Evil Elves

A boy meets an elf in his wardrobe.

A new short HORROR story. Takes about 5 minutes to read.

Little Samuel ran down the stairs to the living room. In the room was his younger sister as she played with her new Christmas present. A smile covered her face. They'd unwrapped the presents an hour before, and the gift he'd received was the best thing ever. Leaned against the wall near to the fireplace was a new bike. Samuel couldn't have been happier with it. But other things plagued the young boy's mind.

His mother was in the kitchen preparing the big dinner, while father had headed to the pub for a Christmas pint. Being the age of ten, he was too young to join his dad. Only another eight years and he would be all grown up. The boy remembered trying beer once, and it tasted revolting. If anything, he preferred Lemonade or Chocolate Milkshakes.

He called out to his mum, "Can I go out on my new bike please, mummy?"

She appeared in the doorway with a smile, then said, "Can you wait until your father comes home, then he can go with you? Being a new toy, you might fall off and hurt yourself."

"Okay, mummy," he replied disappointed.

"I love you, my special little boy," she said. "I'm going to head back to the kitchen, my love. Plenty to do."

With that she'd disappeared from view, leaving the boy to ponder on how to spend the next hour. He proceeded to the window which overlooked the front garden. Beyond that was the empty road where hardly anyone travelled down. They lived in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by large bare fields. A mist hovered hauntingly over the grass and bushes.

Samuel knew his sister Heidi was too engrossed in her present to want to play with him. Upstairs was his friend that no one else knew about. It lived in his wardrobe. The boy remembered when they'd first met a week ago and how he was shocked by its appearance, with its dark red piercing eyes and little sharp teeth, but apart from that it resembled a magical elf from the Christmas cards. They shared many secrets. But the best one was of a place his friend had talked about on over one occasion, a place not too far from here, which was magical. The boy was reluctant to go there without telling his parents.

From the top of the stairs was a faint tap, followed by three more. It was the creature summoning him. And being the loyal friend he was, the boy ran out of the living room and back up the stairs. On the landing there was no sign of the elf, then straightaway a tap, tap, tap, was heard from his bedroom.

"That's where you are?" Samuel said joyously.

In the semi-lit bedroom, the boy observed a figure climbing into the wardrobe.

"Where are you going?" he cried out, knowing the creature was annoyed with him. "I didn't mean to upset you, I know last night we spoke about what I had to do, but I'm not ready."

"Come to me, child," it sneered from inside the wardrobe.

Samuel walked to it, then opened the door. Inside was the elf. It peered at him in disgust.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the child, not wanting to lose such a good friend.

"There's only one thing you can do, child. Sneak out of the house with me in your rucksack and I can take you to the special place in the woods where we can play such fun games without your parents spoiling it."

"But I'm scared to go against my parents. Why can't I tell them about it?" the boy asked.

The creature came closer. "Its now or never. Adults are forbidden from going there. Are you ready for an adventure of a lifetime, child?"

As much as he loved his parents, his friend was right. What would be the harm in visiting this wondrous place for a little while? "Okay, I'm ready," he said excitedly.

The elf seemed pleased by this.

Once the creature hid in the bag, Samuel crept out of the house with his new present. He jumped on the bike and peddled furiously up the road toward the woods.

In the distance Samuel saw the outline of the forest and excitement ran through him. It certainly was a magical place. He couldn't wait. At the entrance to the wood the boy got off the bike, then pushed it to the nearest tree, where he leaned the bike against it. Samuel removed the rucksack and put it on the ground. He undid the zip and the creature's head appeared at the top with a leer on its face.

"I know exactly where to go, child. Carry me in," it snarled.

Samuel grabbed the bag and placed it over his shoulder, then proceeded into the unknown. The trees surrounded them and the further the boy ventured in, the darker it became. He followed a narrow path through the area that the creature had told him to follow. A chill was felt.

"Are we there yet?" asked Samuel, not realising it would be so far. "As I need to get back home soon."

"It's just over there. Not too far now. There's a surprise waiting for you, which I know you'll love," it replied. "So no more moaning, child."

A minute later and the creature still sat in the bag, said, "We're finally here."

Samuel observed a clearing a few metres from them and in the centre of it was a huge present with his name on it.

"Is that for me?" the boy asked, pointing to it.

"Of course it is, child. I'm so proud of you for coming here today. To me, this is a place of wonder. Since I met you, your parents have spoilt my plans, but now, the boy all on his own in such a magical land where dreams are made, with your present ready to be opened by my woodland friends, it is time."

"I don't understand?" asked Samuel. What was his friend talking about?

It then became apparent as many elves appeared from the surrounding trees. They chanted an unknown song. Their piercing red eyes stared at the boy. Three of them made their way to him, then took his hand.

"Where are they taking me?" Samuel asked, scared.

"Put the bag down, child. And join them so you can open your very special present on Christmas day," was all the creature answered.

The boy did as he was told and gently placed the bag down on the ground. The creature scurried from it to join its companions.

With the elves all around him, he walked reluctantly to the present where one of them unwrapped it. To Samuel, it looked like a wooden box.

"I don't understand?" he said. "Why am I here?"

His friend took his hand, and with a smile, replied, "Inside that box is everything you've ever dreamt of. Open the door to it and crawl inside, and then I promise everything will make sense. Trust me, like I trust you."

Samuel observed a tiny handle at the front of the box. He got hold of it, then turned it until he heard a click. The door opened with ease. The boy looked inside and it was empty.

He looked back to the elf, confused. "There's nothing inside, what sort of present is this?"

The creature stared at him, then replied, "It's not what you see, the magic is there if you believe in it, it will come to you, child. Grab it with both hands, boy, if that's what it takes."

Samuel reluctantly bent down and crawled into the box. Once he was fully inside, the elves closed it straightaway.

Everyone clapped and cheered.

"Lunch is served," the creature said with glee.

A moment later the box and all the elves had vanished.

A few years later on the 25th of December a local farmer observed a child with a rucksack entering the forest which was near to where he lived. At the time he thought nothing of it until there were reports that a boy of 10 was missing from the local village. The farmer rang the police, telling them what he'd seen. A few days later, after the forest had been searched, it came to light that many small graves had been discovered in the clearing. And in each grave were the bones of a child.

The End