Welcome to this year's official Halloween offering. It's a sequel in three chapters to last year's 'On the Stroke of Midnight', you may want to read that first, otherwise bits of this may not make sense. That said, I hope you enjoy.

The view of Baker Street from the roof of 221B was not the usual view the consultants had.

Their usual view has been through the living room window, but in the two years since the accident Mrs Hudson had needed to let their old flat.

And they knew it was the second anniversary because they were, back at Baker Street, and their last memory was of, quite impossibly, solving one last crime for Lestrade despite the fact that he could only just see them, and more to the point could put his hands right through them.

"This is ridiculous!" Sherlock grumbled.

"What? Sitting on the roof, or being dead?"

"Both! How can I only work on one night of the year? What if there are no good cases?"

John stared at him incredulously.

"What?"

"Sherlock, we're dead! I think the only reason we come back once a year is because we died on All Hallows Eve"

"Poppycock!"

"Really, is that the best you've got?"

"I don't know what you mean." The curly headed ghost tried his best to sound distant and unaffected, but ended up sounding petulant and pissed off.

"Sherlock, look around you." John waved a hand towards the pavement. "All those kids down there trying to frighten the bejasus out of each other while up here are two honest-to-goodness ghosts that they can't see."

In the silence that followed he leant down and idly flicked a piece of moss from one of the lead tiles.

"If you're so certain that the date we died is unimportant, how about you set your great intellect to solving why we're here now."

Sherlock looked at him, assessing whether or not he was serious, and then replied "Alright. I'll prove the Halloween connection is just a load of balderdash!"

John chuckled.

"Balderdash – good word that. However good words won't cut it Sherlock."

"No, I know." The other man thought for a moment. "As ever I need more data."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that." John mused. "Funny how I never get fed up with hearing it either – must be something to do with only hearing it once a year nowadays."

"Yes, very funny John."

"Yes well, you'd better get a move on then – you have just five hours until midnight, and you know what happens then."

Ignoring the grin that threatened to split John's face Sherlock stood up, effortlessly balance on the slope of the roof.

"Come on. I need to get to the British Library."

"It'll be shut."

"And we're dead John, as you persist in pointing out." He waited until John stood too, and then added "And anyway, when did 'closed' ever stop me?"

xXx

Since their discovery of the phenomenon the previous Halloween, it still amazed John that they had only to decide on a destination and in the blink of an eye they would be there.

Last year they had been too focussed on solving the crime, but tonight... tonight he took the time to wonder and appreciate the elegance of it.

"Stop daydreaming John."

John looked up just in time to see his friend stalking along the now dark corridors towards the reading rooms.

The section Sherlock was looking for was the one that dealt with predominantly religious and cultural texts.

"This is the obvious place to start."

"You'll find that ghosts are denied in the bible." John was wandering among the shelves, curious about the tomes kept in here.

He had heard that a copy of every book published found its way here eventually, but he had never before had the privilege of actually visiting the place. Part of him wanted to go and see if his beloved H G Wells books or the trashy James Bond novels that he liked were in here also, but he had a suspicion that his partner in crime – or should that be time? – would frown upon such frivolous research.

"What about the Holy Ghost?"

"Ah. Remembered that much from Sunday School did you?"

"John." Sherlock's look was distinctly unamused.

"Yeah, yeah, but you see that wasn't an actual ghost Sherlock – and no, I'm not getting into the theological discussion with you now."

"How can I research if you won't help me?"

"You'll just have to take my word for it." John said with finality. "And start looking at other cultures and religions; because unless you're actually prepared to admit that we aren't ghosts but demons looking for a soul to inhabit I'd say that Christianity is definitely out."

Sherlock gave him a considering look.

"We'll have that discussion another day then." He conceded. "So let's start with Islam."