Escape from the Carnival of Horrors

by R. L. Stine

  To play Wheel of Chance, go to PAGE 8.

  You take a few steps along the midway hoping you’ve won enough prizes and points. You notice the crowd of people surrounding Big Al. They’re still chanting, “PAY OR PLAY. PAY OR PLAY.”

  You break through the crowd and grab Big Al’s arm. “Hey! Do you know where my friends are?”

  “Certainly,” Big Al says, pointing up ahead. “They’re right over there!”

  “Patty! Brad!” you shout as you rush up to them. “Come on! We’ve got to go! This carnival is evil!”

  But before they can say a word, Big Al’s voice booms from behind you. “Not before The Final Challenge!”

  The Final Challenge begins on PAGE 84.

  The space lady slowly circles you as she sizes you up from head to toe. “Hmmmm, I think you weigh thirty-eight pounds.”

  “Thirty-eight pounds! Boy, are you wrong!”

  “I’m never wrong,” she says, smirking. She snaps her fingers and two enormous guards appear. They each take one of your arms and drag you out of the courtyard.

  “I don’t weigh thirty-eight pounds!” you yell. But then you remember. It isn’t your weight on Earth that matters. It’s your weight on Mars.

  Do you weigh thirty-eight pounds on Mars? You’d better find out quickly, because something tells you that what Big Al said about having to survive might be true.

  Weigh in on PAGE 134.

  You land on number 19.

  “Double or nothing. Double or nothing,” two voices behind you echo.

  You whirl around — and gasp! It’s a man with two heads.

  “Congratulations. You win ten points,” one head says to you. “Quit while you’re ahead!”

  “Ahead, get it? A head!” the other head adds, laughing hysterically.

  “Shut up,” head number one says.

  “You shut up,” head number two shoots back. “Ten points is nothing. You better spin again. And this time it’s double or nothing. You get double the points wherever you land.”

  Which head should you listen to?

  If you think you don’t have enough points, go back to PAGE 9 and spin again.

  If you think you have enough points and you haven’t played Guess Your Weight, go to PAGE 72.

  If you have played Guess Your Weight, go to PAGE 17.

  It seems as if hours have passed. Or maybe it’s only minutes.

  You try to unclasp your hands. But they won’t budge. It’s as if your arms are glued around your knees.

  You try to move something. Anything.

  But you can’t blink an eyelid. Your body is paralyzed. You can’t even scream.

  A door opens and two men dressed in overalls and wearing gas masks amble in. Finally. They’re here to rescue you!

  “Looks like the perfume worked,” you hear one of them say.

  “Yeah. And just in time. We needed a new dummy for the Real-Life Space Display,” the other adds.

  They pick up your rigid body and carry you out. No wonder those astronauts in the silver tunnel looked so real!

  Sorry. You can’t scream. You can’t escape.

  Next time, you promise yourself, you’ll stick with the baby rides. But then you remember — there isn’t going to be a next time … because this is …

  THE END

  You’re outside — standing in Bennet’s Field — gazing at the fence that surrounds the carnival.

  “I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow night when the carnival opens,” Brad says.

  “No way,” Patty says. “Let’s climb the fence.”

  What’s going on here?

  You guessed it. The silver locker was a time machine. You’ve gone back in time to the first moment you spotted the carnival. Now it appears as if you have to start all over again — fighting horror after horror, right up to …

  THE END

  You’re pretty sure that the space lady guessed wrong! Now all you have to do is step on the scale to prove it.

  The two goons shove you inside the planet simulation chamber. It’s a long narrow tube, and it’s really stuffy inside. You can barely breathe.

  You step up on the scale. You check the readout. Boy, oh, boy! The space lady is wrong!

  You jump up and down. “I won! I won!”

  Back outside you collect your prize. It’s a huge chocolate bar. You take a big bite out of it and stuff the rest in your pocket.

  You gaze around. The coast is clear. Maybe you can find Patty and Brad and get out of here.

  You walk a few steps forward. But a heavy hand clamps down on your shoulder from behind.

  It’s Big Al.

  “It’s time to play another game,” he says, grinning.

  If you have not tried the Wheel of Chance, go to PAGE 8.

  If you’ve already played the Wheel of Chance, go to PAGE 17.

  You yank on the reins. But your horse plows ahead, pulling you forward — closer and closer to the chopping, chopping, chopping blades. Brad squinches down in the cart and buries his head in his lap.

  Patty jumps into the front seat with you. Together you pull on the reins and scream, “Whoa, fellow! Whoa!”

  But your horse trots onward. “It’s no use,” you cry. “We’d better jump!”

  You stare over the side. You’re riding along a narrow ridge and there’s a deep drop that makes your blood run cold! If you jump, you’ll plunge to your death!

  Then you glance up ahead — and spot a safer place to leap. Great!

  You are about to show it to your friends when Brad cries out, “Look at the elves! They chop at set times. If we can get the horse to move faster, we can miss the axes!”

  “That’s dumb, we should jump!” argues Patty.

  What do you think you should do?

  If you decide to jump out, go to PAGE 103.

