Don't Forget Me! (13 page)

“Tell me again about how you hypnotized me,” Peter said, stacking comic books on a shelf.

“I
didn't
hypnotize you,” I answered. “I only thought I did. I thought everything was my fault. But it was never me. It was the evil in this house. But we defeated this house. Thank goodness we defeated it!”

Peter thought about it a while. “I just don't understand how—” he started.

But Mom interrupted, calling from downstairs. “Addie is here!”

I pushed a carton away and hurried down to meet her. “Hi! I'm so glad to see you!” I cried.

She laughed. “Well … I'm glad too!”

I led her into the living room.

“Everything is back to normal,” I told her. “My brother is perfectly fine. And I'm okay. And everything is great! I'm just so
happy
!”

Addie let out a relieved sigh. “I'm so glad to hear it, Brittany. I was so worried about you.”

I stared at her. “Excuse me? What did you call me?”

She stared back at me. “Brittany, of course.”

My brother poked his head into the room. “Hi, Addie. What's up?”

She grinned at him. “What's up with you, Craig?”

I gasped and grabbed Addie by the shoulder. “What did you call him? Craig? You called us Brittany and Craig?”

Addie frowned. “Of course. What's your problem, Brittany? I should know your names, shouldn't I? I've known you two ever since you moved here with your aunt and uncle.”

My mouth dropped open. I gaped at her in horror.

Addie laughed. “Come on. You didn't
really
forget your own names! You're joking, right?
Right
?”

 

Go Deeper Into This Nightmare…

Soon after Danielle Warner moves into her strange new house, a place they call Forget-Me House, she hypnotizes her brother Peter. Just a joke, but the joke turns into a nightmare when Peter isn't able to come out of his trance.

As Danielle watches in horror, her brother seems to be forgetting everything, including who she is. It doesn't take Danielle long to realize that Peter is in terrible danger—especially after what she sees in the basement of her house!

Is the hypnosis causing Peter's horrifying behavior—or is it something about Forget-Me House?

Forget-Me House

No one is sure where Forget-Me House is. Alex P. from Silver Springs, Maryland swears his friend knew someone who lived in the house and that it was definitely located in Maryland. Others claim that it's in Vermont not far from Burlington.

But all accounts including Danielle Warner's share certain similarities. “First you start to forget,” Alex P. explains, “and then everyone forgets you.” Here's Eloise G.'s description: “It's like a big eraser. First the eraser erases what's inside your head and then it starts erasing you.” See Chapter 17 of
DON'T FORGET ME!
for Danielle's description.

Probably the creepiest part of Danielle's story is the slimy substance that surrounds the Forgotten Ones. R.L Stine says it's clear and is like that gross jelly that surrounds a ham that comes out of a can. This matches other descriptions of a substance known as ectoplasm. In the movie
Ghostbusters
, ectoplasm was the gooey stuff the ghosts threw at people. But the term is much older. It goes back to the late 1800's. In those days people were very interested in trying to get in touch with ghosts and spirits, and there were many mediums to help them. Mediums were people who claimed that they could speak to the spirits. One very famous medium R.L. Stine read about used to make slimy goo come out of her nose and mouth. Then as the spectators gasped in amazement, the goo, which was called ectoplasm, would form into a shape that looked like a human arm or other body part.

Is ectoplasm the stuff that Danielle saw? She doesn't know, and she added: “I don't want to think about it. If you saw it, you'd want to forget it too.”

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is real, not a fake. Through hypnosis, it is possible to put people into a trancelike state, where they will be very suggestible—in other words, they will do what the hypnotist tells them to do. Hypnosis is used to help people quit smoking or get over fears. It is sometimes used to ease pain. Hypnosis is also used to help people remember things from their past—and it can also be used to make people forget.

There are many false ideas about hypnosis. Here are some key facts:

> People are not asleep when they are hypnotized. They are awake and hear what is going on.

