Shari Lewis - Spooky Stuff

t

-bTff/* by Shari Lewis

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2009

http://www.archive.org/details/spookystuffOOIewi

A book full of wacky activities that your friends out of their sneakers but won't hurt a hair on their heads!

will scare

By Shari Lewis Leo Behnke, consultant Illustrations by Victoria Clark Art direction by John Brogna

Weekly Reader Books MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT

DEDICATION I

lovingly dedicate this

Abraham

B. Hurwitz,

book to my daddy, Dr. whose passion for the

odd, the unusual, and the bizarre developed appetite for

all this

SPOOKY STUFF.

Text copyright © 1979 by Shari Lewis Cover art copyright © 1987 by Weekly Reader Books All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

Cover

art

by Rex Schneider

Weekly Reader Books Edition published by arrangement with the author.

my

CONTENTS Introduction 1.

2.

7

Give a Haunted House Party

10

Send Incredible Invitations to Your Favorite Fiends

14

Up

Chamber

3.

Set

4.

Do Scary Stunts

a

of Horrors

Anytime, Anywhere 5.

18

38

Create Spine-Chilling

Decorations

47

6.

Construct Creepy Crafts

53

7.

Cast a Spell with

Easy Eerie 8. 9.

10.

11.

59

Effects

Make Kooky, Spooky Costumes Play Freaky Shrieky Games Tell

Gory

Stories

64 75

and

Ghastly Jokes

83

Serve Terror at the Table

87

Index

92

Introduction

Do you like to be scared silly? Do you like it even better when you're the one who's doing the scaring? Either way, you'll find this book full of

monstrously simple ways to do all sorts of spooky stuff. Use SPOOKY STUFF as you would a menu in a restaurant. Pick and choose! Ideas in the Haunted House chapter might fit into your Chamber of Horrors, or perhaps you'll want to steal a hair-raising game or stunt for your next birthday party! I don't want anything to go wrong and spoil your fiendish fun, so here are some special secret tips that I'd like to share with you, and with Shawn, Georgia, Mally, Twerp, Jimmy, and Barker:

As you shock your

pals in

ways

that are

supernatural and scary, make sure that they are in no way dangerous. If you run a

Neighborhood Haunted House or a Chamber of Horrors, where you guide kids through a

darkened area, don't make it so dark that people can't see what's going on. (Anyway, if it's too dark or if what you do is too scary the little kids won't go in and if they do, they may end up crying. That certainly will add sound effects but not the kind you

—

want!)

Ask yourself a couple of better-safe-than-sorry questions: Can your friends or guests find their way without tripping or hurting themselves on nails and splinters? Will anything you do to them end up staining their clothes? (After all, it's no fun to send friends home unhappy. What you want is a happy ending, even to a night of fright!) If at all possible, try to set up your Neighborhood Haunted House so that the traffic goes in one direction (everybody walking in one end of the yard, apartment or house, and going out the other). really truly hope that by the time you're finished with this book, everyone on your block will know that you are a master of SPOOKY I

STUFF.

1

Give a

Haunted House Party

Giving a Haunted House Party like putting

on

a play.

You

is

can't

do it all by yourself. It takes two or three partners pals willing to plot and plan, to turn the house or apartment into a weird, wonderful

—

jj

place to be. The fun begins with invitations that set the mood. The Rattler is a good invitation because as each kid opens the envelope from you, it

will shake violently

though there were

and buzz

as

a giant bee in-

side (p. 15). When the starts, a

Haunted House Party huge spider can drop

down

in front of each guest's face the front door (p. 38). The decolike rations around the house Skinny Skeletons (p. 47), Slithery Snakes (p. 51), and creepy, crawly at

10

—

can seem almost enchanted because of other Eerie Effects. Snazzy suggestions for strange and surprising sound

spiders in their

webs

(p. 49),

effects are on p. 62. Now, party guests never arrive all They straggle in, one or two at a time

and lighting

together.

