Bang! Bang! Bang!
She heard the wooden screen door hitting the side of the house. It never stayed closed on nights like this. The wind pushed and pulled the house until she could hear every creak and groan like it was a living and breathing being. She was glad, however, for its sanctuary tonight. It was Devil’s Night, and she lived next door to a cemetery. She peeked out her side window curtains, eyeing the graveyard on the house’s left. She didn’t see any activity yet, but she knew it would come.
During the rest of the year, it was a common joke that her “neighbors” were the quiet sort, so she had the best kind, but when Halloween came around, the cemetery became the most terrifying place of all. One year, as kids, they went out at dark to walk in the cemetery – not on Devil’s Night – never on Devil’s Night. She remembered it well, they had early snow that year, and the ice and snow had crunched beneath their feet. They went out with just one flashlight, and as kids do, they intended to scare themselves. As they could barely see where they were walking in the dark, the breaking up of the ice around their feet made them feel as though something was trying to get at them. They had the distinct impression that the ice was breaking from more than just the weight of their bodies that perhaps the people in their graves were angry at their disturbance and were coming out for them. The night ended with them running fearfully back to the house, and never again did they trek inside the graveyard in the evening hours.
She turned from the window and went to check her other windows to make sure they were both closed and locked tight, with curtains drawn. She peeked back out the side window again, watching and waiting. The cemetery was eerie at night. Dim lights from solar-powered stakes lit up certain sections, while others were entirely in the dark. The trees that dotted the landscape beautifully during the daytime whipped around wickedly with the wind from the storm brewing tonight.
She loved Halloween, it was one of her favorite holidays, but she knew not to mess with things on Devil’s Night after living here her entire life. She shut her TV off and double-checked that her door was locked. It was almost midnight. She didn’t usually stay up this late, but she wasn’t expecting any sleep tonight. Tonight she was going to be wide awake.
Two minutes to go, she thought. It’s happening soon. She peeked out her window again, the cemetery looked just the same as she last looked, but she knew everything was about to change. She checked her watch. One more minute left. She looked again, watching and waiting for the night to take over, and then it began.
The trees grew still over the cemetery even though her door continued to bang against the house. The wind hadn’t subsided even a little. The way her door was knocking was increasing in speed. She watched as the solar-powered lights did the impossible, flickering and flashing on and off as if they were on a switch, then flaring up so brightly she had to turn away for a second. When the light subsided, she looked back, this time with apprehension. No matter how many Devil’s Nights passed, she still couldn’t get used to it. She watched as the ground in the graveyard began to split, cracking with dirt rising in mounds to the sides of the graves, and then the coffins began to rise. Slowly but with purpose, they rose from the depths of the ground, swinging open quickly as they hit the surface. The skeletons inside began to move. From her viewpoint, she watched as each of them began to rise, several heading off in various directions, but two of those graves, she kept her eyes on the most, as when they rose, they headed directly towards her house!
She turned back to her home, quickly checking that everything was in place, the table was set, and the kettle was on the stove. She was ready. Her apprehension subsided a little as the moment had passed. She closed the curtain. It was just a waiting game now.
A knock on her door came softly. She looked down at her dress, smoothing it out, glanced behind her to make sure everything was in place. Then she walked towards the door, unlocking it and opening it without fear. She smiled broadly at the two skeletons holding hands on her doorstep.
“Mom and Dad, won’t you come in for some tea?”
