Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S5 Ep191: Episode 191: Halloween Special 2024

Episode Date: October 31, 2024

Tonight’s first terrifying tale is ‘Halloween: When the Masks Come Off’ by Will Rayne, kindly shared with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all.  https://www.reddit.com/user/ https://www.reddit.com/user/WillRayne Tonight’s second fabulous story is 'I Know My House is Haunted' by the wonderfully talented Boe Whiskey, kindly shared with me via my subreddit for the express purpose of having me narrate it here for you all: https://www.reddit.com/user/boewhiskey/ We continue proceedings this evening with ‘Deadly Whispers’ by Corpse Child, kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me narrate it here for you all: https://www.reddit.com/user/Corpse_Child/ Tonight’s next terrifying tale of the strange and macabre is ‘My friends were kidnapped one Halloween night: This was how I got them back’ by the wonderfully talented Corpse Child, kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me narrate it here for you all: https://www.reddit.com/u/Corpse_Child/ https://www.reddit.com/r/DrCreepensVault/comments/179mwhp/my_friends_were_kidnapped_one_halloween_night/ Today’s next offering is 'When It Snows on Halloween', an original story by aclockstrikes3, kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/aclockstrikes3/ Today’s phenomenal offerings continue with 'I've started finding pennies in strange places’, an original story by Eliott Dresher, kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/Eliott_Dresher/ Today’s next  fine work of literature is ' I Found Tapes Made by My Great-Grandfather in His Basement’, an original story by Foriest Jan, again kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/Foriest_Jan/ This is followed up with ' In the Woods’, another original story, this one by Morrbanesh, also kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/morrbanesh/ We round off tonight’s anthology collection with 'The Bleeding Tree’, yet another original story, this one by the one and only Richard Saxon, again kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/RichardSaxon/

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casting flickering shadows that invite tales of mystery and ghostly mischief. For a single night, everyone becomes someone or something else, an enchanted creature, a legendary hero, or a figure of pure fright, storing up a blend of excitement and playful terror. As we shall see in tonight's collection of stories. Now, as ever before we begin, a word of caution. Tonight's tales may contain strong language, as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. If that sounds like your kind of thing, then let's begin.

Halloween. When the masks come off. It's been a long time since I reveled in the fears of those I used to pray on. It could be said that I reformed from my old ways, well, the old ways of my kind. but not just my own. There was a time that I enjoyed the hunt even more than the meal. But I suppose I matured some time over the centuries. Oh, yes, I am ancient.

Ancient to your perception of the word anyway. To my kind, I'm still quite young. There are even far older things than us, I can promise you that. Our humanity has barely scraped the surface of the mysteries this world truly holds. The mine are only slightly ahead of. of you in such knowledge truth be told there are many things that you got right about us yet so many that you've gotten wrong first and foremost we are not attractive by your standards or to my people i'm fairly average looking one who can easily blend into a crowd i would find it significantly

more difficult to blend in with your people but it can be done it does take focus mind you we're not shape-shifters but we can influence how you see this it's not easy at first but I'm grown quite talented in the act as I do enjoy walking in the human world when I can perhaps that's what led me to my shall we say rehabilitation ah yes in my younger years I would feast on you by the dozens without batting an hour over time however I think humankind began to grow on me it was the children I believe and regardless of how sinister I may have appeared in your eyes, I'd never feed on a child.

Even when I saw you as little more than cattle, I could never end the life of an innocence. Perhaps I just never had the appetite for the taste of the pure of heart. Could be that the dregs of humanity had a more potent flavour. That being said, I'll not pretend that I've never quenched my appetite on a harmless adult. Very few are off-limits to me. me in my youth as I consider your kind beneath me as a farmer would is heard i suspect but there are

aspects of society that still disgust and confuse me i no longer think of you all as such there are some of course but i no longer take the life of anyone unless i feel they deserve it i'll always be filth to serve my needs and i do enjoy the flavor probably been some three hundred years or so since I adjusted my outlook. I even took a human mate for a time. Her children were a delight to spend time with, even though they could see behind my illusion, perhaps not the entirety of the real me, so to speak.

Well, pure hearts can figure out the truth of things so much easier than the corrupt. Adulthood inherently brings with it a certain degree of corruption to even the most innocent of solvents. It's just the nature of things, I'd think. We see the world for what it is when we grow up no longer just how we want it to be, and I grew very fond of Abigail, my mortal companion, and her two little ones. I stayed with them for many years, but ultimately I'd leave them before the years

weave their unfortunate spells on the frail mortal shell. I think it was more curiosity than anything that led me to live in the mortal world for those years. I was fascinated by your ways. I didn't fully understand them. Many people have little in the way of emotions, though we are not blank slates as many would believe. I think we have many aspects that would appear quite foreign to you, aside from just the obvious physical appearance.

We do not age in the same manner that you do. I suppose that can be taken for granted from the words I've spoken so far. We do have disease in mental ailments, but they differ greatly from anything you could relate to. Another misconception about us is that we cannot transform your kind into ours. Our blood can carry pathogens that can lead mortals to crave that which we feed on, but it's more of a condition rather than alteration. It frees the soul from the body, leaving only a walking shell,

and this remaining husk requires living sustenance to survive. My community has actually taken great offence to cults who form from such a disease. They will claim to be our equals, but they have no manner of understanding how far off they are in their assessment. Yes, should they continue to feed, they will live indefinitely. Surely there will be more impervious to bodily harm, along with the ability to heal certain wounds after suffering damage. It's still something more liken to donning a costume and playing a part than becoming anything like my kind. We can go without feeding for many years.

should we choose. Unfortunately this would render us with similar weaknesses to those of your kind, but it has been known to happen. We can even feast on the traditional delicacies of the mortal world, should we choose, and we would reap little benefits from it. Well, I must confess, I am quite fond of such things as your fried chicken and the occasional steak. Although I do like to walk amongst your people, the focus it takes to keep my appearance hidden requires a great deal. of effort the longer I maintain it. This is why I have grown to thoroughly enjoy the festivities of all Hallows Eve. It's the only time of the year that I can allow my true face to be observed and cause no more than a fleeting fright to those who may look upon it. It's a manner of freedom

that my kind rarely gets to experience. I enjoy walking the streets and enjoying the laughter of the children. I find my eyes rolling at the sight of the older youths. Those late teenage girls dressed in their skimpiest of outfits, regardless of how cold the outside air feels to them. The teenage boys wearing idiotic, parodied costumes that only serve to make fun of others. The smaller children show so much more class than the older ones. In recent years, there's grown an unsettling trend amongst some of the young people who attend a nearby university. They've proven to be quite the foul and useless examples of humanity who only enjoy bringing

anguish to others. I've observed them from a distance over the months in an attempt to understand their motivations. They call their actions practical jokes, and they even record them on their little devices that are rarely far from their grasp. They publish their clips on a variety of your internet pages, and I've observed others marvel at their works. I watch your world and attempt to understand your ways but some things make very little sense to me i must say i've grown quite fond of your worldwide web though many of my peers mock my interest in your society but most of them still cling to the old ways they see you as little less than animals who've overtaken the land and forced us underground i've attempted to convince them that they still share the surface world but they refuse to use our

inherent abilities to blend in amongst you. They know all too well how mankind treats those they do not understand, and we have lost legions over the centuries to your fearful throngs. Those tales may lie in your books, fables, and myths. They show so much more clearly in our encyclopedians. Regardless of our shared history, I bear you no ill will. When I can greater in number, though, I imagine they would force all of you away. from the light and into the caverns that we dwell within.

When there are so few others left and I believe it would be best if we could find a common ground after all these years. The group of miscreants I spoke of have apparently grown tired of badgering their own peers and seem to set their sights on the children of this city. As the Halloween season approaches, I've witnessed some of the youths in masks, leaping from trees to terrify young boys and girls who happen by. They succeeded in causing a little girl to cry while I watched on from the shadows one evening. She fell to the ground and tore a deep gash into the flesh of her little knee.

She wept while a taller child, presumably her older brother, crouched beside her in an attempt to calm her down. The teenagers in the grotesque masks only laughed at the two of them and slapped their hands together, seemingly celebrating their defeat of such an innocent victim. I donned my most innocent and friendly face before making my way out of the darkness to greet them. I attempted to reason with the older youths and convinced them that scaring little ones was a way to feel better about their own miserable lives. This only served to bring them more levity as they strolled away, reveling in their victory. I helped the crying little girl back to her feet and attempted to assist her brother in calming her down. Unfortunately, I only scared her more at first. She could see the shadow behind my veil,

though just a hint of it. After a moment she could sense that I meant her no harm, and she offered me a delightful smile from my efforts. She asked me what I was, which caused her brother to study me more. He also saw beneath my mask, but he did not flee in terror either. I basked in their wonderful presence,

over the passage of mere moments in time as I escorted them back to their home after a small stop-off at a nearby ice cream shop. It is truly magical to me that children have the ability to see beneath the flesh. I know my appearance can tear into the bravest

of men, but to a child I am but a curiosity. Before I bid the two good night, they spoke of the variety of attacks his immature teenagers had been inflicting on others. It had been inflicting on others. become a tradition of theirs these past few Halloween seasons. The two children seemed to regain

their fear of me for a moment when I bit into my own thumb before their eyes. I'd learn to control the toxins running through my veins over the centuries, so I'd be able to repress any contagions should I choose. I allowed one single drip to fall from my fingertip into the little girl's open wound. She and her brother marvelled at the sight of her gash closing shut, leaving no scar behind or any trace of damage to her flesh. She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and rewarded me with a small peck of her lips to my scaled and hardened cheek. This caused a warmth to spread through my chest that I had not felt since I'd played in the fields with Abigail's son and daughter so many years before. I assured the two that the pranksters would learn the error

of their ways very soon. I continue to observe the group of older teenagers over the following days, watched them from afar as they harassed so many more of the town's children. I watched on while the five of them laughed so much harder when they caused the little ones to fall to the ground. I felt a rage built from within me that I hadn't felt in decades. Though their actions angered me, I had no intention of bringing them any more than a simple fright. Well, that was until they provoked a throng of small children

to flee from their display, causing a few of them to slip and fall down a nearby hill. Two small boys and one little girl tumbled down the steep hill and became silent and made contact with the ground below. I leapt down after them still hearing the laughter of their attackers from above. My bloodlust boiled over, and I fought against the building urged to strike.

I reached the trio on the lumpy ground at the base of the hill. All of them had gashes and cuts across their faces and limbs. The smaller boy had broken both of his legs, or the other boy and girl had suffered fractures of wrists and shins. Once more I allowed droplets of my blood to fall into open wounds. Their small bodies twisted and contorted as they repaired themselves from within. Though the bones would heal, I had to assist in snapping them back into place

before my blood fixed them at the unusual angles they lay in. The three were unconscious, but I still winced and moaned from the pain that was forced to inflict upon them. This was only to help them, but I still felt a stab of guilt for causing them harm. The children would heal and remain unaware of my involvement, but this would not quench my first for vengeance. Perhaps I will return to the old ways one last time. The night of Halloween had arrived, and the hateful tea. teenagers spread their malice to any children who crossed their path. I followed close behind them, having taken the form of vapour to remain unseen.

Every fright they cause and every torment they provided only serve to fuel my rage. I would soon stalk them through the night, but I would not strike until they were away from the children. Yes, I fought against my desire to shred their throats in front of the little ones, but my intent was not to traumatise the innocent. I'd felt no such craving for blood for so many years. I've watched men wage wars and inflicts so much cruelty against one another, but I would not feel the need to intervene.

The malice of adults does not bother me. It's neither my business nor my concern who rules which land and who doesn't. I have become no more than a watcher, and I would only feed on the foulest of individuals. though I gave a little concern to their actions. It would not tolerate the torment of children, though. Simple pranks may seem trivial to some, but to a child they cut so much deeper.

The pack of hooligans made their way into the woods. Perhaps they sought to find more prey behind the cover of the trees. Maybe they'd had their fill for the night and decided to take the shorter route back to their dorm rooms. Their reasons made no matter to me. this would be where I would strike. They enjoyed bringing fear to the innocent, but I adored bringing terror to the hateful.

