Just a reminder...What Is It Wednesday has a new home; this week's entry is up early cause I'm off to see Van Halen tonight! And to keep you entertained while I'm out...here is the third of three stories my cousin, Mel, wrote for me.
Chapter One
The long anticipated trip was finally happening. Jan, Mel and MB were on a flight that would take them to their cruise ship. One week on a Haunted Halloween Cruise was going to be more than a blast. Costumes were packed in their bags as well as swimwear and flip flops. MB was sitting with her laptop computer in front of her, Jan had her camera and was peering out the window trying to get some cool cloud photos and Mel was waiting camera in hand to snap a few shots after Jan was done.
A few moments later MB looked up from her computer, "What the heck is going on?!" she said with some alarm in her voice. She had heard some very strange sounds, a low deep growling noise and then they all heard a scream and loud banging noises.
The cabin door in front of them flew open and a huge Frankenstein-like monster emerged. He had blood dripping out of his mouth, a huge knife was sticking out of his chest and his eyes were wild with rage. He had a flight attendant by one arm and she screamed over and over again, "Help me, please help me."
No one moved from his or her seats. With mouths open in horror everyone watched the poor girl being attacked by the monster.
Then Jan started to laugh. She couldn't help herself. It was so obvious that this was a set up to get everyone in the Halloween spirit. But the monster wasn’t amused and raising his head up glaring straight at Jan. With a terrifying murderous look on his face he let go of the flight attendant, turned and lumbered down the aisle toward Jan and her cousins.
Chapter Two
As the Frankenstein monster drew closer Jan realized that this no joke, it was not a costume worn by some flight attendant and that the monster looked absolutely filled with rage. As he raised his large arms in front of him they saw how grotesque his hands were. They were covered with wounds that were oozing green pus. Midway toward them he paused and licked at the pus before moving forward again. Just as he got close enough that they could smell his foul breath, an Air Marshall came from behind the monster and quickly wrapped a rope around his ankles causing him to lose his balance. With that the monster fell to floor and gave a horrible grunt as the knife that was in his chest pushed all the way in and killed him. After what felt like an eternity several men came forward to help and with great difficulty they carried the monster off to be locked away till they landed.
"Man, that was a close call!" Jan said as she took a deep breath.
"Jan, you almost got us all killed!" Mel complained.
In that instant the lights went out and moments later the cabin of the plane was filled with hundreds of screeching vampire bats. Utter chaos broke out! Women were screaming and men were trying to hit at the bats to keep them away. When the lights finally came back on the bats were gone. Mel looked around to check on the others only to discover that Jan was sitting in her seat looking dazed with blood running down her neck. Mel yelled, "MB, look at Jan!" and they both hurried toward her noticing that the source of the blood came from what appeared to be a large bite.
Chapter Three
At last they were aboard the Haunted Halloween Cruise ship. It had been a strange flight and Jan insisted that she had not been bitten but had simply scratched her neck as she reached to ward off the flying bats. Even stranger was the fact that when they mentioned it to the flight attendant on the way out of the plane she looked at them as if they were crazy, said she had no idea what they talking about and added, "I can see that you three are going to enjoy your Halloween cruise!"
Jan just muttered under her breath something about that weird attendant while MB and Mel looked at each other and shrugged. They put the flight behind them, looking forward to the cruise.
Their rooms were next door to each other and they agreed to unpack and freshen up and be ready to take a walk around the ship in an hour.
The cousins went into their rooms and closed the doors. Jan loved her room. It wasn't big but it felt cozy, was clean and had a few little Halloween decorations around. A little pumpkin sat on the dresser and a skeleton hung in the corner of the room.
Jan decided to shower right away and opened the door to the bathroom. It was dark in there and as she reached for the light she felt her blood grow cold and shivers run up and down her spine. She felt something, a stringy gossamer web, and thinking for an instant that it was just another Halloween decoration she reached in a little further and as she did an enormous hairy black spider appeared. It was then that she realized that she was stuck to the web and as she struggled to free herself she became even more tangled giving the spider time to move his long crawly legs in her direction. Its mouth was open and its blood red eyes were gleaming with delight at the thought of the meal set before him.
