31 Short Horror Stories for Halloween

The Pied Piper Kidnappings

Mr. and Mrs. Sven were the perfect couple. Not perfect in the sense that they were young, good-looking, middle-class with the perfect two kids. No, they were both in their late sixties and had been married for thirty years, at least.

They were perfect because they were a symbol of true love. Of marriage actually lasting more than five years and in my town that was nothing short of amazing. They were both doctors; Mrs. Sven was a pediatrician and Mr. Sven was a child psychologist. They loved children and perhaps that was the sad thing; they didn't have any of their own.

Several adoption agencies had tried to help them but they insisted that wanted to make their own child, and not adopt. It never happened for them but they were never bitter about it. They were some of the best doctors in town. They had brought up an entire generation and now the kids they had cared for were all grown up and having babies of their own. It was impossible to get an appointment with the doctors unless you were a regular.

People like that, nice people who want only the best for others, they get their share of hate. There were people in town who insisted they pair were crazy lunatics. Some even tried to challenge their ability to practice when Mrs. Sven turned fifty saying she was too old to do her job right. Filth, those people. The woman was a treasure.

Then it happened. They called it the pied-piper kidnappings. Ten kids went missing all in one night. They were all aged 3 -4. The town was in an uproar. The search parties began. I was leading the investigation. I wish I could say I found those kids but I never did. The case broke me. It broke our town. Those kids were regulars for the two doctors and Mrs. Sven fell ill.

Two years we searched and after that people gave up. The families moved away, trying to distance themselves from grief. The two doctors moved too. Mrs. Sven never really recovered. I stayed. It was my burden to bear. It was my failure.

I never cracked the case. A real estate agent did. Her name was Sally Byrd and she was trying to sell the big mansion the Svens had owned while they lived here. It was big and not many people could afford the place. Sally had gone down to the basement and found the hidden door. On the other side, she found them; the missing children, or what was left of them. They lay in decaying pieces that had been surgically removed. On the wall a large sheet of yellowing paper was pinned with the words The Perfect Child fading on it. I guess the Svens made their own child after all.