I followed behind, still in my misty form. I reached out to snap the occasional tree branch to revel in their alarm glances behind them. All five of them were draped in tattered robes and rubbery masks. Tallest one poured off his face covering to reveal widened eyes when I snapped a long branch from a tree only feet behind him. As they quickened their pace, I knew my plan was proving fruitful.

I spread my vaporous form as widely as I could to sever a circle of dry, rotted limbs around them. They all cascaded to the ground, landing in intermittent intervals after bouncing in and out of other branches on their descent. The quintuplets stopped and darted their heads around them in all directions. They spoke softly to each other

As they turned around seemingly intent On making their way back out of the forest They moved quickly But I moved faster I scattered limbs before them And to their sides Coursing them to travel the path that I desired I would not be leaving this forest

Until I was finished with them So with my guidance They buried themselves deeper And deeper into the dense woods Until I was satisfied they were safely away from prying eyes. And now the bloodletting can begin. They'd all poured off their masks as the rubbery material

and apparently restricted their flow of oxygen while their pace hastened. This was good. I wanted to see the expressions on their faces. I severed one last small and slender tree branch and sent it flying towards the tall one who was the first to remove his false face. He screamed in delicious agony

When the jagged limb Penetrated his left thigh I made sure to avoid any arteries As I had not yet decided If they be allowed to survive this encounter The boy fell to his knees And gripped his hands tightly around his leaking wound The other four ran to his side

While darting their eyes across the darkened trees I wanted so badly to make my appearance And introduce them all to a horror They could not fathom by the moment hadn't arrived just yet. They still sought rational explanations for the broken slice of wood that sprouted from the oozing thigh.

I spit a variety of many sizes of limbs and cause them to shatter into splinters. I rained them down upon the five wading victims like a storm that had erupted from above them. They all screamed in unison as thorn slivers buried into their flesh, bringing thin streams of crimson to leak slowly down their faces and arms. The thin strips were not strong enough to penetrate their extravagant clothing,

but severe damage was not the purpose of this. Oh yes, they were afraid now. They screamed into the night as they gathered their friend from the forest floor. They all wore wounds now, but none were significant enough to cause anything more than light scarring. They all fled in the same direction. was just about time for me to introduce myself when my body was gaseous at the moment i could still feel the tingles anticipation i had been so long since i'd hunted for anything more than sustenance i forgot how thrilling it could be i shot ahead of them to prepare my arrival turning myself to vapor did not allow my body to be

clothed as inorganic material could not be transformed somehow i thought my nudity would be just as unsettling to my praise my scaled flesh what were they noticed first i wondered leap by my yellowed eyes glowing in the moonlight perhaps my rows of jagged teeth behind the grayed flesh of my lips the claws that tore through the skin of my elbows and knees or the twin spikes of my shoulders it may even be the talons on the tips of my three-fingered and dual-thumbed hands that would catch their eye. I was enjoying this way more than I'd expected to. I stood several yards in front of them when I made my body corporeal again. Transforming back to flesh would always leave my skin slick and moist as though layered in sweat.

I held my arms slightly outwards with my talons spread wide. I kept my head down so that my thick, dark hair would hang low on my face, revealing only the glow of my eyes through the strands. I even erected the fleshy wings from my vein to muscle back to allow my vast wingspan to prove that what they were seeing was far from human. I felt the ground beneath my feet vibrated as they skidded to a hole before me. Every one of them began to tremble and a couple of them allowed their bows and bladders to give in to the fear.

Huddled together, they began to gradually back away. as if they thought I may not have noticed their arrival I allowed my voice to devolve back into the guttural and wailing sounds of the golden age of my kind do not turn away from me I demanded feeling my own body shake with anticipation if you flee you'll never leave this forest again well of course they still attempted to run but I would have hoped for No less. This is where the real fun begins. I chose to saw towards the two who ran together first. The long-haired boy kept his arm wrapped around the taller one with the twig still protruding from his leg. I picked them both up with my talon feet and raised them high above the trees.

They screamed and rised in my firmly grasping toes until I released my grip and allowed them the freedom they fought for. Their blood still drip from my talons, which pierced into the tender flesh of their shoulders. I briefly entertained the notion of learning and crash into bloody heaps on the firm ground below. They'd never learned their lesson through a terminal series of broken bones and twisted meat. I quickly descended towards them and regained my grip on the already shredded tissue I grasped before. We were close to the forest floor when I caught them, but I slowed their approach before releasing them.

once more to shatter bones against the hard bark of the trees. They lay still an unconscious, but I could still hear their beating hearts. I retracted my wings and sprinted on all fours toward the three others who'd escaped into the forest. Oh, I could smell their fear and feces, so they wouldn't stay ahead of me for long. I leapt on top of the heavy boy with a shaggy hair, snapping both of his shins as I pinned him to the ground. He spat as he screamed an assortment of curses, and I watched several strands of his hair turn pure white when I disjointed my jaw and allowed it to fall wide open like the gaping more of a hungry shell. The pure joy I felt in his terror was momentarily interrupted by my desire to bite out his throat and feel his spewing fluid spraying into my mouth. Oh, I fought the urge as these foul individuals did not deserve a bloody death for their insults and poor.

pranks. They did, however, deserve to observe firsthand what fear truly looks like. I twisted my jaw back shut while the boy prayed to whatever God he found holy, to allow his life to continue. I wrapped my hand around his face, allowing my talons to tear holes into his forehead and cheeks. While he pounded his head into the ground, until he lost consciousness, leaving a bloody reminder of what he saw this night. Only the pair who took the foreground on the prank against the little girl and her brother remained. The others had watched and laughed at their actions, but I saw this final couple to be the leaders of the band of hooligans. I always began the assaults and reveled most in the tears and injuries of the children, and their price would be the steepest to pay. Would I take limbs? Perhaps.

Leave them horrifically scarred and unfit for life among other humans. The options were many, but my time was short. Maybe we start small and see how it goes. Were my flesh capable of producing goosebumps, I imagine I would be sporting quite a few right now. I vaporized again to continue my pursuit in silence. I needed to get them together again. Well, a nudge here and there should do the trick.

I scattered more branches To guide their path Once more I even allow parts of me To solidify to gently push them In the direction I wanted The woods were quite dense in places So I'd lead them to a clearing

I'd even allow them a moment To think they'd eluded me This was the most fun I'd had in centuries As planned The two found themselves in a wide open area In the centre of the forest having the belief that they had arrived here of their own volition. I chose to observe from high above as they stopped running and caught their collective breath.

They embraced each other and spoke of what they'd seen. They spun theories of elaborate makeup and costume design while taking no time to inquire about the condition of their associates. It was as though they'd completely slipped from their memory. They perched down beside the thin stream that ran through the clearing. washing their faces and drinking from the water in their cupped hands. The forest had fallen silent as my presence often had that effect on the wildlife of such places. They sensed what I was and kept themselves hidden when my kind were nearby.

These teenagers had the same instincts. They may have been able to shield themselves from me. I softly allowed my gaseous form to descend to where the two sat side by side. The parting of the trees allowed the moonlight to illuminate the clearing and reflect in the water of the stream. I began to solidify once more, but remained silent behind my waiting prey. They sat by the stream, gazing into the night. If all went as hoped, they wouldn't notice me until their eyes met the reflective pool bearing my image behind them. I watched as their posture stiffened as, one by one, they felt the presence of something.

something at their backs. I watched the water reveal their eyes gazing down upon it. Well, they appeared too frightened to even move, which both delighted me and caused my heart to sink ever so slightly.

My pursuit had come to a close, and this would be the final act of the night's festivities. The Torah of the two slowly turned to face me. His eyes met my midsection, which paralleled his gaze. He turned his head gradually upwards to stare into my face.

While I wore a wide smile that bared each and every one of my razor-sharp tea, drool seeped from my mouth and drip from my chin and onto my chest, it joined with my scaled flesh that was still moistened from my transition back to a solid form. I heaved with mimicked breath as I had no need of oxygen to fill nonexistent lungs. I wanted to appear feral and ravenous to the two carrowing teenage boys who had brought such misery to the children of this small town. I looked on as they trembled in more visceral and blood-curdling terror than their little minds knew how to reckon with. I drank in their fear and it nourished me more than any meal could ever hope to. Both of the boys faced me now.

They adjusted their posture to prop upon their. their knees while they begged their gods to spare their worthless lives. I stretched one single arm out in front of me. They wailed and bargained with me to spare them which only drove rage deeper into my ancient soul. With one single grasp I snatched the quivering lumps of flesh before me from the ground on which they knelt. I gouged both of the talon thumbs on my left hand into one of their eyes and they screamed in agony and shock. I didn't push my fingers deep enough to penetrate their fragile brain tissue, I can't say the thought did not cross my mind.

My immense and powerful wings beat against the air of the clearing as I lifted them high above the tree line. The two writhed and wailed while I held them outstretched before me. I watched the fear grip their remaining eyes as they begged harder than before for me to spare their worthless lives. For a moment I found great temptation to feed on their fragile bodies, to bury my sharp teeth deep into their flesh and quench my thirst on the life force they still held within. A fresh meal was not the purpose of this endeavour, nor was ridding humanity of these trembling specimens. The deep gashes I clawed into their chests and mid-sections while we hovered

above the forest below, was only to allow them to always remember our meeting. They would never be able to read the words I carved into their skin. It was an ancient and long-forgotten language that only my kind would be able to decipher. Roughly translated, their flesh now bore the variations with the words, filth and free meal. I even sliced my name into them. I could paint a autographing their work. I swiftly dropped back to the earth below

and released the two above the rocks and pebbles that surrounded the stream. When they awoke, they could clean their wounds in the rippling water, but they would always bear the marks I'd branded them with. Their newfound lack of depth perception would also remind them never to revisit their old and immature ways.

I then stared at their twitching bodies, next to the deceased and dried leaves at the woods. I felt proud of the deeds I'd accomplished this night. I rewarded myself with a snack. The two fresh eyeballs are still sat impaled on my talent thumbs. I plugged them off and chewed them up, savoring the delicacy I had not enjoyed in many moons. The hour had grown late,

and I still had time to stroll through the city streets and breathe in the remaining hours of my beloved. I would don't know it Halloween. Tomorrow I would don my mask again. But tonight, I would walk proudly among the people of this world. It's been almost a year since that night. And the five teenagers still remain in one of your mental facilities. Of course, nobody believes the tale they spun of the terrors they'd experienced,

but they do tell an interesting story. I still look in on them from time to time. I even allow them to see my face peering through the window when I feel like I could use a little levity. Their reactions are truly priceless. I still watch over the wonderful children of this small town, and their smiling and playing faces continue to remind me of why I gave up my ancient ways. Ah, Halloween is upon us again. And all I ask is that you remember this.

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I know my house is haunted by bowl whiskey. I know there are things in my house. Other things, other beings. I'm used to this actually. It's just part of who I am and what my home is, and has been for as long as I can remember. They always come and go, usually without much damage. Even the stubborn other things eventually can be dispelled. But the ones that have come to me recently are unlike anything I've dealt with before. And I fear there may be the end of me. I'm trying to recall when exactly it began. My days have become blurry.

but I'll do my best. I believe the first instance where I noticed signs that these things new things had arrived, well, I remember there being small signs. Things moved around, items disturbed or misplaced, an uneasy feeling of not being alone,

temperature changes, faucets running, floorboards creaking. The typical signs of haunting, you know, I've become accustomed to them, so they don't frighten me, but they do make me,

make me alert not everything that passes through my home has always been very friendly i started becoming alarmed when i noticed wallpaper peeling off of the walls in one of the upstairs bedrooms i know that over time this can happen but it was coming off in large strips and i could hear it being ripped away from the wall the sharp tearing sounds startled me as i rested one evening i well I followed it to see the decorative damask wallpaper that my grandmother had installed being destroyed. Pits of it were already on the floor and the wall itself looked as if someone had taken a knife to certain parts of it. Edges were lifted up and I watched as they were pulled away from the wall in various strips and pieces. With each tear of the paper I felt my heart being torn.

My grandmother had so meticulously picked that wallpaper out and even asked for my opinion. In the end, she had chosen one of the ones that I told her I liked. It was as if this unseen force was just ripping at my memories without consideration. I yelled. I screamed. I pleaded for whatever it was to stop, to leave it alone. It paused for a few moments, and I felt the air near me shift. I didn't move, not out of fear, but out of shock.

