"The Spirit of the Harvest Moon" is the tenth and final short story featured in the book More Tales to Give You Goosebumps.
Plot[]
Jenny and her parents are visiting an obscure resort called Pine Mountain Lodge. The lodge's keepers, the Bass family, look creepy and act strange. In fact, only their dog, Bravo, looks normal. Mr. Bass demands that Jenny's family keep the windows in their rooms closed at night. As Jenny tries to sleep, she hears someone calling her name from outside, complaining about the cold.
The next morning, Jenny's parents go hiking, but Jenny decides to stay at the lodge with Tyler, Mr. Bass's son. Tyler warns Jenny that the area around the lodge is haunted. A tourist once died on a nearby peak, and their spirit must find a new body to possess each year on the night of the Harvest Moon. If one becomes possessed, they will be forced out of their body, left to walk the earth for a year as a mist.
That night, Jenny hears the voice calling to her again. Jenny soon begins to suspect that Tyler is the ghost. The following day, Jenny learns that there will be a Harvest Moon that night. Also, Jenny's parents will be playing cards with the Bass family, so Jenny will be alone. Once she is alone, Jenny hears someone claiming to be Tyler outside. Bravo runs up to the door between Jenny's room and the outside, and he begins barking. The ghostly voice goes away, and Jenny opens the door for Bravo. The dog walks inside and speaks to Jenny, thanking her for letting him in.
Adaptations[]
Audiobook[]
Image(s) | Release date | Length | Narrated by | Published by |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 21 minutes | Unknown (Introduction by R.L. Stine) |
Parachute Press |
Trivia[]
- Posts online suggest that the audio adaptation of this story was distributed on cassette tapes via the Goosebumps Fan Club.[1] These tapes have evidently fallen into obscurity, as there are barely any images of them available online.
- This story references Frankenstein.