CORY

It seems that Halloween is coming early this year. I've noticed some strange oddities in the woods tonight. Apparently some of the trees and bushes have been turned into…candy.

I've noticed something odd about the old Wonder Candy Factory in the more lost part of town. There's lots of stuff there, too. An old tavern, an abandoned diner, and a massive dump. Along with some overgrowth from the woods. Turns out monsters live here in secret when night falls. Only those like Lucy and Randy are allowed, and NO humans.

I've been thinking back to Blenders. Were they once completely human? If so, then what turned them into Blenders? More kids have gone missing ever since last Halloween.

Something tells me this is the work of dark magic. Alison said she had a run-in with a cat calling herself Christine, who Sue had fought. Turns out Brad had seen her cat form the night his ride nearly got wrecked. Before the incident. Maybe the cat is a source of bad luck.

More than that. Sue informed me that she was a 400 year old witch who was the leader of the Cataluna Clan. And she was a Grimhilde. The sister of Clarissa and mother of Vanessa.

Back on topic, I had found two strange candy bars in a bag. Possibly dropped by someone. And it seemed to emit some kind of odd energy only magic users could sense. Analysis confirmed that the candy was laced with some kind of potion that turned humans into monsters. The secret ingredient for these Beast Bars.

Lisa and I have traced the potion source to this old factory. Looks like Willy Wonka's gone out of business. Something tells me that this Wonder Candy isn't exactly so wonderful.

Word is in the monster underground that Eakins is working on another variant of the potion that will turn OTHER monsters, including vampires, werewolves, and even ROBOTS into monsters. Which…doesn't even make sense!

All the more reason to shut this operation down! Lisa and I armor up and we head inside. The candy factory seems to be empty, but if I know something about creepy abandoned places in the middle of nowhere, there's always the feeling that you're NOT alone…

Sure enough, we're not. Above us, we can see someone looking down at us. Eakins.

"Well well well…I sure wasn't expecting visitors." She cackles. "You must want to know the secret of my Wonder Candy that badly, don't you?"

"Yeah, we've been wondering." Lisa asks. "You make the monsterfication potion yourself, don't you?"

"Oh! So, I guess you've figured it out. To be fair, I think this town will look BETTER with monsters. I've added it to both Beast Bars and Curse Bars alike."

"Lemme guess, one for turning, the other to make it permanent."

"I'd hate to spoil the surprise, but why don't you find out for yourself and try some? I still have to complete a new version of that potion to work on all kinds of monsters, to make them just like your new friends! Ta-ta!"

Poof. Gone.

"So…Slappy?"

"Yep. Definitely with Slappy." I say. "And she's a witch, too."

"Wait…new friends?"

Suddenly, we hear growling as several figures emerge. WOAH! Possibly hostile monsters! We ready our weapons when we notice just what these things are.

"Are these…werewolves?!" Lisa gasps.

"No, not werewolves." I confirm. "They look like…a mix. Half human, half wolf. They have the head, fur and fangs for the upper half…but they have human arms, legs, and bottom half!"

"So…halflings?"

"More like…"

"Half-Beasts!" Jinx!

Guess that potion wasn't complete! But I manage to spot some more Half-Beasts that seem…different…

There's a girl with green skin, an ape-like beast with blue fur, something like a werewolf that hasn't fully turned, and an orange furry creature. Some of the Half-Beasts are eagerly munching up any candy they can get their hands on as we see them lit up by the full green moon.

"Can….dy….want….more…."

"Looks like they've got a little addiction problem." I note. "Just like you and coffee."

"Hey, that's only my morning self's problem!"

"Candy…give…us…CANDY!"

Given how they suddenly lunge at us, they must be thinking WE'RE the candy!

"Sorry, but we're too sour for your liking!" Lisa quips as we manage to fight off the Half-Beasts. Well, the other five look like they had a complete potion, since they're more aggressive. Question is…how do we snap them out of it?