Chapter Four
The screaming was so loud that both MB and Mel heard it, knew it was Jan and ran to her room. Jan had left the door slightly ajar; pushing it open they saw Jan crouched on the floor. "What is it? Are you alright?" they both asked at once.
Jan opened her eyes and looked around her, there was no web and no spider. "I thought I saw a spider, a giant one in the bathroom. I was caught in its' web and the spider was about to attack me!" MB turned on the light in the bathroom and looked around. She saw a little tiny spider in the corner, grabbed a tissue and squished it.
MB laughed and said, "We know you hate spiders, but come on, this little thing couldn't hurt a fly, well maybe a fly but not you. I saved you, dear cousin, now get up and shower so we can go exploring."
A short time later they met in the hallway and headed off to check out the ship.
The crew and many others were dressed in costumes already because tonight would be the Midnight Halloween Ball. As they walked about they saw all kinds of ugly masks as well as cute angels, ghosts and Harry Potter outfits.
They had stopped for a little light snack and were heading back to their cabins when Jan noticed a sign that said, "Haunted Happenings This Way!" with a big arrow pointing to a small door. On the door was another sign that read, "Enter If You Dare!"
"Let's go!" Jan said excitedly and MB opened the door.
There were candles lighting the way down an unadorned hallway. A sharp turn to the left and then stairs headed down into darkness.
Mel peered down the stairs, turned and to the others and screamed, "Boo!" Jan and MB jumped...laughing, Mel said, "Ha, ha! I got you. This isn't so scary."
"Let's just keep on going, come on!" Jan grabbed a candlestick and led the way down the dark stairs.
Chapter Five
As they reached the bottom of the stairs the door above them slammed shut and locked with a loud click. The blast of air from the closing door blew out the flame. All three were breathing hard and for a moment that was the only sound they heard. They turned into a damp dark room. A loud creaking noise filled the air sounding like the opening of a heavy wooden box. "I don't like this, let's get out of here!" MB whispered.
"NOT SO FAST," a deep voice boomed. "Come in, come into my parlor!"
They really had no choice since the door above them was locked. Together they moved into the room. A tiny bit of light came from a fire that blazed in the fireplace in the corner of the room. The strange thing was that there was no heat coming from it. Before them in the dim light they saw a large coffin with an open top and a dark figure lying inside.
As they held onto each other the deep voice sounded again reciting a strange rhyming poem,
Only ONE will hear my call.
In full moonlight a golden box she'll see,
Inside on red velvet she will find a key,
Once in hand she need only wait,
Not to disappoint, I won't be late.
Blood that's meant for a lovers bite
I'll share with her this very night.
With that the firelight was extinguished and everything went dark.
Chapter Six
An overhead light switched on, the coffin was gone, the fireplace was gone and the room was filled with stacks and stacks of boxes. An older man with a toolbox in hand came toward them from the other side of the room yelling at them, "What the heck are you ladies doing down here? Didn't you see the sign on the door, CREW ONLY?"
Jan yelled back at him, "We saw a sign for a Halloween Happening and followed that down here. Maybe you should check that out!" The man just waved his hand at them in disgust and led them back up the stairs. The signs they had seen were gone and there was no evidence of any Haunted Happening event going on. There was only one sign on the door that clearly said, "CREW ONLY!"
"There is no sign for some Halloween thingy here, is there? Now, good-bye and don't poke your noses in places they don't belong, understand?" he said as he walked away.
"What the heck was all that about?" Mel said.
"Who knows?" MB stammered.
"Well I for one am enjoying this spooky cruise!" Jan offered. "And I am going to check out the Halloween store. Care to join me?"
When they entered the store it was full of passengers getting last minute costume accessories for the Halloween Ball.
Jan saw a display of rings. There were spider rings, skull rings, and one that caught her eye right away. It had a red stone that looked like a drop of blood. On either side of the drop were two silver pointy fangs and along the bottom was the word "blood" made out of some other dark metal. Jan picked up the ring and slid it onto her finger. Immediately it burned into her skin and with a loud scream she fell to the floor.
