Czars and the Dark secret of Hallows End

            The Czars of Halloween stood at the center of Hallows End. Their names were Poe and Nyx. Nyx was tall and slim, had brownish orange eyes, olive skin and short brown styled hair. Poe was slightly shorter and didn’t stand up quite as straight, but was also slim like Nyx. Poe had thin black hair, the front came down to his eyebrows and the back went down to the bottom of his neck. He had pale gray eyes and pale skin. Since it was almost Halloween the two were dressed up. Not in costumes, but dressed up for a party. Poe wore a black bowler hat with a white stripe in the middle, a white shirt, black vest, jacket pants and shoes. He also had a black bowtie with skeletons on it. Nyx wore a black shirt and jacket, orange vest, black pants and dark green orange shoes. He didn’t have a hat, but did have a long straight orange tie with little pumpkins on them.

            The two stood in the center of the city and marveled at the decorations and lights. “I love this place year round, but there is something about Halloween that really brings out the spirit” Poe said as he stared mesmerized by a pumpkin light that was blinking and changing colors. “Yeah” Nyx muttered back as he too seemed enthralled by the majesty of this rapidly color changing pumpkin.

            Hallows End was a small town, even after years of success and tourism. The buildings looked old fashioned and twisted, some even seemed stitched together like Frankenstein’s monster. Strings of orange and purple lights ran along the tops of the buildings and orange pumpkin lanterns were strung between buildings and over entrance ways  Jack-o-Lanterns were placed at every door and most doors had Halloween wreaths set up. Made of black sticks from the dark woods and tied together with festive ribbon. The great pumpkin stood at the center of town. It was a large Jack-o-Lantern that would mysteriously start to glow when Halloween began to approach. There was also a large fountain in the town, it was a stone statue of a skeleton drinking from a beer mug. It looked as if the skeleton was drinking and water would pour out through a hole in the back of his head, never even reaching the holes in his rib cage  Every Halloween the fountain water was drained, cleaned and the water was replaced with pumpkin ale. So party goers would line up behind the skeleton and put their mugs under the hole in his head as the ale literally passed right through the poor undead statue. It was customary to then say “Thanks for the drink and sorry about your luck”. This would be said with a tone of pity as if the town really was swiping beer from a skeleton that was so desperately trying to drink something.

The residences of Hallows End were out in the streets singing, drinking and setting up more decorations for the fast approaching Halloween day. It was Hallows eve and there was still much to be done. Poe and Nyx had regained their senses four hours later after being entranced by the pumpkin that flashed lights and changed color. The all Hallows eve party was about to start. This was the countdown to midnight, which made it Halloween. Then the next day everyone would have a different kind of party that was bigger than this one, to celebrate a happy Halloween and celebration of another good year past. For in Hallows end, the end of Halloween meant the end of the year.

Poe and Nyx walked to the bar Jack and Lanterns. They smoothed down the wrinkles in their clothes with their hands as they walked excitedly to the party. “So Hallows Eve you wear party clothes, what are we going to wear for tomorrow’s party?” Nyx asked. “Well since its Halloween people dress up as monsters and such. But since Hallows End is full of creatures already, lets all just try to dress as spooky and Gothic as we can” Poe replied. “I’m going to dress up as a nun!” Said a villager, who was clearly undead. He was some kind of bluish zombie person. Poe tried not to laugh. For once he didn't have a sarcastic comment for this one.

The night continued on and the Czars were the life of the party. Drinks were flowing and everyone was in a good mood. The skeleton fountain only poured out free drinks on Halloween, so on Hallows Eve everyone would have to buy their drinks from Jack or John lantern. A friendly mustached man came up to the counter. “what can I get you?” Asked the bartender. “Just a beer please” said Poe as the two stepped up to the bar.” The bartender gave Poe one of the best pumpkin beers in the bar. “Thanks John” Said Poe. The bartender smiled “you got it right this time” smiled John. “sure did, you don’t look so much like your brother. Some people just aren't as observant as I am” Poe replied. “We aren't actually brothers, but thanks” Said John with a smile, then walked off. “How did you know who it was? Jack and John look exactly the same. They might even be the same person” Nyx said. ‘I just guesses as usual and this time got it right” Poe replied casually.

“Whooooo!” cheered a very drunk Pumpkin Jack, the towns own Halloween enthusiast and violent psychopath. Jack stumbled over to the Czars, dragging his orange cloak behind him. “you guys throw the best parties” Said Jack with a big drunk smile. Nyx was about to reply, but was interrupted by a rumbling. The ground shook and the lights flickered. It was two minutes till midnight, but the shaking became so violent that no one noticed. “I didn't think we got earthquakes here” said Nyx as he hung onto the bar. John Lantern was flung over the bar. “We don’t” he said. Pumpkin Jack seemed pretty stable on his feet for once and had a determined look on his face.

