Carly Beth Caldwell

Carly Beth Caldwell is the main protagonist of The Haunted Mask and The Scream of the Haunted Mask, as well as playing a major role in The Haunted Mask II. She is the best friend of Sabrina Mason.

History
The Haunted Mask Carly Beth and her best friend, Sabrina Mason were sitting in the lunchroom at Walnut Avenue Middle School, discussing what they were going to be for Halloween. Carly Beth told her friend that she could be a witch, to which Sabrina replied that Carly Beth was afraid of witches. Carly Beth argued that she wasn't afraid of witches and accused Sabrina of thinking she was a big scaredy-cat. Sabrina then reminded Carly Beth of when they were at her house last week that she thought Sabrina's attic was haunted by a ghost and screamed when they heard footsteps in the attic, which turned out to be their friends, Steve Boswell and Chuck Green. Carly Beth thought it was so mean and told Sabrina that she knows she is afraid of ghosts to which Sabrina replied that she is also afraid of snakes, bugs, loud noises, dark rooms and witches. Carly Beth was dismayed that everyone has to make fun of her because she is afraid of everything, even her best friend, to which her friend apologized and told Carly Beth that it is hard to resist scaring her and Carly Beth threatened that she could scare Sabrina some day, making her laugh. Carly Beth continued to discuss her costume when she was startled by first a tray falling to the floor and then a hand grabbing her shoulder, turning out to be Steve. The two boys then sat down and Steve offered Carly Beth a turkey sandwich and when Carly Beth took a bite out of it, she felt a sour taste. So she pulled apart the sandwich and to her horror, there was a worm in it! Carly Beth angrily told the boys it wasn't funny to which Chuck replied that it wasn't a real worm and told her to pick it up. Carly Beth did so, only to find that Chuck lied and ran from the lunchroom, feeling sick about eating half a worm.

After school, Carly Beth ran home, fuming about lunch. Her mother greeted her at the door and asked why she was so grumpy, to which Carly Beth didn't want to talk about. Mrs Caldwell then showed her daughter a sculpture she had made, which was a life sized head that looked really realistic. To Carly Beth's surprise, it was her own head, as it had her straight brown hair, her brown eyes, her round cheeks and her short snip of a nose (which Carly Beth hated and wished would grow longer). Mrs Caldwell explained that it is made of Plaster of Paris and Carly Beth muttered that it was creepy. Mrs Caldwell thought Carly Beth didn't like it but Carly Beth quickly told her that she did like it and asked why she made to her mother answered that she loved her. Carly Beth then thought that she saw the head smile, but then decided it must be a trick of the light. Mrs Caldwell then told her daughter that her duck costume is ready, as Carly Beth had seen a duck costume at the mall and said it would be funny to be a duck for Halloween. Carly Beth was dismayed at this as she wanted to be scary on Halloween, not cute. Carly Beth went to her room to look at the costume only to find her door closed and she always left it open. She opened the door and was attacked by a huge duck! Carly Beth thought the costume had come alive at first, but then realised it was her little brother, Noah dressed up in it. After Noah asked if he could have the costume and she told him to fly south for the winter, Carly Beth answered a call from Sabrina, who reminded her that the school Science Fair was tomorrow and they had to finish their model of the solar system and Carly Beth suggested her to come over after dinner to finish it and her mother will help them carry it. Carly Beth then asked why Steve and Chuck always have to scare her, to which Sabrina replied that Carly Beth "scare-able". Carly Beth then vowed that she won't be scare-able and will not scream or get frightened again.

