It has to be close. I couldn't have strayed too far from the path. Looking around me, however, nothing is familiar. The woods are thicker here and the distance between them shorter. Above me the sky is blocked by a broken ceiling of thick branches. It's nearly impossible for me to tell the time, but I can tell the sun has just set, so it hasn't gotten dark. Yet.
Beside me, my brown Labrador, Ralph, is shifting his head left and right for an exit. I can hear him begin to whimper, and I don't blame him. How I lost the path so easily is beyond me. It can be in any direction. So I pick one, Ralph following close by. For what feels like fifteen minutes we wander through, me going in a straight line as best I can, hoping it will eventually lead me outside. By this time, night has taken over. Luckily the moon seemed to be out, as silvery beams shine through the branches to the ground. I'm about to rest underneath a tree when I spot something.
A few yards ahead there is a small gap in the trees. It isn't exactly an exit, but it still catches my interest for some reason. I move closer for a better look and quickly notice something rather odd. The gap itself is empty, but it's the trees surrounding it that raise my eyebrows. There are seven of them, and they are each marked with a very large yet strange shape. When we finally reached them, I just stop and stare for a moment, slowly rotating on the spot at what are actually pictures on the trees.
There's a firecracker, a heart, a four-leaf clover, a decorated egg...
Instantly I relate these pictures to holidays, which is probably what they are meant to represent. I assume the firecracker is for Independence Day, and then the rest are obvious. Valentine's Day. Saint Patrick's Day. Easter. Next is a turkey for Thanksgiving, a Christmas tree for Christmas, and a carved jack-o-lantern for Halloween.
They are both strange and amazing to gaze at. But why are these pictures painted on the trees? And why facing one another in a circle? That's when I notice a second odd thing about them. Something metallic and round on the right side of almost each of the pictures.
A door knob.
Doors? On the trees? This makes even less sense than the holiday images painted on them. I wonder if there is actually something inside them all.
I look down at Ralph. "What do you think, boy? Which one should I try out?"
Ralph makes a small noise. I take this as an "I don't know" and I turn to the tree with the jack-o-lantern. Halloween is my favorite. So I choose that one and go over to it. I cautiously place my hand on the knob. Nothing happens. I proceed to turn it, moving just as slowly, and open the door.
Nothing. I glance up and down the inside of the trunk, but it's completely dark. Ralph peaks over the doorway in curiosity. I scoop him up to help him out, but neither of us can find anything. I lean over to see if there's anything on the base of the trunk, but it's just as black. In fact...there doesn't seem to be a bottom...and I can hear a very faint sound... I bend down on one knee, keeping Ralph in my arms, and tilt my head to one side.
Without warning I yelp as I'm sucked into the tree trunk and hear the door shut behind me. I'm in a free fall, tightly holding on to my dog for fear of losing him in this pitch black void. Thankfully, it only lasts for a few seconds and I somehow land with both my feet on some firm dry ground.
I take this moment to regain my composure before figuring out where I am. The first thing I become aware of is how cool it is. Fog drifts slothfully across the ground and I shiver slightly at the sudden change in temperature. Ralph squirms uneasily and I set him down, but he stays glued to my feet.
Where are we? I think to myself. We're certainly not in the forest anymore. But then what is this place? Supposedly I would be able to see clearer in the light of the moon. Yet, somehow, it grew dimmer. I gaze up and see that it's now yellow. At least I can see more than two feet in front of me. From what little light there is, I realize I'm in some pumpkin patch. There any other plantation to speak of, or if there was it's either shriveled or dead. Despite this, there is a skinny scarecrow in the middle of this pumpkin patch. It wore a ragged red shirt and brown pants with a carved pumpkin for a head.
Far beyond the scarecrow and the field, I can just make out the silhouette of what appeared to be a village.
"What do you think is over there?" I ask Ralph. He makes the same small noise, staring in the direction of the village, and then barks.
"Yeah," I say, as though I understood what he said.
"Let's go check it out."
Steadily, we begin to cross the dead field and toward the unknown village. But as we're about to pass the scarecrow, I see something stuck on the very top of the wooden post from which it hangs. A sign. Painted on it in yellow are the words Halloween Town.
I narrow my eyes at this. Halloween...Town?
I look back to the village and feel a tiny grin curl on my face. My heart's pace quickens a bit. A town dedicated to my favorite holiday? I think of candy shops, stores with endless Halloween decorations, maybe a theater, or some gruesomely-themed restaurants. It just sounds too good to be true. The very thought moves my feet faster through the field. Ralph whimpers again, but I ignore him. I want to see this place for myself to see if...
