After a long day of unlucky hunting, I found myself stuck in the middle of the marshlands for the night, without a flashlight or a lantern to guide my stumbling steps. So I settled beside a fallen log to rest until daylight. As I tossed and turned, I recalled the story my great-uncle told me about a ghost that haunted the marshlands.
There was once a man named Jack who was a nasty fellow. He beat his wife and kids and was an all-around bad chap. Jack got worse and worse as the years rolled by. But finally Jack's body got so wore out that he died. He went up to heaven, but Saint Peter refused to let such a wretched fellow in. Then he went to Hell, but the Devil barred the door as soon as he saw Jack coming and wouldn't let him in either. "Go away and don't come back," the Devil told Jack.
"How am I supposed to get back in the dark?" Jack grumbled. "Give me a lantern."
So the Devil threw a chunk of molten fire out to Jack, who took it for his lantern and went back to earth, where he wanders forever through the swamps and marshlands of the earth, a bitter spirit whose only delight was in luring the unwary to their doom with his lamp.
At this juncture in my musings, I happened to look out over the marshes and noticed a blinking light in the fog.
"Is that you, Jack O'Lantern?" I called jovially.
"Jack, (jack, jack)," a voice whispered back. I was
seriously spooked. I clutched my gun to my chest, the hairs on my arms standing on end. Had that been an echo of my voice, or was someone out here with me?
YOU ARE READING
Jack O'Lantern
HorrorBeware this is a scary story so make sure that's u know whose watching u
