The Horror at Chiller House

by R. L. Stine

  “And the little chests don’t have Horrors in them,” Sam said. “What are we going to do?”

  Running beside me, Jessica let out a sigh. “If there are no hidden Horrors, how do we get home?”

  A chill tightened the back of my neck. “Is that the point of Chiller’s twisted game?” I said. “He’s going to hunt us down — and we’re NEVER going home!”

  We found Meg and Andy in a corner of Zombie Plaza. They were standing in front of Madame Doom’s glass fortune-teller booth.

  The booth looked like the ticket window at a movie theater. Behind the glass, I saw the wooden fortune-teller. She had black hair, a red-and-purple turban wrapped around her head, loads of beads around her neck, a bright red dress.

  Her painted face had dark, staring eyes, red cheeks, and a red-lipsticked mouth turned down in a cold frown. A neon sign above the booth read: MADAME DOOM KNOWS EVERYTHING AND MORE.

  Meg and Andy spun away from the booth as we came running up to them. Meg held up her Helper card. “Andy and I searched all around here. But we haven’t seen any little chest.”

  “Why are you guys here?” Andy asked. “You couldn’t find any chests?”

  “We found two chests,” I said breathlessly. “And they were jokes. They didn’t have the Horrors in them.”

  “Chiller lied to us,” Sam said. “His whole game is a cheat.”

  “The Hunters are using real arrows,” Jessica said. “We’re in big danger.”

  We all started talking at once. Meg and Andy looked totally confused.

  “What do you think we should do?” Andy asked. “Should we stop hunting for the chests and try to find help?”

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Meg said, her eyes wide with fear. “I played one of Chiller’s games. I told you. He brought me here last Halloween. It was a crazy, twisted game. Totally disturbing and frightening. But he played fair. He let me go home when the game was over.”

  I stared at her. “He isn’t playing fair this time.”

  “We need to find a Helper who will really help us,” Jessica said.

  “Chef Belcher and Murder the Clown tried to help,” Sam said. “But … it didn’t work out. We were nearly hit by arrows both times.”

  Meg tapped her hand on the front of the glass booth. “Maybe Madame Doom is a Helper who will help,” she said. “Let’s see what she says we should do.”

  “Hurry,” I said. My eyes swept the deserted plaza. “Hunters could be coming for us. We can’t just stand here.”

  Meg reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a coin. She dropped the coin in a slot. The machine inside the booth made a clugg clugg sound as it started to move.

  We all stared at the wooden mannequin. Nothing happened. Then we heard a creaking sound. Madame Doom’s hand dropped down, out of sight.

  The machine chugged and creaked. Slowly, Madame Doom’s hand raised itself. The hand held a small white card.

  Madame Doom began to slide the card toward the small opening in the glass. Slowly, the hand creaked and slid forward.

  Meg reached into the booth for the card — and the wooden hand clamped around her hand.

  “Ow! Let go!” Meg cried.

  She pulled hard. But the wooden fingers stayed clamped tightly around her hand.

  Meg pulled again. But she couldn’t free herself.

  The mannequin’s eyes seemed to glare at her. The red lips moved. The mouth dropped open.

  Meg started to scream. “She won’t let go! Help me! She’s squeezing my hand. Ow! It hurts! It really hurts!”

  I rushed up beside Meg. I slid my hand through the small opening.

  “Ow! It’s tightening!” Meg cried. Her hand was bright red.

  I grabbed the wooden fingers. They were hot to the touch. I struggled to pry them back.

  But they wouldn’t let go of Meg’s hand. I tried again. Pulled two fingers back.

  And Meg slid her hand free.

  “Ow! I don’t believe it!” she cried. “Is that thing broken? Or was it deliberately set to grab me?” She shook her hand, trying to shake away the pain. It was red and swollen.

  “Where’s the fortune card?” Andy asked.

  I glanced down. The card had fallen to the pavement. I picked it up and handed it to Meg. “Go ahead — read it.”

  She gripped the card in her good hand. And she read it to us:

  “I can help you and your friends. Meet me at my house.”