— so one of

the party partners can take them as they come (singly or in small groups) on a search for their own Personal Bats (p. 54). Each guest'll take off his/her shoes and leave them in a pile to the side of the front door. Then they'll be taken through The Walking Willies, a dark hallway or room

kinds of shockers: Lumps, Humps, and covered in a very sneaky way, so that your friends will have their ups and downs as they stumble along (p. 59). Other surprises along The Walking Willies will include blasts of Bad Bat's Breath on their bare feet (p. 61), Horrible Hands reaching out and grabbing their ankles (p. 61), and Spider Strands brushing their cheeks (p. 59). Leading the kids along the path of the Walking Willies will be Footprints, Clawprints, and Paw Prints (p. 52) which lead to the drowned monster in a Watery Grave (p. 42), and then on to the Silky Spook (p. 49). There at the foot of the Spook will be the Personal Bats. As each kid reaches for his/her Personal Bat, a hidden party partner secretly pulls a string and the Silky Spook leaps up into the air, scaring the guest

with

all

Bumps

(a floor,

silly!

After each kid has found a Personal Bat (and have gotten to the party), keep 'em horribly happy at the Creepy Crafts until all of the guests

li

Table, making things to take home, like Silver Spiders (p. 55) or Weird Webs (p. 56). All the boys and ghouls at your party will

Games like Name That The "Who?" Game, or the Deadly

enjoy Freaky Shrieky

Nose, or Dress-up Relay (p. 79). Costumes add a lot to the crazy mood of a

Haunted House Party. Your guests can come in costumes or you can create

a

Costume

Corner, and steal away with your guests one at a time,

turning each

into a creature like a (p. 69), a

Mummy

Two-Way Twerp 69), or a

(p.

Zany Zombie

(p. 22).

Then you and your party pals can serve

up

Terror at the Table, feeding your guests special spooky stuff like Gobblin' Ghosts, Sand Witches, Painted

Sandwiches,

Olive

Spiders, or Dracula's Blood (pp. 87 through 90).

All through the Haunted House Party, whenever the time seems right to you, you can silly, scary stunts like Going, Gopull pranks ing, Gone (p. 46), the Dancing Devil (p. 44), or the Doorway Demon (p. 45). Your party might

—

12

end with a Gory Story, told in a darkened room while spine-tingling things happen to your lucky guests.

Whew! Now that's one way to give a Haunted Party. And perhaps you'd like to do yours

House

exactly like this, using what you've just read as a party plan. Then all you have to do is turn to the right pages and follow the how-to-do instructions for each of the games, decorations, and

But maybe you want to put on a simpler spooky party. That can be as much fun. Just pick the nutsy things you really like and do them! Now all you need is an audience (your guests) because the stage is set for your Haunted House stunts.

Party.

13

2

Send Incredible Invitations to

Your

Favorite Fiends

THE GHOST RETURNS Nothing at your spooky event is really going to it's all going to be be as scary as it will seem

—

an

illusion.

Here's an invitation you can send that

is

a

spooky illusion. On your invitation draw a spooky face (ghost, skeleton, pirate, or your favorite monster of the

14

moment). Color color — say

in the face with a solid bright

—

leaving white lines for the On your invitation write "Stare at this ghost (or whatever) without blinking as you count up to 20, and then look at a plain wall or sheet of white paper. You will see the same ghost but in green! Come see other

red

mouth, nose, and

eyes.

our Haunted House Party." Incidentally, if you color the face green, then your friend will see a red ghost. The color seen on the wall will always be the complementary color of the one in the picture; orange becomes blue, yellow turns purple, and black becomes

spooky things

at

white.

THE RATTLER prank that comes in an envelope. Here's what happens: In each invitation (or at each setting on the refreshment table) is an envelope marked "A Surprise For You." Of course, when your friends open their envelopes they'll get shocks rather than surprises, because suddenly the envelopes will buzz as though there are This

is

a

gigantic bees inside. Here's how you do

it:

Each "rattler" is made from two paper clips. Spread one apart, like this:

15

Open into a

the second clip wide V, like this:

With a pair of pliers bend each end of this clip so that the rubber-

band won't slip Then put a small

off.

rub-

berband across the big V-shaped clip, and slip the small paper clip into the center of the

band, like

this:

Now wind

the small clip about 30 times, and then hold it tightly while you fold a piece of paper around it. Put the paper (and the rattler) into an envelope, and you're ready to give someone a surprise!

