by R. L. Stine
Dad paused. No one moved or spoke.
“He was desperate,” Dad said. “He hired a wagon to carry him and his family out of town. His plan was to travel to his mother’s house in Ohio. The wagon arrived in the middle of the night. Tyler was frantic to get away before the bankers could have him arrested. The family hurried into the wagon, taking few of their possessions.”
Dad paused again, then said, “And now I’m coming to the tragic part of the story.”
“You mean they were caught? They didn’t make it?” LeBron demanded.
“No, they made it out of town,” Dad said. “The wagon carried them several miles … The horse racing at top speed. But many miles later, they made a horrifying discovery. In their panic, they had left one of the kids behind. Five-year-old William.”
A few kids gasped. Most everyone remained silent.
“William was left in this big mansion all alone,” Dad said. “His room was right up these stairs.” Dad pointed. “Can you imagine being abandoned by your parents in the middle of the night and left all alone in this huge house?”
“Did his parents come back for him?” I asked.
Dad took a long moment to answer. “They did. They had the driver turn the wagon around and they came back. It was afternoon of the next day, and … they were heartbroken. They couldn’t find William anywhere. There was no sign of him. No sign at all.”
“You mean he just disappeared?” Shannon asked.
Dad nodded. “Vanished. Vanished forever. Until now.”
“Until now?” Ashli said.
Dad nodded again. “I found him. I found William when I bought this house and turned it into a museum.”
“Huh?”
“Excuse me?”
A few kids muttered their surprise.
“William must have died in the house,” Dad explained. “And he stayed to haunt it. The boy haunts this museum. I have seen him. I have seen him clearly coming down these stairs from his room.”
“He’s a real ghost?” Shannon asked. “You’ve seen a real ghost? William’s ghost?”
Dad nodded. Then he raised his eyes to the stairs. “Oh my goodness!” he exclaimed. “He must have heard me telling his story. There he is.”
Some kids cried out. Some jumped to their feet, backing up in alarm.
I tried to focus, not believing my eyes. A boy … a boy dressed all in white … His face as white as his shirt … white as cake flour … A boy so pale and ghostly …
Holding on to the banister with a milk-white hand, he started from the top of the stairway, gazing straight ahead, and came floating down the stairs.
Kids screamed. I saw Mrs. Uris jump up from her chair, her eyes bulging. I held my breath, my heart pounding.
The ghostly boy was halfway down the wide staircase when I caught the smile on Dad’s face. And I recognized Logan.
Logan dressed in white. Logan’s face behind a layer of thick white makeup.
A few seconds later, other kids recognized him, too. And the screams turned to laughter.
Dad’s grin grew wider. “Some of you don’t think this museum is scary,” he said. “I thought maybe Logan and I could change your mind.”
Kids began to settle back on the floor. “Logan, you need to get out in the sun more!” Candy Morales called out.
“How do I get this stuff off my face?” Logan asked my dad. “It’s like an inch thick and it itches.”
“Use a shovel!” someone shouted.
“I feel like a mummy,” Logan complained.
That made me glance down the hall. Nothing going on. Arragotus was enjoying being dead again, thank goodness.
Dad pointed back up the stairs. “Use the restroom up there, Logan. It will come right off with water and paper towels.”
Logan turned and went back up the stairs, two at a time. It took a while to get everyone quiet again.
Aaron Riggles raised his hand. Aaron is a great guy. I love his red hair and freckles. He’s totally cute.
He hangs out with Logan a lot, and he lives a few blocks down the street from me. “Mr. O’Connor,” he said, “is that story true at all? Did his family really leave him all alone in this house?”
Dad shook his head. “No. Sorry, Aaron. I made up the story. Actually, the town barber lived here for many years.”
Aaron frowned. I could see he was disappointed by Dad’s answer. He wanted the William story to be true.
“Actually, the barber story is pretty interesting,” Dad said. “He also had to leave town very quickly. He was giving the mayor a shave, and he accidentally cut off the man’s ear.”
