Everyone in town knows about the house down the street. I live on Switzer Lane in a pretty blue house with white trimmings. All the houses on my block look just the same; all except one: a giant golden mansion that completely overshadows the rest. A magnificent place to live, really, and it’s odd because nobody’s ever seen its residents.
But every year on Halloween, the mansion comes alive. The decorations are absolutely incredible. Bloody eyeballs and mystic bats are scattered around, the zombies seem to have just awoken from the dead, and witches have intricate face details that maximize the creepiness of it all. It’s unbelievable, even more so because it seems to be fully decorated just overnight. Nobody ever sees the process.
Tomorrow will be Halloween. I don’t plan on sleeping tonight. I watch that house from my bedroom window, not taking my eyes off it for a moment. It’s been 4 hours, and not one thing has happened yet. I am bored beyond belief, not to mention extremely tired, too. But a single light bulb turns on, and my curiosity is sparked once again. My eyes are wide open now and I watch as a chain reaction starts. Hundreds of black and orange lights flicker on across the property, but not one person is in sight.
Then I see a shadow move across the lawn, rigid, with his arms outstretched in front of him. He stalks out to the middle of the lawn, and then stops. Another person approaches and then freezes in place much like the first. They start multiplying, faster than my head can wrap around. How can this be? The mansion’s owners are probably very rich, but rich enough to waste thousands of dollars a year to hire people to stand on their lawn as decorations for Halloween? Nothing seems to make sense.
These can’t possibly be real people. I squint my eyes at the figures and something clicks; the uneven limp of their walk, the shadowy glint that radiates from their bodies. A jolt of fear rushes through me as I come to realize that these aren’t people, they’re… zombies. The moment I’m conscious of this, they all simultaneously freeze and turn their heads towards me. I see them advance towards my house as I run out of my room, down the hall, and into my closet. I lock myself in there, praying for my life.
Soon enough, there are hundreds of them, banging on the door and breaking in the windows. The creatures are barging in and I know there is absolutely nothing else I can do to protect myself. My body is shaking with fright, cold and limp, huddled in a ball on the closet floor. The door to my haven is then thrown open and with it, goes my last shred of hope.
“Nobody will know the secrets we hold. It is forbidden. Those who do… are never to be seen again.” Ghastly voices sweeps through the house, sealing my fate.
