How to Trap a Ghost
8 pages · 6 min · ages 6+
Juniper clicked her blue ballpoint pen three times against her wooden clipboard. "I need real ghost proof for tomorrow's science fair," she said, adjusting the safety goggles over her curly brown pigtails. If she showed up with nothing, cousin Oscar would win the blue ribbon with his boring plastic skeleton. A hollow WHOOO creaked down from Grandma's dark attic ceiling. Toby chewed a salty chocolate pretzel on the rug. "Sounds like an owl with a stuffed nose," Toby said. Juniper felt a thrill in her chest and tapped Plan Number One.
"Science is ready, trap is set!" Juniper announced, tying a giant white marshmallow to Grandma's yellow jump rope. She dangled the squishy bait high through the square attic door. "Ghosts cannot resist sugar," Juniper said, knowing ghosts loved sweets. Toby crunched an apple chip. "What if ghosts prefer barbecue chips?" he asked. YANK! The rope snapped upward, flipping Juniper backward into Grandma's laundry basket with a loud plop of woolly socks. A tiny, round ghost floated past, licking sweet sugar dust from its chubby cheeks. Toby blinked. "One point for the marshmallow," he said.
Juniper climbed out of the sock basket, brushing purple fuzz off her yellow raincoat. "Science is ready, trap is set!" Juniper declared, hauling Grandma's roaring red vacuum cleaner across the slick floorboards. "We will suck the evidence straight into the paper dust bag," she said, clicking the silver power switch. Toby took a slow bite of his pumpkin muffin. "The hallway rug looks very nervous," he said. Juniper felt completely certain this plan would capture the trophy. The motor hummed with a warm, dusty buzz as she aimed the nozzle into the shadows.
VVRRR-SLURP! The roaring vacuum nozzle did not catch a ghost. It swallowed Toby’s long woolen scarf and Grandma’s floral curtain in one noisy gulp. Juniper tugged hard on the plastic tube, but the nozzle snapped loose and clamped tightly over her red rubber boot with a loud SCHLUCK! Toby moved his muffin behind his back. "Nice new shoe," he said. The little ghost hovered upside-down near the ceiling, giggling like tiny silver bells before drifting away. Juniper knew the little ghost was teasing her.
Juniper pried the vacuum off her boot and shook three bags of white baking flour across the floor. "Science is ready, trap is set!" Juniper shouted, raising Grandma's ruffled rose bedsheet like a giant butterfly net. "Flour reveals glowing ghost footprints," Juniper said with a proud grin. Toby dipped a cracker into peanut butter. "You look like a walking doughnut," he said. The air smelled of sweet bakery dust, tickling Juniper's nose until her eyes watered. Juniper wanted proof so fiercely she could almost feel the blue ribbon in her hands.
Juniper sneezed. ACHOO! Her boots skated across the slippery flour, and she tumbled into the sheet while the vacuum cord tangled around her knees like spaghetti. She sat trapped on the floor like a powdery flour-mummy. The tiny ghost, Boo, floated right down into her lap and munched a dropped marshmallow with a happy nom-nom. "My traps are complete failures," Juniper groaned from inside the sheet. Toby fed Boo another sweet puff. "Traps are scary," Toby said. "Boo just wants a snack." Juniper gasped beneath her goggles as a wonderful thought sparked.
Juniper wiggled free from the white sheet and tossed her clipboard aside. She set Grandma's silver tea tray on the rug and arranged a tidy circle of marshmallows around Grandma's instant camera. "Would you like to share a Halloween snack with us, Boo?" Juniper asked in her softest voice. Boo squeaked with delight, landed on the tray, and stuffed two marshmallows into each cheek. FLASH! The camera hummed, printing a warm photo smelling of fresh ink that showed Boo grinning beside them. Juniper knew she finally had real proof.
The school gym buzzed with chatting judges and squeaking sneakers at the Halloween science fair. "Science is ready, snack is set!" Juniper announced beside her colorful board. Cousin Oscar pointed at his plastic skeleton. "Where is your imaginary ghost?" Oscar asked with a mean smirk. Toby held up an open box of Grandma's butter cookies. POP! Tiny Boo appeared in midair, wearing Toby's spare green sock as a party hat, and snatched three cookies straight from Oscar's hands with a giggle. Oscar shrieked and dropped his skeleton, while the judge pinned the blue ribbon on Juniper.