It's gaining on me! I can see that evil light stretching out from the woods behind me! I'm running through the forest in the middle of the night, and I can barely see my own hand in front of me. But I know I need to get as far away from that thing as possible!
Wait, what's that in the distance? A light? Did the monster somehow circumvent to the front? No, it's a porch light illuminating a log cabin! It's Mr. Slater's home! He can help me!
The evil light behind me is growing brighter! I'm almost close to the cabin! Dear God, please let Mr. Slater be home!
I exit the woods and into the property clearing! I quickly reach the door and knock with frenzy!
"Mr. Slater," I shouted, as terror squeezed in my chest. "Help me, please!"
"Jonathan?" Mr. Slater's voice called out from the cabin. "Is that you?"
"Yes, Mr. Slater! Please, help me! There's a monster in the woods! It's chasing me!"
"A monster," Mr. Slater repeated in confusion. "Hold on a minute."
"Hurry," I screamed in horror. I could see the evil light getting brighter, as it neared the edge of the woods! As if on cue, Mr. Slater opens the door and looks at me. Without waiting for an invitation, I made myself into the house and quickly closed the door, safe at last!
"Jonathan?" Mr. Slater asked in concern. "Are you alright, son?"
"Call the police," I said through ragged breaths. "He's coming!"
"Who's coming? What are you talking about?" Mr. Slater asked.
"Old Man Whateley is alive," I finally answered him. "He's outside. I saw him kill a man. He's become some kind of monster!"
"Old Man Whateley?" Mr. Slater said in mild disbelief. "That's not possible. He's been dead for over a year now!"
"He didn't die," I heard myself raise my voice. "Last Halloween, Old Man Whateley found out he had stage four colon cancer. But instead of seeking treatment or making final preparations, he built a black altar to the Devil and begged him for immortality! Whateley got his wish, only it wasn't what he expected. The Devil turned him into a Thywyllach, and now every year he has to kill three people before Halloween night to stay alive or he dies!"
"A Thywy..." Mr. Slater trailed off, and then said, "Son, there's no such thing. It's a fairy tale."
"It's not a fairy tale," I told him in desperation. "Whateley is coming here right now, and we need to stop him before..."
I stopped talking as soon as I saw the look of terror on Mr. Slater's face. He was looking at the window next to me, with an all-too-familiar light stretching across his complexion. I go to his side and see that my fear was realized. A skeletal being with half a pumpkin atop its skull glared at us through the window; its eyes casting that haunted glow...
