The Nightmare Room
Full Moon Halloween
R.L. Stine
Contents
1
“Hey—wait up!”
2
A few minutes later Rosa followed Tristan into his house.
3
Tristan’s heart pounded as he watched the black smoke curl…
4
The next morning, Tristan made his way down the aisle…
5
“Some of you may wonder about my name,” Mr. Moon said.
6
On Halloween, a few nights later, Tristan found himself thinking…
7
They picked up Bella and Ray on the way to…
8
“Hey—wait!” Tristan started to run after the vampire. But his…
9
The fire popped and crackled. Mr. Moon stepped into the orange…
10
“You—you’re kidding, right?” Tristan blurted out.
11
“My wife and I will be right back,” Mr. Moon said.
12
It-it’s got me! Tristan struggled beneath the creature, kicking and…
13
Now Tristan recognized the woman’s voice. Angela Moon.
14
“Don’t lose your temper, dear,” Angela said from across the…
15
“I still have my eye on Tristan,” Mr. Moon said. He…
16
Mr. Moon took the plog from Ray. Holding it in front…
17
“You—you really want us to eat that stuff?” Tristan gasped.
18
When he straightened up, Tristan saw Bella choking down a…
19
Mr. Moon and his wife turned to the front hall. “Who…
20
They all gasped as Michael Moon stepped into the light.
21
A dog! Tristan realized.
22
Tristan’s friends all gasped.
23
The liquid felt warm and thick in Tristan’s mouth. He…
24
Tristan and Rosa held their stomachs, groaning in pain.
25
The four kids huddled close together, listening to the chimes…
26
“Stop! Please! Stop!”
27
Tristan dodged to the right.
28
Tristan’s breath caught in his throat. He stared hard at…
29
“No! We’ve got to get homel” Tristan cried.
30
“Meat!” Rosa roared. “I’m soooo hungry!”
31
“Nice costumes,” the red-haired officer said to Rosa and Tristan.
About the Author
Other Books by R.L. Stine
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
Welcome…
Hello, I’m R.L. Stine. Picture a clear, cool October night. Then picture a bright full moon glowing high in the purple-black night sky.
Do you see a boy and girl hurrying down the street? That’s Tristan and his friend Rosa. They are on their way to a Halloween party.
They are also on their way to the most frightening night of their lives.
You see, terrifying things happen when the moon is full on Halloween night. Especially when your Halloween party is being held in…THE NIGHTMARE ROOM.
1
“Hey—wait up!”
Tristan Gottschalk hurried to catch up to his friends. His shoes thudded against the hard floor. The sound echoed down the long, empty hall.
He wrapped his arm around Ray Davidoff’s neck and tightened it into a choke hold. “Come on! WWF Smackdown!”
Ray jerked free of Tristan’s hold. “You don’t have the guts to challenge Stone Cold Ray!” he bellowed. He grabbed Tristan’s arm in an armlock and shoved it up behind Tristan’s back until he screamed.
Wrestling playfully, the two boys slammed into the metal lockers along the wall.
Rosa Martinez pulled Ray off Tristan. “Grow up,” she said. “Let’s just get out of here.”
Bella Chester agreed. “The school is so creepy when everyone is gone. I can’t believe we missed the late bus.”
“It’s dark out already,” Rosa said. “And why do they dim the lights in this school so early?”
Ray laughed. “Big Bad Rosa. Since when are you afraid of the dark?”
Rosa gave him a hard shove. “I told you not to call me that. I’m tall—I’m not big!”
“You’re bigger than me!” Ray cried.
Rosa scowled at him. “Can I help it if you’re a shrimp?”
Tristan laughed. “You’re calling Stone Cold Ray a shrimp? Just because my dog is taller than he is?”
“Hey!” Ray frowned at them both. “I had a growth spurt last month. Dad says I could grow another six inches this year.”
“Why are we talking about this?” Bella asked. “Hear how our voices carry down the hall? Everyone can hear our stupid conversation.”
“But there’s no one here,” Rosa said. “The school is empty. Everyone has gone home.”
“Love the echo,” Ray said. He tossed back his head and let out a long, high animal howl.
Tristan laughed. “The cry of the wolf!” He joined in and they howled together.
“Give us a break,” Bella groaned. She swept back her long, curly red hair. “That’s not funny. Don’t you watch the news on TV? Haven’t you heard about the animal attacks?”
Ray sneered. “You mean you believe that junk about werewolves prowling the town? Those are just rumors. A bunch of really bored people probably made it up.”
“But did you see the two cats that were attacked?” Bella replied. “They were torn apart and eaten. There was nothing left of them but their heads. Two cat heads lying in the dirt with big paw-prints all around.”
“Yuck,” Rosa said, making a face. “Shut up about that.”
“Yeah. You’re making me hungry!” Ray exclaimed.
He and Tristan cupped their hands around their mouths and howled again.
