She thought about calling her husband, but she didn't want to sound like a scared little girl.

 She was a grown woman, and she could handle this.

 Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and began to search the house for a weapon. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, but it made her feel better to have something in her hand. 

She found a baseball bat in the closet and gripped it tightly as she went to check the locks on the doors and windows. They were all secure. 

Satisfied that she was safe for the moment, she went into the kitchen and made a cup of tea. She needed to calm down and think. 

She had to figure out what to do about the ghost.

 She thought about calling a priest, but she wasn't sure if that would help. Maybe she should just move out and leave the house to the ghost. 

But she loved this house. It was the perfect size for her and her husband, and it was in a great neighborhood. She didn't want to leave. 

She was going to have to find a way to get rid of the ghost. 

But how?

 She sat at the table, sipping her tea and thinking, until she finally fell asleep.  

She was awakened sometime later by a noise downstairs. She sat up, heart pounding, and listened. 

There it was again. A faint scratching sound, like something was trying to get in. 

She grabbed the baseball bat and crept downstairs. The noise was coming from the back door.

 She slowly approached the door and peered through the window.

She couldn't see anything, but she could hear the scratching sound. 

Gripping the bat tightly, she unlocked the door and threw it open.

 She screamed as a figure lunged at her.

 She swung the bat wildly, hitting something with a sickening thud. 

The figure fell to the floor with a groan. 

Lily stood there, trembling, as she realized that she had just hit her husband with the bat. 

He was alive, but he was going to be mad when he woke up.

 She had just enough time to feel relieved before she heard the sound of something crawling up the stairs.

She swallowed hard and took a step back as the figure came into view. 

It was the rat. 

But something was different about it.

 Its eyes were glowing red, and its fur was standing on end.It hissed at her and lunged forward.

 Lily screamed and swung the bat again.This time, she hit it square on the head.It fell to the floor, dead. 

Lily sank to the floor, weak with relief.It was over. 

The rat was dead, and the ghost was gone.She was safe. But she would never forget the terror she had felt that night. 

She would never forget the haunted house on Maple Street.