"Let's go to that house." Jackie pointed to the mansion on the hill. Cutter's Hill is what they called it. Or was it Coulter's? Jason did not know for sure. All he knew was bad things happened in that big house. His eighth-grade teacher, Mr. Romelson, claimed it was built in the late 1870s, a time, Jason casually referred to as the "cowboy" days.
With an axe, a crazed woman hacked up her whole family and disappeared on Halloween night, many years ago. Jason sat between Jackie and Jamal, unwrapping the chocolates they got from their tour of the neighborhood. In all, Twelve houses gave them candy. The Ericksons were out of state visiting family. The trio distressed at this; sweet Mrs. Erickson, knowing her favorite students, would actually give them slices of her homemade pecan pie, packaged in small plastic containers. As they snacked, Jackie retold the story of the horror on Cutter's Hill.
"She started with the old folks," said Jackie in his deep, fright-inducing voice, "she cooked 'em for dinner and everyone ate them without knowing who they were eating! Then, an hour before midnight, she finished 'em off."
"Why would she do that?" asked Jason.
"They say the moon told her to do it," answered Jackie.
The story had scared Jason so much, it made his skin crawl and his legs weak.
"Did they catch her?" Jason asked though he dreaded the answer.
"Nope," added Jamal, "she was nowhere to be found. Some say she still haunts the woods around the house."
Jason's bravery had run its course, at the mention of the house. He had so much energy when they started the night, finally having the courage to sneak out for his first-ever Trick-or-Treat. His parents looked down on such celebrations, something which Jason did not really understand. His dad, a dentist, was really strict with the eating of sweets, so Jason kind of understood him there. His mom just had some sort of belief against it, much like other things that included fun and excitement for her son.
But tonight was his lucky night! Like the Ericksons, Jason's parents were out for the night, celebrating their anniversary. Grandma Jen was tasked with watching him. She was just as strict as his mom, but that didn't stop him; Granny was an early and heavy sleeper.
His grandmother only stayed awake long enough to make sure he finished his homework and chores. When he was certain she had gone to bed, Jason threw on his costume and headed out to meet Jack and Jam on their bikes.
"So," pressed Jam, "are we going to do it or not?"
"Yeah," said Jackie, "let's do it. Jason, you're not scared, are ya?"
"No," Jason laughed, trying to hide his fear, "I'll even race you to the top."
So up the hill, they went. Nothing stood in their way besides a low fence that had a fallen tree. The mansion had an eerie feeling to it and it wasn't just because of the story. Unlike other abandoned buildings they'd seen strewn about the city, the ones they passed by on their way to school, it was strangely clean: no bottle of beer or clothing scattered around on the dirt, nor any graffiti.
Well, there was something, scratched onto the door of the house but it did not look like the work of a vandal. It looked like someone had carved stars, one over the other, onto the wood, rotated a few degrees each time. What remained of the paint peeled, but none of the windows were shattered; only layers of dust ruined them.
"uh ... " said Jam to Jason, breaking the silence, "you go first ... "
"Go first and do what?" said Jason with some fear in his voice, "like, no one is in there. I'm gonna go 'Trick-or-Treat!'"
"I'll do it," said Jackie complained, "I'm not scared. You babies stay back, now."
Jam and Jason sighed at the same time and followed Jackie to the porch, proving they were not scared. Jackie turned the ancient knob and the door, unlocked, opened easily. They tip-toed into the darkness without saying a word.
It was a full moon this Halloween night, and the light shining through the torn curtains added some guidance through the house.
Jason could not believe his eyes: everything was so organized and clean. It was as if though this place was not abandoned at all.
"Guys," whispered Jason, "I think someone still lives here, let's get out or they'll call the cops on us."
"Do you smell that?" said Jackie sniffing the air, too enticed to answer Jason's question, "smells like a pot roast."
Jackie ran off, apparently so hungry, he forgot they were breaking and entering.
"Jackie, you idiot! Get back here, Jason's probably right! Jack!" Jam chased after him.
Jason followed after the two, but he tripped over the rug in the foyer. He bruised his knee, got up, and went off in the direction he thought he saw them go.
The mansion was huge, and it was easy to get lost. After what felt like ages wandering, he found himself in what looked like a small library. The fireplace was lit, and so were a few candles on a shiny wooden table. Just like the rest of the interior, it looked fresh and new, almost as if it was just built yesterday.
Jason loved to read, and it was not because it was the only form of entertainment his mom allowed him; the movies on the weekends (or study sessions, as he called the when his mom asked where he was ) and Jack's comic book stash was great, but books had a certain allure to him.
Jason went to one shelf and pulled a book out: a red leather cover it had and its title was The Blue Wizard. Jason knew this one. An old book it was, probably as old as this house. Again, like the house, it was as crisp as a fresh copy.
He got lost in reading the first dozen pages and was taken out of his trance when he heard screams. They sounded like Jam and Jack.
