"The Cat's Tale" is the seventh short story in the book More Tales to Give You Goosebumps.
Plot[]
Marla's family has moved to the town of River Falls, having previously lived in the big city. One night, the family is telling ghost stories, which she wants no part of. She finds a stray cat in her room. and decides too keep the cat and names it Misty. The next day, Marla is preparing to go outside, but Misty begins hissing. Marla decides to stay inside and keep Misty calm. That night, Marla is awoken from her sleep when Misty sits on her face, almost smothering her. The following day, Marla is on the high dive, and she feels something brush against her legs. She trips and almost drowns.
As time passes, Marla starts behaving strangely. She craves tuna casserole. At night, she hears whispers, telling her that some entity wants to steal her body before it has lived its nine lives. The next morning, she's uncertain whether or not she was dreaming. Later in the day, Marla begins adding all of the events up, and she concludes that she must get rid of Misty. Marla takes the cat to an animal shelter, but Misty somehow makes it back home. Marla decides to put Misty in a cage and put her on a bus that's traveling far away.
Marla puts Misty's cage in the basket on the front of her bike. While Marla stops to get something to drink, Misty is run over by a driver, as the cat seems to have escaped. Marla is happy that Misty is dead. However, that night Marla hears a whispering voice that tells her eight lives remain.
Trivia[]
- Elements of this story's plot make it similar to Cry of the Cat, which came out more than two years after this story.
- Both stories feature protagonists that become increasingly catlike.
- Both stories feature scenes where the protagonist is almost smothered by a cat.
- The plot of this story is slightly similar to the book Pet Sematary by Stephen King. R.L. Stine has admitted that Pet Sematary is one of his favorite books, and it has influenced multiple pieces of his writing.
- This story references Little League Baseball.