  “House?” I said. “Isn’t this booth her house?”

  Meg shook her head. “No. There’s a house. I remember it. I remember the crystal ball. And a woman who looks just like the wooden Madame Doom.”

  “You mean she’s real?” Jessica asked.

  “Do you remember where her house is?” Sam asked.

  Meg thought hard. “I think it’s near the Tunnel of Screams.” She pointed. “That way.”

  Meg was right. We found the house easily, across from the Tunnel of Screams. Even though the park was closed, shrill screams continued to blare from the tunnel. Horrified shrieks and screams of men and women, boys and girls, repeating over and over.

  “Someone forgot to shut that off,” I said.

  “Maybe it just goes forever,” Sam said with a shiver.

  We turned to the house. It looked like a little gingerbread cottage. A purple light in the front window reflected off a crystal ball. Red drapes blocked the view into the house.

  A lighted sign above the red front door read: FORTUNES TOLD & LOST. The six of us moved toward the front door. “Think she’s in there?” I asked.

  “Only one way to find out,” Andy said. He grabbed the silver doorknob. “I’ll go in first,” he said. “If it’s a trap, all six of us shouldn’t go in there.”

  “A trap?” Meg exclaimed. “Why would it be a trap? She’s supposed to be a Helper.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” Andy said. His dark eyes glared at her. “I’ll go in. See if Madame Doom is really here. See if it’s safe. Then I’ll open the door and call you in.”

  “We should all go in,” I said. “Meg is right. We need her help — fast.”

  Andy ignored me. He grabbed the doorknob again. “If I don’t come back for you in two minutes … then come in and get me.”

  “No, wait —”

  “Andy, stop —”

  But he had his mind made up. The stubborn guy wouldn’t listen to us.

  Andy pushed open the red door. I could see purple light inside. He disappeared into the little house. The door closed behind him.

  We fell silent. We stood in front of the house, gazing at the crystal ball in the window. Listening. Waiting.

  My mind whirred. Thought after thought flew past my brain.

  We shouldn’t just stand out here.

  We should go inside and see what’s going on.

  Why did Andy insist on going in alone?

  I stared at the door, thinking hard. Waiting.

  “How much time has gone by?” Meg asked in a trembling voice.

  Before anyone could answer, we heard a scream from inside the house. A high, shrill scream of pain and horror.

  “It — it’s Andy!” Meg cried.

  We rushed the door.

  I got there first. I turned the knob. Lowered my shoulder. And shoved the door open wide.

  I stepped blinking into the purple light. It took a long time to focus my eyes.

  I saw a beaded curtain over a back doorway. A table with a purple tablecloth. A crystal ball rested on a small pedestal. A black cat on the mantelpiece. It didn’t move. It was stuffed.

  Sam and Meg bumped up behind me. Jessica pressed herself against the wall. Marco stood at the front door, his expression tense.

  The beaded curtain shook and opened, making a rattling sound. A large woman stepped into the room. Madame Doom.

  She looked exactly like the wooden mannequin in the glass booth. A red-and-purple scarf covered most of her black hair. She had the same dark eyes and red cheeks. Her long red ski
rt brushed the floor as she came toward us.

  “Thank goodness you’re here,” she said in a deep voice. “Do you know you’re not safe? Come in and close the door.”

  “Where is Andy?” Meg cried.

  Madame Doom’s dark eyes grew wide. “Andy? I’m sorry. I don’t know who you mean.”

  “We know he’s in here,” I said. “We heard him scream.”

  “You’re supposed to be my Helper,” Meg said. She shoved the Helper card in Madame Doom’s face. “Where is Andy?”

  “Andy? Hey — Andy?” Sam shouted.

  “In back,” I said. I led the way. I brushed past Madame Doom and pushed through the beaded curtain. It clattered loudly as the five of us burst through.

  Into a small, dimly lit back room.

  “Andy?” I called. And then I froze.

  And stared at the most horrifying thing I had ever seen.

  Andy. Sprawled facedown over a table. Arms dangling to the floor.

  Not moving. Not moving.

  An arrow sticking straight up from the middle of his back.

