Jan laughed out loud and said to Wolf as she headed toward the back door, "Well, which one of my friends could be behind this? It's probably Megan, could be Krista, tho." Carefully she opened the door just in case there was someone there, but seeing no one, she looked down at the steps and sitting on a black pillow was a small bottle with blue liquid in side. She was laughing again and then thought, a potion! OMG, this is just like something out of Harry Potter! I'll go along with this!

Before she drank the shimmering blue liquid, though, Jan ran inside the house, grabbed her camera and snapped several pictures of the bottle for her blog. She couldn't wait to post this. Then she twisted the cap off the bottle and in a loud voice, just in case anyone was hiding nearby, she laughingly said, "I'm going to drink the blue liquid, yum! I hope I don't keel over and die!" With that she tipped the bottle up to her lips and drank.

Chapter Two:

The blue liquid had tasted strange. It was salty, smoky, with a hint of mint and citrus. It was the consistency of a raw egg, sort of slimy. There was something else almost earthy tasting too! Not good, but not exactly awful either. As she expected, she felt nothing. No earth shattering changes or strange floating feelings. Nothing, zip, nadda!

There was a tiny part of Jan that hoped there would have been something, well, magical about that blue potion, but at least her headache was gone! She picked up the bottle and pillow and as she did she saw that there was a pocket in the underside of the pillow and sticking out was a compact mirror.

Jan's hands were trembling as she pulled the mirror out of the pocket. She wondered for a moment if the trembling had anything to do with the potion, but decided it was just all the unexpected Halloween fun she was having. The mirror was ornate and heavy. As she opened it there was a flash that flew from the mirror straight up and entered Jan's body by way of her partly open mouth.

There was a burning feeling that seemed to course through her veins and then her skin turned the same blue color of the liquid she had ingested, and her clothes and flesh fell off her body leaving bare bones. Without feeling any great concern over the flesh that lay on the ground at her feet Jan realized her camera had been snatched from her hands and pictures of her bones were being taken by the image of her former self.

When she started to move around the backyard she could hear the rattle of her own bones. She felt the wind blow through her bony frame along with a few dried brown leaves. Then a deep dark blue cloud surrounded her and she fell to the ground and lay there as nothing but a pile of old dried bones.

Chapter Three:

A leaf fell and landed softly on Jan's face. That was enough to awaken her from what felt like a very deep sleep. When she opened her eyes she realized it was starting to get dark and she was lying on the ground in the backyard in the pile of leaves she had raked up the day before yesterday. She was confused as to why she was there. Perhaps, and she really hated to admit it, but maybe she really had overdone the dirty martinis at Grendel's with Michelle last night!

Jan started to get up and that was when she remembered that someone was playing some kind of a Halloween joke on her. It all came flooding back to her now, the photo contest, the blue liquid, the mirror and her bare bones. How was this all happening?

She looked around for the black pillow and the bottle, but the only thing she could see near the back door was her rake and an old broom. The broom did not look familiar. Its handle was dark from use and the brush part was pretty thin and brittle.

Jan moved the rake and then reached her hand toward the broom. Without touching it the broom moved toward her hand as if it were magnetized. No sooner was it in her hands when the broom swept under her and lifted her up off the ground. With a huge puff of black smoke Jan saw that she had taken off, riding the broomstick high above the treetops soaring faster than she was comfortable going in these situations (not that it had ever happened to her before, not in real life, anyway!).

Since she held the camera in one hand her grip on the broomstick did not seem like enough to keep her from falling to her death. As she looked down to make sure she as situated on the broom well enough she saw a black skirt billowing all around her, hanging down to her ankles and black boots on her feet. She couldn't help it, she laughed loudly, only to hear a wild cackle burst from deep within.

After what felt like an eternity the broom started down out of the dark night sky and into the middle of a thick forest. As Jan got closer to the ground she started to see the tops of the trees and beyond that a large clearing. An enormous black pot was resting over a smoky fire and figures dressed all in black wearing tall, pointy hats danced around the pot.

"This is going to be interesting," Jan thought, and at that moment the dancing ceased and each head looked up at her with their eyes glaring.

Chapter Four:

Jan felt the broom dive into the middle of the silent group. As it neared the ground the broom tipped down and Jan slid off. Even her strong grip on the handle could not keep her from falling.

It had always been a dream of Jan's to be a part of a Halloween ceremony with witches. Here she was smack in the middle of just that! Jan could hear several witches whisper to each other as they glanced her way. At last one rather tall and particularly ugly witch approached her and motioned for Jan to roll up her sleeve. Reluctantly she did it as several others looked on. The first witch moved very quickly pointing her bony fingers at Jan and as she did this Jan realized that she was paralyzed from the neck down and unable to move. A short, stout witch appeared next to her with a huge spider in her hands. Jan was horrified. More than almost anything in the world Jan hated spiders. Another witch joined them holding a bubbling pot. As each bubble burst it let off a strong, unpleasant odor.

The witch holding the spider dipped it into the bubbling pot and held it there for a moment. Then she lifted it out and moved closer to Jan's exposed arm. A piercing scream escaped from Jan's mouth as the spider was placed on her arm. Immediately she felt like a million hot needles were being stuck into her skin. She wanted to pull away but could not move.

When she felt the spider being lifted off she turned her head to look. There etched on her arm was a perfect web and in the center of the web was imprinted a new moon with a star cradled just above its inside curve. It was amazing! Somehow it glowed, sending rays of light into the night.

At this point she was able to move again and was guided toward the dancers who circled the cauldron. Jan started to dance slowly and gradually moved around faster and faster. Off to one side Jan realized that her regular body stood taking pictures. At this point the dancing changed to a more frenzied pace until Jan felt she was being lifted off the ground and her body was hurtling toward the uncovered cauldron.

