THE WIDOW'S WALK LEAGUE

MY NEXT VICTIM THIS HALLOWEEN!

IS NANCY LYNN JARVIS

Thanks, Nancy, for agreeing to be part of the fun.

Drum roll for Nancy's

Halloween Interview & Flash Fiction Challenge

     1.  You're born on Halloween and have the ghostly evil super powers of one of the following: The Ghost from Poltergeist, The Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, The most Evil of Witches, The Devil himself, Freddy Kruger, Pumpkin Head, Michael from Halloween, or Jason from Friday the 13^th. Alternatively, if you prefer, pick one of your own. Otherwise, tell us which one you would choose and why? No friendly ghosts allowed! You're to wreak havoc in this scenario!

I would use the ghost of the drunken seventeen year old who fell into the frigid Pacific when he tried to pee off a cliff near Davenport. He died on Halloween, the day the first Regan McHenry Real estate mystery was published. He lurks under the waves and drags surfers who are foolish enough to surf alone off their boards to a watery death deep in the ocean.

       2. The Zombie Apocalypse is going to occur this Halloween and for 48 hours, the world is thrown into chaos. Live through it and consider yourself lucky, you've been warned. What is your first step, especially as no one else knows or believes you? Do you leave family behind and seek shelter to ride it out, or do you try to save your family? How and why?

 I’d try to save not only my family, but a group of friends. I’d invite them to a Halloween party at an abandoned factory which has been carefully sealed with concrete in the windows. Once inside, I’d close a massive metal door and secure it with many bolts and beams. We’d party through the whole apocalypse.\

     3.  Because of the time of your birth, (see the 1^st question) the angels have decided to forgive your sins and are offering to remedy one evil that now exists in the world, but only one! Which would you choose and why?

I’d put the Middle East back together because it’s such a cruel place at the moment.

4.   Why is Halloween a favorite holiday, or not a favorite, and if it isn't why did you participate in this query? Come on; tell us your biggest most secret Halloween fantasy!

Opening from “The Widow’s Walk League” which explains why Halloween is so appealing not only in Santa Cruz, but everywhere. “Halloween in Santa Cruz coupled unbridled creativity with people freed from their normal inhibitions. The night was festive and exhilarating, but with so many people anonymous behind masks, there was always the potential for trouble.”

 I’ve seen my Halloween fantasy done. The reactions of the people who were given a piece of paper with their death date on it by a person in a black shroud was so spectacular, I used it in the book. I may do that again this Halloween.

 Now the fun part: Finish the story. I've given you the first 100 words. Provide us with the rest, but please hold the number to 750 words or less unless the restriction is just impossible then no more than 1000 words. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card. The contest will be judged by another lover of the horror genre, the person to be announced later. The winner will be posted no later than a week after Halloween!

DESPERATION HOLLER

Jerry sauntered along Desperation Holler Road that earlier echoed with the excited shouts of ghosts and ghouls as the children scrambled from house to house in colorful and frightening costumes.

Dusk dissolved into the blackest of nights as the little monsters disappeared into the shelter of the brightly lit houses with their chocolate goodies.

Jerry smiled, even suppressed laughter, because he knew there was no refuge, not in Desperation Holler on this most evil of Halloweens.

Concealed by the dark limbs of deformed trees and invasive ivy, the innocuous little cabin looked abandoned, but Jerry knew better. 

The witches abode was anything but abandoned. Jerry used the secret knock—three rapid strikes followed by silence for a count of three, and then three more rapid knocks—and waited for the door to open.

He was greeted by the quintessential grandmother: an old woman short and round, her gray-haired pulled into a neat bun and her pink coat sweater buttoned at her neck to better display a large smiling jack-o-lantern pin attached to it near her shoulder. She reached into the basket slung over her arm and produced a Snickers Bar, not the fun size but a full-sized dollar bar, and extended it toward Jerry.

After a quick look left and right to make certain no one was spying, she morphed into a hunchbacked witch with a long curved nose complete with a prominent mole. Her lips turned up into a cruel smile. “Come in, my darling,” she cooed. 

“You have done well this evening. I have four children-pies backing in the oven and only need one more pie for my coven’s midnight party. “He’s another bunch of stuffed animals for you; use them to bring me two more children and then all my candy will be wrapped in hundred dollar bills and be just for you.

