The woman with horn-rimmed glasses guided the group of young teenagers along the pathway that led up to the old boarded-up structure. Many of them wore heavy jackets to protect them from the harsh autumn wind that howled in their ears. Some of the girls even carried umbrellas to protect them should the dark, heavy clouds above them open up in a downpour.

"Here it is, children," the woman said, somewhat proudly, "the old Anderson Estate!"

"Wow. Can we leave now?" asked Tony Romero, one of Smallville High's top jocks.

"Yeah, man! This ain't no big thing!" added Freddie Watkins, another athlete. "I've seen scarier things in my mother's oven!"

The crowd laughed at the boys' remarks as the woman gave them a disapproving look.

"Now, boys, I may only be a substitute until Miss Schwartz gets back, but I will not put up with any nonsense! Principal Shooter has entrusted me to take you on this field trip and we are going to do just that! Now, come along!"

The students looked at each other questioningly. Although she was obviously not that much older than they were, their substitute teacher, Miss Flora, acted like a distant aunt. Her dark hair was pulled back in a bun and her high heels clacked loudly whenever she walked. Her light purple business suit was impeccably pressed and the skirt was cut at a respectable length just below the knees.

"Now then," she continued, "let's go inside."

As they walked down the long pathway towards the house, one of the girls, Amy Riley, looked up warily at the sparse trees whose branches hung like grasping claws over the walkway. She was positive that she heard a wolf howl in the distance and could have sworn the house was watching them with its dark window-eyes. Why did she have to go on this stupid trip, anyway?

Beside her, two other students, Clark Kent and Lana Lang, whispered to each other.

"This is pretty cool, huh, Lana?"

"Oh, Clark! This is sooo childish! I mean, really, a trip to a haunted mansion? And at night, too? Aren't we all a little old to believe in this type of stuff?"

"Oh, I don't know..." he replied thoughtfully. "I think there might be something to it. Haven't you heard all the stories about this place?"

"You mean the ones about old man Anderson's ghost being seen in the windows and walking the grounds? Yes, I've heard them. Everyone has. But I don't believe any of it," she answered dismissively. "Face it, Clark, ghosts and evil spirits just don't exist!"

Finally, they arrived at the door. Miss Flora turned to them and addressed them in a hushed, although excited, tone.

"Now remember, students, stay together and don't touch anything. Mr. Anderson's great-nephew has agreed to meet us here and give us a tour, but that doesn't mean we should take advantage of his hospitality."

She ignored the derisive comments being mumbled among the group and rang the doorbell.

"Gee, lemme guess; the door's gonna swing open all by itself, right?" Tony asked in a sarcastic tone. Miss Flora simply glared at him until the door opened. She looked expectedly for someone, but there was no one there. Glancing at the children, she stuck her head slightly into the doorway and called out in a high-pitched, singsong voice. She could hear some snickering behind her.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

Suddenly, a head popped out from behind the door, making the teacher, as well as some of the students, jump. Amy Riley even screamed, although she pretended it was someone else.

"Hi!" smiled the young man, obviously pleased with himself for scaring them. He was dressed in a button-down white shirt, which hung outside of his blue jeans. Strands of his dark brown hair fell over his eyes, giving him a boyish look, although he was probably not much younger than Miss Flora. "I'm Lyle."

He offered his hand to Miss Flora, who smiled politely as she nervously took it. "How do you do? I am Miss Flora, and these are my students. You're Mr. Anderson's great-nephew?"

"Yeah," he smiled, opening the door wider and motioning for them to come in. They entered a huge sitting room, its furniture covered in white cloth and cobwebs. There was a large fireplace that dominated one wall, with an equally large ornate mirror hanging above it. A heavy mustiness hung in the air. The students walked around, listening to their guide. "My uncle left this place to me in his will, but I haven't been here since he died. Too many memories and, well, to be honest, too many weird things going on, too."

"You mean you believe all that stuff?" asked Lana, looking disdainfully at the amount of dust that covered an old grandfather clock.

"Oh, yeah! The last time I was here was the night he passed away. I was sitting in that chair right over there." They all turned, following his pointing finger. "Everyone had pretty much left, and his lawyer was working on some papers in the den. I was just watching the fire when, all of a sudden, I saw his reflection in the mirror! I jumped out of my skin and turned around and there, behind me, was my great-uncle's ghost!"

