As the girls bounced in their seats, Lori drove Vanzilla out of the suburbs, to the field where the festival was taking place. By the time they arrived, the sun had almost completely vanished over the horizon and the fairground was illuminated by bright, flashing lights coming from the numerous rides, game booths, and performance tents. Crowds of costumed kids and families were already lined up at the ticket gate, eager to get inside.

The family quickly parked and made their way to the maze. Situated in the back of the festival, the maze easily dwarfed the other attractions in terms of its size and scale, with walls of 10 foot-tall corn stalks stretching as far as the eye could see. For Lucy, it was a dream (or in her eyes, a dark fantasy) come true.

"Bloody 'ell! Luna, is that you?!"

"Chunk!" Luna ran up and hugged her roadie. The burley rock star was dressed in an ill-fitting David Bowie costume, though neither he nor Luna paid it any mind.

"You really had me going there for a moment," Chunk said. "You're rocking that look, love." "You don't look too bad yourself, Chunk," Luna replied. "So you got everything ready?"

"Check it out," Chunk produced a remote and pressed a button. All across the maze, spotlights sprang to life and bathed the passageways in an eerie glow.

"Got your speakers all set up too," Chunk added. "Just attach to your organ and soon the dead themselves will be rising to the beat."

"You da' man, Chunk!" Luna fist-bumped her roadie. "Thanks again for all your help."

"Yes, thanks indeed," The duo jumped as Lucy appeared behind them, her costume only adding to the creepiness of her disturbing habit. "I'll be taking that, if you don't mind."

"Aw, anything for you, love," Chunk patted the tiny grim reaper on the head before handing her the remote. "Now if you'll excuse me, I want to be the first in line for chocolate waffles." He wandered off, just as the clock commencing the festival began to ring.

Lucy took charge and pulled out her megaphone. "All right everyone, the Loud Family haunted corn maze is officially open. Let's bring on the screams, people."

"Hey Luce, think you can help me get my organ into the maze?" Luna asked.

"No need, Luna," Lucy replied. "Lisa once again has us covered." She pressed a button on the remote and four of Lisa's drones flew into view, carrying a wooden platform. They landed and Luna shoved her organ on it.

"Aw man, she thought of everything!"

She began playing scary music on her organ as the drones lifted her into the air and carried her away to the center of the maze. The rest of the family entered as well, leaving Lucy to greet the guests at the entrance. As the gates open and people began spreading out all over the fairgrounds, Lucy once again felt the urge to smile, but her mouth continued to resist and remained in it's usual frown.

'This night is going to be perfect,' she thought to herself. ' I guess I didn't need Dormus after all.'

Little did Lucy know how wrong she was.

High above the maze, the eleven Sumerian demons watched as the Louds eagerly got into position, ready to scare.

"This is it, my friends," Dormus announced. "This is the night my eternal empire rises again." "Master," one of his minions asked. "Which of them shall be your vessel?"

Their attention was drawn to the organ music coming from the center of the maze.

"That one," one of the other minions pointed her out. "Luna they called her? Quite the charismatic one, isn't she?"

"Yes," Dormus mused as he watched the skeletal maestro play. His eyes narrowed in wicked glee. "She's perfect!"

He flew down and entered her body. Luna jolted and froze, her eyes wide open. A second later, her pupils turned red, her brow narrowed, and her mouth twisted into a sinister smile.

"Ah," Dormus sighed as he admired his new body. He spoke in a malicious rendition of Luna's voice. "It's been so long since I've been able to do this." Turning his head to the sky, he called out to his minions, "Go, take the others! Quickly!"

"But master, there are only seven here."

"Well, then go out and find the rest of them!" he ordered. "Hurry!"

On command, the demons split into two groups, with four of them flying off to find bodies while the remaining six descended upon the Louds.

"Abandon hope, all who enter here," Lucy warned the crowd approaching the maze's entrance. "Once inside, you will be helpless to the darkness within." Before she could continue, a demon entered her body. The tiny grim reaper froze, then grinned as the eyes under her bangs turned red. She stepped aside and held her scythe over the entrance as guests began walking in.

