31 Days of Halloween Tales - Just Desserts

A crushing little tale entitled:

Just Desserts

Would the others come for it?

Kara contemplated the stale piece of wedding cake in her hand and wondered.

Perhaps if they knew she had it they would. If someone had seen her take it that night. That was a distinct possibility but then again, most of those people were dead already.

Saturday. Had it been eight days already? Eight days since her wedding? Eight days since she became a widow?

She shook her head. No, she mustn’t think like that. Mason could still be alive, was probably still alive.

She had no proof that he was alive, but she also had no proof that he was gone either. Kara didn't think God could be that cruel.

Kara recalled those first hours after the shaking began and the building around them crumbled. Most of the people had eaten dinner already, the bridal party and the two family tables for sure, maybe even one of the other tables as well. She couldn't be sure now.

The rest of the food from the reception had been carefully rationed out to each person that remained, enough to last several days they thought. They weren't really worried about it lasting any longer than that, they foolishly believed someone would be coming for them long before it was gone.

And there had been sounds that first night into the following day. Denise, her matron-of-honor, thought she heard someone yelling the next evening as well but there had been nothing since.

How bad had the earthquake been? Is it possible rescuers couldn't get to them and had left them all to die a slow death in this dark grave?

Eight days they had been trapped in here and the last piece of wedding cake was sitting in her hand. Probably the last of the food. She could make it last two or three days if she was careful, if no one saw her eating it and took it from her.

Kara heard raised voices coming from the other room, someone was talking about eating the dead again.

She glimpsed at the cake in her hand and smirked. "Let them eat the dead, I'll eat cake."

Marie Antoinette would be proud.

31 Days of Halloween Tales ~ Easy to Forget

A chilling tale entitled:

Easy to Forget

Saturday

I just wanted to get away. Just for one night to clear my head.

I had a fight with my husband Hank and I ran out on him. For the first time in eighteen years, I was afraid.

Not afraid of Hank of course, he is a sweetheart, but afraid for our marriage.

I knew the rumors of the Cecil Hotel, living just down the street how could I not, but it was cheap and close and I had been drinking so driving wasn't an option.

I walked the eight blocks, or was it ten? I can't remember now. Things are different here, time is different here.

I didn't hesitate, I walked right into the lobby and checked in without thinking. They asked me for something, I don't remember what now, maybe payment or maybe something else.

Someone keeps knocking at my door but I am afraid to open it. I don't know what they could want, they have already taken everything.

It's Saturday now and I wish I could leave.

Monday??


I wanted to write all this down so someone would know what happened. Maybe it would help someone else, it cannot help me.

What day is it now? How long have I been here?

It doesn't matter. There was a song about a hotel. Maybe you know it. I think it was about this place.

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

I have a husband but I can't remember his name now.  Can you please tell him to come get me?



Unknown??


I wish I could go home but I don't remember where that is.

Why am I here?

Someone is calling me.

I can hear them clearly.

I just need to open the window and step outside.

Tell him I love him.

31 Days of Halloween Tales - First Impressions

Today's tale is entitled:

First Impressions

"Listen to them, the children of the night. What sweet music they make."

Brenda glared up at her latest First Date. "What the hell does that mean?

"That's from Dracula, remember?"

"Yes, of course I remember but what does that have to do with your car not starting? Besides, that was a dog barking, not a wolf howling."

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't."

"Shut up, Christopher. I am not going to let you scare me."

"I'm not doing anything. I just wanted to point out that there may or may not be wolves in these woods."

"This is Los Angeles, Chris. Not Montana. And not even Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Just plain old Los Angeles."

"Okay, Brenda, you go on thinking whatever you wish. But I think there is a wolf nearby."

So this is the game he wanted to play? She laughed in spite of his attempts to frighten her. "A wolf in sheep's clothing, more likely."

"Are you talking about me? I can assure you, madam, that my intentions are quite honorable."

Christopher seemed like a sweet guy but honorable? Brenda wasn't quite so sure about that. The way he ogled her sometimes, like she was the main course in a three course meal. And this whole car breaking down routine? Wasn't that just in the movies that men tried that ploy?

