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Contents
A Horror Party
5
Our Neighbours' House
9
Spy in the Back Garden
T6
Our Neighbours
20
An Invitation to a Pafiy
26
Where Is Tiny?
29
A Strange Family
-JJ
The Guests Are Here
37
Glossary
43
A Horror Party
The big knife moves towards the head as
quick as lightning. The hand moves the
'weapon with a firm grip.
The 'devilish smile becomes an 'evil
grin. And the empty eyes stare blindly.
The knife cuts into the head again and
again. The strong hand that holds it does
not stop.
Finally, it is over.
The knife is 'stained.
Next to the head lie the'insides. Some
of them have spilled onto the floor.
Big yellow blobs.
The cat stares 'terrified at the 'horrible
'mess on the table.
4
5
I
"It's going to look so good, Harry,"
my mum says.
Dad wipes the sweat off his 'forehead
and smiles.
He puts the knife on the table and
looks at me.
"What do you think, Lucy? Is it
okay?"
"It looks cool," I say.
I pick up my cat. She does not think
it looks cool.
Dad is proud of his work.
He has rolled up his 'sleeves and taken
off his 'tie.
Normally he is not very practical. When
he comes home from work, all he wants
to do is to relax and read his newspaper.
Or watch television.
But yesterday Mum brought home a
very big'pumpkin. It was gigantic.
She said that on Friday we are going
to'celebrate'Halloween and have a horror
party.
She is going to cook some delicious
food for us.
6
I
Our Neighbours'
Normally we do not celebrate Halloween
because Dad thinks it is silly.
I wanted to cut the pumpkin head myself. But when Dad saw me taking the big
knife, he got nervous.
"I don't want you to cut your fingers
off," he said.
House
We live in a'boring area.
The houses look alike, except that they
are either built of red or yellow bricks.
Everybody goes to work in the morning and comes home late in the afternoon.
When I get home from school, it is so
Parents are like that sometimes. They are
too nervous. As if they never hurt themselves.
So Dad made the pumpkin face himself.
And it does look cool.
We are going to place it outside
quiet.
the
house.
I
really hope that the postman or
someone else gets 'scared and runs away
'screaming.
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Nothing exciting ever happens here.
Only the house next to ours is different. It is built of wood. It must be a lot
older than the other houses.
You can see a broken 'rocking chair
on the veranda.
All the windows are broken, and the
roof is about to 'fall in.
It is a very scary house.
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I have been over there a couple of
But yesterday something new hap-
times.
pened.
Dad says that I am not'allowed to.
He thinks that it is 'dangerous. But I
know how to take care of myself.
I am not afraid of 'ghosts.
There was nothing to see anyway.
There were'spider's webs hanging everywhere, and it was so dirty.
Somebody moved into the house.
There was no'removal van or anything
like that.
Last night Mum saw a light coming
from the windows.
"You have to go and see what it is,
Haffy," she said to Dad.
Once I was over there, I heard something
make a noise. That scared me.
But after a while I saw a little mouse
run across the floor.
So I calmed down again.
Mice are horrible, but they are not
scary.
Next time I'sneaked over there, I took
Tiny with me.
Tiny is my cat. She never gets scared.
Even if she did not like the pumpkin.
t2
"You shouldn't put your nose in other
people's business," Dad said reading his
move.
They think that it's nice and quiet
newspaper.
"But what
if they're 'thieves?" I said.
"We have to do something," Mum
said.
And then she began watching
But Mum and Dad do not want to
the
house.
here.
So-o boring, that is what I think.
I want someone to play with.
Tiny is alright, but she can not talk,
can she?
The light did not go away. Nothing else
happened.
Mum and Dad agreed that somebody
must be moving in.
"But that's strange," Dad said. "Who
would want to live in that ruin?"
could not sleep when I went to bed. I
lay awake most of the night and thought
about who our new neighbours might be.
Maybe they had children.
Because only old people live in this
atea. And me, of course.
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t4
15
Spy in the
Back Garden
After Dad has finished the pumpkin, I ask
Mum if I can go next door and meet the
new neighbours. Just to welcome them,
I say.
"Of
course you can, Lucy. That's
very nice of you. But make sure to be
'polite."
I promise and run out of the door.
"And make sure your clothes don't get
dirty!" Mum shouts.
It is so typical of Mum to say that.
I think she would say the same if I ran
away from home and never came back.
It is raining hard, and the wind is
You would think we were in the
'countryside, because it is so dark.
I have taken Tiny with me.
I walk out to the'pavement and make
sure that Mum and Dad see me go the
right way.
Then I sneak back into our own back
garden.
In the back there is an opening in the
'hedge, so I can crawl into the neighbours'
garden. That is the way I usually go.
Before I meet the new neighbours,
\
want to have a look around.
You can never be too sure!
I
I creep to the back of the house.
There is a'faint light coming from the
two windows.
You can always see a blue'glow from
people's televisions in our street in the
evening.
There is no blue glow here.
'howling.
16
11
Spy in the
Back Garden
After Dad has finished the pumpkin, I ask
Mum if I can go next door and meet the
new neighbours. Just to welcome them,
I
say.
