“But I don’t think I’ll be hunting for ghosts again,” Val continued.
“You don’t believe anymore?” Goldie asked.
Val shook her head. “I didn’t say that.”
Goldie raised her eyebrows and hoped Val would explain. But she didn’t. Goldie carried Nacho up the stairs.
“You coming?” she asked Val.
“Be there in a second.”
Goldie stood at the top of the stairs.
“Where’s Val?” Ruby asked. “She didn’t disappear. Did she?”
“No.” Goldie leaned her head toward the basement. She could hear Val’s voice, but she couldn’t make out the words. Two minutes later, Val walked up the steps.
“Who were you talking to?” Goldie asked.
Val shrugged. “No one you would know.”
A cold breeze blew through Goldie’s hair. Goose bumps covered her skin.
It’s just the autumn wind, she thought.
The town board loved Goldie’s idea of turning the Bloxtown Inn into a Halloween attraction. So of course, Mayor Zander took all the credit.
“I’m a business genius!” he boomed as they stood in front of the old inn.
Ruby sold tickets to the scariest building in the entire state. People were lined up around the block to get in.
Li, Zeek, and Goldie had arranged haunted hacks on every floor. There had been some disagreement. Goldie and Li wanted to reuse her original hacks. Zeek had wanted to order robot monsters and special effects from Hollywood. In the end, they’d compromised. They used the glow-in-the-dark footprints, the vampire slime, and the scream machine. Zeek bought one small monster. But it was so scary, he sent it back.
It was Val’s job to lead the tours. She told the ghost stories about Funny Fred, the Chef, and the Lady in Pink. But everyone’s favorite was Val’s own story of seeing the ghost cat when she was a little girl. And then seeing it again not too long ago.
“I was visiting the inn with my best friends. They didn’t believe in ghosts and spirits. They thought all could be explained with science.” Val led a group through the dim hallway. The only light came from the flashlight she carried.
“But there was a moment when I was alone, where I could be quiet and still. The cat appeared to me again. Just like it had when I was a little girl. And I spoke to it.”
“What did you say?” a boy in the crowd asked.
“I told the cat that she was safe and this would always be her home. And that I was bringing more friends for her to see. You are those friends.” Val motioned to the tourists.
Suddenly, behind her, a cat meowed and then streaked from the kitchen into the bathroom.
People gasped and jumped. Goldie smiled. Nacho was getting good at playing the role of the ghost cat. He was born for the part.
“Let’s move into the kitchen,” Val said, continuing the tour.
Goldie didn’t follow. She wanted to check on the contraptions and mechanisms on the second floor. She needed to make certain they were working. Goldie turned to the stairs. Sleeping on the bottom step was Nacho.
“Then what was in the hall?” she mumbled. A ghost? No way.
She couldn’t explain it. And maybe she never would. But having good friends and a little mystery in her life made Goldie the happiest girl in Bloxtown.
HAUNTED HACKS
Want to hack Halloween just like Goldie Blox? Make your own spooky scares with these spine-chilling inventions from the GoldieBlox YouTube series, Hack Along with GoldieBlox! For more supercool DIYs, subscribe to the GoldieBlox channel!
SCREAMING CUP
Materials
A paper clip
1 large plastic cup
24 inches of string
Violin wax or rosin
Fun decorations
Directions
1. Use the paper clip to poke a hole in the bottom of the cup that’s just large enough to thread a piece of string through.
2. Thread the string through the hole and tie a knot at the end of the string inside the cup to hold it in place.
3. Coat the string with violin wax or rosin. (If you don’t have either, you can just use water to wet the string.)
4. Holding the cup in one hand, use your other hand to pinch the string between your thumb and forefinger.
5. Squeeze the string tightly and slide your thumb and forefinger down it to create a screaming sound.
6. Decorate your cup however you’d like! Add googly eyes and make teeth out of construction paper to create a creepy monster, or add glitter, beads, and feathers to make it fancy.
How does the screaming cup work?
Sliding your fingers down the string makes sound vibrations. The violin wax makes the string sticky and increases those vibrations. The cup amplifies the sound, which makes it sound like it’s screaming.
GLOW-STICK EYES
Materials
Toilet paper roll
Black paper tape
Craft knife
Glow stick
Directions
1. Cover the toilet paper roll with black paper tape.
2. Cut spooky eye shapes in the toilet paper roll using the craft knife.
3. Snap the glow stick to activate it and place it in the roll.
4. Cover the ends of the roll with black paper tape.
How do glow sticks work?
Inside glow sticks are two compartments filled with chemical solutions. When you snap those compartments, the solutions combine and react to create a glowing effect.
Grant Blair
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stacy McAnulty thinks her imagination is the most important tool in her toolbox. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a mechanical engineer—a job that, like writing, requires creativity and stick-to-itiveness. She is the author of several books for young readers, including The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, the chapter book series The Dino Files and the picture books Beautiful and 101 Reasons Why I’m Not Taking a Bath. She lives with her husband, three kids, and two dogs in Kernersville, North Carolina. Find out more at stacymcanulty.com.
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Goldie Blox and the Haunted Hacks!_A Stepping Stone Book Page 5