Then this ride to “view the beautiful Los Angeles skyline” which did not impress her in the least either. No wonder this guy didn’t date much. Her idea of a good time was a movie and dinner at Tam O’Shanter, not a ride into the wilderness. She decided that from now on she needed to be much more choosy about the men she accepted a date from.

"Okay Sir Christopher. How do you plan on getting us out of this mess? We're in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone coverage and your car won't start. And I’m starving!"

"Never fear Lady Brenda. We shall be dining before you know it. A kiss before I depart?"

Brenda felt more like smacking him than kissing him but she kissed him anyway. Anything to get him moving.

She felt the change begin before she opened her eyes.

"Christopher?"

His eyes narrowed and darkened as he glared at her.

"Christopher, what is the matter?"

Brenda felt her heart skip inside her chest and she wondered if it could burst from fear. Christopher was gone and in his place, something else.

"What's happening??” she squealed.

Fear gripped her chest as her confused brain tried to rationalize what she was seeing.

A voice she did not recognize came from the mouth of the beast. "I told you my intentions were honorable. You should be quite honored to be my next meal."

Brenda did not have time to scream before dinner was served.

31 Days of Halloween Tales - Mr. Bubbles

A childish tale of make believe entitled:

Mr. Bubbles

He'll bubble your nose and bubble your chin,
It's so much fun when you hop in with.. Mr. Bubble.


"Why can't you see Mr. Bubbles, Mom?

Beth grinned to herself as she finished tucking in her son for the night. "I don't see him because I am a grown-up and I'm not supposed to see your invisible friends."

Jeffrey wasn't quite sure that was the truth but he wished his mom could see Mr. Bubbles.

Jeffrey played enough of the War of Worlds video game to be able to recognize a supernatural creature when he saw one and he was pretty sure that Mr. Bubbles was in fact, a water goblin.  Either way he wasn't invisible and he most certainly wasn't any friend of his.

Mr. Bubbles lived under the sink in his bathroom and liked to cause trouble.

Bad things had been happening since the appearance of Mr. Bubbles. His parents believed they were just having a run of bad luck but Jeffrey knew better. He tried to tell them about Mr. Bubbles and for a time they even pretended to believe him. Jeffrey knew however, they weren't taking him seriously.

At first Jeffrey tried to ignore Mr. Bubbles and for awhile he managed to do a pretty good job of it. Or at least until their dog Hero suddenly became sick and nearly died.

That was too much even for Jeffrey and he decided it was time to do something, dangerous or not.

That night, after everyone went to bed, Jeffrey snuck a pair of his dad's dirty socks out of the hamper and set the trap.

*****

Beth smiled as she watched her son digging outside in the yard. He was burying an old shoe box out near her flower bed.

"Buried treasure no doubt," she said to her husband. "At least he's outside getting some fresh air instead of playing video games for a change."

Rich watched his son spitting on the mound of dirt and wondered exactly what was in the box his son had buried in their yard.

He thought about the socks he saw in the laundry that morning. They were a light gray, old and faded. He had worn them on Monday he thought and then thrown them in the hamper when he got home that evening. And he was pretty sure they were fine when he tossed them in there.

But this morning when he took the clothes out to the laundry room, he could swear that he could see what looked like several tiny bloody footprints on that same pair of gray socks.

Footprints that didn't look exactly human or exactly animal. Footprints like he had never seen before.

He thought about asking Jeffrey about them and about the box in the yard but as he watched his son spit on the mound again, he decided he probably didn't want to know after all.

31 Days of Halloween Tales - The Door

Antigonish revised in a little tale entitled:

The Door

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away...

         Antigonish - William Hughes Mearns

I don’t know what made me notice The Door.

I suppose it had always been there, quietly waiting for me to become aware of it. I am relatively sure that I have passed by the door quite often since it is on my way, but somehow I always missed it. I find it strange how we go about our daily business, our clever rituals, eyes straight ahead of us, never peeking off to the side, to the dark corners. We spend years staying in line, never straying, never veering.

That is how I was, shipshape, my ducks all in a row. Or so I thought. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I saw The Door.

