A WWWorkshop assignment to write a story about a little boy scared at Halloween.

GHOSTLY STRANGERS


"Well, yeah! Ghosts and stuff come out on Halloween! Sure!"

"Huh-uh!" Poor Jimmy couldn't believe his ears. His older brother, Bobby, claimed not only were ghosts real, but they come out on Halloween night.

"Well, everybody is out in costumes on Halloween. How can you tell who is a real ghost and who isn't?" Jimmy asked.

"That's what is so scary, you can't tell which ones are real! That's how they getcha!" Bobby smiled from ear to ear as he gathered up his trick or treat bag. "You coming?" he asked.

"Um, I guess so." What if one of those ghosts got him? But he wanted the treats bad. His scarecrow outfit seemed pretty silly in the light of all this ghost-danger. The straw hat and ragged clothes were a joke by comparison.

They canvassed up and down their own street without incident. Since they knew all the neighbors, Jimmy felt safe. It was when they turned down Shady Lane, Jimmy got nervous.

More ghosts than before teemed about on this street. Eerie, white draped beings floated everywhere up and down the walks carrying sacks of goodies.

Bobby stopped and spoke, "Be careful here, Jimmy. The real ghosts look and act like the ones with costumes. They do that so you won't know who they are."

"I'm gonna stick close to you," Jimmy muttered.

"Yeah, right." Bobby squeezed out a grin and proceeded down the street.

The ghosts were creepy. Jimmy ran to stay out of one's path and didn't look back. When they came to the corner, Bobby disappeared in a crowd of costumed characters. He stepped in behind a pirate and then was blocked from view by a gypsy. Then in a whirlwind of pushing and shoving, Jimmy watched in horror as a ghost gathered Bobby in his sheets and his brother disappeared!

Jimmy froze. They got Bobby! Darting his eyes about in panic, his fear screamed in his head. "Run, RUN! Before they get you, too!"

The boy took off like a bullet, racing down the street, his straw hat flying off as his treat-or-treat bag fluttered by his side. He ran all the way home.

Watching Jimmy zoom away, Bobby undraped himself from his friend's ghost-cloak.

"That kid sure can run, can't he?" he asked.

"He sure can."