he heard odd noises coming from a room behind him. They were coming from a room. Walking to the room, he saw that it appeared to be a dance hall. It was fairly long, and music was playing on an old style phonograph. He saw 2 little girls this time, dancing. One of them was the same little girl he had seen before. Their teacher was the same woman Chris has seen in the kitchen. Mesmerized by the music and their moves the girls were making, he didn’t notice the fur growing on this face, or that fact his face was pushing out into a muzzle while his ears became furry and moved to the top of his head. Reaching for his walkie-talkie he told Chris what he was watching, Chris then told him his story about the Piano.

Finding the entrance to the basement, Chris was shaking. He wasn’t sure if it would be smart to go down there, but was curious as what he would see next. Shining his flashlight down, he slowly made his way down the creaking stairs. The basement was fairly small, and very cold and damp. He saw a very old looking washing machine and dryer. Looking into a room beside them, he walked in. It was a medium-sized empty room. It looked like it had been used as a rec room. Feeling a breeze, he again started to feel a tingling sensation. This time fur grew on his chest and legs, replacing the costume's fur. Still somehow unaware of this, perhaps because of the force that caused causing this to happen, he saw the same woman he had seen in the kitchen folding clothes. Standing behind him, the same two boys that Kyle had seen were smiling at what was happening. They genuinely enjoyed it. The woman turned to Chris and smiled, now seeing that his entire body was covered in fur, and he had the head of a raccoon. The fact he didn’t notice this at all pleased her even more. Folding the last article of clothing, she picked up the basket and went upstairs and vanished.

The 2 little girls were still dancing to the music despite the woman disappearing several minutes ago. On multiple occasions they looked at Kyle and smiled. Occasionally he felt a cold breeze. The sight of 2 ghosts dancing was mesmerizing to him. He knew he should have been terrified seeing what was happening, yet he felt strangely at peace. He had no idea fur was growing all over his arms and legs, and that his costume was slowly disappearing. He suddenly heard a creaking sound from behind him. Looking to see what it was, he realized the music had stopped and that the girls were gone. Hearing the sound of a grandfather clock downstairs, which was somehow still working, Kyle counted the chimes. He heard ten of them. Picking up his walkie-talkie he spoke into it. Chris had heard the clock as well. Neither of them had any idea they had been in the house for that long, and knew it was time to go. They agreed to meet by the front door.

In the attic all of the ghosts were standing around talking. ‘They have been a lot of fun. They were perhaps a bit foolish for coming here after everyone told them not to, but I do admit it was brave of them” the older man said. The 4 kids in unison said

“so can we let them know what is happening to them?” Smiling and turning to everyone, in a pleasant voice the woman

“Look’s like they are about to find out, then we can finish the job.”

Chris was standing near the front door, hearing the sound of movement he looked up to see something coming down the stairs. It looked like a giant raccoon. ‘Kyle? Is that you?” he said. Kyle, seeing a giant raccoon waiting by the door reacted the same way. What had been happening to hit them.

“The ghosts” Chris said.

“Whenever I saw one, I always felt strange, yet somehow didn’t feel bothered by it” Kyle responded.

“At least we can still talk. But how are we supposed to explain this?” Chris asked. Just then a bitterly cold breeze blew for several seconds and all of the ghosts were standing in front of the 2 former humans. Kyle and Chris were terrified, not knowing what was going to happen now. Stepping forward the woman tried to calm them down.

“You two have been great sports, almost every year on Halloween someone visits us. Changing you like this was fun, but your change is not complete quite yet.” Kyle and Chris looked at each other, as the kids all started skipping around them, giggling. Kyle and Chris both started shrinking and found themselves being forced onto ‘all fours’. Within a matter of seconds they were undistinguishable from a ‘natural’ raccoon, no sign they had ever been human. Trying to speak, all both of them could do was make raccoon sounds.

The man now stepped forward, looking at the 2 raccoons.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be very happy this way. You’ll never forget who you are; your minds will stay intact. We will of course let you go. And don’t worry about your life expectancy, you’ll find your going to live far longer then a natural coon. You’ll both live lives long enough to match a human lifespan.” Now looking slightly relieved Kyle and Chris still had a few concerns. How would their families react to this? If they can’t speak how can they talk to each other. Again the woman spoke.

“Your families and friends won’t remember you, to everyone except yourselves it will be as if your human selves never existed. It will be easier for you this way and your families. If they remembered you then from their point of view you two will have vanished and never been seen again. We didn’t want to put them though that. You can communicate with each other telepathically, and you’ll be able to understand both human and raccoon language.”

