Goosebumps #6: Let’s Get Invisible (R.L. Stine)

It’s Max’s birthday and because of an unexpected storm, he and his guests are stuck inside. His little brother Lefty (named for being left handed) keeps annoying the shit out of everyone, but they manage to have fun. Max and his friends Erin and April head upstairs to check out the attic. His dog Whitey finds a hidden door and when they go inside, they find a huge mirror.

The mirror has a weird light on top and when Max pulls it, he disappears. The pull the switch to turn the light off and he turns back up. At first he thinks they’re all just messing with him, but he sneaks up that night and the same thing happens again. Lefty gets obsessed with the mirror and keeps making himself disappear to play pranks around the house.

Max decides to play a prank on his friend Zach, so he invites the group over and they show him the mirror. Zach turns it into a game, making everyone try to stay invisible for longer periods of time. Max notices that when he goes under, he gets a weird and kind of dizzy feeling. He also notices that someone seems to keep calling his name.

April is originally kind of scared of the mirror, but she warms up to it. Erin thinks it’s the coolest thing ever and keeps pushing herself to stay under longer. At the 12 minute mark, he shouts for his friends and they can’t hear him. The girls want him to use the mirror and enter it in the science fair, but he kind of wants to just pretend he never found it.

Everyone comes back over again and Whitey is somehow transported into the mirror. He makes it out, but acts a little funny. Then Max notices that Lefty, Erin and Zach all have different hair. He’s ready to stop messing around with the mirror, but Erin pulls the switch and sends him inside. He comes face to face with his own reflection.

It turns out that our “cold” side or reflection, lives inside the mirror and wants out. Zach and Erin were both replaced by their reflections and now Max’s reflection wants to replace him. Max runs off and starts shouting for help. His mom walks in the attic and starts rambling about the mirror. His voice grows smaller and no one can hear him screaming.

Suddenly April pulls the switch and turns the light on. Max comes out, but Erin and Zach attack him. They try throwing him back in the mirror so his other self can come out. Lefty suddenly pops up and wants to play catch. He throws a ball, Max misses and it crashes into the window. The real Erin and Zach take back their bodies.

Everyone cleans up the attic, closes the door and decide to never again look at the mirror or even go in the room. Max feels happy about the decision and heads outside to play catch with Lefty. They play for a few minutes and then it hits Max: Lefty is now right handed; he’s the exact opposite of what he was like going in…

*Eh, I kind of dig the new Lefty a lot better than the old one. The old one was pretty freaking annoying.

*When Zach is invisible, he goes to the neighbor’s house and makes his tomatoes dance around the yard. The guy’s wife thinks he has heat stroke and makes him go inside. It kind of cracked me up.

*Supposedly Max’s parents got the house from his grand-parents and never really bothered to go in the attic. Sorry, but if it was my house, I would have gone through that attic looking for eBay stuff LOL.