The party guests all shuffled outside to see what was happening. Then at the center of town the ground began to break apart under the Great Pumpkin. Jack jumped and knocked it over, pushing it out of the way just as a hole opened on the spot it had been sitting. Screaming souls and green energy blasted out of the ground in a loud and violent scene. The earth stopped shaking and when the souls had all flown away all that was left was a hunched over man in a black cloak. Jack seemed to know who this was and pulled out his sword. He lunged forward but was stopped at the last moment. He stood there his sword seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall. “You pathetic residence of Hallows End cannot harm me. I have been locked away in your wretched cage for one thousand years. This whole time I have absorbed the power of this town. Feeding off of it as you threw your parties and celebrated like fools” Said the hunched over hooded man.

Everyone seemed clueless about what were happening, Everyone except Jack and the mayor. These two were apparently much older than they let on. Pumpkin Jack’s sword was flung off into the trees by a mysterious force, then he too was thrown away without any effort. “I am the Lich. This used to be my home. But then a group of hooligans attacked me and sealed me into a magical cage. Then built a town over the wreckage of my castle.” The Lich explained. “You were the terror of the autumn land, we did it to save everyone” Said the mayor who seemed to show up suddenly. The mayor was short and round, but had noticeable muscles under his layers of fat, looking like in his younger years he would have been insanely strong. The mayor also had a thick mustache and a black hat.

Suddenly all of the residence of Hallows End dropped to their knees, Powerless and helpless to the Lich’s magic, everyone except the Czars of Halloween. Since they were from the Autumn forest, the Lich didn't have power over them. The two Czars stepped up in front of the crowd. “Listen buddy. You might have owned this place once, but this is our town now” Poe said. “Well the mayor runs it, but we help!” Nyx added, but still tried to sound tough. Poe nodded in agreement. “Yes I suppose its more of the mayors town. But our wealth and social status, plus the fact that everyone here likes us, kind of makes this our town too” Poe replied, no longer looking at the Lich. “that’s true but we usually just throw parties so the actual ownership…” Replied Nyx, but he was cut off when the Lich shouted “ENOUGH!” the Lich’s yell shook the town and would have forced most people to their knees out of fear.

“Short response. You are going to have to leave” Poe said. The two Czars looked determined to protect their town and the Holiday they loved. The Lich began to laugh. “you don’t even have weapons or powers!” The Lich continued to laugh. The Mayor made a strained noise. Nyx looked down and realized the Mayor had come ready for a fight. Nyx laughed when he pictured the chubby little mayor swinging a sword. The mayor brought a sword and an axe. Nyx threw the axe to Poe. “Right, now we have weapons. Lets end this guy” Poe said.

The Lich chuckled and then slowly began to stand up straight. As the Lich moved the sound of bones snapping and popping could be heard. Finally the Lich stood up over six feet tall and the cloak fell off. The Lich stood as a giant skeleton, green and purple flames burned inside his skull and his bone hands glowed with magic. He wore black wizard boots, and ripped black pants. His spine bones were sharp and Jagged and his empty eye sockets glowed yellow. Then Poe noticed a hole in the back of the Lich’s head. “Doesn't he look like a larger meaner version of the statue?” Poe asked. “He is. The statue was made in honor of his defeat” Said the mayor as he struggled to move and talk.

            After hearing this the Lich became enraged. Green flames burst up all around him and he pointed a magical staff at the Czars. “this is the staff of souls. I will use it to enslave your souls and torments you for all of eternity. Your misery and torment will fuel my magic as I conquer this land” the Lich said then began to laugh. The laugh was cut short when Poe’s Axe struck the Lich in the head then bounced off and rolled back toward Poe. Poe ran up a little to retrieve his weapon as the Lich to put his head back on straight. The Lich now had an axe chop mark on the top of his skull. “Fine, if your in a rush to die” The Lich said. Then dark energy waves shot forth and hit the Czars and all of the citizens of Hallows End. Poe and Nyx clenched their teeth and tried to move despite the pain they now felt.

            The Lich spun his hand around and darkness rose up into the air, the starry night sky was blocked out by an unnatural evil magic. Now the sky looked like a swirling abyss of darkness and shadows. “Already starting to feel like home” The Lich said. Nyx stood up and rushed forward with his sword. “You can’t do this to our town!” He said then stabbed his sword into the Skeletons rib cage  “I don’t have muscle, flew or organs, stabbing wont do anything” The Lich laughed. His hands burst with green flames and he reached down to grab Nyx. At that moment Nyx turned his blade with all of his strength. This twisted the sword up and broke several bones in the Lich’s rib cage. The Lich recoiled and his hands lost their fire.

            The Lich rushed forward to attack Nyx before he got away. Right before The Lich got to Nyx another flying axe came sailing forward and hit the Skeleton Lich right in the chest, breaking the rest of his rib cage  The two regrouped and moved back to avoid direct attacks. The Lich stood up and used his staff of souls to heal his broken bones. Soon he was back to full strength. Poe grinned “thank you for showing us your weakness” Poe shouted to the Lich. Without the powerful soul magic, the Lich was just another skeleton.

