Read Online House of a Thousand Screams by R.L. Stine - Free Book Online

act!
    â€œÂ â€˜Take care of the little people,’ ” I murmured.
    â€œHuh?” Freddy asked.
    â€œWhat Uncle Solly used to say. ‘Take care of the little people and you’re set for life.’ He was trying to tell us, Freddy,” I said slowly. “The poltergeists—they must be the little people he meant. Uncle Solly knew we’d move to this house someday when he was gone.”
    â€œYou mean he wanted us to make friends with the poltergeists?” Freddy demanded.
    I nodded. My mind was working on overdrive.
    Maybe we’d been wrong about this whole thing from the beginning. Maybe the hairy little men weren’t poltergeists at all! After all, a poltergeist is a kind of ghost, right? These creatures didn’t seem like ghosts to me. Magic, yes. Spirits—no. These little guys were very much alive.
    This changed everything. If we were right about who the little people were—and if we could make friends with them—we wouldn’t have to be afraid. Mom could keep her house. We could all stay here together!
    Then I noticed a long, thin stream of mist. It leaked upward from the tiny crack between two floorboards.The stream wavered, swelled. Then it formed into the shape of a little man!
    One by one, they appeared around us. One slipped like slime from a wall plug. It slopped out in a pool on the floor. The head and then the shoulders and finally the rest of the creature emerged from the pool. This one had red hair with black speckles.
    Another shot like a laser beam from the light switch. It bounced around the room. Then it stopped suddenly. A fresh, whole creature balanced on the edge of our popcorn bowl. Its gaze was glued to the television screen.
    â€œFreddy,” I whispered. “They’re here.”
    Soon there were dozens of them in the room. They perched on lamps and chairs and tables, all watching the videotape with sad expressions on their tiny faces.
    Freddy and I took turns watching them through the glasses. They paid no attention to us at all.
    Then they started making those noises again. Peeps, peeps, peeeeps. This time though, they sounded different to us.
    â€œI—I think they’re crying,” Freddy whispered.
    â€œMe too,” I agreed. “They must miss Uncle Solly.”
    â€œMaybe they don’t understand why he’s gone,” Freddy said.
    â€œMaybe.” That gave me an idea. “And maybe that’s why they’ve been so mean to us! They think we’re intruders.”
    How could we make friends with them?
    Then I got another idea.
    â€œFreddy,” I whispered. “Go get your magic stuff. Put on your cape and your top hat. Then bring your tricks back down here.”
    â€œWhy?” Freddy asked. Then his eyes lit up. “Oh, I get it.”
    He slipped quietly out of the room. I heard him running up the stairs to his room. The creatures were so wrapped up in Uncle Solly’s video, they didn’t even seem to notice.
    I was alone. Surrounded by little people. The hair rose all over my arms and legs. “Hurry, Freddy,” I whispered through clenched teeth.
    Nervously I grabbed an Oreo off the tray. I wasn’t even hungry. It was more like I wanted something to do.
    I heard a curious peeps in my ear.
    My gaze slid to the side. I caught my breath. There was a tiny man on my shoulder! It was the zebra-striped one I’d noticed earlier.
    He stared curiously at my cookie. He didn’t seem threatening. I held the cookie up for him to inspect.
    The creature blinked rapidly. Then he poked his tubelike mouth into the cookie and began slurping the filling out of the center.
    He didn’t stop until all the creamy filling was gone. Then he sat back and starting peepsing happily. Hislittle eyes gleamed. But for some reason they didn’t scare me anymore.
    My heart beat fast. We could make friends with them!
    Freddy stepped into the den, decked out in his magician’s