Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories

Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories is the third book in the Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid spin-off series. It was released on March 16, 2021.

Characters

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Synopsis

Grab a flashlight, crawl under the covers, and dive into the twisted, unexpectedly hilarious world of Rowley Jefferson's imagination. You'll meet zombies, vampires, ghosts and much more in these comically terrifying tales.

Rowley's spooky stories might leave you laughing, but beware, you could end up sleeping with the lights on!

Plot

The Changing

A boy named Rowan often played with his toys at school causing him to get bullied. One day, he felt something unusual under his armpit and he discovered that he grew a single tiny hair. After school, Rowan thought about using his mother’s tweezers but just as he was about to, hair rapidly sprouted across his body to the point he was virtually covered with it. Rowan’s parents entered his room to inform him that he was starting to evolve into a werewolf just like them. Rowan’s parents assured him that he would be able to live normally if he concealed who he was away from world. Rowan was hesitant as he had always been told to be his true self, however his parents told him that there were ignorant people who hated others who were different. The next day, Rowan decided to attend school as his true himself and nobody dared to interfere with him; this inspired his parents to do the same thing and everybody else just had to deal with it.

The Prankster

A boy named Jasper loved pulling pranks. One morning, he woke up and noticed that the residents of the village ignored him. When he tried pulling a prank on Joris, the baker, his hand went through his donut platter. After realising he didn’t have a reflection anymore, Jasper went crazy until he noticed his biggest acquaintances heading to his funeral. After Jasper followed them inside, he found out there wasn’t actually a body in the coffin at all and that the entire town pranked him, using technology and bluffing. However the preacher then lied that this was a double prank since everyone was perished yesterday by a meteor. Jasper actually believed him and he ended up dying by diving off a lighthouse, thinking he could fly.

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Ghost Friend

Two best friends named Rusty and Gabe would always hang out, even if they sometimes found each other to be irritating. One day Gabe died, leaving Rusty heartbroken until one night when he returned as a ghost. Things went downhill very quickly, as Gabe kept distracting Rusty from his studying and sleep. The next day, Gabe followed Rusty around to school, constantly making noises and distracting him during work. During the Spanish test, Gabe causes Rusty to flunk it by providing him with the wrong answers. After becoming sleep deprived and cranky, Rusty has had enough but Gabe guilt-trips him into letting him stay, ruining his grades and any potential future opportunities that he could've had.

The Biter

A girl named Lilli never grew out of her teething phase and after she bit her preschool teacher, her parents sent her to Dr. Nisha Saad to find out why. After operating a few tests, the doctor came to the conclusion that Lilli was a vampire, however since she wasn’t fully grown yet, she wasn’t contagious. As a result of the news, Lilli’s school ended up adapting to it by making their school more vampire friendly. Lilli’s classmates perceived being a vampire as cool and she soon made tons of new friends. A few months later, Nisha Saad alerted to Lilli’s parents that she misread the test results and that Lilli was only misbehaving. However, they kept it to themselves as they wanted Lilli to continue succeeding at school.

The Human Head

A human head called Anders met a headless body named Gunther, during the first day of middle school, and they both quickly became friends as they were struggling with similar issues. During February, a girl called Prudence switched schools and they both decided to team up, as one person, to persuade her to go to the Valentine’s Day Dance with them. They managed to convince her using a bouquet of flowers and everything was going smoothly until they accidentally revealed that they were two people while initiating a conga line. Prudence was irritated at the guys for not being honest but she quickly forgave them after Anders apologised.

Since Anders and Gunther weren’t working together anymore, they both started to brawl with each other for Prudence's attention. Eventually, Anders started to miss his friendship with Gunther and so he allowed him to ask her out to continue their friendship. However Prudence ultimately settled for Anders and Gunther was left devastated, ultimately converting himself into the Headless Horseman who terrorises young couples on Valentines Day.

The Scanner

An unveiling for a brand new high-tech security scanner which can examine multiple people at once, takes place. However since the scientists, who were constructing it, were under massive pressure to release it on time, it results in people converting into skeletons. Initially people were frustrated about the matter, but then they realised that it took away the stresses from their everyday life. But quickly, people noticed that there was no need for businesses and it was difficult to identify people apart. Eventually, people started missing their old lives and so they stormed the airport, destroying the machine; this resulted in people converting back to normal whilst not wearing any apparel.

The Cellar

A boy named Rafe resided with his parents in a straw hut made of mud, unaware of the outside world. He loved reading and would often ask questions about the outside but his parents would assure him that it was dangerous. One night, Rafe heard electronic noises coming from the cellar which he had been instructed to not enter. Rafe described the noises to his parents but they asserted that he must’ve been dreaming. Years past and when Rafe turned eighteen, his parents finally had the urge to tell him the truth. Rafe’s parents described to him the advancements of the modern age and how they feigned to live in the dark ages to protect him from growing up under the "spell of screens". Rafe’s dad showcased to him the latest technology that had been invented and also introduced him to his job and coworkers. Rafe started feeling overwhelmed and his parents realised that they might’ve gone a bit too overboard by protecting him from the modern world so they granted him with his own phone. However Rafe soon became addicted, not wanting to do anything productive, and his parents wondered if they had the right idea to begin with.