The day started out like every other day for me with no hint of what was to come. I’ve heard people say that you get a premonition, a feeling of déjà vu right before you are slammed with a traumatic event out of nowhere but nothing like that happened to me. There was no glimpse, no feeling of “I oughta stay in bed today,” nothing. Just the old, “same shit, different day,” kinda feeling, you know, where your whole life looks like a big pile of crap laid out in front of you and you can’t find a shovel.

But now I am getting off the subject, I wanna tell you about The Door. I think I need to, just in case.

So, I’m on my way home from work, I walk you see. It’s only a half a dozen blocks and as long as the weather holds out, I can make it in just a few minutes. I work in a bank, back in the accounting department, back where I don’t see too many folks. 

That’s just fine by me though, I like being alone.

Anyway, it’s a nice afternoon, an Indian Summer kind of day when the warmth of sun still heats up the sidewalk and you can shed your jacket onto the hook of your finger.  I’m walking down the sidewalk, carefully avoiding the jagged, crooked cracks as always, when I see something out of the corner of my eye. I can tell I’m in front of Dillon’s Bookstore because I always have to walk around the Fedex drop off box they got in front of the place so I stop and take a look in the display window. 

They always put the new releases out in front, carefully stacked up with a shiny new copy leaned up against the tower-o-books so you can see the cover. They added a new book since I went by that morning and I picked it out right away.

I guess I need to make it clear that I notice things, I’m real observant and that is why this whole thing with The Door doesn’t make sense. If it was there before, I would have seen it, should have seen it. But I didn’t.

So anyway, I’m standing in front of Dillon’s Bookstore admiring the flashy new copy of Stephen King’s latest novel that’s perched seductively in the window when I notice an odd reflection in the glass pane. At first it’s not clear, sorta like looking at your hand when you hold it beneath the beachwater down on the Jersey shore, wavy and slightly out of focus, you know what I mean. So I stare at it, trying to getting a better look at it.  The books in the window slowly disappear into a gray nothingness and all I see is the fuzzy reflection. It’s strange, I can’t seem to stop trying to figure out exactly what the hell it is, it’s like I am hypnotized or something.

I know what you are saying now, why didn’t I just turn around and look? 

You see, I knew what was behind me. There’s nothing. It’s a vacant lot, been vacant for the twenty years that I’ve lived here on Market Street, so I know there ain’t nothing behind me.  My parents lived over on Main Street when I was growing up and I walked by that vacant lot every day on my way to school too. I’ve seen folks try to build on that lot over the years but it never works for some reason. “That dog don’t bark,” my mother used to say. The lot’s empty, been empty for as long as I been around and probably a long time before that.

But nonetheless the reflection in the window begged to differ with me. There was something there where there shouldn’t have been.  Something big, something black and I just could not take my eyes off of it so I just kept staring at it until it finally became clear in the glass window.

It was a door.

But it isn’t like it was floating there in mid-air or nothing like that. It seemed solid, grounded, not like you could see the building that it’s attached to but you know the building is there just the same. There are gray steps made of large curved stone leading up to the door and you can even imagine a flagstone walk leading up to those stairs from the sidewalk although none exists, not in this world anyway.

Okay, so I see the door and it’s a big mother f-----g door too.  It’s made of wood, I can tell this even in the reflection and it looks like it’s about a foot thick and at least twenty feet high.  The Door is black, blacker than the ace of spades as my mother would say and there is some kind of weird symbol carved into it. I think I’ve seen that symbol somewhere before so I’m standing there trying to remember where I’ve seen the damn thing, the warm afternoon still shining hot against the side of my face when the air against my back suddenly becomes cold like somebody just opened a refrigerator door behind me. I can also smell the putrid stench of sulfur and I gag as I watch The Door crawl open.

I didn’t hear The Door screech or yowl as it opened into the sun on Market Street on that beautiful afternoon, not with my ears anyway, but I knew that it did nonetheless.

It sounded like a scream inside my head.

Now you would have thought I would have turned around about then, just to take a peek but I have to tell you, by this point I was too friggin scared to look at The Door straight on.  I was afraid of it actually being there or worse than that, that it would disappear if I looked away from the glass. I wanted to close my eyes more than anything but I wanted to keep watching even more. It was like driving by a nasty car accident on Interstate 95, you don’t really want to look at the mangled twisted metal and crushed bodies but you just can’t stop yourself. So I just kept on staring.

