Hello again, story club members. I'm Ivy, your ghostly host with the most, and the keeper of the strangest,

spookyest tales on earth. Today's chilling tale comes from my beloved eight-year-old listener, Patrick. Patrick's story is about moving into a new house, a house representing a brand new beginning,

a place full of possibilities.

But sometimes when you move into a new home, something old and sinister might already be living there.

Patrick and I call today's Ivy's chilling tale the mask.

Patrick felt a little uneasy.

He wasn't unhappy, just unsettled,

which was quite natural really because Patrick had just moved from Kansas,

where everything was quite flat, into a new house

on the dramatic black rocky coast of Pahoa, Hawaii. The new house was bigger than his old

one, quieter, too. The house was filled with the kind of quiet that made every little sound

feel louder than it should. Walking up the stairs sounded echoey, like a giant stomping about.

Flushing the toilet sounded like Niagara Falls.

And when they were unpacking, his dad had dropped a glass, shattering it all over the kitchen floor.

That had sounded like a chandelier crashing.

One afternoon, while his parents unpacked upstairs,

Patrick decided to explore.

He ran his finger across the dated wallpaper,

peeked into the laundry chute,

and pushed against a wall with a funny panel.

It turned out that the panel wasn't just wonky.

It hit a secret door that creaked as Patrick opened it.

...