"Cool costume Lucy," Rusty Spokes called out as the mummified boy and his friends passed by. "Hope the maze is as scary as you."

"Oh," the now-possessed Lucy sadistically muttered, "You have no idea."

"Trick or treat!"

"Oh," the dark-haired woman gushed at the tiny Abe Lincoln and Lady Liberty on her doorstep. "Aren't you two adorable." She handed out candy to the twins and closed the door, only to hear another knocking.

"Trick or treat!"

"So cute!" The woman was none the wiser to the mermaid and pirate's scheme as she once again gave them candy. Another knock and she was greeted by salt and peppershakers.

"Trick or treat!"

"Great costumes," the twins received two more pieces of candy before finally leaving the naïve woman for good. "Thank you!" the twins said as they left and headed back to the sidewalk.

"And that is how it's done," Lana gloated to Lisa. "One house, six pieces of candy." The twins high-fived while Lisa nonchalantly hopped to the woman's door.

"Trick or treat!" the tiny genius sang as the door opened.

"How sweet. A kangaroo," the owner gushed, candy in hand.

"And a baby roo," Lisa added, right as Lily popped out and cooed.

"Awwwww!" Overcome by the sheer adorableness of the sight, the woman dumped the entire bowl into Lisa's bag.

"Thank you!" She hopped away and said contently to the twins, "Ha. One house, eighty-seven pieces of candy."

While the kids were in the spirit, the same could not be said for Lynn Sr. He shrieked as a gust of wind hit his back. "A ghost just touched me!" Overcome with fear, he fainted.

Pushed to her limit by her father's cowardliness, Lola grabbed him and began shaking his head. "Daddy, wake up!"

"Never fear, siblings," Lisa approached them with a wagon. "I have prepared for this eventuality." Shoving Lynn Sr inside, they began dragging him down the street, unaware of the demons closing in on them from above.

Lincoln and Clyde left Huntington Manor behind as they made off with their earnings: two massive sacks of candy (including their long sought-after full-sized candy bars) "What a haul!" Lincoln remarked, "Maybe we should take it to your house, because my sisters will pounce on it."

Clyde objected. "Well, if we take it to my house, my dads will lock it up and only let me have three ounces a week."

"Hmm. We need a Plan C."

The boys buried their candy and headed back towards Franklin Avenue.

"Our hard work paid off, Clyde," Lincoln said triumphantly. "Best Halloween ever."

They high-fived and continued on, turning a corner to find a rather strange sight. Sitting in the middle of the street was an overturned play wagon and several spilled bags of candy.

Clyde shook his head. "Well, that's just sad,"

They suddenly heard a strange whimpering sound.

"Hey Clyde? You hear that?" Lincoln asked.

"Sounds like it's coming from that bush over there." Clyde pointed at a quivering bush near the sidewalk.

Curious, Lincoln went over and pushed back the leafy branches. The figure curled up inside looked and sounded awfully familiar to him.

"Dad? Is that you?"

"Ah! Please don't eat me!" He pleaded, only to realize it was his son. "Oh, Lincoln. It's only you." "Dad," Lincoln asked, "what are you doing?"

"I thought you were taking the twins and Lisa trick-or-treating," Clyde added.

"I-I-I was," Lynn stammered. "B-but a ghost attacked me and I blacked out. When I woke up, the girls were gone and I was alone in that wagon."

"Wait, so that's… THEIR candy?" Lincoln was baffled. "Why on Earth would they just dump it and leave it here?"

Clyde shrugged, "Maybe they just went for pee break."

"No, they'd never trust Dad to guard their candy." Lincoln rubbed his chin in thought. "Something's going on, Clyde."

"Maybe we'll find some answers at the festival," he suggested. "It's not too far from here." "Worth a shot," Lincoln turned back to the bush. "Want to tag along, Dad?"

"Uh, n-no thanks," he sputtered. "I-I think I-I'll head on back home and h-hold down the f-fort until you find them."

"Okay then," Lincoln said as they walked off. "Try not to run into anymore ghosts."

"Or ghouls!"

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts. I ain't afraid of no ghosts," Lynn whimpered. Taking a breath, he hesitantly rose out of his hiding place.

"Happy Halloween, mister!'

