The Old House on the Hill

Old man Alucard peered at the boys over his cup of tea, his bushy eyebrows contracting thoughtfully.

“It’s a very nice house,” Derrick ventured, the more polite of the two. He’d even sipped at his tea, though it was barely more than milky, sugary sludge. “I bet it’s ancient.”

“Centuries old.”

“Do people come see it?”

“No,” sighed Alucard. “No one’s come to visit in years. Those silly stories, I suppose.”

Billy’s eyes bugged. “Then you’re not a vampire? You’re not going to eat us?”

“Oh, that’s true enough. I do like a nice conversation first, though. We’re not animals.”