Halloween ah yes the one night of the year that the walls that keep the dead and the living from one and another fade away allowing smooth travel in-between this realm the and next. In today’s age many of the youth forget about the magical sometimes even dark side to what has become a night of carefree mischief and collection of sugar infused treats. I too use to share this naïve mind set until I encountered my first brush of something not of this psychical world we live within. My first taste of evil if you will the date was October 31st 1986 I was 16 years old and it would change my view on Halloween and life forever.
It was an extra cold fall morning my alarm woke me up with a blast of the all too familiar lyrics “From my laboratory in the castle east to the master bedroom where the vampires feast”. I opened my eyes in anticipation that song meant only one thing today was the day the one event of the year that I truly craved it was all hallows eve. I leaped from my bed quickly grabbing a plastic bag from my desk and my favorite ripped up Danzig t-shirt from the back of my chair. I disappeared into the bathroom for many hours my eyes fixed into the reflection of my human face in the mirror transforming layer by layer with the help of various shades of makeup and latex.
“Ah Tom savini would be proud” I thought to myself as I splashed on just a few more sprays of fake blood. Giving me that freshly murdered and drug through the woods look that I worked so hard to achieve this year.
Out the door I rushed just barely remembering to grab my backpack and the make shift yet ultra realistic looking fake machete I had made the night before. I ran so hard and fast that my legs burned and I wheezed with each breath until I saw my best friend and partner in crime leaning against a quickly approaching tree.
“Bout time shithead” he said flipping his half smoked cigarette to the curb. Before it even hit the ground he was reaching for a fresh one and his skull engraved Zippo.
“We’re burning daylight man we’ve got a lot of ground to travel before nightfall” he reminded me as he flipped his backpack over his shoulder.
Without missing a step we started down the street our feet in perfect sync with only one thing on our minds. Tonight was the night that we were going to spend the night inside the old widow’s mansion. It may sound cliché even silly but that’s only because you have never seen this house that remained the most infamous building in our small town for many decades.
Legend had it that the house was built for the widow as a token of the undying love of her soon to be husband. He came from a very rich family as blue blood as they come they were very much in love and their romance was talked about by all the towns people as something nothing less than enchanting. The entire town was over ran with excitement their wedding day came closer and closer it was sure to be the biggest event the townsfolk had ever witnessed. Then the news came everyone was shocked and heartbroken to find out that the young man had been in a terrible accident. The widow a much younger and beautiful lady back then had always dreamt of riding down the aisle on matching white horses but her lover was quit afraid of the creatures and had never rode one. As a surprise to his bride he had been receiving lessons masking them as out of town business calls. No one really knows what happened just that his horse was spooked and he was tossed from its back his head cracking against a sharp stone causing him to bleed to death before ever reaching any form of medical attention. When the bride was given this horrible news she changed both inside and outside. The town’s people stopped seeing the young woman her lawn grew higher and higher and for months and month’s rumors ran ramped throughout the small town. After no sign of the woman for what felt like an eternity a group of local kids finally took it upon themselves to enter the home. They slowly worked their way up the endless flights of stairs. Each level of the house a rancid smell gained more and more strength almost screaming turn back to the boys. Finally they all took the final step lining up side by side none said a word for a moment only gasped in horror before storming from the home screaming one boy throwing up in the lawn as soon as he cleared the mansions front door.
“What did they find?” “What is it they saw that was so terrible?”
Hanging from doorway of her upstairs bedroom swung the now decaying corpse of the young widow covered in various bugs that had began to eat away at her blue lifeless flesh.
Only one family lived in that home after the houses image was forever tainted by this terrible tragedy. They managed to stay there for 3 months before abandoning the home never even bothering to put it back on the market. Over the years many teenagers and other curious minds have entered the house staying for only short periods of them before running out with fear in their eyes. But not us not tonight we were going to spend the night and become legends.
The sun was just setting as we finally got the nerve to approach the door of the towering mansion. We had spent hours just standing in the jungle like yard surveying the outside of the home trying to get the courage to step foot inside this house of horrors.
“Screw it man, It’s do or die and we both know legends never die” my friend yelled trying to mimic the badass tone of Bruce Campbell one of our person heroes.
Without warning he grabbed his backpack and walked up to the door at full speed. I quickly followed behind stopping for a moment just in time to watch the front door swing open and my friend take the first step inside. I entered and stood to his side much like the boys from the story we grew up hearing year after year. Our eyes peered scanning every inch of the house that we could see. It looked like something you’d see in a drive in horror movie 50s furniture and décor covered in thick layers of dust and spider webs. Sticks and leaves covered the floor most likely blowing in over the years from the broken side window. The smell god I will never forget that smell I imagine it would be the odor left behind after years of use of an embalming room the scent of death.
Slowly we started up the stairs walking room to room on each floor. Nothing happening we both were starting to believe this was a story to be filed away along with the Easter bunny and Santa Claus. Bored and coming to the conclusion that this was going to be easier than we thought we decided to take a break before moving up the never ending staircase. We both flopped down on a dirty covered couch a cloud of dust filling the air as we laughed and coughed at the sheer cheesiness of the situation.
Then we heard the sound a low high pitch squeal accompanied by a soft scratching sound. We looked at each other for a moment before laughing.
“And then I saw the hook!” I said aloud mocking the sound.
My friend burst into laughter and at the same time we heard a loud boom echo throughout the house causing us both to jump at the same time. Our hearts raced to the point they felt like they were going to tear themselves out of our chests and flee the scene at their own will. We both lit up a cigarette without saying a word trying to calm ourselves before we let our imagination get out of hand. After all it was just a story nothing more than a ruse to scare children and add a little excitement to small town life. We spent much of the night in that room killing time knowing we’d have to reach the top before the sun comes out. A photo of the others standing outside from the top floor window was the final piece of proof required to make us the coolest kids this town has ever known.
Together we started up the stairs skipping the last two floors heading straight to the mission at hand. If we were ever going to escape our mundane life of lower class society and join the popular kids at the top of the food chain we were going to have to stare fear in the face. This is the moment in time that will be burnt into my eyes for the rest of my life in this plane. It haunts every second of my existence both when I sleep and when I’m awake.
My friend made it up first he made no sound said not one word. And I never heard him say anything after either as I walked up the final steps I saw him standing in the door way of the first room motionless. I reached for his shoulder to make sure he was alright and his body fell backwards like a statue. His skin pale white his face contorted into a horrible face mimicking a scream of pure terror. I raised my head once again and there I saw her covered in maggots and flies her eyes locked onto my own. She swung side to side her toe nails scrapping across the decaying wood floor she reached out towards me as I let out a scream that could be heard in the deepest darkest confines of space.
I woke up the next morning in a hospital bed I sat up letting out the last few notes of the scream that I had started the night before. My parents quickly rushed to my side putting their arms around me and telling me everything was ok. They demanded to know what happened in that house the night before. My only answer which remains the same even today when asked was “We found evil”.
My friend died that night of a severe heart attack it was found out later that the kids we entered the home to impress had also mounted a dummy swinging from a nose in the upstairs bedroom. But what I saw, no, what we saw was no dummy and I will never forget the look of anger in the old widow’s eyes at the thought of being mocked by the cold heartless living.
Happy Halloween From The Liberal Dead! May you're season be filled with endless screams.
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