> Not everybody can be hypnotized, but nearly all children can be.

> Hypnotized people will not commit crimes or do things that are totally against their beliefs.

Many people claim that through hypnosis, they can make contact with ghosts and spirits. Mediums—people who attempt to talk to spirits—usually go into a trancelike or hypnotic state before they make contact with the spirits. Is that what happened to Peter Warner in
DON'T FORGET ME!?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

R.L. STINE says he has a great job. “My job is to give kids the CREEPS!” With his scary books, R.L. has terrified kids all over the world. He has sold over 300 million books, making him the best-selling children's author in history.

These days, R.L. is dishing out new frights in his series THE NIGHTMARE ROOM. When he isn't working, he likes to read old mysteries, watch
SpongeBob Squarepants
on TV, and take his dog, Nadine, for long walks around New York City, where he lives with his wife, Jane, and son, Matthew.

“I love taking my readers to scary places,” R.L. says. “Do you know the scariest place of all? It's your MIND!”

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author

 

Take a look at what's ahead in

THE NIGHTMARE ROOM #2
Locker 13

I changed into my street clothes. I made my way upstairs to stop at my locker.
Locker 13
.

Basketball practice had run so late, the halls were empty. My shoes clonked noisily on the hard floor. Most of the lights had already been turned off.

This school is creepy when it's empty, I decided. I stopped in front of my locker, feeling a chill at the back of my neck.

I always felt a little weirded-out in front of the locker. For one thing, it wasn't with the other seventh-grade lockers. It was down at the end of the back hall, by itself, just past a janitor's supply closet.

Up and down the hall, all the other lockers had been painted over the summer. They were all a smooth, silvery gray. But no one had touched locker 13. The old, green paint was peeling and had large patches scraped off. Deep scratches criss-crossed up and down the door.

The locker smelled damp. And sour. As if it had once been filled with rotting leaves or dead fish or something.

That's okay, I can deal with this, I told myself.

I took a deep breath. New attitude, Luke. New attitude. Your luck is going to change.

I opened my backpack and pulled out a fat black marker. Then I closed the locker door. And right above the number 13, I wrote the word LUCKY in big, bold capital letters.

I stepped back to admire my work: LUCKY 13.

“Yessss!” I felt better already.

I shoved the black marker into my backpack and started to zip it up. And that's when I heard the breathing.

Soft, soft breaths. So soft, I thought I imagined them. From inside the locker?

I crept closer and pressed my ear against the locker door.

I heard a soft hiss. Then more breathing.

The backpack slipped out of my hands and thudded to the floor. I froze.

And heard another soft hiss inside the locker. It ended in a short cry.

The back of my neck prickled. My breath caught in my throat.

Without realizing it, my hand had gripped the locker handle.

Should I open the door? Should I?

My hand tightened on the handle. I forced myself to start breathing again.

I'm imagining this, I told myself.

There can't be anyone breathing inside my locker.

I lifted the handle. Pulled open the door.

“Hey—!” I cried out in shock. And stared down at a black cat.

The cat gazed up at me, its eyes red in the dim hall light. The black fur stood up on its back. It pulled back its lips and hissed again.

A black cat?

A black cat inside my locker?

I'm imagining this, I thought. I blinked hard, trying to blink the cat away.

A black cat inside locker 13? Could there be any
worse
luck?

“How—how did you get in there?” I choked out.

The cat hissed again and arched its back. It gazed up at me coldly.

Then it leapt from the locker floor. It darted over my shoes, down the hall. Running rapidly, silently. Head down, tail straight up, it turned the first corner, and disappeared.

I stared after it, my heart pounding. I could still feel its furry body brushing against my leg. I realized I was still gripping the locker handle.

My head spun with questions. How long had the cat been in there? How did it get inside the locked door? Why was there a black cat in my locker? Why?

I turned and checked out the floor of the locker. Just to make sure there weren't any other creatures hiding in there. Then, still feeling confused, I closed the door carefully, locked it, and stepped back.