At first the immense doorway was empty, all I could see beyond the threshold was darkness. It looked like midnight inside there, like a bottomless pit of despair I thought. Then suddenly it seemed to fill up with something much blacker than the emptiness I saw before.

It was a man.

Well, I use that term lightly here, the figure appeared male at least but it filled the massive doorway up with not only it’s enormity but also with it’s mere presence. There was more than just size to him, he was just more there.

He had dark hair, coal black above an ashen face that appeared so pale that if he wasn’t dead, he was missing a hell of an opportunity. His eyes burned red and seemed to glow inside of his skull as he stared at me across the empty street. And there was no doubt he was looking at me, after all, I was the only one that could see him and when he smiled at me I felt something warm run down the inside of my leg.

There were teeth in that smile. Lots of them, ugly, yellow bits of crooked bone that looked as if someone had intentionally pulled them out one by one with a pair of rusty pliers then stuck them back in upside down and sideways. The jagged teeth poked out over blood red gums and too full lips in a ghastly death grin and I saw his mouth open to speak.

In the silence inside my head I heard him call my name then everything was gone.

I don’t know how long I lay on the sidewalk before Mr. Dillon woke me up.  It couldn’t have been all that long, the sun was still shining when I opened my eyes. I slowly sat up and felt the dampness of my wet slacks against my inner thigh, thankful that my pants were black and hoping that Mr. Dillon couldn’t smell it. He asked me if I was alright and I told him I thought so. 

Yes, I lied to him. I was anything but alright, in fact, I was scared shitless but I didn’t want Mr. Dillon, who always looked like Wilford Brimley to me, to think I was crazy so I told him I was just fine, a little lightheaded from skipping lunch that’s all. Mr. Dillon looked at me a little suspiciously but took me by the arm and shoulder and got me to my feet anyway. I smiled my best fake smile, thanked him for his help and patted his shoulder as I started walking off towards home again.

I didn’t look back at the window of the bookstore and I didn’t look across the street at the vacant lot. I didn’t need to. I know The Door is there. Waiting for me to come by again. Maybe next time the man will invite me inside. I don’t know but perhaps tomorrow I will find out. 

Today is Sunday you see, and today I don’t have to make the walk down Market Street to go to work. Today I can stay inside and pretend that I didn't see the door or the man that wasn't there.

 But tomorrow is Monday, and tomorrow I won't have a choice.  

31 Days of Halloween Tales - Sister Knows Best

A story of siblings entitled:

Sister Knows Best

"Are you sure this is the way?"

I looked at the hand-drawn map in my hand and nodded.

"I think so. Maybe it just looks different now that it is getting dark."

"I have to say Dee, this is the craziest thing you have ever dragged me into."

"Well, you didn't want me to come here alone! I could have you know, but you insisted."

"I wasn't about to let my sister wander into some strange bar in the middle of nowhere without some backup. This guy should know better than to do this on a blind date."

She was probably right, as usual. But it wasn't exactly a "blind" date. Shaun and I had Skyped several times before tonight and he looked pretty normal as far as I could tell.

But my sister was relentless. "I've never heard of this bar Dee, I even Googled it and nothing came up."

"Shaun said it's fairly new so maybe that is why you couldn't find it."

That sounded lame, even for me but I hated to admit I was wrong to Lori. "Sis, we'll know in a couple of minutes either way. It should be right here." I tried to sound optimistic but I was faltering.

"Stop." The word came out of my sister in a whisper but her tone was enough to stop me dead.

"What's the matter?"

"Shhhh… listen."

"Is it coming from the bar?'" I said the words although the small cottage showed no signs of life or of being an actual bar of any type.

"That is no bar, Dee. It's a friggin shack in the middle of the woods."

I had to admit she was right again.

"Someone is coming."

Lori grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my flesh. I would think about smacking her later but right then I was too scared. She yanked me behind some bushes just before an old Chevy Blazer pulled in front of the shack and stopped. The driver's door opened and Shaun stepped out.

I nearly yelled for him but my instincts were already sending out more warning signals than I could deal with at the moment and Lori's nail were still digging into my arm.

