A Very Special, Somewhat Spooky Halloween Adventure
“That is the perfect pumpkin!” Ralph hollered while pointing at this plump, very round, ridged gourd. “Ooh, ooh, yeah, that’d be perfect for our JACK-O-lantern contest!” Jack followed up, emphasizing every letter of his name as he rushed toward the pumpkin patch. The boys ran over towards the ridged sphere of choice, and rushed Mr. Smith and the others to come see. It was midday on good old Halloween eve. The crew needed to grab some pumpkins and head over to Owen’s place. The day would include a carving competition, trick-or-treating, and finally eating all their candy around a bonfire. The challenge was to create the best and spookiest themed pumpkin carving. The teams were Ralph and Jack vs. Mel and Kai, and Owen would judge the winners.
The rest of the team filed in promptly. “That does look like a perfect pumpkin,” said Mel.
“Are you boys sure?” Mr. Smith asked, dragging a dolly with Mel and Kai’s pumpkin on it. He was a bit out of breath, and this was the fifth time Ralph had stopped to say it was the best choice.
“Yes, yes, this is it.” Jack said, now agreeing with Ralph.
“It isn’t bad,” poked Kai.
“Not quite as great as ours,” snickered Mel.
The two made eye contact and started to giggle. The boys rolled their eyes at each other and reached for the pumpkin. Their stomachs were growling, and they had so much work to do before they got to Owen’s house. Mr. Smith helped hoist the massive gourd onto the metal cart, and they started to roll it down the hill.
It was cloudy, and the full moon shone through the sky at midday, which was definitely one of those eerie, odd events. A Halloween-themed tractor rolled up the patch with some spooky-dressed men. A clown, a man with an axe, and a man with a chainsaw ran up and down the hay-filled trailer. Jack looked up at Mr. Smith; he looked down at him. “It’s ok, it’s.” Jack and the others swallowed hard. “It’s all make-believe,” Mr. Smith nudged. The group slowly approached the tractor and trailer in tow, worryingly. The foundlings had never experienced such a season, like this spooky one, in the Orphanage.
Sometime later
It was a normal, very average evening in the town of Shady Brook. The New England town took its name from a long row of red maple trees that shaded a small stream winding through its center. The story is that some pilgrims stumbled upon this place in the early days of America, and it felt so English and fantastical that they had to settle down. Those first settlers were never seen again, and a century later the next group of villagers settled into this town, like nothing had ever happened. Mel cleared her throat. “Some say they can still hear the pilgrims whisper,” she said into Jack’s ear. He jumped. “Don’t do that!” Well, the day wasn't quite normal for our little rascally orphans because it was Hallow’s Eve and getting late. The spookiest night of the year, with tricks, scares, and candy woven through the night. Mr. Smith hurried them along; it wasn’t long until they needed to arrive at Owen’s.
It was about 8 pm Ralph and Jack were attempting to start a fire in Owen’s backyard while Kai and Mel were looking for tinder. Owen took out his tablet to show Jameson the video footage from his new drone. The video flashed on and documented the collection of all the great loot from the camera feed's first-person point of view. Owen figured out how to ding-dong-ditch the smart cameras while also using his drone to grab what’s left of the candy. The kiddos were in full costume, chocolate dripping from their lips and smeared throughout, just about every clean orifice. Scattered around, the children were doing their thing. They could see Mr. Smith bringing Owen’s parents a tray of goodies through the kitchen window, laughing and carrying on as adults did. For the first time in a long time, they felt safe.
Mel and Kai were so proud of themselves for being the champions of the Jack-O’-Lantern Contest! “Wipe off that smug smirk,” Ralph hollered from across the fire. The fire was started, the candy was piled, and the butts were firmly planted on the logs around the glow. Ralph and Jack sat to the north, Mel and Kai to the south, and Owen and Jameson sat on either side. All around was dark aside from the glow of the fire and the full moon rising in the sky.
The evening was in full swing. Scary noises came from all directions; the moon peeked through as they took the trailer steps, one by one, lifting their legs nervously. Hay filled the air, making their noses itch. A man holding what appeared to be his head stood at the top of the steps and gestured for the team to take a seat. “Headless,” Jack squealed. “It was not nighttime.” Said a small little voice. The kids giggled. Mr. Smith looked around at all his little munchkins smiling wide. “Who would like to go next?” He said knowing it would be difficult to tell them a spooky story, but he wanted to get it started.
