Happy All Hallows Eve!
As I write this post, Halloween is only a few days away. When I grew up Halloween was an unknown entity in the suburbs of Sydney. We gradually became aware of the concept as my boys went through their childhood, but now as my grandchildren grow, Halloween is everywhere. It’s in every shop you enter, and houses are beginning to decorate their front yards.
One of my favourite Halloween memories is from many years ago when I was still teaching. One of the parents of my Kindergarten class invited all the class, including me, their teacher, over for a Halloween party. When I arrived all dressed up as a spooky witch, black wig and all, no one recognised me. I almost didn’t get invited in! Here’s a photo of me all those years ago.
Here I am having loads of spooky fun with my Kindies twenty years ago. Would you have recognised me if I cam knocking at your door like this?
Kids love spooky stories, and this is the time of year to read them. As an author, I have had several opportunities over the years to write and have published spooky short stories in several anthologies. I thought this year, it was time to revisit some of these stories.
One of my favourite spooky short stories I wrote for an anthology or a collection of stories from a group of authors, is found in the book titled Spooktacular Stories, Thrilling Tales for Brave Kids. Here is a little video I made of me reading the first half of the story. You can tell I was nervous in front of the camera, or was something spooky lurking in my room?
This story originated from an experience hubby and I had while we were in Scotland in 2010. It was our 25th wedding anniversary and also only a couple of days before Halloween and to celebrate he suggested a night tour of the Greyfriars graveyard. Great idea! I have never been so scared in my life. The tour guide was excellent, his story had us all convinced that there was a spirit after us. I’m so glad we were able to laugh about it later, at least it gave me a great idea for a spooky story. when it was time to write a story for the anthology in 2019, I realised the memories and been ruminating around in my mind forming a story for years.
This is me at the Brisbane Children’s Hospital where we shared our spooky stories with sick kids. It is a special memory that will last in my heart forever.
This was the next day at the official book launch in a Brisbane book shop.
The Thumping was another story I wrote for an anthology. It’s been years since I read it myself, so I thought I might share it here for you now. This one came from the sounds under our house at night when we first moved in. Was it a dog, a ghost or something even scarier? Have a read and find out what made the spooky noises deep in the dark.
I wrote a bit more in depth about these in my October newsletter, so I hope you have had a chance to read it.
The Thumping.
Aaron pulled the covers tight over his head. If he closed his eyes and didn’t move, maybe he could ignore the thumping and his little brother’s chatter. Maybe he could go back to sleep.
‘Did you hear that?’ He heard Will’s voice tremble.
Aaron peaked over the top of the doona just as Will sat bolt upright in bed.
‘No,’ grumbled Aaron as he pulled the covers over his head again. ‘Go back to sleep.’
Thump.
‘There it is again,’ whispered Will.
Aaron knew Will could barely see a thing, it was so black, not even a hint of moonlight shone through the bedroom curtain.
Thump. Thump.
‘You must be able to hear that. What is it?’ Will scrambled out of his bed and climbed in beside Aaron. He pushed and squirmed and did his best to snuggle in.
‘Get off!’ Aaron kicked Will and tugged the blankets tight around himself. A tug of war followed until Aaron relented. Then his pillow was pulled from under his head and the war began again. ‘Enough.’ Aaron shoved Will a bit too hard.
Will grabbed at Aaron’s pyjamas but he still thumped to the floor just as another thump came from below. Will scrambled to his feet and jumped straight back in beside Aaron. ‘I’m staying right here until you find out exactly what that noise is.’
Aaron yawned and stretched. He really didn’t want to be awake, but Will wasn’t about to let him sleep. He sat up and listened. The thumping was getting louder. He could hear scratching under the floor now, too.
‘What on Earth is that?’ Aaron rubbed his eyes trying to adjust them to the darkness.
Thump. Thump.
There it was again. ‘Sounds like it’s coming from underneath us.’ Aaron strained to listen.
‘I’ve heard of monsters in the cupboard,’ said Will. ‘But not under the floor.’
‘Don’t be silly. It’s not a monster.’ Aaron shook his head. He had to admit, Will did have his attention now. ‘I wonder what could be making that noise?’ They could hear more scratching too.
‘Sounds like the monster is digging,’ Will continued. ‘Maybe there is someone down there burying something.’
‘That’s it,’ Aaron nodded and tried to pull the covers back up to try to go back to sleep. ‘Probably just a dog. It’s got under the house to bury a bone.’
‘Dogs don’t make a thumping sound like that.’ Will shook his head and cuddled into Aaron.
‘Perhaps we should go and investigate.’ Aaron pushed the covers away. ‘Besides, I’ve got no chance of sleeping with you in bed beside me.’
