Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 NOW, IF YOU SAW ALL of your friends and family staring at nothing, with swirling spiral eyes, you would probably suspect that something was not right. Something was not right at all. This was exactly what Vampyra, Franky, and George thought. No matter how much they talked to them, no matter how many times they waved their hands in front of their eyes, no matter how many silly faces or goofy noises they made, nobody would even look in their direction. Not the villagers, not Peter, not even Wolfy or the cubs. "It's like we're invisible," said Vampyra.

"Now you know how I feel," said George. "Woof," said Sprocket. She licked George's invisible hand. But then something even stranger happened. The man in the tall top hat stood before the hypnotized crowd of villagers (and Wolfy and the cubs). He placed a small platform on the ground. He stepped up onto the small platform. "Now that I have enough of you—" "Caw," said Edgar. "Well, most of you—" "Caw, caw." "Oh. Really? Well, that's even better than expected," said the man in the tall top hat to the crow sitting next to him. He turned back to the motionless villagers. "Now that I have all of you, it's time for a little test. Cluck like a chicken!"

The mayor, Peter, the villagers, and Wolfy and the cubs all began to cluck like chickens. "Cluck, cluck, cluck," they all said, wiggling their arms like chickens and strutting around in circles with their heads bobbing back and forth. It was a very funny sight to see, and Franky, Vampyra, and George wanted to laugh, but they didn't. They knew that this top hat–wearing Fun House owner was very suspicious.

"Well, they certainly seem to be hypnotized," said the man in the tall top hat. "Caw, caw, caw." "Yes, of course, it never hurts to be sure," said the man in the tall top hat. "Now moo like a cow!" As you might have guessed, all of the villagers, and the mayor, and Peter, and Wolfy and the cubs began mooing like cows. Again, it was a funny sight, but the Junior Monster Scouts were not laughing. They were very worried. "What are they doing?" asked Vampyra. "They're mooing," said Franky. "Like cows." "I know that," said Vampyra. "I mean why are they mooing like cows?" "I think they're… hypnotized," said George. "Hypno-what?" Vampyra asked.

"You know, hypnotized," said George. "Like in a trance." "But what could have possibly hypnotized them?" Franky asked. "Well, let's retrace our steps," said Vampyra. "You know, like what you do when something is lost." "Let's start with Wolfy and the cubs," said George, "since we know everything they did before becoming hypnotized." "They came to the village with us," said Vampyra. "They bought tickets for the Fun House of Fun," said Franky. "Then they went inside the Fun House of Fun," said George. "And when they came out… they were hypno-sized," said Vampyra. "Hypnotized," said George. "That's what I said," Vampyra said.

"Aha!" said Franky. "Hypno-sized, hypnotized… whatever it is, it must have something to do with the Fun House of Fun," said Franky. "I'll bet you're right," said Vampyra. "They were normal when they went in and then not normal when they came out." "There's only one way to know," said George. "One of us is going to have to go in and check it out," said Franky. "Not one," Vampyra said. "All of us." She put her hand out. "A Junior Monster Scout and friends…" Franky put his hand on top of hers. "…stick together till the end," he finished. An invisible hand rested atop Franky's and Vampyra's hands.