WrightOfWay posted:

quote:

You decide to get out of your grandmother's house. On the double.

"Uh, Grandma," you say. "I don't feel well. In fact, I think I'm getting really sick. I think I should go home."

"But dear," your grandmother says. "You can't go home. Not with your parents away on vacation."

Well, it was worth a shot.

You swallow hard and glance over to where the ghost was standing. She's gone.

Maybe you were imagining things. Maybe the gravestones aren't moving. Maybe you really are sick!

The best thing to do is go up to your room and lie down. You climb the stairs to the second floor. But as you reach the door to your room, you freeze.

There in the doorway is a terrifying sight!

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A ghost fills the doorway. But this ghost isn't just a filmy version of a live human being. This ghost isn't like Elvira Martin.

This ghost is hideous! His whole face is grayish-blue. His tongue and eyes bulge out. He looks as if he died while being choked. Then his blueish hands reach out for you.

That does it. No way are you staying in this creepy haunted house for another minute.

You run back downstairs to your grandmother. You beg. You plead. You cry. Then you pull out every trick in the book. Even the one where you fake a high fever by putting the thermometer on a light bulb.

Eventually, your grandmother gives in. She calls your parents. They cut short their vacation, come pick you up and take you home. They're pretty steamed at you. But you don't care. At least you've gotten away from that haunted house!

You flop down on the bed in your room. That's when you feel something poking you. Something in your bed!

You sit up and stare at your blanket.

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Your heart races as you scoot away from the moving blanket. You press your back up against the wall. Something bumps into your foot. Then your knee.

"OW!" Something invisible pinched you!

Little by little, the "something" begins to appear.

At first, it's only a ghostly head. The head of a boy. He's about twelve years old and he's grinning at you.

"Surprise," he says as his body, arms, and legs begin to materialize in front of you. He looks almost solid - but not quite.

"Who are you? Where... where did you come from?" you finally blurt out.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he says. Then he floats over to the window and gestures toward your family's car in the driveway. "Bumpy ride, wasn't it?" he says with a laugh.

Bumpy ride? Oh, no! He hitched a ride with you from your grandmother's house!

You've got to do something to get rid of this ghost.

But what?

And who's going to help you?

It's sliding around on the bed - all by itself!

If you choose your best friend to help you, turn to PAGE 73.

If you choose your worst enemy to help you, turn to PAGE 56.

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quote:

You decide to ask your worst enemy to help you.

Digger Sukowski.

That's the first name that pops into your head when you think about how to deal with this ghost.

Digger is a sixth-grader who lives a few blocks away. He's a bully and a jerk, and you can't think of anyone meaner or tougher. Perfect.

"Uh, wait right here," you tell the ghost.

You dash out of the house and run all the way to Digger's backyard. That's where Digger and his friends have built a tree house.

The ladder leading up to the tree house has a sign on it.

NO TRESPASSERS. THIS MEANS YOU. CLIMB THIS LADDER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

You swallow hard and put your foot on the ladder.

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You clutch the tree-house ladder so hard you get a splinter. The ladder is nailed to the side of the tree. There isn't much space for your hands or your feet. The boards are wobbly and crooked. You don't dare look down.

When you're halfway up the ladder - too high to jump down, but not high enough to lift yourself onto the platform - Digger pops his head out of the tree house. He gives you a mean grin.

"Hey," he says in a nasty voice. "Lookee what we got here. A trespasser!"

Then he leans over the edge of the platform with a bucket in his hands. He raises the bucket, then turns it upside down.

Directly over your head.

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Yuck! Everything in the bucket spills all over your hair, head, face, shoulders, and shirt.

Raw eggs. Warm soda. Sour milk. Bread crumbs. It's disgusting.

Some used tissues are mixed in there, too.

"What did you do that for?" you yell angrily.

"You saw the sign," Digger replies. "No trespassers. That means you."

What a creep! you think. Digger is a total, certified jerk.

In other words, he's just what you need to deal with this ghost!

So what are you going to do? Keep climbing - and take your chances with Digger? Or face the ghost alone?

If you keep climbing, turn to PAGE 11.

If you face the ghost alone, turn to PAGE 38.

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quote:

Some used tissues are mixed in there, too.

quote:

You climb the last steps of the ladder. You reach the tree house platform and pull yourself onto it.

"You don't give up, do you?" Digger says, sounding mildly impressed.