Carly Beth and Sabrina managed to get their solar system to the auditorium with Mrs Caldwell's help, aside from a planet having a slight dent on it and Earth constantly coming loose and it probably wasn't as impressive as their classmate, Martin Goodman's handmade computer and many other projects. Sabrina thought their project was kind of boring, but Carly Beth insisted that it is good and they worked hard on it. Just as the judges were coming their way, Carly Beth heard Steve call out that he lost a tarantula. Carly Beth was also scared of tarantulas but this time, she was determined not to show it. But then she felt something pinch her leg and she screamed at the top of her lungs. But it turned out there was no tarantula and that Steve had pinched her leg, much to Carly Beth's anger. With everyone, even the teachers laughing at her, Carly Beth was too embarrassed to do anything, even to help Sabrina pick up the planets she had knocked over in the process.

Later on Halloween, Sabrina called Carly Beth and told her to meet at her house to go trick-or-treating at seven-thirty. Sabrina then asked Carly Beth if Steve called and apologized and Carly Beth told her he did, but added that an apology was no good as he already made her look like a jerk in front of the school and hoped that he felt bad. Sabrina then asked Carly Beth what her costume was, to which Carly Beth replied that it is a surprise, not only to Sabrina, but to herself as well, remembering. The incident at the Science Fair made Carly Beth more determined to pay Steve and Chuck back, so she was hoping to go to the new party store that had opened a few blocks from school, hoping that they have a really scary costume there. But her mother had to go somewhere, and Carly Beth had to babysit Noah for a while. It was already five when Mrs Caldwell came home, making it least likely that the party store would still be open. But determined to stick with her plan, Carly Beth went out, hoping she wasn't too late to get a costume.

As Carly Beth hurried through her neighborhood to the party store, she saw the famous Carpenter mansion that was said to be haunted and remembered when she was Noah's age, Steve and Chuck and some other kids dared each other to go up and knock on the door of the house and Carly Beth ran home instead, never finding out if the others were brave enough to do so. After shaking away a chill of fear and some scary thoughts, Carly Beth managed to reach the party store, only to find that it had closed, to her dismay. Just as she was thinking that she was going to have to wear her duck costume, a man suddenly appeared at the door. Carly Beth asked him if he was open, to which he replied that they close at five. She told him that she would like a scary mask and the man told her that the gorilla mask has been quite popular, but Carly Beth thought it was too ordinary and didn't think the alien masks were too scary either, The man told her to have a look around and Carly Beth struggled to find something that would make Steve and Chuck die of fright, without much success. The man told Carly Beth that she needed to make her decision as they are closed and Carly Beth started to reply when the phone rang. While the man was on the phone, Carly Beth looked around a little more when she noticed a narrow door leading to the back of the door. Thinking there are more masks there, she went inside and turned on the light and there, to her shock and horror, were some of the most hideous masks she had ever seen. Carly Beth thought a lot of them were perfect to scare Steve and Chuck, and the one that really caught her attention was the one with putrid yellow-green skin, a bulging bald head, a broad flat nose, smashed in like a skeleton's nose and enormous, sunken eyes that were an eerie orange and seemed to glow. Carly Beth was about to touch it when she heard someone cry out. At first Carly Beth thought it was the mask, but then she realised it was the shopkeeper, who apologized that Carly Beth saw these masks that they are not for sale, because they are too scary. But Carly Beth insisted that the one she was about to touch was perfect so after convincing the shopkeeper, Carly Beth bought the mask for thirty dollars, with him saying that she will be sorry.

Carly Beth was delighted with the mask that she bought, so she decided to test it on Noah, as he often played tricks to scare her as well and bragged that he is braver than his sister. So putting on the mask, Carly Beth crept up to Noah's bedroom door and called out to him. To her surprise, her voice came out gruff, raspy and low! Noah was most definitely terrified until Carly Beth told him that it is her. After a little struggle to get the mask off, Noah asked her if he could try the mask on, but Carly Beth told him she has to wear it to Sabrina's. Noah then asked her how she did the scary voice as it was the scariest part, to which Carly Beth replied that she doesn't know how. After that, Carly Beth was most pleased to know that her test with the mask had been a success, but reckoned that she can't just jump out and scare Steve and Chuck so she decided to use her mother's Plaster of Paris and put it on a broom handle. Then, Carly Beth tried to sneak past her mother, as Mrs Caldwell still thought that Carly Beth was wearing her duck costume and Carly Beth didn't want to hurt her feelings. She was almost at the door when Mrs Caldwell started to come over to see if Carly Beth was in her duck costume, making it look like that Carly Beth was sunk until Mrs Caldwell had to answer a call from her father in Chicago. Mrs Caldwell then told Carly Beth she can go and to be careful, with Carly Beth relieved that she had been saved by the bell.