I still stared at the ripped wallpaper. The things that came into my home had never destroyed something like this. After a few minutes, it began again. I tried desperately to make it stop. I pushed the strips against the wall. I cried, I begged. Nothing worked. I worked myself into such a frenzy until my energy was spent,

and I collapsed onto the carpeted floor. Eventually I fell asleep or passed out from exhaustion. When I awoke an entire day, walls were that wallpaper was in tatters on the floor the bare wall that had been previously hidden made my heart hurt and i forced myself to leave the room dejected and downtrodden the wallpaper tearing continued in spurts over the next few days along with the other normal haunting signs i'd mentioned before i took to entering the room a few times a day and asking for whatever it was there to just stop i asked what it wanted how i could appease it not was

always to know avail. I never received any type of message or sign and it didn't stop until all of the walls were bare. And it only escalated from there. I was lying on my bed one day when I felt everything shake. I sat up, immediately wondering if it was an earthquake. I was about to climb out of bed when I noticed the edge of my blanket moving. And the foot of my bed, my comfortable duvet, was being moved away from the corners and bunched up haphazardly toward the centre. The shaking had stopped for a moment while this happened, and I knew immediately that it wasn't an earthquake as I'd first suspected. Stop! I yelled.

I seemed to do the trick. The blanket stopped moving. The bed, however, began to shake again. I pulled my knees up to my chest and backed up against the headboard, pressing myself against it. A loud scraping sound emanated from the end of the bed, and it moved a few inches against the wooden floor. I gasped and yelled again for it to stop.

Please, stop. This is my bedroom. What do you want? I screamed at the seemingly empty room. The bed moved another inch or two before it ceased. I didn't move. I didn't breathe. I didn't blink.

My duvet was then ripped away. from me violently. I grabbed for it as it was thrown to the ground. Fabric slipped against my palm, but my fingers found purchase on the edge of the blanket. I tugged it back toward me, getting a better grip on it with both hands. The blanket felt slack for a split second. Then the other thing that had a hold of it yanked hard, pulling my body along with it. I did my best to stay on the bed, but my shoulders and head were left hanging off the side of the bed. I clenched my fists around the blanket, refusing to release it. There was one more yank, more gentle than the one before,

and I fought back with every ounce of strength I had. I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I righted myself back onto the bed. Before I could sit up, though, I felt a strange sensation on my right shoulder. It was a slight tingle at first, but in a matter of a matter of, of seconds, it felt like my entire shoulder was being grabbed by the devil himself. The pain was sharp and fiery. It burned into my body from one point and spread like shattering glass throughout my entire arm and down my back. I held in pain and barely felt the bed being shot over more from where I was. Whatever was in my house, it was strong and didn't care about me. I don't know how long it lasted.

the pain and the bed moving. It felt like hours, but I don't know it couldn't have been that long. At some point the pain began to fade slowly. I only laid there in agony as it dissipated. When it had subsided enough and I found some strength, I pushed myself up, I saw that my bed was now against a wall, and my bedside tables, which had flanked each side of the headboard before,

were now removed and no longer in the room. My blanket was mostly on the floor, and I saw some scratches on the hardwood floor from the bed being moved. I weakly pulled my blanket back onto the bed and curled up into a tight ball with it wrapped and bunched up all around me. Tears stung my eyes, but none came. I wasn't broken yet, but I was feeling myself beginning to crack. I never dealt with anything this intense. I know it might not seem like a big deal to you or most, but in the moment,

as these things happened to me, it was absolutely terrifying. I had experience with hauntings. I knew what to expect. It isn't like in the movies or books. It's usually more benign. Most people hardly even notice the presence of spirits, because they're so innocuous. And places like my home that become sort of a way station

are usually mostly left alone. They come, stay for a while, and then move on. I don't know why it happened. this way can't even begin to try and figure it out so i'll stop trying a long time ago all i know is they typically don't stick around some have been more persistent yes but simple tricks get rid of them when small things are moved i put them back when they fog up the mirrors i write messages asking them to leave even trying to talk with them directly can work i even have certain protection symbols and items around the house to try and keep the beings moving along if one's being

stubborn can move one of my totems into a central place in the house and once they encounter it it aids them in moving on or if they came across one of the symbols expertly crafted and positioned in important corners of my home they realized that this place is protected and they let go this new thing though had started with destroying my house and attacking me This had never happened before. It had actually touched me, and the pain I felt terrified me to my call. Maybe I'm superstitious, but I began to wonder if this was some sort of demon. Things kept happening.

My days melted together in a mess of pain, terror and destruction. A wall in the foyer was turned to rubble. The stairs were torn apart, and blanks of wood littered the floor. The kitchen was completely annihilated. as if a bomb had gone off amidst its barriers. Along with the damage to the property, I began smelling something. It happened at least half-dozen times and always started the same with a slight burning smell,

then a shifting cloud would form. As the cloud formed and moved itself through the house, stretching and contracting and stretching again, the air would increasingly begin to feel heavy and depressive. The scent shifted to something else, with smelling burns there was something else that i couldn't place my finger on it lingered and made me feel sick with my head swim and my body feel weak when it was abrasive enough i'd find out later that i passed out i'd tried everything i moved totems into various places that would be easily seen

wrote messages i yelled i pleaded i offered deals i made sure the symbols were visible these were all met with harsh retaliation the totems were ruined the symbols were carved into breaking the protection seals and the messages were ignored all of my pleas and attempts fell on death or apathetic ears and eyes and then there was the altercation an actual interaction that confirmed there was more than one being haunting my house i was walking around my home feeling my heart fall apart in shatters bit by bit as I surveyed the broken pieces of my life. When I entered what used to be the parlour, there was a new symbol on one of the walls. It felt ominous and dangerous. I approached it hesitantly and saw that the lions were impressed into the surface,

as if carved with some sort of tool. The closer I got to it, the worse I began to feel. My vision became muddy and I couldn't focus on anything for too long. My chest felt tight, my body heavy. I took a step backward away from it and faltered a bit. I reached out for the couch, and it wasn't where it belonged. I fell to the floor and crawled away from the wall. Ah, there you are!

I heard a voice from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and up at what had spoken. Still difficult to focus, even with a distance between my side. from the symbol. All I could see were blurred edges of something clad in or made of black. I felt animosity pouring from it. Who? I tried asking, but felt too weak to finish. You are unwanted in this place, it said. The voice was male, but I couldn't see any details of the creature. This is my home. I managed to get out, because I struggled to stand.

using a table to help steady myself. The thing spoke again, but I couldn't understand the words. He reached out toward me, and I bolted, almost tripping over myself, and it barreled after me, knocking over whatever was in its path, chairs, tables, the umbrella holder, and more ended upturned or shoved aside. Stopped suddenly when I entered the kitchen and felt something growing inside of me. It was a churning hurricane of fear and anger. I wasn't sure which I felt the most, but seeing the kitchen again, forced into this carnage

that barely resembled the comforting room it had once been, shifted something inside of me and planted a seed of row. I turned on my heels and plant a barrel toward the creature to be the attacker instead of the attacked this time. But just before my hands could make contact, it sidestepped me and yelled out something unintelligible. My body was pulled to the ground as if by some sort of flora. force. I felt in my hands and knees held in place somehow. The room around me spun and my vision

went black as it had before when I smelled that strange scent that made me sick. When I came to, there were more symbols on the walls and I found that I couldn't leave the kitchen. I could stand, I could walk around, but I couldn't cross the threshold from the kitchen to the rest of the house. I couldn't explain it. After pacing for a while, I heard distant voices and saw shadowy figures from the adjacent room. They were blurry like the other one had been, and I couldn't understand what they were saying. There were two or three of them.

It was difficult to tell, as their forms appeared to shift and meld into one another before separating again and moving around. The voices were strange and sounded too far off for the distance. Please, let me go, I called out weakly. There was no sign of them hearing me or noticing me at all. the other things moved away from my sight and i was left completely alone i spent days there trapped in the kitchen tortured by the sounds of my house being torn apart occasionally one of the beings would appear in the doorway and say something in its demonic language it would bring with it the dizzying smell and when i was weak it touched me and i felt that scalding pain as i had in my bedroom i didn't know how much

longer I'd be able to take it. Every time it happened I became weaker and weaker. After, I don't know how many days, I was finally released from my kitchen prison. I don't know if it was on purpose or accident, but I was able to finally move about my home once again. I am prout here, but at least I can move around. These things still haunt the walls and rooms of my home. They seem to still be intent on tearing the happen. apart don't know how to get rid of them I fear they might be the end of me look if anyone else has experience with this sort of thing please help me I'm at a loss for what else to do and I worry that I'm running out of time but on the

plus side it finally figure out how to possess a living human the medigal who said she heard dead people whispering to her telling her to join them and Now I'm hearing them too. By corpse child. I'm insane. Please just tell me I'm insane. Please tell me that I'm a delusional freak who deserves to be locked up. Hell, call me a schizo head or a psychomaniac.

Freaking anything just for the love of God. Tell me this isn't real. As if it is, I... Well, I don't know what I'll do. It's been going on for almost two and a half months now. At least since Jackie died. Jacklin, the girl I took under my wing, the girl I let down and now the source of my torment. We'd met about a month and a half ago and I was still working a dead-end job as a cook for Porky Bros,

the old barbecue joint that sat in the middle of downtown where I lived before it closed down last week. I still remember how we met. I was out back taking the smoke, the only one I'd had so far that day, and I'd just about gotten into a fist fight with Rick. one of the waiters who would always particularly dislike me for whatever reason. The guy seemed to amuse himself with trying to crack a bullwhip over my back to hurry up with an order. And of course, when a customer would complain about something being wrong with the food, be it not seasoned enough or something was still cold, and you could bet your bottom dollar that the son of bitch would be in my ear about it.

Well, that time was over the order being three minutes late, even though we were getting slammed with business and I barely had any help, with multiple people calling out. I was already tired from having to pull a double, and I've been putting up with his shit for far longer than I should have. I was about to break his face in when Wendell, my buddy and one of the only other cooks working with me that day, stepped in and told me to go take a smoke.

I did so without a single word. So there I was, puffing away at Marlborough Red, when she approached me for the first time. I could tell she'd been crying, and her clothes were torn and ragged. I'm kidding. Hey, can I buy my smoke? She asked, her voice shaking. I looked in the pack, seeing that there was only one left after the one I was smoking.

Admittedly, I almost told her no. Looking at her, though, I guess at the time I didn't have the heart. Thank you. She just stood next to me, silently dragging on her smoke. Pardon me wanted to ask if she was okay, but at the same time I knew she wasn't. The way she looked said everything. The tattered clothes, the way she was quivering, still in tears, and just how utterly frightened she was. Plus, I could also see bruises on her cheekbones and around her mouth.

I was heartbroken. I must have somehow shown it, too, because she soon told me that it... It was nothing, just an accident. Accident my ass. She shrunk a bit before taking another drag, and she told me that, it was just a misunderstanding. It wouldn't happen again. I was becoming enraged. I wasn't a saint, sure, but damn it,

I was raised to believe that no matter what, a man does not put his hands on a woman like that. I wanted to find and hand this piece of shit his ass on a platter before putting him down like the animal he was. What happened? Why did he do it? I finally managed to ask. She shook her head. Look, don't worry about it, okay.

You wouldn't get it anyway. Well, I think I get it perfectly well. some bastard just be the hell out of you and you're afraid of getting him in trouble by telling me who he is yeah she scoffed what are you going to do her kick his ass why not at least then i can kick someone's ass today well this made a chuckle bad day her oh look who's talking and this time we both laughed my name's auto by the way jacqueline she said her voice sounding just a little less timid she flicked a cigarette out before thanking me me and turning to leave. Hey, uh, hold up.

I shut out my hand to her, stopping her. I pulled out one of the older tickets I crumpled up earlier out of anger and scrawled out my phone number. Call me later, okay? She looked at it and then to me, smiling. You got it. She then turned and left, and I went back inside to continue torturing myself with the rest of my shift.

That night when I finally got home, at 1.45 a.m., having to close a kitchen. I was grabbing a beer from the fridge, my phone buzzed with a text message. Hey, it's me, Jacqueline. Just wanted to say thanks for talking to me and letting me bum a smoke. Really made my day better. I smiled. Something I hadn't done all day, or all week for that matter. I replied that I was glad I made somebody happy today.