“Here’s a special toy,” she said as she placed a large stuffed spider around his shoulders, “a treat for you, my darling.” The witch pointed a bony finger in his direction. As she did so, the spider tightening its legs around Jerry’s neck as it sunk its fangs into his jugular vein. Stuffed animals flew from his arms as he twisted and struggled to pull the spider off.

His anguish only lasted a few seconds before he collapsed. “Thank you, my pet,” she cackled at the spider. “He’s a big one. I’ll have enough of him for my famous mincemeat pie and may be able to make some head cheese out of him as well. What’s that? Yes, of course, all his blood belongs to you.”

~The End~

 Santa Cruz husbands are being murdered. The local news media is buzzing because a dark-clad figure witnesses describe as Death has been seen lurking nearby each time a murder is committed.

 When new widows start hiring real estate agent Regan McHenry to sell their houses, she discovers all the murdered men have something in common: their wives belong to a walking group called The Widow’s Walk League.

No wonder Regan is worried when the group’s leader starts paying special attention to her husband, Tom.

Regan invites you to attend Woodies on the Wharf and go to a séance with her as adventures unfold and she tries to keep her husband safe in the fourth book in the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mystery Series.

Regan’s best friend, Dave Everett, Santa Cruz Police Community Relations Ombudsman, is back to lead a new cast of quirky characters and struggle with Regan’s amateur detecting.

Amazon

Nancy Lynn Jarvis was a Santa Cruz, California, Realtor for twenty-five years but was having so much fun writing that she let her license lapse in May of 2013.

After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, she worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager of Shakespeare/Santa Cruz. Nancy's work history reflects her philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years. Writing is her newest adventure. 

Thanks Nancy!

I hate spiders but love your ending!

Come on folks a comment may win you a copy of

The Widow's Walk League!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

*****
CONGRATULATIONS!
DENISE COVEY
YOU'VE WON AN EBOOK
COPY OF
THE WIDOW'S WALK LEAGUE

*****

Have you read the Halloween
stories from the 
WEP - Halloween Challenge
Magical - Frightening - Fun!

WEP - THE WORKSHOP

The first part of the WEP – Halloween Challenge is to discuss a favorite frightening tale, movie, novel, photograph, or painting. For me the most frightening movie ever made was the Nightof the Living Dead. I saw it at a drive-in with my older brother, and while I watched it with my eyes covered; I saw enough to freak me out for life. I can't watch zombie movies to this day, and even have nightmares after a discussion of them.

I've always believed that humans were the true monsters, but zombies embody everything horrific about death and the undead. While I can write horror stories, I'm also very easily frightened, and yet Halloween is my favorite holiday and Stephen King one of my favorite authors. I prefer reading horror to watching it - the gore is too graphic - but my brain can separate all that for me in a book.

My contribution to the Youthful Frights vs. Adult Fears Challenge is based on one of my childhood fears:

THE WORKSHOP

While soaking in lavender and bubbles, long forgotten memories flood her mind.

"Allison."

 Her mother's lilting voice beckons her deeper into the past and a memory she'd suppressed for seventeen years.

*****

"Allison."

Her mother's voice floats into her room like the warmth of an angel’s caress.

"Allie, I need you."

Allison hurries to the kitchen.

"Hey, sweetie pie, I'd love your help with dinner."

"Sure, Mom, what can I do?"

"Go downstairs and get a jar of green beans and pickled beets. To celebrate Halloween, we're having dad's favorites. Hurry, he'll be home soon. Then we'll all go trick-or-treating."

Allison shudders. The basement; that horrid dark swamp of ghouls. There's no way, not tonight! Yet, she moves toward the basement door. The dull chop of steel against wood as her mother continues to slice potatoes follows her. Her hand shakes as she twists the doorknob. Opens it. Just a crack. Then she flings it open with a forced confidence she's trying to possess.

The scent of rot crinkles her nose. Green eyes glow in the dark. He's at the bottom of the steps. She's sure he's a beast with horns, enormous flesh-ripping teeth, and open sores that seep poison. Frozen in place, he calls her name. Allison screams. Slams the door and runs.

Her mother finds her cowering behind the recliner. Comforting arms pull her close. "Honey. There's no such thing as monsters. I go downstairs all the time. Daddy fixed the light. It's bright now. No more shadows."

Allison presses closer.

Her mother kisses her head. "We'll go together? I'll prove to you there's nothing to be afraid of."

