Janette opened the front door slowly. It let out a visibly loud "Creeeeeaaaaakkkkk". She looked around the place. And it was just as bad inside as it was outside. 'How was Aunt Elenore living in this place for so long without any help?!' The drywalls were cracked, there was dust and cobwebs galore all over everything she saw, she swore she saw something slither in the backroom, and it smelled musty with stale air with a combination of.... Perfume, makeup, and... catnip?

'Did Aunt Elenore have a cat? Either way... I have A LOT to do....'

"Which should I take care of first..." she asked absentmindedly.

"I'd save the alligator for last, Sarah loves Sal." Someone said from within the room.

"Well I was going to save that thing for last anyways. No way I'm going near it... with... a...pole... Who said that...?" She looked around frantically.

"Oh? You can hear me? It's been quite awhile since a medium was here." A woman in a Victorian style dress appeared. Her dark hair was in a high bun and she was stroking a silver Russian Blue cat. She looked to be in her mid to late 30s.

Janette wanted to freak out. But at this point, nothing surprised her much when it came to the paranormal. Right now she had stars in her eyes as she "awwwed" at the fluffy kitty. "SHE'S SO PRECIOUS!!!" She squealed as she walked over. "Can I pet her?!" She begged.

"If you want. Will you be taking care of us in Madam Elenore's place? I saw her after she passed. My condolences." The woman spoke, holding the feline out to Janette.

Janette had a melancholy expression. "Yes I am. She was my Aunt. Not blood related but she was good friends with my late grandma. I used to come here every now and then with my siblings to visit her. But as I grew older, my "mother" decided that I should act more like a "proper lady" and kept me from seeing her too much. If I had known that she was struggling with the uptake of this house, I would've come here sooner..." Janette said as she pet and scratched the purring ghostly feline.

"..."

Admiration and wonder appeared in the ghost woman's eyes. "You are related to Maria Daweson? It's no wonder you can see us! She was truly a wonderful woman! I'm sure if you could have you would have taken wonderful care of this place and the Madam. Oh! Where are my manners? I am Madam Rosaline Summers and that is Sapphire. I head the house while Master Alastor and Mistress Arabella are out. I tend to the other 19's needs." She explained.

Now that took Janette for a loop. "T-there's nineteen other spirits here?! How are there so many of you guys here?! And who's Alastor and Arabella?" She said as she clutched the radio in the box closer to her. To which Rosaline took notice of.

"Yes, sometimes more... you don't know? Master Alastor is the head "spirit" of the house and Mistress Arabella is his second... that's his radio you're clutching." She pointed at the object.

Janette paused for a moment. "A-are you sure? Because I've known about this radio since I was a little girl. And I don't think I've met anyone named Alastor. Can you tell me more about him since he's the head honcho of the place."

She shook her head. "No... I cannot. I... no. Anyone else but those two."

"...Why...? Are they evil spirits..?" She said worriedly as she used her other hand to subconsciously grab her silver cross.

As soon as she did, Rosaline and Sapphire were gone. The ghost had been too afraid to speak.

"Okay... well. That's reassuring?" She looked around the place and huffed. "Well first off, there needs to be some airflow in here. Secondly, I'm definitely calling an exterminator." She cringed as she saw the snake skin next to her stuff.

And she did exactly that. She opened the curtains and a few windows that weren't blocked by the ivy. And called an... no.... Several exterminators. She soon found out that the place was CRAWLING with not only bugs and spiders but snakes and a very ornery 80 pounder of a raccoon that lives in the attic. She ended up with five different pest control companies that were in full gear and had all of their ready employees ready for what looked like a war. *Note that we made this chapter WAY BEFORE Russia invaded Ukraine.* But Janette warned them NOT to go in the backyard and said that she'd get someone else to handle it. Which was fine by them once they saw how huge and powerful looking the alligator, or Sal, in this case, was.

It took hours to get everything mostly cleaned out. And that she ultimately had to go spend a few nights at a nearby inn, with her radio, until the exterminators called her back and said that everything was clear.

The place looked ten times better than it was when she got in. She was about to inspect the place after the exterminators left. But a young voice stopped her in her tracks.

"My gosh lady!" A young boy, maybe nine, appeared out of nowhere. "Ya sure did a number on this place! No more creepy crawlies at all!" He was dressed in the usual 1920's fashion of a child with classy jeans, wingtip shoes, suspenders, and a button up undershirt with a cap on his messy blonde hair. He grinned up at her, green eyes sparkling.

Janette jumped a little. She kinda forgot that the place was haunted. "S-so I take it that you're a resident here?" Janette said while trying to calm her racing heart while clutching the box.

"OH COOL! AL'S RADIO!" His attention was immediately drawn to the item. "Al is really cool, the adults are scared of him for some reason, so what if he leaves a few dead animals around and has those really pointy horn antler things and says mean things... He's cool!"

Janette was starting to wonder if he was one of those "special" children back when he was alive. But she refrained from asking.

"Soooo, what's your name, little guy? I'm Janette Daweson. The new owner of this place." She said as she extended her hand out to him.

He shook her hand violently, smiling even wider. "I'm Benjamin! Benjamin Winthrow! It's a real pleasure, miss! A real pleasure!" He could never seem to sit still.

"Ben, you're going to rip her arm out of the socket if ya keep doing that." A man with reddish brown hair and a kilt pulled the excitable boy away. "I'm sorry about him, he's... always been this way. One of the five children in this estate. I'm Bran. Nice to meet ya lass." His accent was a heavy Scottish accent. It was clear that he wasn't originally from the Louisiana area.

She giggled. "It's alright Bran. And there's more children here...?" She said with a pinch of sadness in her tone.

"Aye, five in all. Ben here, Sarah sticks to the pond, Lial likes the third floor bedroom, Atticus likes to hide, poor boy is shy around newcomers, and Selene likes the attic." He concluded.

The attic... she cringed about the ornery raccoon that stole her sandwich that one afternoon before she called the exterminators. Bran could easily see her cringe and raised a curious brow.

"Aye. The attic... have an experience in there or something, lass?"

"You can say that. Did you happen to see the exterminators take away the... raccoon?" She said with a displeased face.

He laughed heartily. "That ol' humbugger? Ya, Selene's been trying to "tame" him since last winter!"

"Mmm, and has anyone tried, oh I don't know, tried reasoning with her that a raccoon is not a reasonable pet? The little...." She looked at Benjamin for a second. And then back at Bran. "...stinker. Stole my lunch from me when I wasn't looking. I chased him till he ran up the attic. The door slammed on me too. Thought for a minute that I'd have a bloodied nose..." she absentmindedly rubbed her nose.

"Selene... isn't big on reasoning... and she doesn't like trespassers in her attic without permission. Throws a huge tantrum."

"She gets mad easily." Ben piped up.

"And she's how old? Well since she passed." Janette asked.

"Five little piggies!" Benjamin chirped.