Monstrous Maud: Freaky Sleepover

by A. B. Saddlewick

  “I think it must have been Violet,” said Paprika.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” said Milly. “Hamsters are vegetarian.”

  “Yeah,” said Alice. “I think I’d have remembered if I’d seen one killing a gazelle on a wildlife documentary.”

  Maud looked over at Violet, who was now snoozing happily on the doll’s house sofa with her paws resting on her round belly. Was that a scrap of pepperoni on her whiskers?

  “I’m hungry,” said Penelope, as Milly dangled a piece of stringy cheese into her mouth.

  “I’ll find us something else,” said Maud.

  She went downstairs to look in the fridge. There was a loaf of garlic bread in there, which was almost as good as pizza. She popped it in the microwave.

  As she tiptoed past the living room, she could hear chilling stabs of violin music interrupted by screams and splatters.

  When Maud got back to the bedroom, she found the Primrose Towers girls crowded around Milly’s chest of drawers and painting their nails with glittery red nail varnish. Poppy was kneeling down beside the doll’s house, dabbing some on Violet’s claws.

  Penelope and Paprika sat slumped on Maud’s bed with their heads in their hands.

  “Well, this is a great sleepover,” said Penelope. “I think I’d rather be in one of Mr Von Bat’s History lessons.”

  “I know how to liven things up,” said Maud. “We could turn the lights off and tell ghost stories.”

  “Oh yes!” said Paprika. “That would be monstrous.”

  “That’s the first good idea you’ve had all day,” said Penelope.

  “I don’t want to,” said Suzie. “I don’t like the dark.”

  “And ghost stories give me nightmares,” said Poppy.

  “That’s the point of them,” said Penelope. “And anyway, makeovers give me nightmares, so it’s time for a little payback.” She went over to the dimmer switch and turned the lights down. The others huddled in the middle of the room.

  “We’d better put Violet away before it gets too dark,” said Maud.

  Poppy placed the dozing hamster back inside her cage. Then Penelope turned the lights down even further, so that they could barely make out each other’s faces.

  “Right,” said Penelope. “Who wants to go first?”

  “I do,” said Milly. “Once upon a time, there was a family of ghosts, and they had a little ghost puppy who wanted to scare people but couldn’t because he was too cute …”

  Penelope let out a loud yawn. “Oh sorry,” she said. “I thought we were telling scary stories. You must have misheard.”

  “I haven’t finished yet,” said Milly.

  “Well, I don’t think you should bother,” said Penelope. “I’ve had Maths lessons more frightening than that. That’s why I’m going to treat you all to one of my favourite stories, The Haunted Doll.”

  In the dim light, Maud could just about make out her sister. Milly was frowning, with her arms folded.

  “Once upon a time,” said Penelope, “there was an antique toy shop. Instead of selling shiny new toys, it sold ancient ones, like hobby horses with wide, crooked grins, and wooden dolls with sad, faded faces and button eyes …”

  “I don’t like this story,” said Poppy, quivering slightly.

  “No, I want to hear this so-called scary story,” said Milly.

  “Anyway,” said Penelope, “after dark all the toys would come alive and creep around. You wouldn’t want to be stuck in there at night …”

  The Primrose Towers girls had huddled closer. Even Milly had unfolded her arms and was staring intently at Penelope.

  Maud heard a faint rustling noise in the corner of the room. She turned and saw a tiny figure scraping across the floor towards them, with its thin legs moving in stiff strides.

  The figure came into the circle of dim light in the middle of the room. It was one of Milly’s old Barbie dolls.

  Poppy, Alice and Suzie screamed, and Maud couldn’t help but grin. She recognised Isabel’s laughter, too. The Primrose Towers girls all fled to the door.

  “Help!” sobbed Poppy.

  “Make it go away!” begged Suzie.

  Milly switched on the lights, and the doll lay still on the carpet.

  “Penelope was just playing a trick,” said Maud. “You’re so easy to fool!”

  Poppy stopped snivelling, and Alice passed her a handkerchief.