Allie shakes her head. "I saw his eyes. He called my name."

"It's your imagination. I'll prove it." Her mother pulls her to her feet. Hand in hand, they return to the kitchen.

Despite her mother's reassurances, tears roll down Allison's cheeks. She plants her feet. Fear stops her from going any farther. Not even her mother’s look of disappointment can budge her.

 Shaking her head, her mother marches to the basement door. "This is the last time, Allie." The light clicks on and she starts down the stairs. "Wait til your father gets home, young lady. I wanted to tell him how you'd helped prepare dinner; how grown up you are. Now what will I say?" Her mother's voice was strong and assuring as she descended and gathered the needed jars, even though scolding.

Allison wipes away her tears. Mom's right. I'm eight, not a silly little girl. It's time to grow up.

She hears her mother's returning footsteps. I'll make it up to her. Tonight, I'll do the dishes without a fuss. Allison bravely stands in the doorway, an apology on her lips. Relief fills her when a smile says all is forgiven.

Then her mother stops.

Her look of terror shouts run!

The beast's claws’ are clasped around her mother's ankles. Shrieks of terror reverberate through the house. The jars burst and splatter their contents. Her mother's body thuds down the stairs to the concrete floor. But it's the beasts’ howl that will forever haunt her nightmares.

*****

"Allison!" Her husband's voice jerks her back to the present.

They'd moved back into her childhood home two months ago. An inheritance, even though her father had known how much she hated the place. She'd wanted to sell, but Tom insisted on moving in.

"Where are my tools?" 

The back door slams and muddy boots stomp across clean floors. "How many times do I have to tell you to quit messing with my stuff?" His voice grows louder with each word. "Damn it, I'm talking to you! Son of a bitch!"

He storms into the bathroom. He'd broken the lock a month ago when Allison hadn't answered his call quickly enough.

 She pulls her knees to her chest. "I moved them to the basement like we agreed."

Tom yanks the plug on the drain. "Where's dinner?" He looked around the room. "Think you're still a beauty queen? More like an old hag. Look at this crap!" With a swing of his arm, Allison's toiletries shatter against the tile floor.

She squeaks out a response, "I had the workshop built for your birthday." She stands and grabs a towel as the water circles the drain. "The contractor finished today. The workbench and all your tools are organized." Allison waits for his response, hoping his hand won't add to the colors already on her cheek.

Tom relaxes.

Allison manages a smile. "Happy Birthday. It's a day early, but go check it out. You'll love it."

"I'll be damned!" He grabs her by the hair, twisting it around his oil-covered hand until her head and body are at his mercy. He gives her a sloppy kiss and bites her lower lip, drawing blood. He tears the towel away and touches her roughly.

He'll never, ever touch me again, she vows.

"Don't bother getting dressed," he growls.

Allison watches him leave; remembering the day his strength was something she admired. His footsteps fade, but she waits naked, immobile, body and mind numb. With the bathroom door open, October's chill circles the room hunting for any remnant of warmth. Shaking off the fear and a gnawing foreboding, she washes the grease from her hair and his touch from her body.

A moment later, she hears his screams and returns to that frightening moment from the past, but only for a second. Smiling for the first time in months, she finishes cleaning his filth from her soul.

Wrapped in a robe, Allison rushes to the telephone repeating, "Call the police, then the real estate agent." She dials 9-1-1.

Footsteps turn her into a statue.

Covered in blood, Tom appears in the kitchen door. He proudly holds the horned head of the beast. "That new hatchet sure came in handy." He grins.