            Nyx nodded to Poe then ran straight at the Lich again. The Lich looked ready, his skeleton hands glowed with a green death magic and one touch could wither a person to bones. The Lich shot blasts of shadow energy out at Nyx as he rushed forward. Nyx dodged those and got up right to the Lich. The Lich reached down and was going to grab Nyx before he could strike. Then Poe flanked the Lich from the side and slashed his axe down with all of his might. He slice the Lich’s arm off, the Lich turned and tried to attack Poe with his other arm but at that moment Nyx stabbed his blade into the Lich’s skeleton face. The sword went right through the evil wizards head and made a second hole, going straight through between the eyes and out the back of the head. This hole was above the original, made by Jack a thousand years ago, when Jack stabbed his pumpkin blade through the Lich’s mouth and out the back of his head where the spine met the skull.

            The Lich let out a loud shriek and dropped his staff. He staggered backward and the two Czars went after the staff. As it hit the ground they both slammed their weapons down onto it as hard as they could. The staff shattered and all of the trapped souls were released. Then the remaining magic mixed with The courage of the Czars and went into their weapons. Poe’s Axe became large and bent like a scythe. It was black with a skull at the top and a shiny silver blade at the end. Nyx’s sword became a straight long sword, with a pumpkin for the pommel and a black hilt with orange gems. The blade was also silver and looked a little like a pumpkin carving knife, but as a sword.  “The Carver” which Nyx now calls it is different than Jack’s pumpkin sword. Jack’s sword was jagged and the hilt was orange with a Jack-o-lantern face burned into the blade.

            The two Czars marveled at their new weapons almost as much as they marveled at the glowing color change pumpkin. Then they both turned and saw the Lich was still standing and trying to summon the last of his magic to attack again. Before the Lich could do anything. Poe and Nyx attacked, slashing their weapons down at him. Orange and black energy streamed from their combined weapons as the two struck the evil Lich. The attack was so strong the Lich exploded into dark energy and his bones turned to dust.

            Hallows End had been saved and the Czars had been rewarded with fancy new weapons. The citizens cheered as the Czars slowly walked back to the bar. “I need a drink” Poe said. “Me too” Nyx replied, sounding tired.

The two drank and then slept. The next day was Halloween. The darkness in the sky had disappeared, the hole in the center of town was filled, the Great pumpkin was placed back on its spot and any damage done to the town was now fixed.

            Poe and Nyx started getting ready for the big spooky Halloween party. They wore black robes, Nyx had a hollowed out Jack-o-lantern over his head and Poe had a skull mask. “So we let home, started new lives in Hallows End, became rich and powerful, threw the best parties, defeated a Lich, saved the town and gained powerful magic weapons. What should we do now?” Asked Nyx with a smile. “Now we celebrate Halloween” said Poe as he pulled his black hood over his head.

The house of Darkwood

            In the land of holidays and seasons there rests the autumn forest, where people live with eternal fall scenery and bountiful harvest, and then there is Hallows End, where everyone celebrates Halloween and the spooky side of a fall night. Between these two places is the Haunted forest, a forest were ghosts and spirits dwell in such numbers that it seems that every tree and plant has a mind of its own. The forest has a way of playing tricks on people and has even been known to trap people forever if they wander in alone. Once a year large groups of people travel to Hallows End to celebrate Halloween by traveling through the haunted forest and as long as everyone stays together it is a safe journey.

            For the most part everyone in the Autumn Forest, Hallows End and even the people of other lands, love Halloween. Everyone except Joseph Mcgree and his wife Sarah Mcgree. This seemingly normal couple live just outside the dark forest and always dreads Halloween. The Dark Forest is the most narrow point of the Haunted forest as the forest comes to a cliffside and ends short of the drop. Its just called the Dark Forest because its dark and spooky like the Haunted forest, but this section of trees isn’t haunted. All year the Dark Forest only look menacing, but is actually as safe as any normal forest, but on Halloween creatures and monsters branch out from the heart of the Haunted forest, making the Dark forest and all of the immediate surrounding areas dangerous for anyone who is out at night and not part of a large group armed with torches and weapons.

            It was the night before Halloween and the Mcgrees stayed in as usual. They didn’t enjoy Halloween in general but the added danger made things worse. Joseph was reading when he started to hear scratching at his door. It sounded like a small animal, maybe a lost dog or a stray cat. Normally one of the Mcgrees would answer the door, but this close to Halloween they wouldn’t open the door for anyone after sunset. The scratching continued and Joseph tried to ignore it. He had to keep telling himself it was probably a tricky spirit trying to lure them outside. Sarah looked up and Joseph just shook his head. The two went back to their reading. Then they heard a soft and sad meowing. “its not Halloween yet” Sarah said. She imagined a scared cat outside, alone and so close to the dark forest at night. “No, it could be anything” Joseph said. In honestly he was thinking the same thing as his wife, but they both needed to keep each other in line during dangerous times.

            The night dragged on. Sarah was walking to their bedroom and saw a cat jump up to their window. “it is a cat!” Sarah called to Joseph. Joseph got up from his chair and looked. There was a black cat in the window, it was small and sad looking. “Maybe we could open the window quickly” Joseph said hesitantly. Just as he said this the two heard footsteps outside. They looked at each other and went to the next window to see who was outside. They both looked and didn’t see anyone. Then the scratching at the door started again, but the cat was still at the first bedroom window. Sarah left the bedroom to check the front window. “If there are monsters outside, the cat could get eaten” Joseph said to Sarah, he spoke loudly so she could hear him from the bedroom. She didn’t respond.