Shaun walked around to the rear of the Blazer and opened the back. I lost sight of him for a minute or so but when he reappeared, he was carrying a young woman in his arms. Her wrists and ankles were bound by something and from her muffled screams I guessed she must have been gagged as well. She was struggling to free herself but in just seconds he managed to snatch her inside the shack.

"What the fuck?" Lori didn't cuss often but when she did, watch out.

"What the hell? Is he actually with another girl?"

Lori looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"What?"

"Shaun invited me here and he shows up with another girl?"

"Dee, please listen to yourself. That girl is in trouble."

That thought hadn't occurred to me, I thought this was some kind of weird sexual game or some strange fetish. I had read Fifty Shades of Gray after all.

My first instinct was to run away, fast.

"What should we do?"

Lori didn't answer me, she was already walking towards the shack.

I caught up to Lori and peeked into the window with her.

Shaun had the girl on a large table and was strapping her down to it. The girl was fighting him with all she had but he seemed to just ignore her struggle. When she was secured he removed the tape from her mouth.

****

The scream hurt and I had to cover my ears. If I thought for one moment that this was all some lover's game, that idea was shot to hell with the sound of that scream.

Lori was already running towards the door.

I stepped into the shack a second after Lori. The girl on the table was screaming at both of us to help her.

It was then that I noticed Shaun, or what used to be Shaun. It was more like a Wolf-Shaun combo.

What I could see of his skin was now covered with a dark gray fur but his face had completely transformed into something else. He was wolf-like or maybe wolfish, that much I can say for sure.  I don't know if it recognized me but there did seem to be something in it's eyes as it turned it's gaze away from the girl on the table  and towards the two women standing in the doorway. 

I heard Lori scream just as the Shaun-wolf lunged towards us.

 ****

I wasn't ready for the blast. Even if I had seen it coming I might not have been ready for it. My ears rang loudly and I was quite sure I was deaf, but at least I could no longer hear the girl's screams.

Lori hadn't moved but Shaun, he was back to being just Shaun, was now lying on the floor, a small red stain spreading on his shirt, a large burgundy puddle forming beneath where he lay.

"Are you alright?"

I thought I heard a voice but I couldn't be sure. I turned around and saw my brother Abraham standing in the doorway. I think I fainted then but just before the room swayed, I caught a glimpse of the gun in his hands.

 ****

By the time I woke up I was already back in my car and Lori was driving at what I would consider a high rate of speed.

My head hurt from its unfortunate connection with the wood floor of the cottage and I winced as I fingered the large egg on the back of my skull.

"What happened?"

"What happened, Dee? What happened??!!" My sister's voice was shrill and practically screaming at me. It made my head hurt even more.

"I'll tell you what happened, Miss Deidre Van Helsing. What always happens with you. You get yourself involved with some supernatural creature and your siblings have to come and get you out of the mess you created. A werewolf. What the hell were thinking? Grandma's House? You actually wanted to go to a bar named Grandma's House?? 

I hadn't thought of that and I should have. My brother and sister always know that kind of stuff and I've often wonderhow did those genes miss me?

"And that loser last month??  He was a vampire, Dee. A blood sucking vampire."

She was still ranting but I managed to tune her out as I stretched out on the backseat. She was right though. I had to admit my luck with men lately wasn't all that great.

Perhaps I should try a different dating site. 

When I signed up with SexyBeastsForLove this wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

31 Days of Halloween Tales ~ Dinner Anyone??

You are invited to read:

Dinner Anyone??

Looking back on that day, the storm, the darkness, the coldness of the summer wind, I should have known that something was wrong. I should have been more aware.

A late summer storm had relieved me of electricity and without a television and the Red Sox to keep me occupied, I found myself napping in the darkness of my living room. I was in the middle of a very strange dream involving a child’s grave and some shoes that didn’t fit when I was awakened by a soft tap upon my front door. The storm had washed out a good portion of the driveway that led to my house so it was quite a surprise when I discovered an elderly woman standing upon my front porch.

“Good evening Mr. Kelley” the ancient voice cracked.