"Guys?" He put the book down and ran to where he thought he heard the yelling.
He found himself entering the dining room, the grand table covered with steaming pots and dishware. The smell of food made his stomach growl. Jam and Jack were seated together on one side of the table. The two beckoned him over.
"Jason," said Jam, "over here!"
"Are you guys ok?" he asked them, confused "I heard you ... "
"Oh, it's nothing," said Jack, "Mrs. Love's cat just surprised us, that's all."
"Who's Mrs. Love?" said Jason as he neared his buddies and took a seat.
"She owns the house," said Jam, "she's serving us dinner, she's cooked for the whole house!"
Besides the seats they took, there was no one else in the dining hall. Clearly, something did not feel right.
"Let's get the hell out of here," whispered Jason, "I'm not touching a stranger's food."
"Relax, Jay," said Jack, "she's probably lonely and loves having guests."
"Even if they're random kids from the street?" retorted Jason, "There is no one here guys."
"Oh," said Jam, a weird smile on his face creeping up, "they are here."
There was nothing he could say to that so he just sat and waited uncomfortably. Forget this, thought Jason after three minutes of waiting quietly for this "Mrs. Love" to show up, I'm getting out of here. I'll ride to Jackie's house and tell his dad what's going on.
However, his butt was not even an inch off the padded seat when Mrs. Love walked in.
"Hello there," she said happily to the newcomer, "you must be Jason."
Manners glued him to the seat and he spoke kindly to the lady. Her clothing was frumpy and pale as if it was washed way too many times.
"Oh, I do hope you enjoy this meal I have prepared." The lady placed a covered platter in the center of the table. "The cook has been sick and my husband is not around to help me." All while speaking, the woman rarely took her eyes off him.
She took a seat at the head of the table. As she sat down, the sweet smell of roasted and stewed meat began to fade. Rather it changed. Now the room started to reek of spoiled meat.
"Now is the time to say grace," Mrs. Love said.
Jackie's parents were religious, so the dinner's at his friend's house taught him a few things in situations like this. He assumed the position, folding his hands in prayer as he thought one was supposed to, and bowed his head. Yet, Mrs. Love, and even Jack and Jam didn't do the same.
Instead, Mrs. Love stared out the window, locking her fingers together. To the full moon, she whispered something to it. Next to him, Jam and Jack did the same. Jason could only here bits and pieces of the chant:
"Sacred moon ... shine ... silver ... eye ... moon ... sacred moon."
"Let us feast," Mrs. Love said so suddenly it made Jason jump.
Her clothes were paler now; they looked like they were only colored with shades of grey at this point. In her faces, Jason saw that she had aged twenty years. She lifted the lid from the platter.
The head of the man hid behind the silver, his face stretched open in terror.
Jason was frozen with terror in his seat. What his friends were doing was not any better. They had roasted hands and feet on their plates greasy plates, Jam and Jack drooling all over it.
The eyes if the roasted head snapped to look into Jason's
"Something wrong?" the severed head asked him ever so politely.
He did not remember getting out of his seat. Before he knew it, he was sprinting past the library, screaming. Out the door he flew, jumping over the porch steps and running down the path they followed before.
At the foot of the hill, Jason could see blue and red lights flashing. Next to a few police cars, He saw Jackie talking to his dad. He could hear Officer Robinson talking about how he was grounded for sneaking out as he got closer. Jam was there too, shaking and drinking water out of a small cup. His mom sitting close and comforting him.
"Hey," said another officer as he saw Jason climb over the low fence, "there he is."
Unfortunately, they had woken Grandma Jen. The old woman shook her head at him, though relief for his safety was clear on her face.
"Your parents will hear about this, young man," she promised as she hugged him.
"How did you guys ..." Jason said to the duo, confused, "... weren't you up there?"
"Uh, No?" said Jam, "I ... We got out of there as fast as we could. I called my dad to get you out."
"What did you guys see?" asked Jason.
Jam and Jackie looked at each other.
"I don't want to talk about it," said Jam.
"It's probably some people trying to scare you," assured Officer Robinson, Jackie's dad, "it is Halloween."
The trio was lectured further by the adults about going into that house; about how it was old and they could have fallen through the floors or some dangerous people could have been living in it were a few reasons.
However, no one believed what the three of them saw, at least, the adults didn't. Jason wished he could go back to see if he can find some evidence that what he went through was not real, preferring the visit to be in the daytime when it was Spring, but even then, he didn't have the courage to go back. The summer of the year after, a sudden fire broke out in the woods. The smoke had made the neighborhood evacuate, and when he returned, the mansion was gone, along with the trees around it. Who or what that lady was and who or what those things were that looked like his friends, he would never know.
Jason would never forget his first Trick-or-Treat, though it happened quite late in his childhood. It certainly was not a treat, and he hoped, even to this day, it was only a trick.
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