  “Uh-oh,” said Paprika.

  “Don’t tell me you found the story too frightening as well?” said Maud.

  “No,” said Paprika. “I was looking over there.”

  He pointed at Violet’s cage in the corner of the room. A trail of tiny flecks of red nail varnish led from it to the open bedroom door.

  “Has anyone been messing around with that cage?” asked Maud.

  “How could we?” asked Milly. “We were sitting right here listening to that horrid story.”

  “I’m sure I locked the door,” said Poppy. “It looks like the catch has been broken.”

  Maud glanced at Penelope and noticed that she was looking at her feet and desperately trying not to giggle.

  “Can I talk to you? In private?” Maud said.

  She led Penelope and Paprika into the hallway and closed the door.

  “Alright,” she said, with her arms folded. “What’s so funny?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” said Penelope, smirking.

  “Yes, you do,” said Maud. “You’re up to something, and I’m going to find out what.” She gave the witch a piercing look. “We’re not really friends, so why did you come tonight?”

  Penelope shrugged, a grin on her face.

  “I just wanted to see how the pet-sitting was going. Violet’s no ordinary hamster, you see. She’s a vampster.”

  Paprika gasped.

  “A vampster?” asked Maud.

  “A vampire hamster,” said Paprika. “My grandma told me about those. They were all the rage a hundred years ago, apparently. She said they were just as strong, cunning and mischievous as normal vampires. I didn’t think monster pet shops sold them anymore.”

  “They don’t,” said Penelope. “Mr Quasimodo bought her online.”

  “There are loads of vampire animals,” said Paprika. “We had a vampire dog once. It bit the postman, and we very nearly had to take it to the vet to get staked. Dear old Barkula.”

  “Good grief,” said Maud. “We need to track down this vampster fast.”

  “We wouldn’t be having all this trouble if you’d managed to hold on to this,” said Penelope. She fished in the deep pocket of her black robes and pulled out a slip of torn notepaper, which she handed to Maud.

  It was Mr Quasimodo’s note.

  “Why have you got this?” asked Maud. “Did you use a spell to blow it out of my hand?”

  “Of course not,” said Penelope, grinning again. “In fact, I was expecting you to be a little more grateful that I bothered to pick it up.”

  Maud looked down at Mr Quasimodo’s note:

  Care of Vampster

  Important Instructions

  DO NOT IGNORE

  1. Do not place vampster in direct sunlight.

  2. Do not overexcite vampster (avoid loud noises).

  3. Do not bathe vampster in holy water.

  4. Do not feed garlic to vampster (allergy).

  5. Do not let vampster drink your blood, as this can lead to vampiric infection.

  Maud tucked the sheet into her pocket. So it was Violet who’d been responsible for trashing the room and eating the pizza. Poor Quentin! No wonder he’d been so petrified all day! And now she’d imprisoned him in his cage for crimes he didn’t commit. She’d have to give him an extra large helping of crisps tonight to make up for it all.

  “You should have told us all this,” said Maud to Penelope. “Just imagine if Violet had bitten Suzie. She might have turned her into a vampire, too. That would take some explaining.”

  “It was only a bit of fun,” said Penelope.


  “Well, you’ve had your fun,” said Maud. “Now you can help me find Violet.”

  Maud followed the trail of nail varnish marks down the stairs. She put her finger to her lips and whispered, “Tracy said she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

  The tracks ran out halfway along the downstairs corridor, but it looked as though Violet had been on her way to the kitchen.

  Maud opened the kitchen door. The smell of garlic bread wafted to her nose. From the living room, she could hear the music of the horror film. Violet was nowhere to be seen.

  “What’s this?” asked Paprika. He pointed to a small wooden door opposite the staircase.

  “The door to the cellar,” said Maud. “We never really use it though.”

  “So why is it open, then?” asked Paprika.

  Maud swallowed. He was right – the door was a couple of centimetres ajar.

  “We’d better check down there,” she said. “Who wants to go first?”