I stared at the strange figure before me. She was tiny, barely five foot tall with short stubby arms and legs which seemed to protrude from an oversized torso. The skin on her face was smooth but it was her eyes that gave away her age. Ancient, blue eyes the color of frozen ice, sunken deep into her skull, stared out at me over smooth, pale cheeks. A tight, silver bun sat on the top of her head and not one single hair appeared out of place although a cool, stiff breeze was still blowing. Her matter of dress was stranger yet, a floor length dress with a high ruffled collar, which given the summer heat, seemed quite unbearable. I had seen similar clothing in the yellowed photographs of my great-grandmother as readied for church garbed in her Sunday best. The woman’s dress appeared ironed and stiff as one would expect but it was covered with a coating of dust which I also found quite odd.

I could not say anything for a moment, taken aback as I was by her unexpected appearance and I had no idea how the woman knew my name as I had just recently taken residence in the house. After a fashion, I was able to speak.

“Can I help you?”

“As a matter of fact, I believe you can Mr. Kelley. I prepared an elaborate dinner before the storm arrived as I was expecting some friends but now it appears that with the main road closed, my company will not be able to make it. Would you care to join myself and two of my neighbors for dinner? I live just past the bend in the road, you know the place, don’t you? And you will join us?”

I nodded amicably. I was embarrassed that I did not know her name and ashamed to admit I did not know the whereabouts of her house but I felt I could find it without much trouble. Besides, all I had in my refrigerator was a now, luke warm beer, and some congealed leftover pasta that would not be fit to eat without the assistance of a microwave.

“When you see my mailbox, take the little path towards the house, it is quicker than the road. I will expect you within the half hour. Do hurry Mr. Kelley. Waste not, want not.”

And then, she was gone, disappeared actually. I thought it was a trick of the shadows that now covered my front entrance and driveway combined with the fact that I had been awakened so abruptly so I shook off the feelings of apprehension, closed the door and went up the stairs to my bedroom and bath. 

I splashed my face with cold water and tried to wrap my head around what had transpired. I found the entire event bizarre but still found myself desiring to go. I quickly changed my clothes into something better suited for dinner with an obviously proper lady and hurried out into the darkening evening. For some reason, I thought it best not to be late for this dinner.

I had just reached the end of my driveway and stepped onto the pavement of the road when a white bolt of lightning struck the large oak tree outside of my house sending it crashing into the living room where I had been sleeping just a short time before. I stood in shock as a watched the scene play out before me and I must have been a sight in my jeans and suit jacket standing in the road as my house crumbled before me. Needless to say, I forgot about my dinner plans.

It was some days later after the emergency vehicles and the insurance claim adjuster had come and gone; that I remembered the elderly woman and felt I should find her and explain my absence. In the coolness of the early evening, I headed down my driveway once more and walked the short distance to the bend in the road that the woman spoke of.

I found the mailbox right away, a rusted clump of metal with the letters, “Clar_  S_lliv_n” still attached. I took the path she suggested but instead of arriving at a house, I found myself at the entrance of a small cemetery. It consisted of only three headstones and I shivered as I approached them. The largest of the three stood in the middle. As I looked at the stone, I felt the hair stand up on my arms and the graze of cold fingers upon the back of my neck.

Clara Louise Sullivan

Beloved Teacher and Friend

1830 – 1925

“Waste Not, Want Not”

The evening shadows were hanging from the stones and I felt it best not to linger any longer in this makeshift graveyard when my wits were clearly not about me. I turned to go and leave the unholy place but paused when I noticed some scratchings which looked like letters in the soil.

The ground in front of Clara’s stone was void of grass and the dirt was soft and newly turned which I found quite peculiar since the cemetery seemed otherwise to be quite unkempt. I knelt down and strained my eyes to better see what was there but upon reading the message, I became terrified and fell backwards into the damp grass.  

In the soft, dark dirt in front of the gravestone, written by what I, in my fear, supposed to be a finger, were the words,

“You are welcome Mr. Kelley.”

I have not been back for dinner.

31 Days of Halloween Tales - In the Name of Love

A tasty little story entitled:

In the Name of Love

"Two things you must know before you continue Quentin. First, what is once seen cannot be unseen. And second, and mostly importantly, you can't ever go back."

I stood before this gorgeous and delicious woman and thought how could I not do this. I loved her and no matter how I wished it wasn't so, that wasn't ever going to change.

