"The Halloween Game" is a short story that was originally included alongside various food products, specifically Hershey products, along with "Don't Make Me Laugh" and "Bad Dog," all of which were later collected in Goosebumps Haunted Library.
Plot[]
Robby, along with their friends Carl and Krista, are going trick-or-treating despite being "too old" for it. Robby is in a chimp costume, Krista a fairy princess, and Carl a skeleton. The first stop they make is at their classmate Miles' house, a weird kid who lives in a house that looks like a haunted mansion. When they get there, Miles asks if they'd like to play a Halloween game, to which a bunch of other kids say yes, as well as Krista and Carl and (somewhat reluctantly), Robby. Miles then gives the summary of the game: His Aunt Freda lives in an identical house three blocks down, and has hidden candy all over her house. The players half a half hour to find the house, collect as much candy as possible, and get back. Whoever collects the most candy wins.
As they make their way to Aunt Freda's house, the kids notice a dark shape, which turns out to be a panther that attacks them. Carl falls and breaks his arm, and while Robby and Krista try to help, he's too heavy to pick up, so the two climb into a tree and hide while Carl gets eaten/attacked. Robby comments that they know they should stop, but they feel like they have to keep playing the game. When they arrive on the block, Robby and Krista discover that all the houses look identical to Miles' house, and decide to check them one by one. At the first house they check, a burst of fire shoots out into the driveway, a large dragon revealing itself. The dragon bites Krista's costume and holds her in its mouth, only for Robby to find a sword and attempt to plunge it into the dragon's back. The blade snaps, and the creature leaves with Krista. The house next door has its door suddenly swing open, Robby entering to find tons of kids searching for candy. He spends a bit searching for candy in a dark bedroom, only to be cornered by six ghouls.
The scene then cuts to an office, where four men are watching a game in being pitched to them, presented by a young man. One of the businessmen comments on how he finds it interesting that the main characters are named after his children, but that he'll have to pass on buying the game because it's not scary enough for kids.
Trivia[]
- The ending might be a riff on feedback R.L. Stine himself received. In interviews, Stine claimed, "I tend to be kind of squeamish. My editors are always saying, 'Make it scarier, make it scarier!'"[1]
- Robby's name isn't revealed until the final scene.