"Never," you say, trying to sound determined and tough.

Digger brushes his long, greasy brown hair out of his eyes. He's a thick, chunky kid with bad teeth and worse skin.

"So what do you want?" Digger asks you.

"A towel, for one thing," you say, wiping off some of the yucky gunk he dumped on your head.

Digger throws you a rag. You try to clean yourself up. Then you look Digger in the eyes.

"I need your help," you tell him. "There's a ghost who's following me around."

"A ghost?" Digger says. His face turns white and he looks around nervously. "Where?"

"I don't know," you admit. "He could be back at my house. Or he could be right here."

"Here?" Digger cries.

quote:

As soon as Digger hears that the ghost may be nearby, he panics.

He grabs a rope that's tied around a big tree limb, runs to the edge of the platform, and jumps. He swings down to the ground in a speedy escape.

Then he runs into his house and locks the door.

Locks the door? Against a ghost?

How silly.

You'd laugh - if you weren't still all sticky from the egg-yuck he poured on you.

Oh, well. Like most bullies, Digger turned out to be a coward.

So much for asking your worst enemy for help.

Stick to your best friend from now on.

quote:

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

Without even a goodbye 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!

quote:

"Ow!" Robin cries out. His hand flies up to his cheek, where the juggling ball hit him.

Your mouth falls open. This is terrible. The ghost must have followed you down the street!

"Why did you do that?" Robin yells. "That really hurt!"

"But I didn't do it!" you reply. "It was that ghost!"

Robin stares at the juggling balls. They're just lying on the floor right now. The ghost is nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, right," Robin says. "Like I'm really going to believe in ghosts. Come on, how did you do that?"

Before you can answer, there's a knock on Robin's bedroom door. He walks over and opens it.

"Yikes!" he screams.

Floating in the doorway, in midair, is a long sharp carving knife.

And it's pointed right at Robin's heart!

quote:

You jump back, trying to make room for Robin. He's backing up faster than a pizza delivery guy who's missed the address.

But the knife keeps coming anyway.

Quick - you have to do something to help him!

You spot a baseball bat in the corner of the room.

Hmm. Good choice. If you have good aim.

But there's also a huge needlepoint pillow on Robin's bed. One that his mother made for him. Maybe you should use it as a shield.

Choose your weapon.

If you use the baseball bat, turn to PAGE 35.

If you use the pillow as a shield, turn to PAGE 46.

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serefin99 posted:

Who the gently caress names their kid Digger?! I guess continue on.

quote:

"Help!" Robin screams as the knife drifts toward him.

Oh, no! Right beside the floating knife is the ghost-boy.

You grab the baseball bat and take a swing.

The bat goes right through the ghost's see-through body. He laughs as if you tickled him.

Unfortunately, the bat comes out the other side of him and smashes right into Robin's desk lamp.

Oooops.

The lamp flies off the desk and smashes onto the floor.

"What was that?" a woman's voice calls from the hallway.

Uh-oh. Robin's mom is on the way.

quote:

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.

quote:

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?

That's right - the ghost.

And all the lights are out.

What now?

If you're afraid of the dark, turn to PAGE 83.

If you're okay in a pitch-black house, turn to PAGE 19.

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quote:

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!

quote:

You stare into the dark space under the sink. The two small eyes stare back at you.

There's something alive under there!

Hey, wait a minute.

Something fishy is going on here.

You're in the wrong GOOSEBUMPS book! You're in It Came from Beneath the Sink!

And you have a terrible feeling you know what is staring at you with those glowing eyes.

If you think the eyes belong to a Grool, turn to PAGE 132.

If you think the eyes belong to a Lanx, turn to PAGE 95.

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quote:

"Aaaaah," you shriek. "It's a Grool!"

"What are you talking about?" Robin whispers.

"Th-th-those eyes," you stammer. "They belong to an evil Grool!"

You are in big trouble now. The Grool loves to make terrible things happen. As if our luck wasn't already bad.

"You're crazy," Robin tells you. "And if you don't shut up, Lark and his buddies are going to find us."

"You thought I was crazy when I told you about the ghost," you hiss at Robin. "And now look at us."

Robin sees your point. "Okay." He sighs. "Let's check out this Grool."

You move aside so that Robin can see the glowing eyes for himself. He reaches for the Grool.

"Don't touch it!" you warn him. But it's too late. You can't watch. You shut your eyes.