I also texted her that if she wanted to talk about anything, but I'd be there. After that, there was no reply for a while, so I decided to proceed with drinking myself to sleep that night. When I woke up the next morning, and by that I really mean about half hour to noon, I found that there were a couple of texts from her waiting for me. The first one was only about three hours after the one I'd sent her. That'd be nice, thank you. The other two were sent only another hour after that one, each only about ten minutes or so apart from each other.

Hey, you still up? I'm kind of scared here. Can we talk, please? my eyes snapped wide when I saw this and I felt my heart drop the time stamps for these messages had been from five hours ago when I was asleep she'd needed me and I wasn't there

immediately I shot her a text saying I was sorry I didn't see a message and asked if she was okay my heart was racing waiting praying for a response finally about five minutes later my phone buzzed with a response it's fine everything's okay sorry for worrying you my hurt slowly returned to normal at least she's alive asked of what had happened and if she was hurt she replied that she was all right and that she was overreacting though I was relieved that she was okay for now I wasn't convinced

that she was just overreacting look I'm no kind of trauma counselor or psychologist but I wasn't born yesterday either I'd seen before I'd seen friends of mine and looking like Jackie did, the bruises cuss and black eyes covering them after their pieces of ship boyfriends would come home, usually sloshed, with some wild hair in their asses, and every time they too would try to pass it off with something like, overreacting, or just an accident, or not what it looked like. I decided to ask her if she was open for lunch that afternoon, since I was off work.

She replied that she was busy, but that dinner might be an option. I told her that'd be great, and asked if she'd like me to pick her up. She replied with her address, and I told her I'd see her around 6.30 that evening. After that I spent the day getting cleaned up and rummaging through my storage unit of an apartment for something nice, or at least something halfway distant, to wear for dinner. I wanted to make an impression. I wanted to see her that good men do still exist and can treat her like a lady, you know. If nothing else, I figured maybe I'd help her feel more secure, and she might open up about what was going on. about five o'clock that evening

I'd managed to find the suit I wore from my brother's wedding I was putting it through a cycle in the wash that's when my phone buzzed with a text from Jackie Hey um I know this is awkward but Is there any way you could come get me now Well I froze I'd just put the suit into the washer

And it wouldn't be done for another 20 minutes I asked her if everything was okay She replied that she was fine But really wanted to meet up now I asked what was going on but she didn't reply after that. I was flawed. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do.

Part of me wanted to try and press for details. I was getting a bit nervous with how vague she was being about everything. I wondered what I'd see once I got there. Would she even be alive when I got there? Again, I'd seen shit like this play out before, and I wasn't going to just sit by and what she'd happen with Jackie. I started imagining what the boyfriend was like, imagining a six-foot-two gorilla whose breath reeked perpetually of bud lights.

It was with this in mind that I said, oh, fuck the suit. I threw on a t-shirt and jeans, well, cleanest ones I could find, and hopped in my car. I shot her a text saying I was on my way, as I all but pealed out at the parking lot. Don't me about 50 minutes to find where she lived, having to backtrack once or twice through roads I wasn't really familiar with.

The city I lived in was small, sure, but I didn't exactly get out much, which made it all unfamiliar territory for me. Her house was a small one just off the corner of the downtown area, isolated with only two other houses neighboring it. When I pulled up, I noticed there wasn't a vehicle parked in the driveway. Oh damn, I'm too late. Fuckers's already gone, I thought as I jumped out of the car

and made my way to the porch. My hand tightly gripped around the butterfly knife I always kept in my pocket. It's not exactly a nice neighbor that I living. Jacqueline, I called out, knocking on the door. For about a minute, nothing happened. I tried leaning my ear to the door to see if I could hear anything. Nothing. It was when I was texting her, telling her that I was on the porch that I heard the door slowly open.

Front door cracked open and my heart stopped when I saw her face. It was worse than the previous day. Covering almost every inch of her face with cuts and fresh bruises alongside the ones from before. My jaw fell open and hung like someone had tied to her face. brick of lead to it. I was horrified, while at the same time overcome with rage. Now I wanted the bus with six feet in the ground, and I wanted to be the one that dug his grave. What? She stepped out under the porch, quickly shutting the door behind her. She stood there silently. Her face chiseled in a state of fear, and her eyes locked onto my feet, seemingly unable to

make eye contact with mine. Now in the full light outside I saw one eye was so big, but I was so badly beaten, that it was almost swollen shut. As well as this, there were gashes now across her cheeks, fresh and still trickling with blood. I was speechless. I wasn't sure how to begin. I didn't know whether to demand that she told me who this animal was and where I could find him, or to grab her and hoarder in the tightest bear hug I could manage. In the end, I just stood still, speechless with horror.

Finally she broke the silence and asked, shaking, can we go please almost absently i nodded and stammered where too i don't care she said her voice breaking i just need to get out i gently took her hand and led her into my car and we drove off i decided against trying to take her out to a restaurant or anything like that looking the way she did and all with no other ideas of where to go asked if she'd like to come back with me to my place for dinner She just nodded nervously again. That'd be nice, yeah. I'll have to warn you, though. Not exactly the tidiest.

I chuckled when I said this. I'd been to lighten the mood with that. It didn't work. It doesn't matter. It'll be fine, she said anxiously, still quivering like she was cold. I could tell her she wasn't in the mood to hear my voice at the moment, so the rest of the way to my apartment was spent in silence. The whole time her eyes stared about a thousand yards ahead through the windshield.

while she shook in the passenger seat. We pulled up to my apartment. Before I could even cut the engine off, Jacqueline was already undoing her seatbelt and opening the door. I turned the car off and got out after her. I got her to follow me back to my apartment. Tadda! I said, awkwardly,

as I opened the door to reveal my wreck of an apartment. Home sweet home, at least as sweet as sweet as it can be. I saw her look at me, her eyes still wide and nervous, yet still parting the left corner of her leave. lip up into a shy half-smile. I threw some of my clutter that was on the couch to the floor beside it, giving her a place to sit down. She stood in the doorway for a second before finally trudging over and sitting down. Would you like a drink? I asked opening the fridge.

I must warn you, all I've got are millers, but they're fresh and cold. She smiled weakly again and replied, no thanks. I grabbed one for myself and made my way to the couch, sitting beside her. For the next five minutes or so, my apartment was so dead silent that you would have been able to hear a pin dropping from the fifth floor above me. She just sat staring at the floor. A couple of times I saw her shaking her hair like she was dizzy or something. I broke the silence by asking her if she'd like to watch something on the TV.

She didn't seem to notice me at first, so I called her name again. This time her head snapped up to me. Her face looked lost and afraid at the same time. What? What? Um, want to watch some TV? Oh, yeah, that'd be nice. I turned it on and started flipping through channels.

Finally, I managed to land on an episode of Family Guy and stop there. I asked her if she was cool with that, telling her it was one of my favourites. To be honest, it wasn't. She just shrugged and said she didn't mind. By that point, it was really starting to eat away at me that she wasn't telling me something. Again, I get it. People in her situation, especially after a particularly bad episode like what she'd been dealt with earlier, tend not to want to talk about it, but I didn't make things any easier for me. I became especially anxious when I saw her start shaking her head and clutching her temples. Then I started hearing her faintly mutter under her breath. No, no, stop it. I don't want us. Stop. Stop what? I asked nervously, putting my hand on her shoulders.

She didn't seem to notice, instead shaking her head more violently and tearing at her hair. Her clawing became violent, pulling at her ears, and I was scared she was about to rip them off. I realized that she must be having a psychological episode, maybe PTSD or something from getting the hell beat out of her that day. I'm sure of what to do, I grabbed her arms and shouted her name. Jacqueline! Jacqueline! She finally stopped and looked at me again. her eyes were wide almost unnaturally so looking absolutely lost and flooding with tears her breathing was heavy it's okay i said softly it's okay i'm here i've got you i didn't really know why i said that truth of i didn't believe what i said being just as lost if not more so than she was i guess it was the only thing i knew to say to make her feel better or at least to keep her from doing serious harm to herself thankfully it seemed to do as much because she was she was the only thing i knew to say to make her feel better or i used to keep her from doing serious harm to herself thankfully it seemed to do as much because she was she was she was a little bit her body immediately relaxed and she then curled into football and buried a face into her hands sobbing i just froze

what was i supposed to do here wanted to hold her but at the same time i knew that might cause her to freak out again the one thing was certain i definitely wanted to beat the shit out of that boyfriend i'm sorry she said through her I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry, I should go. She started to get up from the couch, and I got up to stop her. Back to him? I asked. She tried to push past me to the door, and I continued to block her. I couldn't let her go back to that. I wasn't even sure I was comfortable leaving her alone at this point. What are you talking about? Your boyfriend, a piece of shit that's done this to you. She shrunk down again, closing her eyes and saying, look you don't get it my boyfriend didn't do this i don't have a boyfriend okay i live alone just please i need to go home

i was caught off guard by this if she didn't have a boyfriend or anyone else then he's been beating her up like this as much as i wanted to press that question i could see that she was desperate to leave okay then at least let me take you home please just so i know you'll be okay She looked at me and nodded. Sure. We drove in silence, well, silent, except for her constantly mumbling. I said, no, I won't go. I don't want to leave me alone.

I said nothing, but I can't lie, this was starting to scare me. I was terrified that at any moment she was going to start trying to tear at her hair or something again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. When we pulled into her house, before she could bolt out like she couldn't get out, enough, I put a hand out, stopping her. Call me again tomorrow morning, okay? Just let me know everything's okay, please? She half-heartedly nodded before getting out of the car.

After she'd gone inside her house, I just sat there for a good five or so minutes, waiting for something to happen. I almost expected to see her in the window, getting hurt either by herself or someone else that I was going to have to rush in after. As it happened, all the lights were off, and it was dead silent.

I finally managed to satisfy myself that, for the time being, she was okay and left her house. It's no surprise that on the drive home that night, my mind was entrapped by one big question. What the hell was going on with Jacqueline? Why was she hurting herself the way she was? What was causing her to have episodes like she did at my apartment? And something happened to her, maybe something that somehow scarred her. That would make sense, but then that brings up the moment. question of why she wasn't seeking help. Well, she didn't tell anybody, and if not, then why?

Of course, all of this was eclipsed by the biggest question. Who the hell was she talking to when she was saying, stop, I don't want to. The only conclusion I could think of now was that she might have some sort of schizophrenia or even some dual personality or something like that. Again, I'm an expert on psychology, but based on what I'd seen, that was the only way I could explain what was going on. This however made me feel all the more uneasy about leaving her by herself. It was a good thing I was off work the next day too because all through that night I was essentially on high alert, just waiting for her to call or text me, panicking again. In other words, sleep was not an option. What's worse is that my entire time, try as I would

otherwise, even downing a few millers, I couldn't take my mind off it to relax. I kept imagining that the next time I saw it'd be in the hospital or worse. All I could do was pray that she'd call the next morning, telling me that things were okay. Finally, around 8 a.m., my phone rang. Out of reflex, I mashed the green button. Hello, Jacqueline? Is everything okay?

Yeah, everything's fine. A voice sounded normal. Well, actually, it almost seemed relaxed. It almost felt like a total 180 from the pre-year. previous night. Listen, I'm sorry about last night. I know you probably think I'm nuts, but well, I can't explain. Can we meet up again? Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Where at what time? In an hour, down at the park by the pier. Okay, um, you want to bring anything? Maybe something for her. But she'd hung up before I could finish. I quickly got dressed and got into my car.

On the way to the park I decided to stop by the nearby subway and grab some fruit trucks. The whole time I was wondering if the right thing to do would be to try admitting her to a hospital. I knew she probably wouldn't like the idea, but I couldn't just let her keep hurting herself like this, could I? I hadn't come to any sort of conclusion by the time I pulled up to the park either. I resolved to hear her out first and then go from that. That way I'd at least have a better understanding of what was going on. I texted her, asking her where she was and where in the park she wanted to meet up. She replied about two seconds later, saying she was at the pier by the lake.

Grabbing the sandwiches, I headed into the park and for the lake. When I got there, I saw her sitting on the edge, looking out toward the lake. Hey, um, so I hope you don't mind, but I brought us a bite to... It's beautiful, isn't it? I stopped. "'The lake. It's beautiful, isn't it?' "'Yeah, I guess so. I slowly approached the rest of the way to her.