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Lynn took off running as a little girl in a giraffe costume and her parents looked on in confusion.

As the boys neared the dirt path to the fairground, things began to get even weirder. Far down the path, they could see what looked like storm clouds and hear the faint sound of thunder and flash of lightning. Both boys hugged their bodies as a sudden chill appeared in the air and the wind began whipping at their hair and suits.

"Clyde," Lincoln asked, "Why does it feel like the beginning of an ARRGH episode?" Clyde's eyes went wide. "Maybe they can tell you."

Lincoln looked ahead, suddenly noticing an oncoming mob running up the path. The shrill sound of screaming told them what was coming and the two jumped aside to avoid getting run over by the dozens upon dozens of terrified festivalgoers. "What the heck is going on here?" Lincoln wondered out loud.

"Lincoln! Clyde!" The boy turned to see his friend Liam rushing at him. "What are you two standing there for?!" he screamed. "You've got to get out of here!"

"Wait Liam, what's going on?!" Lincoln demanded. "Why's everybody so spooked?"

Liam struggled for breath, his face pale-white and his body trembling. "Something's gone wrong with the maze!" He gasped. "Rusty, Rocky, Zach, Jordon! They went in an-and they never came out! A-and then we heard all this screaming and the lightning started and-"

"Did you call the police?!" Clyde added.

"YES!" Liam wailed, "AND THEY DIDN'T COME OUT EITHER!"

BOOOOM! A deafening roar of thunder ripped across the sky.

"Ahhhhh!" Liam screamed and ran off with the mob, leaving the two boys alone.

"Wait, what about my sisters?!" Lincoln called after him.

Just as he said that, a bolt of lightning lit up the fairgrounds on the horizon, as if the storm itself was beckoning them forward. Both boys gulped.

"Well whatever's in there has my mom and sisters," Lincoln said. Clinching his clammy hands into fists, the white-haired boy put on his best brave face and started down the path. "Come on Clyde."

Clyde did the same and walked after him.

"Good thing I have Dr. Lopez on speed dial."

A few more minutes of walking brought the boys to the festival. The once lively and bright establishment was now dark and desolate, with all the lights out and not a soul in sight. All the attractions were deserted and bore signs of a hasty evacuation, with abandoned prizes, candy, and props littered all over the ground. In the distance, the boys could see the maze, looming over the rest of the park like a dark force about to consume everything in its path. The sky above the maze was filled with inky-black storm clouds, constantly spewing out thunder and lightning. A practically bright bolt highlighted Luan's sign hanging above the entrance.

Lincoln struggled to keep his brave face up as he and Clyde made their way over to the maze. With each step, he could feel his body grow more and more uneasy as droplets of sweat began to form on his brow. He found his eyes darting around at the empty booths passing by them, as if they were expecting a monster to jump out from any one of them. 'Be brave, Lincoln Loud,' he urged himself in his mind, 'Be brave.'

The sight of the maze up close wasn't anymore comforting. Much like the rest of the festival, the lights in the maze were gone and, even with their eyes having adjusted to the darkness, they could hardly see anything beyond the entrance sign. The thunder and lightning was now directly over their heads and each boom pounded at their eardrums.

"Hey Linc?" Clyde said nervously to his friend. "I know this may be a bad time to ask, but… you remember that cheesy late-night horror movies we watched at our last sleepover? You know, the one about the man-eating scarecrow? What if…" he gulped and struggled to finish. "what if it took your family?"

"Come on, Clyde, you know there's no such thing as monsters," Lincoln rather weakly assured him. "B-but what about that trash monster Lisa made?"

BOOOOM! ! Both boys jumped at the sudden clap of thunder, this one loud enough to nearly deafen them. Lincoln felt hairs he didn't even know he had stand up on edge as he landed back on the ground.

"Okay, no more monster talk!" he declared. "Let's just go in, find the others, and get out of here." Grabbing Clyde by the sleeve, Lincoln passed under the wooden sign and entered the maze.

"Lori!" Lincoln called out as they walked. "Leni! Luna!"

"Keep your voice down, Lincoln," Clyde whispered.

"Lori!" Lincoln screamed louder, "Lynn! Lucy!"