THE SHADOW OF THE GHOST Here's a good way to catch a ghost on paper, and if you're having a gruesome get-together, you can write your invitations inside the shadowy outlines.

Cut out the outline of a ghost. Put it on a sheet of newspaper, and, with the side of a soft black pencil, darken the entire ghost. Really rub the pencil all over the ghost shape so that it's loaded with graphite from the pencil. Now place the darkened ghost on a sheet of white paper. Hold the ghost in place with one hand, and with the slightly dampened thumb of 16

the other hand, wipe the graphite from the ghost over the outline, onto the paper. Really pull that

black smeary stuff onto the paper all around the outline of the ghost. When you lift the cut-out, you will see a spooky stencil of the ghost on e white paper I (7 Q )

S N

—

it's

former

just a

/

M

&

shadow

of

its

self.

17

3 Set

up a

Chamber of Horrors

A

Chamber

of Horrors

is

like a tour

through a

combination Freaky Fun House and Carnival Sideshow, right in your own home. You and two friends will show your guests things they have never seen before and, may never see again!

if

they are lucky, they

two rooms you'll have weird things to see and wacky things to do. In one, two of your pals will be Monster Makers, turning themselves into wickedly funny fellows for your guests to look at. In the other, you'll do nutsy things to your guests. In other words, one of the helpers will be a guide (like at Disneyland) while the other two set up and act out one crazy display after In

another. First a thing to see, then a thing to do. The two Monster Makers get ready to be the next silly creature, while the guide keeps the guests busy in the other room. Just make sure that you invite no more than

ten kids at a time. As kids arrive, have

and

pile

them take off their shoes them beside the door. Don't start your

Mystery Tour of the Chamber of Horrors until all guests have gathered. Then one of the three partners (whoever is the best talker) introduces him/herself as the guide, and leads the group into Room 1, the darkened

room

of weird-things-to-see. In this

room you

and a closet. one bulb. Suddenly, the group hears a queer voice say, "Welcome/' and they notice a head lying on the floor.

should have a

table, a sofa (or bed),

The room should be

lit

by

THE BODILESS HEAD AND ITS FRIEND, THE

just

MUMMY

The head introduces itself as the Head Man of the Chamber of Horrors, and insists that the guide pass out cards or sheets of paper that are lying on the table above it. On each card is a riddle. "A riddle so funny," says the head, "you'll laugh your head off. If the person who has Card #1 will ask me that riddle, I'll give you the answer." And it does. Then Card #2 is read and answered, and so on. When the very last card is read, the riddle on it is "Oh, Head Man,

where

is

the rest of you?"

"Right over there," answers the Head Man, just as a huge turning his head toward the sofa Mummy throws off a sheet, rises from the sofa and stumbles toward the nearest guest, moaning that his friend needs a body. Here's how you'll do it: Of course the Bodiless Head does have a body. It's another one of the party helpers if possible, one with a high forehead and long hair. Using eyebrow pencil

—

—

19

and

lipstick,

down on

draw

a

nose and a mouth upside

the person's forehead. Attach some tufts of cotton under the person's eyes to make eyebrows. Stick them on with double-faced tape or with regular tape rolled backwards into a circle so that the sticky side is on the outside all around the loop. Stick some more cotton under the false nose to make a big moustache. This will hide the fact that the mouth doesn't move. Have this person lie on the floor with his or her body under the table. Put a long cloth on the the table. Bring the hem all the way down to the floor and fix the cloth so that it falls across the person's real nose, above the false eyebrows. Now take some of that long hair, brush it to a point around the face, and it will pass for a beautiful beard.

20

Mummy

The

should be wrapped and the Bodiless

Head

set

up

just be-

fore the party guests arrive. Place the rid-

dle cards on the table.

