The Howler by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

gray box. “It picks up howls? And you can hear the ghosts talk?”
    “You can talk to them too,” I said. “You just push this red button and speak into that circle.”
    “Your house is haunted, right?” Vanessa said. “That’s what you’ve been telling everyone. You’ve seen the ghosts walking around. So the Howler should work right away.”
    Scott hesitated. His mouth started to twitch nervously. “Well…I don’t know. My ghosts don’t come out in the daytime. Only at night.”
    He’s looking for an excuse, I thought. He doesn’t want us to use the Howler here. Because he doesn’t want us to prove that there are no ghosts in this house.
    “Maybe you can’t see them in the daytime,” I said. “But with the Howler, we can hear them.”
    “No. I don’t think so,” Scott insisted. “I don’t want to bother them with that thing. You know. Why get them stirred up?”
    “It won’t bother them,” I replied. “It—”
    “Besides, I have too much homework,” Scott said. “You guys should go. I really have to get started on it.”
    “But you weren’t in school today,” Vanessa said. “You don’t have the homework assignments.”
    Scott started to look desperate. His mouth was twitching, and his face was bright red. He really didn’t want us to prove what a fake he was.
    I jumped to my feet and started to carry the Howler to the stairs. “Come on. Let’s take it up to the attic and listen to these ghosts of yours.”
    Scott hurried to block my way. “Uh…that thing—it’s not really real—right? It’s a toy, like the other junk you bought?”
    “I told you, this one works,” I said. “You’ll be surprised. I think you’ll really be surprised.”

20
    Carrying the Howler in front of me, I led the way up the stairs. Scott pulled down the door in the ceiling, and we marched up to the attic.
    The afternoon sun was lowering in the sky. Pale light washed in from the single window. Long shadows stretched across the cluttered floor.
    “Wow. Nice attic,” Ed said, glancing around. “It looks kind of haunted.”
    Scott didn’t say anything.
    I made my way across the room. “There’s a plug over by the closet,” I said. “We can plug the Howler in there.”
    Vanessa pulled a carton up beside the closet, and I set the box down on it. Then I reached behind the carton to plug the Howler in.
    I squatted down on the floor in front of it and clicked it on. Vanessa, Ed, and Scott huddled behind me.
    I glanced behind me and caught the tense expression on Scott’s face.
    I was enjoying our little joke already, even though it was just beginning. As I stared at the yellow dial, it was all I could do to keep from bursting out laughing.
    Vanessa and Ed were also having trouble keeping straight faces. I could see they were really enjoying our little joke too.
    “What’s happening?” Scott asked nervously. “Is it on? What does it do now?”
    “It’s warming up,” I replied. “You just have to wait and listen carefully. If there are any ghosts nearby, and if they’re making any sounds, the Howler will pick them up.”
    “But—maybe my ghosts are silent,” Scott said. “Maybe they don’t howl. I think they probably sleep during the day.”
    “Do ghosts sleep?” Ed asked. “They’re not alive, right? So why do they have to sleep?”
    “Shhh.” I raised a finger to my lips. I leaned closer to the gray box.
    “I—I think I hear something,” Vanessa said loudly.
    That was Justin’s cue to start making ghost sounds from the closet.
    We all grew silent. Somewhere down the block, a car was honking its horn. The only other sounds were Scott’s wheezing, rapid breaths right behind me.
    A few seconds went by. We huddled there in front of the little machine, frozen, staring straight ahead, listening. And then…
    Owoooooooooooo .
    Soft. So very faint. Almost like a breath.
    Scott gasped. “Did you hear that?”
    I nodded solemnly. “The Howler is picking up something.” I raised my