The only response he got was the sound of leaves crunching under their feet.

"Maybe they can't hear us," Lincoln suggested. "Come on, we have to find them." He broke into a sprint.

"Lincoln! Think about this!" Clyde yelled as he struggled to follow him in the darkness. "People don't just disappear inside a corn maze! For all we know, we could be dealing with a murderer or something!"

Once again, Lincoln ignored him. "Mom! Lucy!"

"Oh come on!" Clyde snapped as they turned into yet another maze path. "Don't tell me you aren't scared of all this!"

Lincoln finally stopped and turned to face his friend. "Me? Not scared?! Look at me Clyde!" He grabbed his friend and pulled him close enough to where Clyde could make out his face in the darkness. Lincoln's expression was a mix of anxiety and frustration. Sweat was dripping down his face onto his collar, his neat white hair was disheveled, and his hands were cold and clammy. He was gasping for breath and Clyde could even hear the faint sound of Lincoln's heartbeat as it pounded against his shirt and jacket.

"You don't think I'm scared?" Lincoln asked in disbelief. "Clyde, I'm TERRIFIED!" He drew the last word out. "All of my family and friends are in danger and we're just running around, getting lost inside this huge, stinkin' maze! Let me tell you something buddy, it's a good thing my hair's already white!"

He let go of Clyde and squatted, hands on his knees as he took in breath after breath. For a few moments, only the sounds of the storm could be heard. Finally, Lincoln finally tilted his head up, looking even more desperate.

"And… I… I do kinda' still believe in monsters, Clyde. I just said that stuff earlier to sound brave. You know, like Ace Savvy. I just want to find my family."

Clyde knelt down and placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's okay bud," he gave Linc a small smile. "You know One-Eyed Jack's got your back."

Lincoln held up a fist. "Thanks man. Clincoln McCloud?"

Clyde bumped him. "For life."

"Hmmp Hmmmm"

Both their smiles faded. "Did you hear that, Clyde?" Linc whispered.

"Yeah,"

"Hmmp Hmmmm."

They turned their heads towards the wall of corn stalks on their left. The sound was muffled and faint, but they could just make it out over the noise of the storm.

"Hmmp Hmmmm!"

"Is that…?" Linc's eyes went wide. "Is that Rusty?"

"Hmmmmmmmppp!" A new voice, equally muffled, but slightly higher pitched. It sounded like… "Jordon?" Clyde asked.

The boys glanced at each other, both realizing what needed to be done. With no other way forward, they began pushing through the wall. Eventually, the sea of stalks ended and the boys stepped into a clearing. Both their jaws dropped at the sight in front of them.

It was a giant field, filled with rows and rows of scarecrow poles. Bound to each of them was a person. There was Rusty, Rocky, Jordon, Zach, and dozens of others, even a couple of blue-uniformed policemen. Their faces were all stark white and bore an expression of sheer terror. Their mouths were gagged, but muffled cries and whimpers could still be heard all over the field.

"Rusty!" The boys spotted their curly-haired friend bound in the front row closest to them. "Are you okay?" Rusty could only squint his tear-drenched eyes and pitifully moan against his gag.

"Rusty, it's okay," Lincoln said. "We'll get you out of there." He and Clyde started tugging and pulling against his ropes, but they wouldn't bulge. In fact, they only seemed to tighten, causing Rusty to whimper in pain.

"Clyde, stop! We're hurting him!"

"Man, what are these ropes made of?" Clyde grunted.

"Wait a minute," Lincoln rubbed the material with his hands. It was thick, smooth, and… leafy? "These are aren't ropes. They're vines!"

"Vines?"

"Ummmm Hmmmmm," Rusty whimpered. The boys noticed that the trail of vines appeared to be sprouting out of the ground next to his pole. The same was with all the others as well.

"Wha-how?" Lincoln could only stammer. "How… is this possible?"

"Rusty man," Clyde asked. "Who did this to you?"

"Oh, Linnnnncolnnnnn!"

Both boys froze as a high-pitched voice cut through the night air like a ghost.

Rusty and the others began thrashing and screaming beneath their binds.

"Cllllyyyyyyyde!"

