by Cia Leah
HALLOWEEN STORIES
By Cia Leah
COPYRIGHT 2011 BY Cia Leah
This is a work of fiction. All names are fictitious and any resemblance
to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.
LIST OF STORIES
THE HALLOWEEN VEIL
HALLOWEEN HILL
HALLOWEEN MYTH
DEADLY HALLOWEEN
THE HALLOWEEN VEIL
By Cia Leah
Amber Morris carried the last of the boxes out of her car into the foyer of the old house. Memories of her Grandmother swamped her with sweet remiss and she remembered the days that she had spent here as a child. They were good memories and having inherited the old place was something she had always hoped for.
She carried one large box into the kitchen and started to put things away when someone knocked on the door. She turned to look through the screen door. “Come on in,” she called, feeling safe and secure in her Grandmother’s old neighborhood.
“Where is it?”
Amber almost dropped the plates she held; ready to place them into the cupboard. The woman that stood before her was old, almost ancient looking and reminded her of a wicked witch. She was dressed all in black, from her long black dress to her old black shoes. “Hi,” she said, chiding herself for staring at the woman opened mouthed. “May I help you?”
“I want to know where it is!”
Amber placed the plates in the cupboard, and then gave the woman her full attention. “Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’d like to sit down and explain it to me, I can make us a cup of coffee.”
“I wouldn’t drink any coffee served in this house and all I want is the veil!”
“The veil?”
“Yes, you know what I’m talking about too! Don’t deny it!”
Amber shook her head. “I don’t know who you are, let alone know anything about a veil.”
“Curses on you if you don’t give me the veil! You’re Doris’s granddaughter and next in line and it is rightfully mine!”
Amber counted to ten silently. She was beginning to loose her temper with the old lady and she wasn't brought up to be disrespectful to anyone, let alone an elderly person. How in the world was she supposed to get her point across that she knew nothing of what this woman was speaking of? Maybe the woman was senile or something and maybe the best thing to do was go along with her. “If you tell me what the veil looks like, I will look in some of Grandma’s things and see if I can find it for you.”
“There isn’t time for games, young woman. Halloween night is in two days. I will be back on Halloween Eve and if you don’t give me the veil, then don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
“What are you talking about?” Amber said, feeling the first throbbing at her temples that would probably turn into a migraine. The woman’s voice had a grating quality to it and her voice was threatening.
“The Halloween veil! I want the Halloween Veil and curses be yours if you still have it in your possession on Halloween night!”
Amber watched as the old woman turned and walked out the door, letting the screen door slam shut loudly. “What in heaven’s name was that all about?” she said, taking a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves, just as another knock sounded on the door. It swung open and a young woman walked in. She was tall, thin, and blonde and had a model’s beauty and grace. She held a cake tray with a delicious looking cake inside.
“Hi! I see you were visited by the wicked witch of Sharenton,” she said, moving to set the cake on the table.
Amber smiled. “Yes, and it wasn’t pleasant, but totally confusing. My name’s Amber Morris.”
“I’m Phoebe. We just moved here a year ago and your Grandmother was a special lady indeed. I thought I’d lend you a hand with your unpacking and we can get to know one another. Oh, and I hope you like chocolate cake.”
“Love it and thanks. Let me put on some coffee.”
“Sounds good. I’ve been wanting to cut that cake ever since I got it iced.”
Amber laughed. “I think we’re going to be good friends. I love chocolate too and appreciate the offer of help.”
“I don’t have anything to do for the rest of the day until my husband gets home at nine tonight, so we have plenty of time to get a lot of work done.”
“You aren’t employed anywhere?” Amber asked, as she poured two cups of strong black coffee and set one in front of.
“Only at home. My husband makes good money and we’re trying to start a family. I just want to be a stay at home mom. Maybe later in my life, I might want to try something different, but for now, I am enjoying being a wife.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Amber said, placing two plates and napkins on the table. “You cut the cake, all right, and tell me who that woman was.”
“Everyone calls her the wicked witch of Sharenton, but her name is Matilda Derks.”
“Matilda Derks,” Amber repeated, racking her memory. “I don’t remember her,” she said, as pushed her plate to her. The slice of chocolate cake she had placed on the plate was huge.
“Oh, I forgot, you’ve been away at college. Her name used to be Matilda Jones, but she married about four years ago. Her husband died thirteen months after the marriage. People say she killed him with her wicked ways and tongue.”
“Now I know her or of her. My Grandmother never liked her and always warned me when I was little to never go trick or treating at her house. She told me she would poison the candy. After today, I believe it.”
“You must have something she wants, or she wouldn’t come here. Rumors run wild in this small town and I’ve heard there was no love lost between your Grandmother and her. Some say your Grandmother scared Matilda and as long as she was alive, everyone was safe from the wickedness of Matilda Derks.”
Amber took a bite of her chocolate cake. “Oh, this is so good! It’s homemade!”
“Yes it is and thanks. I’ll give you the recipe if you want it.”
