The Four Lights of Halloween | A Short Story - 8 Minute Read
In the town of Pleasantville, Massachusetts, many miles from Boston and only a few miles from Salem, four little children headed home. It was October 30, 1676, and the nights were cold and the harvests were golden. The sun was like a great eye peering at the world from between lids of cloud and earth.
The four chattered about things their families were going to do on All Hollow’s Eve. But, just as inevitable as the rising of the Harvest moon, their conversation shifted to stories of ghosts and spooks.
“My favorite is the one about the Scottish chieftain and his horse, who both lost their heads then haunted the island,” said Horatio, as he ran a stick along the fence
“Ew! Ghost stories give me the creeps,” shuddered Alice.
“They terrify me… but I love them,” added Isaac.
Meredith did not say anything, but thrust her hand into her bag and pulled out an apple.
“Miss Borden wouldn't take my apple!” she said.
“Why not? She accepted mine,” bragged Alice.
“And mine,” both boys said in unison.
“Oh! That is probably why.” She took a bite of her bright red apple.
Just then they passed in front of Old Angus MacGwenn’s house.
“Where ya lads and lasses off to?” he asked.
“Home, Mister MacGwenn,” answered Horatio.
“Well, stop by. I have some corn and vegetables for your mothers.”
The four scampered across the lawn and up the stairs to his porch.
“Ye little ones better make for home. This is no night for children,” the old Scotsman said as he handed burlap sacks full of delicious, fresh produce to each of the kids.
“What do you mean?” asked Meredith.
“Ghosts, love. Ghosts roam about on All Hollow’s Eve in search of children to spirit away!”
The children gasped and stared wide-eyed at the old Scottish farmer.
“No one knows for sure, laddie. They can change shapes and sizes on demand. But mostly they travel about in black tattered cloaks.”
Meredith swallowed hard, but the others’ mouths just hung open.
“Well, the sun is settin’. You best be makin’ for your homes.”
“Goodbye, Mister MacGwenn,” they said in unison.
The four walked quietly down the road, fearing what things might jump out of the shrubbery and carry them into their ghostly domain.
“What are you going to do tomorrow, Horatio?” asked Isaac hoping to distract himself.
“I want to go to the city, to see the traveling performers and all their strange animals,” he answered boldly.
“I heard that several of the animals have escaped. Like mean bears and vicious tigers,” said Alice.
Meredith grabbed a handful of roasted sunflower seeds from a cotton bag that Old Angus had given her, and munched on them.
“That’s nonsense! Trained animals don’t escape,” Horatio said confidently.
The four scurried on towards their homes. The sun was nothing more than a faint glow on the horizon when they made it to their houses. Meredith ate another handful of sunflower seeds, then reached for the doorknob. But before she could turn the knob, she heard something behind her. She spun around and saw a black cloaked figure walking jiltedly through the picket fence gate.
It was no taller than she, and as it came closer, it got down on its hands and knees and crawled toward her. She screamed and ran in to the house. Her parents looked out the windows, but whatever it was was gone.
The next morning, she met Horatio, Alice, and Isaac underneath the hawthorn, that stands across from her house, and told them what she had seen.
Isaac turned pale. “A ghost! Mister MacGwenn said, that they would be searching for children like us.”
“Posh! Ghosts don’t exist. What you saw was merely your imagination. You got yourself all worked up, thinking about spooks, then imagined you saw one,” Horatio said as he swung a stick about as if it were a sword.
Meredith frowned. “I’m sure. I saw it.”
“Maybe we should ask Mister MacGwenn. He would know,” said Alice.
The other three nodded, and all four set off for Angus MacGwenn’s farm.
Colorful leaves spiraled out of the boughs of the trees, and blew like waves across the road. The sky was a crisp blue, speckled with snow-white puffs of cloud. And a cool breeze danced about the children as they strolled across the lawn into Angus’ pumpkin patch.
