The Curse of the Creeping Coffin

by R. L. Stine

  “Ahhhh,” she sighs. “A real bed.” She shuts her eyes.

  You hope she doesn’t sleep too long. You have so many questions to ask. And you hope she’ll be in a better mood when she wakes up!

  She dozes for exactly two minutes. Then her eyes pop open. You notice they aren’t glowing green anymore.

  “Ah,” Elvira says. “That’s better.”

  Now that she’s awake, you’re not sure how to begin. You’re almost too freaked out to speak. But you have to know! “Why are the graves moving?” you ask. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s the curse of the creeping coffins,” the ghostly woman answers. “And we’re moving into this house. All of us.”

  All of us?

  Gulp.

  What does that mean?

  Rush to PAGE 106.

  You decide you need your best friend’s help. So you call Robin. He lives only two houses away.

  Without even a good-bye to your mom and dad, you zoom out the front door. You run to Robin’s house as fast as you can.

  “Hi!” Robin says. “That was fast. What’s up?”

  “You’re not going to believe me,” you warn him.

  “Try me,” Robin says, tossing three juggling balls in the air.

  Robin has been trying to learn to juggle for six months. He just can’t get the hang of it.

  “My grandmother’s house is haunted,” you explain quickly. “The coffins in the graveyard behind the house were creeping around. The ghosts escaped from their graves. And —” you pause and take a deep breath. “And one of them followed me home.”

  Robin stares at you as if you’re crazy. He lets all three balls drop to the floor with a thud-thud-thud.

  “Yeah, sure. Right,” he says sarcastically.

  A moment later, all three juggling balls rise up from the floor. To your amazement, they start juggling themselves!

  Then one of them flies right at Robin — and hits him in the face!

  Go to PAGE 101.

  Maybe your grandmother was right. Maybe this guy can’t be trusted. Maybe he’s a scam artist.

  “What do you want a dollar for?” you ask him.

  But before he can answer, the funky electronic box beeps one more time. Real loud.

  Then all of a sudden, a lid on top flips open — and a small plastic hand pops out!

  Cool! you think. You’ve seen these things before.

  It’s a gag bank. Your uncle had one, but his used dimes. It was a small black plastic box with a slot on top, just like MacFarling’s gadget. When you put a dime in the slot, a lid would fly open and a plastic hand would pop out. The hand would grab the dime and pull it into the box. It cracked you up.

  But why is MacFarling playing around with a trick bank? You’re supposed to be hunting ghosts.

  “Give me a dollar!” Mac screams frantically.

  But before you can answer him, the plastic hand reaches farther out of the box — and grabs you by the throat!

  In the next instant, it pulls you into the box!

  You don’t think your uncle’s bank worked like this.

  Too bad you didn’t have a dollar when you needed it!

  THE END

  Robin’s mom is furious when she sees the broken lamp.

  How furious?

  Let’s just say you and Robin will be mowing lawns for a long time to pay for the lamp.

  But the good news is, the ghost seems to have vanished! Maybe Robin’s mom scared him off.

  “You weren’t kidding,” Robin says. “There really is a ghost!”

  “I tried to tell you,” you say to him. “Listen, can I sleep over? The ghost is probably back at my house, just waiting to get me!”

  “No problem,” Robin tells you. “You’ll be a lot safer here.”

  Don’t bet on it.

  Turn to PAGE 89.

  “Where are we?” you ask the ghost-boy.

  “Oh …” he says. “You know.”

  No, you think. I don’t.

  You pass an elaborate gold-framed mirror hanging in midair. You look at your reflection. And gasp!

  Your legs! Your arms! They’re gone! You stare at the “you” in the mirror. You can see the furniture behind you — right through your own body!

  Maybe it’s a trick mirror! You glance down at yourself. It’s no trick. Your legs are transparent.

  Your heart drops into your see-through feet as you realize the truth. You’re a ghost, now, too!

