The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story

As darkness falls, Diana and Georgie return to the trailer to spy on Mr. Morrison and Lissa. Mr. Morrison is grilling burgers for dinner, and the siblings watch enviously, their mouths watering. Despite their wishing, they know “the rules [are] the rules. They [have] to be obeyed. No burgers for [them]. Not tonight, not ever” (12). However, Diana is happy to see the family dog Macduff given his own burger.

While Mr. Morrison is excited about the peace and quiet of the woods, Lissa complains that the grounds are frightening and isolated; she is worried that she won’t be able to make friends. She pleads with her father to let her attend the local school instead of continuing her homeschooling, but the latter asserts, “School grinds kids down, destroys their minds and their imaginations. Makes them into conformists, unable to think for themselves” (13). Lissa stops arguing; Diana dwells on how much she misses school. Mr. Morrison clears the dinner plates and tells Lissa that he will enroll her in gymnastics class at the YMCA, which cheers her up.

Mr. Morrison offers to set up the television, but Lissa tells him that she’d rather read and go to bed early. Diana and Georgie peer into Lissa’s window, stepping on cinder blocks that they moved for a better view of her room. As they take in the room, Diana recalls the fun that she and Georgie had pranking previous caretakers—including stealing a television remote from one named Mr. Potter and changing the channel from outside. Confused, Mr. Potter decided to “stop drinking […] and straighten his life out. Georgie and [Diana] felt good about helping Mr. Potter reform” (14).

Once Lissa falls asleep, the siblings sneak over to her bike and take it for a ride. Diana rides first and gets caught up in a daydream about leaving the grounds. Suddenly, a group of deer step in front of her path, and she veers around them at the last minute. She stops at the front gate, noticing how much has changed in the years that she and Georgie have been around.

When Georgie goes for a ride, he is less successful in avoiding the wildlife. In his attempt to steer away from a vixen and her kits, he crashes into a tree. With the bike ruined beyond repair, the siblings sink it in the pond, hoping Lissa will assume it’s been stolen.

The chapter ends with an entry from Lissa’s first diary, which she calls “Dee Dee,” so it’ll “seem more like a real pen pal” (22). Lissa recently learned that Miss Lilian, who owned the mansion, was dead for a week before anyone found her body in the parlor. The idea is thrilling, and Lissa says she would like to see a ghost. She is especially intrigued by ghosts as her mother died years ago. She also writes that her bike was stolen, and when the police came to investigate, they blamed the theft on the teenagers that live across the highway. One of the officers began to mention something about Oak Hill Manor’s history, but the other officer shut them down. Lissa is determined to find out what happened to her bike and the old Willis place.

Diana and Georgie spend the rainy morning in a shed. Georgie desires a new story instead of listening to Diana read Clematis again. Diana suggests they take a book from Lissa’s room while she’s sleeping. Georgie insists that he can’t wait until then and asks Diana to tell him the story about the two of them. Diana hesitates, as Georgie always cries when he hears the story, but begins to tell it anyway. She speaks of their family, who lived and worked on the Willis farm. Everything was wonderful for them, “[e]xcept for Miss Lilian” (24). At the mention of her name, Georgie wants the story to end. He runs out into the rain, leaving Diana alone. Diana curls up with Clematis and falls asleep until Georgie returns.

When Georgie returns to the shed, he tells Diana about the police investigating Lissa’s stolen bike. Diana asks if Lissa was afraid, but he answers, “She seemed more mad than anything. If you ask me, she’s kind of spoiled. You know, only child and all that” (27). Internally, Diana disagrees with Georgie, as she still hopes to befriend Lissa.

That night, Diana and Georgie sneak to the trailer as Lissa and Mr. Morrison get ready for bed. Once Lissa falls asleep, the siblings sneak into her room and grab the book Lassie Come Home. While inside, they notice a photograph (presumably) of Lissa’s mother. Georgie also takes Lissa’s teddy bear, which looks identical to one—“Alfie”—that Miss Lilian accused him of stealing. The siblings make off with their treasures, and Diana notices that Georgie sleeps soundly with the bear.

The chapter ends with a diary entry on Lissa’s stolen book and bear. The bear, which Lissa lovingly named “Tedward,” is her favorite toy because her “mother gave it to [her] when [Lissa] was five years old, not long before she died” (32). Lissa laments that her father thinks she simply lost the items. She knows this isn’t the case and prepares for the thieves’ return.

Diana and Georgie head to the trailer again after spending the morning reading Lassie Come Home. From their hiding spot, they hear Mr. Morrison reading from his own book-in-progress. Georgie tells Diana that “Lissa writes too […] in a little book” (35) and that he would love to read it. Diana reminds him that diaries are private, despite her own curiosity.

Georgie pokes fun at Diana, reminding her of when he read her diary. Diana begins to chase Georgie, but he is “gone like a flash” (36). The noise causes Lissa and her dog Macduff to move towards Diana’s hiding spot. Diana is certain she will be caught when the siblings’ cat Nero runs in front of Macduff and up a tree, distracting both dog and owner. Mr. Morrison takes Macduff inside, hoping that the cat will climb down safely once they are gone. Nero does, and Lissa takes to him immediately, naming him “Aladdin, like [her] old cat” (38). Diana grows jealous as she watches Lissa pet Nero—before the cat dashes away.

Mr. Morrison returns from the house and asks Lissa to take Macduff for a walk; Georgie returns to Diana in the woods. The siblings watch Lissa walk the dog, the girl wandering ever closer to the old Willis place. Lissa gets much closer than either Diana or Georgie ever would, but she doesn’t go in. Eventually, Georgie grows bored and leaves, but Diana continues to watch Lissa from afar. As she watches, she begins to wonder, “Did anyone really care if she saw me? Would they even know? Maybe it was time to test the rules” (43). Diana steps out so Lissa can see her and is crushed when “[I]nstead of returning [her] smile, Lissa gasp[s] and step[s] backward, almost falling over the lion bench” (43). Terrified, Lissa calls for Macduff to attack. Diana flees to the shed and sobs, leaving her one chance at friendship behind.