  I let out a gasp. My knees started to fold, and I nearly fell.

  Meg opened her mouth in a scream of horror. Marco went pale. He and Sam staggered back to the wall.

  We all gaped at Andy, sprawled limply over the table.

  Madame Doom stepped through the beaded curtain. She had an ugly grin on her face.

  I cried out when I saw what was in her hands. A crossbow.

  “Who says women aren’t good hunters?” she cried in her booming, deep voice. “Which one of you will be next?”

  Meg, Jessica, and I backed up to the wall. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. I could feel the blood pulsing at my temples.

  And then I let out a scream of shock as Andy sat up.

  He sat straight up and shook his head. He raised his dark eyes to Madame Doom.

  “I … can’t do this,” Andy said.

  “Andy? You — you’re alive?” Meg stammered.

  Andy turned to us. “I’m sorry, guys,” he said. “I didn’t want to scare you. But Madame Doom made me do it.”

  Madame Doom’s grin faded. She lowered the crossbow. “Boy, you’ve made a big mistake,” she told Andy. “Better shut up.”

  “I don’t care!” Andy shouted. “I can’t do that to these guys. They’re my friends.”

  He reached behind him and pulled the arrow from his back. “It’s a fake,” he said. “It’s a total fake.” He tossed the arrow on the floor.

  Madame Doom stepped heavily toward Andy. “Maybe you want to think about what you’re saying, young man? You do want to go home sometime?”

  Andy ignored her threat. He jumped to his feet. “She told me to pretend to be dead. Shot in the back. She said she wanted to make the game scarier.”

  “I … I sure believed it,” I said. “I almost fainted.”

  “I’m sorry,” Andy said. “She promised me if I did it, she would give me a little Horror and send me home right away.”

  He sighed. “I really want to go home. But I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t do that to you guys.”

  “Very touching,” Madame Doom said sarcastically. “But I’ve got news for you, sonny. The hunt is real — and it’s still on.”

  She raised the crossbow and aimed at me.

  “No!” I cried. I raised my hands to shield my face.

  “But you’re supposed to be my Helper!” Meg screamed.

  Madame Doom tossed back her head, and an ugly laugh escaped her throat. “You kids are slow as snails. You haven’t caught on yet? Chiller didn’t give you Helper cards — he gave you Hunter cards! I’m a Hunter!”

  Her words sent a chill down my back. I thought of Chef Belcher … Murder the Clown … the arrows flying at us in the darkness. Yes. Yes. They only pretended to be helping. They were the Hunters. We couldn’t see them — but they were the ones sending the arrows flying at us.

  I pictured the crossbow lying on the ground near Murder the Clown’s feet. He lied. He lied to us about the Hunter running away. Murder was the Hunter.

  Why didn’t I figure it out?

  Now we were trapped here. Like targets in a shooting gallery.

  I knew I couldn’t just stand there. I ducked my head — and took off.

  I darted past Madame Doom. The beaded curtain clattered as I pushed through it.

  “Stop!” she shouted. She burst through the curtain with the crossbow raised.

  I gazed around frantically. Suddenly, I had an idea.

  I grabbed her crystal ball off its pedestal. I pulled my arm back — and I heaved the shimmering ball at her stomach.

  “No!” she screeched. “Not my crystal ball!”

  She dropped the crossbow. The crystal ball bounced off her stomach and she dove for it before it hit the floor.

  I pulled the front door open and tore out of there. The other five kids were right behind me.

  We ran across the empty plaza, in and out of dim pools of light. Our shoes thudded loudly on the pavement. The only other sounds were the shrill screams pouring out of the Tunnel of Screams.

  The screams rang in my ears as I ran. I glanced back once, to see if Madame Doom was chasing after us. But the plaza was empty.

  I led the way around the side of a small restaurant called Weasel Burger. A blinking sign read: SUPERSIZE YOUR WEASEL BURGER FOR $1 MORE.

  I wasn’t in the mood for HorrorLand jokes. I was frightened and tired and frantic to get out of this game and go home.

