Halloween Treats

Halloween Treats is a spooky Halloween story written by a member of this website named Pete.

Halloween night had finally arrived and Kevin couldn’t wait to go trick-or-treating. He was 10 years old and his friends, Kyle, Brad, and Zach could go out alone for their first time. Their plan was simple, they would trick-or treat in Kevin’s neighborhood then go over to their friend Stefanie’s house for a party.

Kevin was putting on his latex Frankenstein mask when the doorbell rang. It was the Kyle, Brad and Zach. Brad wore a vampire costume with plastic fangs, a long black cape and makeup that made him look pale and wan.
Kyle had a devil costume with a red rubber bodysuit and a hideous satanic mask. Zach was dressed as a mummy, wrapped in toilet paper.

“So you heard Stefanie is going as the Bride of Frankenstein?” Zach asked.

“Actually the girls are all wearing costumes to match with us,” replied Kevin. “That way, we can pair up at the party for the dancing and stuff. Serena is going as a female vampire, Nicki is a witch, and Jessica is an Ancient Egyptian queen”.

“Dude, you just wore that because you like Stefanie,” Brad teased.

“Well how do I know you didn’t copy the girls” Kevin replied.

“I also heard Rob, Jared, Nick and Mitch are all dressing up as pirates again,” Kyle chimed in. “They’re planning to go through the neighborhood picking on people ans stealing their candy…”

“Are you boys all ready to go”? Kevin’s mom asked.

“Yeah,” Kevin replied.

“Remember the rules,” said Kevin’s mother. “No going to unlit houses, don’t go into strange neighborhoods, don’t cross streets without looking, don’t talk to strangers, and no eating candy before I check it.”

“Alright mom” Kevin replied.

“I mean it,” his mother said in a serious voice. “Remember last year when those kids disappeared. The police couldn’t figure out what happened to them and closed the case. Not a single trace of any of the many missing children was ever found. It was like they just vanished into thin air.”

“Alright, mom” he said again.

With that, the four of them went out into the night. First they went down the sidewalk, then they crossed and did the houses across from there, then the houses on the other side of the street that were in a loop, then crossing to do a few neighbors houses, and then they went down into darkest part of Kevin’s street, the long strecth of it with no sidewalk, after reachhing the end of it they stopped to check the time.

“We still have an hour and a half,” Kevin said, his voice muffled by the mask. “I say we go down here on the other streets Zach suggested that should be pretty much the entire neighborhood then we go back to your house and relax for an hour before going to the party”.

“Why stop?” a voice interrupted.

They all turned to see a man stepping out of the shadows. He was dressed all in black, with a long overcoat and a fedora hat. His face was hidden by the darkness.

“I know a better neighborhood where there’s plenty of candy,” the man said. “Just follow me.”

“We really shouldn’t,” Kevin said.

“Yeah we’re not supposed to talk to strangers or go to strange neighborhoods,” Zach chimed in.

“I say we go,” Brad said.

“Yeah,” said Kyle. “If he tries anything suspicious we can always run if we’re not back in time blame it on us”.

“Fine but let’s make this quick,” Kevin said.

They followed the stranger down the street and into the woods. After a lot of walking, they came to a clearing where a bunch of houses came into view.

“I never knew there was a neighborhood here,” Kevin said. “Isn’t this where all the kids disappeared”?

“You know I think you’re right,” Kevin said, “but if we turn back something might happen to Kyle and Brad”.

They saw a bunch of kids walking through the neighborhood. Some were ninjas, ghosts or Grim Reapers. There was something weird about the neighborhood though. They walked up to the house and froze. They had just placed human fingers in a kids bag. Kevin and Zach were sure if it. probably a gag. It’s Halloween after all. They also saw other body hearts that looked way to real go into bags. They never got any though. It was just plain candy for them.

“We better go” Kevin said to the stranger.

“Just one more,” the stranger replied.

He led them down the street and right up to a dark, dilapidated house. It was falling apart. The windows were boarded up and the shutters banged in the wind.

“Go here and we’re done,” the stranger said.

They walked through a tall, creaking iron gate and, as they approached the door, they heard a rustling in the bushes. Three green creatures suddnely pounced on Kyle, Brad and Zach while the stranger grabbed Kevin by the arms. They dragged the boys to the back of the house and into the woods.
They saw fire glowing and green creatures dancing around it. Goblins. Beside them was big tree with big ,hollow, opening at the bottom. They saw human bones piled all over the woods. Four of the skeletons had pirate costumes that looked strangely familiar. Then the stranger changed and revealed his true form.

“I hope you kids enjoy your candy because it’s the last time you’ll ever have any,” the stranger said. “In fact it’s the last time you’ll ever have anything.”

“I am the leader of this goblin clan,” said one of the creatures. “We move all over the place when the area runs out of victims. Victims that we throw into the Tree Of Souls and separate the souls from the body then eat their flesh. Then we get hungry we eat their souls. We came to this area last year after the population in the last one diminished. As you can see we already have feasted upon several humans this evening. Of course we feast on young children before this too so we can offer them up to the rest of the clan. Tonight, you are all our meal. Anything that’s left goes to Satan himself. We need to give him leftovers or he won’t be pleased.”

The Goblin Leader and the other 3 started to try to force candy down their stomachs while 4 other goblins held them down but the boys struggled and freed themselves. Kevin grabbed a stick and put its tip in the fire and walked toward the Tree Of Souls. Kyle, Brad, and Zach did the same. Then they placed the flame on the root and set the entire tree on fire.

“NO!” the Goblin Leader shrieked.

The rest of the goblins began panicking and running about. In the confusion the boys ran for it. The goblins ran after them but the whole forest had caught fire. The neighborhood was gone because it was never there. It was an illusion created by the goblins, they realized. The humans were actually goblins in disguise and the flesh the saw going into the bags was real.

Kevin had remembered the way they came and led them out to the entrance they came. When they got out they took one last look at the burning woods. The goblins wouldn”t be eating any children’s flesh ever again. At least not around here. They looked to the ground and saw their candy bags still sitting there. They looked up and saw the grateful spirits kid of the children floating up into the sky away from this world.

Kevin checked his watch and realized they had a half an hour to get home.

EPILOGUE

They were heading up the sidewalk to Stefanie’s house. The driveway was lined with jack-o-lanterns and her walkway had Casper candles on it. They walked up the porch stairs. The porch railing was covered in cobwebs, and it had ghosts, skeletons, and bats hanging from the ceiling.

They knocked on the door and Stefanie let them in. They wlked through the black and orange streamers on the other side of the door. A CD player played haunted house sounds when they entered but after more guests arrived it just played Halloween music. They saw more decorations inside including spiders, ghosts bats, skeletons, and more black and white streamers hung from the ceiling. They relaxed and bobbed for apples, played pinned the stem on a pumpkin, drank cider, and ate candy corn as well as cookies in the shapes of ghosts, pumpkins, skeletons, bats or black cats and some with witches flying on them.

Later the boys danced with the girls while” The Monster Mash” played on the CD player. Towards the end they told scary stories. After the party was over they helped clean up.

“I’m so glad Rob, Jared, Mitch, and Nick didnt show up,” Kevin told Stefanie. “I didn’t want to have to deal with them after what they pulled at the class party though a prank to get him back would have been nice”.

“I heard Jared, Mitch, and Nick went to go pick on some kids and steal their candy,” Stefanie said. “Then a stranger came and offered to take him to a new neighborhood for candy.”

Kevin, Kyle, Brad, and Zach exchanged strange glances then left as their ride pulled up.

“Happy Halloween” they called to her.

“Happy Halloween” she called back.