My favorite holiday is coming, so I have for you an original story!

All Hallows Eve:

                       A Tale of Terror

                              …sort of.

                              By

                 Nicole Kapise Perkins

                       ‘Twas All Hallow’s Eve

and all through the house

everyone was cowering in fear

of a vampire mouse.

Ragged socks hung dripping

by the fireplace with dread;

we hoped Jack O’Lantern

wouldn’t stuff them with shrunken heads.

The dumb supper was set out,

a plate of bread and a horn of stout;

carved pumpkins glared ghastly grins,

guarding those that slept within.

From the woods there came a howl and a shriek,

on the steps a creak;

I dove to the floor and rolled under my bed,

dragging a quilt to hide my head.

Something slimy snuffled and burbled,

my stomach quivered and gurgled.

Mom told me not to eat so much candy;

now a monster will hear it and eat me, isn’t that just dandy.

An evil green glow lit the floor

between me and the door.

I told myself to escape

before it was too late.

“Now come, little boy, come out and play.

We’ve only a few hours till the break of day.

Our fangs are sharp, our claws are long.

Come out and play little boy, before it’s dawn.”

The bed was picked up and tossed aside;

a sight so awful met my eyes I nearly died.

A goblin, a troll, a demon from the gloom

were standing in the middle of my room!

Eerie white light ghosted along in the hall,

from the noises downstairs all kinds of beasties were having a ball.

It was clear these monsters wouldn’t let me go.

I decided to join them. Hey, you never know.

The goblin slid down the banister,

then an afreet and a litch.

A ghost walked through me

and I didn’t even twitch.

Kobolds cavorted on the couch,

a golem gamboled on the lawn;

the leaf piles had been kicked everywhere.

I hoped they’d clean up their mess before dawn.

Amid all the chaos

I beheld a sight quite dear:

sitting at the dumb supper

Grammy and Gramper, both dead many a year.

I tiptoed across the rug

past a sleeping werewolf to say hello.

They smiled and nodded silently;

soon they’d have to go.

The ghosts and beasties

would fade away

with the coming of the sun;

and dawn would bring an end to all this fun.

Cthulu suggested a round of Twister;

a chorus line of zombies began doing Thriller on the deck.

I won the game of Twister

but gave myself a kink in my neck.

We sang along to The Corpse Bride

and toasted marshmallows in the fireplace.

Unbeknownst to us,

the sun rose at a steady pace.

Goblins and beasties began to fade away.

The sun rose brightly on All Soul’s Day,

and All Hallow’s Eve became

a memory for a later day.

As the last ghost faded from sight

a hollow voice echoed from far away:

“Be ready for a Twister tournament on the next Hallow’s Night,

and many blessings to you on this All Soul’s Day!”