Holidays meant a lot to some people. Mala was realizing that her husband was one of these people. She found his excitement for Halloween cute. He was eagerly carving away at a pumpkin, showing off those knife skills that she loved so much. Their home already had several pumpkins outside. Dagur had wanted to keep some around for decorative purposes throughout the entire month and since pumpkins spoiled so soon after being carved, that meant he had a lot of carving to continue doing. It was not as though he minded. This would be the last jack-o-lantern of the season. When Dagur was finished, he wiped his hands and beamed.
"Ah, Halloween, the only time when you can say that you're covered in guts and nobody gives you a weird look," he said, laughing. Gesturing to the pumpkin, he added, "What do you think, Malapoo?"
Mala approached and looked at the autumn squash. It was of a monster that she had never seen before. It had fangs, eyes that seemed to peer into her soul, and a face that would give children nightmares.
"It is perfect," she complimented. "I am sure that the trick-or-treaters will be fleeing as fast as their little feet can carry them."
"You know it!"
Dagur laughed again, thrilled for what the night would bring. Most of the families in their neighborhood just put out candy. He found that boring. No, he wanted to give the kids an experience. Anyone who came to their house had to be brave. If they earned the candy, they could eat it.
"Are you almost ready to go to the orchard?" Mala asked.
Her husband nodded, eyes bright. "Yep! Let me just put this bad boy out with the others and I'll be ready."
Quickly, he grabbed the pumpkin and found a nice spot near the entrance. Dagur placed a glow stick inside its head for later. It would glow red, hopefully adding to an even scarier atmosphere. When he was done, he and Mala got in the car and started going. Their car was not exempt from being festive. A bat was dangling from the rearview mirror, making Dagur grin more whenever its tiny wings flapped. Mala would have thought he was taking turns sharper to cause this, but it really would not have mattered if the bat were there or not. Dagur's Halloween playlist was playing through the car's speakers and drew some attention when they reached the orchard. He hopped out the vehicle and got the door for Mala.
"You've got to try their apple cider slushies," he said. "They're to die for."
The redhead added a maniacal laugh to this, face turning into a devious grin. Mala could do little more than chuckle at the sight. She followed him the way inside of a barn. There, Dagur greeted the worker cheerfully.
"We'll have two of your cider slushies and a case of your pumpkin donuts, please."
Dagur handed over some money, then turned to grin at Mala again. From the way he was acting, she was sure that even the finest feast would be unable to compare to what she was about to try. Eagerly, the redhead accepted the treats, handing her the slushy. He did not even start drinking his yet. He wanted to watch her try the beverage first. When she did, Mala's eyes lit up.
"Told you!" he exclaimed happily. "Now, try a bite of this."
He brought a donut up for Mala to bite, which she gladly did. It was as delicious as the drink.
"How have I not come here before?" she wondered.
"Because we weren't married last year," he said, looking proud. "Now that we are, I get to take you to all the best places."
Mala chuckled at him and nodded. "It does seem that way, but remember that I have a spot I want to show you as well."
"And I can't wait for it," Dagur stated, eyes twinkling.
For the time being, they returned home. While it was still bright out, the couple wanted to prepare some festive foods. They made centipede corn dogs, brain spaghetti, blood punch, and bat brownies. It had hardly turned to dusk when the trick-or-treaters arrived. Dagur sighed heavily, shaking his head when he saw them coming down the street.
"I remember going out in the dead of night," he recalled. "It's just not as fun if the sun's still out."
"But it could be more dangerous otherwise," Mala noted.
"Exactly! I always loved that part." He dramatically pointed to the right. "Is that a shadow or a masked killer? Who knows! The fun is finding out." Dagur's face started to be covered in a devilish smile. "At least we keep some of that magic ready for the kiddos."
He let out a laugh when the doorbell rang.
"Showtime," he said in a sing-song voice.
The man grabbed a bag of candy and went to the door. Already, the children were looking wary of the grotesque pumpkins. What did not help was the tarantula that fell on them as soon as the door was opened. They squealed, some running back.
"Hey, it's okay!" Dagur assured them, poking the prop. "See? It's not real."
Feeling more at ease, the children went forward. They reached into the bag, then screamed again. Once they brought their hands out, there was a blood-like substance on them. Dagur glanced down.
"Oh, that's where we put the last trick-or-treaters."
A chorus of screams was heard as the kids ran away from the home. Dagur could not stop laughing and Mala felt a little bad for laughing as well.
"Do not do this with our own children," she requested.
"Won't have to. They'll carry on the tradition of scaring everyone for me," he declared proudly. He wiped away a stray tear. "It'll be beautiful."
