A Halloween story from Evans Light is almost a tradition now here on Halloween Extravaganza. In fact, he was the first author that gave me one in lieu of a guest post. Even though he spoke of having no more Halloween stories in him, he surprised me with this… and, as usual, did not disappoint. Make sure you read this one with the lights off…
It was nearly nine-thirty when the doorbell rang.
Awfully late for trick-or-treaters, the man thought. The last group had stopped by almost an hour ago, and the man had just gotten comfortable in his recliner and lost in a TV show.
Teenagers, he guessed, making their final rounds. Cleaning out leftover candy.
He set his remote down on the coffee table, grabbed the bowl of Halloween candy from the kitchen counter and headed for the door.
A little boy, about eight or nine years old, stood alone on the porch.
He was not wearing a costume.
“Treat or trick?” the boy said.
The man didn’t recognize the boy from around the neighborhood, and no car waited on the street.
The boy held a clear plastic bag full of candies. They were all the same kind, not the hodgepodge assortment one would expect a child to have towards the end of Halloween night.
A small cardboard box sat on the porch beside him.
“Treat or trick?” the boy said again.
The man laughed.
“’Treat or trick?’ Don’t you mean ‘trick or treat?’ Where’s your costume?”
The boy didn’t flinch.
The boy didn’t smile.
“No, I said what I meant to say. Do you want a ‘treat’ or a ‘trick’?”
The absolute seriousness of the child surprised the man. It was amusing, so he decided to play along.
“Well, let me think . . . no one really likes a trick, except the person playing it. So I suppose I’d rather have a treat.”
“You do know tonight is Halloween, right?”
“Why of course,” said the man.
“Then you should also know that you need to be wearing a costume. You do know that, right?”
“But I don’t have a costume.”
The little boy sighed, as though immensely burdened.
“I figured you wouldn’t. That’s why I’ve brought some with me.”
The boy unfolded the flaps of his cardboard box and withdrew two large rubber masks. One was a zombie head with an eyeball dangling onto the cheek. The other mask was some sort of tree monster with a very long twig for a nose.
“My, aren’t those frightful!”
“Please pick one quickly, I have many houses yet to visit,” said the boy, all business.
“You want me to wear a mask?”
“Yes, please. Halloween must be done correctly or else it’s not Halloween.”
The man scratched his head, puzzled. “I’ve got some candy left over. You can have the rest of it if you want,” he offered.
“I asked you first,” said the boy. “I asked if you wanted a ‘treat’ or ‘trick’ and you said ‘treat’. Now please pick a costume. As I said, I have the rest of the neighborhood to visit this evening.”
The man wondered where the boy’s parents were, why he was out so late all by himself. He considered dropping a candy into the boy’s bag and shooing him away. But the child was so earnest, he decided to play along. Doing otherwise appeared as though it might cause the boy great stress.
“Okay,” said the man. “I’ll be the zombie.”
“Excellent choice,” said the boy. He gave the mask to the man and waited for him to put it on. The man adjusted it until his eyes blinked out from behind cut-out holes.
“Arrggh!” said the man, extending his arms as though he’d joined the ranks of the living dead.
“Very nice,” said the boy. “You really scared me. Now, what do you say?”
“Thank you?” guessed the man.
“No, not ‘thank you’. At your age, I’m surprised you don’t know this. To get the candy, you should say, ‘trick or . . .”
“Oh right!” said the man. “Trick or treat!”
A broad smile spread across the boy’s face. The porch light reflected in his eyes, twinkling like a swarm of fireflies. The boy reached into his sack, extracted a single hard candy and handed it to the man.
“Happy Halloween,” the boy said.
“Happy Halloween to you, too,” said the man, his voice muffled inside the rubber mask.
“Well?” said the boy.
“Well what?” said the man.
“Aren’t you going to eat it?”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now. I want to see if you like it.”
The man held the candy up to the mask’s eyehole to get a better look. It was red and round and individually wrapped. The man had eaten none of the treats he’d passed out that evening. He’d specifically purchased candies he didn’t like to avoid temptation.
One little piece of candy wouldn’t hurt. In fact, it looked like something he’d enjoy.
“You can eat it through the mouth-hole, if you want to,” the kid said, his voice suddenly bright and full of cheer. “It’s so funny to see a zombie eat candy.”
What the hell, thought the man. He popped the candy out of the wrapper right through the rubber hole, into his mouth. His tongue explored the raised ridge that ran around the middle of the confection. It had a strong cherry flavor that was thrilling and delicious.
“Thank you,” the man said. “It’s wonderful.”
“I’m glad you like it. Can I have the mask back now, please?”
The man pulled off the mask and returned it to the boy, who packed it neatly into the box, carefully folding each flap back into place. Once done, the boy collected his things and bowed slightly.
“Enjoy the rest of your Halloween,” said the boy.
“You as well,” said the man. He closed the door and headed back to finish his television show. What a weird ass little kid, he thought as he bit down hard, crunching the candy.
Foam filled his mouth as the sweetness of cherry gave way to caustic bitterness, causing him to gag. He jumped up from his chair and took two steps towards the kitchen. Then he fell down, dead on the floor.
