The rocking chair on the porch rocked back and forth with no one in it. The front door creaked open and shut on it's rusty hinges with no one going in or out. And there was always a tiny wisp of smoke coming from the chimney, even though there hadn't been a fire in the fireplace for years.

Yup, it was haunted all right. And tonight, with a huge silver moon coming up behind it, it looked even creepier than ever!

"So what am I doing here?" Anthony asked himself for the umpteenth time.
"I should be home in bed, safe and warm, dreaming about playing baseball or something!"
But he knew why he was there. He had been dared!

His best friend had double dared, then triple dared, then "tie a skunk to your belt" dared him to go!
What was an eight year old kid supposed to do?
After all those dares you just had to give in didn't you?

Well, it was too late to back out now. He was standing right in front of the house. The walk up the hill hadn't taken as long as he had hoped it would. He was here, might as well get it over with.

The moon was full now, and very bright, and as Anthony climbed the few stairs to the porch he could see that the rocking chair was indeed moving!
But he noticed that it was very windy here at the top of the hill, and it was the breeze that was making the chair rock.
And it wasn't spooks that were opening and closing the creaky door, it was just the wind.
And so he started to feel a little bit better.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all!" he thought.
But just as he was beginning to feel a bit braver, the door swung open and he saw an eerie glow coming from somewhere in the house. And then the door started to close, and he was caught in front of it, and he was being pushed inside!

Anthony was in a room as black as tar, he couldn't see a thing.
The door had slammed shut behind him and it must have been stuck, or locked, because he couldn't open it.
All he could see was what looked like another doorway, on the other side of the room, with that strange glow coming from it.
He knew he wouldn't be able to get out the way he came in, so with slow cautious steps he began to walk towards the light.

The boards beneath Anthony's feet creaked and groaned as he made his way forward, and just as he was about to peer into the room with the wierd light coming from it, he walked into something sticky and stringy, and it was all over his face!

It was probably just the dim light that was making him see things. But it couldn't have been the poor light that was making him hear things!

There was music playing, and something was howling. Anthony didn't think he could take much more of this. He brushed aside the web and stepped into the room.

"Probably a witches brew" thought Anthony. "And I'll bet I'm gonna be the next ingredient!"

The light from the fire was making it a little easier to see now, and Anthony was trying to get a look at the rest of the room.
Suddenly a deep voice from the shadows said "What are you doing here young man?"

Well, that scared him so much he almost jumped right into the pot of gooey green stuff!

He turned toward the voice, and there, next to the wall, sitting in a rocking chair, was a little old man with a grey beard.
He was sipping lemonade and strumming a banjo!
At the old codger's feet was a scruffy looking dog.
The dog was howling and covering his ears, as though he couldn't wait till the old man stopped playing!

"I don't get many visitors up here" said the old man. "It's nice to see a friendly face."
" Dunno why folks don't come up the hill, it's like they're scared or sumpin."

The banjo playing man smiled and Anthony knew there was nothing to fear from him.
"Well," Anthony replied, "everyone thinks this place is haunted! They're all afraid to come up here"

The old man chuckled and said "Fiddlesticks!"
" Why this place ain't no more haunted than I am. And I look real to you don't I sonny?"

Anthony admitted that he did, and then told the old man the whole story behind his coming to the house.

When he was done telling his tale he heard the man laugh.
"Well shucks sonny," the old-timer said as he put down his banjo and got to his feet, "you just tell all the townsfolk and all them young whippersnappers that old Jedadiah, that be my name, ain't no ghost!"
" And tell em I'd be a heap obliged if they was to come a callin on me from time to time."
Then he walked over to the boiling pot and began to stir it's contents with a long wooden spoon.

"Mister Jedadiah, whats in the pot?" Anthony asked.

"Why thats my supper!" Jed replied, "It's homemade green pea soup, care to stay and have some?"
Anthony politety refused and said that he would have to be getting home.
The old man found a candle and lit it and then took Anthony to the front door.
It opened easily now and the boy left the house and turned at the bottom of the steps to wave goodbye and say that he would surely come back again to visit.

Anthony thought about a lot of things as he hurried down the hill towards his home. Everything had turned out just fine tonight, but it might not have.

He could have been in a lot of trouble in that old house.
He might have run into someone that didn't take kindly to strangers roaming around.
Someone not as nice as old Jedadiah.

And so he made himself a promise.
Never again would he let himself be talked into doing something he knew wasn't right.
No matter if someone quadruple dared him, if he didn't want to do something he would JUST SAY NO!