R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 03 Read Online Free

vampire,” Aaron said. “We’re doing ghosts.”
    I stared at the lid. The wood was smooth and shiny, reflecting the gray light from the window.
    “Open it,” Aaron said. “Go ahead.”
    “Whoa. No way,” I told him. “
You
open it.”
    “I’m holding the camcorder,” he replied. “Ihave to tape what happens. Go ahead. Open the lid.”
    I jammed my hands into my parka pockets. “I don’t think so.”
    Aaron sighed. “Come on, Max. You don’t want to do the history of Paraguay, do you? Open the lid. We’re going to get an A here. I just know it.”
    I stared at the brass handles on the lid. My legs were trembling. My heart pounded in my chest. Paraguay was starting to sound pretty good.
    “Go ahead. I’m taping,” Aaron said.
    I pulled my hands from the parka. I moved closer to the coffin. I reached for the handles.
    Slowly, slowly, I began to pull up the coffin lid. I lifted it an inch … two inches …
    And the lid shot open!
    Without warning, a grinning skeleton leaped up, bones clattering. Before I could move, it stretched out its arms—and made a grab for me.
    I heard Aaron's scream of horror behind me.
    And then my scream rose over his. My trembling legs collapsed.
    And I fell facedown into the coffin!

7
    I LET OUT ANOTHER horrified cry. Somehow I pushed myself up to my knees. Then I scrambled out of the coffin. My heart pounded so hard, my chest hurt. I staggered back, gasping for breath.
    Grinning at me, the skeleton rattled and shook. I saw the deep empty sockets where its eyes had been.
    And then I saw the metal rod holding the skeleton up. And the coiled springs that had made it stand.
    “It … it's a total fake,” I said.
    The skeleton stood still now, arms at its sides, head slumped at an angle.
    “Yeah. It's a jack-in-the-box thing,” Aaron said. “Like in a carnival fun house. I knew it.”
    I spun around. “Oh, right. You knew it? If you knew it, why did you scream?”
    He patted his camcorder. “For the tape. You know. To make it more dramatic. I only screamed for the tape.”
    I still hadn’t caught my breath. “You got it allon tape? Me screaming and falling into the coffin and everything?”
    He laughed. “Yeah. I got it.”
    “Maybe we’ll have to edit that part out,” I said.
    “Yeah, maybe,” Aaron said. “I mean, you’re the class brain, right? Everyone calls you Brainimon because you’re so smart. No one wants to see the smartest kid in the class shaking like a leaf and falling face-first into a coffin—do they?”
    He laughed again. He was enjoying this too much!
    I was thinking hard. If the skeleton was fake, the rest of the eerie sounds must be fake too.
    “I’m outta here,” I said. “This is a big waste of time.”
    I started toward the door. Aaron chased me and grabbed me by the shoulder. “What's the chief export of Paraguay?” he asked. “What's the national flower? How do their elections work?”
    “Okay, okay. I’m staying,” I said.
    We stepped into the hall and found ourselves at a steep stairway that led upstairs. “I know there are ghosts in this house,” Aaron said. “They’re probably hiding in the bedrooms up here.”
    The stairs creaked and groaned under our boots. Part of the railing had broken away. At the top, we faced a long, narrow hall with closed doors on both sides.
    The glass had broken away in the window atthe end of the hall. Flimsy white curtains blew in the breeze, waving to us like ghostly figures.
    I felt a chill. I had a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was warning me that there was
real
danger nearby.
    Aaron and I stepped into the first bedroom. The room was big and cluttered with furniture—a canopy bed, a long dresser, armchairs, and a couch. Everything was covered with dust. The room smelled like stale cigarette smoke.
    Heavy drapes covered the windows. I moved my light along the wall—and stopped at a narrow door. I pulled open the door and peered into another hall. A secret