I've always believed in Fate, that we are predestined to a path and should we attempt to veer from this path, the consequences would be dire. And Alyssa was my destiny. From the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew it.

Two halves of the same soul, searching for one another. Her lonely soul called out to mine across miles, across ages and I was led to her by something we could never have foreseen.

What is an eternity if you are not with the one you love? She told me of the emptiness she had endured the last two centuries and I thought of what would happen to her if I said no to her now. Imagining my beloved Alyssa wandering this earth forever alone, I simply could not bear it. I would sacrifice who I was, who I was meant to be for her. For love.

"I understand my love, and I will not abandon you. I can no more change my mind than I can change my heart. Now, stop worrying, this is my choice and my will to do this."

I took her hand into mine and offered my throat in return.

31 Days of Halloween Tales - The Muffin Man

A wee tale entitled:

The Muffin Man

"Shut my curtains, Mommy."

"They are shut, sweetie."

"No, I want them shut real tight."

"Real tight?"

"So he can't peek in."

"So who can't peek in?"

"The Muffin Man."

"The Muffin Man? What Muffin Man?"

"You know. The Muffin Man. From the book in the library. He peeks in my window at night when I am trying to go to sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"What do you think he wants, sweetie?"

"I think he wants me to let him in."

31 Days of Halloween Tales - Food For Thought

A short story entitled:

Food For Thought

You can't ever go back, Tam.

Tammy didn't want to go back, not now not ever.

Tammy loaded up the trunk and the back seat of the car with everything that she managed to salvage from the small two bedroom trailer.

The last three years of her life had been a nightmare. The death of her father four years before had started the wheels turning in the wrong direction and then her mother died a year later. Tammy spent six months in foster care which hadn't been a picnic either until her brother, Arthur managed to gain custody of her.

At first Tammy thought everything was going to be alright but by then Art had married Drew and things went from bad to worse.  With more than enough encouragement from his wife, Art began to dabble in drugs and it wasn't long before  the abuse began. It was bearable at first but as it began to occur more frequently and with greater violence, Tammy realized it was only a matter for time before they killed her, either on purpose or accidentally.

Tammy was tough and it is possible that she could have endured it a while longer if it hadn't been for Belle.  The sweet yellow lab was nothing more than a punching bag for her brother and Drew didn't bother to feed her most of the time. Yeah, maybe she could have lasted a while longer but she was pretty sure Belle couldn't.

She slipped on her backpack and grabbed Belle's leash. The yellow lab would never be hungry again, not as long as Tammy was alive anyway. The backpack was filled with the few valuables her mother had left behind and whatever money Tammy had been able to find hidden in the trailer. It wasn't much but it was enough to get them into California before dark.

Tammy climbed behind the steering wheel of the old Chevy Cavalier and scratched the ears of the dog in the passenger seat next to her. Behind them the last of the trailer burned in the early morning dawn.

It had been six months since Art and Drew disappeared and not one single person had stopped by to see where they were. Someone might come looking eventually, they might even wonder whatever happened to good old Art and Drew.

They wouldn't find them however. They were completely gone.

Belle belched softly in the seat next to her, her tummy full and round once again. Tammy laughed, and realized how ironic it was that while Art and Drew might not have cared for Belle when they were alive, in death, they cared for her more than they would have ever imagined.

Tammy pulled away without giving them another thought leaving the dirt lot and the burning embers behind.

31 Days of Halloween Tales - Walk This Way

A chilly tale entitled:

Walk This Way

I don't know if you've heard this story before, you can stop me if you have.

Otherwise you might want to listen.


It was a stupid dare but I thought it would be fun. Spend Halloween night in a cemetery. No big deal. Lots of kids do it, right?

I was ready. I had my iPad and phone, both fully charged with an extra battery for each. I didn't even show up at the cemetery until after nine. I figured I would stay awake for a couple of hours and then curl up in my sleeping bag and go to sleep, wake up early and then head home for a shower before school. I couldn't be late for school again, I was already on the brink of getting in deep trouble for being tardy three days that semester.

That was my plan anyway.

And you know what they say about plans, you make them and God laughs. I wonder if he is still laughing.

