Halloween Short Story

Jackson was sitting in his living room, lit only by the glow of old horror movies he had playing on his TV, when the first trick-or-treaters arrived. Ding! Dong! Jackson ran for his candy bowl and devil horns. “Well what do we have here? A witch. A princess. Superman.” He named off each one of the children’s costumes as he gave them a handful of candy each. “Oh such great costumes.” One by one they wished him a happy Halloween, and dispersed onto the neighboring houses.

He headed back for his lazy boy in the living room to continue watching the original Psycho. With his feet propped up and the seat reclined, he was nearly asleep the next time there was a noise at the door. “Trick-or-treat!” The children were calling. Back at the door with his devil horns he handed out candy in the same friendly manner as before. He closed the door as he waved the children onto the next house. Just as it latched, there was another knock. That was quick, Jackson thought.

He opened it up, candy bowl at hand, and found nothing. He shrugged, and closed it again. Another knock. Puzzled, he reopened the door. Still no one. He scratched the wispy grey hairs he still had left on top of his head. He looked to either side, and there was not a person to be found. He went back inside, once again closing the door. The pattern repeated, only this time Jackson did not open the door. There was a constant knocking for the next few minutes, and then the bell rang. “Trick-or-treat!”

Cautiously, and less friendly than before, Jackson gave out the candy quickly, and hurried back inside. As soon as the trick-or-treaters were gone, the knocking resumed until the next bundle of kids showed up at his door. “Trick-or-treat!” Jackson didn’t answer. “Trick-or-treat!” He silently stood behind the door. He heard a mother mutter to one of the kids, “Come on honey let’s go.” Jackson heard the kids trot away, and then the knocking came back.

Terrified, Jackson shut off the TV and headed upstairs for bed and hid underneath the sheets like a child frightened by the boogie man. He closed his eyes and unsuccessfully tried to sleep. The knocking turned to banging, and was now not only at the front door, but at the windows and on the walls. Jackson tried summing it all up to teenage mischief, but felt that it was otherwise.

Silence.

Nothing but the wind could be heard now. Jackson felt as if the terror of the night had subsided. The silence lasted a solid twenty minutes until it was broken by “Trick-or-treat!”

With his fears at rest, Jackson climbed from bed and passed out candy to the children. He waved goodbye to them, and gently closed the door. Just after it latched shut however, there was another noise, but not a knocking one.

The squeak of a door opening sounded from the kitchen, and then it slammed shut. Jackson darted to his hall closet and retrieved a golf driver. He snuck into his own kitchen, and before entering he took a swing around the corner of the doorway knocking a toaster into the wall. A flicked on the light, and there was nothing in the kitchen. The only thing that was altered about its appearance was the toppled over toaster that Jackson hit. He backed away slowly into the living room. The TV that was once on was now off.