“WOW! Where did you find that?” asked Jake Williams. Carefully, he took the strange looking coin from his friend’s hand and was surprised to find that it was icy cold.
Quickly Paul took back the coin. Looking closely at his twelve-year old cousin, he wondered if he should tell him the truth about where he’d gotten it. Even though they were the same age, Paul was considered the smarter of the two. Guess I might as well confess, he thought, with a sense of dread, as he returned the coin to his coat pocket. After all, this was Halloween, and you always did something different on this day.
“I found it lying in the MacIntosh house. I crept in there this morning before going to school. I thought it would be cool to have something from the house where the town witch had lived. The place gave me the creeps,” he stammered.
Jake stepped away from his cousin, his eyes darting back and forth as if something was coming. “Paul, you know there’s a curse on that stuff! The last person who took something from there was found in bits and pieces!”
“I don’t believe in curses or that story,” responded Paul, as he felt the cold from the coin work its way through the coat fabric and creep up his spine. “Besides, I’m not going out tonight so I’ll be safe at home.”
“Won’t you be afraid that “IT” will come?” asked Jake, uneasily.
“I’ll be okay; my parents will be at a party for a few hours. I’m going to lie around and watch scary movies. Want to come over?” Paul tried to sound brave and indifferent, but a sinking feeling in his stomach told him otherwise. He was desperate for company. What if the curse was real, and the long dead witch came to get the coin? He’d heard the story about the witch and her curse often enough to know that some people actually believed in it. Paul’s mother had told him that the old witch had made a deal with the devil and got her riches from his den!
“Can’t,” said Jake, not bothering to hide the relief he felt over having an excuse. “I’m going to Mary’s Halloween party. Why don’t you come with me?”
“I can’t. I promised my parents I’d hand out the candy,” answered Paul. “Maybe you could come by after the party—I’ll be up,” he added, hopefully.
“I’ll call you,” said Jake, over his shoulder, as he walked away.
Feeling weird and a little scared, Paul watched him go. Slowly he started towards his house and tried not to think about the curse and what he’d done to bring it on.
It wasn’t until he was standing on the front porch of his house that he noticed the wind tossing the brown, dry leaves around the yard. Nervously he watched as the swirling leaves turned into a whirlpool. Dust was stirred up in the driveway, and a dark shadow appeared to be standing by the mailbox. Wind ripping at his clothes, Paul dropped his backpack and fumbled around in his pocket for the house key. His hands shook as he tried to unlock the door. Finally he managed to get it open and glanced quickly over his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the dark shadow rapidly coming towards him!
As the wind, dust, and leaves reached the porch in a whirlwind, Paul slammed the door shut and threw the dead bolt. Breathlessly he waited and listened for “IT”, his heart pounding in his chest as beads of sweat formed on his brow. He froze when he heard a voice—a deep, throaty voice that sent shivers up his spine:
“BOY! GIVE ME BACK MY COIN!”
Paul stepped away from the door as the knob started to shake violently. More scared than he’d ever been before in his life, he raced up the stairs to his bedroom! Moving swiftly to the window overlooking the front yard, he was terrified to see the demonic figure looking up at him. Frantically he searched his pockets until he found the coin. The demon moved back on the porch—the banging on the front door rattled the whole house! The banging grew louder and louder and the air became heavy with a foul odor.
Throwing open the bedroom window, Paul cried, “Here’s your coin! I’m sorry I took it!” Frantically, he threw the coin down to the evil form. In horror he watched as a bony white hand reached out to catch it. The fearful demon gave a gleeful laugh before vanishing into the twilight.
Paul collapsed on the bedroom floor. His parents found him there sometime after midnight.
My sister would love this one. She is too young for some of the horror I write but this is the kind of story that I will say will be perfect for her age bracket. Reminds me of some of the horror stories I read in my youth, the scary stories to tell in the dark era horror of the 1980s. It is about as dark as some of the things that R.L. Stine will write and one thing I will say -- keep a close eye on. You got the premise for something longer here.
WEIRD RHODY is a short story collection featuring five strange tales all set in Rhode Island and written by five Rhode Island authors. The anthology is a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, the Ocean State's famed author of pulp horror.
Happy Halloween. A volume of Horrible Haunts & Twisted Tales taken from the horror books La Belle Rouge has written every October for a decade and a half. If you have read her works in the horror genre, you know the invitation is for you to enjoy thr