“I can’t believe Mr. Moon kept us after school so long,” Rosa said, ignoring them.
“Yeah. Why did he ask us to help out with his science experiments?” Bella asked. “We’re not the brains in the class.”
“Maybe he likes us,” Rosa said.
“Ha-ha,” Ray replied sarcastically. “You’re kidding—right?”
They stopped at their lockers. Bella dropped some books onto her locker floor. Then she pulled out her black fleece jacket.
“I hate Mr. Moon’s smile,” she said. “It’s like he has five hundred teeth.”
“Mr. Moon looks like a vampire in an old movie,” Rosa said. She pulled a red wool cap down over her short black hair. “With his hair slicked straight back like that. And those heavy eyebrows. And those beady, round eyes.”
Tristan glanced down the hall. “Quiet. He can probably hear every word we’re saying.”
“No way,” Ray said. “I’ll bet you he’s still in the lab, injecting weird things into bird eggs.”
“I think those experiments are kind of cool,” Tristan said. He hiked his backpack over the shoulders of his jean jacket. “I mean, I like the idea of putting strange things in eggs and then seeing what you get.”
“Don’t ever invite me to your house for breakfast!” Rosa exclaimed.
They all laughed.
Rosa always cracked them up.
Ray slapped Rosa a high-five.
They slammed their lockers shut and locked them. Then they made their way through the dimly lit hall to the back exit of the school.
The four of us have been friends for a lon
g time, Tristan thought. But Mr. Moon doesn’t know that. We’re not even in the same science class.
So why did he pick us to help with his experiments today?
They passed an orange-and-black poster about a school Halloween party.
“Wow. Almost Halloween,” Rosa said. “Are we trick-or-treating this year?”
Bella twisted her face, thinking hard. Whenever she did this, her green cat eyes seemed to disappear into her freckles. “I don’t know,” she replied. “Are we too old? How old is too old to trick-or-treat?”
“I think twelve is too old,” Tristan replied. “And we’re all twelve.”
“Who cares?” Ray said. “We still want candy—right? So, that means we’re not too old. We should go out.”
He bumped Bella against the wall. “Unless you’re afraid of the werewolves!”
“I’m not afraid of the werewolves,” Bella said, bumping him back. “But if we go out, it means we need costumes.”
“Why don’t we have a party this year?” Ray asked. “A costume party would be awesome. I’ll put tattoos all over my chest and arms and come as Stone Cold Ray.”
He let out a deafening cheer and wrapped Tristan in a headlock. “You got a problem with that? You got a problem with that?” he barked.
It was his favorite wrestling line. He drove them crazy repeating it all the time. “You got a problem with that?”
Tristan wrestled free. “Yeah, I’ve got a problem with that,” he said.
He smoothed down his wavy straw-colored hair. “If we have a party, there won’t be time to trick-or-treat.”
They were nearly to the door. Through the window, Tristan could see a ghostly pale moon—shimmery and round—still low in the late afternoon sky.
As they started to leave the school building, he glanced back—and gasped when he saw someone behind them.
Someone standing very still against the dark wall, watching them, listening to them.
“Hey—” Tristan muttered to the others. All four of them turned around.
Squinting in the dim light, Tristan recognized the kid. A guy from their class.
Michael Moon, the teacher’s son.
A strange kid. Skinny and dark with Mr. Moon’s slicked-back black hair, tiny round eyes, and a narrow, unpleasant face.
A face like a ferret, Tristan thought.
Michael Moon, who kept to himself and barely ever spoke. Who didn’t seem to have any friends in school.
Leaning against the wall, Michael watched Tristan and his friends with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black jeans.
And then suddenly he straightened.
He raised his hands to his mouth. And he called out two words to them.
Just two words in his high, whispery voice.
Two words that sent a chill down Tristan’s back.
“Be careful.”
2
A few minutes later Rosa followed Tristan into his house. “That kid gives me the creeps,” Rosa said.
Tristan stared at her. “Who? Ray?”
“No, idiot!” Laughing, she gave him a hard shove. “Michael Moon.”
She pulled off her cap and glanced in the hall mirror. Using her fingers, she combed her dark hair. Then she took off her down vest and tossed it onto the bench near the door.
She wore a loose purple sweater over baggy cargo khakis. She took one last glance in the mirror, then turned back to Tristan.
“Be careful? So why do you think Michael Moon said that to us?” she asked.
Tristan shrugged. “Beats me. Was he warning us about something? Or was he threatening us?”
“I—I couldn’t tell,” Rosa replied. “But the way he said it—it really was kind of frightening.”
“I guess.”
Tristan dropped his backpack on the front stairs and made his way to the kitchen. “Mom? Are you home?”
“I’m in the den,” his mother called. “Who are you talking to?”
“Rosa came home with me,” Tristan said. He poked his head into the small den.
Mrs. Gottschalk had the news on the TV and a magazine in her lap. She always did at least two or three things at once. It was a family joke how she couldn’t watch TV without reading and talking on the phone at the same time.
