Story Filter for a friend

January 15, 2009 1:18 PM

I've been waxing poetic about AskMeFi for a while, and a coworker asked for help identifying a story about an experiment with dancing children. Save my co-worker, MeFites!

From him:

"I remember reading it when I was in the 3rd grade or so [note- mid-70's], and I've always remembered it as a pretty cool story. It involves some kids that are participating in some type of experiment. They are in a large space that has stairs going everywhere connecting multiple small platforms, and there is one elevator. There are lights mounted someplace, and when they are certain colors if the kids dance, then they get food. Some of the kids (not all) started to rebel and stopped dancing and therefore eating. Then apparently the people running the experiment had to stop it before they starved. (They arrived in the elevator which I don't think the kids had access to) Once they were all outside, they came to a traffic light that was red. When it turned green, they started to cross while all the kids that hadn't rebelled started to dance for food. That was the end. It was probably a short story, might have been in one of those Schoolastic books or magazines."

posted by Gorgik to writing & language (7 comments total)

House of Stairs by William Sleator?
posted by lalex at 1:22 PM on January 15

House of Stairs was my immediate thought too. Creepy book.
posted by Knicke at 1:28 PM on January 15

Definitely House of Stairs! A classic.
posted by redfoxtail at 1:42 PM on January 15

Previously
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 2:40 PM on January 15

Metafilter, I love you all!
posted by Gorgik at 2:43 PM on January 15

That sounds creepy as shit.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:15 PM on January 15

Four minutes. I hope your coworkers are impressed, Gorgik.
posted by alms at 6:40 PM on January 15 [1 favorite]