  “I’d have thought a fearless monster like you would jump at the chance,” said Penelope.

  “Fine,” said Maud. She grabbed her dad’s torch from the shelf and flicked the switch. A dim beam of light shone into the darkness.

  Maud crept down the steps, which creaked beneath her feet. She cast the torch around, waiting for a flash of purple eyes. A thick layer of dust coated the shelves, and cobwebs hung around the boiler tank and between exposed pipes.

  Maud shone the torch on something in the corner that looked like a grinning monster, then saw it was just an old pantomime horse her mum had sewn.

  “Here, Violet!” called Maud.

  A scuttling noise in the far corner made Maud swing the torch around. The beam caught a moving shadow – a round body and two grasping paws. Then it vanished.

  “She’s definitely here …” said Maud.

  “There!” cried Penelope, pointing.

  Maud shone the torch and saw Violet squatting on top of a cardboard box and staring at them, her purple eyes glowing.

  “Here, girl,” said Maud.

  Maud inched forwards and reached out as slowly and carefully as she could. She was just about to grab Violet, when a pair of leathery black wings flapped out from the vampster’s back. Maud gasped and shrank back.

  Violet fluttered her wings a few times before extending them fully, making her look like a fluffy, overweight bat. She leapt off the box, letting out a series of high-pitched chirps as she flew around the cellar.

  “Catch her!” shouted Maud, pointing her torch at the airborne hamster.

  Penelope and Paprika ran down the steps to try and seize her. Unfortunately, Paprika tripped over his cape and fell on to Penelope, who flew headfirst into a pile of old books. They crashed on to the floor, filling the cellar with a huge cloud of dust.

  Maud ran in circles, sweeping the torch beam around and snatching through the dust with her free hand.

  “Up there!” said Paprika. He pointed to the top of the stairs, just as the vampster flew through the open door into the kitchen.

  Violet was on the loose!

  Maud dashed back into the kitchen. One of the cupboard doors was swinging open, but there was no sign of Violet.

  “Look at this,” said Penelope, picking up an empty tin of tuna from the floor. “She must be strong to open this with her bare paws.”

  “She probably used her fangs as a can-opener,” said Paprika. “Mum does that on long car journeys.”

  A wail rang out from the living room.

  “Tracy!” shouted Maud.

  She raced to the living room and flung open the door. Inside, there was darkness except for the TV screen. In the glow of the flickering light cast by the horror movie, Maud saw Tracy cowering behind a pillow on the couch, with her eyes squeezed shut.

  Paprika flicked on the light switch, and Tracy opened her eyes. She grabbed the remote and muted the TV, cutting out the shrieks and chainsaw noises.

  “What are you lot up to now?” she asked.

  “We heard screams,” said Maud. “We thought …”

  “Of course you heard screams,” Tracy said. “I’m watching a horror film. Right, I’ve had enough. I’m ringing your parents right now!”

  She leaned over, lifted up the phone receiver and jabbed at the keypad.

  “Hello? Hello?” she asked, before reaching around the back and lifting up the cord.

  Maud gasped. The cable had been chewed right through. Then she saw a white shape scurrying beside the dresser on the far wall.

  “Behind you!” she said, pointing past Tracy.

  “Nice try,” said Tracy, fumbling for her mobile. “I’m not falling for that one.”

  “No really,” said Paprika. “Look behind you.”

  Violet crouched on the dresser, fanned out her black batwings behind her and rose up into the air. Then she swooped down on Tracy, snatching the mobile phone in her paws.

  Tracy’s mouth dropped open so wide that her chewing gum fell out. Above her, Violet glided back and forth, clutching the phone.

  “Move over to the door,” said Maud. “And don’t scream. Vampsters go mad if they …”

  Tracy screamed.

  “Oh dear,” said Maud.

  Violet dropped the phone and gave a shrill squeak. Her jaws opened wide and she bared her tiny fangs as she flew over Tracy’s head.

  “Get it off me!” shouted Tracy.