Then he scowls, walks slowly forward, and raises the ax …

~~~~~~~~~~

988 words/FCA

Yolanda Renée © 2015

Read more entries HERE!

SIMULATION

MY NEXT VICTIM THIS HALLOWEEN!

IS TARA TYLER

Thanks, Tara, for agreeing to be part of the fun.

Without further ado presenting Tara's

Halloween Interview & Flash Fiction Challenge

1.      You're born on Halloween and have the ghostly evil super powers of one of the following: The Ghost from Poltergeist, The Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, The most Evil of Witches, The Devil himself, Freddy Kruger, Pumpkin Head, Michael from Halloween, or Jason from Friday the 13th. Alternatively, if you prefer, pick one of your own. Otherwise, tell us which one you would choose and why? No friendly ghosts allowed! You're to wreak havoc in this scenario!

That's easy - I can be the most evil of witches in a snap of my crooked, bony fingers with long green fingernails when provoked!! Plus witches can make youth potions and live longer - even if they have to sacrifice a few kids to do it... And I already have a good cackle for it too!

2.      The Zombie Apocalypse is going to occur this Halloween and for 48 hours, the world is thrown into chaos. Live through it and consider yourself lucky, you've been warned. What is your first step, especially as no one else knows or believes you? Do you leave family behind and seek shelter to ride it out, or do you try to save your family? How and why?

My youngest will do what I ask, the others will be zombie fodder! And I know better than to waste my time convincing them, so my little guy and I will head for the hills! Or find someone with a secure shelter, fast!

3.      Because of the time of your birth, (see the 1st question) the angels have decided to forgive your sins and are offering to remedy one evil that now exists in the world, but only one! Which would you choose and why?

Terrorism. I don't think you need a reason.

4.      Why is Halloween a favorite holiday, or not a favorite, and if it isn't why did you participate in this query? Come on; tell us your biggest most secret Halloween fantasy!

I love Halloween, I have a blast decorating even if my boys are getting too old to appreciate it. And I'm a scaredy cat, not big on horror movies. Secret Halloween fantasy is to go to a costume party with my hub and us have a good time in matching costumes - unfortunately, he's not a costume guy =( oh well! 

     Now the fun part: Finish the story. I've given you the first 100 words. Provide us with the rest, but please hold the number to 750 words or less unless the restriction is just impossible then no more than 1000 words. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card. The contest will be judged by another lover of the horror genre, the person to be announced later. The winner will be posted no later than a week after Halloween!

DESPERATION HOLLER

Jerry sauntered along Desperation Holler Road that earlier echoed with the excited shouts of ghosts and ghouls as the children scrambled from house to house in colorful and frightening costumes.

Dusk dissolved into the blackest of nights as the little monsters disappeared into the shelter of the brightly lit houses with their chocolate goodies.

Jerry smiled, even suppressed laughter, because he knew there was no refuge, not in Desperation Holler on this most evil of Halloweens.

Concealed by the dark limbs of deformed trees and invasive ivy, the innocuous little cabin looked abandoned, but Jerry knew better.

The witches' abode . . .cast an eerie purple glow from it's windows and the smoke from its chimney sparkled in the moonlight. Jerry couldn't resist peeking in a window to catch a glimpse of magic and see what he was up against.

Being a novice witch hunter, Jerry knew he had to be extra careful and more silent than an awkward moment. He crept along, taking one slow soft step at a time in the crunchy Fall leaves toward the back where the kitchen should be, avoiding the creaky old porch in front. If he drew their attention and lost the element of surprise his chances of survival dropped dramatically. That was lesson number one.

"Hello, deary."

Jerry flinched. There went his first line of defense. He spun around to see the wrinkled old lady who looked more like a grandmother than a wicked witch. But Jerry knew her for the hideous hag she was.

"Trick or Treat?"

She cackled at him. "Aren't you a little old for that?"

"Who's out at this witching hour, Bernie?"

The other witch stuck her long nose out the back door. Her lips curled into an evil smile when she spied him.

"Ooo. It's Jerry. Finally got your license, eh boy?"

"Just for you, Fiona." Jerry said and smiled right back at her. Exude confidence, or at least hide fear, that was lesson number two.

Jerry backed away from them, further from the house. He needed to draw them out. Lesson number three was to stay out of a witches' lair where they would definitely have the advantage. Glancing behind him, he noticed a small fenced-in area with reaching, oozing, and creeping plants.

"I love what you've done with the place. What's growing in your garden here?"

Bernie stepped toward him. "Flattery and trickery won't work on us. We've been around for far too long to let a new cub like you win over a couple of cunning cougars like us."

