The title probably makes this seem scarier than it actually is, but who cares? Made you look!
Seriously, I’ve never really been big on the whole Halloween thing. The day holds something much more important to me and I really do not enjoy gross, scary stuff. However, that didn’t stop me back in the day (sometime in high school or college) from writing a creepy little something, which I will now share with you.
I went for a walk at midnight, a ghastly hour for a walk by oneself, but a quiet time for thinking as well. As I walked I saw an open gate in the soft moonlight, inviting me in. I’d never noticed it before, so I wandered closer and peeked inside. The yard was of reasonable size. I decided to continue my walking through the yard, but crept along slowly, for I did not want to disturb anyone.
My neighborhood had been in peril for a few weeks now. Every other day it seemed another person would disappear. Nobody I was knew well was missing yet, so I felt fairly safe, for now. My next door neighbor Mrs. Short, however, had gone shopping one day and not returned.
The moonlight was being eaten up by thick clouds above, and visibility was becoming obscured. In an instant, I tripped over something and fell. Not able to figure out my surroundings, I felt around for something to help myself up again. I suddenly wanted nothing more than to get out of that mysterious yard before I was discovered.
Whatever I had tripped over was cold, stiff, and fleshy. Slowly, the moonlight began to creep again through the yard, and I found myself holding onto a woman’s arm, reaching out from a mound of dirt. Two feet away was a stone with the words, “Mrs. Short” engraved on it. Then a door behind me burst open, and as the light flowed out I could see several headstones in a row, the last one bearing my own name! As I turned to see who or what had opened the door, the moonlight and artificial light from the house mixed together, glinting off a knife coming towards me. Then I awoke, safe and sound in my bed.
I know! What a cop-out, right? Also, why the heck would anyone take a casual stroll at midnight around a neighborhood where people are disappearing, especially into an unknown yard? Another reason I cannot watch horror movies…stupid people. You know what I mean, and if you don’t, please refer to the movie Scream where stupid people in horror movies is discussed.
Speaking of Scream, I must confess exactly how much I do not like being scared. I roomed with my oldest sister for a while during college and we rented the movie, watched it with all the lights on, and kept them all on when we went to bed that night… and maybe even the next night. It’s okay to laugh. I know most people do not find that movie very frightening, and it’s really almost more of a dark comedy, but it freaked me out anyway. This is why Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I’ll stick to celebrating my birthday that day and making the most out of my upcoming Christmas season.
For those of you who do enjoy Halloween, you may want to check out a video made by my friend. He holds the secret to killing zombies.
caverns of my mind 