It was a dark, windy night. The Heart family was just about to leave their neighborhood for a new life in Japan. 11-year old Alyss Heart crossed her arms at her mother, Selena Heart. Alyss said grumpily, "But Mom, I finally made some new friends here and then you suddenly want me to go somewhere else, somewhere far, far away from them?"Her mother sighed, and then said, "Fine Alyss. You can say goodbye to all of them. But be back here in twenty minutes."Alyss thanked her mother repeatedly and ran off, saying goodbye to Bella and Ella Swan, Ronald Pitts, and even to the neighborhood bully, Rufus Wellington. The last person on her list was Marie Sheldon, who lived near the woods called the Hinterlands. Alyss had never gone inside the Hinterlands before. As she approached Marie's house, she was filled with a desire to go inside the Hinterlands, to see what no one else wanted to see. Saying a goodbye to Marie, she ran as fast as she could to the Hinterlands, hearing her mother calling, "Alyss Heart, we are leaving! Come back here right now!"Alyss thought gleefully, you can't order me around anymore! I'm leaving this place! I'll live in the Hinterlands! As she ran, she felt free. Finally, she slowed down, tired. She sat down on the ground. "Hm, the ground is cold."She felt around her dress pockets and pulled out a single cracker. "Better than nothing, I suppose."She muttered, munching the cracker.
After eating the cracker, she stood up and brushed off the crumbs. It was then she noticed the circle of trees in the distance. Curious, she walked up to the circle, which was engulfed in light. "What is this?"She absently murmured, standing in the middle. She could see a heart and a four leaf clover on one side. Turning around, she saw a turkey and an egg on that side. Turning again, she saw the Christmas tree and the pumpkin. "Ooh."She said, reaching for the pumpkin's nose. She turned it like a doorknob, and it opened. Alyss looked inside. Nothing. Disappointed, she stepped back, only to see autumn leaves swirling around her, and pulling her inside the door. "Whooooooooooaaaaaaah!"She exclaimed, trying to keep her red dress down as she fell down a swirling pile of leaves.
When she finally landed, Alyss found herself in a dark graveyard full of dead trees. "Spooky. Very spooky. COOL!"Her voice echoed through the graveyard. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder, and she turned around. A woman with blue skin and red hair stood behind her. She was very tall, so she bent down at Alyss, saying, "Why hello there. Who are you?"Alyss twiddled her fingers. "My name's Alyss. Alyss Heart."The woman laughed melodiously. "What a pretty name. My name is Sally Skellington. You just have to meet my husband, Jack Skellington."Alyss, being the curious and mischievous girl she was, agreed.
As they walked through the graveyard, Alyss and Sally heard voices singing a song, like an echo"
Boys and Girls of every age,
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see,
This our town of Halloween!
This is Halloween!
This is Halloween!
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!
This is Halloween!
Everybody make a scene!
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright!
It's our town!
Everybody scream!
In our town of Halloween!
As they followed the ghosts singing to a house, they could hear voices inside singing as well:
I am the one hiding under your bed!
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!
They passed the nearest staircase, which also seemed to sing a bit:
I am the one hiding under your stairs,
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair!
The ghosts started singing yet again, leading the two farther into the town:
This is Halloween,
This is Halloween,
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween
As the two entered a house, the grandfather clock and the coffins around it opened to reveal vampire. Alyss stepped back in terror, but Sally just held on to her as the vampires sang,
In this town we call home,
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!
A megaphone sounded out, and Alyss covered her ears with pain, but she could make out someone singing:
In this town,
Don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!
On the stairs where the voice came from, a skinny cat slinked down as a ghost sang,
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting now to pounce, and how
you'll scream
They saw something pop out of the trashcan, sewer and the wall. Sally pointed to the one in the trashcan."He's the Harlequin Demon. That's the Wolf man, and he's the slimy man."
This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green
Aren't you scared?
A cackling arose above them, and Alyss looked up to see two witches singing highly off-pitch:
Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take the chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
Leaves rustled behind them as a hanging tree with skeletons sang:
Everybody scream, everybody scream!
In our town of Halloween!
Suddenly a rotund clown with a rubber chicken sang, removing his face as he did so:
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
A strong wind suddenly blew at them, whispering:
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair
A shadow fell on the moon, and Alyss noted the face on the moon singing:
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!
A guillotine crashed down a well, and two children, one a gargoyle, the other a corpse, started singing:
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare
Their supposed parents came out, singing:
That's our job, but we're not mean
in our town of Halloween
Alyss covered her ears again as the supposed Mayor sang out again:
In this town
Don't we love it now?
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise
A man with an axe on his head dragged in a scarecrow on a wooden horse, while the residents chorused:
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everyone scream
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy
Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Sally lighted a torch, and made Alyss raise it. The scarecrow grasped the torch she held, and ate the fire, which set him on fire. He danced around, scaring the residents. Then he majestically jumped into the fountain.
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
The corpse kid and a little mummy came to the edge of the fountain, singing:
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
A skeletal figure rose up from the fountain, while the monsters sang heartily:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
Whee!
Sally and Alyss clapped along with the others as the skeleton came down. He approached them. "Uh oh!"Alyss murmured.