Wonder Witch 8 - The Ghost in The Museum

“Wow! Those Russian kings sure had some expensive tastes”, said Marjorie Morrison, aka the crime fighting Super-Sorceress Wonder Witch, as she gazed at the diamond encrusted Jack O’ Lantern through the window of the museum display case.

“Exquisite, isn’t it?”, said a rather pompous museum guide, noticing Marjorie’s admiration for the piece, “Made by the world famous House of Fabergé in 1902 and commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia himself as a Halloween gift for his daughter Anastasia”.

But then, to the shock and bewilderment of the tour guide, Marjorie and all the other visitors to the National museum, a strange, ghoulish cackle echoed through the room and, suddenly, the jewelled pumpkin leapt through the window of its case with a loud crash.

And, the next thing any of them knew, it was bouncing off over the Persian carpeted floor of the museum and out into the foyer.

“Well, I’ve heard of jumping beans before but never a jumping pumpkin”, said Marjorie, unable to believe her eyes.

Just then, however, clanging and howling alarm bells started to go off all over the building and she saw a group of bewildered, blue-uniformed security guards frantically chase after the pumpkin, followed by an even more frantic museum curator who was waving his hands about in the air and shouting, “Somebody stop that pumpkin!”.

Heading into a nearby, Museum broom closet, Marion snatched hold of an old janitor’s broom that was hanging there.

“You’re no witch’s broom”, she said, “But you’ll have to do”.

Then, transforming into the passion pink spandex costume of her super alter-ego, Wonder Witch, Marion quickly mounted the broom and, bursting forth from the broom closet, whizzed off in the same direction as the security guards and their runaway exhibit.

But then, as broom and rider entered the museum foyer, Wonder Witch saw the real reason why the bejewelled pumpkin had made its bizarre getaway.

Standing in the centre of the foyer and surrounded by startled and trembling security guards, Wonder Witch saw a strange, ghostly and menacing skeleton, holding the pumpkin in one of its bony hands.

It seemed completely transparent from head to toe and gave off an eery and otherworldly glow; its eye sockets blazed with balls of orange fire and, hanging from its shoulders, it wore a long black satin cape with a skull and cross-bones upon it.

When it saw Wonder Witch, the skeleton threw back its skull and laughed.

“Well, well. I thought I was the only one here dressed for Halloween”, it said, “Thankfully, my skeleton costume comes with a few little tricks up its sleeve”.

Then, pointing one of its bony fingers towards a large, priceless antique Ming vase that was on display in the foyer, the skeleton made it leap up from its pedestal and hurl itself towards Wonder Witch with all the force of a boulder from a catapult.

“Zoiks!”, exclaimed Wonder Witch as the vase narrowly missed her head but knocked off her pointy pink, witch’s hat before smashing into the wall behind her and shattering into a million, small pieces, “That pesky poltergeist almost made ME into a ghost”.

But then, grabbing hold of her golden witch’s wand that she always kept fastened to her day-glo pink, magical utility belt, Wonder Witch aimed a crackling, pink bolt of magical energy towards the ghoulish pumpkin-napper, hoping to zap him with one of her binding spells.

Unfortunately for Wonder Witch, the moment that the pink lightning bolt struck the grinning ghost, it only seemed to pass harmlessly through him as if he wasn’t even there.

“Ha!”, exclaimed the Ghost proudly, “You’ll have to do better than that to defeat me, Wonder Witch. I am Hector the Spectre and my Spectre suit makes me completely immaterial. Bullets, bombs and missiles and even your feeble magic spells pass straight through me”.

“Hmm?”, thought Wonder Witch as she listened to the boastful ghost describe his suit, “It sounds as if he’s not a real ghost at all but just some crook in a fancy costume”.

And, just then, a clever idea popped into Wonder Witch’s head and, turning her flying broom around, she headed back out of the foyer and into the main hall of the museum.

“Hee –hee – hee”, chortled the ghoulish criminal with fiendish glee, “Looks as if even the mighty Wonder Witch is no match for my ghostly powers”.

And then, proudly spinning and prancing upon the air, the skeletal criminal sang a little victory song to himself,

“I’m Hector, the Spectre;
a colossus in crime;
there’s no one pefecter
‘cause my skill is sublime.

I laugh at detectives;
make a fool of them all
‘cause I’m Hector, the Spectre,
greatest ghoul of them all”, he sang.

But, suddenly, to the shock and surprise of the skull faced jewel thief, the eyes of the jewelled Jack O’ Lantern in his hand lit up with an ethereal glow and, out of its mouth came a strange, wailing, ghostly voice with a distinctly Russian accent.

“You dare to steal the property of I, Tsar Nicholas, Emperor of all Russia”, said the Pumpkin, its smile suddenly turning into a terrifying snarl.

Then, in front of him, the ghoulish jewel-thief saw a real ghost materialize; that of the long dead Tsar of Russia and, reaching out its arms and long clawed hands, Zombie like, towards him, the ghost began to lumber slowly forward.

“Give it back! Give back what you have stolen from me!”, growled the apparition.

Terrified, Hector the Spectre dropped the jewelled pumpkin and, cowering in fear, he covered his eyes, screaming, “No! No ! Don’t come near me! Help!”.

However, the moment he did this, he felt a pair of magical golden handcuffs snap shut around his wrists and, peering out from behind his hands, he saw the bearded ghost of Tsar Nicholas transform into a proudly grinning Wonder Witch.

“Why, Hector”, she remarked, laughing, “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost”.

Now that the ghostly jewel thief was safely handcuffed, the curator of the museum stepped forward to thank Wonder Witch and to unveil the man who had tried to steal from his museum.

And, when the criminals Skull mask was removed, Wonder Witch saw that he was just a very ordinary looking man.

The curator immediately recognized him, “Why, that’s Hector Griswald, the famous scientist”, he said, “He was in all the papers. Apparently, he disappeared from his laboratory one day and no one ever knew what had become of him. He just vanished without a trace”.

“Bah!”, growled Griswald, snarling miserably, “When I perfected my spectre suit, I no longer wanted the dull life of a scientist anymore. I wanted excitement and to be rich; rich beyond my wildest dreams and I would be now of it were not for that meddlesome Wonder Witch”.

But, just then, the miniature crystal ball on Wonder Witch’s wrist started to flash on and off.

“Oh, no!”, she said, looking into the crystal ball and seeing something that troubled her.

“What is it, Wonder Witch?”, asked the curious curator, “A bank robbery? An Earthquake?”.

“No. A pumpkin pie”, replied Wonder Witch, climbing onto her flying broom, “I forgot that I left it baking in the oven. I have to get back home before it’s completely ruined”.

Then, as she flew away out of the Museum, Wonder Witch waved goodbye, wishing everyone “A very happy Halloween!”.