Dad reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out a human ear and held it up so everyone could see it. “Here it is,” he said.
A few kids gasped. Some others laughed.
“You can’t fool us again,” Aaron said, shaking his head.
Dad sighed. “Oh well. I thought it was worth a try.” He tucked the ear back into his pocket.
He climbed to his feet. “I guess it’s time,” he said. “I know you are all waiting to see the museum’s new mummy.”
He turned to Shannon and me when he said that. I could see he was still worried about bringing everyone into the mummy room.
“The mummy, Arragotus, was about to become an Egyptian prince,” Dad explained. “But he died on the morning he was to be crowned. The legend goes that his anger at being cheated lived on inside him—even after he was mummified.”
Dad motioned for everyone to follow him. Shannon and I exchanged glances as we started down the long hall.
“He is a very angry mummy,” Dad said as he walked. “So do not touch him or make him angrier in any way. Do not lean over the side. Whatever you do, do not touch the sleeping prince.”
I stepped up beside Aaron and Ashli. “This is cool,” Aaron said. “Your dad is funny.”
“He sure likes scaring people,” Ashli said.
I felt a chill at the back of my neck. You don’t know how scary it can get around here, I thought.
“I think mummies are sick,” Ashli said. “I mean, every time I see a mummy, I just think, ‘There’s a dead person inside there.’ Yuck.”
We were nearly to the mummy room. I could feel my muscles tighten in dread. I crossed my fingers. Please—stay dead, Arragotus.
Candy Morales and a few other kids were walking ahead of everyone. I watched them step into the mummy room.
And then I froze as I heard Candy scream: “It’s ALIVE! I don’t believe it. It’s ALIVE!”
I took off running. I pushed a few kids aside and got to the door at the same time as Dad.
I stopped, my heart thudding, and saw Candy and her friends laughing.
No sign that the mummy had moved from his resting place.
Candy grinned at my dad. “You’re not the only scary person here!” she exclaimed. She and her friends laughed some more.
Candy squinted at Dad and me. “I think you actually believed me.”
“No way,” I lied. “But you’re a good actress, Candy.”
Dad was still catching his breath. Kids jammed into the room. The blue lights cast a dim glow. The walls were dark wood. It was supposed to be a creepy place, but tonight it was way too creepy for me.
A hush fell over the room. Kids stepped up to the case one by one to study the ancient prince. A lot of crazy movies have been made about mummies coming to life and terrorizing people. So to a lot of kids, mummies are kind of a joke.
But when you stand beside a real mummy, and you see that it’s a real person who once walked around, all wrapped up in ancient cloth and stuck inside ancient tar … When you see a real mummy close-up, it gives you the creeps.
My arms were still sore from lifting that heavy model pyramid. And the pictures of the groaning, grunting, staggering mummy played over and over again in my mind.
I had my arms crossed tightly in front of me. This was supposed to be a party, but I wished it would just end.
Did I really fight a living m
ummy?
And was it less than an hour ago?
I saw Shannon gazing at the shield against the wall. I knew she was having thoughts like mine.
I walked back out into the hall. I waited for everyone to have their turn with the mummy. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I nearly jumped up to the ceiling.
I spun around and saw Logan.
“Sorry,” he said. “I called to you, but you didn’t hear me.” He still had a few spots of white makeup behind his ears.
“You gave everyone a good scare back there,” I said, pointing to the staircase.
“I saw that dummy upstairs,” Logan said. “He’s in a glass case. And there was a big lock on the case, so it should be safe.”
“Good,” I said. “We don’t need anything else coming to life tonight.”
“The dummy is creepy enough when he isn’t alive,” Logan said. “The big grin on his face is seriously sick.”
“The only good thing is,” I said, “there’s no way the dummy will come to life. That’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.”
