Ilooked at myself in the mirror and nearly jumped out of my skin in fright. I looked terribly scary. You see, my friend had invited me to a costume party and I was dressed up as a mummy.

My mother had torn an old white sheet into long strips and wrapped me in them from head to toe. She had used a red lipstick to make my mouth and black marker to make an eye on my forehead. I looked something out of a horror movie.

Very pleased with the result, I decided to walk to my friend’s house. I thought it would be fun to scare people on the road. To my disappointment, there was no one around. I had walked down a couple of streets when a dog suddenly appeared and growled at me. It started chasing me and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

I saw an old gate open and hurriedly entered. I slammed shut the gate and heaved a sigh of relief. I was safe. I turned to look at the house and shivered with fright. It was the old, haunted house. In a hurry to escape from the dog, I hadn’t looked where I was going and now I was in a place that was considered spooky and dangerous.

It was an old house on a lonely street and it had been deserted for years. However, people sometimes heard shrieks and strange sounds coming from the house. But no one dared to enter it.

I could still hear the dog barking outside so I had no choice. I decided that as long as I was there, why not explore the place. Then I would brag about it to my friends and be considered a real hero. I sauntered up to the door, trying to appear cool, though my heart was beating furiously.

I pushed open the door and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. As I stepped inside, I wrinkled my nose. There was a stale, musty smell. I could see that the windows were broken and were boarded up with planks through which some light was entering the house.

I moved in stealthily. There was an old worn out carpet on the floor and some broken furniture. Everything seemed to be covered in layers of dust but thankfully, there were no ghosts or skeletons. I cautiously moved further inside and sneezed loudly. Clouds of dust flew up in the air, but nothing else moved.

I saw an old staircase ahead, in the centre of the room. There was a very large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but it was all crooked and seemed to be in the danger of falling down any minute. I walked up on the stairs carefully.

On the landing, I saw rooms on both sides. I was wondering if I should explore any further when I heard a rattling sound. For a moment I stood frozen. Then I saw a door opening. Quick as lightning, I jumped into a nearby cupboard careful to leave its door a bit ajar.

To my surprise, three men came out of the door. Two of them were carrying a heavy chest and one was swaggering in the lead. Oh, I thought, these are no ghosts or vampires, they are men and didn’t seem to be honest ones as they were talking about their looting.

The leader told the men to put the chest in one of the rooms. They grumbled and put down the chest. One of them asked about his share of loot. The leader of the gang did not like his tone and stared shouting. The other man also joined in and soon they were kicking and punching each other.

One of the men pushed the leader towards the cupboard I was in and it crashed open. I jumped out in fright. But to my amazement, the men too howled in fright and backed away.

I had forgotten that I was dressed up as a mummy.

I quickly raised my arms and waved them menacingly and let out a deep rumbling sound. The effect was magical.

One man hurried up the stairs, but it was too rotten. The banister broke and he fell down with a loud thud. The leader of the gang had a gun. He took it out, but his hands were shaking so much that he shot towards the ceiling and hit the heavy chandelier. He shouted and groaned as the chandelier dropped on him with a huge crash.

I ran towards the door. I knew I had to get out of the house as quickly as possible before the robbers could realise I was just a boy. The third man stood rooted at his spot in terror.

I ran outside. Thankfully, the dog was gone. I hurried towards my friend’s house where all the guests had gathered. What a scare I gave them all as I burst in, all panting and out of breath.

I quickly told my friend’s father what I had seen. He called the police and soon we could hear the sirens in the distance. Too excited to stay away, we all went to the haunted house to see what was happening.

What a strange procession it was — Willy Wonka, Spiderman, Batman and a dirty mummy, all watched as the policemen came out with the gang members handcuffed and under arrest.

I was a hero after all.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 28th, 2017