Carly Beth made her way to Sabrina's house, hoping to see Steve and Chuck there and remembered how they always spoiled Halloween for her, such as putting a real-looking rubber rat in her trick-or-treat bag. Carly Beth had reached Sabrina's house and noticed two boys coming up. Thinking they were Steve and Chuck, Carly Beth hid behind a evergreen shrub and when they were closer, she jumped out and roared, scaring them both. Then a woman rushed over and asked Carly Beth why she was scaring her sons, making Carly Beth realise that she had scared the wrong boys. As the mother lectured Carly Beth, she struggled to apologize but instead she felt some unknown anger and told her to go away to the woman's outrage. The woman started to lecture Carly Beth some more when her sons begged her to come along and ignore Carly Beth. Carly Beth was about to give them a real scare when Sabrina stepped out of her house and called out and was most astonished at Carly Beth's costume. Carly Beth then asked where Steve and Chuck were and Sabrina told her that Steve had to take his little sister trick-or-treating and that they will be late and they can start without them, which Carly Beth was most disappointed about.

Carly Beth and Sabrina walked along through the neighborhood, with Sabrina telling Carly Beth about the problems she had with her costume. Then Sabrina asked Carly Beth if she could feel the mask and remarked that it feels real and that Carly Beth must be uncomfortable when Carly Beth suddenly retaliated by strangling her friend. She stopped and quickly told an uncertain Sabrina that it was a joke and she was trying to get in character. They then continued on their way, with Carly Beth hoping that Sabrina really did think it was a joke and wondering why she started to strangle her. At a house, a little girl told her mother that she didn't like Carly Beth's mask as it was too scary for her and Carly Beth retaliated by telling her that she will eat her up. The mother told Carly Beth that she shouldn't have scared her as she has nightmares, but then Carly Beth told her son that she will eat him too, instead of apologizing. Sabrina then asked Carly Beth why she did and Carly Beth replied that the mask made her do it, meaning it as a joke but the thought troubled her mind. At every house, Carly Beth stood back and let Sabrina do all the talking, including when they were invited in by a middle aged couple to show their elderly mother the great costumes. The man gave the girls some apples and Carly Beth complained that she hates apples on Halloween and to Sabrina's surprise, she hurled both apples at the house. After they ran away, Carly Beth suggested that they should split up so they can get more candy, with Sabrina greatly concerned as Carly Beth doesn't even like candy. Carly Beth spent a little getting more candy and looking out for Steve and Chuck, when she heard two unfamiliar voices belonging to two boys dressed as mummies and decided to give them a scare. She did so and when took a bag of candy when one of them dropped it and ran away with it, continuing to look for Steve and Chuck.

Carly Beth eventually found the two boys a few minutes later and ducked behind a tree trunk to hide until they came closer. At first Carly Beth began to have doubts about her idea as they would probably laugh at her and tell everyone at school how she thought she was so scary on Halloween. They soon got closer and as soon as they were at her tree trunk, Carly Beth jumped out and roared at the top of her lungs, scaring them both. At first, Steve and Chuck didn't recognise her but then they figured out it her and remarked that she scared them. Carly Beth told the two boys that the Plaster of Paris head on the broom handle is her and she didn't want to give up her head tonight but it was taken anyway. Steve and Chuck started to get really uneasy and then Carly Beth threatened them to hand over their candy or their heads will adorn her stick. Then to even her horror, the Plaster of Paris head stared down at them and called out "Help me, help me". Steve and Chuck were most horrified at this and they both ran off in terror. Carly Beth stood frozen on the spot for a moment when she realised that she had succeeded in her revenge on Steve and Chuck. And she told herself that the head didn't really form its silent words and it had to be the shadows. Thinking the head and the broom handle were no longer any use to her now, Carly Beth started to run through her neighborhood, enjoying her victory over Steve and Chuck.