Ralph understood what Mr. Smith was trying to accomplish. “It was time to tell a spooky story,” Ralph said, quieting down the rest of the team. Mel stood up. She had a thing for understanding people, even when they didn’t understand themselves. This is easy, right? She asked herself.
“Um, the night was dark.” She started out.
The boys giggled. Making her cheeks warm up. She began again. “It was a dark and scary night.” She paused, saw everyone's eyes on her and continued.
“The little Orphans began to work on their Jack-o’-lanterns. The contest was soon over, and Owen would be back any minute from an evening of trick-or-treating. Kai and I were putting on the final touches, and it was time to spy on the competition. We snuck over to where Jack and Ralph were working. Using a voice-changing app on my phone, we spoke in it with spooky voices, pretending we were the lost pilgrim ghosts. Jack and Ralph nearly jumped out of their skin, spilling a can of paint all over their pumpkin!” Mel said, holding her fingers up, wiggling them in what she felt was a spooky motion.
“Wait you did, what!” Ralph blurted out.
“This is my story,” she continued.
“No, no, no, it went like this,” Jack interrupted, holding a flashlight up to his chin.
“We should implement a totem,” Ralph said, “whomever is holding it is the only speaker.”
According to legend, on this night, the night of Halloween, when the veil between the underworld and our world is thin, the missing pilgrims resurface, haunting the inhabitants of this little village. A breeze swept through the circled children and sent a chill up their spines. The foundlings caught on, and all wanted a turn at the mantle to tell their wildest spooky story.
Ralph leaped up quickly and wandered off into the woods to find a totem. Voices rang out everywhere; the arguments commenced, and everyone started to speak at once.
Kai started to tell a scary story about mathematics, which in itself sounded scary to Jack. Mel continued to try to tell her story, but Owen chimed in discussing his tricks while seeking treats. The noise was starting to erupt into a low roar; finally, Mr. Smith appeared back at the fire with a plate of goodies, quickly distracting them from the chaos.
Ralph found himself wondering for a while too long. After a few steps through the woods, he tripped over a stump and tumbled into a small clearing. Fireflies and beautiful colors shone through the hollow, creating an ethereal display. He rolled over to find a boy in a top hat and black suit peering down at him. He stretched out his hand towards Ralph, and Ralph subconsciously grabbed on. The white frilly cuffs shifted around his wrist, which seemed funny, matching his ruff. Nice Pilgrim costume, Ralph said. The boy giggled, but it sounded like it was coming from behind his ear. Ralph shook it off, thanked him for the assist, and brushed off his pants.
“I got turned around! I am not sure where my friends are!” Ralph said. The strange, costumed child walked back into the woods. “Wait, come back!” Ralph hollered and continued after him. He continued behind, shouting something to get to know this little stranger. Firelight began to shine through the trees. The pilgrim boy turned, smiled, and pointed.
“Thank you, thank you, little friend, come meet my friends.” As Ralph was passing the boy, he opened his hand and offered a small carved stick. The stick bore an interesting symbol he had seen so many times before. “Thank you.” He said, shoving it into his pocket. Ralph popped out of the woods moments later and called to all his friends.
The group, telling stories, all jumped off the log and screamed. Finally realizing it was Ralph, they started to giggle; then it turned into uncontrollable laughter as they all fell to the ground.
“Ralph! Why are you popping out of the woods like that!”
“When did you leave?” asked Jack.
"How long were you gone?” Echoed the rest.
The laughter continued. The silliness overflowed them all, as if it were a contagious yawn.
“I went for the totem, " he responded, opening his hand, showing off his new carved piece of wood. “Look, Meet,” Ralph pointed to introduce his new friend. “What was your name?” he said as he began to turn back.
“Who are you talking to?” The group asked, looking at him all confused. The group composed themselves and went over to the tree line. Ralph shrugged and remembered all the odd things that had happened while he was with the kid. “I guess, I guess he um, went home.” Ralph shook the experience off, and they all went back around the fire. The shouting commenced, and all the spooky stories began again.
Written by, Jay Ford
Illustrations by, Jacqueline Cohen
Stay Tuned for Book Two.