From Mount Olympus, the immortals could see all of Greece. For some of them, they could see even further. That was the point of a particular meeting that Apollo had requested. His family gathered at the immortal palace, waiting for the god of prophecy to arrive. Ares went over to Athena with his arms crossed.
"It's his meeting. How's he going to be late?"
"Maybe he's started spending too much time around Dionysus."
The younger immortal heard his siblings talking and frowned, but he could not disagree with them. He had been the last to arrive out of the group that was there and the only one remaining was Apollo. Impatience began growing in the palace until the god entered. He was walking briskly and had a bright smile on his face. He also was holding a big bag. Before anyone could ask what he was doing, Apollo wrapped a fake hissing snake around Demeter's shoulders. She looked at the prop in confusion, then watched her nephew go over to put cat ears on Hestia. The goddess poked one ear and smiled. Hera seemed less amused when a hat with a buckle in its center was put on top of her head. Next, Apollo went to his uncles. Hades had devil horns placed on his head, then Apollo paused. Changing his mind, he put those on Poseidon instead and gave Hades a long, pointy hat. Zeus watched the whole scene play out in delight.
"What'll I get?" he asked excitedly.
"How about this?"
Apollo placed a tiny bat prop on his father's shoulder and it stayed there.
"I like it!" the king exclaimed, clapping. "Make sure to decorate your siblings and Aphrodite too!"
Already, the war gods were trying to stealthily escape. It helped that Apollo did not go to them first. He put a tiara on his twin's head as Artemis squinted at him in bewilderment. Hephaestus had an eyepatch and scarf wrapped around his head. Dionysus grinned when he was given a cloak with faux spider webs. Hermes also appeared fascinated by this, flying to his brother so that he could be adorned with a fluffy and fake octopus on top of his helmet. By this point, Athena and Ares had just reached the exit, the latter pulling Aphrodite along so that they could all escape. They were too late. Aphrodite was caught and given a dark veil with fake bugs which she pushed back so that it only covered her hair. Ares watched in dismay as a large scythe was pushed into his hand. Then Apollo gave Athena an exaggeratedly large brain that just had to fit perfectly on her helmet.
"Athena," Hermes said, a devious grin on his face. "That's a smart look."
"If you weren't immortal…"
The younger god laughed and Ares looked at his weapon. Testing it out, he poked Athena.
"The point of this blade is squishy," he remarked. "I can't use it to fight."
"You're not supposed to," Apollo informed him.
"What's the purpose of a weapon you can't use?!"
"Or this?" Athena added, gesturing to her new headpiece. "I think I can prove my intelligence without flashing my brain in front of everyone's eyes."
"I'm going to explain," Apollo assured them, putting on a lion's mane around his head. "I looked into the future and found out there's this holiday called Halloween. Eventually, mortals are going to use it to start dressing up—"
"Ooh! Dressing up," Aphrodite said, eyes twinkling. "Are the costumes pretty?"
"Sometimes. There's also pumpkin carving and getting sweet treats from one another in an event called trick-or-treating."
Hermes's eyes lit up at that. "Ooh, tricks! How many pranks are used during that?"
"Not that many. Sometimes, older children will prank neighbors, but the younger ones are normally just given treats."
"Boo."
"That's the spirit! That's what ghosts are supposed to say. Maybe I should've given you a ghost costume instead." He looked back at his family. "Sorry I was late. I was busy trying to make these since I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone. Outside of costumes, Halloween generally has people scaring each other half to death."
"Sounds good for business," Hades commented, tapping his chin.
"Sounds familiar too," Athena said. "It reminds me of a holiday called All Hallows Eve with its roots in Samhain. It's supposed to be in celebration of the harvest at the end of summer. Instead of pumpkins, they carve turnips."
Dionysus hiccupped. "No wonder the mortals changed that. Turnips are so teeny. Who'd want to carve one? You wouldn't be able to see its face." He paused. "Maybe turnips would be better suited for wine."
Athena looked at her little brother as he seriously considered this. "As I was saying, the idea of frightening outfits came from scaring off spirits who were believed to walk among men during that time."
"Nonsense," Demeter said. "Your uncle won't even let one spirit leave without there being some catch involved."
Hades sighed at the frown sent his way.