By the time I arrived at Cedar Grove Cemetery, the trick or treaters were all gone and the streets were empty. I thought I knew the cemetery pretty well, I cut through there every day to go to school but let me tell you, it looks quite different at night.  The path I normally took every morning which was basically a dirt road, was now covered in shadow, and the green grass of  day was now a sulky black.

During the day the place seems quiet and peaceful, at night, it's downright creepy.

I had a place all set out in my mind when I took the dare, there is a huge old tree over by the stone wall that surrounds the cemetery itself that I thought would make a pretty good camping spot. I think its an oak tree but I don't really know for sure.  I've sat beneath it a couple of times when I had to finish up some forgotten homework before school. Even a genius like me forgets stuff.

During the day, it's a nice enough place to sit and contemplate things but in the dark, with its branches bare, the tree looks like a crooked and twisted monster. Something that could eat you if you weren't careful enough. It didn't change my mind about where I was going to stay however. At least I knew this place. The devil you know and all that.

There also aren't any graves nearby so I didn't have to worry about stepping on anyone.

So I'm creeped out already but I find my way to the tree and get settled in for what I think is going to be a quiet night. And it was, for awhile. I listened to some music and read for a bit then settled in to watch a movie on my iPad. Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy. It's funny movie but still good for a Halloween night in a graveyard.

I think I watched  just about all of it before I fell asleep but I can't remember exactly. I could try and figure it out if it was important but it doesn't matter to the story, not really.

I do know the exact time when I woke up because I checked my phone to see if maybe I had been there long enough and I could go home and sleep in my own bed.

It was one minute till midnight and the cemetery was full of people.

When someone of importance dies in Jordan Village, they are often buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery. When this happens the streets outside the cemetery are lined with black limousines and the cemetery is overrun with other important people, usually politicians or Mayflower descendant family members.  You know, old money.

But even on those days when you could hardly get out of your own driveway because of all the cars, I had never seen this many people in Cedar Grove before. There must have been a hundred of them.

At first I couldn't imagine what would bring all these people out on Halloween night, was it some sort of Halloween Party game? This is what your rational mind tries to tell you when something irrational is happening to it. Otherwise it would just explode.

So I just sat there quietly watching the parade of people lumber through the cemetery as if it was a normal every day occurrence. I was okay with that, believing that it was normal until the people started disappearing right in front of me. I thought it was just a trick of the night, the full moon and the darkness playing havoc on my eyesight but soon I realized they were actually disappearing.

Sort of anyway. It was an old woman I noticed first. She was bent over as if her back was aching or she was quite crippled. She was moving very slowly towards a grave to my right and I watched her as she appeared to be kneeling down to pray in front of the headstone.

As I continued to stare at the old woman I realized she wasn't kneeling at all, she was actually fading into the grave. At first I could see her entire body, then her legs were gone, then her waist and arms until finally she disappeared altogether.

I thought it was odd although I really didn't believe what I was seeing at the time. Your mind protects you as best as it can against things that don't fit into your world as they should and it needed a lot of protection that night as I watched similar scenes being played out over and over in the cemetery. Dozens of people, or should I say spirits, returning to their graves as if they were out for nothing more than a leisurely stroll.

I should mention here that the returning spirits took no notice of me at all as I watched them dissipate into their final resting places. I could guess that this was either because I was too afraid to move and they just didn't notice my presence or perhaps it was that I didn't matter to them at all.

Either way I watched all of them complete their journeys and as the final spirit faded, a tall lanky man who didn't walk as much as shuffle back into his grave, I heard the clock tower at City Hall chime the hour of midnight.

Halloween was officially over and November arrived right on time.



I decided I had stayed long enough to cover my dare, plus I was freezing on that cold Autumn morning.

I packed up my things, rolled up my sleeping bag, and walked back home which is just up the street from the cemetery. I slept like the dead that night and I ended up being late for school the next day after all. I got three days of detention that first week of November in 2012.

I still cut through the cemetery every morning, its a shortcut and a good one at that, but I never go back to the cemetery after dark. Especially on Halloween.


But if you ever happen to find yourself in Jordan Village on All Hallows Eve you might want to visit Cedar Grove Cemetery a few minutes before midnight just to see for yourself.

I won't be there but don't worry.

You won't be alone.