I whip my head around behind me. I swear heard something, like someone was whispering. Or more than one someone. I turn my head left and right, but see no one.
"Who's there?" I call out in the darkness. No one answers. Somehow, though, I expect this. My spine shivers, and it's not from the air. I turn back around and walk more cautiously, listening for the whispering to return, or even for footsteps. Still I hear nothing. But after another few feet...
"Ha ha ha ha..."
It's faint, but I definitely hear it, and it echoes softly throughout the field. This time my eyes dart upward to the moon. Just as with the whispering earlier, I thought I saw a flicker of a shadow pass over it. But it must have been a cloud... This is freaking me out and exciting me at the same time; hence why Halloween is my favorite.
We finally cross the field and step into a graveyard where the ground is even more barren. Tombstones of various sizes and forms are cracked and grimy. Yet none of them bare any sort of engravings in dedication to or in memory of a supposed individual who may have passed on. No "Here lies..." or "R.I.P.". Instead there are merely impressions and figures of things like crosses and skulls on the slabs. This whole graveyard seems to be one big decoration for people like me. And that's when they came out.
Me and Ralph jump as ghosts, pale as the moon, swoop from the earth beside numerous tombstones, wailing and howling into the night. Ralph hops up on his hind legs and beckons me to pick up him, which I do. And once he feels secure, he proceeds to bark at the ghosts keep rising from the ground. They swirl above us, continuing to cry in different pitches. Some of them pass right through me, spreading cold all over my body. They circle closer and closer until I decide to scamper off the graveyard and make for the village. They chase after us for a short time before drawing back and disappearing into the ground once more. I turn around, expecting them to reemerge. But they don't. Obviously that graveyard was not just for looks. My heart is pounding out of my chest. Suddenly I begin to fear this place is not at all what I hoped it would be. What else can I expect to find here?
I finally make it to the village where I'm met by an iron gate with a very intricate design. I go to open it...but it does so for me. This doesn't help me to keep calm. I remain still for a few moments and take this time to peer at everything before me.
There are many buildings occupying the village. Most of them are made of wood, others of stone. It didn't look like a tourist trap at all. It actually looks like an old town. The area right in front of me seems to be the village square. Sure enough, I see a large building directly ahead marked with the words "Town Hall" above the entrance steps. A stone fountain rests a few feet from me, slimy green liquid replaces water and it oozes from the mouth a scaly, winged, serpent-like statue in the center. To the left of the fountain are a guillotine and a structure in the shape of a giant pumpkin. There is also one shaped like a large cat beside the town hall. Two other structures stand out in this village. One of them, a long distance from the square, is an enormous rounded stone building with a circular window. I have no idea what this can be. The other is a lot more fascinating, though. It appears to overlook the entire village. On a hill are some stairs that scale terrifyingly high to an odd-looking mansion resting on nothing but the stairs themselves. And attached to this house is a long tower. Possibly a watchtower, or maybe a study. I wonder who lives there...
Reluctantly I step through the gate, careful not to make a lot of noise as I walk. I'm nervous that something might leap out at me and I try to breathe easy. I think to myself that if any of this is like a local haunted house attraction or a Halloween horror walk, anyone that does scare me can't touch me...but then again, this place is different from any such thing so far. At first glance I don't see any of the shops or restaurants that I pictured in my head. Still, all this grey and grime certainly gives it the appropriate atmosphere...
"Boo!" Something shoots from the green pool in the fountain that makes me leap backwards and nearly dropping poor Ralph to ground. A clammy, hideous sea creature as sickly green as the pool rises and wails at us. I yelp and so does Ralph, at which point he jumps out of my arms and scampers away from the fountain and toward the gate. But right when he reaches it, it shuts closed and he picks a new direction while I chase after him. He slips into an alley, me right behind him. I finally manage to grab him when-
Out of nowhere, a beastly werewolf drops down from the air and breaks out a loud roar, showing dribbling sharp teeth and glowing, menacing yellow eyes. The fact that it wears a ripped plaid shirt does not make him any less scary whatsoever. I turn right around to where we came when yet another creature pops out of a trash can. This one is a gray demonic-looking harlequin with orange and black snake's tail-like things on its head.
"Are you scared yet?" it asks and then cackles. I dash past it and exit the alley, making for the town square just as a big round clown on a unicycle rides up to me with a wide grin on its pallid face.
"Wanna see a neat trick?" it asks me. But it doesn't wait for me to answer as he takes his hand to his face, grabs hold of it...and then tears it clean off, revealing a gaping black hole where a deeper growling voice laughs from inside.