"It's just what they think. What I don't understand is how this is frightening," Athena said, gesturing to the brain. She pointed at her aunt. "For instance, Aunt Hestia. Why have you turned her into a cat?"
"It just fit her to me," Apollo answered. "I made all of these, so we could be festive."
Ares put an arm around his shoulder. "Now, what would be really scary is if this scythe worked."
"It's not supposed to. It's meant to be silly."
This caused the war god to frown. "I don't think I like this holiday."
"Well, I like it a lot," Zeus declared. "Athena, your brain looks very nice on you. Ares, stop complaining."
This hardly made either god feel better, but Athena just frowned as Ares quietly grumbled. Zeus turned to his other son.
"Apollo, what else would you like us to do?"
"Glad you asked! I want us to tell scary stories. I saw mortals doing that and it seemed like a lot of fun."
Dionysus's jaw dropped in excitement. "Stories? Like theater?"
"I guess so."
"Yes!"
Hera looked bored and glanced at her husband. "Stories, Dear? That seems very juvenile."
"Nuh-uh!" Zeus insisted, face turning to a pout. "It'll be fun. I want to do it." His eyes sparkled brighter than his lightning. "It'll be a challenge!"
"A challenge?" Apollo asked.
"Absolutely! We'll all sit down around a fire. Each turn, we'll tell one story that's designed to terrify one another. The last immortal to stay seated without screaming, crying, or showing any other display of distress wins!"
"That's not really what I had in min—"
"It'll be the greatest new holiday tradition we could ask for!"
Speedily, Zeus started walking away from Mount Olympus. He was reluctantly followed by his family. When the king found a place that he thought was suitable, he pointed at the ground.
"Hephaestus, put the fire right here."
Keeping in a sigh, the god snapped his fingers, making the fire appear. He was already seated in his specially designed chair, but the others sat as well. Soon, the family was circled around the flames.
"Hestia might as well start," Artemis suggested.
"What does that mean?" the older goddess asked, hearing an odd note in her niece's tone.
"Just that you're so…" Artemis gestured to the prop, "befitting kitten ears. You won't scare us and will probably go running first. At least this way, you still get to tell a story."
"I'm not that bad."
The following silence felt loud.
"Okay, maybe I am a little on the gentler side, but I bet I can still scare at least one of you."
Demeter patted her shoulder. "And it's that type of positivity that makes us love you."
Hestia frowned at her, then looked at the fire. "Well then, let's see what you all think of this. It was a cold day. Frigid even. All of Mount Olympus was covered in ice." She glanced up, looking for expressions of shock and finding none. "Everyone wondered what had happened. They thought it was the work of the titans! But alas, no. Upon entering the center of the palace, it was noticed that the halls had no shadows cast on them. It was completely dark…because the hearth had ceased to house the flames of Olympus! The whole world was plunged into darkness for the rest of eternity!"
The goddess covered her face, horrified at the thought. Peeking through her fingers, she saw her family staring at her. Zeus appeared unimpressed.
"Unrealistic. If the fire ever stopped burning, I'd just have Hephaestus make a better one."
"What about me?"
"That would've meant you failed, so I'd send you to Tartarus."
Hearing this, Hestia's face lost its color and she fainted. Hades caught her and gently set her down.
"She surprised me," he admitted. "I didn't expect her to lose without even hearing a story."
Artemis scooted over to where her aunt had been, rubbing her hands together. "One down. Who's next?"
"I'll go," Dionysus volunteered.
The others got quiet so that he could begin.
"There were these heroes and they had to go on a long journey. They were famous and beloved around the world, but the further from home they got, the more they stopped finding people who knew of them. They even started struggling recognizing each other. Before long, they had to constantly tell people their names and who they were, but it was like no one would ever believe them—like they never even existed!"
Dionysus dramatically put the back of his hand against his forehead. Hermes placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You're really the only one here who's had trouble convincing others who you were."
"Well if you all explored more of the world, maybe I wouldn't be!" he huffed, crossing his arms.
Aphrodite flicked the veil out of her face again. "Well, I might not be as well-traveled, but I've been around far longer. So, I think I'll be able to frighten somebody." She turned to Ares. "Just not you, beloved. We'll win this together."
