. Margot's handwriting became more erratic as the entries went on, the words scrawled across the pages as if wr

It's in the walls.

n't let it hear you. Don'

It's coming.

. Mr. Whiskers II, who had been napping on a nearb

the cat or to herself. She leaned back in the chair, staring at the jo

faded. Clara glanced at the window and realized with a start that it was alr

s. "You've got a haunted house, a creepy journal, and a n

the ceiling. The old chandelier swayed slightly, the crystals tinkling

it around the room, the beam catching on the dusty bookshelves and the cracked mirror ab

ding on end. Clara turned to him, he

eepest. Clara aimed her flashlight in that direction, but the beam didn't see

her voice trembling

ter disturbed by a stone. Clara took a step back, her breath c

heels. The hallway outside was just as dark, the only light coming from her

to th

ing her like a slap. She leaned against the porch railing, trying to catch

la

g at the bottom of the porch steps, a concerned look on h

nal to her chest. "I think the house is

sion darkened.

oing out, the shadows that seemed to move on their

all, you're not crazy. Second, we need to fig

ated. "How could it

smile. "Trust me, it

e

lara sat at the kitchen table with a cup of

what's causing all of this. The journal might have some clues, but we'll need to dig

d, her voice ri

Elliot said. "It sees you as a

"I don't like t

Which is why we're going to do

Firs

of salt (because Elliot insisted it was a "classic defense"), and a determined

he salt on the desk. "Let's se

ling through drawers. It was Clara who found it-a hidden compartment in

" she asked,

es widened.

metal. It looked like a key, but it was unlike any key she'd ever seen. The

sked, her voice bar

im. "It's a skeleton key. But not for any ordin

"What door in

rk with worry. "The one that's be

Contin

ver was behind that door, it was the source of the