Mary Thomas and Mary Emilia go to the haunted house

The group of black and white clad nuns marched past a wooden house that could have popped straight out of a cheap horror movie. The building was several storeys high, had narrow Gothic windows tapering to a point at the top and crooked towers jutting out at the corners. How could such a thing have been built overnight? The façade was painted black and decorated with a frieze of white skeletons. A creaky wooden staircase led up to a veranda in front of the entrance door. A sign in front of the door read in large letters: "DARE YOU ENTER?"

"What a nonsense," Mary Thomas grumbled, displaying her usual skepticism.

Mary Emilia, the rather small, chubby nun, walked right behind her. She was considered very gullible by her co-sisters. She preferred to speak of herself as 'open to everything new'.

"How do you know it's not real?"

"Because there are no ghosts."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Mary Thomas stopped abruptly and turned to face her neighbor. She put her hands on her hips and straightened up. As she stood a head and a half taller than the smaller Mary Emilia, it was an impressive gesture.

"Why do you believe such nonsense?" she repeated her assessment.

"You shouldn't dismiss a possibility until you've checked it out."

"Good, then we'll check it out right away."

She stomped off and climbed the steps, which groaned under her weight.

"Stop, wait! Are you sure this isn't dangerous? After all, there's a warning sign."

Mary Thomas snorted grudgingly and continued unperturbed, heading straight for the door. Mary Emilia hurried anxiously after her in triple steps.

The older girl reached the door and rattled it without being able to open it. Irritated, she looked around and discovered a bell button next to the door frame. Determined to get the matter over with quickly, she rang the bell.

At the same moment, a strong gust of wind blew from below, lifting the back of her dress and giving the bystanders a glimpse of her athletic backside and plain white cotton underpants. With her eyebrows furiously drawn together, she turned around in a flash. If her gaze could have killed, the two boys who were deliberately loitering nearby and had dared to laugh would have dropped dead on the spot.

The front door creaked cinematically and sluggishly swung open. Mary Emilia hurriedly dashed through before she too could have a mishap. Her co-sister trudged after her.

The two nuns wandered through the dark, lonely corridors of the haunted house past portraits whose eyes seemed to follow them. The floorboards creaked eerily under their feet, tinny suits of armor squeaked and mechanically extended their arms as if they wanted to reach out for the passers-by.

Mary Thomas snorted disdainfully.

"You see, there are no ghosts. It's all fake."