Tom and Tim were best friends who loved spooky stuff.
They watched scary movies (with the lights on), read ghost books, and explored creepy places—like old sheds, weird caves, and that one time they almost went into a haunted port-a-potty (almost).

One day, they were riding their bikes through the woods behind Tim’s backyard when they saw something strange... 

It was a huge, old, crumbling mansion hidden behind some overgrown trees. They had never seen it before.

“Did that house just appear?” Tom whispered. “No way,” Tim said. “But... let’s go check it out.” Even though their legs were shaking, they walked up to the broken gate. The sign said: “DO NOT ENTER (Especially you!)” They entered anyway.

The mansion creaked and groaned like it was alive. The windows were dusty, the porch was falling apart, and the door had a weird symbol scratched into it. Tim knocked once. The door creeeeeaked open all by itself.

Inside was dark and smelled like... old socks and pickles? Then they saw her. An old lady standing in the hallway. She wore a big, frilly dress and had a hundred dolls sitting around her. On shelves. On chairs. Even on the stairs.

“Oh, hello,” the old lady said, smiling too much. “I see you’ve met my children.” She picked up a doll and kissed its forehead. “Say hi, Bubbles.” The doll’s head turned a little. Or maybe it was just the shadows?

Tom and Tim tried to smile. “Uh... cool dolls,” Tim said. “Do they... move on their own?” asked Tom. “Oh yes,” said the old lady. “Sometimes they even tuck me in at night.” Then she winked. WINKED.

She told them they could look around “just not upstairs.” So of course, as soon as she left to “make cookies,” they tiptoed toward the stairs. “Why is it always the attic?” Tom whispered. “Because ghosts love high places,” Tim said. (He read that somewhere.)

At the top was a skinny hallway with creepy old paintings. One of the paintings looked just like the old lady... But she was holding a doll that looked like Tim. 

The stairs creaked LOUDLY with every step. CREEEAK. CREEEAK. CREEEAK.