You'll find lots of spooky spoofs to use as riddles in the

/S^

chapter on Gory C^V Stories and Ghastly WkT Jokes on p. 83.

The

Mummy

very easy to

is

make

with toilet paper and cellophane tape (p.

Lay the Mummy on the sofa and cover it with a sheet, so 69).

when

the guests get

there, you're ready to

go!

THE DANCING DEVIL Now,

the guide quickly rushes the group into

Room

2 (the wacky-things-to-do-room) to

meet

the Dancing Devil. After they enjoy seeing the Dancing Devil, they'll enjoy being the Dancing Devil. All you'll need for the Dancing Devil is a

Your guests will see themselves look very funny and foolish, as they flap their arms and legs and seem to float through the full-length mirror.

air (p. 44).

21

THE ZANY ZOMBIE And then it's back to the first room, where one of the Monster Makers has turned into the Zany Zombie. This freaky figure sits in the corner of the room on a blanket. Its strange face peers out from under a hat, and it keeps another blanket tightly pulled

around

body. The guide explains that the Zany Zombie lived for 200 years. It has been dead for the last 12 years but it stiJJ lives! Now, Zombies can't speak unless you give them a strange green witches' potion made of green alligator blood. But they can hear, and they answer questions by nodding or shaking their heads. "And tonight," the guide whispers, "our Zany Zombie will truthfully answer your questions to see if anyone can guess how he died. Each of you gets to ask one question that can be answered by a 'yes' or 4

22

no.'

If

its

no one guesses,

I'll

give you a hint."

Then each

of the guests gets to ask a question,

and the Zombie does shake "yes" or "no," but no one can guess the cause of the Zombie's death.

The guests will probably ask questions like: "Was the Zombie murdered?" "Did he die of natural causes?" "Jump off a cliff?" "Was he strangled?" "Was he tickled to death?" and so on.

—

Then the guide can say "Here's your clue the Zombie died where there were no plants and no people. You may ask one more question each." The true answer is that the Zombie died of thirst in the desert. If one of the group guesses that, the guide will say "Yes, and now I'm going to give the

brew

Zany Zombie

a drink

— the

secret

needs, so that it can show you who it really was, when it was alive." If nobody in the group guesses, the guide can tell everybody that the Zombie died of thirst, and so the Zombie now needs this special drink. It's a green liquid. When the guide adds a speit

powder, it foams and bubbles and boils as he or she mutters a chant over the frothy drink. Taking a spoon, the guide pretends to feed a little to cial

the Zombie. Suddenly a terrific transformation takes place the Zombie instantly changes into one of your friends.

—

Here's how you make the Zombie: One of your partners lies on the floor, head in the corner, feet pointing toward the center of the room. A blanket is spread over the head and body, to the waist. in the

Now that person lifts both air,

and you fasten

a

mask

legs straight

up

at the ankles.

A 23

large hat goes over the feet

and another blanket

wrapped around the legs. When the group comes into the room, the Zany Zombie can answer questions by twisting (or a coat) is

the feet side to side (to shake its "head" to say "no") or by bending and straightening the knees to make the Zombie nod and shake "yes"). As a spoonful of the brew is held to the Zombie's mouth, the Zombie changes into a person

by dropping the legs straight down and sitting up at the same time. It's a real surprise. Be prepared for the screams.

THE BUBBLING BREW To mix

the secret potion, half fill a glass with white vinegar. Add green food coloring. On the side, place a little ordinary baking soda in a cup. When the guide drops the baking soda into the glass of vinegar, it will fizz and foam and froth like a witch's

brew.

What no one knows is Zombie was answering

that while the Zany questions, the third partner (the other Monster Maker) secretly took all the shoes from the front door and placed them, tied together, at the end of a long hall or at the other end of a big room.

THE WATERY GRAVE Now the guide leads

the group away, sadly muttering that there was another exhibit, but he was murdered. However, "the creature wanted to 24

meet you anyway." The guests are led into a dark bathroom. The only light comes from behind the shower curtain and when the curtain is ripped open, what the startled guests see is a Drowned Monster in a Watery Grave (p. 42). Meanwhile, in the weird-things-to-see room, the Monster Makers have been busy. When the group returns, they'll see the Gruesome Gremlin.

