Attack of the Beastly Babysitter

by RL Stine

  You shut your eyes tightly. Your heart pounds with revulsion and fear. Are the rats going to eat you alive?

  Then you realize:

  The rats aren’t eating you.

  They’re eating the worms that still cling to your clothes.

  But when they finish off the worms, will you be next?

  Your Science teacher told you that rats are smart and don’t deserve the bad rap they get. But you don’t care. They are too gross!

  You’ve got to get out of here! But how? Even if you get out from under the rats, you’ll still have to escape them.

  Jump up, shake them off, and run away on PAGE 127.

  Remove them slowly and gently on PAGE 6.

  “You can go first,” Zoe tells you with a nasty grin.

  She and the other mutants swarm around your cage. They yank you out and drag you into the laboratory.

  “Start the Kid Grater!” Zoe orders.

  It only takes a few seconds for Zoe and the others to place you in the mechanical arm of the giant Kid Grater. The process is so fast you hardly know what’s happening.

  All you know is, when it comes to secret ingredients, you are the GRATE-est!

  THE END

  “You’re sitting on me,” Stinko complains, shoving you with his elbow. “What’s going on? Let me out!”

  He scrambles over the side of the box. You follow him.

  The moment you stand up, you wish you hadn’t.

  You feel woozy. The moving tattoos on the tent walls are making your head ache.

  “I’m going to give you a second chance,” Dare tells you.

  Then he swirls his tattooed cape around his body — and melts into the walls!

  Where did he go? you wonder. You rub your eyes and try to steady yourself. Everything feels familiar. It’s as if you’ve done this all before.

  But you can’t remember where. Or when.

  In fact, the harder you try, the less you can remember!

  Gazing around, you spot an opening in the wall of the tent.

  Hmm. Maybe you should try to get out of this place.

  Or have you already done that?

  You aren’t sure. But something tells you you should get moving.

  Go back to PAGE 96. And take a hint: Next time you meet the Sand Blob, don’t let it suck you up!

  “Hello, this message is for Zoe,” the recording begins.

  You gasp. You know that voice.

  It’s your mom!

  Your heart pounds hard as you listen to Mom’s message:

  “We got your message letting us know everything is fine. Thanks for taking such good care of the kids! We’re so glad we left them with you. And we’re glad you can stay longer, because we’ve decided to extend our trip for another week!”

  You and Stinko stare at each other in pure horror.

  Another week? Another week of Dare’s horrible games?

  “No! I can’t take it!” you wail, sinking to the floor.

  Oh, well. What can you do? Guess you’ll have to grin and Dare it!

  THE END

  FUN AND GAMES SPINNER

  This is your Official Spinner. Guard it with your life! This Spinner will help you make important choices throughout the Attack of the Beastly Baby-sitter. Follow these simple finger-spinning instructions each time you use the Spinner.

  Finger-Spinning Instructions: There are four Choice Rings in this Spinner. Place your index finger on the correct Choice Ring. Close your eyes (no peeking!). Circle your finger around and around and around (keep circling!) until you feel like stopping. Open your eyes. Read the word under your finger. Your choice has been made for you!

  BEWARE!!

  DO NOT READ THIS

  BOOK FROM

  BEGINNING TO END!

  Clean out Professor Shock’s garage? Major drag! you say. Until you sneak into his workshop — and check out the gadgets. Whoa! He’s got a huge robot in there. And a really cool pinball machine.

  You’re dying to try them all. But look out. Some of the professor’s inventions do shocking things! Can you take it? Will you know what to do when an mp3 player attacks you? And what’s that thing labeled “Loreo”? Do you have the guts to find out?

  Whatever you do — don’t push the red button on that remote control! You already pushed it? Oops. Sorry!

  You’re in control of this scary adventure. You decide what will happen. And how terrifying the scares will be!

  Start on PAGE 1. Then follow the instructions at the bottom of each page. You make the choices.

  SO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, CROSS YOUR FINGERS, AND TURN TO PAGE 1 TO GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!

  “School’s out!” you yell gleefully. Leaning on the handlebars of your bicycle, you gaze at your best friends, Jason and Stacey. “What should we do today?”

  Jason and Stacey are twins. Both have blond hair and blue eyes. But that’s about the only way they’re alike.

  “Let’s ride around the park,” Jason suggests.