Carly Beth was eventually reunited with Sabrina, who had been looking for her, Steve and Chuck. The two girls decided to head back to Sabrina's house to look at what they received. Carly Beth told Sabrina about how she scared Steve and Chuck, to which they laughed about and Sabrina revealed to Carly Beth that they were planning to sneak up behind her and make scary noises. After they reached Sabrina's house and were told to throw away anything that isn't wrapped, Carly Beth and Sabrina started examining the candy they had received when Sabrina took off her mask and told Carly Beth that she should take off her own, which Carly Beth had forgotten to do. But Carly Beth had trouble getting her special mask off as it somehow became stuck. She asked Sabrina, who thought Carly Beth was goofing at first to help pull the mask off before cutting it with scissors. Sabrina felt around Carly Beth's neck for a moment and then she told Carly Beth in shocked horror that there was no place to slip her hand in, no line between the mask and Carly Beth's skin. Carly Beth thought it was crazy at first, but then she looked in the mirror and saw that her friend was right - the mask had become her face! Carly Beth became more hysterical than she had ever been before, screaming that this isn't her in the room and raced out of the house to get away from the mirror with Sabrina calling her to come back. Carly Beth throughout her neighborhood, not really planning where she was going. On the way, she ran into a group of trick-or-treaters and gave them a little scare. One of them asked what Carly Beth was supposed to be, to which Carly Beth didn't really answer and thought that she is supposed to be her but she is not.

Eventually, Carly Beth remembered the shopkeeper at the party store and decided to go to him for help. But she found that the store was closed when she got there, making Carly Beth most upset, forgetting her reason for wearing the mask in the first place. Then the shopkeeper appeared, telling her that he had been expecting her to come back. Carly Beth told him that she can't take the mask off and asked him to help take it off, to which he replied that he can't. Carly Beth asked what he meant and he told her that it is not a mask, it is a real face that he created in his lab. Carly Beth was astonished at this as they were so ugly so the shopkeeper explained that they used to be beautiful in the beginning and they were alive. But something had gone wrong as when they were taken out of the lab, they changed, making them a failure. But the shopkeeper had to keep them alive. He called them The Unloved as no one would ever want to see them. Occasionally, someone would wander in the back room and one of the faces finds a new home. Carly Beth was horrified at this as this included her and she ordered the shopkeeper to take off the mask, but he told her the Haunted Mask is her face now. But then the shopkeeper told Carly Beth that there is one way to take off the evil mask and he cannot do it for her and if the mask attaches itself to her or another person, it will be forever. The Shopkeeper then told Carly Beth that it can only be removed once by a symbol of love, to which she did not understand and asked him to make sense. The shopkeeper refused to do so and Carly Beth once again became hysterical, screaming that she wanted herself back. The shopkeeper tried frantically to motion her to be quiet and Carly Beth didn't realise until it was too late that she had woken up the other ugly faces. The shopkeeper frantically urged Carly Beth to run and after being unable to move for a moment, she raced out of the store.

Carly Beth raced through the neighborhood with the ugly faces in pursuit of her. While she was being chased, Carly Beth remembered her Plaster of Paris head and thought it could be her symbol of love as her mother told her that she made it because she loved her. So remembering where she left it, Carly Beth frantically raced to the street that she scared Steve and Chuck on. At first she couldn't find the head, but then she managed to find between two upraised roots on the big tree near the driveway. Carly Beth picked it up and turned it toward her monstrous pursuers and called out that it is her symbol of love. But the Unloved masks just laughed and began to close in on her. As they did, Carly Beth slid the Plaster of Paris head over her head and it fit like a mask to her astonishment. Carly Beth stayed inside her own head for a moment, wondering in fear of what will happen then after a while, she took off the head to find all the ugly faces gone. Then she felt the bottom of the Haunted Mask flap against her and she was able to take it off easily. Carly Beth was thrilled, seeing that her plan worked and remembered what the shopkeeper said about putting the mask on again, so she vowed that she won't do it again.