THE GRUESOME GREMLIN This

is

a very, very short, strangely dressed

"person." Cockily standing

a sheet

its

on a

table in front of

rude remarks are accompanied by

grotesque gestures. Sometimes it seems as though the Gremlin's left hand doesn't know what its right hand is doing. It sticks its thumb into its own eye, and it can have both legs off the table at the same time, without even noticing! The Gruesome Gremlin recites a scary poem to the group, about a lady in a graveyard. This poem, a real round-the-campfire chiller, ends with a scream and will send everyone scampering out of the Here's

how

room

(p. 83).

your two Monster Makers can turn

themselves into one Gruesome Gremlin: A sheet with five holes cut in it is taped to an open doorway (like a closet). One is a head hole, two small table is set are for arms, two for legs. with its back edge pushed up against the sheet (and against the doorway). The first person's head goes through the head hole, and arms go through the leg holes. These arms become the Gremlin's legs. The second

A

25

person's arms go into the arm holes, and become arms and hands for the Gremlin. A girl's short dress with long sleeves (one that buttons down the back, like a pinafore) makes a perfect costume. So does a big man's shirt, put on backwards. Before you start, pull the sleeves inside out. The person playing the part of the Gremlin's head puts his or her own head through the top hole, buttons just the top button of the dress around his or her neck, and then sticks both arms through the bottom two holes in the sheet and then down into the armhole and through the sleeves of the dress (which are inside out). The hem of the dress should reach the person's wrists. If it doesn't, pull long socks over the hands of this "head" person. Then put big, beat-up shoes on that person's hands, and Gremlin's "feet" can rest on the table. The second person, standing behind the first, puts both arms through the remaining two holes in the sheet (the armholes), and those arms rest on the shoulders of the first person. Tie a scarf around the Gremlin's neck to hide the connection of the arms to the body. If you wish, a big towel or sweater can be pinned to the "shoulders" to look like a cape. Plop an old hat on the

head and there's your Gremlin. Now, gruesome or isn't it?

is

that

THE TALE OF TERROR (OR "WHO GHOSTS THERE?") Your friends are led back into the Freaky Fun House room, which is dark, except for a dim 27

28

paper bag Light-O-Lantern

(p.

62) in the center of a circle. The circle is made up of bags set on

the floor, one for each person.

The necks

of the bags are twisted shut and they are not to be touched until the right time.

When

each person is sitting behind a bag, the guide snaps off the Light-O-Lantern. Now the room is dark, and the guide tells the Tale of Terror. (If you have a tape machine, you can record your Gory Story.) At various times during the tale, when the voice tells about feeling something, your group will suddenly feel the same thing happening to them and the fun is multiplied because it is all happening in the ,

dark.

Here

the story: "In order to have a really spooky party tonight I decided to do it just like Dracula or Frankenstein would have done it, so I went to rob a grave. When no one was watching I sneaked into the cemetery. It was late at night and very quiet, but is

thought I could feel someone watching me. I looked around but I didn't see anyone or anything, so I got to work. (At this point in your story, a pair of shining eyes appear in the center I

—

of the circle,

vanish.)

winking and blinking, and then

— All the time, though,

I

felt

the eyes

blinking and winking and silently watching me. 29

'Trying

to ignore

and pushed

them,

I

got out

into the wet earth.

it

my

shovel

dug one The dirt got I

shovelful of earth and then another. wetter and harder to handle. All of a sudden, a shovelful of damp earth flew up into the air and

dumped

a

whole handful

of

wet worms on top

of

me." — (Large wet worms begin to on your guests.) — 'They were sloppy and squoshy, and fall

I

felt

ing

them

all

in

my hair and

over me.

on

As quickly

my face, and crawl-

as

I

could,

I

brushed

them off and started back to work. 'Then I hit the coffin. My heart skipped a beat every time my shovel touched the wooden sides. pried open the cover and reached inside to get what I wanted. I jumped when I felt a cold hand ." touching me (A cold wet hand brushes against some of the faces of your audience.) "brushing my bare skin with its clammy touch. I brushed the hand aside and stole the parts of the body that I needed, pulling out the heart and liver, the veins and intestines, eyeballs, the heart, and all the other parts. I put them into a I

.

