Lights flickered from the street. The night was dark, with a chill in the air that made the leaves rustle like whispers. The house stood at the end of the street, its windows glowing with the warm light of a Halloween party. One by one, the guests arrived, their costumes casting long shadows on the driveway.
As if by some unspoken rule, the men drifted towards the garage, where the hum of a radio and the clink of beer bottles created a familiar soundtrack. The women, laughing and chatting, made their way to the living room, where the scent of pumpkin spice and the flicker of candles set a cozy scene.
Outside, the kids gathered at the entrance of the old stable, their faces lit by the glow of jack-o’-lanterns. Amelia and Olivia, dressed as vampires, stood at the center of the group, their eyes sparkling with mischief.
“This is insane,” says Josiah, admiring the stable decoration.
“Seriously, how long did this take you guys?” says Kimmy cautiously eyeing the cobwebs.
Shilo pokes at the eye of one of the jack-o-lanterns and cringes. “Eww, it feels weird.”
“Okay, everyone,” Amelia whispered. “Come in close.”
The group tightened up, all eyes on Amelia.
“We all know what it’s like to have our parents waste away special nights like these. You know what I’m talking about. You want to watch a Halloween movie? ‘No, go watch it by yourself,’ they say. You want to make pumpkin face cookies? ‘Not tonight,’ they say. Halloween should be a family event. Where everyone gets to have fun together.”
The kids nodded in unison. Amelia continues.
“Instead, it becomes just another reason for The Insipids to come together and do what they do best: talk.”
“Drink!”, adds Shilo.
“Gossip!”, adds Kimmy.
“Ignore us!”, adds Josiah.
“Exactly!” says Amelia. “But not tonight. Tonight, we make a stand. Tonight, we will bring our parents together for the scariest night of their lives and show them what happens when they shoo us away.”
Amelia glances at her sister Olivia. “Show them what happens when they yell at us.”
The words hit Olivia hard, and she nods in response. Amelia nods back and continues, “and when we’re done, the Insipids will never again divide us to spend Halloween alone.”
The kids cheer, fist pumping the air as Amelia’s speech fills them with inspiration.
“Did everyone bring their school photo like I asked?” Amelia says.
The kids each pull out their grainy photos.
“You’re not going to tear it up, are you? Because my mom would be very mad,” says Kimmy.
“No, we’re not. We have a plan,” Amelia continued. “We’re going to lure them into our haunted house and scare the socks out of them. Are you in?”
The kids exchanged excited glances, their fear turning into determination. They nodded eagerly, ready to bring the spirit of Halloween back to life.
“Wait a minute, how do you expect to lure them into the back stable without them telling us to bugger off?” Shilo asks, bringing the group back down to reality.
“Yea, my dad is pretty stubborn, especially when he’s had a few drinks in him,” says Kimmy.
“And my mom is a huge chismosa,” says Josiah.
“A what?” asked Shilo.
“Chismosa, a gossiper,” Josiah answers her. “Good luck getting her attention.”
Amelia leans in closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, “We’ve got some help.”
Right on queue, Sebastian appears out of the corner, dressed as Jason Voorhees, and scares the group. Everyone screams. Sebastian laughs, removing his mask to reveal his face.
Shilo’s eyes widened. “Sebastian? Really?”
Amelia nods. “That’s not all.”
The stable door slowly creaks open, the thick fog escaping and covering the ground beneath them. The kids look up, eyes wide, jaws dropped as a big shadowy figure appears into view.
“Is that…”, Josiah’s voice trails off in astonishment.
Kimmy’s lip quivers. “M-Mr. G-G-Grimsby? He’s helping us?”
“Yep,” Olivia says proudly joining him at his side. “Turns out, he’s not the creepy old man everyone says he is.”
Josiah grins. “This is going to be epic. So, what’s the plan?”
“Yea, count us in,” says Shilo.
“Great,” Amelia said, her grin widening. “Here’s what we need to do…”