Lisa manages to stun one of the incomplete Half-Beasts with what she calls Rule Number 3, which looks quite painful if you ask me. And right now, there's only one way we can figure out how to turn them back: By beating them senseless. And if that fails, maybe some magic might do it.

Well, the Half-Beasts are like basic minions. There's not much to them. Just Level 1 enemies against two Level 10 warriors. But the other four seem like a different story. They're like Level 5!

And reckless attacks like that make them predictable. A few slashes and some purification magic, and they get turned back to normal. All the other Half-Beasts? They might be too far gone…

Suddenly, we begin hearing something. Like big footsteps. Of course, it's never that easy. So what's the boss of this place?!

Sure enough, something hops inside. It's a big monster, with a cupcake head, four candy cane legs, chocolate bar hands, lollipop shoulders, marshmallow arms, candy corn teeth, a bowtie with a green eye, and a taffy bottom jaw. Apparently it has no middle body, like a kid's poor doodle.

It only lets out a loud roar, sending old candy wrappers flying from its mouth. Gotta admire it for having minty breath, though. Super rare for monsters.

"Woah…this guy must have a LOT of sugar." Lisa gulps.

"Must be something Eakins created." I steady myself. "Doesn't seem like much. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Key word: Harder…"

The big candy monster ends up firing a green laser from its eye (but of course), and we dodge it. It hops around and lands with slam attacks and tries biting us. It also throws what I can consider Doughnuts of Doom at us, and my sword easily makes quick work of them.

We dodge some arm sweeps and some candy barf. Finally, I determine its weak spot: The eye, which flashes right before it can fire its laser.

I move out of range to leave the laser its only option. And once it charges up, I cast a lightning spell and throw it like javelin. The bolt strikes the eye and…there's sparking?!

The roar becomes glitchy and distorted before there's a powering down sound as electricity overloads the monster. Once it shuts down, Lisa and I only look at each other.

"A robot?! No wonder it was too easy…" She sighs.

I only head over to examine it. There's some kind of logo on one of the legs. It reads…Shockro's Animatronics!

"Woah! Lis, you gotta see this!"

Once she heads over and notices it, she seems rather shocked.

"Shockro? Like that Shock Street thing?! This company must've been based on that movie series and helped build the attraction's animatronics! Mr. Wright must've had them help him make Erin and Marty!"

"Mmmph…five more….minutes…"

Huh? One of the kids responded to one of those names! Lisa and I rush over and…woah…those faces! I've seen them in the Missing People section of the paper! They've been missing since Halloween! Just…what were their names again?

The four kids manage to wake up, and it's not long before the girl in yellow clothing, about elementary school age, notices us.

"Hey, you're…you're one of those Midnight Society guys!"

"Somehow I'm not surprised that you know who we are." Lisa says. "I blame the giant mantis."

"No way! I saw the Gazelle fight that thing!" The glasses kid says. "He was so cool! I had no idea he had size-altering superpowers!"

"Uh…he doesn't." I spoil. "Apparently he decided to even the odds by drinking Monster Blood."

"UGH! Gross!" The kid with the red hat gags.

"I-It's not REAL blood! Trust me, we fell for it too." Lisa clears it up. Hey…have I seen these kids before?

"Is this…the Wonder Candy Factory?" The girl asks.

"Long story short, you've been monsterfied since Halloween and we got you back. Also, a giant candy robot got scrapped."

"Well, thanks for that, I guess." She says. "I'm Lucy Del Rio of the Many Mysteries Club."

"The…what?" Okay, I'm kind of confused here. Is this the same Lucy I saw when Lisa experimented with the Haunted Camera?

"We've been investigating supernatural activity in this town. Our theory is this: Somehow, monsters do indeed exist and seek to terrorize us."

"Well…not all of them." I say. "Why don't you show us where your base is? There, we can meet up with the rest of you, if there's more to your club. And…strap yourselves in. You want answers? You've got them…"

So, here we are. The treehouse where the Many Mysteries Club meets every afternoon is in the more tamer parts of the wood. They've met the Midnight Society, and introductions have passed. And I gotta say, their world has been rocked.