.

—

—

bag to carry home. "But as I was running out of the graveyard I bumped into a large spider web." (Suddenly they feel spider webs brushing across their faces.) "Spider webs whisked across my arms and face, long icky sticky spidery strands. "I had run into a big nest of spiders and they were all over me ..." (Now spiders, large ones that glow in the dark, fly through the air and drop onto the listeners.) "Big, hairy spiders were all over me. I ran until I found I was home. I

—

—

—

—

30

ran into the house and upstairs to my room and slammed the door. "Slowly I opened the bag to inspect the parts of the body I had stolen. Now you open your bags and you'll find the same parts that I brought home. There are the two slimy, wet, round eyeballs, always looking at me, to accuse me of my crime. Can you find the slimy eyeballs? I also ripped out a lot of the teeth. They are rattling in the bottom of your bags, too, small hard yellow teeth that will never chew again. I cut off the ears, two ears. Feel for them. And of course, the nose: It was all mine. And now it's all yours.The blood vessels and veins are no longer filled with blood but at least I have them. Do you have them? Long, thin, cold strands of empty blood vessels. The liver is there, all soft and squishy. I could almost feel the heart beating in my hands, but I knew it was dead. It would never beat again. Or would it? Is yours beating? Quick, close your sack. "I had just closed up my sack to put it away, as you're doing now. No sooner had I put it down than I heard a distant KLOP,KLOP." (This must be said slowly and mysteriously each time,

—

like

heavy

footsteps.)

—

"Instantly I was listening as hard as I could.

There it was again KLOP, KLOP. Now it was

right outside

my 31

house. I heard the front doorknob rattle. Something was trying to get in. Suddenly, there was a (At this point the gathered loud sound ... group hears a terrific rattling sound against one I could tell it of the windows in the room.) (Still slowly and myswas inside the house. KLOP, KLOP. It teriously, but a lot louder.) came across the living room KLOP, KLOP. It slowly started up the stairs KLOP, KLOP. My heart started beating as loudly as the sound KLOP, KLOP. I hid under the covers but it was outside my door KLOP, KLOP. It reached out (Now the guide and a secret assistant and ." both reach out in the dark and grab the persons nearest to them. These guest will give sudden screams which will make everyone else scream, and you can hurriedly turn on the lights, signaling the end of the Tale of Terror. Just announce: "I'm afraid we'll never know Who Ghosts There." Here's how you and your partners can do all

—

—

.

.

—

—

—

—

these wonderful scary things. The guide will need a secret helper. As soon as the Light-OLantern is snapped off, this friend (one of the Monster Makers) enters the room very quietly and goes to where you have hidden the special props. Then the friend and the guide (if the story is recorded) use each prop according to the way it's talked about in the tale. Here are the things

you need, and

32

how

to

use them.

•

Shining Eyes

Paint both sides of a square of cardboard black. Cut an eye out of reflective or phosphorescent tape and stick it on one side of the black square. Place the eye so that it extends from one corner of the square to another. At each of those corners, tie a piece of string.

Make two

of these

"eyes." Put them face down on the floor, so the eyes are hidden. To make them blink and wink in the dark, hold the strings and blow gently on the cards. In the dark, the spinning of the cards will make the shining eyes seem to be blinking and winking by themselves. When you're done, drop them face down on the floor once again.

33

•

Wet Worms

Cut fat yarn or wool into six-inch lengths and soak in water in the refrigerator. Just before you tell the Tale of Terror, put the pieces of wool in a dish with a couple of ice cubes on top to keep

them

cold.