"Of
course You can, LucY. That's
very nice of you. But make sure to be
'polite."
I promise and run out of the door.
"And make sure your clothes don't get
dirty!" Mum shouts.
It is so typical of Mum to saY that.
I think she would say the same if I ran
away from home and never came back.
It is raining hard, and the wind is
You would think we were in
the
'countryside, bdcause it is so dark.
I have taken Tiny with me.
I walk out to the'pavement and make
sure that Mum and Dad see me go the
right way.
Then I sneak back into our own back
garden.
In the back there is an opening in the
'hedge, so I can crawl into the neighbours'
garden. That is the way I usually go.
Before I meet the new neighbours,
\
want to have a look
You can never be too sure!
I
around.
I creep to the back of the house.
There is a'faint light coming from the
two windows.
You can always see a blue'glow from
people's televisions in our street in the
evening.
There is no blue glow here.
'howling.
16
t7
A'chill
Thefor
sale-sign is still up. And there
is no car in front of the house. Not even a
bike.
Tiny is upset.
At first she will not even come into
the garden. And she'hisses when we get
close to the house.
I try to make her be quiet. We do not
want to get caught.
I creep over to a window.
There is no light. But I can just make
out some candles inside the house.
There are some old'boards from the
house lying in the garden.
I put a couple of them under the window, so I can look inside.
But I still can not see what is going
on.
A big man is standing with his back
towards me.
He is holding something in his hand.
Something that looks like a head!
l8
runs
down my 'spine ...
He puts it on the
table.
There is no
blood, so maybe it is
a mask?
I
I
!
Then I hear the man
say, "Nice to be
myself again."
"Yes, darling,"
says a voice from a
person, I can not see.
But it sounds like a
woman.
I have no idea
what they are talking
about.
I have to stand
on my toes to see.
But then there is
a loud 'crack ...
Our Neighbours
The old boards have broken !
I am lying on the ground.
Just as I fall I hear a sound behind me.
It sounds like someone is creeping up on
me.
I look up.
A boy is standing there. He is probably
a couple of years older than me.
"Hi," I say. "I'm Lucy. I live next
door."
I smile at him and I reach out.
"Could you give me a hand?" I say.
But his hand comes off with a 'pop,
and there I am with his hand in mine!
I look at him'horrified.
He looks just as horrified.
Then he quickly says,
"Erm ..., funny trick, isn't it?"
I'relax and get up.
20
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I look
a'fake. It
at the hand. I can see that it is
looks too 'coarse and spotty to
be real.
It is also too cold.
I throw it away.
"That was funny. Was that a trick, too,
with the mask in the living room?"
"Mask?" He looks'confused.
I hold out my hand.
"Well, I'm Lucy."
For some reason he keeps hiding his
right hand behind his back.
This is becoming a bit scary.
"Where are you from?" I say to make
him relax.
He looks scared over my shoulder.
I turn around.
In front of me is the biggest man I
have ever seen.
He is a lot bigger than my dad, and he
has a beard.
22
He looks a bit like the old men on the
'bench in front of the mini-market.
The men that always sit around drinking.
His clothes are very dirty. But the
worst thing is his face. It looks exactly
like the mask I saw in the living room.
"This is my dad," the boy says.
At first the man looks angry.
Then he steps up to me and puts his
arm around me.
I try to'escape, but it is impossible.
He iust pulls me closer to him.
"Well, hello, hello," he says.
He smells like 'mould and rotten
eggs!
He is smiling. His'crooked, yellow teeth
light up in the dark.
The smell from his mouth is even
worse. He smells like a wet dog.
23
"How nice to have
want to come ln?"
a
visitor! Don't you
I'swallow.
Then I 'duck and escape from his
arm.
"I
have to go now,"
I say. "If I'm not
home on time, my mum will begin to
worry."
"I'11 see you later," I say to the boy
and run home.
Suddenly, I realise that Tiny is gone.
Maybe she got scared when I fell and
has run home. But it is not like her to get
scared.
25
An Invitation to
a Party
The next night we are having soup.
'Cauliflower soup!
Mum is on one of her many diets, and
we have to'suffer.
A slim mind in a slim body, is what
she always says.
tastes like 'vomit and looks like
'brains boiled to a'mash.
That is what I said last time we had it.
"Out!" Dad said. "If you don't like
the food, you might as well go to bed
hungry."
As if that is supposed to be a punishment. But right now I have other things
on my mind.
It
I try to swallow the food without
tasting it.
"I think our new neighbours are'rather
poor," I say.
26
"Why do you think that?" Dad says.
"They don't have electricity. They
use candles. And I don't think they have
money for new clothes."
"Are they dirty?" Mum says
nervously.
Dad gets so shocked that he drops his
spoon into the soup.
2l
He wants everything to look nice and
clean.
A
clean mind
Where Is Tiny?
in a clean body, he
always says.
Just the thought of 'messy neighbours
makes him feel bad.
"I
think they're very poor," I say.
"Can't we invite them to our Halloween
party tomorrow night?"
Mum looks at Dad.
