Hello again, Aral Stein Story Club members. I'm Ivy, your host, an entrusted custodian of those

spooky yarns and strange tales from the hidden vault of R.L. Stein. Today is another chilling tale.

This tasty tale story club members is why you shouldn't play with your food. It's one I call sin a minbears. Nick held the kitchen door in

place, his shoulder against the wood. His twin sister, Cora, grabbed a kitchen chair and slid it across the tile floor.

It made a shuddering sound that gave them chills, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Hurry up, Cora, Nick said. They're getting through.

Okay, so we need to back up to an hour earlier.

Nick and Cora's father was a food scientist.

He was a doctor who made breakfast cereals stay crunchier in milk, potato chips stay crisp long after they've been opened,

and most of the kernels in a bag of microwave popcorn pop without leaving too many uncooked.

They lived in an upscale townhouse in the big city. While their father was on an important business call in his study on the other side of the house, Nick and Cora had ventured into his home laboratory.

Their father worked long hours and didn't like them in there. He also didn't like to be disturbed while he was on a call in his study. He kept his door firmly closed. They were always curious about

what their father did. He didn't talk much about work. In fact, he didn't talk about much of anything.

He would usually work, take a break for dinner, and then go back to work, occasionally grumbling out

a question about what they did in school that day or telling them good night. Their dad was

working on something serious in his lab, and they were dying of curiosity. Cora had guessed the six-digit

code, which was their dad's birthday. They snuck inside and flipped on the light. The room reeked of chemicals.

It made sense because there were glass vials and plastic bottles

filled with various elixirs on the shelves. Boxes of food were on the floor too. On the laboratory

table was some green goop in a glass bowl. What's that? Kora asked. Nick had no idea.

One of the open boxes on the floor contained several bags of extra large

cinnamon bears. They stood about three inches high. Several of the packs were open, so Nick and

...