House of Spooks ~ Halloween Special

Hey guys. Happy Halloween!

I'm super proud of this story, I just love how it turned out, and I hope you guys enjoy it too.

I just give a really quick thank you to my awesome neighbors for letting me shot in this old house on their land. ❤️

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"Any aces?"
"Nope, go fish."

"Hey, Em! You ready to go?" Emerson asked as she and Candy walked into the kitchen.

Emily turned in her seat, "Emerson, I already told you, you're fourteen years old I'm sixteen years old. I'm not taking you trick-or-treating."

"But Emily, Candy is still thirteen. This is her last chance to go out on Halloween, but her mom said she could only go if I went with her, and Mom said I can only go if you go!" Emerson argued.

"Yeah, but Janet and I have plans." Emily replied.
'Where you going to play 'Go Fish' all night?" Emerson asked, sarcastically.
Emily didn't reply.

"Well," Janet mused, "It would be kind of fun. I mean, we already have costumes..."
"Please?" Emerson and Candace begged.

Finally, under the combined pressure of her friend, her sister, and her sister's friend, she gave in.
"Fine. I'll take you trick-or-treating, OK? Just let me do my make-up, and we can go."

Little did she know what she was agreeing to...

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"Oh, no. No, no, no. Not this house."

Candace and Emerson had heaved the bucket that they hoped to fill with candy onto the porch.
"What are you going on about?" Emerson panted.
"Do you know what house we're at right now?" Emily hissed, "This Number 13, Friday Ave. This place is haunted!"

"Oh, I've heard the stories about this place too. I'm not sure they're true though..."

"I've heard stories about it too! This whole street gives out king sized candy bars! We can't miss out on that." Emerson said excitedly.

"Plus, we're already here." Candy added, "And nothing has happened yet."
"That's because nothing ever happens before you go in the house." Janet muttered.

"Guy's I'm telling you, this is a bad idea." Emily insisted, "Number 13 is haunted."

Emerson glanced at the door and smiled.
"This isn't number 13, it's number 15. Look, it even has a 'do enter' sign!"

"This is such a bad idea." Emily sighed as Emerson knocked on the door.

Suddenly a gust of chilly October wind caught the candy bucket and began to blow it away. Candace and Emerson ran after it.

Emerson was able to sit on it just before it reached the edge of the porch.
"You go get the candy, I'll keep the bucket." Emerson said.

And as if someone had heard Emerson, the door began to creak open.

A young woman just a bit older than Janet and Emily stepped out, burdened with a huge tray of treats.
She smiled at Candy. "Hello there dear, you're dressed as a cowgirl right?

 Candace nodded and took the offered cookie with a smile.

"And how about you, my dear? Would you like some?" She asked Janet.

"Yes please." Janet said, reaching forward.
Emily grabbed her hand, "I'm not sure this is a very good idea..."

But the second she touched the candy there was a pop, and everything went black.

Both the younger girls groaned as they picked themselves up from where they had fallen.

"Hey, Where'd you go?!" Emerson  cried.

"I'm right here." Candy grunted.
"No, not you. Everyone else."

Emily, Janet, and the woman had all disappeared.

"Uh oh." Emerson whispered as she removed the paper five to reveal the number thirteen.
"This is the haunted house."

"This is bad, we have to find them! Oh dear, this is all my fault."

But June wasn't listening. She was pointing over Emerson shoulder.

"What?" Emerson asked.
"Oh, I think I've scared her."

Emerson screamed and jumped, landing in front of Candy.
"W-w-who are you? Are you a ghost?"

"I am a  spook." the girl replied.
"What?" Emerson asked, feeling less scared by the second. She was become sure that this was just a prank.

"A spook. This house is full of them."
The girls still looked confused.
"A spook, is someone who becomes what they went as for Halloween." She explained calmly.

 Candace however, looked horrified. 'Really? How is that possible?"
"Well, the rules of Halloween are a strange kind of magic."

"What are you talking about? What rules? And, more importantly, where is my sister?" Emerson asked.

The spook sighed.
"The rules of Halloween... many many rules that no one has ever written down... but breaking the rules has a terrible price. Don't ask for candy for other people, never take more than on candy from a bowl that says take one, and never take candy on Halloween if you're over the age of thirteen."

"But, where are Janet and Emily?" Candy asked nervously.

"They broke one of the rules of Halloween. Now, they must stay in the house of spooks."

"No! No, there has to be another way." Emerson cried, "Anything! I'll do anything."
"Hmm..." The spook hummed thoughtfully, "Well, spooks can't leave this house... but how about we make a deal?"

"If you can get into the house, find your friends, and get back out before midnight, I'll let you go.
 But -"

"If you don't mange to get back to the door before midnight, you will reside as spooks in the house forever. Take the deal, or leave it, but if you enter the house you're agreeing to my challenge."

Then there was a whisper, like a breath of wind, and Emerson and Candy were alone again.

Emerson hardly hesitated, she started for the door. Candace grabbed her wrist, "Emerson, we can't do this! What if we don't make it out?"
"I don't have a choice. My sister's in there, so you can come or you can leave but I have to go."