When worms

are

mentioned in the

up a bunch of three or four "worms" them toward one part of the circle, and then throw another bunch toward the other side. In the dark, they'll feel creepy and cold like damp worms that have been crawling in a swamp. story, pick

and

•

toss

The Clammy Hand

Take two rubber gloves, half fill each with water and close the open part very tightly with rubberbands. Keep them in the refrigerator too. Before the story starts, set one in a hiding place where the guide can get it and the other one where the secret friend will find it. Now each of you can reach out and touch people with frightening fingers.

•

Spider Webs

To one corner of the room fasten a long thread. From this thread, hang other threads (each about 36 inches long), knotted about 18 inches apart. Before the guests arrive, lay this thread along the floor at the base of one wall where the secret friend can easily find it in the dark. At the right time, he or she lifts the end of the thread and walks it across the room so that the dangling

34

threads wipe across the faces of the group in the circle. When the threads have touched everyone, the friend can just drop the thread.

•

Morgue Bags

Use

cream bags or paper sacks with clear bags inside them. Each one has the fol-

ice

plastic

lowing inside: two peeled grapes (eyeballs), some hard kernels of popcorn (teeth), two big pieces of dried apricot (ears), one end twisted off an uncooked hot dog (nose), three or four strands of cold cooked spaghetti (blood vessels and veins), perhaps a peeled plum (the heart), and a large

lump

of very firm gelatin (liver). (The re-

cipe for this non-melting Finger Gelatin

on •

is

found

p. 91).

Giant Spiders

Make

a

straws

few

aluminum foil or soda Then put them into a paper bag.

of these out of

(p. 55).

During the spider raid in the story, reach into the bag, remove one spider, and toss it into the center of a group. Then toss another one, then throw the rest of them. In the dark your audience will

brush them away from themselves and onto someone else, who will brush them off onto someone else, and so on and so on. •

Spooky Spool

This

the noisemaker used when the KLOP, in the story is trying to get in the front

is

KLOP

35

door of your house. Cut notches around both rims of an empty wooden thread spool. Wrap about three feet of light string around the spool. Put a pencil through the hole in the spool. When it's time for the noise, put the spool against the windowpane, hold the pencil, and pull fast and hard on the string. The unwinding string will

spin the spool and

it'll

make

a terrific noise

banging against the windowpane. If you'd rather tell the tale live, instead of having it recorded, you might make a tape recording of background noises and turn it on as you start the story. Lots of eerie sound effects and instructions for how to record them are on pp. 62-63. This ghost story will work even if you can't get your room totally dark. In that case you'd do it without any of the secret effects. Try a simple lighting trick. Point a small flashlight straight

36

up and put

under your chin before you room, it will make sinister shadows around your nose and cheeks, to give you a very fiendish look. (This is the same effect they use in horror movies to light the monster at scary moments.) turn

it

it

just

on. In a darkish

THE WALKING WILLIES After the Ghost Story, the guide can lead the group through the tortures of the Walking Willies (p. 59) in order to get to their shoes. And of course, when they get to the shoes, they're all tied together and the guests have to scramble to untie them and find their own.

37

4

Do Scary Stunts Anytime, Anywhere

SPIDER SURPRISE Here's

how you can make

a big ugly spider

drop

down in front of your pals as they enter your front door: Take ten feet of heavy black thread and tie a rubber spider to one end; (1) On the ceiling right over the front door, fasten a paper clip (with cellophane tape); (2) attach another paper clip just below the ceiling, on the side

38

wall that will be behind your door when it is open; (3) put a third paper clip on that side wall, at the same height as the doorknob. With the door closed, run the free end of the thread through the three paper clips in order (1,2, and then 3) to the doorknob. Jiggle the spider until it's hanging about two inches above the top edge of the closed door. Now tie the loose end of the thread to the doorknob. When you open the door, the spider will drop down in front of your guests for their first surprise of the night! Incidentally,

may need thumbtacks

to

you secure the clips in place with if

you have

lots of traffic,

as well as tape.