So, there's 12 kids that are part of it, and now they're the main supporters of the Midnight Society, who's basically doing the same thing. They've been filled in on our mission to find R.L. Stine and stopping Slappy, so here's what's gonna happen. We both investigate, and while they do most of the research, us older folks will do most of the fighting. Plus, these kids have been doing this before we even moved here! Anyway, here's who they are.

Lucy Del Rio's the founder and leader. She's a massive horror fan and has been fascinated by the mystery surrounding Dead House and this town. We've told her all the Society knows about monsters and their lore. In her eyes, this changes everything completely. Everything she's ever known about all that was the tip of the iceberg. Now she's eager to learn more.

Dustin Williams is her best friend, and a troublesome adventurer. He's a true rebel, but still has some phobias to face. A hunter he's not, so he's leaving the more extreme monsters to the pros.

Marty Ricardo is the brawn of the group, and used to be a bully. Thankfully, like Steve Boswell, he's on his path to redemption. He claims to be tough, and he is. Just not…THAT tough. At least he's not a complete coward. So there's something.

Eric Myers is the brains of the team, and a superhero fanatic. He's also a magic fan like Dustin is, and has been researching the many monsters, thankfully not running experiments (these tests are my favorite since you don't need to study for them). Lisa has shown him her bestiary to bring him up to speed. He's even looked into monster history, thus she's begun calling him the Lord of the Lore.

Turns out they have some monsters too! Such as a ghost teen named Shaeron who lives in the treehouse. Hannah's tutoring her in the ways of a Realmwalker, and she seems to have lost most of her memory. She recalls being murdered by…something. Given her description of some kind of shadowy figure, I'm guessing the Shadow Lord is to blame.

Brooke Buchenburg is the second brains, and an alien expert. Turns out Lisa and Hannah were witnessed facing the Blob, and Brooke was that witness! Don't worry, she didn't get a sample of that blob.

Chuck Reed is the master prankster, and he's weaponized his pranks against monsters. He's laid many traps against zombies, such as stunning one with a tripwire pie to the face. He also cosplays as this cardboard robot called Chuck-Bot.

Megan Standish is one of the few teens of the group, and a major perfectionist. I can tell Lisa can't stand how girly she can be. It's like another Jane!

Greg Mikkelsen is the richer cousin to Crystal and Cole. He's a spoiled boy with an eye for Megan, which proves a bit difficult for him. Sure he seems bossy at times, but we make sure he knows who's the REAL leader here. Besides, it turns out he can't handle the pressure.

Oh, and remember Ricky Beamer? Turns out he's on the redemption path too! Being a former monster, he knows how they act and think. He's also one of the geeks, and is a master planner! Plus, he's even a pretty good chef!

Jordan Jones is the jock and fighter of the club. He's a middle school football player, and is searching for his younger sister. So yeah, this is starting to get a bit personal.

Even Emily Tucker's part of the club too, trying to find both her best friend and younger brother. Her family moved here a while ago trying to find Tucker as well. They've managed to track him to this area. Well, I told them that Horrorland won't be easy to infiltrate.

The club will also be supplying us with all kinds of gear and devices as well! They'll provide us with investigation files, tin-can telephones, evidence records, fingerprint registries, spyglass binoculars, cardboard periscopes, suspect pictures, expedient folders, ultrasonic scanners, night vision binoculars, oozy stuff volcanoes, monster databases, and cyborg scanners.

Okay, we might not need all that stuff, since the kids will use most of it. We're only getting the more important stuff, like the fles, records, fingerprints, folders, and databases (especially the databases, Lisa loves the monster database).

They're even gonna be investigating Slappy, Dead House, and Horrorland for us! I like these junior detectives. They'll definitely be of help. They even have another old phone like Lisa and I do in our own treehouse! That's a direct line, so they'll be easy to contact. At least Shaeron will pick up.

The Club is already hard at work right now. Maybe for just one night, the Society can take a little break…