            Joseph slowly walked to the window, as he did the cat stood up and rubbed against the glass. “I will just grab the cat quickly” Joseph muttered. He slowly opened the window and reached his hand out for the cat. By this time the cat had a strange twinkle in its eye. Joseph realized, if this was a real cat, why wasn’t it purring, or meowing or making any noise. Just as Joseph opened the window, Sarah walked in holding an orange and white cat. “Don’t be mad, but I double checked before I opened the door. There was a cat outside. Just not the one by the w…” Sarah said but stopped talking as she saw the window open and something horrible was standing in place of the black cat.

            Joseph had turned his head to see Sarah as she entered the room, he saw her terrified expression and his stomach sank. He turned back around and a grizzled, hair claw grabbed a hold of Joseph’s face and covered his mouth before he could scream. The darkness of night hid most of the creatures face so all Joseph could see was a black hair arm, rough skinned, clawed hand and two black beady eyes that reflected the light from the house. The creature pulled on Joseph and tried to drag him outside. Joseph’s mind raced as this beast was tugging on his head. Then suddenly there was a release and Joseph was thrown back into the house and almost landed on the orange cat as he fell backward.

            When Joseph looked up he saw his wife holding and axe, which was now covered in a dark green blood and the window was closed. A hairy monster arm sat still and rigid on the bedroom floor and the orange cat started to attack its fingers.

            “I’m glad we decided to keep an axe in every room” Sarah said. Joseph just nodded, his eyes still wide with fear. Sarah’s mind was racing and her palms were sweaty, but to Joseph she appeared perfectly calm. “You know I had a choice between you and Mary Sue down the street” Joseph said with a smile. Sarah started to laugh. “Yes and with Mary Sue you would have enjoyed her pleasant company up until a monster pulled your head off as she stood there and screamed” Sarah replied. The two laughed for a few minutes, which helped relieve some of the stress and fear.

            After a few minutes of chuckling and eventual silence, Sarah finally spoke up “So what do you want to do for Halloween?” She said with a sly grin. “Well we need to think of a name for this cat and nothing beats reading a good book and staying in” Joseph said. “as long as you keep an axe with you” Sarah added.

Hollow city

            The city was dark, mist lingered over everything and the light from the street lamps bounced off the fog and gave the whole city an eerie feel. Jake held still, he heard the distant sound of footsteps, then a scream and gunfire. The city had gone to hell and it was everyone for themselves. It started on Halloween night. There was the usual trick or treaters, loud parties and everyone was wearing a costume.

 Jake was on his way to his friends how to attend a small party of friends of friends. He wasn’t too excited because he only knew the one, Bill. He didn’t know Bill’s friends so he hoped it wouldn’t be awkward. Jake was dressed as a private eye from the old detective movies. Someone thought he was dressed as a pimp, this comment made Jake’s soul hurt.

            Once he arrived at the party he tried to mingle and not be the awkward stranger in the corner. The small one bedroom apartment was packed with people. The hardwood floor creaked as the group of strangers shuffled back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. “please tell me you have beer” Jake whispered to Bill. Bill just smiled, nodded then pointed to the kitchen. Jake did the awkward “Sorry for pushing past you but I need to get to the other room” Shuffle. Jake didn’t usually drink, but in situations like this, he usually had to have at least one bear before he could go out of his way to start talking to people.

            The night moved along and everything was fine. Then an explosion went off somewhere in the city. “Someone lighting fireworks?” asked one of the party members. Then the building rocked and shook. Everyone had to grab onto something so they wouldn’t get knocked over. Jake looked outside and saw thick fog roll in. the streets were empty and besides that one explosion, everything was silent. Then another explosion could be heard. It was certainly not fireworks. Jake moved past the crowd of people and walked down the stairs and outside into the cool night air. He needed to see what was happening, he didn’t know why but he just felt the urge to investigate. “Just because your dressed like a detective doesn’t mean you ARE a detective” He told himself. Still he was curious and if someone was hurt after an explosion it is important that someone be around to help out, in case the police or an ambulance hasn’t shown up.

            Jake walked toward the sound of the two explosions. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw it. Before he could get anywhere near the explosion area, a tall slender man confronted him. Using the word ‘man’ loosely because this thing was man shaped but its skin was sickly pale with a green tint. It didn’t have eyes or a nose, just a large mouth full of rows of teeth. The slender man seemed to be wearing a suit, which was a weird choice for a monster. The creature lift his arm up and reached his hand out to Jake. The hand was slender, but bent weirdly and had long fingers with sharp claw like tips. Jake felt paralyzed with fear and the slender creature slowly walked toward Jake. It’s hideous mouth curved upward like a smile as he got closer and closer. Soon the slender man was just within reaching distance, it’s fingertips just barely touching Jake’s face. A shot rang out and the slender being stopped moving. It reached up to its chest and felt a hole. Someone shot the slender man. Jake turned and saw a cop. “Get out of here son, this is no place for civilians” the policeman said. Jake nodded at the cop and then turned back to get one last look at the slender man. But the slender man was gone. When Jake looked back at the cop he saw that the creature had moved in an instant and was now wrapping its long horrible fingers around the cops neck. The evil aura of the horrible slender monster now paralyzed the police officer. Jake picked up a large chunk of concrete, which was debris from one of the buildings, and struck the beast with the heavy chunk. The slender man recoiled and let out a hissing shriek. As soon as the policeman regained his senses he opened fire on the creature, shooting it in the head. The slender man shrieked and melted into the darkness.

