I, Geronimo Stilton, have a
lot of mouse friends, but none as
spooky as my friend Creepella
von CaCklefur! She is an
enchanting and
mysterious mouse with
a pet bat named
Bitewing. Creepella lives in a
cemetery, sleeps in a marble sarcophagus, and drives
a
hearse. By night she is a special effects and set
designer for
scary films, and by day she’s studying
to become a journalist! Her father, Boris von
Cacklefur, runs the funeral home
Fabumouse
Funerals
, and the von Cacklefur family owns the
creepy Cacklefur Castle, which sits on top of a
skull-shaped mountain in
Mysterious Valley.
YIKES! I’m a real ’fraidy
mouse, but even I think
Creepella and her family are
awfully fascinating.
I can’t wait for you to read
this
fa-mouse-ly funny and
spectacularly spooky tale!
She loves spiders, and her
pet is a gigantic tarantula
named Dolores.
An extremely mad
scientist and an
expert in Egyptian
mummies.
A journalist who lives in
Mysterious Valley and
solves spooky cases with
her inseparable pet
bat, Bitewing.
Troublemaking twins
and expert spies.
A famous writer
and friend of
Creepella.
The von Cacklefur
family’s pet
cockroach.
Creepella’s
favorite niece.
The cook at Cacklefur
Castle. He dreams
of creating the
ultimate stew.
Creepella’s father, and
the funeral director at
Fabumouse Funerals.
He was adopted and
raised with love by
the von Cacklefurs.
The butler to the von
Cacklefur family, and a
snob right down to the
tips of his whiskers.
The von
Cacklefur family’s
meat-eating
guard plant.
The mischievous
ghost who haunts
Cacklefur Castle.
The family
housekeeper. A
ferocious were-canary
nests in her hair.
FRIGHT NIGHT
Scholastic Inc.
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Leopardi 8, 20123 Milan, Italy; e-mail foreignrights@atlantyca.it, www.
atlantyca.com.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-41479-1
Copyright © 2011 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Corso Como 15, 20154
Milan, Italy.
International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.
English translation © 2013 by Atlantyca S.p.A.
GERONIMO STILTON names, characters, and related indicia are copy
-
right, trademark, and exclusive license of Atlantyca S.p.A. All rights
reserved. The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Based on an original idea by Elisabetta Dami.
www.geronimostilton.com
Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
St
ilton is the name of a famous En glish cheese. It is a registered trade
-
mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,
go t
o www.stiltoncheese.com.
Text by Geronimo Stilton
Original title Il rap della paura
Cover by Giuseppe Ferrario (pencils and inks) and Giulia Zaffaroni (color)
Illustrations by Ivan Bigarella (pencils and inks) and
Daria Cerchi (color)
Graphics by Yuko Egusa
Spe
cial thanks to Tracey West
Translated by Lidia Morson Tramontozzi
First printing, June 2013
lovely
An Afternoon
in the LibrAry
A ray of sun as yellow as cheese sauce
streamed through the window and lit up the
rows and rows of
books
around me.
The multicolored spines
glimmered
in the sunlight. I breathed deeply, enjoying
the lovely smell of all that printed
paper.
I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My
name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton. I’m
the editor of The Rodent’s Gazette, the most
famouse newspaper on Mouse Island.
I was spending a pleasant afternoon in the
New Mouse City Library. My
nephew Benjamin was writing a research
1
paper on
ANCIENT
Greece.
I was happy to go with him because
I had some work of my own to do.
I had to read some documents
about GLOOMERIA, the city
where my friend Creepella von
CaCklefur lives.
Why was I doing that, you ask?
Her friend, the famouse author
Billy Squeakspeare, had to leave
for a LOOONG trip. So I had
been helping Creepella put together
a 754-volume encyclopedia about
the
GHOSTS
of Gloomeria.
Each volume is three thousand
pages long. Yikes! Poor me!
As the sun began to set outside, it
cast strange
shadows
on the
library floor. I put down the spooky
book about ghosts that I was reading
and shivered. I needed a break!
I stretched and walked over to
Benjamin’s table. He looked up when
he saw me.
“The
ANCIENT
Greeks were
MOUSE-TASTIC
!” he said.
I nodded. I found them fascinating, too.
“Did you know that they invented the
theater?” Benjamin asked, his whiskers
twitching with excitement. “They had these
festivals where poets would compete to
see who was the best.”
“That sounds just like the
fright night
contest in Gloomeria!” I cried. “I was just
reading about its history.”
“
Sssss
sssh!
” grumbled a little
gray mouse sitting at the table. Her snout
was buried in a book called
STINKY
CHEESES
AND THE
RODENTS
WHO LOVE THEM
.
I ignored her and went to the bookshelf to
find the book about the Fright Night contest.
I was about to grab it when I noticed a
tiny paw
on top of the book.
4
shouting
Then two
BEADY EYES
blinked at me
over the book cover.
I screamed. Then I realized that it was
Bitewing
, the pet bat of the von Cacklefur
family.
“Why are you
?”
asked the cheeky little bat. “This is a library,
not a football stadium!”
5
An Afternoon in the LibrAry
“What are you doing here?” I whispered.
He handed me a notebook
that he’d been clutching
in his claws.
“Creepella sent
you this,” he replied.
“It’s her new book.
Publish it now! No
excuses!”
Bitewing flew off and left
me there
TREMBLING
. Had
it just been a dream? But I held the
notebook in my
paws
which proved that I was awake!
Benjamin came over and took the book
from me. He sat down to read it, and I looked
over his shoulder. I started to shiver again.
The book told the story of what had happened
the last time I visited Creepella in Mysterious
6
Valley. It had been a truly terrifying
time . . . and I wasn’t sure I wanted to
remember it!