At that exact moment, there was a thunderous boom and a flash of lightning outside the windows. Once again, the children jumped, despite themselves. Then, the lights flickered and died out, leaving the group in complete darkness.

"Aw, c'mon!" complained Tony. "This is so fake!"

"Listen, man," answered Lyle, "I had nothing to do with this. Like I said, I haven't been here in years! But I think there's a flashlight around here, somewhere..."

After a search of the room and a few stumbles in to furniture, Lyle found a flashlight in one of the end table drawers.

"Great! It still works!"

"See, children? Nothing to be afraid of!" Miss Flora offered. The children were certain that she was trying to reassure herself as much as them.

"I'm not really sure where the fuse box is, gang, but it should be somewhere in the basement. If you want, you can wait for me here while I look for it."

"Oh, so you can rig up some other fool thing t'scare us?" asked Freddie sarcastically. "No way am I fallin' for that, man! We'll come with you!"

"Suit yourself," replied Lyle.

"Waaait a minute..." Tony interjected. "That's exactly what you want us to do, isn't it? You've probably got somethin' rigged in the basement! Ha! Nice try, Lyle, but it's not gonna work! I say, we just continue with the tour as is! Who needs lights, anyway?"

"I'm not really sure that's a good idea, Anthony..." Miss Flora said. There was a slight trembling in her voice. "It doesn't seem safe."

"Aw, come on, Miss Flora! It's probably safer to tour the house than it is to go rummaging around a dark basement!" offered Clark. "Who knows what's down there?"

The teacher thought for a moment, then agreed. Soon, they were climbing the steps that led to the second floor of the house. The old wooden steps creaked as the group made their way up the spiraling staircase. Lana maneuvered her way to the head of the group, close to the young, attractive guide.

"Seriously, Lyle," she asked, "you can't believe there's something haunting this place?"

"Well, I'm not saying I believe all of the stories. I mean, there's one about an evil witch who lives in the attic! And another about my great-aunt Miranda's spirit roaming the grounds looking for him to join her in the afterlife, too! Those are just too weird!"

The group reached the top of the stairs and slowly made their way towards one of the closed wooden doors. Suddenly, at the end of the hallway, a ghostly image floated across the landing. It was a female, dressed completely in white, her graying hair seemingly floating along behind it.

"Kyle, l-look!" Lana gasped, pointing at the apparition amid shrieks and yells from the other girls and boys. She was trying really, really hard to be mature about this.

"Oh my God!! Great-aunt Miranda!!" yelled the young man, scaring the redhead next to him even more than she already was. At the sound of the fear in his voice, the group panicked, running back down the steps as Miss Flora yelled for order. So much for maturity. The only two who stood their ground were Tony and Freddie.

"C'mon, you wimps! Can't you tell this is a setup?"

"Yeah!" added Freddie. "This is all fake! Watch! I'll prove it!"

As the spectral figure slowly advanced upon them, Freddie walked bravely up to it and threw out his hand, expecting to grab hold of a sheet or costume. Instead, his hand went completely through it. As he stared in amazement and fright, the ghost spoke in an aged, gravelly voice.

"Young man, have you seen my dear, departed Julius? He seems to be lost, and I have waited so long for him to join me..."

"YAAAAHHHH!!!" The two teenagers screamed and ran to join their group, ignoring the wetness that spread inside the front of their underwear. They raced down the steps only to find the rest of their classmates gathered at the bottom.

"Now what do we do?" asked Lana as Miss Flora led the class back into the darkened sitting room.

"I'm getting out of here!" said one girl.

"Me, too!" another agreed.

"Y-Yeah! This is too much, man!"

"Freddie, calm down," said Miss Flora. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all this, isn't there, Lyle?"

Before the young man could answer, there was a thunderclap and a burst of lightning that bathed the room in bluish light. The children gasped when they saw a figure, silhouetted in the temporary brightness, standing in the corner of the room. More lightning flashes illuminated her horrifying features. It was a woman dressed all in black, with a wide black hat and a cape draped over her shoulders. Her face was a sickly green, mottled with bumps and warts, and long whiskers grew out of her chin. She stared hard at the group before opening her mouth in a wide, near-toothless grin.