            “I guess we’re even” Jake said. The cop was holding his throat and nodded slowly, the events of the last few minutes slowly sinking in as reality. “My names Bob” The cop said. “Jake” Jake replied. “Well Jake, I was going to investigate the explosion, maybe we should stick together” Said Bob. “I think so too” Jake agreed. So the two men continued toward the explosion area. They both were shaken by the encounter with the slender man, but they both knew they had to stay and help out anyone they could. Along the way, Jake found a crowbar. Since the cop didn’t have an extra gun, Jake decided to keep the crowbar as a weapon.

            The fog became denser the closer they got to their destination. The sound of fire crackling and smaller explosions could be heard in the distance, then sounds of screaming and gunfire. The two rushed ahead, as they were running a fireball flew straight at them. The two jumped off in different directions and the ball of fire exploded against the street. The two looked out from behind the cover of over turned cars and saw a enormous pumpkin headed creature in the center of town. The pumpkin head had a carved face like a Jack-o-lantern, the inside of the head was lit up by some kind of constant burning flame. The head slowly spun around searching for survivors. The body of the creature was just a long twist of vines. The head was attached to a center stalk and vines stretched out from both sides of the ‘body’ like arms. The twisted stalk went down through the road and deep into the earth where it grew roots. It looked like this horrible thing just sprouted up over night. The pumpkin head spun around and could shoot fire out of its carved mouth hole and it could make vines spring out of the ground and grab people. The whole thing was as large as the downtown office buildings. The worst part of this was at the bottom of the pumpkin monster was a little opening. This weird door into the vine stalk had monsters coming out and captured humans going in. Zombies, shadow creatures, more of those slender things, tall goblins and human sized pumpkin head monsters. The mobile pumpkin heads looked like a fiery pumpkin head had replaced a normal persons head, then the person was dressed in rags. It didn’t take too long before Jake figured out what was probably happening to the captured humans.

            “This is a nightmare. I need to check on my family and call for help. We need the army or something” Bob said as he got noticeably more nervous. “Check on your family first. Someone must have called in the army by now” Jake said. Bob nodded and turned to leave. Then quickly turned back around “Hey, you should head home too. Nothing we can do here. But in case you run into trouble. Take this” Bob gave Jake his gun. Bob was carrying more than one gun. As soon as he heard explosions in the city, he figured it was a good time to grab a second or third pistol.

            Jake was thinking about returning home, but he couldn’t remember where home was. He also couldn’t think of who he would even meet once he got home. Bob left Jake alone holding a gun. Jake just stared blankly at his gun then up at the monsters. Just one of these creatures almost killed Bob and Jake and now they are splitting up. Jake shook his head. “This can’t be real” Jake muttered. He looked up and watched the scene for a second more. Monsters were being created and pumped out of that giant plant, the city had fallen into chaos, buildings were slowly crumbling and fires were breaking out everywhere. On top of all that, Jake was so scared he couldn’t remember how to get home or even the names of his family. His memories seemed to get fuzzy the more he tried to focus on them.

            He stared off into space, feeling in a daze. Sharp pain throbbed in his head and went down his spine. Jake’s vision grew blurry and he collapsed. Every few minutes he was able to open his eyes and saw that a strange shadowy creature was dragging him off. The shadow monster had glowing purple eyes and its form would twist and change constantly. He looked up at the darkened sky and felt his body slide across the ruined concrete. Jake couldn’t even comprehend what was going on at this point. He was dragged into the large plant creature. the vines and stalk had grown around a patch of road, the round patch of road had circles and symbols painted on it. Jake was dragged into the center and the circle began to glow. Jake lay on the patch of road with half wide eyes and blissful ignorance. Red light filled the area and vines descended down from the ceiling. Shadows surrounded Jake and then the next moment, all went dark.

Pumpkin Heads

            It was a pitch black, moonless night. Five pumpkin headed figures stood in a line. Their faces were carved into different expressions and light was emitted from the their eyes, nose and mouth holes. The figures were completely motionless except for their slow steady breaths. Each breath they let out released an orange mist from their mouth holes. Their breath looked like human breath on a cold night, but this was orange and glowed like fire. The pumpkin heads wore black cloaks, which hid any further features and since it was so dark, the figures looked like five floating jack-o-lanterns that could breath.

            The pumpkin heads were at the edge of a old dark forest, outside of a small town and they were lined up and staring at a small farm house house. The house had its lights on and in through the windows an elderly couple could be seen having dinner. One of the pumpkin heads walked up to the door and lifted its shadowy claw. It banged on the door three times. The knocks echoed through the house and the elderly couple went silent. Then after a few moments the pumpkin heads heard shuffling around inside the house. Through the door, the faint muffled sound of walking, creaky floors and then a cabinet opening.  The elderly man finally answered the door. He opened the door slowly to greet his visitors and the Pumpkin heads waited with patient excitement.