Then Carly Beth hurried back home, happy to be her old self again. She was about to find a mirror to make sure when Noah appeared and told her to take off the mask, scaring Carly Beth. But it turned out to be a joke and Carly Beth was angry at Noah for playing that trick. Then Mrs Caldwell appeared and asked Carly Beth where she was and offered her some hot cider. Mrs Caldwell then asked her daughter why she didn't wear her duck costume and why she wasn't with Sabrina as she called twice, wondering what had happened to Carly Beth. Carly Beth was about to explain her long weird story to her mother when Noah came in wearing the Haunted Mask.

The Haunted Mask II

Ever since her encounter with the Haunted Mask, Carly Beth had become more braver than before and harder to scare. One day, she and Sabrina were walking home after school, when Steve and Chuck burst out from behind a tree trunk near the Carpenter mansion to scare her, when Carly Beth's head fell off! But it turned out to be the Plaster of Paris head that Sabrina had placed on top of her to give the boys a scare and they laughed at how scared they were. Steve wanted to pay some first graders he was coaching for a punishment back for the horrible things they were doing to him and seeing Carly Beth made him remember how she scared them with the Haunted Mask and thought it was perfect to pay the first graders back for their tricks, so Steve asked Carly Beth where she got it. But Carly Beth refused to tell him and told him and Chuck how it attached itself to her face and made her evil. But Steve and Chuck didn't believe her and thought she didn't want to tell them because she wanted to be the scariest person on Earth. So Steve and Chuck attempted to persuade Carly Beth to tell them by playing keep-away with her Plaster of Paris head and then Steve threatened to drop-kick it on someone's roof. So Carly Beth told him about the party store and the back room where the other ugly masks were kept. So Steve handed Carly Beth her Plaster of Paris head and Carly Beth begged Steve not to go to the store as it was terrifying with the Haunted Mask, but Steve just laughed at her and he and Chuck were on their way.

Carly Beth was also going to have a party on Halloween. Prior to Halloween though, her father got a call from what sounded like an old man who wanted to talk to Carly Beth, but thought it was a nut and said that Carly Beth can't come to the phone, with Carly Beth unaware that it was actually Steve on the phone.

Later on Halloween, Carly Beth (this time wearing her duck costume) and Sabrina were returning to her house after going trick-or-treating to get ready for the party when they suddenly encountered a person that sounded like an old man. Carly Beth realised that it was the man that tried to call her earlier, so she told him to leave her alone or she will get her father. She was about to go in her house when the person called out that it's Steve and he was wearing the mask of a hideous old man with spiders in its hair. That caught Carly Beth's attention and she was astounded to know that Steve had gone to the party store and got a mask. She and Sabrina ushered Steve into the house and she explained to him what the shopkeeper had told her when she went to him to get the Haunted Mask off. Steve then asked Carly Beth to get the Plaster of Paris head if it was a symbol of love, but Carly Beth told Steve that he has to have his own symbol of love. Then Steve remembered that his mother bought him black-and-white cookies and they could be his symbol of love, so he asked Carly Beth to help him home to get them. Carly Beth asked Sabrina to watch over the party and helped Steve home to get the cookies. But Steve's idea was dashed when they found out that his dog, Sparky had gotten to them first and ate them all. Carly Beth noticed that Sparky loves his owner and suggested to Steve to pick him up and hold him against himself. Steve refused at first as Sparky ate all his cookies, but Carly Beth told him to forget the cookies and pick him up. But that didn't get any results either and Carly Beth began to think that each mask must be different. Steve was dismayed at first, but then he remembered the shopkeeper and thought he could help him. But Steve told Carly Beth that the store had gone out of business, but they went there anyway, hoping to find the shopkeeper. But the shopkeeper didn't answer when Carly Beth pounded on the door, but then Steve remembered a basement that he and Chuck had entered earlier, so Carly Beth followed him to it. In the basement, Carly Beth and Steve looked around in some crates for something that connects to Steve's mask. Carly Beth eventually found a suit that was covered in spiders like Steve's mask and then the mask flew off of Steve and landed on top of the suit. The Old Man costume did a crazy and left the basement and Carly Beth and Steve laughed and laughed. After that, Carly Beth and Steve were dancing down the street toward home when they encountered someone wearing a mask with purple skin, fiery red eyes, a mouth full of broken rotting teeth and a fat brown worm poking out of its cheek, who jumped out and scared Carly Beth and Steve. It turned out to be Chuck, who had also taken his mask from the party store, but now he had a problem taking it off.

