A Stroll Through the Graveyard This Halloween Night
written by: Phyllis P. Colucci
@FictionTarot
Yes, we did the unimaginable tonight. We took that frightful stroll we vowed we would never do – until now, that is…Yes, my very dear friend and I, arm in arm, house by house, pumpkin by pumpkin, witch by witch, ghost by ghost; we walked past it all. We were on our way to the dark abyss to visit the macabre where strange things happen on Halloween Night. As apprehensive as we felt, we were still quite eager to fully embrace this, and tempt fate; and that we did, my friends.
Bright orange lights illuminated the cobblestone streets, and ignited the unkempt lawns and grossly cracked sidewalks. Ghostly shadows came to life as they danced in the moonlight…Eerie voices hummed in the distance, echoed in the night air, and bounced off the face of the full moon. Children were dressed in Halloween style, laughing their way deep into their trick-or-treat bags, snacking on sweets galore…So innocent, yet so chilling. A paradox of emotions danced in our heads this Halloween Night.
We stopped at the graveyard gate (the place we vowed we would never go). It was unlocked and it squeaked from age as it swung back and forth, badgered by the chilling Autumn winds. Should we or shouldn’t we? – Why not? It’s Halloween night. Let’s do this! So as dusk settled in all around us, and blanketed my friend and me with its cold wretched hands, we welcomed it. It was all part of our journey this Halloween night…Something sinister invited us to enter the graveyard. So, courageously, we pushed open the unlocked, squeaking gate, decayed from age, and we stepped inside this ancient graveyard. We kicked our way through the crisp, crackling leaves beneath our feet in order to clear a path to somewhere.
The towering tombstones were huge and not very welcoming. They cast their dark shadows upon the ground below, as some tilted left, some tilted right, others tilted backward, and others tilted forward. They were decrepit, intimidating and relentless. They begged for a way to come up out of the ground where they’ve been imprisoned for centuries. They wanted to be free to exist like my friend and I, like all humanity, but they were destined to remain in their darkened abode; their final destination. They were inanimate “stone guards,” assigned to watch over the souls of the dead for eternity. These weeping angels and gothic vultures were watching us watch them. We stared at these stone structures in disbelief, as they stared back wanting to speak. We did not want to wait around in case that happened. We did not want to hear a moan or a groan from these “stone guards.”
…My friend and I just kept moving. We feared if we did not move fast enough, we might suffer the same existence as those towering tombstones. Anything can happen on Halloween night. So we continued to walk briskly, guided by the light from an unsmiling moon; each footstep in sync to the sound of crisp autumn leaves and graveyard debris beneath our feet. We were tormented by the growing shadows from the friendless tombstones on despondent graves, as we continued along our way…Such old graves, such lonely and forgotten souls. How melancholy and heartbreaking. They were all as old as the centuries, from long ago, and we felt their pain tug at our heartstrings. We whispered a prayer this Halloween night; a prayer for “them” and a prayer for “us,” in hopes we would make it out of this ancient graveyard unscathed, with our souls intact.
Still haunted by each lonely grave, our curiosity gave us the strength and stamina to go on. Yes, my friends, we were frightened as frightened can be…until we heard a party going on. It sounded like a joyful Halloween Party occurring in the old Church on the graveyard grounds. This brought us great comfort as we headed toward that old Church.
We could see through the church windows, the black silhouettes of men dressed in top hats and women dressed with flowing gowns. They danced about with such class and grace; which left us wondering who these people were. Since we were a bit tired and somewhat scared, we wanted human interaction on this Halloween night instead of ghostly cries from beyond the grave. So, yes…My friend and I walked up those few wooden steps to the front door of the old Church and entered with glee.