But the book was MOUSE-TASTIC,
and I couldn’t stop reading it. It was
DARK
when Benjamin and I finished.
As we walked home, we talked about the
incredibly strange and mysterious
story we had just read.
“It’s an awesome story,
Uncle!” Benjamin said.
“You should publish it right away.
No
excuses!
”
I had to admit that he was right. Even
though the whole experience had given me
nightmares, I couldn’t keep this fantastic
tale from Creepella’s fans. So I published it!
It’s called
fright night
, and I’m sure
you’ll like it, too.
Happy reading!
8
Story and illustrations by
Creepella von Cacklefur
Fright Night
“Urgent
TELEGRAM
for Boris von
Cacklefur!”
Creepella von CaCklefur and her niece
Shivereen heard the cry. They ran outside as
Cary Speedpaws, the mailmouse, rode up on
an urgent
telegram
his bicycle. He handed a yellow sheet of
paper to Creepella.
She read the note out loud:
Bitewing screeched.
Creepella smiled. “I think I know. But it’s
for Dad. Let’s hurry and find him! He
must be holed up someplace writing one of
his poems.”
11
alligator
“Maybe he’s feeding his ,”
Shivereen guessed. “He says they give him
inspiration.”
That’s exactly where they found him —
feeding little balls of Chef Stewrat’s stinky
stew to the alligators they kept in the castle.
Every time he threw a ball of stew he made
a rhyme.
“Father, a telegram arrived for you,” said
Creepella, her
green
eyes gleaming.
Boris was surprised. “For me?”
screeched Bitewing impatiently.
Curious, Boris silently read the telegram.
Then he let out a cry, as though he had just
been bitten by a tarartula
“Here is some stew!
As you gnaw and chew,
I’ll rhyme for you.
It’s what I do!”
13
ferocious
“Rattle my bones!” he shouted. “This says
that I’m a finalist in the
fright night
contest. But that’s
impossible
. I didn’t enter!”
“No, but I entered for you!” Creepella said.
The rest of the von Cacklefur family heard
Boris’s cry and started streaming into the
room.
“What is all this shouting
about?” asked Madame LaTomb,
the family’s housekeeper.
“Whatever happened, it wasn’t
our fault!” said Snip and Snap, the
mischievous twins.
“Not this time!” chirped Howler, the
canary that lives in Madame
LaTomb’s hair.
“Our very own Boris is a finalist in the
Fright Night contest!” Creepella announced.
Everyone cheered, but Boris looked
gloomy
.
14
“What’s wrong, Father?”
Creepella asked.
“I love to write poetry,
but the last time I entered a
competition it was truly
HORRIBLE
,” her
father answered. “I was a young ratling, in
the fourth grade. I wrote a magnificent poem
about graveyard
mold
. And then my
classmate, Chester Cheater, stole the poem
from my desk! I was so upset that I ran
away. Chester won, and I was he
A
rtbroken.
I vowed never to enter a poetry contest again.”
“But your poems are too good to keep
hidden away!” Creepella said. “That’s why
I entered you. You must share them with all
of Mysterious Valley.”
Boris sighed. “I suppose that was a long
time ago. And I do have some delightfully
frightening
new poems I’d like to share. . . .”
15
“Then it’s settled!” Creepella said. “Now
let’s HURRY. The finals are today at
Horrorwood Studios.”
Creepella dashed outside to her
SUPERFAST
car, the Turborapid 3000. Boris,
Shivereen, and Bitewing followed her.
“On the way, I’ll pick up Geronimo
Stilton,” Creepella said. “He’s staying at
Squeakspeare Mansion, working on the
ENCYCLOPEDIA.”
When they arrived at the
mansion
,
Geronimo was in the garden.
He held a telegram between
his paws, and he looked
miserable.
“You received a telegram,
too?” Shivereen asked.
Geronimo handed it to
Creepella.
16
Congratulations
!
You have been selected as
an official judge
for the Fright Night contest!
Report immediately to Horrorwood Studios . . .
or else!
“You’re so LUCKY, Gerrykins!”
Creepella exclaimed.
Geronimo frowned. “Lucky? Fright Night?
I’m too
BUSY
to be a judge. I’m working on
the encyclopedia of GHOSTS, remember?”
“No excuses!” Creepella said firmly. “This
is a real honor. And I’m going to write a
fantastic
article about the whole
thing!”
17
Creepella pushed Geronimo into her car and
sped off.
“I’m so curious!” she said. “Every year,
Spruce Dazzlefur, the set director, creates a
spectacular
set for the contest. I wonder
what he’ll do this year?”
They quickly arrived at the studios and
followed the signs to the Fright Night arena.
A stage shaped like a
half
oval
looked like it was inspired by ancient
Greece. GLOOMY drapes formed the
backdrops.
fright night
fans were
beginning to fill the stands that surrounded
the stage.
18
the ShiverS
maChine
cheese and crackers
“Awesome! This year Dazzlefur
outdid himself!” Shivereen exclaimed as she
looked around.
Geronimo was looking around, too — for
a way to
escape
. He wanted to get back to
work. He still had thousands of pages to
write.
But a
strong
paw slapped him on the
shoulder.
“
!
If it isn’t
the most famouse writer from New Mouse
City! Our final judge!”
It was Professor Dubloon,
who teaches Pirate
History at the
Academy of Arts and
Shivers. He lifted his
eyepatch and winked
at Creepella.
19
“Hello, Professor!” Creepella said. “Are
you a judge, just like my little Gerrykins?”
“That’s right,” Dubloon answered. “Along
with your former
Teacher
, Professor
Cleverpaws. And a rather
boring