Everyone was hungry, so we took a break from the scares and made our way to the basement café and ate tons of pizza. Dad had set up a soft-serve ice-cream machine, and everyone liked making their own cones.
I sat at a table across from Ashli and Candy, and they kept telling me what an awesome party it was and how cool it was to stay up all night. They laughed about how serious Dad was and how hard he tried to scare everyone.
It was difficult to concentrate on what they were saying. Their voices kept fading away. I was thinking about the mummy, watching the stairway. Thinking the mummy would come roaring down to attack everyone at any minute.
Talk about tense.
After the food, we teamed up for the scavenger hunt. Shannon announced there were at least a hundred insects in amber hidden around the museum. The team that collected the most would win a prize.
“We did this at my fifth birthday party!” LeBron complained.
“Well, you’re doing it again,” Shannon told him. “Only this time it’s harder because I hid the amber stones.” She passed out little bags to put the stones in.
Logan asked if I wanted to be his partner, and I said yes. I took a bag from Shannon and turned to go upstairs to start the hunt. But she chased after Logan and me and stopped us in the hall.
“Can I be on your team?” she asked.
“Of course not,” I said.
She made her pouty face. “Why not?”
Logan answered for me. “Because you hid the stones, Shannon. You already know where they are. It would be cheating.”
Her pout changed to a sly smile. “But I could help you win,” she said in a whisper.
“No way,” I said. “You’re supposed to be working, remember? Helping out?”
Shannon wiggled her fingers in front of my face. “If you don’t let me come with you, I’ll tickle you to death.” She reached up and started tickling my neck.
I pushed her away. “Go tickle the mummy,” I snapped.
I realized at once it was a bad joke.
Shannon’s smile faded. Her chin quivered. “Can I tell you a secret?” she said in a whisper. “I’m kind of scared. Because of the mummy. I don’t really want to be by myself.”
I hesitated. “Well—”
Dad’s shout interrupted. “Hey, Shannon. Come help me. We have to clean up the food tables.”
“You’ll be safe with Dad,” I said. “And then you can hang out with me later.”
Her chin was still quivering. “Tonight was supposed to be fun, you know? Not scary like this.”
“The mummy is dead,” Logan told her. “He won’t come to life again.”
Did he really believe that? Or was he just trying to make my sister feel better?
Logan and I started to climb the stairs to the first floor. “Your sister looks really terrified,” he said.
“Aren’t you?” I replied with a shudder.
Kids were splitting up, heading in different directions. Voices echoed off the high walls.
“Found one!” a girl shouted from the werewolf room.
That room is across the hall from the mummy room. Dad has a frightening stuffed wolf in there, standing on two legs on a tall pedestal with its teeth bared. I know a little secret about the wolf. It isn’t real. The fur is actually made from a shag rug we had in the basement.
“Are there any stones in the mummy room?” someone shouted to Shannon. “Did you hide any in the mummy case?”
“No. No way,” I heard Shannon reply. “None in the mummy room. Stay out of there!”
“There’s one under that stuffed snake,” I heard a girl call out from around the corner.
“I saw it first,” another girl said.
“But I grabbed it first.”
Logan pointed to the stairway. “Too crowded down here. Let’s go to the second floor. I know Shannon hid some up there.”
I agreed. I led the way upstairs. The air was warmer up here and kind of steamy. We walked past the Garden of Venus Flytraps. Behind that, bats fluttered in their dark-windowed sanctuary.
The bats are the only living creatures in Dad’s museum. He spends a lot of time taking care of them. They definitely are my favorite thing in the horror museum.
I’ve done a bunch of studies about bats for school. One out of every five mammals on earth is a bat. I think that’s pretty cool.
“I don’t see any amber stones,” Logan said. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe your sister didn’t put any up here.”
“Yes, she did,” I said. “Keep looking.”
We walked by the Frankenstein’s Monster display. Dad has posters from the original Frankenstein movie and a mask of the monster that’s seriously terrifying.