"This is where you scream and run!" I obey without pause and sprint down the street. My heart is racing two, probably three times faster than normal with fear spreading even more rapidly. These monsters are clearly not professional entertainers in elaborate costumes. They're real. Real and terrifying. Where are they coming from? Do they live here? What will they do if they catch me? I try not to think of this as I find a two story house, bound up the stone steps to the front door that happens to be unlocked. I throw myself and Ralph through the threshold, slam the door shut and lock it.
I relax my body and set Ralph down on the floor. He seems to be as shaky as I am. I press my ear to the door and listen for any pursuing monsters, but all there is to hear is silence. Maybe I outran them. Unlikely. They must be waiting for me outside. So then why don't they try and come through the door? Whatever the reason, I welcome the opportunity to breathe easy, and to check out the interior of this house.
Like most everything around this whole place, inside here there are shades of grey. In the living room sits an armchair, a sofa beside a wide window, and a grandfather clock in a corner. I feel I can sit myself on the sofa and rest my head for while. But simply being in the room churns my stomach with a very uneasy feeling. This is partly due to Ralph whimpering again, but not all of it. And after a few seconds, I realize why with great dread.
"What's wrong, boy?" I whisper to him. His eyes are frozen to the ceiling and he starts barking. Knowing full well I was not going to like what I see, I slowly turn my gaze upwards. I feel the blood drain from my face upon staring at what was staring back at us.
Not one, not two, not three. Four vampires hang from the ceiling of the room. Each of them is a different size yet all of them equally frightening. One by one they drop from the ceiling and land soundlessly on the carpet.
"Welcome to our home," one of them, a tall skinny one, says in a high voice. This is enough for me to wheel around to the front door and bolt out into the street with my dog at my heel. Sure enough, the harlequin, the wolfman, the sea creature, and the clown were all there waiting for me. But I just push them aside and run as hard as my legs can manage, Ralph having no trouble keeping up. I have to try and get us away from these beasts and fiends. We need to find a safe place devoid of any other monstrous residents. But I just do not know where such a place will be.
I hear shrieks of high-pitched laughter far ahead of us and skid to a halt. Two witches, one pale with white hair and the other with green skin, soar on their broomsticks and fly straight for us. Behind us, the rest of the monsters threaten to close in the gap. I feel my only hope now is to go back the way I came.
Ignoring everyone else around me other than my dog, I make a break for the gate, Ralph picking up the rear. At this point I just want all this to be over. What can the creatures possibly want with me? I never meant to trespass or cause any trouble... I finally reach the gate and attempt to force it open. It doesn't budge. I push, shove and pull, giving as much strength I can muster. Ralph is even contributing to this futile effort. But it seems to be of no avail at all. Meanwhile, the village folk of Halloween Town have caught up to us at last. I see new creatures and beings have joined the others, including a large sunken-faced man with an axe stuck on the back on his head, a grim reaper, a tiny mummy cyclops, and a living hanging tree with small skeletons hanging from branches by their necks. And leading the whole lot of them...was the scarecrow from the pumpkin patch.
I close my eyes and hope to will this to be over very soon. That whatever they intend to do us, it will be quick.
The footsteps stomp closer and closer and then stop. I don't open my eyes...until I hear them laughing. But this isn't the awful cackling laugher. It's more like...they're having fun?
I open my eyes. And they are indeed laughing in a humorous way, and I don't believe any of it is directly at me, either. Well, at least not most of it. But they seem to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. I stand there, utterly confused for a long moment. I look at Ralph; his head is cocked to the side with a similar expression. And then...
"Gotcha!" some of the monsters cry out to us and continue to hoot and chuckle.
"We got them really good," I hear one of them say.
"I think they both wet themselves!" says another.
The scarecrow turns to them and shouts over them all. "Well done, everyone! That was quite a scare we gave them!"
Then it takes its pumpkin head and rips it in two as well as its torn shirt and pants. Underneath is a tall and incredibly thin skeleton in a pinstripe tailcoat and pants. This has to be the most intriguing monster of them all, and clearly the brains, in a matter of speaking, of what apparently is this village's idea of a good fun time.
The skeleton looks back at the two of us and speaks.
"My name is Jack Skellington. Welcome to our home of Halloween Town!"
An appropriate response to this would either have been to continue looking puzzled, or perhaps try to escape again. Yet despite what I had just experienced in the past few minutes, after practically fearing for my life and possibly wetting my pants for real...I can't help putting a smile on my face. Knowing now that this whole thing was to scare us, and for fun, I thought it was great! In fact, it made me laugh, too.
"That was some welcome you guys made..."