When the door was finally open the man saw the five creatures. He stared at them for a moment with a puzzled look. Then he shook his head and smiled. “What lovely costumes” said the elderly man. He reached behind the door and grabbed a bowl of candy. He then proceeded to place candy into the claw like hands of the pumpkin heads as they silently stared at him, expressions fixed like Jack-o-lanterns. With one last smile the man waved goodnight and closed the door, then shuffled back to his dinner. The creatures exchanged glances as they kept their hands outstretched and filled with candy. Then at the same time, they all let out a slow crackling noise, like a fire burning away at a log. This translated into them saying “Success!” then they shoved the candies down into their fiery mouths, wrappers and all. The five creatures turned around and slowly walked off, disappearing into the night.

Czars of Halloween part 2

         Hello everyone, this is the final part of the 'Czars' origin story. The Czars of Halloween will have many spooky adventures, but i am saving those stories for another time. This story is a little long. a full page longer than previous stories. I assure you it is well worth your time though. this will put you in the Halloween Schmooood. as long as your not looking for a bloody story about an axe murder or ghosts that pull your face off. My stories are about Halloween, not murder. So with that, please enjoy!

   Years passed since the day Poe and Nyx first found a way to get into Hallows End. The two boys were in their mid twenties, they worked and lived most of their lives in Harvest town, but on special nights and weekends they would sneak away from their friends and family and hang out in Hallows End. They didn't always  party when they visited Hallows End, sometimes they would just relax at the local tavern “Jack and Lanterns tavern and Inn”. the tavern was shaped like a pumpkin, similar to the one in the autumn forest. But this one had a great big grinning Jack-o-lantern face and flames floated in circles around the tavern. Also the bartender wasn't a burly man who turned into a werewolf, the bartender here was Jack Slender and John Lanterns. The two men looked exactly the same, but wore different hats. They were also never seen together, leading everyone to believe that Jack and John were both the same guy who just changed between hats. Jack wore a fedora and John wore a bowler. They ‘both’ were thin men with brown eyes, brown hair and wore a black and orange vest, white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black dress pants, black dress shoes, an orange bow tie and had a slender mustache.

            It was the little things like ‘Jack and Lanterns’ that kept Poe and Nyx coming back after so many years. They also discovered that everyone in Hallows End had jobs and homes like every other village. This village just emitted a yearly feel of Halloween, even though they only celebrated Halloween like everyone else. Poe and Nyx would sit and enjoy the atmosphere of the town. The quiet nights had a charm of its own. Then when Halloween came, Poe and Nyx would travel through the haunted forest with the other residence of the Autumn forest and it would still be the best day of the year. Since Poe and Nyx enjoyed the daily life, the weekends, the nights and even the big Halloween party all in their own way, they two men would talk about moving to Hallows End Permanently. The only trouble would be leaving their friends and family behind. They would only see them once a year. “Do we follow our own selfish ambitions or do we stay with our family and not live life to its fullest the way we want to live?” Poe asked Nyx. They both just remained silent. To some this might seem like an obvious answer, but Nyx and Poe were seriously torn.

            Then came the day the two men would have to choose between Halloween life or the simple autumn farm life. It started as a suggestion by Halloween Jack. a man with a face covered in scars and a smile a mile long. He always carried a dangerous looking sword around with him and wore a orange cloak. “So just tell your family. Ask em to move here wit you. Or if they wont move. Just tell them how much you love Halloween and Hallows End and are thinking about moving and want their opinion. Let your family convince you to stay. You know, give them a fair shot before you decide to move for good” Jack suggested. He drank down the rest of his beer and slammed the mug down “John, get me another!” He shouted playfully. “Im Jack” Jack Slender said, wearing his fedora. Halloween Jack chuckled “Too many Jacks around here. I haven’t seen a Dennis or Robert in a while” Halloween Jack chuckled.

            Poe and Nyx realized that Jack had forgotten he was talking to them and were left with their drinks to ponder this new idea. “Yeah, we should just tell our families. Let them help us decide” Nyx said with a smile. He was surprised he hadn’t thought of it before. “Yeah. They will either be like. ‘stay with us we love you’ or maybe they will say ‘you should do what makes you happiest’” Poe said. the two agreed and finished their drinks. “By Jack, and Jack. tell John I said by” Said Nyx as the two got up to leave. Halloween Jack waved and then drunkenly fell on the floor. Bartender Jack just waved and made a motion that he would go fetch ‘John’. Poe just shook his head and followed Nyx out the door.

            Nyx and Poe were excited and a little nervous as they stumbled home. After years of living between worlds, they would finally decide on a town to live in. In the morning they would gather their families and talk it over. Tonight, they would sleep off all the pumpkin beer they drank. They each got home and slept like babies. Dreaming of each life, steady peaceful life on the farm or a weird and twisted life in the fun but dangerous Hallows End.