Jerry knew he was young and inexperienced, but these two wily witches had been terrorizing Desperation Holler since he was little. The Halloween he escaped their treachery and his cousin didn't was the night he vowed vengeance. He wasn't giving up without a fight. He had all the tools he needed, following lesson number four.

Taking out his anti-witch wand, he wielded it wildly waving it at them and spoke his wishful words.

"Howl wind, darken night,

Stir the leaves, douse the light,

In this full moon shining bright,

Curse these witches, take their sight!"

With a switch of his wrist, the moon electrified his wand and shot out at the witches' eyes, blinding them.

They screeched like demons and screamed like damsels. Fiona flew at him as Bernie lunged for him.

Jerry ducked and tried to escape, but he'd stepped too close to their garden. He hadn't realized during his incantation the vines wrapped around his legs and tangled him up.

The witches dragged poor Jerry into their home and he was never heard from again.

Poor Jerry ignored the final, most important lesson. Lesson number five, never attack witches on Halloween!

*****

That was so much fun, Yolanda! What a way to bring in Halloween and wind down my blog tour (only 2 more posts!) How clever of you! Thanks for letting me participate and for helping me with my release.

Truly, Tara, so much fun and I'm thrilled to be able to help you with your blog tour but more so that you were game to do this crazy interview and flash fiction Halloween Challenge while in the middle of a tour! You rock!

Now for the SIMULATION tour!

SIMULATION

by Tara Tyler

Release Date: Sept 14, 2015

In 2082, androids are an essential part of daily life. Some are helpful, some would make better toasters, and some are so human-like they're creepy. Back in Atlanta, Detective Cooper takes a case to uncover an illegal clone android simulation operation. He hopes it will take his mind off his recent break up, but he winds up crossing paths with his ex, FBI Agent Geri Harper.

As Cooper closes in, Geri is kidnapped. But when she resurfaces in Washington and goes on a killing spree, he knows it isn't her. Now under suspicion himself, Cooper must find the real Geri to prove her innocence, not to mention hunt down the powerful villain behind it all. Never a dull moment.

SIMULATION delivers more technology, more intense action, more humor, and more, distinct new characters. Come along for the ride.

Available Now!

Amazon ~~ Kindle

Goodreads giveaway!

Tara Tyler writes sci fi and fantasy action-adventures from her little corner of the world in Ohio as she tries to keep up with her three boys and coach husband. Always making time to write, she sometimes puts off chores and lets laundry pile up... hence, she's also the Lazy Housewife, offering advice and tips to other gals out there trying to do it all without going crazy.

She and her housewife friends blog at The Really Real Housewives of America.

tara tyler talks and tweets and facebooks

And don't forget the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOW FREE!

JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!

AMAZON.COM

ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN UNDERLAND

MY NEXT VICTIM THIS HALLOWEEN

IS DeANNA KNIPPLING!

Thanks, DeAnna, for agreeing to be part of the fun.

Without further ado presenting DeAnna's

Halloween Interview & Flash Fiction Challenge

1.      You're born on Halloween and have the ghostly evil super powers of one of the following: The Ghost from Poltergeist, The Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, The most Evil of Witches, The Devil himself, Freddy Kruger, Pumpkin Head, Michael from Halloween, or Jason from Friday the 13^th. Alternatively, if you prefer, pick one of your own. Otherwise, tell us which one you would choose and why? No friendly ghosts allowed! You're to wreak havoc in this scenario!

I have inherited the power of...The Most Evil of All Witches! I've always been fascinated by them. On the one hand, they were slaughtered for hundreds or even thousands of years...but on the other hand, I've always wondered why. Why witches--why not, say, midwives or prostitutes? I realize that a lot of the time, the women who were killed were women who had a) property worth taking, and b) few or no male relatives to protect them. But now that we've legalized pot in Colorado, I've also been pondering:  what if one of the reasons that "witches" were targeted was that they distributed not just medicines like arbortifacients, but recreational drugs? As well as the knowledge to find, harvest, preserve, and use them? It's just supposition on my part, but it would explain why you hear about them acting weird and having orgies with the devils. You hear stuff that's almost as bad about pot, let alone other types of illegal drugs. Witch burnings as a covert Mafia war between church-sanctioned and independent drug dealers. Why not? It might be fun...

2.      The Zombie Apocalypse is going to occur this Halloween and for 48 hours, the world is thrown into chaos. Live through it and consider yourself lucky, you've been warned. What is your first step, especially as no one else knows or believes you? Do you leave family behind and seek shelter to ride it out, or do you try to save your family? How and why?