"I
don't think they have money for
parties," I say. "And there are no other
children in this neighbourhood."
"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad
idea?" Mum says.
"At least it's a beautiful thought," Dad
says. "You go ahead and do that."
Dad likes to do good things.
28
As soon as we have finished eating, I run
to my room.
Tiny still has not come home.
The last time I saw her was at the
neighbours'. But she has been gone before
for a couple of days, so I am not nervous
about her. Not very much anyway.
I am busy 'preparing for the party
tomorrow night.
There will just be us and maybe our new
neighbours.
I have made Mum and Dad promise
to dress up.
But first I want to write an invitation
for the neighbours.
29
of white 'cardboard, and
Dad uses a candle to burn the edges.
That makes it look really old.
Then I find a red pen and write the
invitation. It looks like it has been written
in blood!
I find
a piece
Would you like to
'celebrate Halloween
with us in no 32?
Yow mwst be dressed
like ghosts,
monsters or zombies.
Come oyer on
Friday at 6 p.m.
and have a feast!
Then I sneak over there and put the letter
outside the door. There is no'letter slit in
the door.
I knock on the door and hurry away.
Then I see something on the ground.
It is a leathercollar.
I look at it carefully.
It is Tiny's collar!
30
3l
Has anything happened to her?
Or did she just lose it?
I huny away before the door
A Strange Family
opens.
When
I get home from school the next
day, I take out my costume.
I am going to be Frankenstein's
monster.
Mum has made a round hat with
'screws on the sides.
When Mum paints my face greY and
green, it looks really scary.
Mum has found an old black'cape, and
she is going to be a vampire.
I am sure we will look very friendly!
Dad hates to dress up, but this time he
will.
He is going to be a clown.
He has a red nose and a clown costume
that he wore once a long time ago.
32
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iVlum is busy getting everything rezrdy
for" the party. She runs around while she
cooks.
In the triving rooffl there is a bowl with
a drink made frorn blood oranges!
Dacl has put a candle in the pumpkin
head that he rnade the other day.
It is outside in front of the house.
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I go outside to look at it.
It looks really scary in the dark.
But it is raining, so I go back inside.
I sit by the window and look outside.
I wish something would
happen soon.
"When are they coming?" Dad says.
"They'll be here any minute now,"
Mum says and puts a bowl of salad on
the table. "I've really done my best. I am
sure they haven't had food as tasty as this
before."
Outside a storm is coming up.
The wind is howling, and the candle
in the pumpkin'flickers. As the thunder
'rumbles, the candle goes out.
Just as I am going out to light rt again,
Dad says, "I think they're coming."
He opens the door.
A cold wind blows through the house,
and the blood freezes in mv 'veins ...
36
The Guests Are Here
Four people are standing on the steps.
They are all smiling.
The man and the boy are standing on
the left.
On the right is a woman. It must have
been her that I heard in the house.
There is also a girl that I have not seen
before.
They look tenible!
Their clothes are in'rags.
The clothes do not just look old.
They look as if they have been'buried
for many years.
Their skin is not just dirty.
Their skin is half-rotten and full of
brown spots.
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And it is not just the clothes that have
been buried f6r many years!
Dad smiles nervously.
"Why don't you all come in where it's
warm!"
All four of them come in, and a terrible
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smell spreads through the living room. At
first it is kind of sweet. But then a smell
of rotten eggs takes over.
I can see that Mum and Dad smell it.
too.
Mum goes into the kitchen to check if
it is the food that is burning.
Dad opens a window.
But we all know where the smell is
coming from.
It is our guests that smell!
Either
Or it is ...
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it is the perfect make-up ...
I am afraid to even think.
"Lucy,I don't think you've met my
sister?" the boy says.
38
39
It is the first time I notice his .rusty
"What a'delicious man!" she says. "I
voice.
He pushes the girl forward.
I step back.
Mum tries to'hide herfear.
"Such nice costumes you're wearing,"
she says and laughs hysterically.
"Ha,ha, ha," the man laughs.
The laugh loosens some hair from the
top of his head. It falls to the floor, but he
does not notice it.
"Ha, ha, ha," he laughs again. "Nice
costumes! Very funny!"
"Erm ..., the food is ready," Mum says.
"You can have whatever you like."
have you'!"
She grabs his arm. Smiles and licks
her lips.
"You really have a good sense of
humour, don't you, dear neighbours," the
man says.
With a quick pull at the neck he pulls
his face off.
So it was a mask. The thing I saw in
the house. And now we see his real face.
A 'skull !
Now the woman walks up to Dad.
Now, the woman has 'grabbed my Dad
with both hands.
He looks rather nervous.
His red clown nose is just about to turn
'pale.
will
,
"Nice costumes!" he says again.
"Did our son forget to tell you that we
are zombres? Living dead!"
"Junior is sometimes so forgetful," she
says.
Without me noticing, the two children
'have walked up to me.
40
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Now they grab my arms.
"Yummy," they say.
"We love to eat out!"
At last I
understand that this is not a
joke. Our neighbours are not dressed up.
They are zombies!
Man-eating zombies!
We have just invited them to a feast.
And we are the ...
42
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