A Nightmare on Clown Street

  Uncle Theo hugged Deanna and me. “Your father will be so happy,” he told Deanna. He had to shout over the cheers of the happy clowns. “Now Mr. HahaFace can go back to making people laugh. He’ll never have to worry about The Frightener again.”

  Uncle Theo turned to me. “Your parents will be happy too, Ray. When you get home safe and sound.”

  In the backyard, the bear raised its head in a triumphant roar. Watching from the kitchen window, Uncle Theo smiled. “I think we’d better go out the front!” he said.

  * * *

  Mom and Dad were totally happy to see me. They greeted me in the driveway as I came walking up, carrying my suitcase. I had to beg them to stop hugging me.

  “So? How did it go?” Mom asked.

  “Uh … It was kind of exciting,” I said. I didn’t want to tell her how exciting it actually was.

  Dad slapped me on the back. He took the suitcase from me. We started to the house. “Well, Ray, you certainly look ugly and frightening in that clown makeup.”

  “Why are you still wearing it?” Mom said. “Go right upstairs to the bathroom and wash it off. I have mac and cheese with hot dogs, your favorite lunch, waiting.”

  I suddenly realized that after the long bus ride, I was starving. I hurried up to the bathroom and got the water running in the sink.

  I rubbed soap on a washcloth and started to scrub my face. “Hey — what’s up with this?” I stared into the mirror. I scrubbed some more. And stared some more.

  “Hey, Mom! Dad!” I shouted. “Hey, it won’t come off! Help me! It’s stuck on my skin! The makeup — what’s happening? It … it won’t come OFF!”

  R.L. Stine’s books are read all over the world. So far, his books have sold more than 300 million copies, making him one of the most popular children’s authors in history. Besides Goosebumps, R.L. Stine has written the teen series Fear Street and the funny series Rotten School, as well as the Mostly Ghostly series, The Nightmare Room series, and the two-book thriller Dangerous Girls. R.L. Stine lives in New York with his wife, Jane, and Minnie, his King Charles spaniel. You can learn more about him at www.RLStine.com.

  Goosebumps book series created by Parachute Press, Inc.

  Copyright © 2015 by Scholastic Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, GOOSEBUMPS, GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, March 2015

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-63094-8

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