MicroHorror

Martha stood at the stove in her witch’s outfit, stirring a large stewpot.

“Sheila! Willy! Hurry up!” she called out. “If you don’t hurry, Halloween will be over.”

She cackled delightedly when her two children walked into the kitchen. Willy was dressed as a hunter, and Sheila as a she-devil.

“Do we look scary, Momma?” Sheila asked, lifting her mask.

Martha nodded, and felt a lump form in her throat. “Just look at you two. It just doesn’t seem possible you’re old enough to finally enjoy Halloween as it’s meant to be.”

“Momma,” Willy said, “we’ve been waiting for this night ever since you explained what it was all about.”

“Yeah,” Sheila interjected. “Especially after all the scary stories you told us about when you were young. I hope we can do some of that scary stuff and get lots of tasty treats.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” Martha said, gently cupping Sheila’s chin and lifting it toward her. “Listen, you little she-devil, you go out and get all you want, but I want you and your brother to be home by nine.”

She handed Willy his hunting knife, and Sheila her pitchfork. Then she gave them each a king-size pillowcase to carry their booty in.

After ushering them to the door, Martha said, “Now, look both ways before you cross the street, stay in the shadows, and stay together. And remember what your father always said about being careful with strangers.”

“Yes, Momma,” they replied in unison.

“Good. Now go out and have fun. We’ll eat when you get back.”

Martha stood at the door, and watched them cross the street and ring the neighbor’s doorbell.

“Trick or Treat! Bodies or Meat!” they hollered.

She stepped back inside, remembering when she was a girl, and all the fun she and her friends had practicing their version of the old pagan ritual of All Hallows’ Eve.

Three hours passed, and the children hadn’t returned. Martha paced the floor anxiously, wondering if she should go look for them. But the two kids finally returned at midnight.

“Where have you two been?” she screamed as they opened the door. “I’ve been worried sick something happened to you.”

“We’re sorry, Momma,” Sheila said. “But we were having so much fun, we couldn’t decide who to bring home.”

The two children stood before her with their pillowcases bulging, and their faces and clothes matted in blood.

“Oh, my God! Just look at you,” she said, wiping the blood from their faces with a washcloth. “You’ve been nibbling!”

“Just on the pirate,” Willy said.

“Well, I hope you didn’t spoil your appetite.”

“We didn’t,” Sheila replied. “I’m starving.”

“Oh, Momma, we had a wonderful time,” Willy exclaimed. “We saw pirates and princesses, and hobos and cowgirls. There were so many different kinds; we didn’t know which ones you’d want.”

“That’s right, Momma,” Sheila said. “We wanted to bring back one of each, but they would have been too heavy to carry. So, we cut up a little fat pirate, and a princess. Can we put them in your Halloween stew?”

“Well, this recipe only calls for a princess,” Martha said, “so we’ll freeze the pirate and cook him on a cold winter evening.”

Willy and Sheila watched excitedly as Martha emptied their pillowcases on the counter. After separating the body parts, and examining them to ensure none were tainted, she added the little princess to the stew.

There were people in this world who were mean, she told them. And, on Halloween, mean people sometimes handed out tainted treats to make kids sick.

Even though Willy and Sheila munched on some of their Halloween booty while they were trick-or-treating, they’d built up an appetite. The kids ran upstairs to wash up, eager to taste the princess in their stew.

• Copyright: © 2009 Harold Kempka