  Someone suddenly calls your name. You whirl around — and see your old piano teacher. Mrs. Hatfield. She was a sweet old lady, about ninety years old. She died last year. You have to admit you haven’t missed her much. You never liked taking piano lessons.

  “Oh, there you are!” Mrs. Hatfield exclaims. “Come with me. I want you to play some scales.”

  If you go with Mrs. Hatfield, turn to PAGE 10.

  If you refuse, turn to PAGE 87.

  It’s true. Your feet have turned to stone. So has the rest of you.

  Help! you want to cry out.

  But you can’t speak. Stone lips don’t move.

  “I warned you,” Jane says quietly.

  “Ha, ha,” John says, laughing and pointing at you. “You’re stuck!” He wags a finger in your stony face.

  You’d like to bite him, but you can’t. You can’t do anything. You’re a statue. You’ve turned to solid stone.

  “See what happens when you walk among the dead?” John says. “You should have listened to Jane. Don’t ever walk with a dead person into a graveyard. It’s the most dangerous thing you can do.”

  Now they tell you!

  Go on to PAGE 113. If you can. Go on and try it. Try to turn the page, stony-fingers!

  You press the mute button. Instantly, the Neanderthal man disappears.

  Phew. Close one, you think.

  Then you have an idea. You press the mute button again. Yup. It works just as you thought it would. The ghost of the Neanderthal reappears. And when you press it again, he disappears. You can keep switching back and forth.

  Now you see him — now you don’t!

  Needless to say, this is a cool toy. You and your grandmother play with it for a few days. Then you call the local newspapers. They come out and write a story about you. Pretty soon, you’re famous. Every computer game company in America and Japan wants to buy your invention.

  The amazing remote-controlled hologram machine!

  You tell them the truth. You have no idea how it works. But for ten million dollars, they can have the remote and the house. And they can try to figure it out for themselves.

  When the deal is made, you leave the remote and the house behind. But there is still one more “remote” in your future. A remote island in the South Pacific! That’s where you and your grandmother fly off to. Why? Just in case the company figures out you’ve sold them a house full of ghosts!

  THE END

  You take off running. Top speed.

  You dash down the street and zoom around the corner. Then, as fast as you can, you duck into a drugstore.

  Maybe the ghost didn’t notice where you went.

  You hope.

  The drugstore owner glances up as you come in. “May I help you?” he asks.

  “No,” you say. “I’m just looking.”

  You head over to the magazine stand in the back of the store. It’s tall and you’re hoping the ghost won’t see you behind it. You spend about twenty minutes browsing through the comics.

  When you think the coast is clear, you start to leave.

  “Hold it right there,” the drugstore owner says. He comes out from behind the counter and grabs your arm. “I’m calling the cops on you!”

  Huh? Since when is reading comics against the law?

  Find out on PAGE 119.

  “I found the head!” you call out when you reach the landing. You clutch the moose nervously. You peer into the darkness, trying to find the headless ghost.

  The woman’s body materializes on the steps be
low you.

  “Good,” her voice says. You still can’t figure out how she can talk. “Just set it down right there — on the stairs.”

  Really? you think. This is going to work? Maybe the ghost hasn’t seen the moose head, yet. What will she do when she discovers what you’ve done?

  Trembling, you set the moose head down on the bottom step. You hold your breath.

  For a moment, nothing happens.

  Then the moose head begins to shake. At first it just rocks back and forth a little. But soon it starts to vibrate wildly.

  The moose head begins to glow, as if there were a light inside it. Then a ghostly woman’s face appears inside the moose head! You can’t believe it! But there it is — the face of a beautiful young woman trapped within the dusty old moose head.

  WOW! You did it! You actually found her head!

  Turn to PAGE 51.

  “Okay,” you tell the ghost. “It’s a deal.”

  “Good,” the boy says with a strange smile.

