Leaves heaped on the ground. They rustle with the rolling of children. The sunset glances off their faces. A parent’s call rings in their ears. Treats disco in their minds as they are beckoned by a party clothed in pumpkins pasted on the door and lights strung for festivities. Drinks abound.
The guests arrive and Halloween hymns fill bounce off the walls. Pumpkin pie, bobbing for you know what, a slice of pecan here, candles lit. Aromas fill the nostrils of all.
The cheesy haunted house invites its “victims.” Only the smallest show a bit a fear, not much, and all sit down to the main course after nibbling for an hour.
Conversations are swapped. The matriarch and patriarch forbid any divisive talk and family share family tales.
All move to the lit back yard as the adults pass wine or brew to those who don’t abstain. The children and a few adults prefer no alcoholic drinks. The Ghosts of Halloween pasts are recounted with those who claim the “gift.”
The ghost stories begin until midnight. Only laggards now to stay the night.
A wind rises and a wolf howls. Lights out.