Choose one title for the story and write it in the box.

“The Fire” - “The Restaurant” - “The Guests”

1 A young man and his wife were on a trip to visit his mother. They left their
2 house late and now it was getting dark. They started to look for a place to stay
3 overnight.

4 They saw a small house in the woods. “Maybe they rent rooms”, the wife said.
5 So they stopped to ask. An elderly man and woman came to the door. They
6 didn’t rent rooms, but they invited them to stay overnight as their guests. They
7 had lots of room and would enjoy the company.

8 The old woman made coffee, brought out some cake, and the four of them
9 talked awhile. Then the old man took them to their room. The young couple
10 explained that they wanted to pay for this, but the old man did not accept any
11 money.

12 The young couple got up early the next morning before the elderly couple woke
13 up. On a table near the front door, they left an envelope with some money in it
14 for the room. They went to the next town.

15 They stopped at a restaurant and had breakfast. When they told the owner
16 where they stayed, he was shocked. “That can’t be!” he said. “That house
17 burned down ten years ago. The old man and woman who lived there died in
18 the fire.”

19 The young couple did not believe it. So they returned to the house, but there
20 was no house. All they found was a burnt building. They stood staring at the
21 ruins and tried to understand what happened.

22 Then the woman screamed. In the rubble, there was a badly burned table and
23 on the table was the envelope they had left there that morning!

Find the answers to the questions in the story. Write your answer on the line.

1. When the story starts, is it daytime or nighttime? __________________________________

2. Where did the young couple find the house? _____________________________________

3. Where did the young couple go the next morning? ________________________________

4. What did the young couple put the money in? ____________________________________

Story adapted from: Schwartz, A. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. (Harper & Row).