Hello again R. L. Stein Story Club members.

I'm Ivy, your ghostly host and keeper of those strange and spooky tales from the hidden vault of R.L. Stein.

Today is another chilling tale. This creepy tale story club members might make you stand on a chair and scream. It's one I call

Oh, rats. Liam Hall sprayed down the concrete floor with a blast of the hose. Dirt and grit

turned the water the color of coffee. There are better ways to spend my Saturday, Liam thought.

Cleaning the garage is the pits. He dropped the hose, grabbed the pushroom,

and brushed the dirty water and mud out of the garage and onto the lawn.

I'd rather be inside watching the baseball game with Dad.

Liam thought. I'd rather go to the dentist than do this.

On Thursday, a dust storm had swept through town,

leaving a thick layer of dust over cars, houses, and inside garages.

At least this garage in particular.

Liam had accidentally left the garage door open during the storm.

He often entered the house through the back door in the garage, and he often left the garage door wide open.

They'd only moved to a new neighborhood a little over a month ago.

The house and the garage were clean when Liam and his family moved in, but not now.

Now that the garage is filthy, his father had told him,

you're going to spend Saturday cleaning it instead of being out with your friends.

Maybe this little task will remind you to keep the garage door shut.

This was hardly a little task.

It seemed like there was a solid half-inch of brown dust

caked on the concrete floor of the garage.

...