After getting Jan outside in the fresh air she swore she was fine. The ring was not on her finger. She thought to herself that it must have fallen off when they moved her outside.
"It was so hot in there," MB said, "I thought I was having a hot flash."
"Are you okay now?" Mel asked Jan.
"Yeah, fine. Thanks." Jan answered. "It's late, let's go get some rest before the ball!
Chapter Seven
A few hours later they were at the ball. Mel was dressed as an old hag, MB was dressed as a Dackel Princess and Jan had on a black gown with a long flowing cape and fake fangs in her mouth. It was all so grand. Lights flickered, carved pumpkins with candles inside glowed on every table. Costumes of every imaginable kind paraded around the room. Music blared and festive treats lined the buffet table.
As they sat eating Jan heard her name being called. She figured she heard it wrong and it was one of the sound effects except it kept going on and on. "Who is calling my name? I wish it would stop!" she said.
Mel and MB just looked at her and Mel said, "I don’t hear anything..."
"Oh, I thought I heard something, forget it. I need some air, I'll be right back!" With that Jan made her way outside. She glanced at the nearby clock on the wall and saw that it was just midnight. Out on deck the moon was full and bright but from time to time dark clouds passed over it.
Jan looked down and sitting at her feet in the moonlight was a silver box. She opened it and inside lying on red velvet was a key. Remembering the poem she took the key and held it tightly in her hand.
Instantly a dark figure approached her from behind and taking hold of Jan's shoulders, turned her around to face him. In the shadowy light Jan recognized the pale face framed with curtains of black hair: Snape! At that moment he bent down, bit her neck and drew a bit of fresh red blood out of her and into him. "At last we are to be one!" he said. With that Jan realized that she too was now a vampire. Snape offered her his neck and she quickly and feverishly bit it, drawing her first taste of blood from him.
As they both stood there with drops of blood trickling from their mouths, Jan felt something burning on her finger and looked down--the ring from the Halloween shop was once again on her finger! Snape looked at the ring, then meeting her glaze and said, "To bind us together this night and every Halloween night for all eternity!"
[the second of three stories for you from my cousin, Mel, a master story teller and all around scary person!]
Chapter One:
The October sunshine was pouring in the windows, but the air outside was crisp and cold the day before Halloween. As Jan walked by the kitchen table she noticed a large piece of bright orange paper. It was strange--she did not remember it being there just a few minutes ago when she had grabbed the newspaper. She had heard her father get up early and go out long ago so there was no chance he had set it there in the last few minutes. "I just must not have seen it before.", Jan said out loud and then thought that maybe the headache she had must be the reason she had not noticed the paper earlier.
She sat down on a chair at the table, picked up the orange paper and looked at it. There were smudges of dirt on it and some red brown spots that looked a bit like dried blood. The paper had been folded and crumpled. On what appeared to be the outer part were several blots of ink and scribbles and then Jan saw her name. Under her name it said simply "Lives in a little house." Jan turned the paper over and read aloud to herself and Wolf, who just happened to be lying right beside her.
"You have been chosen to enter a Halloween Photo Contest! Do not disregard this important invitation. You could win the coveted Golden Goblin Award. Outside your back door you will find a small bottle of blue liquid, drink it and the contest will begin."
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!
This is the first of three stories written by my cousin, Melodie. Sweet name, right? These stories are typical of the bedtime stories she'd tell her younger sister, my brother and me when she was babysitting us!
Chapter One
Armed with her new digital camera Jan went to shoot some pre-Halloween photos at the old Melville Cemetery. Years ago, after the closing of the Bleeds Plastic Factory in Melville the town had sunk into financial ruin. The once pristine cemetery had become an overgrown mess.
Continue reading "Death and Blood (story #1)"My cousin Mel's third annual Halloween story...enjoy!
Continue reading "The Haunted Halloween Cruise"Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of 7 here
Chapter 4 of 7 here
Chapter 5 of 7 here
Here's someone to keep you company while you're reading:
Without further ado, Chapters 6 & 7:
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.