            That morning the two men gathered their immediate family together as one group and explained the situation. Poe and Nyx took turns explaining how much they loved Halloween as children and continued to love it as they grew up. The magic and weirdness of Hallows End was so appealing they dreamed of living there. The two men explained how they got a skull compass and since then would sneak off at least once a week and got to Hallows End to hang out or sometimes have little weekend parties at the tavern. They explained how they loved both towns so much that they needed help deciding if they should move or not. Their families were silent for a while. Some were more supportive than others. Poe’s father thought of Halloween as something for children and figured the two had grown out of it, even though he knew the two went to Hallows End every year with the rest of the village. He figured it was to flirt with ladies and drink beer, not to carve Jack-o-lanterns like a five year old. Nyx’s Father wasn’t any better and even got angry. Poe’s father might have mocked their interest, but Nyx’s father was angry by it. “You two boys need to grow up! Get wives and settle down. Not move to some town of freaks and endless parties. That place is fun for their weird parties, but that’s it. Only criminals and slackers live there” Spat the father. Poe almost hit Nyx’s father after hearing this. Meanwhile the two mothers didn’t want their kids to move away. They didn’t see the point of moving and wanted grandchildren to play with.

            Some of Poe’s siblings were supportive but most didn’t care. Nyx’s siblings and Uncle Tom were about the same. Poe was furious, He matched then overpowered the anger of Nyx’s father. “You Ignorant, lying pieces of garbage! If this is how you treat your own family then you lie every time you have said you loved either of us. You are all ignorant too. Too dumb and foul to understand that someone might work hard AND live in Hallows End. Nyx and I work hard and do everything we are supposed to. We are adults and we love Halloween. What’s more, the people of Hallows End are good people and never judge anyone. So that’s it, I am done with this sleepy, boring town.” Poe said, his normally pale face turning various shades of red. He felt so betrayed by his family. Nyx’s family tried to reason with Nyx, as if Poe was the crazy ringleader leading Nyx into disaster. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m moving to Hallows End. This is my choice. Please visit me if you ever decide to let go of your ignorance.” Nyx said slowly. He wasn’t angry, just sad and disappointed.  The night before, Poe and Nyx actually had considered staying in Harvest town. Yet their families called them foolish and said they were wasting their lives. They called the people of Hallows End criminals and slackers, people who had become great friends with Poe and Nyx and always treated them well.

            The two walked off that day and disappeared into the forest. From that day on they were never seen in the Autumn Forest again. They moved to Hallows End and got jobs, they lived in the town they loved. They got a house together and every Halloween they threw the biggest Halloween party in town, then Poe, Nyx and all the party guests would join the other villagers and tourists in the center of town and countdown to midnight. Then at midnight flames and fireworks would explode out of the giant Jack-o-lantern at the center of town. Everyone would drink and eat until they passed out.

            They ‘boys’ lived like this for years. Soon people started calling them the ‘Czars of Halloween’. This was because of how great their Halloween house parties were. Every year the party got bigger and crazier. It got to the point where they no longer just held a big party at their house, but instead threw a giant party for everyone in town and the town’s countdown to midnight became part of the huge party the Czars would throw every year. The Mayor loved the Czars for their Halloween spirit, so he and the rest of the town backed them up and encouraged every idea they had. So with the Help of the Czars, the mayor and the whole town, every Halloween in Hallows End was a party to remember.

            The rest of the year was pretty much the same as it had always been. People working on weekdays and relaxing and drinking on nights and weekends. This was the same as any village. Thanks to the Czars though, the population of Hallows End grew. More people wanted to live in Hallows End after enjoying the yearly parties so much. With a bigger population, grew better trade between lands. Soon the haunted forest had paths lit with torches and guards patrolled the roads. It was now safe to trade with and visit Hallows End. The town of Hallows End prospered, but never lost its spooky Halloween feel.

            All of this happened over the course of ten years. The Czars moved to Hallows End in their mid twenties and now by their mid thirties they helped a small spooky town thrive and prosper. In this time the Czars became wealthy with both riches and loved ones alike. All of their accomplishments were rewarded. They saved their money and bought pumpkin hill, then they built a castle to live in. over the years and after many adventures they acquired treasures and magical artifacts, which they held in their treasury vault. The two ‘boys’ might not technically rule over Hallows End like kings, after all there is still an elected mayor every couple of years, but they do sit on thrones in their castle and watch over Hallows End as the Czars of Halloween.

The Czars if Halloween part 1

Its October and that means Halloween stories every week! this is Czars of Halloween part 1, part 2 should be out by friday. I'm doing two stories this week because I only get five Halloween stories to tell this month and i don't want two weeks of the same story. So here is Czars of Halloween. Enjoy!

Hallows End has always been home to the many monsters and spirits of Halloween. But beyond Hallows End, through the Haunted forest and up on the top of Pumpkin patch hill, stands the skull fortress. The inhabitants of the skull fortress are the Czars of Halloween. They are the best of friends and together they rule and protect the land of Halloween. This hasn’t always been the case, the Czars weren’t always friends and they certainly weren’t always czars. Like everyone else, they started as children.

