A night of curious envasion turns into near death for a young lad as he attempts to negotiate Merrick Mansion.

(excerpt from the short story)

At the top of the second flight, the hallway stretched out in two directions. Benny knew exactly which way to go, darting down the right corridor. I followed behind, my eyes glancing around. There were four doors on each side and at its end, the hallway turned to the right. “This is it,” Benny said, but I temporarily lost him when he made the turn. “Benny,” I called. “Benny, are you there?” There was no response and as I made it to the corner, I froze. “Boo!” Benny’s hands reached out and grabbed at me. Behind him, a whiff of dust appeared and I gasped, “Ayah!” Benny’s reaction was swift. “Shhhh! We were now just a few feet from the tower room.” My companion was giddy. From the knapsack on his back Benny pulled out a hammer and cooed, “This is going to be easy. Now let’s get to it. We’ve gotta find the attic stair.”
From my spot in the hallway, I peered into the tower room. The door was open and an eerie light filtered into the hallway. I exclaimed, “See, the light? I told you that there was a light in that room earlier.” “Yeah,” he answered, “it’s just the moonlight. Now quiet down and follow me.” He pulled out a flashlight and searched along the ceiling. “Here it is,” he said. “It’s a trap door with a pull cord. Now get on my shoulders and grab the cord.” Reluctantly, I obliged.