Candy glanced down Friday Ave, it was completely deserted.
There was no one to ask for help.

"OK. I'll come, but only so you don't go alone.' Candace said.
"Alright then." Emerson reached for the doorknob, "Here we go."
 There was another pop, and the porch of number 13 was empty once more.

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"Whoa!" Candy cried.
They hadn't moved, yet now they were in the building.
"OK," Emerson said, looking around, "We have to find them and get out of here."
"Look, there's someone, maybe they can help us." Candace pointed.

"Hey, you! Can you help us?"
The girl paused for moment, then ran ahead.
Candy and Emerson ran after her but she had disappeared.

Suddenly she reappeared, silhouetted in the window, "Humans have never enter this house before. Consider this your warning. Leave now, or I'll find you."
And she was gone again.

"Well," Emerson said, after a tense moment of silence, "We'd better keep looking."

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"Em, we've been in here for a long time... I don't think we're going to find anything..."

"Well we can't give up." Emerson replied resolutely, "We'll just have to - whoa!"

All of the sudden someone was standing in front of them.
"Follow me." the spook whispered, "And stay quiet."

Emerson turned to Candace, who had pressed herself against the wall.
"Well? Should we follow her?"
Candy shook her head.

"Come on." Emerson rolled her eyes, and followed the spook.

She led them into a small dark room.
"You must leave this place! It isn't safe."

"I can't." Emerson answered, "I have to find my sister and her friend. That other spook said if we found them and made it out before midnight, she would let us go."

"Third rule of Halloween, never trust a spook. She made it sound easy, but everything in this house is going to do everything they can to keep you here. I guess I'll help you, but only so you don't get stuck here."

"Wait, I thought you just said to never trust a spook..." Candace said suspiciously.
"Yeah, well, I'm your best hope aren't I? I'm Eliza by the way."

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They hunted all through the house, until Eliza stopped them.
"Look there." she said.

"Janet!" the girls cried, and Emerson was about to run forward, but Eliza held her back.
"This isn't the Janet you know, she's a spook, a witch by the looks of it."
"I guess Halloween can tell the difference Hermione Granger and a plain old witch." Candy said with an attempt at a laugh.
"Where is that toad? I must have it to finish my potion!" Janet grumbled.

"Stand still." Eliza whispered, "Hey! Witch!" she called.

"Looking for this?"

"Yes! Give it to me!"

Eliza held the toad out of Janet's reach as she called back, "One of you go go find your other friend, you need to hurry, we don't have much time. Oh, and take those mittens, don't let her touch your skin."

Emerson finally found her sister, sitting in a window staring out across the field.
Emerson was nervous.
Emily was dressed as a zombie pioneer. If she was a spook now...

"Um, Emily?"
No response.

"Emily?" Emerson tapped her shoulder.

Emerson stumbled back with a gasp.

Gone was the garish make-up and fake stitches, but Emily's skin had a distinctly greenish tinge, her eyes were glassy, and there was an awful smell.

She suddenly lunged at at Emerson. Well, as she was evidently a zombie it was less of a lunge, more of a flop.

Before Emily could get a good grip, Emerson had grabbed her hand, and began to hurry back to the others.

Suddenly the whole building began to shake.

"Hurry!" Eliza cried, "You have to get out now!"

Everyone ran for the door as the house trembled right down to the foundation.

"I warned you!" a voice cried, "Now one of you must pay!"
The spook pounced.

She pinned Eliza to the ground.
"No!" Candy cried.
"Just go!" Eliza choked out.
So they ran as fast as they could and just as before as soon as Emerson's hand touched the doorknob there was a soft pop, followed by a howl.
Then everything went black.

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Emerson and Candace both staggered a little as the appeared outside.
All was dark and silent, but for a quiet whisper, like that of a skirt in the wind.

"Janet? Emily?" Emerson called into the night, "Is that you?"

"Oh, they're both gone now. But maybe I can help you?"

"What?" Emerson cried as she spun to face the spook, "You?! Where are they?"

"Oh, I think they're out with the others." She grinned.

"What do you mean others?" Emerson asked nervously.
"Why, the other spooks you released, of course."

"What?! But, I thought spooks couldn't leave the house!"

"Oh, we can't ... unless a human were to open the door to unleash us on the rest of the world. I guess you could say this is all thanks to you." the spook cackled.

Candy and Emerson backed up until they hit the tree as the spook came closer.
"We didn't open the door to let you out!" Candy cried.
"Yeah," Emerson agreed, "We had a deal, if we got to the door we could leave!"

"But didn't anyone tell you about the third rule of Halloween? Never trust a spook. But, thanks to your ignorance, this whole town belongs to us now."
"What?! NO!" Emerson's brain was reeling.

"Oh, yes." the spook whispered, "Welcome to number 13, town of the spooks."

"AAARRGGHHH!!!"



The End
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Have a safe Halloween, everyone! ❤️

~ Megan ~
😼