The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story

A few days later, Diana and Georgie are reading in the trees when Lissa walks beneath them. She calls up to them, with Lassie Come Home in her hand as a peace offering. She asks if she can join them up there, and they reluctantly agree. Lissa tells Diana and Georgie that “Miss Willis isn’t the only ghost here” (144). A gymnastics classmate told Lissa that there are two ghost children who live on the grounds; some local teenagers saw them as well. The siblings stifle smiles as they recall their pranks on trespassers over the years.

Georgie teases Lissa, swinging from his tree by his knees. She warns him that if he isn’t careful, he could fall. Seeing this as a dare, Georgie drops from the tree and lands on the ground. Lissa screams, but Georgie stands up, unscathed, and leaves.

With Georgie gone, Diana tells Lissa that they can never truly be friends. Diana has realized she can’t “explain [herself] to an ordinary girl like Lissa” (147). Lissa asserts the truth: The siblings don’t live across the highway, as none of the local children know them.

Though worried, Diana tells Lissa that her speculation doesn’t matter, as she and Georgie “won’t be here much longer” (148).