A Haunting Notion

Once upon a wiki dreary,

I revised my long-strung query.

Ten weeks ago I began my quest,

Ev’ry application, tried my best.

My last employer did not like,

My smile, my jokes, my mountain bike.

He kicked me out, so now I wait,

To find a job and change my fate.

Another click, another scroll,

Another ad, another troll.

But, wait! This one looks promising,

“Full time assistant, hiring.”

My heart skips one beat more than most,

“Must not have fear of any ghost.”

A strange requir’ment to be sure,

Yet still I sign up for a tour.

I fall asleep and near forget,

This chance to rid myself of debt.

Next morn my ringtone awakens me,

I answer the call; say “This is she.”

‘Tis the company calling back, who,

What to set up an interview!

I agree to go that very day,

Then hang up and dress without delay.

Ten-thrity sharp I knock on the door,

Once, then twice, then three times, then four.

Just as I turn to walk away,

The door flies open and gently sways.

I walk inside, my blood runs cold,

The walls are cover’d in webs and mold.

The floorboards creak as I walk by,

Shadows move, I quickly shut my eyes.

This has to be part of some test,

I think, to prove I’m true, not in jest.

For did they not specifically say,

Any who fear ghosts should stay away?

Finding my courage, I march on,

Hoping it’s not an intricate con.

I hear talking off to the right,

But around the corner… nothing in sight.

Come on, you can do this Kristen!

Something slimy crawls over my skin

Rather than think, I start to run,

I consider leaving, just to be done.

I hear a growl but don’t stop to look,

It follows me on, so the next turn I took.

Suddenly there’s nowhere left to go,

Three walls around, then I spot a glow

I feel it creep toward me in my trap,

But I ignore it, clawing at the glowing gap.

It opens more, I anxiously pull,

Something grabs my leg, I scream in full.

The gap gives way, I hurl myself in,

As someone watches me with a grin.

“Miss Gray, how good to see you here!

You’re the only one who has made it this year.

Please, take a seat here in this chair,

I see we’ve given you quite a scare.”

I sit down nervously, fearing the worst,

Adrenaline flows, I want to burst.

The man watches me, expression queer,

I cannot tell if I should trust or fear.

“Let me explain our little game.”

I jump as the candles burst into flame.

“We’re a peculiar group here, you see,

But things are not as they seem to be.”

Three more people walk in the room,

All dressed up in fantastic costume.

“This house is not real, it’s all a set,

Set up with decoration and tech.”

“So you mean it’s like a haunted house?”

I hear myself whisper, quiet as a mouse.

“Exactly, yes! We will open this October.”

The people stare at me, their expressions sober.

“We want you to help us, if you will,

Your actions here have shown much skill.

Give us feedback and help us design,

New attractions that will make us shine.”

“But, if this house’s not really haunted,

why musn’t I fear ghosts?” to know, I wanted.

“Who said it wasn’t haunted?” said he,

With a wicked smile, wide as could be.

“He’s only joking,” a tall woman said

“Creative types are we, our humor he fed.

See, we’re ghost writers, my dear young miss,

A pun like that fills us with bliss.”

“You’re writers too?” my dream come true!

“Ghost writers, dear, that’s what we do.

A horror magazine we publish together,

Under the names of those known much better.”

I laughed out loud, filled up with joy,

What a wonderful notion, what a toy!

I gladly accepted their job and soon,

I was writing books of banshee’s croon.

And so ends my tale, wonderful and true, 

I took a chance and changed my fate; so you can change yours too.