He kissed her hand. "I never doubted it, my love."
Zeus rolled his eyes. "Get a room."
"I know you of all gods…"
Ares stopped before he got himself smote. Fortunately, Zeus barely was paying attention and continued speaking.
"Besides, I said one immortal will win and I think we all know who he'll be."
The frowns directed his way displeased the king. He shrugged and sat back on his hands.
"It's not my fault that I'm a natural winner."
Aphrodite gave Ares's hand a squeeze. "I suppose all's fair in love and war."
She ignored a gagging noise from Zeus as she started her story.
"Love is fickle sometimes and can cause as much pain as it causes joy. That's why there was a mortal who wished for it all to end. She couldn't take feeling love anymore. She'd lost everyone in her life. The only thing she was starting to feel was sadness and bitterness. To stop that, she came to yours truly. She asked to be spared from the fiery grasp of love…but of course, life's never that simple."
Intrigued, the immortals' eyes widened and they leaned forward.
"In place of love, her heart was filled with hatred. It was just as uncontrollable. When she saw a former friend of hers, she invited him home and…" Aphrodite moved her hand in front of her neck. "Slit his throat, then forced others to drink his blood."
Demeter cringed and Hephaestus gasped, looking a little ill.
"She continued doing this, killing more and more until the entire city consisted of only her. Still, she even had no love for herself. So, she jumped from the island's coast and broke into pieces on the rocks below." Aphrodite looked straight at Dionysus. "Her final thoughts were how she could have no love for even the simple pleasures in life…like wine."
Immediately, the god burst into tears.
"Two down!" Artemis cheered, shoulder bumping Apollo.
"Wait, no!" Dionysus cried, wiping his face. "I-I wasn't crying!"
"Your face is wetter than my place," Poseidon said, cackling. "Better luck next time, Nephew."
Head low, Dionysus moved away from the group.
"Yes, go to the shame circle," Zeus declared, pointing.
"That seems kind of harsh," Hades commented.
"Well, losers don't deserve the prideful circle, do they?" Zeus eyes, squinting at him.
His brother sighed and gave up. Therefore, Dionysus joined his aunt in the newly founded shame circle. Ares kissed Aphrodite for a job well done.
"It'll be my turn now," Artemis said. "On a dark night like this, they say that beasts prowl around the lands more, looking for prey. They'll even devour immortals."
"How would they do that?" Zeus asked, eyebrow raised.
"They're really special animals, Dad. Just trust me on this."
"Oh, okay. Continue."
"Anyway, they have a tendency to go for the eyes. That lets them get all the knowledge from the gods. At least, that's what the rumors were. One immortal didn't believe them. He thought that everyone was just telling him lies. So, he went out on his own, threw away his bow and arrows, then waited." She paused for dramatic effect. "Before he knew what was happening, one of the beasts lunged from beneath the ground and tore out his eyes!"
Artemis frowned when she saw Hephaestus genuinely yawn. Ares teetered his hand back and forth.
"Eh," he said.
"What do you mean 'Eh?'"
"It was pretty predictable," Athena elaborated. "You basically told us the end as soon as you started."
Artemis frowned and Apollo patted her back.
"I thought it was scary."
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"No, he didn't," Hermes whispered, getting a handful of dirt thrown at him.
"With that out the way, who wants to go next?" Zeus asked, ignoring the sounds of the immortal spitting out soil.
"I can!" Apollo volunteered happily. "I've been looking forward to this." He smiled brightly and scooted closer to the fire. "In a land far away, there was a mortal who went on a business trip. He stayed at the palace of a wealthy man, but he ignored the warnings of all the townspeople. More and more, he felt like he was being surrounded by oddness. It was like he was being watched all throughout the night. He couldn't even sleep. Then he realized that the owner of the castle was a vampire!"
"What's a vampire?" Aphrodite asked.
"It's a creature of the night that drinks blood from mortals from their necks."
"I've never heard of one of those before. Sounds romantic, though."
"It's not supposed to be romantic right now, but yeah, they'll be portrayed that way in the future. I saw it in my prophecy too."
Hephaestus lifted a brow and asked, "Is this story also from a prophecy?
"Well…" the other god paused sheepishly. "I might be using inspiration from a book that's going to be written."