Continue reading "Chapters 6 & 7"
Chapters 1, 2, and 3, here
Chapter 4, here
"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."
"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 caldron. 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."
Boy, did I make a mistake! I just realized that the first two chapters I posted were not from one of Mel's Halloween stories...in fact, it reminds me of something quite different, indeed, and I'll post the whole story in it's entirety in December. So I do apologize for leaving you hanging; if anyone really wants to see the rest of it now, just email me, ok?
In the meantime, here are are three chapters from her second annual Halloween story, The Golden Goblin; I'll post Chapter 4 tomorrow, 5 on Friday, 6 on Saturday and the final Chapter on Sunday. Then...next week...a NEW Halloween story (I hope!)
Chapter One of The Golden Goblin:
"The October sunshine was pouring in the windows, but the air outside was crisp and cold the day before Halloween. As Jan walked by the kitchen table she noticed a large piece of bright orange paper. It was strange--she did not remember it being there just a few minutes ago when she had grabbed the newspaper. She had heard her father get up early and go out long ago so there was no chance he had set it there in the last few minutes. "I just must not have seen it before", Jan said out loud and then thought that maybe the headache she had must be the reason she had not noticed the paper earlier.
When the rainbow swirl of dust had cleared, there in front of me were three small boxes. Each said, open me either first, second or third.
I carefully took the first one in my hands. The number one box was gaily wrapped in blue and gold. I slid off the wrap and the most beautiful music started to play. I gently took the top off and the sides of the box peeled away to reveal a carousel. Instead of wooden horses I could see that the tiny horses were real. They moved around the ride by galloping and jumping into the air.
Suddenly I felt a strange tingling and I shrunk, becoming so small I was able to climb into the carousel and ride the horses. There was a white one with a diamond star on his forehead, a black one with a golden saddle, a brown one with a mane that was braided with ribbons of silver thread running through them, and I rode them all. Faster and faster we went as the music played.
At last the music stopped and a childlike voice whispered, "Pick one" I thought about how beautiful all the horses were, and how could I pick one. Off to the side I had not noticed the one little horse standing alone. He was white with black and brown spots. He had no pretty trim, or fancy saddle or glittering star, but his eyes were soft and kind. "I'll take that one, please." I said.
Next thing I knew I was my normal size again and standing beside me was not a horse, but the most handsome man I had ever seen. His soft, kind eyes looked at me with the greatest love and I knew then I had found the most precious gift of all, LOVE.
He handed me the second box!
Finally it seemed that all of the !!!trick or treaters!!! had come and gone. It was nearly 10 PM. Larry was complaining about going to the cemetery. He'd had enough of Halloween and just wanted to eat one of the left over candy bars and go to bed. MB was worried about being cold out there in the middle of the night. Jan was tempted to tease them about being afraid of the graves but it might somehow give away the surprise that was ws in store for them so she just sighed and reminded them that they had promised to go with her and after all they knew that Halloween was her favorite holiday!!!!
Moaning a little bit they put on their jackets as Larry said, "Let's get this over with! And I am not staying more than ten minutes."
MB wrapped a scarf around her neck and Jan grabbed a flashlight and her camera. They set off walking down Main Street with Wolf leading the way. Not a soul was out now. There were some smashed pumpkin remains in the middle of the street. There were lights shinning out from some of the houses. The moon was barely giving out any light as some clouds had blown in creating a light cover over the sky. The wind and night air were quite cold and as they walked along MB pulled her scarf around her face as she began to shiver.
Jan's blood was racing through her body keeping her nice and warm! The moment she had been waiting for was near!!
Shortly they came to the front gate of Melville Cemetery. There were no cars in sight. Jan had told her friends to park a block away so Larry and MB would not be suspicious.
As they got to the front entrance Larry reached out to push the gate to open. He had forgotten his gloves and his bare hands felt the cold steel, but also he felt something sticky, wet and warm. "UGH!" he muttered as Jan switched on the flashlight. The three of them looked at Larry's hands and then at the gate. It was dripping with red blood. MB just laughed and said, "Leave it to the kids around here to think of a prank like this, it's pretty cute!"