Mala could only shake her head as she watched him clean up the spilled candy. Dagur got bored too easily to repeat the same tricks every time someone came by. For the next set of kids, he hid in the bushes. He lunged with several blades that Mala hoped were fake. Dagur went back inside for a moment.
"I think that got a bigger scream out of them."
"Probably because they assumed their lives were in immediate danger."
"Yeah! That's what I was thinking too. I'll do more of that."
"Their parents might not appreciate this."
Dagur shrugged. "I mean, we've got a decapitated zombie on the front lawn. I'm pretty sure anyone who comes up has an idea of what they're in for."
He reached out, holding Mala's hands. The blonde would not have been able to separate him from a puppy if asked.
"We haven't done a scare together yet. Please?"
To be more persuasive, Dagur kissed her arm up to her cheek. Mala was dipped and he kissed her neck. He lingered there for a moment, mischievousness in his eyes.
"You know, if I were a vampire…"
His wife playfully bit at him. "Darling, we both know I would be the vampire between us."
Dagur laughed and helped Mala back onto her feet. "I can accept that. I'm more the werewolf type anyway."
"Werepup perhaps."
Dagur gave her that look again. "Does this mean you will?"
After thinking about it for a moment, Mala nodded. "What is Halloween if we are not emotionally scarring people?"
"That's the spirit!"
The redhead beamed and showered her with more kisses.
"Definitely a werepuppy," Mala commented, smiling.
The blonde glanced down as she was handed a pretend ax. Dagur then went to the kitchen and got some fake blood packets.
"You'll use that to kill me!" he exclaimed gleefully. "A lover's quarrel. Crime of passion! Happens all the time."
"I hope not 'all the time.'"
Taking the weapon, Mala sliced the air gracefully. Dagur watched in glee.
"Ax-wielding maniacs have never been prettier."
Mala went over to Dagur, caressing his face with the flat of the blade. "Nor have their victims been so cute."
Before they could start kissing again, the doorbell rang.
"Here we go," Dagur said excitedly.
He went to the door first, standing in front of Mala so that the visitors would not see her.
"Happy Halloween!" he cheered, smiling at the children.
Before he could hand over any candy, Mala moved from behind him, getting him with the ax. The blood packets burst and Dagur grunted in faux agony, falling to the ground right in front of one trembling goblin. As soon as he did, the trick-or-treaters ran screaming.
"Admit it," he said, standing back up. "That was fun."
Mala could not contain her smile. "I will admit that it was an enjoyable experience."
"One that you'd do again?"
"Quite possibly."
"Great! I normally try to get the older ones too. When I was a teenager, I'd go around the neighborhood and scare anyone I found." He chuckled sheepishly. "Someone didn't find it too funny and called the cops. So, we should probably just do it around the house from now on. Halloween in a holding cell is somehow less fun than it sounds."
Mala laughed and nodded. "I shall keep that in mind."
The two of them continued to scare the trick-or-treaters, but not many more came by. Whether word had spread of the terrifying antics or if it was just becoming too dark, the children were no longer coming for tricks or treats of any kind. That meant that the couple had a chance to go get ready for their evening. Mala was getting dressed as a zombie. She had dyed her hair and was puting on black lipstick while looking through the mirror to see Dagur preparing his costume. His hair was black as well and he had made his face bluish-gray, working with the color naturally there because of the tattoo. He staggered over in full zombie mode.
"Scary?" he asked.
"Terrifying. What about me?" Mala asked, getting up to show off the ensemble.
Dagur let out a howl, causing himself to be whacked.
"You are not a werewolf, remember?"
"Maybe not, but that look still deserves a howl if you ask me."
Another playful whack went into his arm. Giggling, Mala let herself be scooped up.
"Your haunted carriage awaits, my undead love," Dagur declared.
The pair started heading to the car, then zoomed off. This time, Mala was in charge of getting them there. She was the only one who knew where exactly they were going. A line of people appeared before the location did. Dagur moved closer to the window, watching with increasing excitement as a giant building came into view.
"A haunted house," Mala stated. "I went here with my parents when I was a child."
"A child?" Dagur asked, shocked. "They started you off young with horror. I respect it."
Mala smiled fondly at the memory. She was already looking forward to her husband's response to what was awaiting them. The people at the haunted attraction took this very seriously. Even those in the line were able to have fun. A few people with chainsaws were lurking in the corn fields. Every once in a while, they would jump out and scare someone walking by. The sounds of screams were noticeable from inside the building. It added to the anticipation. At last, it was time for the couple to enter. The floor gave out when they did.
