Halloween Snow

The strangest Halloween ever all started when the stormy weather came down on the house. The kids were all set to go when the door swung open, nearly coming off the hinges, and hand-blown glass figurines flew off the shelf, the tickling sound for the breaking glass like the laughter of tiny voices. I was heartbroken! I had been collecting them for years, the little merry-go-round, unicorn, wishing well, and sweet hummingbird, all gone. As I tried to clean up the mess, shouts of “Trick or Treat” filled the night air, interrupting my progress to pass out candy.

Suddenly Trick or Treat was substituted with exclamations of “It's snowing!” I looked outside and sure enough, it was snowing. 

It's almost a white out! I've seen a lot of rainy Halloweens, but never a blizzard. How bizarre! That's Halloween in Michigan.

The Trick or Treat traffic slowed down to a crawl, then a full stop. My own crew came tramping in all wet and cold. Brian's ghost costume clinging so that he needed help to get it off. Jimmy's pirate mustache drooping into a Fu Manchu. Jessie's Little House On The Prairie bonnet covering her eyes. I glanced at the clock. 

Still, an hour and a half left till the beggars were supposed to stop.

“I'm cold,” Jessie cried.

In the kitchen, I pulled out a pan, pour in milk, to heat for hot chocolate. I added sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and just a touch of cinnamon. When steaming, I poured the concoction into mugs.

“I want the bunny mug,” Jessie begged.

I put Walt Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow into the VCR. We drank our hot chocolate, and munched popcorn, enjoying the movie, as the wind howled outside. Suddenly the TV screen went blank, and the lights went out. The flickering candle inside our grinning pumpkin the only light.

“I'm scared,” Jessie started crying.

“This is fun,” Jimmy exclaimed!

“I want to finish the movie,” Brian pouted.

I rushed around pulling candles out of cupboards and drawers, searching for matches. Soon the dining room table was aglow.

“Let's tell ghost stories,” Jimmy pleaded.

Jessie started crying harder.

“Why don't we just go to bed,” I offered, “It will be warmer.”

Amid complaints from Jimmy and Brian, I finally got the kids to bed.

“Well, I might as well turn in, too,” Gary said sleepily.

I busied myself, cleaning up the kitchen as best I could in the near dark.

That wind is sure howling out there. It almost sounds like a woman is screaming.

I made my way to the front window, tripping over a somebody's treat bag. Looking outside, there was nothing to see, but the blinding snow. I shivered. 

Such a strange night.

Turning back to go to the kitchen I stopped in my tracks upon hearing what sounded like footsteps on the roof. The wood creaked with each step. My hair stood on end. I was about to yell for Gary when I heard...

“Ho, Ho, Ho!”

Author's Note

Picture Copyright Tony Lopiccola 2017