Lincoln was so stiff, he could barely feel his heart beat. His eyes darted over to Clyde, trembling and sweating. "Linnnnncolnnnnn!"

'Wait… I know that voice.' With that thought, feeling returned to Lincoln's body and he instinctively called out, "Lori?"

Nothing.

"Clyde, come on," he shook his friend, "That's Lori! She's nearby!"

The wind suddenly whipped behind them, causing them to freeze up again.

"Hello boys," came a soft whisper.

Lincoln and Clyde slowly turned. Standing in the distance, on the path in between the field and the corn stalk wall, was Lori. Her cape was drawn up over her face and her long flowing hair slowly moved in the wind. She slowly began to walk (or from the looks of it, glide since neither leg rose from under her skirt and no footsteps could be heard in the ground beneath her) towards the boys. As she grew closer, Lincoln found himself transfixed by her appearance. While Lincoln did consider his eldest sister attractive (in a COMPLETELY innocent, NON-incestuous way), he felt an almost supernatural force drawing him to her, his eyes slowly exploring her body, from her curving hips wrapped up in the tight lace of her dress all the way up to her gleaming red eyes and luscious wavy, blond hair.

'She's so beautiful,' Lincoln's inner voice droned. 'Wait, red eyes?'

At that moment, Lori dropped her cape.

"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!" she hissed. Her mouth had been replaced with a giant, gapping maw filled with dozens of razor-sharp teeth.

Snapped back to their sense, the boys screamed as Lori lunged at them, jaws wide open. At the last moment, their flight senses kicked in and they dove back through the wall and onto the path. They ran, turning down several more paths as Lori's laughter echoed behind them. Finally, after what seemed like their 20th turn, they stopped and caught their breath. The laughter had faded, but neither boy was any calmer.

"Li… Li… Linc!" Clyde gasped. "Wha-what happened to your sister?!"

"I don't know," Lincoln wheezed, "but I'm not sure I want to find out anymore."

Clyde nodded, "Yeah, maybe we should-" He was suddenly pulled through the maze wall. "Clyde!"

"Lincoln! Help!"

Lincoln pushed through the wall and saw Clyde lying on his back in the dirt, screaming as a dirty clothed figure raised a revving chainsaw over their head.

"Lynn?" Lincoln charged and tackled her to the ground, knocking her mask off in the process. "Lynn, what the heck were you-?!"

He gasped as Lynn turned her head to face him. Her face was horribly deformed and grotesque. Staring at her brother through one squinted red eye and one red bulbous eye, she opened her lopsided mouth and let out a furious growl, drool dripping down her chin.

With a scream, Lincoln leaped backwards, landing in a pair of grey, scabby arms (or at least, one arm and one bloody stump).

He looked up. "Mom?!"

Rita moaned as she tiled her head down to look at her son. One of her eyes was missing and her skin was bloody and rotting, revealing parts of her skull. Moaning and groaning, she opened her mouth, preparing to take a bite out of Lincoln.

"AHHHHHH!" Lincoln struggled to escape her locked arms. "MOM NOOO!"

"Lincoln!" Clyde ran up and yanked Lincoln out of his undead mother's arms.

As the zombie matriarch and chainsaw-wielding jock closed in on them, they were both once again pulled though the wall back onto the path, this time finding themselves in the arms of a headless French queen.

"Hi guys!" Leni's cheerful voice greeted them. "Having a fun Halloween?"

"Leni?" Lincoln jumped up and embraced his sister. "Oh thank God you're still okay. Listen, we've got to…" Thump. Thump. Thump .

"L-L-Lincoln?" Clyde whimpered, pointing to the ground. Lincoln looked down and saw a round object bounce around Leni's body before looking up towards him.

"I'm down here, Linky!" Leni's severed head said with a smile. "Are you alright? You look kind of pale." "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Lincoln spring-boarded off his sister's chest and he and Clyde off running once again. They reached a junction and took the middle path, only to find it blocked by a new threat.

"Intruders!" A bug-eyed and frazzled Luan cackled at the helm of her monster-making station. "If you think you're getting out of here, you're in for a SHOCK!"