The Nap

There is a woman named Fannie, but her family calls her Great Aunt Fannie, she didn't have any kids but had nephews and nieces and they had kids of their own, so no one had time to visit because they were too wrapped up in their own things. Fannie had the same routine everyday. She would watch her soap operas, then when she was tired, she would take a nap, then she would wake up and make a sandwich and then watch more soap operas. One day she saw a gadget on the TV that if you press the button when you fall, people will come to help you. Like 911. Everybody in the town was excited because that there was a big game airing on T.V. Fannie's family wanted to watch the game on a large T.V, but nobody had a large T.V expect for Fannie, so her family decide to go to her house to watch the game. They walk into her house to see her napping. Thinking she was dead, Fannie's family bury her and have a quick funeral service. Fannie wakes up and finds herself buried alive, so she uses the gadget that she ordered, and help arrived to dig her out. She arrives at her house to see everyone watching the game, not caring that she was alive.

After the incident, Fannie decided to cut a ping-pong ball in half and draws a dot on each one to put on his eyes when she was taking a nap. Fannie's great granddaughter Amber found out what happened, and visits Fannie to spend time with her. Fannie's family included her more in their lives to make up for what happened. One summer, they invite Fannie to a theme park for vacation, but she died in her sleep during the trip. Since she had those ping-pong balls on her eyes, everyone thought she was alive, and didn't notice until the trip was almost over.

The Stain

One Saturday afternoon, Robbie's parents asked him if he wanted to go to the mall. Robbie was very excited and thought about all the fun he'd have once he got there. But Robbie's parents were here to shop, not to have fun, and they visited a bunch of stores that only grownups like. Robbie's parents knew he wasn't having any fun so they gave him five dollars to buy an ice cream for him and his dad. On the way there, Robbie saw his favorite ride which was a rocket ship that went back and forth but Robbie reminded himself that he was too old for kiddie rides. Robbie made it to the ice cream shop and ordered Rocky Road for himself and strawberry for his dad. On his way back, he saw the rocket ship ride and was tempted to use his change for it, so Robbie closed his eyes, but he tripped, and Rocky Road ice cream went on the floor. He tried to put it back together, but it was hopeless. Then Robbie had an idea. He pretended that the strawberry ice cream cone was his and the Rocky Road was his dad's. Robbie felt terrible when his parents believed him. When Robbie got home, he noticed a small pink spot on his white t shirt. He went to the bathroom to scrub it clean. He soaked it in the sink but that made it worse. Robbie ran to the laundry room and threw his shirt into the washing machine. That night Robbie had horrible dreams and most of them involved strawberries. Robbie got out bed and went to the laundry room and he got a terrible surprise. His dad put his work shirts with Robbie's stained t shirt and now they were all pink. Robbie decided to run away but his mom caught before he went to far. He then confessed and they told him that everyone makes mistakes and the important thing is to learn from them. Robbie's parents took him back to the mall and Robbie brought three ice creams all Rocky Road. Robbie forgot his dad was allergic to almonds and his father's lips swelled up like balloons. Robbie noticed a small chocolate stain on his shirt and the whole thing started up again.

A Mummy

In Egyptian times, a pharaoh named Mekh died and was mummified. Thousands of years later, a few archaeologists found his sarcophagus and donated it to the museum. When Mekh woke up, he found out that he wasn't in the afterlife, making him angry. He then uses his powers to destroy the museum. After destroying the museum, he decides to destroy the entire city to satisfy himself. He then makes international news, as he was going to different countries and destroying them as well. After destroying half of the world, Mekh finally calmed down and spent his days watching T.V.

One day, when he was watching the news, he found out that the mummified body of a pharaoh, Khaba, was discovered. Khaba, just like Mekh, woke up and exited his sarcophagus, but instead of destroying things, he was curious about the modern world. He appeared in morning talk shows and became extremely popular. People started to make unofficial merchandise of Khaba, so he hired a lawyer and shut down all of the stores that were selling unofficial merchandise down. His lawyer then trademarked the words "The MUMMY™". Mekh thought he should try to get famous, so he calls himself "THE ORIGINAL MUMMY", He then gets a message from Khaba's lawyer, threatening to sue him. Mekh then hired his own lawyer and goes to court. Khaba ended up winning the trial, and Mekh is now only allowed to call himself "a mummy". (In lower case letters) Mekh tries to make money by working for a theme park in October, but he wasn't able to scare anyone. Mekh then tries to call himself ''The Dead Pharaoh'', not knowing that there was a wrester with that same name. The wrester sues Mekh, landing him in court once again. Khaba' popularity started to drop as the years went by. Then, one day, somebody found a toe in his cereal. Even though the whole thing was faked, nobody brought his cereal and soon his money had dried up. Khaba's wife left him and took the rest of his money. Khaba started to work at a grocery store and meets Mekh. He moves into Mekh's apartment, and they start to get along.