“Hey—” I spotted something glowing near the mask. An amber stone. I picked it up from the floor and gazed at the tiny black insect inside. “Got you, little bug,” I said.
I handed it to Logan and he tucked it into our bag.
Against the back wall, Slappy the dummy grinned at us from inside his glass display case. Logan shook his head. “I can’t believe someone just dumped that thing in back of the museum.”
“Dad has a pretty big lock on that case,” I said. “Slappy won’t be getting out to terrorize everyone.”
Logan sighed. “If only there was a lock on the mummy room …”
I stopped when I heard a loud thud. From downstairs. The sound was followed by a startled cry.
I knew instantly what it was.
The mummy was out. The mummy was on the loose.
Hey, I love the Haunted Horror Museum. My favorite thing? The whale eyeball.
Too bad it isn’t there anymore. I had it for breakfast.
It was a little dry. I probably should have cooked it first!
Why was I locked up in a glass case? I know people like to admire me. But I don’t think I should be locked up.
After all, I’m not a scary guy. I don’t know where people got that mistaken idea. I’m a simple guy. I just want one thing.
I want everyone I meet to follow every order I give!
What’s scary about that?!
Hahahaha.
I raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I saw a crowd of kids gathered at the end of the hall.
No sign of the mummy. Where was he?
Shannon saw me and came running down the hall. “It’s okay,” she said. She must have seen the horrified look on my face.
“Wh-what happened?” I stammered.
“The Stephen King statue,” she said, pointing. “Scott accidentally knocked it over.”
I let out a long whoosh of air. My heart was pounding. “The statue?”
Shannon nodded. “I hid one of the amber stones between Stephen King’s legs. Scott grabbed for it and—”
I saw Dad tilting the statue back onto its feet. “Nothing broken!” he shouted. “All okay. It’s cast iron!”
He turned to Scott. “It’s a good t
hing you didn’t knock over Edgar Allan Poe. That statue is made of porcelain. Poor Edgar would be in pieces.”
A few minutes later, we gathered in the main hall. Dad disappeared up the front staircase while Shannon counted the amber stones.
Scott and Aaron were the winning team, with six stones. Their prize was two white plastic skulls filled with jellybeans.
Shannon piled the stones on a shelf on the back wall.
“Now Shannon and I are going to show you the newest attraction at the Haunted Horror Museum.” Dad walked into the room with the dummy. I gasped as he sat down and placed him on his lap.
“Dad! Wait a minute!” I cried. I ran up to him. “You locked the dummy away, remember?” I said, whispering so the others couldn’t hear. “He’s dangerous. Dad, we warned you last night. Why did you bring him down here?”
“I had to,” Dad whispered back. “The party is getting dull. That scavenger hunt was too babyish. I can see that your friends are bored.”
“But, Dad—!” I cried.
“I’ll be careful,” Dad said. “Really. I’ll be careful with him, Cathy. Go sit down. I promise it’ll be okay.”
I stood staring at him with my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t believe he’d take such a big risk just to make sure kids were entertained.
But … that’s my dad.
I had no choice. I turned and sat down in the back row of kids.
Dad held the dummy up so everyone could see it. “I want you to meet my new friend,” he said.
I heard a loud gasp. Aaron leaped to his feet. He pointed at the dummy with a trembling finger. “That dummy—” he started. “Where did you get him?”
Dad squinted at Aaron. “Is there a problem?”
Aaron’s eyes were wide with surprise. “Is that dummy’s name Slappy?” he demanded.
“Why, yes,” Dad said. “Yes, it is. How do you know that, Aaron?”
“P-put him away!” Aaron stammered. He kept pointing at it, as if accusing it. “I’m serious, Mr. O’Connor. Get rid of him.”
Dad had been sitting on a folding chair with Slappy on his lap. Now he climbed to his feet and held the dummy in front of him. “Calm down, Aaron. He’s just a puppet.”
