"Miss Kirkpatrick's Secret" in THE UNSEEN:
Abbie has always been frightened of a scary old house in her neighbourhood and even more frightened of the grouchy old woman who lives there. After the woman dies, Abbie's dog wanders into the house through the old cavity for milk bottles. Terrified, Abbie follows him. To her surprise she feels welcomed in the house, as if someone wants her there. On every day of the Easter holidays she sneaks into the house. That is when she discovers that the presence in the house is compelling Abbie to find something.About This Story:
When I was a child in Edmonton, I passed a mysterious old house every day on the way to school that all the kids said was haunted. Later, as an older child in Vancouver, I did something very wrong one summer. My best friend was away and I found an open window on the bottom level of her house. Every day for a week I sneaked in! I didn't touch anything, but I enjoyed the thrill of crawling around each room on my hands and knees so no one could see me.I originally wrote this story as an assignment for a writing course I took at Simmons College. It was the first major piece of writing I had ever done, so I feel a particular fondness for it.