The Science Project

There was once a young boy named Victor. He would constantly read books about medicine and science, as his parents were doctors. The main thing that made Victor sad was that his parents didn't let him have a dog. The main thing that made Victor happy was school and he got good grades.

The science fair was soon coming up, and Victor was excited to show off his project. Once the day arrives, Victor displays his project, but a girl in his class, Lizzie Leggot, won, and all Victor got was an honorable mention. Once Victor got home, he read through all of his parent's books, trying to get an idea for a project for next year's science fair. Victor then notices the cemetery that he lived next to and got an idea. He would dig up a body from the cemetery and bring it back to life. He spends all of his time in the attic, experimenting on the corpse.

One year later, it was time for the science fair. Victor then brings the corpse to school and brings it back to life, amazing all of the teachers. After school Victor then sees that he doesn't have a use for his creation and tries to ditch it at the cemetery. He throws a stick so his creation could chase after it and he could ditch it. However, the creation brought the stick back, and it and Victor start to have fun together. Victor was able to convince his parents to keep his creation as his pet.

Years past, and Victor became a famous scientist. As the years went by, Victor got older, and soon died, leaving his creation all alone. After his owner's death, Victor's creation didn't know what to do with himself, so he went to school. Victor's creation started to get smarter and smarter. It skipped a few grades and entered the science fair. He ended up getting first place by sewing the corpse of a dog and Victor together and bringing them back to life.

The Medicine Cabinet

A curious kid named Ryan liked to look everywhere, because he was so curious. One time, his parents told him to never go in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. but he couldn't stop thinking about what was in it, so he waited until his parents were asleep, then he went in. He found some makeup, and rubbed some on his cheeks, just for fun. when he woke up the next morning, he saw that he looked even younger than he was and went back to the medicine cabinet and saw that it was not ordinary makeup but Age Reversing Make-Up. Ryan hid it from his parents by wearing a hoodie and running out of the door before his mom could give him a kiss. At school Ryan put his hoodie up, so his classmates wouldn't make fun of him but his teacher didn't allow kid with hoods on in class so he removed it and everybody laughed. Ryan's teacher wasn't surprised and she gave Ryan a note on how to reverse it. Even though Ryan's teachers secret formula stopped him from getting any younger, it didn't make him go back to looking like his old self. So Ryan knew he had to confess. Ryan's mom and dad said they had him later in life and they used that makeup to look younger. Since Ryan used all of his parents makeup they were stuck looking like this for good. Ryan didn't care how old they looked because he loved them. From then on, things were pretty great for Ryan's family. Even though, sometimes, people looked at them funny they did not care because they had each other and that's all that mattered.

The Invasion

The people of Fairview are very happy people but zombie invasions start happening across the world and they close in on Fairview. The leaders of the city meet together and discuss their plan. The mayor orders everyone to welcome the zombies and give them fake brains, which works. The zombies end up liking the fake brains and the humans and zombies unite, living happy lives. However, aliens arrive. The new mayor (Tiffany Rottenflesh), a zombie, suggests that they welcome the aliens. However, the aliens destroy the humans and zombies, taking over Fairview.

The Demon

Rowley and Greg watch a scary movie at a sleepover called THE POSSESSION, and in the movie a bunch of teenagers find a demon book with demon writing. They then read it and one of their friends gets possessed by a demon. After, Rowley gets scared and they turn off the movie. Greg says the movie is cheesy and the effects looked fake, but Rowley says that what if someone said the words in the book, so Greg says the words. Greg gets "possessed" by a demon (he is obviously faking since Rowley is so naïve) and starts wrecking things until Rowley sprinkles toilet water on Greg and Greg gets mad, and then Robert and Linda Jefferson kick Greg out of the house.

Gallery

See Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories/Gallery

Trivia

This is the third book to have a purple cover, with the first being Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, and the second being Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown.
This is the third book to not have the word "Diary" in it, with the first being The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book and the second being Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure.
One of the zombies in the trailer looks similar to Greg Heffley.
The zombie Greg was only used twice in the whole book.
The book was referenced back in 2019 in Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal at the end, where Rowley said since the book was mostly scary stuff, he could make a book called "The Spooky Adventures Of Greg + Rowley".
This is the first book to have Greg as a minor character, and will probably be the last book to do that.
A lot of the characters resemble Greg or Rowley and have their personalities.
This is the first book to be an anthology of stories, as opposed to just one big book.
In the trailer, there are skeletons dancing in a graveyard. This is a reference of a 1929 Silly Symphonies cartoon called The Skeleton Dance.

Goofs/Errors

In Ghost Friend, Gabe can't pick up a controller and Gabe says because he's a ghost he can't pick up or touch anything, but he later sits down on Rusty's bed and a bleacher at a sports game.
In The Demon, when Greg gets possessed there is a silhouette (both characters are boldly black with no details) of both Rowley and Greg, but Rowley has an extra hair coming of his head, his normal hairstyle has his hair going down his head, not off his head.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Wiki