Chapter 1

Susan said, "10 years ago, my friends and I went into an actual haunted house on Halloween. Once inside, we were hunted down by ghosts and monsters. Some were kind, some were mean, and some were strange. Since not all the ghosts and monsters were mean, we joined them for their yearly Halloween party. When the ghost of Sarah Belington figured out we had her spell book, Tom got it to me, but Sarah captured him. Then I read the spell while she came for me and un-haunted the house because even though I wasn't much of one, I still was the only Wiccan in the group. I felt accomplished at first. But then we had to say goodbye to our friends, Violet Wellington, the immortal talking cat, and Jack, the living jack-o-lantern. We saw Violet again, but with her family, who thanked us for saving them and their home. Then she vanished and went to hell with her family while we celebrated with a song in the backyard before we left since we could."

Susan was teaching a class to teenagers outside the Wellington Mansion. Mrs. Piper said, "After defeating the ghosts, the house became deserted, and it is to this day. It's lousy now, and soon, it'll be condemned since no one wants to live here. That's why the gates are locked." Mrs. Piper showed her class the lock on the gates, and they saw it looked like a scorpion. Victoria said, "I bet if people fixed this place up, they could sell it like that." Victoria snapped her fingers, and the gates of the mansion opened. The class saw the gates open and wondered how that happened. Mrs. Piper said, "How'd that happen?" Natalie said, "I don't know, but can we check the place out, Mrs. Piper? It looks so neat." Mrs. Piper said, "We can look closer, but we won't go inside."

The class ran through the gates excitedly and took a closer look at the mansion. They didn't know that the lock on the gate somehow got turned into a real scorpion. Once they made it to the front porch, Victoria tried opening the door, but Mrs. Piper stopped her. Mrs. Piper said, "Sorry, but no one is allowed inside the house on this field trip. Because yes, I un-haunted the house, but legend has it, if someone re-lights Jack, the spell will retake place, and the ghosts will return." Victoria looked down and saw something under the mat. Victoria said, "OK." The class then left, but Victoria stayed for a minute, lifted the carpet, and found a key underneath it. Victoria then took the key, put it in her pocket, and rejoined her class.

After their field trip, the kids and Mrs. Piper got back on the bus and got dropped off at home. After getting dropped off, Victoria and Quinn met at their favorite magic store. They walked in, and the salesman recognized them. The salesman said, "Well if it isn't Victoria and Quinn, my two favorite customers." Victoria said, "Hi, Johnny." Johnny said, "Now, what magical thing are you interested in today?" Victoria and Quinn grabbed some Angelica leaves and read the back of the pack. Victoria said, "'Angelica leaves. Breaks curses, hexes, and spells.' Never know when something like that will come in handy." Victoria said, "We'll take these Angelica leaves." Johnny checked them out, and Victoria put the pack in her bag and waved goodbye to Johnny, who sold them the Angelica leaves. Before they left, Johnny got an idea.

Johnny said, "Wait." Victoria and Quinn waited, and Johnny said, "Knowing you two, I think I have something you'd be interested in." Johnny took them to the backroom and showed them an old box he had. Johnny opened the box and showed them a magical staff. Johnny said, "Buy one more pack for Angelica leaves, and I'll toss in this magical staff for free." Quinn took the staff and saw a dragon's head on it. Quinn said, "What's so magical about this?" Johnny said, "It's like a wand. Its magic can be brought to life, but only in the hands of a magical person like a witch or a Wiccan." Victoria said, "I'll take it." Victoria then bought another pack of Angelica leaves, and Johnny gave Victoria the magic staff. Victoria said, "Bye. And thanks for the staff." After Victoria and Quinn left, they went to Victoria's house, and a skeleton dropped on them when they opened the door. Victoria said, "Nice try, mom and dad." Mr. and Mrs. Bullet emerged from hiding and said, "Rats." Mrs. Bullet said, "By the way, happy birthday, honey." Quinn said, "It's your birthday?" Victoria said, "Tomorrow is. I was born on Halloween. I'm going to be 13." Victoria and Quinn didn't think anything about Victoria's house was scary.

Quinn and Victoria went to Victoria's room, and Victoria showed Quinn a book she checked out of the library. Quinn said, "The History of Sarah Belington?" Victoria said, "According to the book, she's the reason The Wellington Mansion we went to this afternoon was haunted." Quinn opened the book and saw a picture of Sarah Belington casting a spell on the mansion." She then turned the page, and Victoria said, "It also says no one happened to what happened to her spell book." Quinn turned the page and saw a picture of her spell book. Then she turned the page and saw a picture of the staff the salesperson gave them."

Quinn said, "Wait a minute." Quinn showed Victoria what she had seen in the book, and Victoria saw a picture of Sarah Belington holding the staff. Quinn said, "It says here, this is Sarah Belington's magical staff. She used it for her most hard spells. And its power will be brought to life, but only in the hands of people who can control it, just like Johnny said. Victoria took the book from Quinn and said, "There doesn't seem to be anything in here about Mrs. Piper's defeat over her ghost." Victoria said, "I'm not surprised. That book was written 50 years ago, not 10. Although, it does say she wasn't always a witch. She was born one and didn't develop her powers until she turned 13 on her 13th birthday. You know, I have an idea." Victoria went on her computer and emailed all their friends, inviting them to check out the Wellington Mansion the next day.