She just sat there still. My mother always tells me that the current of a lake would always wash away one strife. It was so peaceful you could lose yourself in it. "'I'm okay,' I said. "'I'm sure of what I was supposed to say to this. "'I couldn't explain it, but something felt off. It looks like some dormant instinct, a six cents you could call it, that was telling me that

something was up. But what? When I reached her, I put my hand in her shoulder. You're hungry. I picked her some subs from subway. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got you... I hear dead people. For a moment everything almost seemed to freeze in place.

She was still, emotionless, and the way she said it was like she was accepting some great truth of life. I guess a better way of saying it was that she sounded numb or hollow. I hear dead people, she repeated in that same numb tone. They tell me to join them in the end. In him, my tongue felt swollen, like I'd been punched. I'm sorry, you hear dead people, yes. And they tell you to do what now? She was quiet again from a moment, and I was flawed. How was I supposed to respond to that? How would you have responded to hearing this?

They want me to go with them, she said finally, blankly. Go where? What do you mean? Into the end, to join with him. They've been telling me that he is what waits for us all. You mean like God or something? What do you mean by waiting for us all? Even before she'd answered, though, I knew deep death. the answer was going to be something wrong he doesn't have a name he is all of us he's what we

become on the other side he waits to be completed and they need me he needs me to join i could feel a series of chills prickle down my spine hearing this she sounded so relaxed when she said it like all of it seemed so normal to her it all sounded like something a cult member would say and she said it like it was nothing. This was scaring the hell out of me now, and I was certain of one thing. One way or another, I had to find her some kind of help. They've been telling me this ever since my mother died last year.

I always hear her, telling me to follow her to the end and join with him. I slowly reached out and gently put my hand to her shoulder. Jackie, come on, let's get out of here. we can find someone to help me she asked interrupting me is that what you were going to say i stayed silent she let out of scoff and said look if you won't believe me what makes you think anyone else will i was stumped i wanted to grab her hand and take her to the nearest hospital i wanted to tell her things were okay and that the voices weren't real but i didn't instead i climbed up besides which She continued, starting to stand up. It's all right. Everything's going to be fine now.

I'm darn running. What happened next felt like it was lasting in eternity, despite it only being a couple of minutes. I remember briefly noticing that she had her shoelaces tied together in a ball, joining both feet together. While my brain was busy with wondering about this, as well as trying to take in what I was hearing and trying to figure out how to find some help for her, she looked me in the eyes for the first time since I got there and said thanks for being here now Otto I for a split second saw that her hands were duct taped together but by the time it fully hit me exactly what she planned to do

I'd be too late to stop her in one fluid motion she flung her body backwards and was instantly swallowed by the lake rushed over I saw that she was almost too far down to see only faintly glimpsing her eyes looking back up at me wide and panicking i turned back and shouted at a few others walking by to call 911 before diving headfirst into the lake after her i flailed frantically as hard as possible pushing myself deeper and deeper after her it was useless though the lake ran deep and it got darker murkier the further down

it went and because of this i couldn't see a thing i'd also never been a good swimmer in the first place i had to push myself back up air and go back down again several times still unable to reach her eventually my body grew weak and i couldn't even move my arms and legs anymore my body then started sinking too and i was forced to take in another mouthful of water unable to hold my breath any longer that's when i finally blacked out falling to the bottom of the lake along with jacqueline i remember coming too on the pier dizzy puking and spewing up lake water over me it was a paramedic holding a jump back in an oxygen mask. He's becoming responsive, he shouted to the group on the other side of the

pier. You okay, sir? I stared blankly at him, still catching my breath. It took a moment before everything came rushing back to me. Jackly, I cried, bolting up. The paramedic stopped me, telling me to calm down. I looked around to see police officers at the edge of the pier begin walking towards me. When they questioned me as to what had happened, I told them the truth as I knew it, that she'd jumped into the river after telling me that she was hearing voices. I expressed that I also had every intention of trying to help find her. They seemed to accept this as there was no other evidence, physical or from witnesses,

to suggest anything otherwise, and I was free to go home. From there, life sort of just went on. It was weird. I, of course, spent the following couple of weeks losing myself to the bottle every night after work. Finally, it was turned out from Porky Bros, when he got to a point when I wasn't able to really function in the kitchen anymore. I read a week later in the paper that Jackie's body was finally found after being dragged out of the lake.

Eventually, though, I managed to actually sort of move on. I've had another job at a much nicer restaurant, one that actually paid a bit better, and I felt like I could push Jacqueline to the back of my head, to a distant memory. That's when I started hearing it, though. or rather hearing her. It happened one night when I'd come home from work and was about to go to bed when I started hearing her voice calling my name.

Otto! Otto! And then I saw her. She looked like she did when she was alive. Actually, she looked even better, being without the bruises. I rub my eyes. What the hell? Otto, it's me, Jacqueline.

Remember? She was smiling when she said it. Her voice was smooth and calming. I closed my eyes, shaking my head. When I opened them again, she was gone. Come on, get a grip, man. I decided to quickly down a couple of millers before going to bed. That night in my sleep, though, she was there again.

She was standing in front of me, naked and smiling warmly. You're lonely, aren't you, Ardo? It's time. Come join us. Join with him. Before I could ask what she was talking about, as well as how she's there and what she wants with me. I heard a flurry of shrill whispers coming from behind.

Then out of the corner of my eyes, I saw thousands of white streaks rush past, each of them with elongated mouths screaming simultaneously. Come and join her. I was horrified. I tried to wait myself up, but it was no use. I could only watch as the screaming streaks began swirling around in a vortex motion behind Jacqueline.

Strachling herself then started descending towards the centre, her voice blending chaotically with the rest, enchanting for me to join with him. Upon reaching the centre, I could see her and the others start to morph, blending together and moulding into the shape of a man. He, it, was tall and dark, like he was made out of the void itself. That four long, gangly arms that stretched out further and further towards me to snatch me and drag me into it. Every part of it was comprised of the screaming faces,

as more and more of them continued to conjoined. All around me was a horrific cacophony of their screams. Join us. The last thing I remember hearing before waking up was Jackie's voice telling me that it was time to join with him. I almost jumped out of my bed and I didn't go back to sleep again that night. That was almost a month ago now.

and every day since I keep seeing them, hearing them, always telling me to join them. Every time I see the thing, him getting closer and closer. I haven't been able to sleep when I can't function during the day either. I'm always hearing them. I don't know what this thing is or what it'll do when it reaches me in my sleep, but I'm 100% certain that it's something unholy, something horrible. I've been trying pills, but they have to be. only last so long before I hear them again.

The only hope I have now is that I'm just freaking losing it. Grief is somehow driving me like it drove Jackie with her mother to see this shit. I beg of you please show me some kind of proof

that what I'm seeing isn't real. I'm so freaking scared right now. I can hear them right now. Oh damn it, I don't want to go. My friends were kidnapped one Halloween night. This is how I got them back. By corpse child. Part one.

I can still remember it all, even now, a year later. The sky was blacker than it had ever been. It was a new moon, I remember. The lamps lined along the street were pitiful, barely lighting up the six inches of space directly below them. It was cold, too, so much so, that even the thick robes I was wearing that night wasn't enough to keep me from shivering in them.

I could have sworn at one point I'd started developing icicles out of the corners of my eyes. I've been warned about this all the time as a kid. Being out after dark here in old Willow, and sure enough, I didn't take them seriously. It was the night. My bargain. I think I saw the first one of them just a mile or two out from the gates of the place. The fields, the sanctuary of the harvesters. He stood watching me, a silent and lifeless centurion.

with his hands held close together in the sleeves of his own rows. The wind was rushing, rustling through the leaves, but you wouldn't have been able to tell if you'd been looking at him. His cloak was as still as his body was. I kept walking. Too more than anything to get this out of the way so I could finally be free of the guilt. It had been all I could think about for the past few weeks or so by that point.

Well, the harvesters had, up to that point, always been something of an anomaly to us here in Weeping Willow, North Carolina. No one knew who any of them were, what they looked like, aside from their dark, velvish robes and silent menacing demeanour, and they walked down the streets. Well, my friends and I, we'd always made up stories about who or what they were. Ethan always thought they were aliens, or the Illuminati, descending down as an omen of their impending takeover, or something like that.

Norman and I thought that they were some kind of satanic cult or something, looking for their next sacrifice, which, I suppose, wasn't altogether inaccurate after all, was it? Cathy Ann was the only one, though, who thought they weren't something outright evil, but leaving them instead to be angels or some shit. The lot of us were superstitious in our own rights, not at all helped by the hyper-religious upbringings of each of us. sadly God wasn't saving me this time nor did he save them then

hey man Ethan said into the phone that Friday night Happy early Halloween Halloween I asked before it hit me with the force of a freight train Not Halloween was in two weeks Oh shit that's right Dude

I groaned What was the problem Amnesia kicking in already dude It only comes every... Yeah, dude, but well, I forgot it was in two weeks. And? We haven't decided on where we're holding

the party this year. Shit. There was a distinct pause that lasted about a full minute before he finally broke, saying, well, I mean, still two weeks. Yeah, but bro, you know goddamn well. All the frass and shit have had their parties advertised for weeks up to now, and everyone's already

RSVP. Might have a point. Another silence passed before he asked. Well, why don't we just have a squad night out somewhere? What do you mean? I mean, like, you know, you, me, Cat and Norman, we'll just go out and do something wild. Okay.

I pause for a second and then said, you sound like you got something in mind. Well, sort of. What? So, you know that old farmlands? You mean old Haynes' place? Yeah. Of course.

Wait a minute. Oh, hell, no. You're not about to suggest what I think you're about to, are you? What? Oh, God, Ethan. Dude, sometimes I seriously think you should have been held back a year or two in elementary school. Oh, I haven't even said anything. You don't need to.

You're all talking about us going to Hell's Harvests, aren't you? Yeah. what's the big deal? I barked out loud, a loon-like laugh. You fucking kidding me right now. Christ, you and I have grown up in this freaking place for over 20 years now. It didn't occur to you once during that time. And it didn't occur to you once during the time it took you to come up with this little scheme.

There might be a reason the place hasn't had visitors in other 30 years. Another moment of silence passed, one that I kind of needed after that. That freak out had me gasping for air afterwards. Hey, you done? He asked. I didn't reply. Look, I just thought it'd be something cool for us to do since you dropped the ball on our usual plans this year. Gee, thanks, pal.

What, I'm just keeping it real with you. So what's your first idea? Hell's Harvest? I don't see you coming up with anything. I open my mouth, but froze. Yeah, exactly. Crickets. Look, even talk to the others about this. Even when I asked this, I knew this was a stupid question.

He'd just come up with it. Ah, no, but I'll bet you they go for it. Shit, I know Norman will. I sighed. Fine, ask them, see what they think. In the meantime, I'll try to think of something that isn't suicidal. Well, that's a first. Screw you.

That was one time. Two, dude. I grimaced. Seriously, I think you might have early onset of Alzheimer's or some shit. And I seriously think you should have been helped back a couple of years. Ah, whatever. I gotta go to class.

I'll talk to you later. Yeah, later. I hop after that, and sighed. Leave it to Ethan's dumbass to come up with these plans. I'll admit, that was genuinely terrified. To this day, I couldn't tell you what could have possessed this moron to think of wanting to hit up the old farmstead. I wasn't kidding either when I told him there was a reason the place had been abandoned for three decades. Well, long story short, a place had been where at least a hundred and thirty-something odd people,

a good few of whom were children, went missing never to be seen again. Now it happened or what actually ended up happening to these people, as you can guess, no one actually knows. no traces ever found and no witnesses to tell of it. By the 10th or 11th incident, most of us had enough of the sense God gave a freaking tree stump to know not to go trying to poke around there. The key word, of course, being most.

So I spent the next day or two trying to find something. A haunted trail, a big-ass rave, how'd fucking anything, to talk Ethan and them out of this. In the end, I managed to find something small. It was Halloween hour at Odin's Barrel. Bar just a couple of miles out from the dorms, so I figured that I could talk them down with a night of drinks and music. It was mine and Norman's old stomping grounds back in high school,

when we'd sneak out with a couple of our other buddies, all of whom are either dead are in prison now, just knock back shots like we didn't have exams the next day. I say that to say, well, I figured I had this call handle. It was the Wednesday of that week when I pitched the idea to Ethan and the other two. I'm down for it, said Norman. Cathy Ann agreed with him.

