I’ve never written a Halloween story before and the upcoming festivities have prompted me to give it a try.  Hope you like it.

Halloween Scare

Halloween is just about over.  Kids have stopped coming to the door and since Tyler is off on a business trip, I have the house to myself, what a luxury.  I can watch whatever I want and tonight, it’s a classic, Halloween.  I curl up in my chair with a glass of wine and my comforter, candles lit.  Of course throughout the movie I yell at the screen, don’t do that, don’t go there, Oh My God, watch out!

The movie over, I laugh.  Those old horror movies are so funny now.  I’ve seen this one so many times, it isn’t even scary anymore.  I blow out the candles and turn out all of the lights, finding my way into the bedroom in the dark.  I turn on the bedroom light, the bathroom light too.  Brushing my teeth I become aware of the water pipes banging; funny, I’ve never noticed that before.  Doorbell rings, “now who could that be so late?”  I quickly rinse my mouth and go to the door, no one there.  I peek out the open door, up and down the street, nobody around.

Just as I close the door, the phone rings.  I pick it up, “hello?”  No one answers; then I hear the line click.  I put the handset back in the cradle.  “Oh, very funny,” must be kids playing Halloween pranks.  I drop the phone back in its cradle and go back to the bathroom. While I’m moisturizing, the lights go out.  “Damn!”  I wipe my hands on the towel and stumble around the bedroom to my nightstand where I have a small flashlight.  I pull it out of the drawer and turn it on but the light is dim.  “Must be the batteries going out,” I hit the thing a few times against my palm, it brightens a little.

Starting toward the living room to get some candles, I hear something scratching at the windows.  My heart skips a beat.  “Don’t be a goose, Jean, it’s just branches.  You’re letting the movie get the better of you.”  I pull open the dining room bureau drawer for candles and while I find the candles, there are no matches, old fashioned or electric.  The flashlight starts flickering so I beat it again.

The light goes out and there is another knock at the door.  “Did I lock that?”  I can feel the adrenaline start to pour through my system.  There’ve been burglaries in the area.  I’m here all alone.  What if it’s a burglar!  There’re no lights on, they might think no one is home!  I peek out the dining room window but the street is dark, all the lights in the neighborhood are out.  Something slams into the window and I jump back with a scream, heart racing.

I run into the bathroom, candle and flashlight forgotten in my hand, and slam the bathroom door shut behind me.  I sink to the floor in front of my closet door.  “Don’t be silly Jean, it was just a bird,” but it doesn’t stop my heart from beating so hard.  A scritching sound comes from the ceiling and my heart races again.  “It’s just mice, calm down,” I tell myself but I hear the front door creaking open.  My mouth goes dry.

Maybe if I’m very quiet, they’ll go away.  My hands are sweating.  I can’t hear much, just heavy footsteps.  I huddle into the closet door, too afraid now to open it and hide inside.  Oh no, they’re in the bedroom!  I can feel a bead of sweat trickle down the side of my face.  Please go away; I pray silently, eyes wide in the darkness.

The bathroom door begins to creak open.  I try to become as small as possible, I can’t breathe.  A beam of light shoots out of the dark pinning me to the door, I scream and throw the candle and the flashlight at the hulking shadow behind the light.

Then the lights come on.  Through my tears I see it’s my husband.  He turns off his flashlight.  “You’ve been watching Halloween again, haven’t you?”

The End

684 Words

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