"Here you touch it then." said Larry. Secretly Jan was thinking that her friends had not failed her. What a great job they were doing, and she hadn't even told them to add the blood to the gate.
Just then the light from the flash light died out and they were left in the semi darkness.
As the house came to life that morning, Larry and MB were rushing to eat breakfast and get ready for work. Knowing they were busy and not really thinking straight was the perfect time for Jan to ask them to go with her to the cemetery on Halloween night. "It'll be fun! Maybe we'll see a ghost or two. Please?" she pleaded. Neither was enthusiastic, but they agreed to go as they ran out the door.
That day at work Jan sent out an email appeal to all her friends, she wrote, "Please help me play a joke on Larry and MB? Dress in bloody death-like costumes and hide out at the Melville Cemetery at 10 PM! I'll owe you big time!" Without hesitation they all agreed.
After work that evening Jan made one stop on her way home. She wanted to take a few pictures of good places where her friends could hide in the cemetery on Halloween.
When she got home she went straight to the computer to down load her pictures and in the excitement over her plan of revenge she forgot the messages that had appeared on her computer screen. As she quickly made the connection to download her pictures the screen flashed as before and this time the word "TERROR" appeared. It flashed again and this time in quick succession the words DEATH, BLOOD and TERROR flew across the screen in red. It caught her totally off guard.
Then up popped her latest pictures and she just shrugged it off smiling to herself at the thought of getting even with them for their Halloween prank.
The next day was Halloween and Jan could hardly contain herself! The day just seemed to drag by. Everything was ready for a night full of terror that Larry and MB would never forget!
As promised, here's a repeat of a story called Death and Blood that my cousin, Mel, wrote for me in October 2004. It's Part 1 of 4 and I'll post an entry Monday-Thursday; next week will be the second story she wrote for me...and the third week (Halloween week!), possibly a new one...enjoy!
Armed with her new digital camera Jan went to shoot some pre-Halloween photos at the old Melville Cemetery. Years ago, after the closing of the Bleeds Plastic Factory in Melville the town had sunk into financial ruin. The once pristine cemetery had become an overgrown mess.
In the late afternoon dusk none of that was on Jan's mind. She craved just the perfect shot to send out to her friends that would convey that ghostly feeling only the dead and buried could portray.
After she had shot half a dozen shots she headed home. Strangely, Wolf (her gorgeous shiba inu) seemed ready to go as he pulled on his leash in that direction.
The house was quiet when she returned. Larry (her brother) and MB (her cousin) were not home yet. Jan was anxious to download her latest pictures so she sat right down at the computer. As she waited for the usual connection to be made there was a glow of light and the word "DEATH" appeared so briefly that she thought she was just imagining it. Then her pictures came on the screen. Jan just sat there looking at them, but not really seeing them. After a few minutes she calmed down enough to pay attention and she could see that they were all very ordinary and not one really conveyed the "feel" of Halloween spookiness.
Still she saved them for the time being but decided to head back to the cemetery tomorrow to try again.
After a restless night of not sleeping Jan got up early and figured she would try to take some early morning shots. With Wolf by her side she quickly walked back to the Melville cemetery.
She just knew right away that her decision to return in the morning was the perfect idea. She took a few more than the night before and raced home.
When she sat down at the computer an eerie feeling set over her and she thought of the death message of the night before, but then she pooh-poohed it as her own Halloween imagination.
She connected her camera.... before she had time to take a breath the same glow appeared and then "Blood" clearly printed in red. This time Jan jumped up knowing it really was not her imagination. At this point Wolf began to growl which added to Jan's feelings of panic. Death and Blood, Death and Blood!!!
Then it came to her in a flash and she laughed out loud. Her brother and cousin were playing a trick on her. They were both computer whizzes and somehow they had set up the computer to scare her.
She was going to get them. She had a plan already forming in her head. HA, HA!!!
More to come, my dears!!!
