The Haunted House Game

"The Haunted House Game" is the fifth short story in the book Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps.

Plot
During a bad thunderstorm, Jonathan is babysitting his younger siblings, Annie and Noah, but he's accompanied by his best friend, Nadine. Bored, he rummages through a closet and pulls out a board game entitled "Haunted House". Nadine doesn't want to play because she's played it before, but Jonathan says it's different every time.

Jonathan unfolds the board and proceeds to explain the rules: each person rolls the dice, and the objective is to make it through the haunted house and find the hidden ghost. Jonathan rolls first and lands on a space reading, "YOU HEAR CREAKING FOOTSTEPS ON THE STAIRS". Almost immediately, creaking sounds can be heard. The next event reads: "WIND RATTLES THE WINDOWS", and that too seems to come to life. Nadine tries to convince them it's simply coincidental, but the children begin to fear there could be a ghost in the house.

Jonathan rolls and lands on a space marked, "SCARED TO DEATH!" Suddenly, a ghostly hand begins to tap at the window. The children scream loudly, and Jonathan flees the house. While outside, he discovers a newspaper dated from 1942, and it details the mysterious death of four children. He goes back inside and pulls the board game out of the closet, revealing that Jonathan and the other children are ghosts stuck in a permanent loop. As Nadine protests, Jonathan suggests restarting the game, reminding her that it's different every time.

Television adaptation
"The Haunted House Game" was adapted into an episode of the Goosebumps TV series. It is the tenth episode of season three, and the fifty-fourth episode overall.

Trivia

 * This story references Parcheesi.
 * Additionally, this short story contains elements similar to the 1981 fantasy children's picture book Jumanji and the 1995 film of the same name.
 * The character Nadine may have been named after R.L. Stine's dog from the 1990s, Nadine, who was mentioned in the "About the Author" section of many Goosebumps books.
 * The concept of a board game coming to life would later be used in Be Afraid — Be Very Afraid!
 * In 1996, Fox Kids Magazine held a contest for kids to submit their own ending to this story. The winner was Corinna Ortiz. Their ending has the twins being sucked into the board game, and evil versions of them being unleashed. This is similar to the setup of the TV episode.