Camp Fear Ghouls Read Free Page B

entry. I turned to see who opened the door.
    There was no one there! Did the door open all by itself?
    No. That was dumb. The door had probably been unlatched all this time. When Amy knocked, it swung open. That’s all.
    Amy led me into a room to the right of the front door. It was brightly lit—and filled with all sorts of cool stuff. A big-screen TV took up one wall. Next to it I saw a VCR, a five-CD player, a Sega, and a Super Nintendo game system and two speaker towers. Big leather couches circled a snack table that was piled high with chips, soda, and cookies.
    â€œAwesome!” I whispered to myself. The inside of this house was nothing like the outside.
    Four girls in uniforms like Amy’s knelt by the snack table, eating. Three others stood by the entertainment system. Three more sat on the couch. One stood by the windows.
    I did a quick count in my head. Eleven girls. And Amy made twelve. Twelve new friends.
    â€œAttention, everybody,” Amy called. “This is Lizzy. She’s our new recruit.”
    All eleven girls turned their heads at the exact same moment. “Hi, Lizzy,” they called.
    Amy walked me around the room, introducing me. There was a red-haired girl named Trudy, and a tall, thin girl named Violet. Priscilla had dark frizzy hair. Lorraine’s was short and blond.
    Pearl, a pretty girl with two long brown braids, stood by the window. All the girls wore red sashes across their uniforms, like Amy. All except Pearl. Hers was purple. Maybe that means she’s some kind of troop leader, I guessed.
    â€œPearl, this is Lizzy,” Amy said, introducing me. “She’s from Waynesbridge.”
    Pearl smiled and stuck out her hand. “Cool. Welcome to my house, Lizzy. And welcome to the troop.”
    â€œThanks,” I replied, clasping her hand.
    â€œUm, where’s your scout leader?” I asked, gazing around the room and back toward the front door.
    â€œOh, that would be Pearl’s mother. She had to run some errands,” Amy explained. “But she left us lots of snacks. Have some, Lizzy.”
    â€œThanks,” I said, eyeing the tortilla chips.
    While I munched on some chips, Amy, Trudy, and Pearl took thick green candles from a cupboard. They passed them out to the rest of the Camp Fear Girls, who lit them.
    Then Trudy flicked out the ceiling light. Pearl moved to the front of our group.
    â€œDidn’t I promise you some scary fun?” Amy whispered, sitting next to me. “It’s story time!”
    I took a quick peek around the room. The green candles must have come from a special horror shop or something. Their light made everyone look spooky.
    Cool, I thought. This was going to be great! Scary stories in a house on Fear Street!
    I turned my attention back to Pearl, who was starting her story.
    â€œSince Lizzy is new here, I will tell the story of the first troop of Camp Fear Girls.” Pearl leaned forward and spoke in an eerie voice. “This story begins almost one hundred years ago. Thirteen girls—a troop of Shadyside scouts called the Camp Fear Girls—decided to go for a camp-out in the Fear Street Woods. Those thirteen girls left home and were never seen again.
    â€œTheir families searched and searched for these thirteen girls, but they were never found.”
    Pearl raised her candle to just below her chin.
    â€œThere are rumors—wild, horrible rumors,” she continued, “that those thirteen scouts were turned into hideous monsters. By who—or what—no one knows.”
    As Pearl spoke, the candle cast strange shadows on the wall.
    One shadow, behind Pearl, seemed larger than the others. I fixed my eyes on it. The shadow seemed to have a head. And sharp teeth. And claws!
    A monster!
    I blinked. The shadow was just a black blob again.
    Wow! I was totally freaking myself out. Pearl’s story was really creepy!
    Pearl lowered her voice to a hoarse whisper. “Those monsters still