1. The First Ogre

Calendar Mysteries October Ogre By Ron Roy

Chapter 1 The First Ogre "How do I look?" Bradley asked. He was wearing a cardboard box. His head stuck out through a hole in the top, and his feet came out the bottom. There were holes in the sides for his arms. Bradley had pasted pictures of Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson on the four sides. "You look like a box of cereal," Nate said. "What are you supposed to be?" asked Lucy.

Bradley grinned. "I'm Mount Rushmore," he said. It was Halloween, and the kids were getting dressed at Nate's house. They were going to the Shangri-la Hotel. For Halloween, the building had been changed into a haunted house. All the kids they knew were planning to be there. Bradley's twin brother, Brian, was dressed as an astronaut. A clear plastic salad bowl covered his red hair. He pretended to breathe through a vacuum-cleaner hose taped to the bowl. His shirt and pants were covered with tinfoil. Lucy was dressed as Sacagawea. She wore a fake-leather dress and moccasins and had her hair in a braid. Nate had wound strips of rags around his face and body. "Guess what I am!" he said. "Raggedy Andy?" Brian joked. "No, I'm a mummy," Nate said. The four kids were best friends. Bradley and Brian's older brother, Josh, was pals with Dink Duncan, Lucy's cousin. Nate's older sister, Ruth Rose, hung out with Josh and Dink.

The kids left Nate's house and walked to Main Street. The sun was down, but it was not quite dark. They waited at the traffic light in front of Howard's Barbershop. "Dink told me there's an ogre's cave inside the hotel," Lucy said. "The ogre is guarding a basket of candy. If we steal candy without getting caught, we get a prize!" "Cool," Brian said. "We get candy and a prize!" When the sign said WALK, they crossed Main Street and headed to the Shangri-la Hotel. They stood behind some bushes and looked at the hotel. "It does look haunted," Lucy said. Bats, witch faces, and skeletons peered out the windows. Thick cobwebs hung from the front door. Spooky music came through hidden speakers. A tall green ogre stood at the door. The monster had a lumpy green face and a fat belly. He held a club in his chubby fingers. "What an awesome ogre!" Brian said. "Let's go say hi!"

"Maybe not," Nate said. "I don't hang out with ogres." A bunch of kids in costumes were gathering at the hotel entrance. Bradley saw a Miss Piggy, a Batman, and some ghosts wearing bedsheets. The ogre opened the door and let a few of the kids inside. One of them was wearing a red cowboy hat. "Hey, that's Luke Sanders from our class!" Nate said, pointing. Nate waved, but Luke had disappeared into the haunted house. "Come on," Brian said. "Let's go in. Josh told us some of the high school kids helped decorate. He said it's real scary!" Just then the hotel door creaked open. More kids went inside. The ogre stayed outside. He waved at Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy.

"He's telling us to come over," Bradley said. "Um, I'm not sure," Nate said. "I mean, I don't mind being scared, but that ogre guy is too creepy. Maybe I'll just hang out here." Lucy took Nate's hand. "Come on, Nate. It'll be fun," she said. "And friends stick together! If you don't go in, we won't go in, either." "But I want to go in!" Brian said. "I want to steal the candy and get a prize!" He looked at his brother. "What do you say, Bradley?" "I love Halloween, too," Bradley said. "But I agree with Lucy. If Nate doesn't want to go in, we don't go in." "Maybe later," Nate said. "I just need to think about it." The kids sat near the bushes and kept their eyes on the haunted hotel. The ogre kept his eyes on them.