Oh, my family would believe me.  We've had an agreement for years that if one of us gets bitten by a zombie, the others will take them down as quickly and painlessly as possible.  We don't have bug-out bags and kits set up, but it's on our to-do lists.  I'm thinking about making them for Christmas presents at some point [she said, hoping her family isn't reading this].  At our old house, we were planning to go up to a certain reservoir stocked with fish; now that we're in the middle of moving, I'm not sure where we'd go.  I'll have to ask.

3.      Because of the time of your birth, (see the 1^st question) the angels have decided to forgive your sins and are offering to remedy one evil that now exists in the world, but only one! Which would you choose and why?

I'd like to tweak human nature just a leeeetle bit so that humanity can process the interconnection of more than five things at a time. See Robert J. Sawyer's Calculating God. In essence, humans may think we're smart, but we can't actually process the interconnections of more than five things at a time (which is 125 interconnections). The universe is far more complex than that, which leads to humanity failing to even understand how little it knows (and, I might add, how hypocritical we usually are). A planet with just a little less hypocrisy and a little more willingness to admit we're wrong? Super.

 4.      Why is Halloween a favorite holiday, or not a favorite, and if it isn't why did you participate in this query? Come on; tell us your biggest most secret Halloween fantasy!

FAVORITE. I've always liked it (I was one of those kids who always wanted to play dress up), but the reason it's a favorite is because of my daughter, who was born in October. Halloween has become a second birthday in which we set up a mini-haunted-house in the garage and pass out treats to anyone brave enough to run in and make a snatch-and-grab. We've done Frankenstein, hillbilly zombies, pirates, and other things. It's a ton of fun. This year, because we're in the middle of moving, we're going to do a normal trick-or-treat pass. Siiiiigh. Next year.

      Now the fun part: Finish the story. I've given you the first 100 words. Provide us with the rest, but please hold the number to 750 words or less. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card. The contest will be judged by another lover of the horror genre, the person to be announced later. The winner will be posted no later than a week after Halloween!

DESPERATION HOLLER

Jerry sauntered along Desperation Holler Road that earlier echoed with the excited shouts of ghosts and ghouls as the children scrambled from house to house in colorful and frightening costumes.

Dusk dissolved into the blackest of nights as the little monsters disappeared into the shelter of the brightly lit houses with their chocolate goodies.

Jerry smiled, even suppressed laughter, because he knew there was no refuge, not in Desperation Holler on this most evil of Halloweens.

Concealed by the dark limbs of deformed trees and invasive ivy, the innocuous little cabin looked abandoned, but Jerry knew better. 

The witches abode . . .

All he had to do was get inside, find the trap door to the cellar (it was supposed to be in one of the bedrooms, although that homeless slut he’d caught had claimed not to know which room it was in), and climb down an old wooden ladder.

The chest would be the only thing left in the cellar: the glass jars full of dead babies and demons' blood had already been taken out by the group of teenagers who had found the trap door last week, and Jerry had already found their hiding spot after he had caught Mary digging through his trash three days ago. He had been so elated that he had put a quick end to the girl and her other little homeless friends. There was fun and then there was what he'd been sent here to do, and now he was all out of time for fun.

He must have gone past that place a hundred times and not even suspected.

He whistled as he swung his keyring around the tip of his finger.

He did a little jig as he jumped onto the front stoop and selected the key with the grinning skull at the end. The key slid into the door lock and opened it smoothly. He danced inside and closed the door, closing the rotting curtains with a flourish.

He laughed when he saw the cross-stitched embroidery on the wall: BLESSINGS ON THIS HOUSE and a cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney, flower pots on the stoop, and an embroidery spiderweb stretched between chimney and roof. The cabin was a little old ladies' home, all armchairs and doilies and delicate end tables simply begging for a cup and saucer. Spiderwebs covered the furniture like drop cloths, torn in places where the teenagers had stopped to playact a tea party in the witches' chairs, pinkies sticking out as they spoke in clumsy accents.

He skipped into the back hallway, jiggling door handles as he went. Broken windows, leaves, sticks, and animal nests. Footprints on bare floors, rotting quilts on beds, the old gray tinsel of fat cobs long dead. The place was so old it had no indoor bathrooms. There'd be an outhouse somewhere in the back, so long unused that it would smell almost sweet. Maybe it would still have an almanac or catalog by the door.

The last room, then. He flung open the door. The bed had been tossed to the wall and the trap door flung open. A narrow old ladder peeked out from under the floorboards.