We were greeted by a beautiful woman dressed in a black and purple witch’s costume, who handed us each a glass of champagne with a smile. She was stunning, she was kind, and we felt so at ease. Surprisingly, we were going to a Halloween Party this Halloween night…She invited us inside, and we immediately accepted. She was quite friendly and hospitable. She told us to head down the aisle of this old Church, to the altar, and sign in as her guests with the gentleman who seemed to be waiting for us. He was dressed in a devil’s costume, the best I had ever seen. The material was exquisite and he wore it to perfection. If I didn’t know better, I believe he could have passed for Satan himself…but no – not in this old Church. How ungodly would that be? This was simply a strange party in an old church, in an ancient graveyard on Halloween night, of course.
So we walked over to him, as we were told to do, and he stamped our hands with orange ink that read “Happy Halloween 666.” His smile was a bit terrifying…Ugh! That is the devil’s number, the anti-Christ. Something did not feel right. My friend and I looked at each other and decided this was all “ungodly” and it was time to go. However, “Mr. Lucifer” in costume, and in no uncertain terms, said, “Oh you cannot leave without checking out. Anyone who checks in, must check out.” So he handed us each a checkout ticket, and instructed us to follow the road out front, which would lead us to our destination, where we may check out. He gave us both a wicked and icy kiss on our cheeks that left us cold, and we flew out of the old Church like two bats out of hell. The beautiful and stunning woman dressed in the witch’s costume, who greeted us at the front door of the old Church with two glasses of champagne, and who we thought was so wonderful, kind, and hospitable, laughed with insanity as we made our way past her. Her laughter rang in our ears. It was ghastly, my friends.
So, as my dear friend and I exited the old Church and headed for the road that would lead us away from this devil’s lair, we became confused, scared, and breathless. Fear had set in and we had no idea what our destination would be. All we knew was we must walk this road “Mr. Lucifer” in costume instructed us to do, and hope for the best. So we walked and walked until we could walk no more. We reached a dead end, and we were lost in darkness. Chilling echoes from the voices of the dead tormented us as we stumbled about.
We then came across two square tombstones that looked fairly new; as if they were recently placed there. They were the only two tombstones illuminated by the eerie moonlight. All else was completely dark. This was quite strange to see in this ancient graveyard. So we walked closer to the tombstones in order to see what was written on them, in hopes there might be a hint to an escape for us. Instead, we were confronted with a Halloween horror. The tombstone on the left had my name on it with date of death October 31, 2024. The tombstone on the right had my friend’s name on it with date of death October 31, 2024…Oh No! That is tonight. Halloween Night! This can’t be…So hand in hand we ran. We ran as fast as we could. We ran as fast as lightning! We both lost our shoes, and found ourselves sinking in mud with every step. Suddenly, we fell into what seemed like a sinkhole. We were dropping so fast we couldn’t breathe. It was like being tossed about in a wind tunnel, in free fall. It was bottomless! We had no control. Our destiny awaited us. We had to succumb to the inevitable.
We were still holding hands, ever so tightly, afraid to let go…as we continued to fall…fall…fall… deeper into the unknown…deeper into the Gates of Hell on this Halloween night…It was so cold, so wet, so dark and so unending…we both closed our eyes tightly, and awaited a harsh, painful end; courtesy of “Mr. Lucifer”…Suddenly, before we hit bottom, a ray of light shone upon us. We looked at each other in amazement and embraced one another as our feet softly touched the ground. By the grace of God, we were spared, my friends! We were safe and sound and eternally grateful for this miraculous blessing.
…Oh my God! My bedroom alarm went off. Was this all a trick or a treat? No, it was just a dream; a Halloween Dream I will never forget. My friend and I made it through a perilous Halloween stroll through an ancient graveyard of sorts, and we actually survived. This was something we vowed we would never do…and now more than ever it is a promise we will keep… Well, I guess the “trick” was on “Mr. Lucifer” who we outsmarted somehow on this Halloween night. Since this was my dream, and my dream alone, I must phone my friend today and tell her all about our stroll through an ancient graveyard last night…that crazy “something” we always talked about, yet vowed we would never do. It was quite a journey. As they say, “We’ve been to hell and back!” Happy Halloween All…
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