Ethan just gave me an annoyed sort of look, but shrugged, saying he was in. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at this. The rest of that week then passed as normal, with them hitting me up every day, didn't know either what costume to wear or who was the DE. We ended up nominating Norman to be our driver, being the only one who's been actively avoiding alcohol

for the past five years. Ever since the night he ended up in a car crash that severely injured a child in the other car. Gas would be on me, while Ethan and Kathy Ann were going to split the bill for tickets and drinks. For costumes, well, let's just say we kept the shit simple.

I used some of my ex-girlfriend's old makeup, which she'd left at my place and never once come back for in the year and a half since she'd left. They met myself into a basic zombie. Norm said he was going to bring back his cryptkeeper costume from the previous year. "'Eethn't said he wasn't going to dress up,

"'but ended up coming along with a creepy clown costume "'he'd bought the previous day from Party City. "'It was a cheap one, too, nothing special. "'Definitely not worth the fifteen bucks he'd said he'd paid for it, in my opinion. "'Cathie Anne came dressed as a bumblebee. "'I remember mine and Norman's faces when we saw her, too. "'It was hilarious. "'What?' she asked.

"'You,' I said, "'stifling my laughter as hard as I possibly could, You look silly. What's wrong with a little buzz buzz? She winked when she said this. We all laughed at this and then were on our way to Odin's barrel. We got there, knocked back a few drinks, enough for me and Ethan to get a good buzz going,

and Norman was in the crowd, moshing, while Cathy Ann just watched at the bar beside me and Ethan, head-banging. It was a lot of fun, every bit as much as I remembered from back in high school. I thought any of the three of us knew it, 12.30 had rolled around, it was time to call it in a night. Me and Ethan stumbled to the car, with Norman and Kathy Ann having to hold us up while we laughed our freaking asses off it,

absolutely nothing at all. Once we were all packed in the car again, that was when the question was brought up, by a slurring Ethan. So, what are we going to do now? Why do you mean? asked Norman. Oh, come on, the night's still good, man. let's go do something else he turned and smiled at

Kathy Ann and asked Why about you Kitty Cat He started giggling again and asked You want to go do something else By this point I was still in the middle of my own hysterical laughing fit So no I couldn't just tell him to shut up Norman the voice of reason here

Asked him Why what dude? Everywhere's closed For a moment his smile dropped And he said Oh yeah shit look it's late I'm kind of tired

why don't we just with Ethan piped up again wait I know somewhere that isn't closed well like where he looked at me and then shouted bro

Mama Haynes's place what I asked coming out of my laughing fit Marma Haynes asked Norman what you mean that old farmstead all the way down at the other end of town from here.

Yeah, man. Why do you want to go there? asked Kathy Ann. That'd be awesome. Think about it. We'd be spending the night at a haunted farm on Halloween. This made Norman laugh. Really, dude.

What? Horned farm. Oh, geez. Yeah, so how about it? I just said I'm tired, man. Maybe next year. I'm with Norman. chimed Kathy Ann.

This costume's starting to get kind of stuffy. Oh, you guys are a bunch of bums, man. What about you? And he looked at me again. Now, I know I was drunk. Piss drunk. But I'd like to think even then, I'd have known damn well better than to go and say some dumb shit like I did in that moment.

I don't see why not, Norm. Norman looked in the rearview mirror at me, raising his eyebrow. I'd had to have been smiling because he rolled his eyes and replied. Yeah, okay, whatever. Farmer Haynes, it is. Well, Ethan whooped and cheered, nudging both myself and an unamused Kathy Ann. Of course, despite everything I'd said, the world around me still hadn't settled back into place just yet,

if you know what I mean. The full realization of what I just signed up for here hadn't quite clicked into place from me yet. No, that wouldn't happen for a note. the 30 minutes after passing one of the signs along the old decrepit freeway reading gone down of farmer haines his harvests for the annual weeping willow pumpkin picking hey farmer hains his harvests how are we heading anywhere near yo brad heathen said nudging me and kathianne who was by then fast asleep yeah check it out he pointed to his window toward the tall grass that ran

along the fence line. I looked, squinting my eyes. What? What am I supposed to check out here, dude? You don't see that out there, moving? Moving. I lean closer to the window, squinting harder. I don't see anything moving, dude.

I think you had a couple too many Yeager bombs. Bro, serious look. I am, just not seeing anything. Hey, what's going on? Norman asked. I can see something following us out there. Huh? Yeah, he's been watching us for the past mile and a half or so.

Who? I don't know. He said it was some random guy out there in the grass. The car slowed. Norman turned to look. Where at, Ethan? He asked, leaning into the window like I was. Right there.

Don't you see him? The tall dog skinny motherfucker right there. Dude, I can't see shit. Look, you're drunk and I'm tired. Can we please just... Hey, wait a second. Kathy Ann chimed in. She leaned into Ethan's window now, squinting as well.

Oh, I think I can see him too. God damn it, not you two. Norman, I'm not joking here. leaned away from the window and started nudging me. Brad, look, you see him? I remember looking at her, then at the window. All I could really see were the weeds illuminated by the headlights. I don't see anything, guys.

What we do, dude, Ethan said, unlocking his door. Norman just about jumped out of his seat and shouted. Ethan, what the hell are you doing? He was already too late, though. He was hobbling out of the car and heading into the fields. Norman shouted for Ethan to get his ass back in the car, but Ethan might as well have been deaf. Kathy Ann was shouting for him too, undoing her own seatbelt to try and go out after him,

but I held her back. When I did this that I actually started seeing something there at the fence. Now obviously I couldn't see much, but I knew I could make out two beady red dots glaring right back at me from above the fence line. The fence stood at least four and a half feet tall, and they hovered over both it and Ethan, who was 6-1 by the way, meaning who, or whatever this was, had to be standing at 6'5 or better. The dots didn't move, either, and they remained locked on the car.

Like I said, outside of this, I couldn't see or make out much of anything about it, except for maybe a vague outline of a person, a very, very skinny person. Even this, though, I wasn't sure about. thanks to the fact that the headlights of the car didn't exactly do much to cast enough of a shadow or anything to distinguish its figure from the rest of the night sky, and it wasn't until Ethan had reached the fence, only to then get swallowed by a flash of shadow, unless than the time it takes to blink that I, as well as the other two for that matter, were truly convinced that someone was actually there.

Part two. Ethan, Norman and I shouted, almost at the exact same. same time. Norman threw open the driver's side door and all but leapt out. He shouted for us to stay in the car and dashed off toward the fence. Cathy Ann tried calling for him to stop, but just like with Ethan before, it did no good. He reached the fence and called out for Ethan. By this point, I should mention that the figure was gone, appearing to have taken Ethan with it right after he'd vanished. Ethan, where are you? He cried. No answer from the fields. Kathy Ann broke my hold from around her and took off after Norman.

The two of them started shouting together for him. While they did this, though, I could see the figure return, and this time he brought friends. Two others, both tall, both dark, both with a set of beady red eyes. All were coming right for Norman and Kathy Ann. I couldn't even see them. Norman, Cat! I shouted.

Get out of there. Cathy Ann turned around to look at me, or Norman didn't seem to notice. Pointed to the right, and she looked, immediately jerking Norman back toward the car once she'd gotten a good look. They'd just about made it halfway back to the car. I saw the wave of darkness swipe Norman right out of Cathy Ann's grasp, just like it had with Ethan. In a flash there it was, the figure, looming right behind Kathy Ann, who still hadn't even

unregistered Norman's disappearance yet. I could see the figure then outstretch its lanky arm out, trying to grab her by her hair. Just before it would have had her, though, she made it back inside the car, essentially throwing herself back inside and slamming the door and locking it. She quickly went to the driver door and tried to lock it as well. Not before one of the figures managed to catch the door before it could close. Its hand was wedged between the door and the frame, with its gangly, gnarled-looking fingers, facing upward in a fashion that allowed for them to curl up, grasping the frame.

Cathy Ann had the idea to try getting the car moving again, just to get it to let go. Whenever she slammed on the pedal, the car would jerk, but it wouldn't move an inch. Apparently, in spite of its otherwise emaciated appearance, this thing, whatever the fuck it was, was strong, strong enough, so to stall out Norman's viewing. Cathy Ann continued frantically slamming her foot on the gas until suddenly the figure outside sent its other lanky arm crashing through the window palming and grabbing her face That's when she started screaming and clawing to jerk herself away

And to her credit the figure actually struggled for a good moment to take her But in the end she was swept away like the other two Last thing I remember her screaming was Brad help me With her gone now the other thing two figures then focused on me. Didn't waste a second in undoing my seatbelt, opening my door and hauling ass down the road. Obviously I had no idea where I was going, but where I was trying to go, nor did I really care.

What the matter was getting the fuck away from there and finding somewhere to hide. This was going to prove almost impossible, though, seeing us how everywhere around me was one big, pitch black hole. Couldn't see or make out shit anywhere. I honestly feel like it was pure chance when I found the front gate of the farmer. Behind me, I could feel something like a rushing wind hitting me in the back. Didn't turn to look though, already damn near pissing myself as I ran at the thought of those things' fingers grabbing my shoulder.

I just kept running, praying to God that I could stay ahead of them. The front gate was wide open, like it had been for all that time up to then, with the dilapidated sign reading, just barely legibly. Farmer Haynes' harvests, sprinted through. My goal, I think, was to find the farmhouse itself and try to hide out there.

Before you ask, no. It did not occur to me the fact that I was literally running right into the turf of the people I was running from. That was just one of those things, you know. In the heat of the moment, you just forget shit like that. Well, I did,

anyway. sure enough though I actually managed to make it to the farmhouse and ran inside or I slammed the door and bolted it shut for about a minute or two stood with my back braced against the door expecting them to batter it down like they did the window of the car

sure enough though that didn't happen instead when I peaked around at the window they were gone that's when I finally backed away from the door and dug around my pocket for my phone. Oh, stop, though, when I realised it wasn't in my pocket, either of them.

I realised quickly that it must have slipped out in the car when I jumped out. For the option to call for help being ruled out, I immediately took to scouring the house for something or anything to use as a weapon. I had to get out and get my friends back, and I was going to have to fight to do it. Of course, being that this was a farmhouse, and a pretty beat-up one at that, Options for weapons were pretty sparse, being pretty much limited strictly to either a rake or a dam gardening hole. Figuring of the two, the rake was lighter in weight and could basically serve as a makeshift spear, that's what I chose. I went to grab it, though, but I noticed something strange.

Dropping it up was what appeared to be a large rock slab or something, decorated with all kinds of plants and flowers. In itself, it wasn't anything that would have normally caught my eye. except for the fact that, even in the dim lighting, I could see that the vines seemed not just to decorate the rock, but grow from it as well. Small spore-like openings in the rock had them actively growing, slithering out and all throughout the house itself. On top of it, though, also saw a bunch of slips of paper,

torn from a journal, along with this faded, worn-out-looking book. Some of the papers had these weird-looking drawings, symbols of some sort, I want to say Celtic or something like that, with one in particular standing out, a woman's face made out of these plants. The others had things written on them, but in the dark I obviously couldn't read any of the shit, so I took them and the book instead to look at later under some light

and headed back toward the door, breaking hand pointing outwards, ready to gore the first one of those sons of bitches that tried coming from me. Peaked out of the window, saw that the coast was clear, before opening the door. Slowly, swinging my head from one side to the other as I went along, I left the house with the book and began making my way back to the car. I made it about two or three quarters of the way there before I saw one of them again. I froze, raising my spear in

defense. It didn't move. Part three, just stood in the field, about ten or twelve feet away from staring me down with two crimson beads. Funny enough, I could somehow feel its rage toward me, feeling the heat from its glare alone. I don't understand even now, but it's true. That's exactly how it felt. I saw my head around, I looked behind and saw three others,

all standing about fifty or so feet in the distance, all glaring at me like the one in front of me was. My grip around the rake tightened, causing it to tremble in my hands. Didn't know what to do, whether to move, just make a break for it. Stay put and see what they'd do. Didn't have to wait long to figure this out, though, as the former became apparent when I saw them all mysteriously vanish.

