by P. J. Night
Whoever this is, cut it out. You’re starting to freak me out.
Almost immediately, there was another text.
They’re not coming home. Not anytime soon.
Fear eddied up and down her spine. Who were “they”? The twins’ parents? She decided not to ask. This entire thing was as ridiculous as it was scary. She tried to convince herself that someone was just playing a practical joke on her. Her brothers or maybe her best friend.
A full two minutes passed without another text. The babysitter busied herself around the kitchen, trying to tidy it up as best she could in the darkness. Where were the parents? Why hadn’t they called her to say they’d be late?
And then she got another text.
I am in the basement.
Her breath caught in her throat. This really wasn’t funny anymore. Suddenly she realized it wasn’t someone playing a practical joke on her. No one she knew would do something like this. Play such a mean trick. She’d call her mom. And then maybe even 911. But when she looked at her phone, she saw the worst possible message of all:
No service.
Wait. What was that sound?
Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.
At first she thought the sound was only in her imagination. But as it got louder, there was no mistaking the sound of footsteps. Then they stopped. She whirled around toward the basement door, which was shrouded in shadow. The door rattled. But that was the wind, wasn’t it? Making it rattle?
She heard footsteps again, and a tiny, terrified whimper escaped from the back of her throat. Heavy footfalls continued making their way up the basement steps. And then slowly, ever so slowly, the knob on the basement door started to turn. When it opened, she saw what she’d been dreading—a figure covered in shadow. And then it started moving toward her.
Want more creepiness?
Then you’re in luck, because P. J. Night has some more scares for you and your friends!
Write Your Own Horror Haiku
In the story, Emmy and Lizzy each write a haiku in their English class. Haiku poems have three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line has five syllables. P. J. Night wants you to write some haiku on the spaces below, but there’s a catch: They have to be about something spooky. P. J. has written one to share with you. Share your horror haiku with your friends!
It can be spooky,
Living in a haunted house.
What’s that over there?
A lifelong night owl, P.J. Night often works furiously into the wee hours of the morning, writing down spooky tales and dreaming up new stories of the supernatural and otherworldly. Although P. J.’s whereabouts are unknown at this time, we suspect the author lives in a drafty, old mansion where the floorboards creak when no one is there and the flickering candlelight creates shadows that creep along the walls. We truly wish we could tell you more, but we’ve been sworn to keep P. J.’s identity a secret . . . and it’s a secret we will take to our graves!
Simon & Schuster, New York
Cover art by Aly Turner
© 2013 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Cover designed by Nick Sciacca
Ages 8–12
CREEPOVERBOOKS.COM
Meet the author, watch videos, and get extras at
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You’re invited to . . .
Create Your Own Scary Story!
Do you want to turn your sleepover into a creepover? Telling a spooky story is a great way to set the mood. P. J. Night has written a few sentences to get you started. Fill in the rest of the story and have fun scaring your friends.
You can also collaborate with your friends on this story by taking turns. Have everyone at your sleepover sit in a circle. Pick one person to start. She will add a sentence or two to the story, cover what she wrote with a piece of paper leaving only the last word or phrase visible, and then pass the story to the next girl. Once everyone has taken a turn, read the scary story you created together aloud!
My best friend and I do everything together. One night, we even slept over at a real haunted house! It all started when my older sister told us about the strange things that had started happening at her friend’s house. Objects were moving on their own, it would suddenly get chilly for no reason, and my sister’s friend would hear whispering when she entered a room. So one night, my sister dared us to come along for a sleepover at her friend’s house. We didn’t get one wink of sleep all night. Instead we met the ghosts that were living there. They wanted to tell us their story. And it went like this . . .
What’s better than reading a really spooky story?
Writing your own!
You just read a great book. It gave you ideas, didn’t it? Ideas for your next story: characters…plot…setting… You can’t wait to grab a notebook and a pen and start writing it all down.
It happens a lot. Ideas just pop into your head. In between classes entire story lines take shape in your imagination. And when you start writing, the words flow, and you end up with notebooks crammed with your creativity.
It’s okay, you aren’t alone. Come to KidPub, the web’s largest gathering of kids just like you. Share your stories with thousands of people from all over the world. Meet new friends and see what they’re writing. Test your skills in one of our writing contests. See what other kids think about your stories.
And above all, come to write!
www.KidPub.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
Copyright © 2013 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
YOU’RE INVITED TO A CREEPOVER is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Text by Kama Einhorn
ISBN 978-1-4424-5985-4
ISBN 978-1-4424-5986-1 (eBook)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2012939908