LUCKY 13.

The black letters appeared to glow.

“Yeah. Lucky,” I muttered, picking up my backpack. “Real lucky. A black cat in my locker.”

I held my lucky rabbit's foot and squeezed it tightly all the way home.

Things are going to change, I told myself. Things have
got
to change….

But in the next few weeks, my luck didn't change at all.

One day after school, I was on my way to the computer lab when I ran into Hannah. “Where are you going?” she asked. “Want to come watch my basketball game?”

“I can't,” I replied. “I promised to install some new modems for Mrs. Coffey, the computer teacher.”

“Mister Computer Geek strikes again!” she said. She started jogging toward the gym.

I made my way into the computer lab and waved to Mrs. Coffey. She was hunched over her desk, sorting through a tall stack of disks. “Hey, how's it going?” she called.

The computer lab is my second home. Ever since Mrs. Coffey learned that I can repair computers, and upgrade them, and install things in them, I've been her favorite student.

And I have to admit, I really like her too. Whenever I don't have basketball practice, I check in at the computer lab to talk with her and see what needs to be fixed.

“Luke, how is your animation project coming along?” she asked, setting down the disks. She brushed back her blond hair. She has the nicest smile. Everyone likes her because she always seems to enjoy her classes so much.

“I'm almost ready to show it to you,” I said. I sat down in front of a computer and started to remove the back. “I think it's really cool. And it's going much faster now. I found a new way to move pixels around.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“It's a very cool invention,” I said, carefully sliding the insides from the computer. “The program is pretty simple. I think a lot of animators might like it.”

“Luke … I have some big news,” she said suddenly. I turned and caught the excited smile on her face. “You're the first person to hear it. Can you keep a secret?”

“Yeah. Okay,” I said.

“I just got the most wonderful job! At a really big software company in Chicago. I'm leaving school next week!”

The next afternoon, I couldn't check in at the computer lab. I had to hurry to the swimming pool behind the gym.

Swimming is my other big sport. I spent all last summer working with an instructor at our local pool. He was fast enough to make the Olympic try-outs a few years ago. And he really improved my stroke and showed me a lot of secrets for getting my speed up.

So I looked forward to the try-outs for the Squires swim team. I couldn't wear my lucky swimsuit because it didn't fit anymore. But I wore my lucky shirt to school that day. And as I changed for the pool, I silently counted to seven three times.

As I left the locker room, I heard shouts and laughter echoing off the tile pool walls. Feeling my heart start to race, I stepped into the steamy air of the indoor pool. The floor was puddled with warm water. I inhaled the sharp chlorine smell. I love that smell!

Then I bent down and kissed the top of the diving board. I know. It sounds weird. But it's just something I always do.

I turned to the pool. Three or four guys were already in the water. At the shallow end, I saw Stretch. He was violently splashing two other guys. He had them cornered at the end of the pool. His big hands slapped the water, sending up tall waves over them. They pleaded with him to give them a break.

Coach Swanson blew his whistle, then shouted for Stretch to cut the horseplay. Stretch gave the two guys one more vicious splash.

Then he turned and saw me. “Hey, Champ—” he shouted, his voice booming off the tiles. “You're early. Drowning lessons are
next
week! Ha ha! Nice swim trunks. Are those your
girlfriend's
? Ha ha!”

A few other guys laughed too.

I decided to ignore them. I was feeling pretty confident. About twenty guys were trying out. I knew there were only six spots open on the team. But after all my work last summer, I thought I could make the top six.

Coach Swanson made us all climb out and line up at the deep end of the pool.

“Okay, guys, I've got to get to my night job by five, so we're going to keep this simple,” the coach announced. “You have one chance. One chance only. You hear the whistle, you do a speed dive into the pool. You do two complete laps, any stroke you want. I'll take the first six guys. And two alternates. Any questions?”

There weren't any.