The wind howled, the pelting rain charged at my windows,
and the swaying trees danced in the darkness beneath the full moon. If this was
any other night, it would have been okay. Tonight, however, it was Halloween
and I was alone in the house. The lights flickered, the floors creaked, and
ghostly shadows crawled up and down the walls of my living room, eyeing me from
the ceiling. My house suddenly transformed
itself into an eerie dwelling for all creatures of the night. They slipped in
through my windows, through my skylight, under doors and through my mind. They
settled in, took control, and moved about as invited guests. To me they were
unwanted intruders and I was their hostage.
As they continued to roam like gloomy silhouettes,
brushing past the mirrors in the room, I snuck into the kitchen and made myself
a cup of tea. Thankfully, they didn’t follow me. While they made themselves at
home in my living room, I sipped my tea. I sipped away time in the kitchen,
minute by minute, with every swallow. There was something about tea that always
calmed me down. Especially when I drank it from one of Mom’s dainty vintage
teacups, adorned with hand-painted roses. -
Ugh! The dainty little teacup did not work in my favor this evening.
Even that precious teacup seemed quite out of place in a house that reflected the
unnatural overtures of a freakish Halloween night.
I heard my big old Grandfather clock, as it chimed at
fifteen-minute intervals. That familiar sound comforted me. It gave me
strength. I walked back into my living room amongst the unwanted intruders, and
stared right at them. I was fearful – but this was my home. I glared at them as
their shadows swept past my couch. Yes, I sat down anyway and continued to sip
cold tea; but my mind played tricks on me. I heard footsteps above me, coming
from the bedrooms. Some were loud, others soft. They stopped, then started up
again. I even heard ghoulish whispering with hints of laughter. Impossible! The
man of the house, my significant other, was working late; and the kids were at
a Halloween Party. No one was home but me. I sat there frozen in time and
space. Was my house haunted? Absolutely not! I lived here with my family for
many years and there was never an issue or a supernatural occurrence! Ever! - I must be insane!
My imagination ran wild tonight. I rolled myself up in a
ball on my couch, and decided to stay that way until someone came home. As long
as those footsteps remained above me, I’d be okay. If they started coming down
the stairs, I’d be ready to run the heck out of here. I listened and listened
until they finally stopped. However, the ghoulish whispering with hints of
laughter continued…then the footsteps started over again! I gazed toward the stairs in the direction of
the bedrooms as the footsteps subsided. Curiosity got me to stand at the foot
of the stairs as I listened some more, while fear grabbed my hand and escorted
me back to my couch. Oh my God, I was truly alone in this huge house. I didn’t
even have the television to keep me company. It was out because of the rain. I
had nothing and I had no one to save me from myself tonight…After several more minutes
of this self-inflicted torture – the doorbell rang. I jumped for joy knowing
someone else was out there, even though I was frightened by who it might be. I
was willing to take my chances.
I peeked through the blinds and saw a group of anxious
children dressed in their best costumes. They yelled out, “Trick or Treat! Trick
or Treat!” – I was so relieved. So I put on my purple witch’s hat, grabbed my
over-sized plastic orange pumpkin that overflowed with all sorts of Halloween
candy and, with a great big smile, opened my door and dropped fistfuls of candy
into each one of their bags. The little ghost thanked me, the happy princess
jumped with glee, and the two shy skeletons ran off with their goodies towards
the adult waiting at the corner. In a matter of seconds, they were all gone and
I was alone once more. I apprehensively walked back into the “house of horrors”,
ducked past phantom shadows, and took my seat on the couch again. I hugged my
favorite throw pillow, and waited for my family to come home. All was quiet
though the shadows still lurked around, climbed up my walls, and brushed past
the mirrors. I was numb, and I felt intoxicated by the night. I blinked hard in
hopes that the shadows would disappear when I opened my eyes. They hadn’t. They were still there! However,
“Divine Intervention” came to my rescue. I magically dozed off while Halloween
continued to breathe and thrive all around me; but I was safe in the arms of
slumber.
…I felt someone gently tap at my knee. I opened my eyes
– and there stood my kids and their father, with platters of cupcakes, cookies,
candies, chips, pretzels and soda. They wore floppy black hats that sparkled
with orange glitter, as tiny white plastic spiders sat in cobwebs across the
brims. I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or if this was real. They all laughed
hard, while I sat there in shock. I asked, “What’s going on? Why are you home so
early?” What I soon learned was that they had never left the house. They were
upstairs playing Halloween tricks on me, while preparing trays of goodies so we
could celebrate this beautifully, terrifying night together – and that’s just
what we did.
I must admit I was quite upset since they let me go on
for hours feeling spooked, while they were upstairs having a grand ol’ time
watching me. Despite their little “tricks”,
however, it was quite a “treat”. I
accepted their sweet, silly antics as the spine-tingling perfection it proved
to be, on this spectacular Halloween night.
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