  “But you’ve got to really scare Lark,” Robin warns, pointing a finger at the ghost.

  “No problem,” the ghost answers. “Wait here.”

  You and Robin stand on the front lawn in the moonlight. You watch the ghost as he floats into the house — right through the wall! A few minutes later, the screaming starts.

  “Aaaaaah! Hellllpp! Aaaaaahhhhh! Noooooooo!” you hear Lark and his friends crying from inside. They sound as if they’re face-to-face with sheer terror. Scared out of their minds.

  Robin is really happy. But as the screaming continues, you start to worry. “You don’t think he’s really hurting them or anything, do you?” you ask.

  “I don’t know,” Robin says. “Maybe we should go in there and stop him.”

  “Yeah,” you say, swallowing hard.

  The two of you start toward the front door. But just then the screams stop.

  The ghost floats out through the front door.

  “Okay,” he says. “I’m done. See you tomorrow at ten.”

  Turn to PAGE 50.

  You take the ghost-boy’s hand.

  As soon as you touch him, a chill runs through you. His hand feels like ice.

  “Hold on,” he says. “Here we go!”

  Before you know what’s happening, he starts to move away — floating sideways. His thin, transparent body is floating right through the coffin — and he’s taking you with him!

  BOOM!

  Inside your head, you hear the sound of fireworks. You close your eyes and see fireworks, too! At the same time, you feel your body being pulled through the coffin walls.

  When the fireworks stop, you slowly open your eyes.

  You instantly wish you hadn’t.

  You are lying on a dirt floor. Over your head is a dirt ceiling. The cave-like room is filled with an eerie green light. Stairways leading nowhere are covered in plush carpeting. Cobwebs drip from furniture. Laughs and moans echo all around you.

  But the worst news is — you are surrounded by ghosts. That’s right, you are in an underground world of living dead people. All of them floating around. Some dance, some play games, some wander aimlessly. But all of them are, well, dead.

  Turn to PAGE 76.

  The lights are out. All the lights. And you’re scared to death. You can’t move.

  You stand there frozen in Robin’s kitchen, in the dark.

  “Come on,” Robin says, grabbing your arm. “We’d better get out of here. Lark’s coming!”

  “No,” you try to say. But you can’t even speak. Your heart is pounding too hard. Your legs are locked stiff.

  Robin tries to drag you out of the kitchen. But your hand grips the kitchen counter.

  “Oh, okay,” Robin says. “We’ll hide under the sink.”

  Quickly, he squats down and opens the two cabinet doors that lead to the space under the kitchen sink. He starts to crawl in.

  Good idea, you think. Let’s hide from the dark!

  Huh?

  No. It doesn’t make any sense. But you’re so scared, you don’t know what you’re doing!

  So you squat down and crawl into the cramped space with all the drain pipes and stuff.

  That’s when you see them. Two small eyes — glowing at you in the dark!

  Turn to PAGE 128.

  “Where are you going?” you ask the ghost-boy. “And what’s your name?”

  “You’ll see,” he answers.

  “I’ll see? I’ll see what your name is?” you ask.

  “Sure. It’s on my gravestone,” the ghost replies.

  A cold mist swirls around the ghost-boy, making you shiver. You notice the ghost’s eyes have turned hard. He’s not so friendly, now.

  You really regret making that promise.

  “Let’s go,” he orders, leading the way.

  You have no choice. You’ve seen this ghost in action. If you don’t do what he says, he’ll probably haunt and torment you for the rest of your life.

  You follow him to an old graveyard. This one’s on the far side of town. At the edge of the graveyard, the ghost stops. He puts out his hand to keep you from taking another step.

  “Wait here, until I reach my tombstone,” he tells you. “When you see me disappear, stand on top of my grave.”

  Hmmm. Sounds creepy. Are you going to do it?

  If yes, turn to PAGE 90.

  If no, turn to PAGE 110.

  You decide to find out who is making all the noise in the attic.