The Scream of the Haunted Mask Carly Beth makes an appearance in Goosebumps HorrorLand, in the book The Scream of the Haunted Mask. She is eventually turned into a shadow by the villains of Panic Park, who are all teaming up to defeat their enemies.

In this book, she has a relationship with one Gary Steadman, possibly one of her classmates. They even kiss at Steve Boswell's party on one Friday night, which she is embarassed when teased by Sabrina Mason. However, she defensively explains that Gary Steadman tries to kiss her and his braces cut her lips.

For some reason, Chuck and Steve didn't tease her about the incident. It is likely that they didn't witness it as Sabrina did, both Carly Beth or Gary kissed in hidden area, or they are just didn't think it was good enough for them to tease her about it.

Personality
When she was first introduced, Carly Beth used to be "scare-able" in other words, afraid of her own shadow and she had been the butt of mainly Chuck and Steve's jokes about it, much to her annoyance. This came to an end after her encounter with the Haunted Mask as she had become more braver than before and she also learned to appreciate herself. She is also a bit negative about her appearance (mainly about her little stub of a nose). But she can still get annoyed with mean, practical jokes. She sometimes has the strangest reactions to some things as her mother would say. She is fond of the kindergarten children that she and Sabrina work with and can be as firm with them as she needs to be and also loves horses. She is very close to Sabrina and her mother and occasionally enjoys a good laugh with Noah. Despite being braver than before, Carly Beth can still have her limit, but always tries to be positive and has a kind, thoughtful and caring nature.

Appearance
Carly Beth is twelve years old short, Caucasian short and skinny, with a little pixyish face, long straight brown hair, brown eyes and a tiny stub of a nose. Despite her somewhat negative opinion on her physical appearance, she is actually attractive, as Abby Martin described her as "a pretty girl with straight brown hair".

Books
It is unknown if Carly Beth was going to appear in the Goosebumps Gold book, The Haunted Mask Lives!, as the book was never actually written, due to the expiration of R. L. Stine's contract with Scholastic.
 * Goosebumps
 * The Haunted Mask
 * The Haunted Mask II
 * Goosebumps HorrorLand
 * The Scream of the Haunted Mask
 * Dr. Maniac vs. Robby Schwartz
 * Who's Your Mummy?
 * My Friends Call Me Monster
 * Say Cheese - And Die Screaming
 * Welcome to Camp Slither
 * Help! We Have Strange Powers!
 * Escape From HorrorLand
 * The Streets of Panic Park
 * Classic Goosebumps
 * The Haunted Mask

Television and Film

 * Season 1 - The Haunted Mask part I and The Haunted Mask part II
 * Season 2 - The Haunted Mask II part I and The Haunted Mask II part II

Actress

 * Kathryn Long (television series)

Trivia

 * Carly Beth is one of two characters that did not narrate their first stories, the other being Greg Banks.