User Reviews

Prudence (Kim Richards) has lost her kite and accompanies Butch (Trent Lehman) inside a purported haunted house to retrieve it. As they climb the stairs spooky things begin to happen. Their older brother Hal (David Doremus) goes with Butch to disprove their fear and get the kite. When they hit the stairs the scary sights appear again and they take off running. Their father (Richard Long) assures them there is nothing to be afraid of and invites to dinner a parapsychologist (paranormal investigator) from the college- Dr. Donald Stinson (Joey Forman, who has had a few bit parts in the series already and may be best known as Harry Hoo from "Get Smart"). Dr. Stinson, however, is intrigued by their stories and wishes to investigate the home. Nanny (Juliet Mills) takes the kids to the haunted house ahead of their father and Dr. Stinson. Hal: "I wish we had a stick." Nanny: "We are armed with courage and that's much more powerful than a stick." The further they progress they begin hearing strange screams. In a scene reminiscent of meeting The Wizard of Oz, they come across Edwin Higgenbotham Botkin (Jack Albertson) who holds the secret to the house.

The kids are frightened by an empty house where Prudence's kite lands on the roof. There is a raven inside, as well as a piano that plays by itself. The ever realistic and logical professor gets a professor who specializes in the paranormal to explain to them that every time he gets a report of the paranormal, it turns out there is a logical explanation, but the specialist wants to see the house.

Nanny takes the kids back to the house, and they meet a old man (Jack Albertson), a former actor, who is house sitting and rigged things so he is not disturbed. He is a very nice man, the kids love him, and they decide to leave him alone. They report to the professor and the paranormal specialist that there isn't a ghost anywhere in the house so the old man won't be disturbed. But.....maybe that isn't the end of the story.....