  “BOR-ing!” Stacey responds. “Let’s go someplace new.”

  As always, you make the decision. “We’ll go that way,” you say, pointing north out of the park.

  You race up the wide boulevard on your bicycles. Soon you’re in a part of town you’ve never seen before.

  “I heard this was the oldest part of the city,” Jason says. “Some of the houses go back to pioneer days.”

  “That one looks like it goes back to the dinosaurs,” you joke. You point at a high, crumbling brick wall. All you can see of the house behind it is a rotting roof.

  A sign by the front gate says PLEASE COME IN.

  You turn to your friends. “Let’s check it out,” you suggest. You turn back to the gate.

  And stop. In shock. Because the sign now says DANGER!

  Turn to PAGE 2.

  You rub your eyes. Did you read the sign correctly?

  Then you see that it’s loose. It turns slowly in the wind — back to the side that says PLEASE COME IN.

  “Let’s go in!” Stacey says excitedly.

  “Are you nuts?” Jason cries. “The sign says danger.”

  As usual, you decide. “I want to see what’s inside,” you declare. The rusty gate is open a crack. You push it all the way open and enter.

  You find yourselves in a weedy yard with grass as high as your knees. Beyond the lawn stands a huge old three-story house. Paint peels from every wall. The porch sags. Several of the windows are boarded up.

  “It looks haunted,” Jason says nervously.

  Stacey rolls her eyes. “There’s no such thing,” she responds. “But I’ll bet no one’s lived here in a long time.”

  You step onto the sagging porch and peer in the front window. It’s so dirty you can’t see anything inside.

  Then a strong, bony hand clamps around your wrist.

  Go to PAGE 3.

  Your heart thuds. A fierce-looking old man is holding your wrist. He’s totally bald. A bushy white beard hangs down to his chest. His dark eyes squint behind thick glasses.

  “It’s about time you got here! I’ve been waiting all morning. I’m Professor Shock,” the old man says. “Are you ready to start work?”

  “What do you mean?” you demand, pulling away from him.

  Professor Shock frowns. “Aren’t you from Acme Cleanup?”

  “No,” Stacey tells him. “We were riding around and saw your gate was open.”

  “Oh.” Professor Shock seems disappointed. “The people from Acme were supposed to clean my garage,” he explains. “But they didn’t show up. Why don’t I hire you kids? It’s not hard work — and I’ll pay you fifty dollars.”

  You glance at the twins. That’s a lot of money!

  Jason nods eagerly. “Sure! We’ll be glad to.”

  “Wonderful!” Professor Shock replies. “Right this way.”

  You follow the old man to the backyard. Then you see the garage. And you wonder if you’ve made a big mistake.

  Turn to PAGE 4.

 
; The garage is as big as a barn — and packed with junk. Moldy old furniture. Rotting cardboard boxes. Piles of rags. A rusted-out car. And that’s just in the front part.

  “You want us to clean this out?” Stacey asks.

  “It’ll be easy!” Professor Shock says cheerily. He hands you brooms and trash bags. “I’ll check back later. Oh, one thing,” he adds. “Whatever you do, don’t go in the back room!” He points to a partially open green door at the back of the garage.

  “But —” Stacey cries.

  Too late. He’s gone. You and your friends gaze at the incredible mass of junk. Is the money really worth it?

  “Let’s get started,” you say with a sigh.

  You find a wheelbarrow and load piles of old newspapers into it. Stacey pushes a broom in the back of the garage. Jason carries boxes to the front.

  “Oh, no!” Stacey suddenly calls. “My ring slipped off my finger! And it rolled right into the back room!”

  Follow the ring to PAGE 33.

  R.L. Stine’s books are read all over the world. So far, his books have sold more than 300 million copies, making him one of the most popular children’s authors in history. Besides Goosebumps, R.L. Stine has written the teen series Fear Street and the funny series Rotten School, as well as the Mostly Ghostly series, The Nightmare Room series, and the two-book thriller Dangerous Girls. R.L. Stine lives in New York with his wife, Jane, and Minnie, his King Charles spaniel. You can learn more about him at www.RLStine.com.

  Goosebumps book series created by Parachute Press, Inc.

  Copyright © 1997 by Scholastic Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, GOOSEBUMPS, GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, June 1997

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-84182-5