Chapter Five:

In the dark that now surrounded Jan she felt as if she was nothing more than a faded shadow. Somehow as she was hurling to her death she had escaped falling into the cauldron and then along with her camera rode on the sparks and smoke from the cauldron up into the night sky.

She had no way of knowing which way was up or down since she could see only blackness. She felt strangely cool and crisp, a feeling that made her think of getting into bed under the coolness of smooth cotton sheets. A feeling that would be most welcome at the moment. Jan managed to get her bearings and to enjoy the sensation of floating around. It was at that moment that she saw some dark clouds and realized that she was being led though the air by a transparent being that could only be a ghost.

Jan thought she might have dozed as they traveled along but she wasn't sure. She felt like a parachute and billowing out around her was a light shadow of whiteness. She was drifting down like the silk and seeds out of milkweed pod.

The landing was not soft or graceful, however, and as Jan looked around she saw that she was hovering in front of the door of an old deserted house. Her companion drew her to the door and as Jan reached out to touch the knob she found that she had moved through the door and inside the house. She was alone in her ghostly form except for the dust that was so thick it hung heavily in the air. There was little furniture only a few odd broken pieces of wood here and there. Cobwebs hung down everywhere and seemed to catch the light that came from a flickering candle.

Then out of the corner of her eye she saw a hideous looking body coming toward her. A bandage wrapped around its neck was soaked red. It was then that she saw herself once again holding the camera. As the flash lit up the entire room Jan could see the worms, slugs and bugs that wiggled in and out of its ears, eyes and mouth. As it moved closer to Jan the creature moved its hand up to its neck where it grabbed the end of the bandage and pulled. As its head fell off Jan heard a terrifying scream and even though she made no noise it was her voice she heard.

Chapter Six:

The floor opened up and she fell down into the darkness. With her eyes closed she waited for the impact that would end her life, but it did not happen. At last when she opened her eyes she found she was standing in a dank stone chamber illuminated by tall and ornate candelabras. In front of her was a coffin with the lid closed. A shiver of fear ran down her spine. Jan was no longer a ghost and she noticed that she was now wearing a gorgeous white dress with a fur-lined cape hanging over her shoulders and down her back to the floor. The dress felt smooth and soft, as the silky material lay close against her body. There were heavy chains around her ankles and wrists that were attached to a ring on the wall. They made an escape impossible.

A large open window behind the coffin caught her attention and hanging low in the evening sky was a full moon with creepy dark shadows on its surface. The silence in the room was interrupted by a creaking noise and Jan saw the top of the coffin slowly lift up.

Then in through the window flew at least one hundred bats. They wildly flapped around the room circling Jan and landing and getting tangled in her hair. She could feel their wings brushing against her body as she tried to push them off and away from her.

The flash of her camera went off from the corner of the room where once again she could see herself standing. The largest bat flew onto Janet's neck and she felt a deep piercing pain as it bit her and drew the blood that was it's life-giving force. When the bat was finished the chains fell away and Jan sank to the cold floor. From there she watched as the bats flew out the window. The bat that had bitten her however did not follow them and flew under the cover of the partly open coffin. After a minute or two there was a stream of light coming from inside the coffin as the lid started to open wider. Jan bit her lip to keep from screaming, tasting her own salty blood as she bit down harder. A large hand pushed up till the lid was fully open and there lying in the silk lined box was the dark figure of a vampire.

Chapter Seven:

The figure sat up and Jan recognized at once that it was Snape. She was not frightened...just completely amazed to see him. He climbed out of the coffin and stood before her looking stern. He reached out and took her hand in his and said in a low voice, "We don't want to be late, come quickly!"

Jan felt the coolness of his hand and then she heard thunder and saw a flash of lightning. Her body seemed to be moving even though she was not walking. There was a windy tunnel, darkness again and once more a flash of light. She held onto Snape's hand, afraid to let go.

They emerged and without being wet they came up from underwater entering a large hall. Snape pulled Jan through the crowd of strange creatures; it looked like everyone was dressed for a Halloween party. As Jan and Snape neared the front of the crowd Jan saw a display of frightening photos. Among them she spotted her own work. There were large prints of a bony skeleton, a wild dancing witch, a hauntingly ghostly being, and the last pictures of her being attacked by a vampire bat. They were amazing, frightening, eerie, and strikingly vivid. All were photos she had taken.

At that moment a ghoulish looking creature stood on the stage and said, "Happy Halloween! It's now time to announce the winner of this years photo contest!" The ghoul tore open the envelope that he had in hands and looking pleased, he shouted, "How wonderful! She has taken great photos for years and is deserving of the Golden Goblin Award! JAN!!! Please come forward, my dear."

On the arm of Snape, who looked tall and proud, she was escorted up onto the stage as the crowd went wild. Champagne bottles were popped open and trays of glasses appeared out of nowhere.

Jan was handed the Golden Goblin and held it high above her head. The crowd shouted, "Speech! Speech!" Jan stood before the microphone. She heard what sounded like echoes of a distant voice.

She felt her body jump and then she opened her eyes. She was in her own room, in her own bed with Wolf close by. "What a fantastic dream! I'll post it today for Halloween!", Jan thought as she slowly stretched and got out of bed. Then something caught her eye as she passed in front of her mirror. She looked down and was shocked to see a spider web tattoo on her upper arm. It had a crescent moon with a star in the middle of it. "This is crazy! How can this be?" Jan thought, but as she turned back toward the bedroom door she gasped and her breath caught deep inside her throat; because sitting on the chair in her very own bedroom was Snape with a slight smile on his face and he was holding The Golden Goblin in his hands!