‘I’m not going under the house at night.’ Will pulled the covers straight back up and tugged them tight over his head. ‘You can go. I’ll wait here.’
‘Sorry, Buddy. If I have to go, so do you.’ Aaron yanked the covers off Will and threw him his dressing gown and slippers. ‘Let’s go.’ He grabbed his torch off his side table and opened the bedroom door.
Will moaned and grumbled as he slipped on his gown.
Thump, Thump.
Will jumped. He grabbed Aaron by the shoulder and crept up the hall so close that Aaron could feel his breath on the back of his neck. Together they crept out the laundry door, along the back deck and down the stairs. It was a still night. Barely a breeze blew through the gum trees. A couple of kangaroos munched on the grass in the paddock, but there was no other movement. Aaron couldn’t see any lights on in any of the nearby houses, not even the ones across the valley. The neighbourhood seemed to be asleep.
The door that lead under the house was ajar, it creaked as he opened it further. It seemed louder than usual in the silence. Will’s breathing became heavier on the back of Aaron’s neck. Aaron shone the torch around as he stepped inside.
‘Wait.’ Will stopped and pointed. ‘Look at that.’
On a row of bricks that Dad had left just outside the door, sat a pile of poo. But this was no ordinary poo. This was square shaped poo.
‘See,’ Will took a deep gulp. ‘Told you. Only a monster would do poo shaped in cubes.’ He shook his head and stepped back. ‘I’m not going in there. It’s a warning to stay out.’
‘That’s just silly. Monsters don’t leave poo. Come on,’ Aaron grabbed Will’s hand and tugged him. He shone the torch around as far as he could. A pile of left-over timber from building the house, the ride-on lawn mower, their bicycles, all sat where they were left. So far, nothing seemed out of place. They crept a little further in. The steel ladder lay where Dad had left it. His tool box appeared to be unopened. Then they heard it. The thumping had started again, and it was getting louder.
Will’s fingers dug into Aaron’s shoulders. He took a deep breath and held it. With every step towards the back corner of the house the thumping grew louder. Aaron shone the torch ahead of them. A dark, round shape appeared in front of them. They both reached to hold their nose.
‘Phew,’ said Will. ‘He stinks.’
Aaron almost choked with the stench as a cloud of dust was kicked into their faces. He waved his free hand to clear the air.
‘Back off.’ Aaron whispered and pushed Will back a little before he crouched. He shone the torch at the fat figure that was busy thumping, scratching and digging. ‘There’s your monster Will.’ He pointed. ‘Looks like we have a wombat making his home under ours.’
The boys sat huddled together and watched the wombat. When they could no longer stay awake, they crept back upstairs, content. The thumping resolved, Aaron sighed as he climbed into bed. Will had returned to his own bed and all was good.
This photo was taken at the book launch for ‘Things That Go Bump in the Night.’
If all that hasn’t put you in the Halloween mood, here’s a little poem I wrote for the anthology ‘It’s a Kind of Magic, Stories and Spells by Second Rate Sorcerers.’
A Special Brew
Eye of Newt, oh, what is that?
Hair of dog, I’ll use my cat.
Flesh of frog, mosquito wings,
Where do I find, all these things?
Dragon’s breath, a drop of blood.
Mix it up in a pool of mud.
Dewdrop from a spider’s web,
Look them up on the interweb.
Stir it all into the pot.
Turn up heat to make it hot.
Boil, boil, now watch it bubble,
Fingers crossed, there’ll be no trouble.
Up it goes in a cloud of smoke.
Hold my breath, try not to choke.
Guess I got something wrong,
It really has begun to pong!
Toss it out and start again.
Read the spell right to the end.
Follow each line to the letter,
Or this brew won’t be much better.
A shaving from a unicorn’s horn.
A sprinkling of husk from an ear of corn.
Add a handful of fairy dust,
And the remains of a pizza crust.
Don’t forget a pinch of salt.
Or an old rusty bolt.
Now it all begins to fizz.
Is it done as it is?
Try again, one last time.
Read aloud this silly rhyme.
If you want a real love potion,
First you need to feel emotion.
Love truly comes from the heart.
It’s so easy to make a start.
You don’t need a special brew.
But I think that you already knew.
All it takes is cuddles and hugs.
Not creepy crawly scary bugs.
Kind words and gentle caring,
Warm kisses and lots of sharing
Last, but by no means least, here are ten jokes to tickle your kids funny bones on Halloween.
Shared with thanks from We Are Teachers.
Will you be celebrating Halloween this year? If, so, what is your tradition?
Do you have a favourite memory from Halloweens past, please share in the comments below.