Halloween Flash Fiction Fright Day

As I said, here's a Halloween treat of terror just for you! It's the short horror story I was talking about in yesterday's post. As I also said, it was especially written for tweens and young adults but I think grown adults may enjoy it too. Let me know what you think of it in the box below.

Take scare and Happy Halloween!

The Boos Brothers

By Steven Rose, Jr.

Photo credit: PDClipart.org

Jerry thought it would be neat to steal one of the silky cloth ghosts or cardboard decorations that hung in the old Victorian mansion’s porch each Halloween. All of them were more real looking than ones he and Roy had seen in any store. This included size. Some of the figures were taller than Jerry who was five-foot-seven-inches. That was pretty tall for an 11 year old boy. 

Jerry wanted to scare Melissa Collins and her friends with one of the figures from the porch when the girls would trick-or-treat later that night. Both he and Roy hated Melissa and her friends for cheating them at tether ball in P.E. and then getting away with it all because their 5th grade teacher, Mr. Martinez, let them. He only did so because he didn’t want to seem sexist to them. All because of that, Jerry and Roy were accused of being cheaters by Melissa and her circle whenever they came across them at recess. But Jerry would make sure justice would win.

Jerry wanted to scare Melissa Collins and her friends with one of the figures from the porch when the girls would trick-or-treat later that night. Both he and Roy hated Melissa and her friends for cheating them at tether ball in P.E. and then getting away with it all because their 5^th grade teacher, Mr. Martinez, let them. He only did so because he didn’t want to seem sexist to them. All because of that, Jerry and Roy were accused of being cheaters by Melissa and her circle whenever they came across them at recess. But Jerry would make sure justice would win.

“We can go to jail,” said Roy.

“No we won’t,” said Jerry. “It’s hardly stealing a dime. These people are rich; they won’t care. Besides, they’re never home.”

“Yeah, and we don’t know when they’ll suddenly come home,” said Roy.

“Have you ever seen anybody around this place?” asked Jerry.

Roy squinted in recollection as he looked at the hanging ghosts and rubber bats dancing in the moaning wind. He said, “No, but somebody must live here. The lights go on every night.”

“That’s a timer.”

Roy gestured toward the house. “Yeah, but look: the lawn is always cut. The flowers always watered. No weeds. The house is always kept so clean.”

“I told you these people are rich; they have a gardener. Home gardeners don’t work after 3 PM. Look, all we need to do is take one figure. One that’s not too big and that’s easy to carry. We’re going to put it back.”

Roy hesitated several seconds. He looked at his watch. It was way after 3 PM, two minutes to 4. He said, “Well, okay. But we have to put it back, like you said. It doesn’t belong to us.”

“We’ll put it back right after we scare the girls.”

The two boys walked up to the porch. Testing the weight, Roy lifted the smooth, flat hand of a skeleton that seemed to stare down and grin at him. He flinched at Jerry’s call.

“Hey, Roy! Let’s take a ghost. They’re lighter plus more real looking since they’re more 3D.” Jerry tugged at the string that a silky ghost hung by. But before he could even pull the string from its hook the ghost snapped off and flew away with the wind. Jerry cursed.

Roy said, “Oh, no! Now we’re busted! Why’ju pull so hard?”

“Shut up,” hissed Jerry. “I hardly touched it. It just broke off. It’s this stupid wind. I’ll grab another one.” He glanced around for another about the same size, his own size.

“Jerry, run,” shouted Roy. As borderline obese he was, he was already running past the neighbouring house. Yet he was not fast enough to outrun lean Jerry who grabbed him in a wrestling hold.

“Where do you think you’re going?” grunted Jerry.

Roy said, struggling to free himself, “Didn’t you see it? We have to get out’a here! Somebody was at the door!”

“That was a decoration, fool!”

“Not the skeleton hanging there! Inside the door!”

“That’s frosted glass on that window, how could you see anybody on the other side?”

“I didn’t, but somebody was there! Didn’t you see that light go on inside?”

Jerry released Roy from his grip but only to face him toward himself. “The timer, fool! I told you the lights were set by timer!”

Roy stammered, “But, but, the lights only go on at night, and that one never turns on. I see them from my house every evening. Only the porch light goes on and that’s not until it gets dark. This light was inside that door and was white, a really bright white!”

Jerry said, “They can program timers to make different lights come on at different times.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Roy said hanging his head. “Okay, then let’s go back.”

“We can’t now. One of the neighbours probably saw us running and heard you screaming your head off. We’ll have to do it tonight when it’s harder for anyone to recognize us. Do you have a Halloween costume?”

Roy thought for a moment. He was almost 11 himself, 10-and-a-half to be exact. Like Jerry, he felt he was too big for trick-or-treating. He answered, “Yeah. From last year. But I don’t know if it fits me anymore.”

Jerry said, “Probably not. You’re fatter than even last year. Well then just wear the mask, but let’s change our clothes so nobody recognises us. We’ll fake trick-or-treating.”

Roy agreed to this.

They returned around 7 that evening. Jerry made Roy stand guard at the front of the walkway. Roy wore his turtle warrior mask from last year and Jerry wore a cheap skull’s mask he picked up at the dollar store only an hour before. The wind had died down to a breese but it was icy cold. Jerry reached for a silky ghost only about half a foot taller than the previous one. It hung about a foot from the door yet he didn’t remember seeing it there that afternoon. This time he gripped the ghost hard against his torso while he pulled backward on the string to slide it off its hook. But just before it could come off he felt it tug from above and himself shoot up into wood rotted darkness.

But not total darkness. He was staring into the eyes of a bright yet pale white glowing face that glared at him. The brilliant white figure spoke: “You tried kidnapping my kid brother! Now you’re gonn’a pay!”

Jerry held his mouth open. He wanted to scream but couldn’t even manage a squeak.

Roy saw Jerry rise out of view just as Roy grabbed the ghost and tugged the string. He heard the inhuman, echoing voice and saw the white light radiating from somewhere above the door. It was just like the light he saw in the door window that afternoon. He screamed, “Jerry! Jerry!”

But Jerry wasn’t there. The bright light was no longer there. Even the porch light was out. Roy inched toward the looming house. Just as he reached the porch, he felt a dozens of eyes stare at him. They seemed to stare at him from the hanging skeletons, witches, ghosts and bats all of which swung or swayed in the icy breese. He screamed, “Jerry, where are you?”

“Over here, fool!”

Roy pivoted, glancing around. “Where?” He lifted his turtle mask to see better. He still couldn’t find his friend.

“Over here, at the door! What’s the matter with you are ya’ blind?”

Roy looked toward the skeleton hanging on the door. The skeleton grinned and stared back at him.

Then it lifted one of its feet forward.

Then the other foot.

The skeleton said in Jerry’s voice, “Let’s go scare the girls!”

Roy heard the laughter and talking of several girls from far off. It was Melissa and her friends. He recognised her nasal voice. He turned to run and warn them. But then he felt the bony hand grip his shoulder.

The End