The House of No Return

The House of No Return is the first short story in the book Tales to Give You Goosebumps.

Plot
The story centers around 12-year-old best friends named Robbie, Lori and Nathan. They are part of a club called "Danger, Inc." of which they are the only members, and pride themselves on being the boldest children they know, who will take any dare they are offered.

They become interested in Christopher Wakely, a new boy in town, and encourage him to join them. He is not very brave and does not want to take part in their antics. They dare him to spend an hour in the "House of No Return", a boarded-up old house, which none of the local children will enter because it is rumored to be haunted. The story is that a man made this house for his wife and they had a baby girl. But sadly, the baby fell through a weak spot, falling to her death. After that, the childless parents went mad, never leaving their house. One day, the police went inside their house to find both of them dead. Christopher reluctantly agrees and they shut and lock him inside. When he does not return, they go to look for him. The door seals shut behind them, so they cannot escape. Then the two ghosts come down the stairs.

The ghosts explain that Christopher came to the house some time ago. But they allowed him to go and escape, because he promised that three other children would be following him. They also say that now Robbie, Lori, and Nathan will stay in the house forever as replacements for the ghosts' lost child.