“I’d love it and do you know what a Halloween veil is? That’s what Matilda wanted. No, she demanded I give it to her and if I didn’t, I would be cursed. She said I only have until Halloween Eve to turn it over to her.”
“That’s creepy,” Phoebe said, taking a sip of coffee, “and I have no idea what it could be.”
“Well, a bride wears a veil and they used to be worn at funerals, especially in Matilda’s time, but a Halloween veil? What could that symbolize?”
“I don’t know and don’t think I want to find out. I like to think of Halloween as a fun time with lots of candy and decorations.”
“Me too, but I don’t think Matilda has candy and decorations on her mind. I think there is something more sinister afoot here.”
“Well, I’ll help you look for it if you want and we can get a lot of your stuff unpacked and put away. You don’t have all that much.”
“I didn’t need much in college and I always hoped Grandma would leave me the house. It does seem strange with her not here though and I miss her very much.”
“Lots of people do. She was a good person. You didn’t get to come to her funeral either. That must have been hard for you.”
“No, I didn’t and yes it was. I was in the hospital at the time having an appendectomy. Mom and dad took care of everything, and then went abroad. They love to travel and after I left home, they sold the house and have been gone ever since.”
“Maybe you could ask your parents and see if they know anything about a Halloween veil.”
“Well, maybe they do. I’ll try and contact them later to see. Grandma was my dad’s mom. Hopefully he can clear this situation up.”
I hope so and if he does, I’ll leave you my phone number so you can call and tell me.”
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Amber laughed. “We’re going to get along just fine. Now, let’s see if we can work off some of these calories we just consumed,” she said, pushing up from the table. “I just have a couple boxes left in here and clean the counters, floors, and things like that and the kitchen is done.”
“I’ll tackle the counters for you and the floor.”
“Great,” Amber said, as bent down and picked something up.
“What is this?” She asked.
Amber walked over to her and looked at the small pin that had a note attached to it. “It’s a black cat,” she said, taking it in her hand and releasing the pin that held the note to it.
“What’s it say?”
“It says beware the black cat.”
“I don’t like this,” she said. “You know that Matilda dropped that on purpose while she was here?”
“I know,” Amber replied thoughtfully. She walked over and stuck the pin and note inside the cupboard drawer and shut it. “Let’s forget it for now all right?”
“Sure,” Phoebe replied. “I’ll do the counters now.”
Amber nodded and started putting more things away. Even though this was the first time she had ever heard of a Halloween veil, she just knew the next couple days were going to be filled with Halloween havoc, black cats, and Matilda Derks.
***
Amber hung up the phone. She had talked to her father and he had been adamant about staying away from Matilda Derks. He had told her to keep her doors locked at all times and to make sure the down stairs windows were locked up when she went to bed.
When she had asked him about the Halloween veil, he had refused to even talk about it. He had told her it was just some stupid Halloween joke and not to worry about it and if Matilda kept bothering her to call the police and to be careful.
“Lots of help, you were, Dad,” she said, getting up to walk about the living room. It was a small room, with an old fireplace with a white, wooden mantle and a window overlooking the yard. A door led out to the front porch that was enclosed with windows that were old and she knew she had to replace a couple that were cracked. To the right of the fireplace, a staircase rose to the upstairs. At the top of stairs were a bath, a long hallway, and three bedrooms.
Amber switched on the living room light, and picked up the box of odds and ends she really didn’t need and took it upstairs. She debated on whether on not to put it in one of the bedrooms that she wouldn’t be using, but then thought better of it. “I might as well take it to the attic now and get it over with,” she said, walking into her bedroom. Inside one door that looked like a closet door, there was a stairway that led to the attic.
She opened it and waked up the stairs and fumbled for the light switch. She knew it was here since she had seen her Grandma turn it on several times. It felt odd that she was about to step into a place where she was never allowed before. Her Grandma always said this was her private place and no one had the right to enter it without her permission.
Amber found the switch and light filled the interior. “Goodness,” she said, surprised at finding the attic so organized and so nice. Even though dust had collected a little since her Grandma had passed on, the room was enormous, taking up the whole outline of the house. There was a sewing machine and a pile of quilt pieces still sitting on a stand beside it. A roll away bed sat against the wall covered with a colorful quilt her Grandma had made, a small loveseat and chair sat in the middle of the room, and boxes of things were piled on top of one another at the back of the room. “This is nice,” she said, knowing she would use this room lots of times and it would be a place where she could just enjoy being.
She walked over to an empty space and sat her box down, then turned and glanced around again. When her eyes caught site of an old mannequin in the far corner, she shivered. “Now I’m imagining things,” she said, walking over to look at it closely.
“I just don’t believe this,” she said. There was no mistake the dress covering the mannequin’s form was the one and same as the one Matilda had been wearing today and as she glanced down at the shoes, they were the exact same also. “What in the world is going on?”
