‍A Halloween Tale

By Leia Kusno

“I can’t breathe!” laughed Sophie, as her dad tripped over a cable and ended up headfirst in a bucket. 

 Sophie was a joyful little girl. Every year she waited in anticipation for the long awaited night in October. Sophie loved the pumpkin, ghost, and ghoul decorations that vibrantly dangled all across the neighbourhood.  She loved the never-ending bundles of candies offered to her from door-to-door. She loved the faint smell of the mixture of roasted cinnamon and pumpkin while strutting through the neighborhood. However, there was one thing that Sophie dreaded… Halloween Costumes. 

Although her parents kept telling her it was all part of the halloween tradition, Sophie had a deep fear of what lay underneath the grotesque masks, the blood, and the haunting demeanor.  

“I don’t want to trick o’ treat tonight!” Sophia declared to her parents, while munching on an out-dated cereal box. Her parents look at each other with skepticism written all over their face.

“Sophie, are you sure?” Her mom questioned, “It’s your favorite day of the year!” 

Sophia looked around as if she was trying to convince herself that it wasn’t true. 

“C’mon Soph, I'm sure you won’t want to miss out on the candy overload!” exclaimed her dad, lounging on the sofa. Sophia looked at her dad and glanced back at her mom. Maybe they were right, there was nothing to lose on Halloween. 

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Halloween night

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The sky was cloudy with only spooky decorations keeping the streets illuminated. The streets were filled with candy wrappers, lively chatter and groups of people dressed in haunting costumes. Sophie was scrambling from house to house, clutching her worn out pumpkin basket. Everywhere she looked, there were werewolves, vampires, zombies, and other undead creatures. A shiver ran down her spine as a massive animatronic looked down at her with its eyes glowing with malice. Sophie let out a yelp of fear as she ran past it, squeezing her eyes shut. 

As Sophie was trudging down the neighborhood, she slipped on a pile of candy wrappers. Just as she thought she was going to fall, an arm protected her from the fall. 

Blink Blink 

“T-Thank you,” murmured Sophie trying to gain balance again.

“No problem!” called out a cheerful voice. 

It was a bright pink fairy with luminescent wings with a cheery mask on.  Sophie gazed at the costume in admiration. This was the first time when she actually liked a Halloween costume. 

“I love your costume,” said Sophie staring in awe.

The fairy mask remained with a cheerful expression. 

“Would you like to trick o’ treat together?” asked the fairy.

Sophie was stunned and filled with excitement.

“Of course!” Sophie cried jumping up and down. “I would love too!” 

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3 Days Later

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“Missing girl….Last seen on October 1st….Avenue…”

“Last seen…With….Dressed as a fairy…Call...911”

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“I..Can’t…Breathe..?” Thought Sophie…

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The Last Thing

By Sheelo Fruchter

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“And that was the last thing anyone heard Sophie say,” said Autumn's mom. 

On October 30th 2025, Autumn's mom put her to bed by reading, “Scary-True Halloween stories”. When she finished reciting a tale about zombies and monsters that hide under your bed, six year old Autumn looked her mom in the eyes and said, “I am not scared”.

 “Okay, if you say so”, said her mother as she turned out the lights. Autumn went to bed unafraid and gleeful. As she woke, she heard a deep, loud, growling sound coming from her mom’s room. 

“Mommy”? she said, fear rising in her voice. “Is that you?”

 When Autumn received no reply, she grabbed the yellow stuffed bear that sat on her bed, took a deep breath, and walked into the hallway. Ok she thought, there are no monsters here, they are not real. Taking a few more steps, she held her breath as she rounded the corner to her mom’s room, she exhaled seeing someone lying in her bed. Dropping the bear on the floor, she sprang onto the bed, wrapping her arm around the body. As Autumn's eyes began to close, the being lying beside her turned around, revealing a ZOMBIE!!!!  He is scarier than Slurp from Wednesday, she thought. 

 “Liv”!!! she squealed, realizing that she was still face to face with a zombie, sprinting out of the room, with the zombie in tow. She ran up the stairs and slammed the door shut behind her, locking the zombie away from her. 

“Livy”, she cried running up and hugging the girl, wrapped around the blanket, sitting on the chair, staring into the computer screen. On the screen, there was a photo of Autumn, Liv, Mommy, and Dadda, the only one not crossed out with big red lines was Autumn, she was the only one left. But how? She thought, 

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1. That zombie would not be able to kill all of them alone
2. If Liv was gone then who is right in front of me?

Not wanting to know the answer to her question she darted back to the door, opened it a crack and ran though. Looking behind her she saw some sort of a monster chasing her. He was tall, skinny, with a mushy face, veins everywhere, huge claws, and a bee butt. Yes, a bee butt! With a stinger and everything. Now running from two superficial beings, six year old Autumn quickened her pace. As she rounded the corner, off of the stairs she spotted their supply closet. The closet was small and full, perfect for hiding someone small like her, she thought. As she opened the door, she heard one sound, and one sound only, no, it was a voice, 

“Come in here, I promise I won't eat your brains," said the voice.

 “You have got to be kidding me,” said Autumn, as she ran down two flights of stairs and out to the backyard. Feeling safe there, she took a seat, and calmed down. As tears started to trickle down her face she gave herself an order, saying, “Keep it together Autumn, you're the last one standing”. 

After saying that she realized that this was not a story, this was real. She curled into a ball and cried. Suddenly, both zombies, and the monster pounced; digging their claws into Autumn. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” she screamed.

 And that was the last thing anyone heard Autumn say. 

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