"Aaahhh! More children! Wonderful! My cauldron hasn't been fed in weeks!" she cackled.

Before their eyes, the witch threw her hand towards Lyle, who suddenly and completely faded away in a puff of smoke!

"Run, children, run!" yelled Miss Flora, herding the class towards the door before she, too, vanished under the witch's magic.

"Lyle! Miss Flora!"

"Come on, Lana!" said Clark. "Let's get out of here!"

The entire class ran out of the house and didn't look back. Within minutes they were all at the Smallville police station, breathlessly relating their story to the desk sergeant.

"...And then, Miss Flora just vanished!"

"Now, Amy, calm down," said the large, gray-haired police sergeant. "First of all, who is this Miss Flora?"

"She-She's the substitute teacher that took us on that field trip to the old Anderson estate!" Lana answered.

"And you say she vanished? Along with this Lyle person?"

"Yeah! In a big ol' puff of smoke! The witch got 'em!" agreed Freddie.

"Alright, children," the man smiled, exchanging amused looks with the other officers in the room. "Just sit over there and let me make some calls..."

Anxious minutes later, the officer returned, a knowing grin on his face.

"Well, children, I just got off the phone with Principal Shooter and it seems you're right; there was a field trip scheduled for tonight."

"See?" asked Tony. "I told'ja!"

"In fact, he's already been in touch with Miss Flora." His tone became stern as the teens stared at him in shock. "Seems you all decided to run out on her and leave her at the mansion! The woman's worried sick about you!"

"What??? No way! She's gone! The witch...!"

The officer gave Tony a disapproving look. "Come on, kids! I know what tonight is! It's Halloween night! You're just trying' to pull one over on me and on your teachers! Nice try, but it's not so nice worrying everyone the way you have! What possessed you to run out on her like that?"

"But..But...The witch! And the ghost!"

"Amy, we all know there's no such things as ghosts and witches. Now, come on. I told Mr. Shooter that I'd see you all safely home. Seems Miss Flora's a little too upset to see you all just now, and he tells me that tomorrow your regular teacher will be back anyway."

"But, Sergeant, what about Lyle?" asked Clark.

"Lyle? Oh, you mean Old Man Anderson's great-nephew?" The large man laughed. "Clark, Old Man Anderson never had any relatives! No children and no brothers or sisters, either! There's no way you could have met someone who doesn't exist!"

The teens stared at each other, dumbfounded.

"Now, come on," said the officer, "let's get you all home."

Not much later, a blue and red streak flew over the Anderson Estate and landed by a heavy wooden door in the back of the house.

"Anybody home?" Superboy asked as he entered the basement door.

"Over here, Superboy!" answered Phantom Girl, removing the last trace of old-woman makeup. Beside her sat a gray-haired wig. "How did it go?"

"Great!" the Teen of Steel beamed. "They completely fell for it!"

"Well, I should hope so!" fumed Shrinking Violet, rubbing her foot with one hand as she twirled horn-rimmed glasses between the fingers of the other. "These heels are killing my feet! And they don't feel any better when I shrink, either! And why did I get to be the prissy one?"

"Oh, come on, Vi!" chided Invisible Kid, walking into the room carrying a white button-down shirt. "You always enjoy a chance to change your look!"

Violet glared good-naturedly at her friend. "Well, it was kind of fun to see their faces when you turned invisible as the 'witch' struck you!" she giggled.

"And you, 'Miss Flora', shrinking out of sight!" added Phantom Girl with a smile.

"Did you see how scared they were when Tinya floated across the hall?!?" Superboy laughed. "That was priceless! Really, guys, I can't thank you enough! This was the best Halloween prank ever!"

"No problem, Superboy. Guess those kids'll think twice before doubting the 'forces of evil' again, hmm?" grinned Chameleon Boy, morphing his head once more into the witch that had frightened the students. He held a small capsule up to the light. "And to think, it only took a few of these tiny smoke pellets..."

"Well, not quite..." interjected Lyle, pulling his uniform shirt over his head. "Don't forget us!"

"Lyle's right, Cham," agreed Superboy. "I mean, none of this would have worked without the Legion Espionage Squad!"

The End