THE MYSTERIOUS "WHAT" The spooky thing that your friends will see is this: You spread a cloth napkin on the table in front of you and wave your left fingers mysteriously over the center of the cloth. Suddenly, something begins to grow underneath the napkin, and then it begins to move from side to side. When it is about an inch high and seems to be looking for a way to get out from under the napkin, you snap your fingers and it shrinks away. Carefully, you lift the edge of the napkin, and then you pick it up from the table but there's nothing there! Whatever it was has gone back to wherever it came from. Here's how you do it: Before starting the trick you secretly hide a fork in your lap. You open up the napkin and as your left hand brings it over the table, your right hand sneaks the fork under

—

39

it.

The end

of the

center of the cloth.

handle should be under the

The

tines of the fork (the part

must be under the right corner of the napkin, near you and pointing upward. Spread both hands and hold one hand over the two corners of the napkin closest to you. Now move your left hand over the center of the napkin and, as it makes circles in the air, your right thumb or the heel of your right hand slowly and gently pushes down on the tines of the fork. The end of the handle will rise, pushing up the center of the napkin so it looks as though something is growing. By moving your thumb (or the heel of your you

eat off)

right hand) just a little bit, the handle will shift a

moving sideways under the cloth. As your left hand waves in the air, keep it over the right thumb so people can't see that thumb doing the

Jot,

dirty work.

fingers

40

and

When lift

you're ready, snap your left (or the heel of that

your thumb

hand) to make the "thing" vanish. Bring your left hand to the left corner and your right hand to the right corner, with the fingers on top and your thumbs underneath the cloth, and slowly lift the napkin. But your right thumb is holding the fork, so as you bring the napkin back toward you, you can drop the fork down into your lap. Let your audience see that there is nothing on the table and then toss the napkin into the center of the table for them to examine.

THE CLATTERING CRITTER Here's what happens: You offer to show someone a very curious creature: It isn't dangerous, but it is certainly unusual. You have one hand over the mouth of a paper cup and you take your hand away so your pal can peer inside.

However, as he or she does, there is a nasty noise that makes your friend jump about two feet straight up. Here's how you do it: To prepare this joke you'll actually need

two cups. Poke four holes near the bottom of the first cup, two on one side and two on the opposite side. Also poke a large hole in the 41

bottom. Thread a rubberband through a hole in one side and out a hole in the opposite side, and repeat with a second rubberband, through the other two holes. Now tie the end of each band to the end of the other band next to it. Within the cup, slip a paper clip through the two rubberbands and wind it up about 30 times. Then put your finger through the hole in the bottom, so you can hold the paper clip and keep it from unwinding. Drop a second cup inside the first, and put a piece of fur or a fake bug in this cup. Just as your friend looks down into the cup, let your finger release the paper clip. It will rattle around and around as it unwinds, making a very startling sound. You may have to make more than one of these, as your victim will want to do it

to

someone

else!

A WATERY GRAVE your party guests? Drown a monster in your tub! Stuff a rubber head mask with small towels and, if you wish, push on an old hat. Stuff a ragged raincoat, bathrobe, suit, or pair of pajamas, add shoes or galoshes and arrange the body in the bottom of the bathtub. Fill the tub with water (make sure the body is weigh-

Want

to panic

down

sinks to the bottom). and place a lit flashlight on the side of the tub near the wall. (Shine the light onto the face.) Now pull the shower curtain shut. When the guest goes into the bathroom, he or she will find that the only light source is from

ted

Turn

42

so that

it

off the lights

behind the curtain and will surely pull it open. If not, you rip the curtain open and cover your ears! The shrieks will be deafening!!

43

DANCING DEVILS you have a full-length mirror on the back of a door, you can turn yourself into a Dancing Devil. Stand behind the door so people watching you

If

can only see half of you. It will look as though they see all of your body because the half that is sticking out is reflected in the mirror. This will let you make many mysterious moves. Lift the arm sticking out and it looks as though you have lifted both arms. Next lift your arm and your leg, wave them both, and it seems as though you're flying through space. If you're wearing a hat lift your visible arm and your visible leg at the same time that your hidden arm lifts your hat Then bring them all back down again and you will have done the perfect impersonation of a Dancing Devil. Let your friends take a turn behind the mirror, so they can go through crazy contortions to make

you laugh!