Jerry picked another key from the ring, this one marked with a candle held by a severed hand. He knelt at the edge of the trap door and turned the key in the darkness.

A faint green glow appeared in the cellar: all clear. Yet who knew better than he to trust witches! He ignored the ladder and jumped down, landing as cleverly and quietly as a cat hunting a mouse.

The shelves were bare of all but circles in the dust. The cellar ran the length of the house; if the dust spots on the shelves were any indication, the homeless shits had another cache of jars somewhere. When he was done tonight he’d have to go looking for them.

And use them all up, before they went bad. He grinned.

An old, iron-bound chest waited coquettishly for him at the other end of the cellar. Splashes of old mud covered the bottom of the chest; it was heavy, sinking down into the floor. Around it lay scraps of old carpet and straw mats, marked with small, muddy footprints.

He sang a little ditty about something something pretty, something something pity and didn’t even mind that he’d forgotten most of the words, and couldn’t remember whether the singer had used a fish knife or a surgeon’s scalpel on the women as he’d killed them.

The skeleton key flashed in his hand as he pushed it into the lock and turned it.

The top of the chest popped open like a jack in the box. Jerry hopped backward, and the small claws missed him.

He cooed, he tickled, he scooped it up with a tattered old piece of rag rug from the floor so it wouldn’t scratch him, he closed the lid.

And then he turned around just as the eerie green thieves' light went out.

He tucked the bundle under his arm and pulled out a third key, this one marked with the handle of a knife, and held it before him.

The trap door at the other end of the cellar slammed shut. The squirming, sacred bundle fell apart in his arms, scattering into fragments of old mud onto the floor.

Jerry cursed, an old curse that was supposed to be good against witches. He’d suddenly remembered something bad, very bad.

There hadn’t been any spiderwebs in the cellar.

Behind him, the chest lid creaked.

****

Thanks so much DeAnna, That was thrilling!

DeAnna says she would happily give away an ebook to one lucky commenter!  Your choice of A MURDER OF CROWS (short horror stories), ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN UNDERLAND (zombies), and TALES TOLD UNDER THE COVERS (middle-grade genre stories).  

Alice's Adventures in Underland: The Queen of Stilled Hearts

by DeAnna Knippling

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alice Pleasance Liddell whose father ran Christ Church College at Oxford University. One of Dean Liddell’s friends was a man named Charles Dodgson, a lecturer in mathematics and amateur photographer who would eventually become known as Lewis Carroll.

Once upon a time, an outbreak of a virulent disease known as zombieism spread across Great Britain. What made it so deadly was that it had two phases—the earlier phase infected the victim’s bloodstream, making them infectious but not necessarily mad; the latter phase occurred upon death, when the victim was prevented from joining the souls in the afterlife and condemned to remain upon the Earth—which had the understandable effect of enraging them to the point of infecting every human in sight.

At first, the undead were considered to be lost to both Heaven and Earth, and regularly burnt to cinders in large pits throughout the countryside; then, the Italian Filippo Pacini developed a serum that, if ingested early enough and regularly thereafter, allowed the undead to fight off the worst effects of the infection. The Infected and the undead were treated with serum on a regular basis, and society returned to normal—except for a few curious customs regarding the undead, including the requirement to be shackled at all times, for the safety of the living.

A curious fact of the times was that zombies, being dead, were seen to have few legal rights. They were unable to enter into legal contracts or own property—even themselves. A zombie without a de facto owner was a dead zombie—collected by the Government and humanely destroyed.

Protected zombies were often employed as servants. They were certainly not slaves.

Once upon a time, Mrs. Liddell wanted a picture taken of her three daughters by the most fashionable photographer in Oxford…even if he was a zombie.

Buy HERE!

*****

DeAnna Knippling lives in Colorado with her family and probably spends too much time thinking about ways to hypothetically scare her friends with horror stories. 

 Everyone, no matter how jaded, has something that gets under their skin, is her theory.  Her latest book is Alice's Adventures in Underland: The Queen of Stilled Hearts, a zombie tale about the real Alice from Alice in Wonderland.  You can find out more about her at www.WonderlandPress.com.

Connect with DeAnna here:
dknippling@gmail.com
@dknippling

Goodreads
www.WonderlandPress.com
www.facebook.com/deanna.knippling

Her new collection of short horror stories, A MURDER OF CROWS, is out now! You can get a copy here. 

*****

It's only the 16th - plenty of time to enter the

WEP - Halloween Flash Fiction Challenge

Youthful Frights vs. Adult Fears

Come on, I dare you!