Halloween

I am the clown with the tear-away face, here in a flash and gone without a trace. I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?" I am the wind blowing through your hair.

Imagine a world not quite alien from your own. The mossy, dilapidated buildings are not so different than the abandoned warehouses of New York City, and though the shadowy moon is much closer here than you thought possible, the night is not unlike yours.

The foundation of these desolate buildings is the loose, rich, dirt, and it seems normal. What you could not possible know, however, is what fiends reside beneath your feet or how close the monsters are from clawing their way to the surface. Your eyes aren’t quick enough to catch the demon as it scurries behind a scraggily bush.

But the differences between the two worlds are more obvious as you look around you.

Palpable decay hangs heavy in the misty air, the sickening cloying stench of death. Draping itself upon buildings, lying languid like a cat content, it gives even the most determined explorer quivering hands and weakening legs.

Were you to look for water to wash the foulness from your tongue, the fountain in the center of the cobbled square would not be the place to find it. The carved serpentine fountainhead is both masterful and terrifying as it spews its toxic stream.

Frightening as the fountainhead may be, the object behind it is horrifying. A guillotine rises from the cobbles, as silent and foreboding as Death himself. For that’s what it is, an extension of Death’s lethal hand. As you step closer, wrapping your hands around the cold wrought-iron spikes that separate you from it, the glistening blade, wickedly curved like a scimitar’s, is all the clearer.

Now the differences between the two worlds are more pronounced.

Nervously glancing away from the guillotine, something over your shoulder catches your eye. A faint glimmering, barely perceptible, hides in the alleyway shadows. Narrowing your eyes, you release the wrought-iron fence and draw closer, hoping for a clue to the source. “Who’s there?!” you cry, as you peer into the void.

“Whooo…” whispers the night. You feel fingers running through your hair. Startled, you turn, circling, only to be met with emptiness. Just the wind, you tell yourself.

Trembling, you peek around the corner of the alleyway, to find two eyes glowering back at you. They are luminous and hypnotic, fixing you in place for a petrifying second. With a gasp of horror, you stumble backwards to the fence, nudging a gargoyle off his wrought-iron perch. Instead of submitting to gravity, the stone demon flaps his chiseled wings once and lunges toward you, face curled in a ghastly howl of outrage. You turn to flee, only to be confronted by a lean skeleton, arms extended in a gruesome parody of welcome.

All around you, the town is transforming. A mummy drags itself out of the fountain, soaked and trailing poisonous green water, as chanting rises from the pumpkin patch. Witches on broomsticks sing and cackle as they soar around you, pulling your hair. A cacophony of howls and shrieks rent the night, unearthly sounds from and unearthly world. Hands surround you: dead hands, live hands, skeleton hands, floating hands, mummy hands, stone hands, furred hands, cold hands, all reaching and grabbing, pulling and clawing.

You tear yourself free and you run, run, run, faster than you ever have. You run, from these nightmarish beings, from this alien town, your mouth open wide in a shriek of terror.

For hours more, the surrounding hills will echo your scream.

What is this town? 

This is Halloween.

Awards

wild asperations

Aug 2, 2010

• Perfect World
• Halloween

Delectably Dark !

Aug 15, 2010

• In a Dark Wood
• Halloween

Author's Note

this is halloween.
[no duh?] if you liked it, please tell me. if you couldn't finish it, please tell me that also. :3
this was actually an essay I had to write for my grammar/english class.
it was funnn. :3

Reviews

[Vincent Florio]

Pretty cool, I like this, its short and you've managed to get everything about Halloween into this story. Very nice use of description, and I like how you described the monsters. I also like that anyone can easily read this story, meaning any age would be OK to read it. Overall, I think its good, I would say about 5 out of 5 stars :) thank you!

[Zoya]

Gosh this is creepy! The entire story is amazing, but what caught my eye was the para where you described the transformation of the town. One of the best writes that I've come across so far. Very well written!

[IAmGhost120]

I like this piece a lot; it showcases your voice and an eerie sort of tone very well. Great write!!

[Lost in Wonderland]

I really like this peice. WHen u started talking about how close beings were, waiting to claw there way up, my hand reaches for the floor and I found myself stealing nervouse glances. THis was a very creepy and decriptive piece. well done

[Ronn Michael Salinas]

f*ck yeah. kudos

[Elemenopy]

I like this piece. It is interesting and different. I feel like you put a lot of time in the descriptions of the setting, and they were well done. The story flowed and I think it works as a short piece. I always do enjoy ambiguity. Keep writing.

[amdc101]

This was really well written and spooky. Nice job in the contest, you'll be mentioned in my blog as well!

[Honourfish]

I loved this poem! the description was superb! One little thing theres a typo on the word hands 4th paragraph in, Just wanted to let you know, but other than that i enjoyed it immensely!

[Chris Smith Welshpoetcs]

Great dark feel my friend

[Crazy Cat Man]

beautiful :)

[emily joe]

i LOVE this. so so so so so good. when i read this, i kept thinking, this is something i would write. i've used these words. you're brilliant. and rightfully so, you won my contest with this excellent piece! good job!