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The Lantern Witch
Published 3 years, 7 months ago
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by StalkerShrike“Aw, c’mon, Rue! She’s not really a witch. The grown-ups just say that so you won’t go near her.”
I hesitated, looking up at the house looming before me, the only lights inside it coming from more of those horrible lanterns. “I know that, Tobe. Don’t be stupid.”
“Then what’re you afraid of?”
“She has skulls in her trees, Toby!”
Toby snorted, his derision visible even through his cheap ghost costume. “It’s Halloween, Ruby! Mrs. Whittle had skulls in her trees, and you weren’t scared of her.”
“Yeah, but…” I trailed off, watching Ellie go marching up the sidewalk, the big plastic eyes of her frog head rattling as she walked. “This is different.”
Of course, I knew Toby didn’t want to be standing in front of old Mrs. McKay’s house any more than I did. We had come to an agreement before we went out tonight that if anyone would give out bad candy, it would be her. Best to avoid her entirely. And besides, it wasn’t as though any of us had the first idea where she lived.
What we hadn’t reckoned on was that Big Billy Kent had thought along more or less the same lines – and that he had known. Billy Kent was in the sixth grade, and was a bit embarrassed by the fact that he had once called third-graders his friends in elementary school. Now he and a gang of other sixth-graders were trying to work their way into other friend groups by making a show of their dislike for the younger kids. Usually they limited themselves to the occasional stolen lunch or nasty prank. But they had recognized Halloween as a night when children chasing each other in scary costumes and screaming was considered harmless, and they hadn’t hesitated to take the opportunity.
And so, we’d ended up here. Mostly lost, no flashlights, and worse, no candy, in front of a house that even the grown-ups said was haunted. Toby thought we should go and ask her for help, or at least some candy so the night wouldn’t be a total loss. I thought we should run before she did something horrible to us. I hoped he was right.
Ellie got to the front door and knocked.
We waited there for long minutes, listening to the creak of the wind in her trees and the tap, tap of the skulls knocking against each other. Mrs. McKay had been predictably weird in her choice of Halloween decoration. Sure, Mrs. Whittle had had skulls in her trees too, but she had other things – giant spiders, plastic gravestones, a cheery construction-paper vampire beside her door. Mrs. McKay had none of that. She only had the skulls, hanging from skinny, gnarled trees that could almost be considered Halloween decorations themselves. There must have been hundreds of them, suspended in little clusters like weird fruit, each of them with a flickering candle inside that shone out through the eye sockets like a morbid jack-o-lantern. They lit up the yard almost by themselves, and I wondered suddenly how much it had cost to buy that many of them.
Ellie turned to us from the still-unopened door. “I don’t think she’s home.”
“But there’s lights in her windows.”
“Yeah, but she’s not coming to the door. I say we leave and don’t – what was that?”
Toby and I jumped in unison. “What was what?”
“Something moved! Inside!”
“Don’t be dumb. That just means she is home.”
“No, it wasn’t like a footstep movement. It was a bump. Like something falling.”
“Do you hear it now?”
“No…”
Toby was backing away from the house. “Rue, I changed my mind. Let’s get out of here.”
“No,” I said, suddenly angry. “We’re not going to let this whole evening be a waste. It’s Halloween night. If you’re a grown-up and kids knock on your door on Halloween night, you have to answer. You have to give them candy. That’s how it works.” I stormed up onto the porch, Ellie stepping aside as I pounded on the door. “Mrs. McKay? We know you’re in there. Come out and give –”
I stopped, suddenly, my eyes going wide.
“Rue? You okay?”
I started backin
I hesitated, looking up at the house looming before me, the only lights inside it coming from more of those horrible lanterns. “I know that, Tobe. Don’t be stupid.”
“Then what’re you afraid of?”
“She has skulls in her trees, Toby!”
Toby snorted, his derision visible even through his cheap ghost costume. “It’s Halloween, Ruby! Mrs. Whittle had skulls in her trees, and you weren’t scared of her.”
“Yeah, but…” I trailed off, watching Ellie go marching up the sidewalk, the big plastic eyes of her frog head rattling as she walked. “This is different.”
Of course, I knew Toby didn’t want to be standing in front of old Mrs. McKay’s house any more than I did. We had come to an agreement before we went out tonight that if anyone would give out bad candy, it would be her. Best to avoid her entirely. And besides, it wasn’t as though any of us had the first idea where she lived.
What we hadn’t reckoned on was that Big Billy Kent had thought along more or less the same lines – and that he had known. Billy Kent was in the sixth grade, and was a bit embarrassed by the fact that he had once called third-graders his friends in elementary school. Now he and a gang of other sixth-graders were trying to work their way into other friend groups by making a show of their dislike for the younger kids. Usually they limited themselves to the occasional stolen lunch or nasty prank. But they had recognized Halloween as a night when children chasing each other in scary costumes and screaming was considered harmless, and they hadn’t hesitated to take the opportunity.
And so, we’d ended up here. Mostly lost, no flashlights, and worse, no candy, in front of a house that even the grown-ups said was haunted. Toby thought we should go and ask her for help, or at least some candy so the night wouldn’t be a total loss. I thought we should run before she did something horrible to us. I hoped he was right.
Ellie got to the front door and knocked.
We waited there for long minutes, listening to the creak of the wind in her trees and the tap, tap of the skulls knocking against each other. Mrs. McKay had been predictably weird in her choice of Halloween decoration. Sure, Mrs. Whittle had had skulls in her trees too, but she had other things – giant spiders, plastic gravestones, a cheery construction-paper vampire beside her door. Mrs. McKay had none of that. She only had the skulls, hanging from skinny, gnarled trees that could almost be considered Halloween decorations themselves. There must have been hundreds of them, suspended in little clusters like weird fruit, each of them with a flickering candle inside that shone out through the eye sockets like a morbid jack-o-lantern. They lit up the yard almost by themselves, and I wondered suddenly how much it had cost to buy that many of them.
Ellie turned to us from the still-unopened door. “I don’t think she’s home.”
“But there’s lights in her windows.”
“Yeah, but she’s not coming to the door. I say we leave and don’t – what was that?”
Toby and I jumped in unison. “What was what?”
“Something moved! Inside!”
“Don’t be dumb. That just means she is home.”
“No, it wasn’t like a footstep movement. It was a bump. Like something falling.”
“Do you hear it now?”
“No…”
Toby was backing away from the house. “Rue, I changed my mind. Let’s get out of here.”
“No,” I said, suddenly angry. “We’re not going to let this whole evening be a waste. It’s Halloween night. If you’re a grown-up and kids knock on your door on Halloween night, you have to answer. You have to give them candy. That’s how it works.” I stormed up onto the porch, Ellie stepping aside as I pounded on the door. “Mrs. McKay? We know you’re in there. Come out and give –”
I stopped, suddenly, my eyes going wide.
“Rue? You okay?”
I started backin