[@mdk] You make some very good points. I [i]think[/i] those word choices pop up when I start to worry too much about making an entry perfect—when I get to the point of doing too much proofreading, essentially, and things start to get worse instead if better.

The mini-endings I think I especially need to work on—I was satisfied with endings I and IV, but I had essentially given up on 0, II, and III due to time constraints. (Not that that's any excuse.)

As for the challenge, the Ghost was intended more as a clue to direct people as to where to look—not the end goal itself. It seems he's more distracting than anything. I'll not explain the details of how I intended to complete the challenge any further until after the results are in, however, because I want to avoid influencing the judges.

Finally, I'd like to say your story was my favourite of the bunch, though I definitely would not have guessed the intended narrator without the addendum.