Hermes began frowning and looked at Zeus. "Dad, Apollo's cheating."
"No, he's not!" Artemis protested.
"He's using books that don't exist yet!"
"This is plagiarism, Hermes," Athena told him.
Zeus stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Maybe just wrap this one up and you won't be disqualified."
"But I also saw this story where there are zombies everywhere and this guy and lady are stuck in a building at night and—"
"Apollo, my mind's made up."
The immortal crossed his arms, sighing. "That takes the fun out of it."
"Well, you can still finish your other story," Artemis said comfortingly.
"I guess," he commented, mouth curved down. "The vampire started drinking more mortals' blood, turned one into a vampire, then got staked through the heart. The end."
Bored, Poseidon leaned on his elbows. "Does anybody want to go who'll actually scare us?"
"That could be me," Demeter offered. "My story involves body horror."
Out of the corner of her eye, the goddess thought she saw Zeus look worried.
"It begins with a small bug that someone decided to eat. This creature was not just any bug. It was a parasite." Demeter put a hand against her face. "The parasite crawled its way through the poor fool's stomach and veins. More and more, it began to multiply. Soon, he noticed a sick feeling that he couldn't escape. He felt lightheaded and could barely see. It was like something was in his eye. He went to a lake to find out what it was and saw one of the parasites crawling out from under his eyelid." Demeter mimicked pulling out the parasite. "He tugged and tugged, continuing to draw it out of him, but it wouldn't stop. It was taking up his entire body. His organs were pushed out to make room. When he finally fell down, dead, he was just a skin casing for the parasites' lair."
The goddess stopped and Zeus looked green in the face. He swayed a little and even Poseidon squeezed a hand into a fist, willing himself to not shudder. Hades tilted his head as he considered if he had heard of someone dying from that. Hera's face was scrunched up and she put a hand over her mouth.
"Demeter," she said, shocked.
"Almost worked on those two," the goddess commented, looking at the lightning and sea gods.
This caused them both to scowl at her.
"But it didn't!" Zeus insisted.
"Not at all. Now, it's my turn now," Poseidon volunteered. He loudly cleared his throat. "It's about natural disasters. There was a group of friends who thought it would be wise to test me." He chuckled sinisterly. "They learned they shouldn't have because first, I created a great storm."
The god waved his trident in the air, causing the nearby waters to have strong waves. A giant one raised over the land.
"I drowned half of them."
Instantly, the wave crashed into the ground. The immortals were pushed roughly into the ground.
"And then, I broke up the earth!"
The wave calmed and Poseidon struck the earth with his trident, causing it to break up in many places. The immortals clung to the ground to keep still, but the earthquake damaged part of Hephaestus's chair. He started rolling away, eyes widening when he saw the enormous crater he was headed for. The immortal let out a yell, then stopped when Athena and Ares caught the chair with their spears, both still seated. Poseidon began laughing.
"Hephaestus is out."
The god's jaw dropped. "What?!"
"You screamed."
"Not from the story!" Hephaestus argued. "You nearly washed us away and made me fall through the earth!"
"But that was part of my story, so it was the story that made you scream."
Hephaestus frowned at his uncle. "Dad?"
Zeus tapped his chin. "You did scream, so…I guess you lost." He started snickering. "But I guess it's no surprise that you've got a fear of heights. I might be a little responsible for that."
He laughed harder, pretending like he was throwing something.
"Wow," Ares said, shaking his head.
"That's below the belt," Artemis mentioned, chiding.
"Yeah, that's sorta messed up, Dad," Hermes commented.
Zeus rolled his eyes. "So sensitive. He survived, didn't he?" The king shooed the crafter away. "Go on. Join the other failures."
Angrily, Hephaestus began fixing his chair so that he could roll away, grumbling, "My story would've scared the ambrosia out of you."
"Well, I guess we'll never know," Poseidon taunted.
When the immortal was gone, Hera yawned.
"How much longer do we have to do this?"
"Until you're all gone," Zeus informed her.
"Will it take much more time?"
"If you give it a chance, I'm sure you'll have fun, Lovebug."
Hera pursed her lips and sighed heavily. "I'll go next."
The gods became quiet so that she could start. She looked straight at the twins.