  If you urge the horse to gallop, go to PAGE 119.

  Carnival workers. The carnival workers who set up the same rinky-dink carnival you go to every summer.

  You can’t believe your eyes. You must be seeing things!

  Patty tries to say something smart, but the only thing she manages is “Huh?”

  “Hey, kids!” a worker yells at you. “Get away from that ride. The carnival doesn’t start till tomorrow night.”

  You gaze around in wonder at the faded games, the baby rides, the tacky food stands. For the first time in your life, it all looks great!

  “We’ll be there!” you shout as you head for your bikes. “This is the greatest carnival I’ve ever seen!”

  THE END

  Seconds later your head and the back of your feet slam into the wall. You’re hanging upside down — in the middle of a gigantic magnetic wheel!

  “Are you ready for The Final Challenge?” Big Al asks.

  “Of course not!” you say. “LET ME DOWN!”

  “We’ll let you down — but not until you face The Final Challenge. One spin will decide your fate. If you win, you go. If you lose, you stay here forever.”

  Will that be your fate?

  Big Al approaches the wheel.

  Brad and Patty are holding on to each other.

  Your heart is pounding.

  Your hands are sweating.

  This is it. One spin.

  He gives the wheel — with you on it — a hard turn. Where will it stop? Guess!

  On PAGE 44?

  On PAGE 74?

  On PAGE 124?

  “Hey, wait up!” you yell to Brad and Patty as you sprint through the Space Coaster gate.

  They both ignore you and charge straight ahead. You follow them into a narrow tunnel that leads to the boarding area.

  You gaze down at the floor. Black rubber. It makes you walk with a strange bounce.

  Every few feet there is a round porthole window. When you glance out one, you see astronauts planting flags on the moon. You peer out another. Now they’re seated in their capsule. This is amazing, you think. The figures look real. Totally real.

  After a long climb, y
ou and Patty and Brad finally arrive at the loading area.

  A sleek bullet-shaped capsule whooshes up and stops right beside you. It has three sections. Brad climbs defiantly into the last section. You leap into the front. Patty’s left with the middle section.

  And suddenly you’re trapped!

  Go on to PAGE 58.

  The crowd is closing in. Your pockets are empty — you have nothing to defend yourself with. So you run!

  You spot a crack in the wall, next to the wheel. It’s small — too small for an adult to squeeze through — but you can probably make it.

  “Follow me!” you yell out to Patty and Brad as you squeeze through the opening. It leads to a backstage area — and then to the flap of another tent.

  You can hear the crowd behind you, trying to follow you through the crack.

  “Come on! We can slip under this tent,” you say. For once, no one argues with you.

  The three of you duck in and find yourself surrounded by another crowd. They are all seated in chairs. And they don’t move. They just stare at you with glassy eyes.

  Turn to PAGE 55.

  What’s the big idea? You’re going to embarrass the giant into helping you.

  “Hey, you. You know, you’re a real wimp,” you say to the giant.

  He looks at you as if he can’t believe what he hears.

  Patty and Brad look at you as if you’re crazy.

  Maybe you are.

  “You wimp,” you continue. “You sit here all day, taking orders from that creep, Big Al. And you live in these horrible conditions. Why? Because you’re a wimp and you refuse to fight back. You could bend those bars and escape — but you won’t. Because you are a wimp — W-I-M-P — wimp.”

  The giant stands. You gaze up. He’s over fifteen feet tall. He lumbers over to you. He isn’t smiling.

  Is your plan going to work? Is he going to bend the bars to prove you wrong? Or is he going to bend you?

  It’s out of your control now.

  Look out the window.

  If it’s sunny out, turn to PAGE 45.

  If it’s raining or if it’s nighttime, turn to PAGE 85.

  You stumble down the corridor to your right. As you peer from side to side, you are met with hundreds of images of — you! And you look pretty baffled. And scared.

  “Hey, I could use some help,” you call out.

  Silence.

  You pound your fist against the wall.

  The wall starts to move.

  Just an inch or two — an inch or two closer to you!

  You take a step back — but the wall behind you is moving, too.

  The walls are moving together. They’re closing in on you.

  You’re going to be crushed!

  Squeeze over to PAGE 65.

  You’re falling … falling … You can’t think of anything else to do, so you start flapping your arms like a bird.

  At that moment a huge gust of air shoots up from under you and blows you back onto the bridge.

  Breathing hard, you run the rest of the way across the rickety span. When you reach the safety of the other side, you glance back. And gasp! The bridge and the midway beyond it have vanished! Only a black void remains!

  “Wow! Awesome special effects!” you cry out loud. But was your fall part of the special effects, too? It didn’t feel like it.

  You spin around to face the House of Horrors. Up close it appears really, really creepy. Cobwebs drip down from its roof and an eerie yellow light glows inside. Cool! Next to the house you spot a sign that reads BOAT TRIP TO NOWHERE. There are amazing speedboats that you can drive yourself.

  Which should you try first?

  Want to try the Boat Trip to Nowhere? Go to PAGE 88.

  Ready for the House of Horrors? Go to PAGE 66.

  You snap your head around to the right — where you hear footsteps coming toward you.

