The Door, A Christmas Ghost Story - Part Two

Yesterday, I told of how Beaver Hateman conned Stiener Brashburg into selling him an antique door, reclaimed from the Haunted Tower, for half a crown. A nasty fate awaits all who cheat Brashburg - for the items he sells all exact retribution, good or bad.

"Brilliant Boss!" cried Hitmouse when Beaver returned to Badfort with his prize "But, where we gonna put it?"

"I fort it would make a brill new door for the Black Tom Store!" declared Beaver. As you know, Black Tom is a noxious, but extremely, intoxicating brew - much favoured by the Badfort Crowd.

Their Black Tom store is huge - the size of a large dungeon.

The Badfort Crowd celebrated Beaver's find with much drinking of this liquor.

However, The Door began to exert a strange fascination over Hateman - mainly because he was very thirsty and the Badfort Crowd had soon drunk all the jars of Black Tom in the Feasting Hall.

To resounding cheers from his cronies, he declared that he would fetch some more Black Tom from the store.

But when he opened the door, the enormous store of alcohol had mysteriously turned into a tiny Stationery Cupboard!

Standing in it was a small ghost, muttering "I did it! I took the photocopy paper!"

Beaver was unsympathetic "Where's our Black Tom gone you horrible little runt!" he shouted.

A bucket of coal happened to be standing near and Beaver picked it up and emptied it over the ghost.



Beaver was about to turn around and call in his gang, to interrogate the diminuitive spirit, but found the door had shut fast behind him.

"There is no escape!" cried the ghost "This Stationery Cupboard was in the Haunted Tower - I was trapped inside when I tried to steal some stationery supplies and I starved to death! It traps all those who enter through it!"

"We'll soon see about that!" cried Beaver bringing out his trusty axe from beneath his sackcloth robes and proceeding to smash the door.

As he did so the Stationery Cupboard began to crumble. "Oi, you can't do that!" cried the Ghost "That's vandalism!"

Finally, Hateman managed to break the door from its hinges and in a puff of dust the Stationery Cupboard once more became the Black Tom Store.

"Ooooh errrr! what am I going to do now?" blubbed the ghost "I've got nowhere left to haunt?"

"You're welcome to haunt Badfort if you like mate!" said Beaver "here have a jug of Black Tom - That'll cheer you up!"