How they did it or where exactly they went, I couldn't tell you. I sure as hell didn't care enough either. All I knew was, as long as I hauled ass back to the car, I could still get out of their life. The next three seconds were a blur, with me fighting myself at the car a lot quicker than I thought I would be. I remember, though, that out of the corner of my left eye, I could see one of the figures rushing towards me. I could swear I heard someone or something hissing the word. Harvest.

Again, I couldn't be sure, especially with the way the wind had picked up. But that's what I'm pretty sure I heard. I knew it came from their direction. regardless I made it back to the car and hopped right in the driver's seat fortunately in his panic Norman hadn't taken his keys out of the ignition allowing me to just turn the engine over and gun it out of them both adrenaline and a bit of the lingering booze from earlier made my usual impeccable driving much more hectic

I was swerving and swaying all over the freaking place which made me thank God that a no one else seemed to be out that morning and B, that that also included the cops. I was speeding all the way up until I saw the sign entering uptown, where I finally got myself to slow the fuck down again. By the time I made it back home, I could see the light already starting to bleach the formerly pitched dark sky. I ran straight inside, locked my doors, turned on all my lights,

and pulled a chair up to the door, looking out of the front window with my Louisville slugger and the book in hand. there began flipping through the book, cutting my eyes back and forth between it and the window. Most of the contents were just more of the same weird-ass drawings from the farmhouse, though looking at them a little more carefully. I recognised a few of the symbols as being some of those ruins that my cousin always talked about with me on the holidays.

She runs a metaphysical shop somewhere here in the uptown area, old Willow. So, of course, she'd know all about that sort of thing. of course that didn't mean i knew a damn bit about what they meant along with all of this though the weird messages that looked like whoever had written them did so in a hurry so much so that more than half the shit was illegible just about the only thing i could make out was the following phrase repeated over and over and over again one for the harvests with each of these messages was one of two drawings either the plant lady i mentioned seeing early in the farmhouse or a picture of one of the figures, a tall, dark-hudded-looking figure that

looked a lot to me like someone was trying to draw the Nazgool from Lord of the Rings. Tside from the other phrase I was talking about, I also remember reading things to the effect of, the harvest mother provides, and must be provided for and return. They didn't all say that, not exactly anyways, but close enough, and each one of them kept making mention of this harvest mother, who it didn't take me long to realize was the plant lady drawn on the pages. It was honestly starting to freak me out. All the shit that was written about in this journal dedicated solely to this harvest mother. Who wrote this book was obsessed with her, worshipped her, sacrificing live animals too, and even sacrificing her own fucking life to her when she apparently

couldn't provide an offering to her. Now, understand this, okay. I grew up in a conservative Christian home, church every Sunday morning, fellowship every Wednesday night, and even family-sanctioned Bible studies on Friday. My cousin, in fact, was the only one of us who wasn't a believer, which is why I only talked to her on holidays, having been ostracized by the rest of the family. Now, since my youth, I slowly drifted away from my faith myself, but not that far, not to anything like this degree of occultism. being though that she was the only one I figured would actually have any idea about this shit and therefore the only one who might be able to help me get both answers and my friends back as if they were even alive still setting the book aside and continuing to keep my eyes on the window and dialed up my cousin hello hey Valerie it's me Brad oh hey what's up

oh listen I hate that I'm having to call you this late how quick can you you get over here? I don't know, like ten minutes. Why? Look, there's been a situation and I need your help. Something I think only you could help me with. You need another fortune reading again? No, no, but it's something along those lines.

I can explain when you get here. Yeah, okay. I'm coming now. Thank you so much. Yeah, see you in five. We hung up after that, where I just sat, staring out of the window with my bat raised. Obviously, the paranoia was fucking with my head.

I could have almost sworn several times that I saw two or three of them standing just across the street, staring me down through the window. Funnily enough, I guess, I damn near jumped up and sprang out the door, swinging the bat, and I saw two red lights coming right for the house, when I calmed down and realized it was just my cousin. I hastily let her in and bolted the door shut again. "'Rad, what's going on?' she asked her, for I essentially jerked her into the house. I looked at her, no doubt, with the expression of a deranged lunatic, plastered all across my face.

"'You look awful. What happened?' They began, trailing off, picking up the book. It's my friends. They took them. "'They?' she frowned. "'Who's they?' I opened my mouth, but for a second my lower jaw just hung there, trying it seemed to just fall right off my face altogether. My tongue was at least 150 pounds in my mouth. It took me a second to realise, but I wasn't even breathing.

The mind had managed to hold it altogether for so long that it just couldn't go on any longer. My head felt light. I began to sway a bit. Valerie moved to catch me right as I was about to collapse. She caught me and dragged me over to the couch. She laid me down and ran to the kitchen, bringing back a glass of water. Here, drink this and breathe. I did, as she said, and slowly my breathing and my wits both returned to normal.

Feel better? she asked. Sure, I replied, unconvinced. Now, what's going on? Proceeded then to tell her everything I'm telling here. The party, Ethan's idea, and of course the figures in the farmland. It's when I started bringing up the last part that she frowned in an alarming way at me, her eyes two seconds from shooting out like bullets at me. Pointed at the book and told her how I'd found it in the farmhouse.

She picked it up and started skimming through it. Well, there's this thing apparently called the Harvest Mother, who the author worshipped. Is this one of those gods you know about? "'A harvest, mother. "'No, I don't think so. "'I don't remember anyone like that, "'but I need to look again to be sure.

"'Cose the book and looked at me again. "'So exactly what it is "'that you want me to do here?' "'Well,' I pointed at the book. "'I remember those symbols. "'You told me were used in witchcraft practices, "'so I thought, you know, "'you'd be able to tell me what any of them meant

"'and who or what these guys were. I could take a closer look at it at my place, sure, but it wouldn't be tonight. How come? Well, besides the fact that it's damn near three in the morning now, already a bad time for shit like this. I'd need to talk to some of the others in my circle about this. See what they think as well. Okay, so how long do you think it'd be before you'd be able to take a look at it?

It'd probably be a week or two, depending on how easy it is for me to contact them. My sighed and shrugged. All right. I conceded. Just try to make it as soon as possible, okay. Wouldn't be so bad, but there's lives who might hang in the balance here, okay? She held up her hand and said, Okay, okay, like I said, let me take this.

She picked up the book and headed toward the door. I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks so much, Val. I'll owe you one. She laughed at this and said she'll hold me to that promise before leaving. I was alone then, part four. The next few days were spent More or less in a constant

flop sweat Every night I kept having the same nightmare But all three of them were screaming At me to save them I'd always see them in the middle of this black void Surrounded by a bunch of plants I'd watch the plants Swallow them whole just before waking up

It got so bad I ended up I ended up having to call out of work for a couple of days Just so I could sleep in the day Just to make up for it all I was seriously about to consider picking up some heavy sleep meds on that Friday when I finally got the call from Valerie. Hey, so I was able to get a few of the others in the circle to look at this book here, and, well, all I can say is you've really gotten yourself in it this time, haven't you?

Okay, so what? You find something? You didn't find anything? What's the deal? We found something all right. You and your little pal, was a person. apparently seem to piss off an ancient goddess. What?

What do you mean? You and your buds chose the worst time to try and go fucking around that place, see? The harvest mother demands sacrifices each day to sustain the earth, right? Um, sure, whatever. Well, on nights like Samhain and Valpurgisnacht, the demand for fresh offerings is essentially increased, due to the nature of the energy-needed verb to keep the soil healthy through the wind. to months for the next spring.

Increased demands mean anyone that treads there is fair game at night time. Oh, hold, okay. So you're telling me my friends were sacrificed to this thing, this goddess or whatever. Yeah. So what? There's no way to get them back? Not really unless... Unless what?

The line went silent for a good ten to fifteen seconds before she came back. Unless you're willing to provide your own. own offering. My own offering? What do you mean? Like a sacrifice or something? Yeah. Okay, so, what, I have to find a stray cat or something and bring it over to the farm and say, Here, take this and let me have my friends back? Close, but if you're trying to get your friends back, a cat won't do you a whole lot of good. It's essentially an equal exchange type of deal here. I don't understand. They took human life. They took human life. lives which are more potent to her than animals.

So if you're wanting to bargain for their lives, then you'll have to make an offer with... Well, wait a minute. You're telling me I have to sacrifice other people? What the fuck? It's the only way, Brad. I'm sorry.

Maybe there's some way to force her to give them back or something. Maybe I could trick her, you know. Maybe use... Brad, we're talking about an ancient goddess, a literal force of names. nature here, dude. How exactly do you plan to force or trick the harvest mother? So, I have to become a murderer. You're telling me to become a murderer. I'm going to be honest here, Brad. The only reason I'm trying to tell you any of this is because

I know you care about your friends. Honestly, I personally tell you to chalk them up as gone. Well, for more than one reason. Like what? Well, to start, you're not of the craft. which is what got you in this sitch in the first place. Fucking around with shit you didn't understand. Second, because with as much time has passed,

yeah, I can't guarantee even doing this much would do you any good. So, I mean, what am I supposed to do here? Like I said, the only real shot you got here is to make an offering to the harvest mother. How do I do that? I mean, I can't just... I'm sorry, Brad, I have to go. I'm going to try and send some energy to you to help you.

But as far as this goes, I told you all I know. Sorry, that really is all I've got. Okay. Good luck. Take care of yourself. Yeah, you two. Bye. After we hung up, I just sat there, shaking more violently than I ever had in my entire life.

That was it. I was screwed. I had to either sacrifice another innocent person or had to live with my friends being sacrificed themselves but that was just if they hadn't already been. Valerie was right, it was my fault, not knowing what it was we were dealing with. Sure, Ethan came up with the idea.

Both me and Norman had tried to talk him out of it, but, I don't know, I guess I should have been more able to do something, you know, not to mention that that would have happened at all, if I'd just plan out another dorm party like I always had. Well, I love my friends, but... But... But... how could I become a murderer for them?

This question alone damn near had me having to check myself into the hospital for a couple of days. I thought the night terrors I mentioned before were bad. They were nothing compared to the ones I was experiencing this time, right? There was one particularly bad sleepless night, but I finally came up with a plan. The next morning I made a post on Facebook that, more or less, told the events of that night, highlighting the fact that my three friends were missing, that I needed someone, anyone who was willing to help me find them.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect really anything to come out of this effort. I expected a lot of people to either tell me I was full of shit, tell me to check the next town over, or just to call the cops. Sure, there were one or two that did try to tell me that. there were two or three you actually said they would do it. Now please, before I say anything further, understand that this was not at all an easy thing for me to do. The whole time these next events played out

and felt absolutely sick to my stomach. I mean, physically, you only knew how much it's taking me to even type all of this out without throwing up. Well, that next night, I was spending about two or three hours coordinating this search party with the others who signed up. I headed down to the farm stand. I wasn't sure if it would work,

but I also stopped by the party city along the way and grabbed one of their druid costumes that hung on the clearance aisle. I figured, if nothing else, my face wouldn't be the last thing any of these poor bastards saw before I basically screwed them. When I arrived, I found that I was the first one to do so,

so I got out and began making my way over to the gate. I froze just outside the gate. I could feel both of the figures, the harvesters standing at either side of me. I could hear something akin to deep, raspy breathing coming from the left side of me, or my own, essentially stopped. Neither of them made any motion, but I could feel their gazes beat upon the top of my head. They weren't going to take me.

The disguise must be working after all, I figured. Looking down at my phone, I saw that there was only about three minutes left until it was time to rendezvous with them all. Thought of trying to text them, make sure they were still coming, but decided against it. These harvesters were possibly many things, and from what I'd seen thus far,

stupid wasn't one of those things. No, I just had to hold my breath and silently fucking pray that they showed up on time. If they didn't, I was as good as gone. Sure enough, just a minute and a half before that time struck, I heard someone approaching from behind. He struck me that, well, if they were the harvesters by the time they got there, they probably run screaming.

When I looked, though, they were gone already. I heard the guy, a woman with him, call out to me. Hey, you here for the search party? I turned slightly toward him, not enough to reveal my face, saw them through the hood before turning and fleeing into the fields. I heard them call out. Hey, wait! followed by running behind me. They were taking the bait.

