Spinetingler #07: Snow Day

Snow Day is the story of six kids, who, on their way to school, learn that the schools have been closed down for a snow day. But the bus breaks down before the driver is able to bring them home, and they get stranded in the snowy country road. The six kids, Debi the main character, Cyndi, loudmouth Larry, quiet Carl Lee, nerdy Thomas, and Andrea "The Fritch", Fritch being her last name, and the bus driver Mad Milo, are forced to take refuge in a nearby farmhouse. This house, the Muhlzae Maze Manor, is a lonely and creepy place, designed like a funhouse but more like a half-finished idea. No one seems to be home even though the lights are on, and the kids are creeped out by a painting of a red-eyed cat staring out from atop a series of never-ending, oddly proportioned stairs. They start looking around the kitchen, and Larry decides to check out the walk-in freezer. He opens it, and then... While you'd probably think this is an average haunted house story by now, it is much more then that. Throughout the story, the kids inexplicably lapse into their own little dreamworlds, not realizing anything is wrong. All except Debi, the only one to know that these dreams are both enforced and the machinations of a malicious group nicknamed Them. Debi somehow manages to pop up in the dreams of the others and wakes them up. The truth about these dreams and the force that has brought the kids together is a surprise, and the ending is one that leaves the reader dreading just what fate has truly befallen the main character. Well worth it.

School is out because of a raging snowstorm. The kids are excited! But their bus gets stranded on a deep snow bank and they are forced to find shelter and the only place is an abandoned farm.