She slammed down a pair of levers, laughing manically as her Mr. Coconuts doll was struck by lightning. The dummy opened its eyes, rose off the table, and stumbled towards the boys with outstretched arms.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, an orange beast jumped out of the nearby corn.

"Hisssssss," growled Lisa, now sporting a snout, orange skin, and a mouth filled with sharp teeth. "Hisssssss," growled a similarly mutated Lily from Lisa's pouch.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" the boys screamed. "WERE-ROO!"

They sprinted for the left path, only to find it blocked off by a hooded figure.

"Going somewhere?" Lucy's lower face was grey, gaunt, and bony. She swung her scythe at the boys. "No one escapes judgment!"

Two small, ghostly twins, one a mermaid and the other a pirate, rose up from the ground behind her and hissed. "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Cowering in fear, the boys backed down the only remaining path. All the Loud monsters emerged into the junction, staring down their victims with glowing red eyes.

"I… I don't understand!" Lincoln wailed, tears now flowing down his face. "What's happened to all of you?!" A sinister laugh came from behind them. "What's the matter? Too scary for you, Lincoln?"

Hovering in the air was a giant disembodied skull, with two fiery red eyes, a snarling mouth, and top hat. It's tone was sinister, but a voice too familiar to Lincoln.

"L-Luna?"

"There is no Luna," the skull cackled, lunging forward at them. "ONLY DORMUS!"

The boys screamed and leaped back, landing on their backs. Dormus laughed and vanished before appearing in the sky above his minions.

"W-what have you done to my family?!" Lincoln cried.

"I'm afraid their souls belong to me now," Dormus chuckled. He glared down at the white-haired boy. "I probably should be thanking you, Lincoln. If it weren't for your dear, sweet sister Lucy, we'd still be trapped in the spirit world."

"Wha-Lucy?!"

"Leave it to an eight-year-old to bring about the apocalypse!" Dormus laughed. "She wanted one scary night; how about a never-ending nightmare?!" Lightning flashed behind the demon as he and his minions they closed in on the boys. "Royal Woods is just the beginning. Soon, the world shall follow. The human race will know nothing, but fear for all eternity!"

He shot up into the sky, shrieking with laughter as thunder and lightning erupted from the sky. "RUN ON HOME, LITTLE BOYS!"

All the monster Louds lunged and roared at the two.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lincoln and Clyde let out two of the loudest screams their lungs could produce and ran, leaving dust outlines in their wake.

"Master," the possessed Lucy said. "Should we go after them?"

"No," Dormus ordered. "Go back to the field and keep draining the prisoners."

Their master vanished and reappeared, full-bodied, at Luna's organ. He smiled sadistically as muffled screams began again. "Ah, music to my ears." He cracked his fingers over the organ. "I think it's time the rest of the town shared in their fate." He began playing an evil tune as the dark clouds above began to grow.

Amazingly, Lincoln and Clyde quickly found themselves out of the maze and fairgrounds. As they sprinted down the dirt road, they realized how much harder it was becoming to see and looked up. The storm clouds were spreading, quickly overtaking the boys and covering all of Royal Woods in inky blackness. Just as they stepped back onto the concrete road, the clouds unleashed a barrage of lightning onto the town. There was silence, and then…

Screaming. It started out as one or two, but then there were more and more, growing louder and louder until the sky was filled with an endless choir of fearful screaming. Trick-or-treaters were running, being chased by conjured up monsters. People were chased from their homes by possessed animals and haunted Halloween zombies, bats, witches, and skeleton decorations. It was total chaos.

"Lincoln, I can see your house!" Clyde cried.

The Loud residence came into view, getting closer and closer with each step, but the monsters had noticed the boys and were closing in on them, threatening to block their own path to freedom.

"Please let us make it! Please let us make it!" Lincoln begged. His legs were burning, threatening to melt and collapse from the continuous strain. With their window to life about to shut, the boys gathered every ounce of adrenaline their bodies could produce and, with a final burst of energy, sprinted past the monsters and into the house.

"The door!"

With a final glance out at the nightmare that had become Royal Woods, Lincoln slammed the door shut and locked it.

For once that night, he welcomed the darkness and the silence that came with it.