"My story is about a set of siblings who often irked their step-mother. One day, she gave them the option of just doing what she told them or being brutally beaten with their own weapons…for a second time."
Artemis paled and Apollo's eyes widened. Poseidon and Hermes stifled their chuckles as Hera glared down the duo. Reluctantly, they stood up.
"And now, we are two immortals closer to the end," the queen said, satisfied. "Who's next?"
"I wouldn't mind a turn," Hades stated.
"Are you going to scare someone away?"
The lord of the Underworld appeared offended. "I'm surrounded by the dead all year long."
"Yes, but you don't necessarily scare them to death."
"I could if I wanted to."
Hera regarded him doubtfully and Demeter shook her head.
"Persephone said the spirits of murderers disturb you."
"They should disturb you too!"
"Wouldn't disturb us," Ares said, gesturing between himself and Athena.
"Well, Nephew, you two are just violent. For anyone else, they are quite disconcerting."
"Hades," Hera said, irritated, "can you just tell this story so that we either lose a player or move onto the next turn?"
Hades frowned at her, but nodded. "Fine. In my story, there are ghosts."
"Ooh, surprising," Zeus said sarcastically.
"That don't judge others," Hades added, sending him a pointed look, "but they do haunt mortals. They are extremely malevolent spirits who torment them in the most mischievous ways."
"That sounds fun!" Hermes commented.
"No, it's not fun," Hades told him. "It's terrifying."
"I bet they'd pop up behind someone and say, 'Thought I was dead, didn't you?' I'd totally do that if I could die."
"Hermes, let me finish."
"Would they haunt those they loved?" Aphrodite asked. "I've often wondered if parents haunting their children was a good or bad thing."
"Probably depends on the parent," Demeter commented. "Dad in ghost form would still try to eat us. It would be strange."
Hades facepalmed and grunted. "Forget it. I relinquish my turn. It's clearly not going to work at this rate."
"Sorry, Uncle," Athena apologized for the others. "I suppose it should be my turn now. Mine will be a psychological thriller."
"Nobody's being shocking yet," Hermes said.
"Don't tempt Dad," Ares whispered.
Athena shot them both a look and they quieted down.
"Immortality could be a curse to some gods," she began. "The immortals saw this with one goddess. Her body remained the same, but her mind was being lost to time. She saw endless death, pain, and suffering. It tore away at her until the other immortals thought that she had gone mad. When they would see her, she seemed to walk in a trance, selecting random mortals to kill and other gods to attack. Fortunately, she tended to rest during the night in a cave. The other immortals knew about this cave and went there once. Her behavior had grown too erratic. She needed to be stopped. Therefore, they traveled in a group, prepared to send her to Tartarus. When they reached the cave, they realized something…the goddess was not there. They went to the mortals, asking if they had seen her, but no one had. Even the Fates never wove her into the tapestry."
Athena paused, looking up at the others. They waited with bated breath.
"She had never existed. The immortals just created her in their minds to justify their own actions. It was simpler to blame her for the cruelty in the world than face their own faults. With this realization, they were driven to the same madness that their creation had succumbed to."
Silently, the other gods looked at one another. Demeter stood up, brows furrowed.
"I…need to go think about this."
The other gods seemed like they were in deep thought, but they did not leave.
"Nobody else left," Hermes taunted.
"Because Auntie is the only one who cares for deep thinking like I do," Athena stated, lifting her head.
Hermes stuck his tongue out at her. "I'm up next. My story's about a slasher. He was faster than lightning."
"Excuse me?" Zeus asked, frowning.
"Almost as fast as lightning."
"That's more like it."
"The point is, he was fast. He'd slash anybody he wanted and no one could stop him. It was like he was everywhere! He'd just materialize out of thin air and cut someone open!"
The other gods' brows raised.
"That's hardly frightening for immortals," Poseidon commented.
"I didn't say that he used a normal weapon."
This got their attention.
"He used a special weapon that could cut gods. In fact, he targeted them." Hermes's voice went into a lower register. "He wanted to take Mount Olympus for himself."
The immortal heard his father gasp.
"He could go after them individually, spilling ichor in his wake. They never saw him coming."
Aphrodite's eyes widened as she saw a figure appear in front of her. Yelping, she fell backwards. She frowned when she saw the figure vanish. Hermes's laugh filled her ears.