  We stopped at the back of the restaurant. Yuccck. A long garbage dumpster smelled like it held weasel meat that had gone bad a week ago.

  I held my breath. We ducked behind it just in case someone came by.

  I leaned my back against the dumpster and struggled to catch my breath.

  I turned to see if everyone else was okay. We all looked pale in the dim light from the back of the restaurant. Pale and frightened.

  “What are we going to do now?” Marco asked. “There aren’t any little Horrors to take us home. And there are no Helpers. The game is a total cheat.”

  “Chiller lied,” Jessica said. “He doesn’t want us to escape. He wants to keep us here for the Hunters to get us.”

  “Maybe we just wait till tomorrow,” Sam said. “When the gate opens and visitors come. We can find someone to help us.”

  “Where can we wait?” Meg asked, peeking around the side of the dumpster. “The Hunters will be after us. They’ll find us. We won’t survive till the park opens tomorrow.”

  I heard running footsteps.

  I froze as three figures came charging toward us. As they came closer, I saw their black-and-orange uniforms.

  Horror guards.

  “You kids — stop right there!” one of them boomed. “Freeze. Don’t move.”

  The guards were tall and powerful looking. Their dark eyes locked angrily on us. They had sharp horns that poked out of the sides of their black uniform caps.

  I pressed my back against the dumpster as they closed in on us.

  “Don’t anyone move!” the biggest guard ordered. He had a gold badge on his chest. The two others had silver badges.

  “You’re in a world of trouble.” His voice echoed over the empty plaza. “Freeze right there. I won’t say it again.”

  “The park is closed,” a Silver Badge said, eyeing us one by one. “Couldn’t you tell?”

  “What are you doing here after closing?” the other Silver Badge demanded.

  They stood stiffly, hands at their waists. As if expecting a fight.

  “We — we’re playing a game,” Marco stammered.

  “A game?” the big guard shouted. “What kind of a game?”

  “It’s hard to explain,” I said.

  “No one is allowed in the park after closing,” a Silver Badge said. “There are no games after closing.”

  “Did someone dare you to stay in the park all night?” Gold Badge demanded.

  “Is that the game?” a guard asked.
“That’s a dangerous game. Is that what’s going on here?”

  Suddenly, an exciting thought ran through my mind: Maybe these guards can help us. Maybe they can get us OUT of here.

  I took a step forward. “We … we’re sorry,” I said. “We know we shouldn’t be here. If you take us to the exit, we’ll leave. We won’t come back. Promise.”

  The other kids caught on quickly.

  “Yes. Help us find the exit.”

  “Let us out and we’ll hurry home.”

  The three guards stared hard at us. Then they put their heads together and began chattering, too low for us to hear.

  My heart began to pound. I didn’t dare take a breath.

  Would they do it? Would they guide us out of the park and away from Jonathan Chiller and his crazy game?

  Finally, Gold Badge turned back to us. Again, he eyed us one by one. He had a menacing scowl on his face.

  “Okay,” he said. “Follow me.”

  My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to jump up and down and let out a cheer.

  “You’re taking us to the exit?” I said.

  Gold Badge nodded. “Yes. We’re going to let you go.”

  He led the way. The two silver badges followed. My new friends and I followed behind them.

  We all tried to hide our excitement. We kept our smiles to ourselves.

  Once we were out in the parking lot, we could celebrate our victory over Jonathan Chiller.

  The Horror guards led us away from the plaza. We walked along the side of Stagger Inn, the big hotel. I could see the main HorrorLand exit gate straight ahead.

  As we walked closer, I saw that the gate was closed and padlocked.

  The guards stopped and studied the lock. Gold Badge reached into his uniform pants pocket. “I have the gate key,” he said.

  Yesssss! I thought. I felt so happy, I thought I might explode.

  The guard raised a long, silvery key. He lowered it to the padlock on the gate.

  All six of us had our eyes straight ahead on that lock. We didn’t breathe. We didn’t say a word.

  I knew we were all thinking the same thing: Let us out. Let us out. Let us out.

  The guard pulled the key away from the lock. He turned to us. “Oh, wait,” he said. “I have one question for you.”