Shiverton Hall, the Creeper by Emerald Fennell

Author:Emerald Fennell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-04-23T04:00:00+00:00

Later that night, Lizzie found that she couldn’t sleep. The house creaked and rumbled and groaned, as most old houses will when listened to by a nervous child. She knew that the boy must have been teasing her, but it didn’t stop her from seeing a glistening, bloody face every time she closed her eyes.

The following day at school, Lizzie sought out the boy. She went to the school secretary and described him, claiming that he had dropped a textbook in town the day before. The secretary thought for a moment. ‘That sounds like Donald Stoker. Classroom 2b,’ she said.

Lizzie waited outside the classroom and accosted Donald as he left for break.

‘I’m not talking to you,’ he said once he noticed her. ‘Leave me alone.’

‘I just wanted to ask you something,’ Lizzie said.

‘Look,’ Donald said, glancing nervously at the other students in the corridor, ‘we don’t talk to the kids who live in that house, OK?’

‘Why not?’ Lizzie asked.

‘Because they never last very long,’ Donald sighed.

‘So what can I do?’ Lizzie asked.

‘I told you what to do,’ Donald replied. ‘Get out of there.’

He pulled Lizzie closer to him and whispered, ‘He lives inside your house.’

Lizzie made her father search the house a hundred times, and her mother said it served him right for scaring his daughter so much. No matter how many times her parents told her that it was just a story, Lizzie wouldn’t believe them.

Matters deteriorated when Susan came tearing down the stairs one morning, claiming that when she had looked in her enamelled hand-mirror, a skinless, blood-soaked face had appeared in it. Mr Compton scolded her for teasing her sister, who was now completely frantic, insisting that they should leave the house immediately.

One Saturday evening, sick of their daughters’ squabbling, Lizzie’s parents decided to go out for a romantic dinner.

‘Yuck!’ Susan said.

‘Thank you, Susan,’ Mrs Compton said. ‘Since you’re old enough now you can look after your sister.’

‘Shouldn’t we get a babysitter, just in case?’ Lizzie said nervously.

‘It’ll be good for you two to spend some quality time together,’ Mr Compton reasoned.

Lizzie watched miserably as the tail lights of her parents’ car disappeared down the drive.

‘I’m going to be on the telephone in my room,’ Susan said haughtily. ‘Don’t you dare listen in.’

After Susan had been upstairs for an hour, Lizzie crept over to the telephone and quietly picked up the receiver.

Susan was talking to her best friend, Carol, who had lived a few doors down from them in Liverpool.

‘I never really liked him,’ Lizzie heard Susan say over the crackling line.

‘Yes, you did!’ Carol scoffed.

‘Wait,’ Susan said. ‘Did you hear a click? Lizzie! You’d better not be listening in!’

Lizzie held her breath.

‘It’s OK. I must have imagined it,’ Susan said finally.

‘I’m so jealous,’ Carol said. ‘It sounds so amazing. I can’t believe you’re the most popular girl at school already.’

Lizzie tried to muffle her giggles.

‘It is pretty amazing,’ Susan agreed blithely. Lizzie could tell from her sister’s smug, faraway tone that she was admiring her face in the mirror – something she did for at least an hour a night.

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