Stepping back, and opening the front door, the ghosts all said,

“Thanks for the company. Have fun with your new bodies.” and disappeared. The sounds in the house stopped. And not having much else to do, Chris and Kyle walked outside of the house. The fall air felt much nicer now that they had fur. While they felt sad that their families wouldn’t remember them, they knew it was for the best.

One of the first things they wanted to do was see their families. Maybe the ghosts were just joking when they said their families would forget them? But either way they both wanted to at least see them. Walking home took them quite a bit longer then walking there had, they had to be extra careful in watching for cars now when they crossed the street. Finally getting home, they pondered what to do next. If their parents still remembered them, then by now they would be getting very worried about them. They decided that it would be better if they stuck together, although not being able to speak would make explaining much more difficult.

Both of the front doors were closed, so first they went to Kyle’s backyard and tried to get in from the back door. Unfortunately they were unable to open it to open it. Thinking they could climb in though his bedroom window, they climbed up to it. Climbing was much easier to do now. It felt completely natural. Looking in Kyle’s bedroom window, they saw something totally unexpected. His room was totally different. It had a computer and a desk in it, but no bed. It looked like it was being used as a spare room. Looking at each other they decided to go check Chris’ house and room. It looked much like Kyle’s. There was no evidence it had ever been a person’s room. It appeared to be being used as a spare room.

Still not totally convinced that their families had forgotten about them, they decided to spend the next few nights in the trees in their backyards. They would keep an eye on their families to see if any mention of their names occurred at all. If they were mentioned they planned on finding a way to let them know about what had happened to them.

Sleeping in a tree certainly felt interesting, as did sleeping outside. But neither of them was cold, as their fur gave them plenty of protection and kept them warm. Morning came and waking up, they were both very hungry. They weren’t sure of what to eat. Watching their houses, they could smell breakfast cooking inside, which only made them hungrier. They came up with an interesting idea, both of them would go to their back doors and try to make some noise, maybe their parents were hear them and come back to see what was going on.

Both of them began pawing at the doors and making raccoons sounds that said

“I’m hungry, let me in for some food”. It didn’t take long for both of their parents to come to the door to see what all the noise was about. Both of them continued to make hungry noises, and tried to look cute so their parents would ‘give in’ and give them some food. Their efforts paid off, and both of them were given food. Their parents talked to each other about them, wondering where they came from and how they seemed to ‘know’ them. But no mention was made of Chris or Kyle or anyone being missing, their parents actually seemed to be in a good mood as if everything was fine.

This same process went on for several days, and Chris and Kyle were finding themselves realizing that their families had indeed forgotten about them. They decided that it was time to move on, as staying would be living in denial. They planned on visiting every once in a while, so they could still see them. But they knew that they had to accept their new lives.

There was a forest close to their houses that as humans was about a 20-minute walk. In the past they had seen all sorts of wildlife in there, everything from squirrels to otters. In a way, knowing that their families didn’t remember them was comforting, if they had they would always have worried about them, even if they had been able to tell them what had happened to them. The forest was still close to their former houses and they could still visit their families whenever they felt like it.

Before visiting the forest has been fun as humans, watching the animals was always enjoyable. Being in the forest as animals was a completely different experience.

Climbing high into a tree, they took in the sights and even the smells of the forest. It was an amazing experience. It didn’t take them long to realize that as coons their sense of smell was substantially better then it was as humans. Even simple things like pinecones, which normally did not posses much of a scent smelled incredible. It really felt much more like being

“there”. It would seem their hearing has also greatly improved, looking down they heard something running in the leaves, and it sounded very close. Yet in reality it was just a small chipmunk. It would seem that their instincts were developing as well, as they now knew what to look for to eat. Stuff that before would have seemed disgusting now seemed appetizing. Things that before were bland in taste now tasted incredibly good, it would seem their sense of taste was also greatly enhanced.

The first few days of living in the forest as wild raccoons seemed a bit strange, especially after living their entire lives as human in houses. Soon however, once they had adjusted it actually became a lot of fun. They didn’t have any worries about homework, grades or what they were going to wear anymore, and they felt much more alive then they had in years. Perhaps the ghosts had sensed that they would enjoy life like this and that was why they chose this form them, perhaps this was meant to happen.

They planned on visiting their families every once in a while to see how they were doing. But for the time being, it was time to enjoy their newfound life and new found freedom.