Why, I just have to get there. Before I could even allow that thought to finish in my head, I could see two of them in the distance, staring straight at me. Just as they were at the gates, I could see them standing still as a statue. I kept running towards them, hoping they'd take the hint and swoop in for the cat.

They didn't move an inch, though. I ended up running right in between them and onwards. By that time, though, about a foot or two passed, I realised I couldn't hear the couple chasing me anymore. I stopped and turned around. There, right where they'd been standing, two figures had the couple on their knees, arms pinned behind their backs. A third one had also appeared and had his arms raised in the air. Around them I could see a violent ring of light form in the ground. The couple were writhing and screaming for help.

I have to admit that made my heart snap in half It started in the direction of the figures As the ring began to glow brighter and brighter From the harvester in the centre You could hear a death rattle-like voice hiss

Like a snake into the air One! The ring was almost blinding to look at now Now the couple were all But curtained behind it I picked up the paster running And leapt into it Just before a massive flash of light

blinded me. Whatever that light did, more or less, concussed me because I can remember waking up and finding myself surrounded by dirt. Above me, around me, all of it, nothing but layers of soil. I was about to start freaking the hell out when I realized there was this sort of walkway directly in front of me. I started forward and walked for what almost felt like forever, before finding this massive space, all of it just empty dirt. in this area I found the harvesters all gathered in a circle

with the couple on their knees like before they were both still crying and begging to be let go the harvesters did nothing the damn things might as well have been toned death with as loud as those two were bawling I watched the one from before

reached down for the guy's face which was where I interjected wait I bellowed in as raspy and rattley of as I could manage. I didn't expect it, but sure enough, they actually stopped and acknowledged me. Don't. It's all I could think to say. I stuck after this, though. I hadn't honestly expected to get this far. The harvester continued staring at me, clearly expecting some sort of follow-up, some sort of purpose or reasoning, perhaps. I don't know how or exactly why, but I blurted out

the one word then, the only one that seemed appropriate for this occasion. Bargain, the one looking at me caught his head to the side while the others now turned to look at me too. The couple also had their attentions focused on me. Thinking fast, I pulled out my phone and pulled up the picture of my friends from a group picture we did about three months before and said, Release them. Release, muttered the harvester. It was less of a question in the way it said it, but more sort of an acceptance. He turned to his companions and down at the couple before returning its gaze to me.

Said it again. Relie! The other two then let go of the couple and went over to a dark space in the area which I couldn't see. When they emerged, it was with the unconscious bodies of Ethan, Norman and Kathy Ann. They were damn near lifeless, but I could still. all see their chest heaving, indicating that they were indeed still at least a line, and reached out my hand, insinuating for them to give them to me. They were hesitant for a moment, but eventually they caved and threw them at me.

They landed a few feet away from me, and I ran to drag them away as fast as I could. As I pulled them away into the darkness, the ring of light from before started forming around us. The last thing I remembered was hearing the couple scream one last time before a flash of light engulfed us and we were topside again. Well, long story short here, I struggled but managed to drag them back to the car and drove away from that horrible place. Took them all back to my place

where they ended up sleeping all the way until the next afternoon, where they all woke up, panicked, wondering what the hell had happened. Ethan and Norman both claimed that all they could remember was some dark cloud passing over them before they just passed out.

Gathy Ann was the only one that could actually remember the harvesters. When they asked me how I got them back home, I made up some excuse about us all being drunk and lost, and now they passed out, so I had to get us out of the farmstead and back home. Well, I knew Cathy Ann wasn't buying that story, but I could also see that she got the idea to not call me out here,

and after that they split, and we honestly more or less lost touch with each other. It wasn't because of anything personal, and at first at least it wasn't because of a lack of trying on their part. There had been occasions where Ethan and Norman would try to invite me out somewhere and I'd just tell them no. Couldn't help but feel wrong and for a while I was honestly scared to leave my house. Another aspect of why I cut them out my life was because I felt like they deserved a better friend than me.

Someone who, A, could have done better to keep them out of that mess. B, could have at least had the fucking ball to. to tell them the truth. That, I think, is what's gotten to me the most. I'm a murderer. Sure, I had to do it to save my friend's lives, but still, that doesn't negate the fact that I caused an innocent couple to die because of it. I've been hard to sleep because of that, but over time it's slowly been getting easier and easier, but only because of the medication. That's where I'm writing this now, though. I've heard that talking about this, Clearing your conscience, so to speak, can help in that regard.

Since I clearly don't have it left in me to tell anybody, even a shrink, even if they would believe me, well, I figured I could at least let you all know here on the internet where I can keep my name and face hidden. Just like I did when I made that bargain. Halloween's a big deal in my town. Every house goes all out in a competition to see you can freak out the most kids. Luckily for us, they also compete to see you can give out the best candy.

It's pretty great. And this year, my friends and I were finally old enough to go trick or treating alone. I spent all day getting ready with my friends, Ashley and Sherry. I was going as a vampire. Ashley was a witch and Sherry was a werewolf. I was just putting some fake blood around my mouth as a finishing touch when Ashley gasped. What's wrong? I asked, without taking my eyes away from the mirror. It's snowing.

Remember when I said Halloween was a big deal in my town? Yeah, well, snow on Halloween was an even bigger deal in my town. It only happened once in my lifetime, and that was ten years ago when I was two, so I don't remember it at all. But that didn't matter. Every year in the days leading up to Halloween, the grown-ups in town would drill it into our heads that snow on Halloween was a bad sign, and that if it snowed, we had to follow the rules. The rules were.

If it snows on Halloween, every trick or treater wearing a mask will be asked to take it off before they get candy. If you're wearing a mask, you must take it off before taking any candy. If someone refuses to take off their mask, do not offer them candy and do not speak to them. We didn't know the why behind the rules, but honestly I didn't care. Sherry was the only one of us wearing a mask after all. Sucks to be you, Sherry, I joked. that giant fur ball of a mask is easy to take on and off. Yes, sir, Michaela and I will leave you behind if you aren't fast enough.

Ashley said with a laugh, Very funny guys. The good news was that we were staying at Ashley's house for the night, and her mum wasn't much of a nagger, so I figured she'd give us a quick reminder of the rules as we went out the door, and that would be it. My mum, on the other hand, was definitely a nagger. I could sense her phone call before my cell phone even rang. right yes mom i said as soon as i answered not letting her get a wording sherry's the only one wearing a mask

and she knows to take it off before getting candy we won't talk to anyone who doesn't take their mask off yeah yeah love you and see you tomorrow i hung up and giggled parents am i right after one last look at our costumes to make sure they were perfect we tumbled out the front door and into the snowy neighborhood our plan was to start at the house next door and work her way around the neighbourhood as the night got darker. The inner streets had some seriously creepy-looking houses, and we wanted to hit those when it was good and dark out for maximum creep factor. Do you think Josh and the guys will be out?

Ashley asked, as we'd headed it up the driveway to the nearest house. She had an obvious crush on Josh, but swore up and down that she didn't. No idea, Ash, I said as I rang the doorbell. Trick or treat! As the night went on, Sherry got pretty quick. at ripping her mask off her head the second she was asked. I had to give it to her because she put it back on every time. I know the mask completed the werewolf costume, but I probably would have just left it off after the fourth or fifth house. Just before nine o'clock, we hit the last house in the

neighbourhood. They were known to give out two full-sized candy bars at the end of the night just to get rid of them. We ran past a group of kids who were just leaving and bounded up the steps. Trick or treat! or what great costumes go ahead and take two bars if you'd like the woman at the door said but you two will have to take your masks off first two i looked over at sherry and saw another good standing next to her he was dressed as a scarecrow with a burlap sack over his head the mouth was crookedly stitched on and the eye-holes were jaggedly cut for i shivered and looked away just some kid trying to get the last bit of candy like we were before the neighbor had shut off the door had shut off the eye-holes were shivered and looked away just some kid trying to get the last bit of candy like we were before the neighbour had shut off their porch lights and turned in for the night. I reached into the plastic pumpkin the woman was holy and grabbed a twix in a milky way. I looked over at Sherry, who was pulling off her mask. The scarecrow stood still next to her, his mask still on. Ashley grabbed her two bars and nudged Sherry.

Come on, Wolfie, let's go. Sherry grabbed her candy and turned to the scarecrow. Hey, kid, you've got to take your mask off if you want any candy. Sherry, you can't talk to him, I blurted out. What? She looked confused for a second, before her mistake dawned on her. Oh, shit, the rules. Sherry had moved to town three years ago,

so the rules weren't as ingrained in her as they were in Ashley enough. We looked at the woman at the door nervously, hoping she'd tell us the rules were just some silly made-up thing to make Halloween seem more scary. Instead, a look of pure terror crossed her face, and she yanked the plastic pumpkin bat to her chest. Run! She whispered before slamming her door shut and clicking the lock.

Ashley and I grabbed Sherry and pulled her down the steps. We couldn't help but scream, but we didn't know exactly why the woman was so afraid. As we ran into the corner of the sidewalk, I turned to look behind us. I let out a shriek when my eyes met the jagged, empty eye-holes of the scarecrow's mask. He was right behind us.

Faster, I yelled, pulling on my friend's hands as I sprinted down the sidewalk towards Ashley's house. If we could just make it inside, we'd be safe from whatever this thing was that was chasing us. Over the ragged gasps of our breath as we ran, I heard the sound of straw rubbing together as the scarecrow gamed on us. Finally, I saw the illuminated front porch of Ashley's house. The three of us sprinted up the front steps faster than we'd ever dream. dreamed of running in gym class. Ashley reached for the doorknop and froze.

It was locked. She fumbled for a key as Sherry and I pounded on the door for her mom to open up. I could hear the rustling sound of the scarecrow getting louder. Just when I thought my heart would beat straight out of my chest, Ashley swung the door open and pulled us inside. She slammed the door shut and locked it before turning the porch light off. As we collapsed on the floor, gasping for air, my eyes turned to the side table by the door.

On it was a piece of notebook paper. I picked it up and read it quickly before crumpling it up. Your mum got called for an emergency shift at the hospital, Ash. We're alone. Before Ashley could respond, there was a loud bang on the front door. The scarecrow was here, and it was mad. We have to barricade the door, I said, standing up and grabbing the side table.

Ashley got up and grabbed the other side of the table so we could move it up against the door while Sherry dragged over a chair from the living room. Something hit the window above us as the front door knob rattled at the same time. Is there more than one of them? Sherry asked. No idea, but we need to get away from the door now,

I said as I scrambled for the staircase. I figured being off the ground floor was safest. We ran into Ashley's room and started pushing her desk up against the door. I was pretty sure the scarecrow outside was no ordinary kid. I didn't want to find out what would happen if he got to us. Guys, I'm so sorry, Sherry said through choked sobs. I didn't even think. I just thought it was some dumb kid, and I...

It's okay, Sher, I said. We're going to be okay. Boom. All three ever shrieked in unison as Ashley's bedroom window shook from the force of being hit. I turned to look and saw those jagged, empty eye holes pressing up against the window. How did you get up here? Ashley screamed. I don't know, but we need to hide, I said. Follow me. I ran to the closet and ushered them inside, closing the door tight behind us. We huddled together behind Ashley's hanging clothes,

our backs pressed as far up against the closet wall as we could. The angry banging on Ashley's window continued. I braced myself for the sound of the window shattering from the force of the scarecrow's blows, but instead another boom sounded from the door to Ashley's bedroom. Next, another from the window, then the door, and then the window. Sherry wept beside me while Ashley rocked back and forth. I prayed to God that I would.

I couldn't skip school again, and I'd do all my chores, and I'd never ever do anything bad again if he'd just let us live. The assault on Ashley's window and door went on for hours. I swore I could hear the rustling of straw rubbing together from just outside the closet door. I was certain the door would open at any second, and the thing dressed as a scarecrow would drag us all down to hell with it. And finally, the banging stopped. We waited in silence for minutes, huddled together in fear. Silence, I pulled out my cell phone and checked the time. 12.05 a.m. November 1st.

We'd made it. And so once again, we reach the end of tonight's podcast. My thanks as always to the authors of those wonderful stories, and to you for taking the time to listen. Now, I'd ask one small favor of you, wherever you get your podcast wrong, please write a few nice words and leave a five-star review

as it really helps the podcast. That's it for this week, but I'll be back again, same time, same place, and I do so hope you'll join me once more. Until next time, sweet dreams and bye-bye.