  You are facing a short man with wrinkly skin and bloodshot eyes. His bushy black hair resembles a scouring pad — and from the looks of it, it probably feels like one, too. His evil expression makes you cringe.

  But he’s nothing compared to the “things” in back of him — two seven-foot-tall monsters. One has blue horns and bulging red eyes. The other has scaly skin and an alligator snout that snaps open and closed as he eyes you.

  The trio all wear lab coats. And from the eager way they’re looking at you, you realize that you are the lab rat.

  You struggle to escape from the net. But you’re trapped in the webbing. Like a fly in a spider’s web.

  “Welcome to my humble laboratory,” the short man says. “I am Dr. Frank N. Stone, the mastermind who created the Carnival of Horrors.”

  The Carnival of Horrors! You don’t like the sound of that!

  Go to PAGE 89.

  Your boat glides through the channel at high speed to Booger Bog. Water sprays up into your face. But soon you have to slow down. Trees have suddenly sprung up all around you. You’re completely surrounded now by their towering trunks.

  In the dark light, their limbs take on the shape of gnarled arms with blackened, bony fingers at the ends. You stare hard at the tree trunks. Could it be? Are they reaching out for you?

  You slowly weave the boat through the twisted trunks and branches. They’ve grown so thick here that you can barely pilot your boat through them.

  The trees rustle as if they’re whispering to each other. Their limbs begin to sway. As you glide carefully through the water, the leaves slap against your face. Slap. Slap. Slap.

  Your heart starts hammering away in your chest. This is really scary. Just how far is nowhere? you begin to wonder. Something swipes at your hair! What was that?

  Turn to PAGE 105.

  You glance once more at the dwarf. He lets out an evil cackle. That’s it — there’s no way you can trust him. Besides, you can hear music up ahead. You’re sure you must be near an exit.

  “No, thanks. I don’t need any help,” you mumble.

  He shrugs. “Oh, yes, you do,” he says. But then he sprints off.

  You walk in the direction of the music. But after five minutes, you realize that you’re not getting anywhere.

  Maybe you should have followed the dwarf. You start to think about Patty and Brad. Are they okay? you wonder.

  Just when you think you’ll be wandering these tunnels for the rest of your life, the passageway ends! Now you’re facing two doors — one red and one blue. Which one should you try? You might as well flip a coin!

  Get a coin. Flip it and check whether it comes up heads or tails.

  If it comes up heads, take the blue door to PAGE 57.

  If it comes up tails, take the red door to PAGE 104.

  “Let’s go on the rides first!” you say. “That roller coaster looked awesome!”

  “Okay,” Patty agrees. “Over this way!” she yells as she charges over to it.

  When you reach the rides, you can only stare in amazement. These are the most fantastic rides you’ve ever seen. The towering roller coaster … the soaring speedboats … the twisty slides! Every one is in motion. Whizzing, whirling, doing loop-the-loops. And they’re all empty! No riders. No people in line!

  “Cool!” Patty exclaims. “We have the whole place to ourselves.”

  Brad’s face turns a little green as his gaze swings from the Supersonic Space Coaster to the Doom Slide. “Do you think they have rides that don’t go upside down?” he asks.

  “Come on! Let’s check out the coaster!” Patty calls to you and Brad. Then they run off to its starting gate.

  You stop and crane your neck to gaze up at the coaster’s first hill. And you gasp!

  Quick! Go to PAGE 47.

  Five minutes later, the three of you are sneaking down a dark alley. Brad is so frightened, he’s practically walking on top of you.

  The alley is littered with large cardboard boxes and overflowing trash cans. And it smells like dead fish.

  “Hey! Quit stepping on my shoe,” you say to Brad.

 
“I’m not stepping on your shoe,” he shoots back. “I’m not anywhere near your stupid shoe.”

  You glance down. And nearly scream.

  Brad’s right. He’s not stepping on you. But about a dozen rats are.

  You shake your foot wildly. The rats scurry off.

  Brad catches sight of the rats and tries to bolt.

  You and Patty quickly pull him back.

  “Hey! Look!” Patty says, pointing up ahead. “A door!”

  On the door you see a big sign that reads KEEP OUT, so … you go in.

  Go to PAGE 13.

  You turn back and head in the other direction. Your reflections bounce off the walls at crazy angles. Are you walking straight, or have you rounded a corner? There’s no way to tell. Yet this time you’re sure you’re going the right way!

  “Over here!” a voice calls. “Turn left again!”

  Turn left again? Now you are really confused.

  If you turn left again, will you finally escape?

  Turn to PAGE 118.

  HELP!

  You cover your head with your hands and try to run into a thick grove of trees. But the bat circles in front of you and dives again.

  “Stop it! Stop it!” you scream.

  As you turn and race toward some low bushes, you remember the stories — the horrible stories about bats making nests in people’s hair. And the only way to get them out was to shave your head….

  Those stories weren’t true — were they?

  You spot a big stick in the wet dirt and scoop it up.

  The bat swoops down at you once more and — FWAP! You hit it.

  The bat falls to the ground.

  And you see it’s on a wire.