At the house next door, the doorbell rang.
A man and his wife exchanged puzzled looks. She grabbed the bowl of leftover Halloween candy from the kitchen counter and headed for the door.
A little boy, about eight or nine years old, stood alone on the porch.
He was not wearing a costume.
“Treat or trick?” the boy said.
Evans Light is a writer of horror and suspense, and is the author of Screamscapes: Tales of Terror, Arboreatum, Don’t Need No Water, and more. He is the editor of the well-received anthology Doorbells at Dusk, and is a co-creator of the Bad Apples Halloween anthology series and Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love. He most recently co-edited the new anthology series In Darkness, Delight, the first two volumes of which are now available.
Evans lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, surrounded by thousands of vintage horror paperbacks, and is the proud father of fine sons and the lucky husband of a beautiful wife.
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Ten twisted tales designed to delight fans of modern horror.
Razor-sharp scares and Tales from the Crypt-style mayhem lurk within these dark stories of possession,obsession, deception and revenge… this is one collection you don’t want to miss.
In Darkness, Delight 1: Masters of Midnight
Midnight strikes like an invocation, clock hands joining in prayer to the darkness. After the twelfth chime, there’s no escaping the nightmare.
Fear reigns supreme.
In Darkness, Delight is an original anthology series revealing the many facets of modern horror—shocking and quiet, pulp and literary, cold-hearted and heart-felt, weird tales of spiraling madness alongside full-throttle thrillers. Open these pages and unleash all-new terrors that consume from without and within.
Midnight is here. It’s now time to find . . . In Darkness, Delight.
Featuring stories by:
Josh Malerman: One Thousand Words on a Tombstone – Delores Ray
William Meikle: Refuge
Jason Parent: Violet
Ryan C. Thomas: Who Are You?
Mark Matthews: Tattooed All in Black
Evans Light: One Million Hits
Lisa Lepovetsky: Kruze Nite
Israel Finn: The Pipe
Patrick Lacey: In the Ground John McNee: Dogsh*t Gauntlet
Michael Bray: Letters
Monique Youzwa: Rules of Leap Year
Billy Chizmar: Mirrors
Espi Kvlt: Pulsate
Paul Michaels: Angel Wings
Andrew Lennon: Run Rabbit Run
Joanna Koch: Every Lucky Penny is Another Drop of Blood
In Darkness, Delight 2: Creatures of the Night
Predatory eyes flicker in darkness, a legion of abominations seeking human destruction. Slashing claws and gnashing teeth, hungry for flesh, eager to kill. Clutch onto hope and pray for dawn. Creatures rule the night.
In Darkness, Delight is an original anthology series revealing the many faces of modern horror— shocking and quiet, pulp and literary, cold-hearted and heart-felt, weird tales of spiraling madness alongside full-throttle thrillers. Open these pages and unleash all-new terrors that consume from without and within.
The creatures are here.
It’s now time to find . . . In Darkness, Delight.
Featuring stories by:
Josh Malerman: One Thousand Words on a Tombstone – Bully Jack
Jeff Strand: The Last Thing You Want to Be
Ray Garton: A Survivor
Richard Chizmar: Father
Mary SanGiovanni: The Giant’s Table
Tim Curran: White Rabbit
Chris Motz: Scales
Kev Harrison: Snap
Evans Light: Gertrude
Mikal Trimm: Infestation
Mark Cassell: River of Nine Tails
Mason Morgan: The People in the Toilet
Andrew Lennon: Silent Scream
Chad Lutzke: He Wears the Lake
Adam Light: Valley of the Dunes
Eddie Generous: The Newell Post
Frank Oreto: The Worms Turn
Gregor Xane: The Ugly Tree
Kristopher Rufty: Hinkles
Glenn Rolfe: Human Touch
Curtis M. Lawson: The Green Man of Freetown
Halloween has always gone hand-in-hand with horror. The holiday gives many children their first taste of terror, the discovery and overcoming of fears. For those who find they love a good scare, that first taste can grow into a voracious appetite.
That might be why you’re looking at this book right now. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Doorbells at Dusk is a treasury of brand-new Halloween tales from both modern masters and rising stars of dark fiction, horror and suspense.
These are the thrills you crave, packed into a collection of stories that’s pure Halloween.
Carve your pumpkins and turn on the porch light, Halloween frights begin with the sound of…DOORBELLS AT DUSK.
Featuring stories by:
Sean Eads & Joshua Viola – Many Carvings
Amber Fallon – The Day of the Dead
Charles Gramlich – A Plague of Monsters
Joanna Koch – Offerings
Curtis M. Lawson – The Rye-Mother
Lisa Lepovetsky – Masks
Adam Light – Trick ‘Em All
Evans Light – Rusty Husk
Chad Lutzke – Vigil
Josh Malerman – Adam’s Bed
Jason Parent – Keeping Up Appearances
Thomas Vaughn – The Friendly Man
Ian Welke – Between
Gregor Xane – Mr. Impossible
Meghan's Haunted House of Books 