by RL Stine
But then you find out the mummy is alive! And he wants more than just his diary back …
He wants your BODY! And you’ve got to find a way to stop him!
There are clues in the diary to help you. But first you’ll have to decode ancient hieroglyphic writing. Or journey to the pyramids in Egypt.
Can you unlock the secrets of the mad mummy’s diary before he gets you under wraps?
This 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 the revenge of the mad mummy. You may even find his burial chamber filled with golden treasures! If you make the wrong choice … BEWARE!
SO TAKE A LONG, DEEP BREATH, CROSS YOUR FINGERS, AND TURN TO PAGE 1 NOW TO GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!
“Welcome to San Francisco,” the tour guide says. Her voice echoes in the marble lobby of the office building. “This is the famous Pyramid Building — the city’s most famous skyscraper.”
“When do we get to see the mummy?” your five-year-old sister whines at your side.
You cringe and squeeze Susie’s hand. You wish you didn’t have to drag her around. But taking care of her is always your job on family vacations.
Oh, well, you think. Who cares? This is going to be the best vacation ever. You and your family are staying in a hotel in downtown San Francisco. You have a view of the whole city from your window — including the tall, spindly Pyramid Building just a few blocks away. And this month, there’s a display of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the lobby. Including a real mummy! You can’t wait to check it out!
“I want the mummy!” Susie whines again.
“I want my mummy! I want my mummy!” your older brother, Derek, chants, imitating Susie’s babyish voice.
You laugh at Derek’s joke. Then you whisper to Susie, “We’ll see it as soon as that tour group gets out of the way.”
You peer through the crowd at the mummy in his glass case.
Hey! Did the mummy just move?
Turn to PAGE 2.
Your heart starts pounding. It can’t be! But you know you just saw the mummy’s arm move!
Didn’t anyone else see it?
You stare hard at the brightly lit display cases in the middle of the lobby. A tour group crowds around the glass, blocking your view. So you stand on your tiptoes. Under a pinkish halogen light, you can see an ancient bandaged mummy lying in a beautiful, gold-painted wooden box.
It’s the first mummy you’ve ever seen. A king from more than four thousand years ago.
A dead person.
Something about it gives you the creeps.
The tour group moves away, and the lobby clears. “Come on!” Susie squeals, pulling you toward the mummy case. A strange chill runs up your spine as you step closer.
You gaze at the mummy’s face and shudder. It is hideous. Part of his face is still wrapped up — but part of it isn’t. You can see his dried, leathery skin stretched tightly over his shrunken, bony nose.
You back away — and your foot bumps into something on the floor.
Turn to PAGE 3.
You glance down to see what you’ve kicked.
“Hey — look!” you cry out softly.
But no one is listening. The tour group scattered. Susie has let go of your hand. She’s pressing her nose to the glass in front of the wooden mummy case. As usual, your fourteen-year-old brother, Derek, is acting as if he doesn’t know any of you. He’s talking to some kids by the door. Your parents examine another display case.
No one notices what you’ve found on the floor. You pick it up. It’s a small clump of folded pages tied together at the edge with dried grass. It looks like some kind of ancient book.
You open it carefully. The pages seem as if they might crumble in your hands. You peer at the squiggly markings on the page. To your surprise you recognize words … They’re in English! The handwriting is hard to read, but finally you figure out what it says:
“This is the first day in my tomb. I am wrapped so tightly that I fear I may never breathe again. The bandages that preserve me are a prison. I am a king, yet they have brought me here, drained me of my blood, and bound me with bandages. Against my will! Stop! I beg them. Do not do this horrible thing! I am not dead! I am alive!”
Keep reading on PAGE 4.
Your mouth drops open as you flip through the ancient pages. Could this be a diary of some kind? A mummy’s diary? Written four thousand years ago?
But why isn’t it ancient hieroglyphics? How can it be in English?
This is weird. Definitely weird. But somehow, in your heart, you know the diary is real. Every word of it is true.
You glance around again. No one notices you. You turn to another page and read on.
“I am embalmed alive. Me. The pharaoh. The king! And why? For one reason only. Because, upon my neck, I bear a strange birthmark — a red stain in a strange shape that frightens my people. They think it is a sign of evil.
“Even I am not sure what it means. Does it really mean I am evil? Could I actually hurt people? Am I mad?”
Your hands tremble as you flip to another page and read on.
“Each night my spirit walks the earth. For centuries. Each night my spirit writes this diary. But now, at last, my chance has come. Tonight, my body will walk the earth! Tonight, here in this strangest of all pyramids, I will escape my prison!”
Turn to PAGE 9.
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.
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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, February 1996
e-ISBN 978-0-545-84104-7