            The two Czars, who were named Nyx and Poe, grew up in Harvest town, a small town in the Autumn forest. The two boys would fight over everything, but the one thing they had in common was their love for Halloween and the yearly celebrations held in Hallows end. Since Hallows end was surrounded by the Haunted forest, the two boys couldn’t get to the town by themselves, so they would have to wait for the Hallows end celebration when villagers from Maple town, Harvest town and Pumpkin Patch would gather together and travel through the forest. Everyone knew the way and with so many pairs of eyes to watch for danger the forest was forced to behave and let them pass.

            So it was on these Halloween nights that Poe would put on his skull mask and Nyx would wear his pumpkin mask. They would dress in all black and retrieve their trusty travel bags from their rooms, and then they would rush outside and join the others in the exciting walk to Hallows end. Nyx had a travel bag that was orange and green and Poe had one that was black and white. The bags were souvenirs from their first time in Hallows end. They used the bags to smuggle Halloween treats and knick-knacks back home when the celebration was over.

            Every year the boys would wait and every year they would have the most fun ever when Halloween rolled around. They were always so excited about Halloween, that for one day they forgot their rivalry and got along. Back in Harvest town, they would fight and argue. For almost the entire year they were enemies. Nyx would even go so far as to throw snakes at poor Poe.

            As the years went on the boys grew and the fighting was less frequent. They both were about eighteen at this point and began to work in their family’s farms. The mundane life of a farmer began to settle on them and for a little while they began to wonder if they would ever get to live in Hallows end or would they be forced to ‘grow up’ and be farmers like their parents. One day while Poe was cutting tall grass a bizarre looking was traveling up the road past his farm. The man wore a black and purple top hat, a black coat with tails, white shirt, black pants and carried a huge bag on his back full of the most random assortment of things. This was a little over weight, he had a long mustache and a big smile. Poe was going to ignore him, but then he spotted trinkets that looked like they were from Hallows End. Poe ran down to meet the man “Excuse me, sir. What is all of that stuff you are carrying” Poe asked. The man’s smile seemed to grow even bigger than before “Well, young Sir, I am a trader and these are my wares. My name is Gransom the great and I things from all over the world” Said Gransom. Poe didn’t stop to ask about the name because he was too excited about these exotic wares. “Well I noticed you have things from Hallows End and I love Halloween. So could I take a look at them?” Asked Poe.

            The merchant set his large bag down and pulled on a rope, the bag opened and all of his wares fell out and landed in neat orderly piles, sorted by region and size. Poe was impressed. Gransom went over to the pile of objects found in the autumn lands, maple syrup, apple peeler and various pictures and painting of trees and scenery. Poe wasn’t impressed. To him these things were ordinary and though Hallow End was so close to his own town, it was also exotic because of how difficult it is to get there. Gransom continued to look through his things without saying a word. Then he found something. “Aha!” Said the man. “I have just what you are looking for” Gransom held out a compass in the shape of a skull. “This will help you cross into Hallows End any time you want” Gransom said. Poe would have been happy just to buy a jack-o-lantern mask or something, but this sounded way better. Poe paid for it and then ran off to find Nyx.

            Nyx was resting under a tree drinking maple syrup when Poe found him. “You lazy butt, get over here and look what I’ve found” Poe yelled to Nyx. Nyx stood up and walked over to Poe, and brought his maple syrup with him. “What is it you deranged lemur?” Asked Nyx. Poe was about to punch Nyx, but decided there was no time for that. “Look at this. I just bought it. It’s a compass that will help us go to Hallows End whenever we want” Poe said holding out the skull compass. Nyx looked at it with awe and began feeling just as excited as Poe. “Poe, I take back some of the bad things I’ve said about you. Lets go as soon as we can!” Nyx said.

            That night Nyx and Poe traveled to the edge of the haunted forest and Poe pulled out the compass. Instead of pointing north, the compass seemed to point toward Hallows End. With a deep breath they two stepped into the forest and began following the arrow on the compass. It was only once they could no longer see the exit that they began to realize that if the merchant scammed them and they were holding a fake compass, they would be in real danger. It was like jumping into the ocean before you know if your boat floats or not. Since they were already in the forest they had little else to do but follow the arrow. Time didn’t seem to pass in the haunted forest, because it was always dark. The trees were gangly and gray and their branches seemed to reach out for Poe and Nyx no matter were they went. Strange sounds could be heard along with the ones you would expect. Owls, crows and frogs made their own noises, but then every now and then a loud “Gerrump!” could be heard or the sound of trees breaking and falling over. It was very unnerving.  The two wondered the forest for what seemed like hours, their journey seemed longer now than it did when they traveled with a group during Halloween, but they kept marching on.

            After many hours of traveling Poe and Nyx saw light up ahead, they ran up through the trees and jumped over rocks and large tree roots and when they came to a clearing they saw Hallows End up ahead. “We made it!” The both cheered. It was night and Hallows End was shining bright with orange lights, lanterns and torches. The buildings were all different shapes and sizes, some were bent weirdly, some had spikes on them, Pumpkins were by every doorway, strange looking people walked the streets and at the center of town was a giant Jack-o-lantern. Poe and Nyx made it and ran into town. They spent that night partying with monsters and maniacs and women that their parents would never let them go near normally. Then when morning came they would travel back to their hometown before they were missed. Since they had the magical skull compass they could go to Hallows End every night and that is just what they did.