Tristan looked a lot like his mother. Both were tall and thin. He had her curly straw-colored hair. And her round blue eyes and short stubby nose.
She raised the remote and muted the TV sound. “Hi, Rosa. How come you two are so late?”
“Mr. Moon asked us to help with some science experiments,” Tristan answered.
“They were kind of interesting,” Rosa added. “So we lost track of the time.”
“Mr. Moon—isn’t that the new teacher?” his mom said. “I haven’t met him yet.”
“He’s okay,” Rosa said. “A little strange.”
Mrs. Gottschalk raised an eyebrow. “Strange?”
“Yeah, but it’s no big deal,” Tristan said. “We’re starving. Is there anything we can eat?”
His mother frowned at him. “It’s almost dinnertime. Rosa, can you stay for dinner?”
“No. I have to get home,” Rosa replied. “My aunt and uncle are visiting from California, and I have to baby-sit my little cousin.”
Tristan made his way to the kitchen to look for a snack. Rosa followed close behind. “My cousin Benny is an animal,” she said. “He’s four years old, and he still bites.”
Tristan reached into a cabinet for a bag of chocolate chip cookies. “Really? What do you do when he bites you?”
“I bite him back!” Rosa replied.
They both laughed.
Tristan handed Rosa a couple of cookies. Then, he popped a whole one into his own mouth.
Chewing noisily, he began to paw through the stack of mail on the kitchen counter.
He pulled out a square black envelope. The name and address were printed in orange ink. “Hey—this is for me,” he said.
Rosa examined the envelope. “Black and orange? It looks like a Halloween party invitation.”
“Weird,” Tristan said. “We don’t know anyone who’s having a party, do we?”
He tore off the top of the envelope.
The envelope exploded with a loud pop.
Startled, Tristan dropped it to the counter.
And let out a scream as thick black smoke came shooting out.
3
Tristan’s heart pounded as he watched the black smoke curl up from the torn envelope. After a few seconds, it faded away.
Rosa laughed. “Whoa. Someone really wants to get your attention!”
Tristan’s mom came running into the kitchen. “What was that explosion? What happened? I smell smoke!” Her eyes were wide with panic.
“Just a trick envelope,” Tristan said. He picked it up carefully.
Would it explode again?
No. He pulled out a black-and-orange card. “Come to the scariest Halloween party ever!” he read. “You were right, Rosa. It’s a party invitation.”
“Who sent it?” Rosa asked.
Tristan gazed down to the bottom of the card. “I don’t believe this. It’s from Mr. Moon.”
“You’re kidding!” Rosa exclaimed.
“Let me see that,” Tristan’s mom said. She took the card from him and read it carefully. “Well, isn’t that nice? Your teacher is having a Halloween party.”
“Nice?” Tristan asked weakly. “What’s nice about it?”
“It’s horrible,” Rosa groaned. “We don’t want to spend Halloween with a teacher. We want to have fun and hang out with our friends.”
“He’s a new teacher,” Mrs. Gottschalk said. “He wants to get to know you kids.”
Rosa groaned. “I wonder if I got invited, too.”
She picked up the phone and punched in her number. “Mom, hi. It’s me…. Yeah, I’m at Tristan’s. Did I get a black envelope in the mail?”
Rosa groaned again. “I did? Oh. No—don’t open it. Mom, really. Don?
??t open it. I’ll be home in a few minutes.” She clicked off the phone.
“Mr. Moon probably invited all of his students,” Tristan’s mom said. “So it’ll be fun.”
“Thrills and chills,” Tristan said, rolling his eyes.
Rosa shook her head sadly. “Halloween with a teacher,” she said. “This is so not fair. And it’s our last year to trick-or-treat.”
“We’ll probably sit around drinking apple juice and telling really dumb ghost stories,” Tristan said, sighing. “Bor-ring.”
“And we’ll play some babyish games,” Rosa said. “You know. Pin the Tail on the Pumpkin or something.”
Tristan laughed. She always made him laugh.
“You don’t have to stay the whole time,” his mother said.
Tristan turned to her. “Huh? What do you mean?”
“Just stay for a little while. Stay for an hour. You know. To be polite. Then go trick-or-treating with your friends.”
“Cool!” Tristan said.
“Totally cool,” Rosa agreed. “But do you think it’ll be easy to leave the party?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Tristan’s mom replied. “Why would it be a problem?”
Across town, Mr. Moon and his wife, Angela, were preparing their house for the Halloween party.
Mr. Moon wore baggy khakis and a maroon sweatshirt torn at the neck.
His wife was a large woman, with a round pink face surrounded by frizzy blond hair that stuck out in all directions. She wore thick square-shaped glasses that made her gray eyes look as big as silver dollars.
“This is a shabby old house,” Angela said, stretching a streamer of black crepe paper across the living room wall. “What a shame we haven’t had time to fix it up.”