  You glance around for something to use as a weapon.

  Let’s see. Your grandmother has doilies. A rocking chair. Pillows. Not much to choose from. Finally you pick up a piece of rope that your mom used to tie your suitcase closed. You have no idea how a piece of rope could help, but it’s all you’ve got.

  The pounding of heavy feet over your head makes you wonder if you’re making a mistake. But you have to find out who — or what! — is in the attic. Slowly, you climb the stairs. Dust from the attic steps stirs in the air and makes you sneeze.

  “Ah-choo!” you say loudly.

  All at once, the stomping stops.

  The door to the attic bangs open.

  “NO!” You scream when you see what’s standing at the top of the stairs.

  Go to PAGE 92.

  MacFarling never told you what to do about an iron hand!

  “Help!” you scream. “HELP!”

  But who can help you in a graveyard?

  You try to yank the metal hand off your arm. But you can’t do it. Its grip is too strong.

  “Help!” you cry again. But your scream dies in your throat. You are too terrified to make a sound. Because the hand is moving!

  The iron fist creeps along your arm. It clutches your flesh so hard you can already feel the bruises. The glinting metal hand travels up to your throat. Horrified, you watch helplessly as the iron fingers open with a clanking sound and then snap around your neck. It’s strangling you! You’ve got to do something fast!

  Turn to PAGE 116.

  No way. You’re not going to practice your piano now.

  “No, thanks,” you tell Mrs. Hatfield. “I never liked piano lessons. And now that I’m a ghost, I’m never going to practice again!”

  Mrs. Hatfield looks around at the other ghosts. They all smile and nod. Then she breaks into a huge grin.

  “Good!” Mrs. Hatfield says. “You passed the test!”

  “What test?” you ask, feeling confused.

  “You never were any good on that piano,” she says. “In fact, you were simply terrible. I just wanted to be sure you didn’t waste any more time with it. The world has enough bad musicians. It doesn’t need another one.”

  Hmmph! you think. But you know she’s right.

  “Okay,” Mrs. Hatfield says, motioning to the ghost-boy. “You can take this one back.”

  Before you know what’s happening, the ghost-boy pulls your hand again. This time, he drags you toward the mirror — and right into it. You close your eyes, and once agai
n you hear fireworks. But halfway through the journey, he lets go of your hand. When you open your eyes, you are standing all alone in the cemetery. And you know you have finally come to

  THE END.

  You go into the house to look for John Luckmeyer. After all, you think he might be the Keeper of the Sword.

  Are you serious?

  Luckmeyer? You think he might hold the most powerful sword? The sword that can destroy the MPG? And didn’t MacFarling warn you to stay away from that practical joker?

  Uh-oh. If you think that, you may have a serious problem.

  Take this test to find out:

  THREE TRUE-OR-FALSE QUESTIONS TO DETERMINE IF SOMEONE IS CRAZY

  1.) Spinach is an alien life form and should therefore never be eaten for dinner. TRUE or FALSE?

  2.) The characters in your favorite TV programs actually live in your television set. TRUE or FALSE?

  3.) The marshmallow crop was ruined this year by a terrible freeze in Florida. TRUE or FALSE?

  For your score, turn to PAGE 117.

  So far everything seems normal. Just like all the other times you’ve spent the night at Robin’s. In fact, you and Robin are having a great time. Even Robin’s older brother Lark is less obnoxious than usual.

  Yeah, Robin and Lark. Robin’s last name is Birdsey. His parents like cute stuff like that.

  Lark is having a sleepover party. His friends are in eighth grade. They think they’re way cool. And they are. Until nine o’clock. When suddenly all the lights in the house go out.

  “Hey!” Lark yells at you and Robin. “Quit playing with the circuit breakers, you little twerps. Or else!”

  Uh-oh.

  You didn’t touch the circuit breakers. Neither did Robin. And his parents aren’t home.

  Who’s left?