  The door opened, and a piece of garlic bread hovered through the room towards Violet. The vampster let out a squeal of terror and backed away, flapping frantically.

  “Good thinking, Isabel,” murmured Maud.

  “Thanks,” said Isabel’s voice.

  Tracy pointed up at Violet, who was thrashing around near the ceiling. The vampster hit the lampshade with her left wing, and it swung back and forth, throwing light and shadow around the room.

  “What … What is … that thing?” Tracy’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted on to the couch.

  Violet hurled herself around the room faster and faster, knocking over books, sewing baskets and stacks of classic car magazines. She swept a glass of water to the floor, and it smashed into hundreds of pieces. Then she slammed headfirst into the TV, which wobbled forwards and backwards. Before Maud could reach it, it toppled over on to the carpet.

  “Oh no!” said Maud. “Someone stop her!”

  Paprika leapt for Violet and missed. The vampster flapped around in a mad blur, careering into one of the curtains. Her claws hooked into the material and ripped it down from the rails, one hook at a time. The curtain fabric fell over her, but underneath it Violet managed to keep flying. She shot towards the door. Maud grabbed hold of the other end of the curtain as she zipped past. It was like trying to stop a speeding truck. The vampster dragged her all the way down the hall and into the kitchen.

  “I can’t hold on much longer!” wailed Maud, straining to stop the vampster from shooting off.

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Isabel’s voice from the far end of the kitchen. “Let go after three. One … two … three!”

  Maud released her grasp, sending Violet hurtling towards the door at the back of the kitchen that led to the garage. Isabel flung the door open just long enough for the curtain-coated vampster to fly through, then slammed it shut.

  “Excellent,” said Maud, throwing herself against the door. “We’ve got her trapped now.”

  “Okay, let’s think this through,” said Maud. She was pressed up against the door at the back of the kitchen, next to Penelope and Paprika. “The three of us …”

  “The four of us …” said Isabel.

  “Sorry,” said Maud. “The four of us have to deal with this before Mum and Dad get home.”

  She couldn’t even think what to do about all the mess.

  There was a violent thump on the other side of the door, which almost knocked her off her feet.

  “Do you think she’ll break it down?” asked Maud.

  “Probably,” said Paprika, his back against the door. “I’v
e heard that vampsters are just as strong as any other type of vampire.”

  Another thud on the other side of the door sent Paprika sprawling.

  “What’s going on?” shouted Tracy from the living room.

  “She’s getting on my nerves,” said Penelope. “Hold on. I’m going to cast a sleeping spell on her.” She rushed out of the room.

  Maud heard Penelope chanting, followed by loud snoring from the babysitter.

  “Could you cast a spell like that on Violet?” asked Maud, as Penelope sprinted back in.

  “Maybe,” said Penelope. “I’ve never tried it on a vampster before. I practised on my black cat once, but he’s so lazy it was hard to tell if it worked. Maybe if I got really close to her …”

  “We could tempt her with another can of tuna,” said Paprika. “She obviously loves it.”

  Milly flung open the kitchen door. “What’s going on?” she asked. “We’re trying to make friendship bracelets upstairs and we can’t hear ourselves think.”

  There was another loud crash on the other side of the door.

  “Nothing,” said Maud. “Just a game.”

  “I’m telling Tracy,” said Milly. She stomped off, creaked open the living-room door and let out a loud gasp. She ran back into the kitchen, her eyes widening. “You’re going to be in soooo much trouble,” she said.

  Maud tried to think of a convincing explanation for all the destruction, but her mind was so frazzled after running around after Violet that she couldn’t come up with anything. Plus, she would need all the help she could get if she was going to catch the vampster. Maybe it would be simpler if she told Milly what was really going on.

  “I think it’s about time I came clean,” whispered Maud, taking Milly to one side. “You remember when I told you that Rotwood was a frightful place? Well, I meant it literally. It’s not a school for human children at all. It’s a school for monsters.”

  Milly snorted. “Very funny, I don’t think.”