The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

R. L. Stine's *The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It* is a 2007 children's horror movie that came out straight to DVD. It was directed by Alex Zamm, with a script by Dan Angel and Billy Brown, and features Emily Osment, Cody Linley, Brittany Curran, and Tobin Bell. The story follows Cassie, a goth girl who has just moved to a new town and is into the occult. A mysterious shop owner sells her an old book, which she reads to her brother Max on Halloween night despite a warning not to read it aloud or think about the monster inside. The monster comes to life, captures Max, and Cassie must team up with a friend to save him before their parents return from a party.

The film was a joint project of Universal Studios Family Productions, The Hatchery, and Steeltown Entertainment. Universal Studios Home Entertainment put it out on DVD on September 4, 2007, and it aired on Cartoon Network three days later. Critics mostly gave it positive reviews.

In the plot, Cassie (Osment) loves scaring the popular kids and her brother Max. After a bully named Priscilla insults her, Cassie gets revenge by putting cockroaches in the Halloween piñata. She then finds a strange Halloween store in an alley, where the owner (Tobin Bell) sells her a book called *The Evil Thing*. The book warns not to read it aloud or think about the two-headed monster, but Cassie reads it to Max as payback. When her parents leave for a party, Max’s thoughts bring the monster to life. It captures Max, Priscilla, and a pizza delivery guy. Cassie and Sean (Cody Linley), a popular boy she likes, must save them. Cassie goes back to the shop owner, who reveals he travels the world each Halloween to trick people who love scaring others into releasing the monster. He gives them a riddle: "Two heads are better than one; that's the way to get the bloody job done." Cassie and Sean figure out that throwing blood from a roast onto the monster will make its heads attack each other. After a struggle, Max tosses the blood, the monster eats itself, and it explodes. They burn the book, but Cassie’s father finds it in the fireplace and reads it aloud, bringing the monster back to life.