Amber walked around the mannequin and found a box sitting behind it. She pulled it over to the sofa, sat down, and opened it up. Halloween decorations were inside. She looked at each one, placing them on the sofa beside her to put them back in when she was done, then looked at the stuff in the bottom of the box. There was the exact same black cat that Matilda had dropped in the kitchen and the note was still attached to it, beware of the black cat. “This is so odd,” Amber whispered as she took out another piece. It was a small, black ghost pin and the note attached to it read, beware of the black ghost.
She shook her head and lifted out another item. It was a pin of a black pumpkin and it read, beware of the burning of the black pumpkin. One more item remained and Amber lifted it out with shaking hands. It was a notebook and on the page was written in her Grandmother’s handwriting. “If you find this, then I know that I am gone, but I will always live within your heart, mind, and soul. Beware that not all is at it seems and never reveal the whereabouts of the Halloween veil, but guard it with your life like I did.”
Amber let the note fall back into the box as if it had suddenly caught fire. “My God, what is going on here? What is this Halloween veil and what does it symbolize and why is it so important?” She said, knowing that she was not going to find the answers in this box. This box was only a warning of things to come.
She picked up the box and placed it behind the mannequin again and looked about the room. Darkness had fallen and not even the moon dared show its face tonight, as though it were afraid to.
Shivering, Amber walked around the attic, and then searched through a few boxes. She found nothing but a few antiques that she would put around the house. Just as she was ready to give up, she heard the scream of a cat. The hair on the nape of her neck stood on end, and she ran down the attic steps and down the stairs to the living room. There, on her sofa was a black cat. It spat at her with its claws barred. “Nice kitty,” Amber said, her voice trembling. “Come on, Kitty, let’s get you outside where you belong.”
Amber moved into the dinning room and just as she stepped into the kitchen, the cat meowed loudly and raced past her through the open screen door. She ran over, removed the brick that had been placed against the door to hold it open, and shut and locked it. “I know I locked this door,” she said, and then remembered that when she had been younger, she had always let herself in by inserting her fingernail file through the opening of the screen door and lifting the hook lock that kept it shut. Anyone could have done the same thing.
“This is ridiculous,” she said, moving to make a cup of tea to soothe her frazzled nerves. Then she saw it. On the table situated perfectly in the middle was a miniature black ghost with a small candle burning inside it. Just as she went to blow out the candle, a gust of wind blew into the room and snuffed it out. The door leading to the cellar stood open and now she knew how someone had gained entry into the house. She had never thought to go down to the basement and shut the windows that were ground level from the outside where anyone could climb through them and come into the house.
Amber quickly ran to the door and shut and locked it. Immediately, a deep, bone-chilling moaning filled the house. “I’m not letting anyone scare me out of my home!” She yelled, running to the phone and dialing 911.
By the time Amber had hung up, the moaning stopped and an eerie quiet ensued. She glanced towards the window and felt goose-bumps pop out on her arms. She was being watched, and even though she couldn’t see anything beyond the blackness lurking outside the window, she knew someone was there. “Who are you? I know it can’t be Matilda. She’s not tall enough to look in that window and too old to climb up on something!”
Amber knew she wouldn’t get an answer and for several heart-stopping seconds, she knew she was facing a faceless enemy that could see the fear on her face. She knew too whoever it
was enjoyed her fear and when the sirens sounded in the distance, she heard the sound of footsteps running across the old wooden boards of the porch outside. They had gone.
She was waiting at the screen door and opened it before the officer had time to knock. “Thank you so much for coming,” she said, and then smiled. “Steve, is that you?”
“Yes, Amber. It’s been a long time, huh? I was hoping to see you at your Grandmother’s funeral, but your father said you were in the hospital.
“Yes, an appendectomy. I wanted to be here so much though. I’m happy you’re here now and maybe you can drop by sometime when you’re off duty if you aren’t married or anything yet. Now, come and sit down. Would you like a cup of tea or a can of soda?”
“No thanks, but you look like you can sure use a cup of hot tea. Go ahead and make it while you tell me what happened, and no I’m not engaged or anything and I’ll drop by soon for sure.”
Amber smiled and put the water on to boil. She told him what had occurred when Matilda had shown up at her house up to the time that she had called him. “I don’t know what is going on, but I don’t like it. I thought moving here to Grandma’s house and the neighborhood would be a safe one. What on earth is a Halloween veil?” She asked, making her tea and sitting down at the table. Steve’s frown told her it wasn’t anything good and she already knew that from what happened so far today.
“The only thing I know about the Halloween veil is that your Grandmother had it and for some reason unknown to me, Matilda Derks has always wanted it. Why she wants it is anyone’s guess, but when I finish up here, I’ll take a ride out to her place and see what she has to say and see if she will tell me anything. I do know she is not tall enough to look at you through that window and she can’t run at her age.”
“Then you think it is someone else who is after the veil or trying to find out about it, or maybe just scaring me since it is almost Halloween?”
“I don’t know, but be careful. If you want, I can come back when I get off duty and sleep on the sofa for the next two nights if it makes you feel safer.”