"Got you!"
"You must've moved!"
"Nope, simple illusion."
Aphrodite scowled at him, then sadly looked at Ares. "I guess I'll have to leave, my darling."
The goddess held his hand for as long as she could. He kissed it until she had to let go and walk away from the circle.
"I'll avenge you!" the war god declared passionately.
Ares glared at Hermes, who just kept laughing.
"It's on now. My turn."
Poseidon appeared unamused, closing his eyes to feign a yawn. "I'm sure it'll be very scary," he snarked. "You'll probably just tell us a generic story about war times. What do you know about real fear?"
The immortal's eyes opened when he heard maniacal laughter. Ares had a wild look in his eyes.
"What do I know about fear?" he asked, laughing more wildly. "I raised him!"
Poseidon began paling, having forgotten about his great-nephew. Ares set his helmet down, letting his wide smile be seen. He looked at his sister.
"Psychological thrillers are nice, but sometimes, nothing beats raw, primal terror. My story doesn't start in a traditional war. It's about the monster who caused it. There was a royal advisor who'd craved power his entire life. Finally, he saw his opportunity. He decided to [Redacted for the purposes of sparing innocent minds]"
Halfway through the story, Hermes could no longer take it and flew away as fast as his sandals could take him. Hades made it further, then turned away from the fire to regurgitate his last meal of nectar. In a few more minutes, Hera was drenched in so much sweat that fear was evident. At the last moment, Poseidon ran to the water, letting out a groan. He used it to rinse his face.
"It's like that story got in my eyes!" he lamented. He sucked in a shaky breath. "Is this what trauma feels like?!"
Ares grinned proudly, giving a happy wiggle. Athena nodded her head, impressed.
"Well done," she said, high-fiving him.
"Thanks!"
Hera was still too shaken to say anything and Hades had not stopped throwing up. Angrily, Poseidon looked at his remaining sibling.
"I know war gods are just made differently, but how are you still there?"
"Huh?" Zeus asked, squinting.
Poseidon's brow rose and he went over to his brother. His jaw dropped when he noticed something.
"You put thunder in your ears!"
"No, I didn't!"
"I can hear it!"
"Dad!" Athena and Ares called, frowning.
Zeus stared at them, wide-eyed. "Well, I…needed to check that my thunder was still sounding good. Yep, flawless as always. Guess I'm good to go. Is it my turn yet?" He looked around, seeing no one else who had not gone. "Guess it is."
Ignoring the siblings' glares, the king began his story. He exaggeratedly gestured outwards.
"My story will be the best anyway. After all, it's from my mind. Once upon a time, there was a land of mortals who were all stupid."
Athena frowned, feeling personally attacked by this strategy.
"They were so dumb that they couldn't even do basic mathematics."
The goddess of wisdom held in a gasp.
"When asked what wise meant, they thought that the mortal had a speech impediment and meant 'rise.'"
Athena fanned herself, feeling a little faint. Ares gave her other hand a squeeze.
"Hold in there, Sis!" He frowned at the king. "This isn't a horror story. You're just trying to make Athena pass out."
"If she does, I'll be closer to winning!" Zeus exclaimed eagerly.
A wave of determination entered the goddess. "No, I'm fine. Continue."
Zeus's grin fell, then his eyes twinkled. "Alright. That's not my only story."
"We're supposed to have one story," she reminded him. "Remember?"
"True…luckily, this is more of a prop than a story."
The king became silent for a moment, then tossed something at Ares.
"Catch!"
Instinctively, the god caught the item. It was not until he already had it in his grasp that he realized what it was. Looking down, he saw a bronze jar. Immediately, the immortal threw the item and yelled, running off. Athena tried to catch his hand, but he was already gone. She quickly grabbed the item.
"Ares, it's not real!" she called. "It's made of wood! It's just painted to look bronze!"
The goddess frowned when she heard Zeus cackling. He had rolled to his side and tears were in his eyes. The king tried to stop long enough to talk. He pointed at his daughter.
"You stood up, Athena. That means I won!"
Athena just frowned as she ran after her brother. Zeus wiped away a stray tear and sighed.
"Ah, I think I'm going to like Halloween."
