Fall Writing Frenzy 2021

Something creepy this way comes . . .

This year’s entry to my favorite writing contest is darker and scarier then arguably anything else I’ve written.

So scary, in fact, my kids said I couldn’t read it to them anymore.

House On The Hill

The house loomed above me, perched atop the hill.

Empty.
Crumbling.
Haunted.

I’m not scared, I thought, I’ll show them.

A shiver slithered down my spine as I started the steep trudge, each step bringing me closer.

The moon slipped from behind the clouds, a glint catching my eye.

I paused.

Once-broken windows were now whole.

“How . . .” I murmured, heart pounding.

Resuming my climb, I watched the house change with each step I took.

Step.
The shutters rehung.

Step. Step.
The paint unchipped.

Step. Step. Step.
The chimney, now alive with curls of smoke, beckoned me forward.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The ornate door creaked open revealing an unsmiling woman, cloaked in black.

“T-t-t-trick or t-t-t-treat . . .” I stammered.

A crack of lightning split the night in two as if in warning.

The woman reached towards me, her nails blood-red.
Run, I thought.

Like a bat in the night, I darted down the hill.

But with each step I felt myself age alongside the house.

My bones shrank and withered.
My hair grew stringy and white.
My clothes turned to rags.

A final step off the hill . . .

POOF!

My ashes rode the cool, crisp air, dancing to the sound of a witch’s cackle.