Dagur and Mala plummeted onto a pile of something squishy. Looking down, they saw maggots. The pair quickly got up and started walking forward. They did not get much further before several cockroaches began approaching on the walls. It was difficult to see the rest of the wall with so many of them there. Squeezing closer together, the duo kept going. They stopped when they were at what seemed to be a dead end. Suddenly, a wall opened with several people lunging out. They grabbed the couple by the arms, yanking them into this hidden passageway. It was pitch black inside. Something cold and gooey dripped onto Dagur's neck. Lightning flashed, temporarily illuminating the area. When it did, Dagur saw a creature on the ceiling. Its jaws were wide and it had five legs, a bumpy body, and sharp claws.
The couple speedily kept going. They had to stop when a sledgehammer was brought down in front of them. Leaping, they went over this and continued. They started to hear music. It was low and sounded like a spell was being cast. All of a sudden, it was difficult to go forward. The floor was moving backwards. On its own, that would have been fine, but it was paired with a horde of masked slashers who were waiting on the unmoving part of the ground. Delighted by the challenge, the couple started speeding up. They ran faster than the floor could move them back. They reached the other side, finding a giant spider web. At one end, there was a spider with dripping dangs. If the duo wanted to leave, they would have to go beneath the web. It was crawling towards them, getting closer with each second it took to get nearer to their escape. Still, they got low and reached the end of the haunted house. Dagur laughed happily and clapped his hands.
"Your parents are the kind of sick that I can get behind!" he exclaimed. "No wonder they love me so much."
Mala smiled, pleased with his reaction. "Does this mean that you enjoyed the attraction?"
"It was awesome! We'll have to make our own haunted house someday."
"We absolutely should," Mala said, looping her arm around Dagur's.
The pair went home to enjoy their festive dinner. When they were done, there was one last spooky activity to partake in. Turning out the lights, they went outside and lit a small fire.
"They say the best ghost stories have you looking over your shoulder for a month," Dagur stated.
"Then prepare to be terrified for a while," Mala said confidently. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "There is a tale of a young girl who was intrigued by the occult. She dedicated her entire life to these practices, always believing that the reason her power would not reveal itself was because she was not trying hard enough. More and more, she continued to push herself to her limits. That was when she made a realization. She had not tried a blood sacrifice yet. One night during a full moon, she went to her mentor and…" Mala stopped, stabbing at the air, "stabbed her in the stomach."
Dagur's eyes widened, but he scooted forward more.
"This was the first of many kills," Mala revealed. "She killed until she had enough blood to fill a cauldron. Then she tried her first spell, but it still did not work. So, she attempted one more sacrifice. She dunked her head into the cauldron and stayed there until the light faded from her eyes."
She paused and Dagur's jaw dropped.
"You can't end there! Who found her?"
"The authorities did when they began looking into the murders. Oddly, she was seen again after this. On nights of the harvest moon, her spirit can still be seen looking for new blood."
The clouds moved away, revealing a full moon in the sky. Dagur felt the chill of the season and story. Then he grinned.
"Ooh, good one. I like that. Okay, now it's my turn. Get ready to be scared out of your mind, Malapoo."
A challenging look was in the woman's eyes. "Try your best."
Dagur looked at the fire, eyes twinkling. "It all began with a fire like this one."
Curiously, Mala sat forward slightly.
"There was a family who had recently lost their son. He loved fire and would always play with matches despite being told not to. Eventually, it got out of hand and he burned down the house while his parents were out. By the time they got back, there was no sign of him. It was like he just vanished. They nearly went bankrupt trying to look for him and move into another place. To save money, they had to start using candles…That's when they noticed something."
Mala's eyebrow rose in fascination.
"In the flames, it sounded like their son was talking to them," Dagur continued. "They thought his spirit had entered fire itself. Whenever they lit a candle or a flame in general, they sensed him. They told everyone they knew, but nobody believed them. They all thought the parents had lost it, but that didn't stop them from lighting more fires. They started setting them around town so that everyone could hear their son. It was like they were possessed. Before anyone could stop them, the entire town was engulfed in flames. Now, it's all just ash. The only proof any of it even happened is when you light fires. You can still hear the quiet voices of the family, encouraging people to free them by spreading their flames." Dagur changed his voice slightly. "Free us, Mala."
The wife shuddered and looked at the fire in a different way. "Well, you, Sir, have ruined a perfectly good bonfire."
Dagur laughed. "Happy to do it too."
Mala smiled back and went over to sit by him. "This has been a nice holiday."
"The best," Dagur said, nuzzling his head against hers. She turned so that he could kiss her on the lips. "Happy Halloween, Mala."
"Happy Halloween, Dagur."