The Curse of the Creeping Coffin Page 8

  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.

  This time, the remote control changes the Egyptian pharaoh king into a Neanderthal man. You recognize him from all the science books at school. Big hairy guy. Slumpy shoulders. Long arms. Huge wooden club.

  Huge wooden club?

  Yup.

  And he’s swinging it at your head!

  Think fast!

  If you change the channel again, turn to PAGE 111.

  If you try the mute button, turn to PAGE 78.

  “Stop!” you cry out, running over to Robin. “Don’t eat the worms! It’s a double-cross!”

  “What?” Robin asks, looking confused. Luckily he was too grossed out to take a first bite.

  You explain what you’ve overheard. “Your brother’s in there!” you say, pointing to the bushes. “He’s tricked us! He made a deal with the ghost. He pretended to scream last night — even though the ghost wasn’t doing anything to him!”

  Robin still looks confused. Until Lark and his friends come out laughing. “Ha, ha,” they say. “You have to eat worms because of us. You twerps got what you deserved.”

  “What are you laughing about?” the ghost says to Lark. “You made a deal, too. I agreed to make your brother eat worms. But in return, you promised to do whatever I asked.”

  “Yeah,” Lark says. “So what?”

  “So now it’s time to keep your part of the bargain,” the ghost says to Lark. “And here it is: You have to spend the night with a dead rat — in an open grave!”

  “Oh, right,” Lark says. “And just how are you going to make me do that?”

  “Easy,” the ghost says with a small laugh.

  Turn to PAGE 121.

  BONG! BONG! BONG!

  What is that? Some kind of clock tower?

  BONG … BONG … BONG … BONG …

  The chimes strike twelve times.

  At exactly midnight, the iron hand and the sword vanish — and your grandmother appears in the doorway of her house.

  “Why, listen to that!” she exclaims. “It’s the clock tower in the church. That clock hasn’t chimed in years!”

  “Really?” you say, your eyes growing wide.

  Your grandmother nods. “Not since Brandon Estep died. He crashed his motorcycle in this graveyard. Wild boy. But he loved that clock tower. He had helped his father build it. So everyone said Brandon haunted this place, and that’s why the clock wouldn’t chime. Of course that’s a lot of nonsense.”

  Nonsense? No way, you think.

  “They tried to fix the clock a million times,” your grandmother goes on. “But it never worked. I wonder why it started chiming now?”

  You’re pretty sure you know the answer to that.

  Go to PAGE 120.

  “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.”

  Get back into the story on PAGE 67.

  BEWARE!!

  DO NOT READ THIS

  BOOK FROM

  BEGINNING TO END!

  Enter the laboratories of the evil Dr. Eeek. These are labs with experiments so strange … so amazing … so terrifying! There are super-smart chimps and never-ending mazes. There are growling German shepherds and mind-boggling virtual reality. One visit with Dr. Eeek, and science class will seem like kindergarten!

  The scary adventure is all about you. You decide what will happen. And you decide how terrifying the scares will be.

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

  If you make the right choices, you will escape from Dr. Eeek’s deadly labs alive. If you make the wrong choice … BEWARE!

  So take a long, deep breath, cross your fingers, and turn to PAGE 1 to GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!

  “How did you get in here?” a voice calls as you enter the waiting room at Eeek Laboratories. “That door is supposed to be locked at all times.”

  You and your friend Sam jump. You didn’t think anyone was around.

  Then you spot the receptionist sitting behind a tall desk. She’s a short, frizzy-haired redhead wearing too much lipstick for her thin lips. She glares at you as if she expects you to turn around and leave — as soon as you figure out you’re in the wrong place.

  “I’m looking for my mom,” you tell her.

  “Who’s your mom?” the receptionist asks. She starts to pack up her things to leave.

  You glance at the clock. It’s almost five-thirty — quitting time.

  “She’s the new lab technician,” you explain. “She’s working on some top secret experiments for Eeek.”

  “Really? For Dr. Eeek?” The receptionist gazes at you suspiciously.

  “Yeah — I guess,” you say.

  But really, you’re not sure. How come your mom never mentioned him before? Dr. Eeek? All she ever told you was that she had a new job in a research lab. You didn’t know there was a medical doctor involved. Doctors give you the creeps.

  Go on to PAGE 2.

  “Are you sure your mom works for Dr. Eeek?” the receptionist grills you. She raises an eyebrow.

  Her eyebrows give you the creeps.

  In fact, this whole place gives you the creeps.

  From the minute you stepped off the elevator on the nineteenth floor, there were no signs of life. No one in the echoing hall. Nothing but the creaking elevator door.

  And then you spotted the door to Eeek Labs. Your mother never told you about that, either. The door looked like the door to a huge vault! It was heavy steel — and about six inches thick.

  Your best friend, Sam, pulled a small handle near the edge of the door. To your surprise, the door swung open easily.

  Okay, you told yourself. So the place has a weird door. That’s no reason to freak out.

  “Yeah, she works here,” you tell the receptionist. “She does research.”

  “Well, take a seat,” she replies. “I’m sure your mom will be right here.” Then she packs up her oversized tote bag and walks out.

  You search around for a chair. Then you see them. Across the room. The chairs are all orange plastic — and they’re all chained together!

  Sit down on PAGE 3.

  You sit down in an orange plastic chair. But Sam doesn’t. He starts roaming around the waiting room.

  “So what movie is your mom going to take us to?” Sam asks.

  You shrug. “Who knows? But remember, Sam — we promised my mom we wouldn’t act too
wild here,” you warn with a grin.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he says. Like he really cares. He wanders over to the receptionist’s desk. He picks up a glass of clear liquid that’s sitting there.

  It’s probably just water, but …

  “Hey!” you cry. “Don’t drink that!”

  But before you can stop him, he drinks it down. Sam drains the glass in one gulp.

  Then he whirls around to face you.

  “Sam! I mean it!” you moan. “We can’t fool around. This is a science lab.”

  He starts to answer, but suddenly his face turns white. He clutches his throat and gasps. Then the veins on his neck start to pop out. A moment later, he makes a hideous face — as if he’s turning into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

  You freeze. Your heart pounds wildly.

  “What did you drink?” you ask him.

  Go on to PAGE 4.

  You race over to the desk. You pick up the glass Sam was drinking from. And sniff to see if it has a smell. Nothing.

  Sam bursts out laughing. He gives you a devilish grin.

  “Water,” Sam says, pointing at the glass. “It’s just water!”

  You can’t help laughing, too. You like Sam. He’s funny. But sometimes your best friend can go too far. He’s always playing crazy jokes on you.

  Sam gazes around. You’re sure he’s trying to find some other trouble to get into.

  “Maybe we should look for my mom,” you suggest.

  Anything to keep Sam from getting into more trouble.

  His eyes light up. “Great idea!” he cries. “Maybe we can do our own experiments!”

  Uh … on second thought …

  Maybe you should just sit tight and wait!

  If you sit down and wait for your mom, turn to PAGE 11.

  If you look for her, turn to PAGE 6.

  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 © 1996 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, August 1996

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-84114-6