Which Witch?

Halloween was nearing. Ashley and Alyson Depriana were new in New Orleans. The two twenty-one-year-old sisters wanted to do something special. Alyson had a brainwave. "Let's have a haunted house for the trick-or-treaters." "Alyson, you're a genius." "I know." 

The next day was a busy one, making the house, hiring the ghosts, and setting up their costumes. “The last thing we need is witches," Ashley said that evening, at the dinner table. "There's a place nearby: Nicole's Halloween emporium. Let's check it out." The next morning, they went up to the shop. Nicole Staub, a middle-aged woman ran the shop. She was seriously obsessed with voodoo magic. Voodoo dolls, charms, rubber snakes, skulls, and all sorts of other items were in this shop. At the back, you could meet tour guides, ghosts for hire, and if you were lucky, Nicole herself. While Alyson looked around for Halloween home decor, Ashley went to the back, to hire a few witches. Nicole was there. She said, “I am running low on witches right now. So I myself will come, along with another two girls." Ashley was just about to thank her, but she disappeared into thin air.

Soon came the day of Halloween. Both of the girls, dressed as vampires, stood on the front porch, handing out chocolate. The haunted house was a huge hit. Kids were streaming in and out. Until some kid ran up to Alyson and whispered something to her. She just laughed and gave him a chocolate bar. But when a few more kids came up to her with the same secret, they decided to check it out for themselves. And there it was: a witch, terrifyingly real, terrorizing the guests. Nicole came running up to them. “Apparently, one of the girls is a real witch. She put some sort of spell on the house. Now all the ghosts are real. We need to stop her.” “The first thing to do is evacuate the haunted house, then shut it down,” Ashley said. The girls set to work, blockading the entrance and telling everyone to leave. Once they were sure the house was empty, they put some voodoo charms at the entrance, and went into the house (their house. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to just walk into the haunted house.), to find out what to do next.

“We should call some ghost hunters,” Alyson insisted. “What am I, a grilled cheese sandwich,” Nicole asked, offended. “What should we do then,” Ashley said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I can communicate with spirits if that helps. We could get a few good spirits from the underworld and have them round up there guys.” “But they aren’t real spirits,” Ashley pointed out. “And the witch is undead. We can’t get her into the underworld.” “If the other ghosts are still possessed humans and mechanical toys, we have to just destroy the mechanical ghosts like toys, and get rid of the witch to free the others,” Alyson said. “And I think I have a voodoo charm that deals with witches.” “Ok, Alyson and I will get rid of the ghosts, you get the charm.” 

The trio removed all the charms and blocks from the entrances, and the ghosts poured out. “Now we have to find mechanical ones.” “Just pour water on them, they should be ruined,” Nicole suggested. “But we knew kids would probably bring juice into the house, so we bought waterproof ones.” “Then how do you plan to deal with them,” Nicole asked, annoyed. “We’ll do what all great ghost hunters do,” Ashley said. “Wear black bodysuits and use cheap vacuums to scare the ghosts,” Alyson asked, incredulously, “Oh, so I dress like a black molecule?” Nicole, as the girls were learning, was easily offended. “No, you dress like you’re an undead spirit,” Alyson lashed out. “Will you guys listen to my idea,” Ashley shouted. “OK, what do all great ghost hunters do?” “I don’t know, ask Nicole.” “This was your great plan? Ask Nicole what to do? She is a voodoo charm seller, not a ghost hunter!” “Will you two stop arguing? I got the charm. Alyson go stand as bait for the witch. Ashley, throw the charm at her when she is about to attack Alyson.” “Ok, what are you going to do,” Alyson asked. “Film this for my website,” came the prompt reply. “Oh no you don’t, miss ‘I’m a grilled cheese sandwich’. You get to attack her, while I continue handing out candy and not letting anyone in the yard.” 

They took their positions, and the witch obliged to their plan. She came close to Alyson and got a face full of charm. She vaporized, and everyone was back to normal, never to haunt anyone again. Well, everyone except for Nicole, her warehouse was shut down, because of the risk that other employees might be ghosts. Poor, poor her!