"So this is a Grool!" Robin laughs. He holds something in front of your face. You open one eye. Then you open the other eye.

Robin is holding a little kitten.

"Oooops," you say sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little stressed. That happens to me when I meet ghosts."

quote:

You're trying to crawl out from under the sink when the lights pop back on.

A moment later, Lark and his buddies zoom into the kitchen.

"What are you two jerks doing?" Lark asks.

"Nothing," Robin says quickly.

"Yeah, nothing," you chime in.

Lark looks at his friends and they all nod. You don't like the way they're smiling at you.

Uh-oh.

quote:

You turn and run from Lark. But he's gaining on you. And his friends have joined in the chase.

"Let's get those little creeps!" Lark's friends are shouting.

You and Robin are skidding around a corner when you hear a voice whisper in your ear. "I'll help you - on one condition. You have to promise to do whatever I ask tomorrow."

It's the ghost-boy! You can't see him, but you heard his offer. What are you going to do?

If you accept the ghost's offer, turn to PAGE 52.

If not, turn to PAGE 59.

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quote:

"No way," you say. "I'm not making a deal with a ghost!"

"Fine," the ghost-boy says. "You're on your own!" He vanishes.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

Lark and his friends catch up with you easily. What happens next isn't pretty. By the time Lark and his friends are done, you and Robin are a mess.

You're lying in the damp grass in Robin's front yard. You're bruised from being tackled. Your T-shirt and jeans are grass-stained. Your hair is a tangled nest. Lark used both sets of knuckles to give you "noogies."

"Oooh," Robin fumes. "I could strangle him!"

"No, you couldn't," you reply. "You're not big enough. In fact, he strangled us."

"True," Robin admits. "But we've got to do something to get back at him. I wish that ghost would come back. Maybe he could scare the living bazookas out of my brother."

No sooner has Robin said the words when the ghost appears.

"You rang?" the ghost says with a sly smile.

quote:

The ghost floats toward you and sneers in your face.

"Do I take it that you're finally ready to make a deal?" the ghost asks.

Robin stares, open-mouthed at the ghost. This is the first time he's actually seen the ghost in the flesh. Or rather, almost flesh.

For a moment, Robin can't speak. He just watches the airy creature floating around under the streetlamp light. Then Robin starts to smile. "Cool!" Robin says. "Totally cool!"

"You want my services," the ghost goes on, "to scare those guys. And in exchange, I want your promise. You must agree to do anything I ask of you tomorrow."

"Deal!" Robin says.

"Uh, I don't know," you reply. "What if he asks us to do something wrong? Something illegal or something?"

Robin shakes his head and leans over to you. "Then we just won't do it," he whispers. "Come on. Don't you want to get back at Lark?"

Well? Don't you?

If you make the deal with the ghost, turn to PAGE 81.

If you still refuse, turn to PAGE 63.

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chiasaur11 posted:

It's a tempting offer...

But I refuse! The one thing I, chiasaur11, like more than anything else is finding ghosts who think they're hot poo poo and saying no straight to their faces.

quote:

No deal, you decide. You're not going to make a bargain with a ghost.

You wouldn't even make a deal like that with your mom. Promise to do "whatever" she wants? You might end up raking leaves and washing her car for a year!

"No, thanks," you tell the ghost. "No deal. I don't make promises I can't keep."

The ghost smiles at you. A nice smile. For the first time since you met him, he seems genuinely friendly.

"That's what I wanted to hear," the ghost says. "That you wouldn't make a promise unless you really meant to keep it. I've been looking for someone honest like you for a long time."

Then the ghost reaches into his pants pocket. He pulls out a gold coin.

"Take this," he says, handing it to you. "And promise me that you will never spend it. The coin will bring you good luck as long as you never sell it, spend it, or give it away. But make sure you are not buried with the coin. Otherwise, your spirit will never rest. Like me, you'll be forced to roam the earth looking for someone to give it to."

You take the coin from him, and he sighs with relief. Then the ghost-boy vanishes completely... and you never see him again.

THE END

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But I Refuse: Turned down the ghost-boy's offer both times.

Our options posted:

• Run outside.
  
• Follow the ghost.
  
• Face the ghost alone.
  
• Use the pillow as a shield.
  
• Say we aren't afraid of the dark.
  
• Say the eyes belong to a Lanx.
  
• Accept the ghost's offer.
  
• Accept the ghost's second offer.