My mother told me not to go into that grim, deserted old house over on Pine Street.  Her argument was that the floor boards were rotten and loose, and the roof was about to collapse.  I could get hurt.  Jamie, a kid in my Math class, told me not to go into the house too.  His argument was that it was haunted.  An old witch lived there who used to eat children, and now the little dead kids roam around the house on dark nights.  Apparently, someone else didn’t want me to go in either because there was a large sign nestled in the overgrown lawn that said “KEEP OUT”.
     
     So how could I possibly resist?

     It was Halloween and I’d been planning my excursion for two weeks.  I told Mom I was going trick or treating around town with some friends. She had nodded and warned me not to get into any trouble. I remember snickering as I went out the back door. 

     It WAS spooky, but wasn’t that the idea? I hopped onto the creaky porch and gave the big door a little kick and it squeaked open.  I stepped gingerly inside, remembering Moms warnings about rotten floor boards. I didn’t really want to end up suddenly in the basement, skewered on the torture racks of sharp stakes or dissolving in the pools of acid that I imagined were down there. Better to be safe than sorry.

     The big front room was pretty dark, lit only by the faint blue light from a faraway street lamp.  White forms glowed a soft blue and I realized it was furniture covered by dusty white sheets. They looked frayed at the bottom, gnawed by rats I figured. The floor boards creaked as I crept forward. I could feel my heart thumping. I realized I hadn’t brought a flashlight. Crap.

     Oh well, onward and upward, or at least up the huge winding staircase.  I had to feel my way up the steps as the darkness wrapped around me like a smothering blanket but I finally made it to the huge master bedroom.  Again, the faint blue light filtered through the tattered and dirty sheer curtains. I could make out a large bed in the center of the room, the bedclothes glowing a faint whitish blue. There appeared to be something dark in the center, sunken into the mattress as if a heavy object had lain there for ages. The ceiling had a huge dark stain right above the bed.  Was it a leak? A hole in the roof where years of dirty rain had washed through the attic and spilled onto the bed? Mom was right again.  

     I began to worry about being crushed by an enormous collapsing gothic roof when something from behind me touched my cheek, softly like a fly brushing past.  I sucked in a gasp and jumped back against the wall.  The tattered curtain fluttered outward in front of me.  The large picture window was broken and I realized the breeze had blown the silky sheer panel toward me.  That’s all it was.  I took a deep breath and got a grip. 

     And then, something moved.  I heard a faint rustle near the bed.  Could it be a rat? Maybe some other animal had moved in, a raccoon maybe, or a stray cat.  Yeah, there were lots of stray cats around the neighborhood.  “Here, Kitty Kitty,” I said, barely a whisper.  The bed lace fluttered a tiny bit and I thought I saw some movement in the dark center, an almost imperceptible shift sideways.  I figured it was time to explore some other rooms. I could get rabies from a wild animal. Mom hadn’t thought of that one.

     I took one step forward and suddenly, the dark mass in the middle of the bed slid off onto the floor. I screamed and was back against the wall in a heartbeat. I was gasping for air as if I couldn’t breathe fast enough to get oxygen. I was sure I was going to pass out. I must have stood there for an hour, not moving, breathing shallow so I wouldn’t make any noise.  The black mass hadn’t moved either.  I finally got the nerve to turn my head sideways a bit and glance out the window, wondering if I could jump the two stories and survive.  There was an old garden patio at the bottom paved with cracked and aged gray stones.  I’d probably break a few bones but maybe I could crawl out of the yard. I debated. I jumped.

     I saw the gray blue stones rising to meet me, when suddenly, they stopped. My hands were outstretched, bracing for the impact, and my mind wincing in the anticipation of the agonizing pain of breaking limbs, but it never came. I looked back toward the window and my feet were engulfed in blackness.  The thing had me and was pulling me back toward the window.  I twisted, jerking my body as violently as I could, trying to free myself from this black horror. I screamed and shrieked, but who would hear me?  Who would come to this horrible creepy place when they could be going to costume parties or hanging out at the mall?

     Its been days, maybe years, I can’t tell how much time has passed. There is no daylight or sunshine or moonlight here in this constant blackness.  I think I’m in the middle of a huge bed, I can’t be sure, but it feels soft. I don’t feel hot or cold or sleepy or afraid. Sometimes I think I hear footsteps but they always run away and then there’s just silence. 

     I wish I had some candy corn.