“Aye, children! Tis a beautiful day, is it not? And what are you doing this fine morning?” asked the old farmer, as he worked in his garden.
“Meredith thinks she saw a ghost,” said Horatio.
“A ghost, eh? What did it do?” he asked.
The very short story took twice as long to tell as all four told it.
“Well, well, well... sounds like the ghost of Thomas Farley.” Explained the old man. “Many years ago, on this very day, Old Thomas Farley cheated at cards and got away with a lot of money. He started actin’ queer as the evenin’ came on, then he just vanished. The last anyone saw of him was Halloween night; he was hanging lanterns in the boughs of the old willow and actin’ as scared as a rabbit.”
“Why hanging lanterns?” asked Alice.
“Don’t know. I suspect he was tryin’ to light up the area. Ever since, townsfolk say if you see Old Thomas Farley’s ghost stalking about, then the only way to be rid of him is to finish hanging the four lanterns for him.”
His voice hung in the air, and the children exchanged fearful glances.
“That’s stuff-and-nonsense… Well, I’m off to town. Got to sell my pumpkins. one last thing, there are more roasted sunflower seed in bags on the porch.”
He lifted the wheelbarrow that was loaded full of bright pumpkins, small and large, and walked down the road. The children ran up to the porch and found four small cotton bags. They munched on the deliciously salted seeds as they made for the school playground.
A cool wind blew and carried with it, colorful leaves and a scratchy shriek that stopped the little children’s hearts. Isaac stared into the wood, where the sound arose from, his mouth hung open and sunflower seeds fell out onto his shoes.
“Maybe Meredith did see a...” Alice swallowed hard, “A ghost.”
“Stuff and nonsense!” replied Horatio, echoing MacGwenn, “That was just a bird.”
“Let’s leave.” Whimpered Meredith.
Alice and Isaac, and even courageous Horatio agreed.
Soon they were convinced it was a bird and began to play on the various swings and instruments of enjoyment. They could see a good distance from the playground on the hill. Fields, where farmers harvested; barns, where cattle ate, and the forest, where a dark form lurked.
“That's the ghost that was at my house,” Meredith exclaimed.
The black robed creature once again walked jiltedly along the road, then got on all fours, moving its head back and forth as if it were searching the ground. It spotted them and crawled at a surprising speed towards them.
Isaac squealed and threw his bag of seeds as he fled, followed by the others. They ran pell-mell, down Schoolhouse Hill, and across the road, and into Farmer Gregory's apple orchard.
“That's it! We've got to settle that ghost’s hash once and for all,” said Horatio.
“But how?” asked Meredith.
“By hanging four lanterns in the old willow, just like Mister MacGwenn said," explained Alice.
“Where are we going to get the lanterns and how will we light them? Our parents don't allow us to play with fire… Trust me I know,” asked Isaac.
“Well...” Horatio stopped to think about it, “Well, we will just have to ask them anyway. The lives of our townsfolk depend on it.”
As children do, when they know their parents will most likely prohibit them from doing a particular thing, the four of them went about searching for lanterns first, and once they found them they would ask their parents if they could light them. Needless to say none of the townsfolk would give them a lantern even if they had one to spare.
Lastly they went empty handed to each of their parents to beg for a lit lanterns, but they lovingly said... No! The children were defeated and meandered out to the old willow.
The sun was setting, and the evening breeze blew its chill across the land.
“Look!” exclaimed Alice, pointing to the four glass jars that were hanging by stings in the long boughs of the weeping willow.
“Jars instead of lanterns?” asked Meredith.
“What good is it? We aren't allows to light them.” said Horatio.
At that moment a hideously loud cry arose from within the willow.
“SKREEE! Beware! Beware!” it shrieked.
The children saw the ghastly ghost sitting in the upper canopy of the tree. The children snatched the jars, and ran as quick as mice away. But the ghost threw out it arms and flew out after them.
“We must find a way to light them. It's the only way to stop the ghost,” said Horatio as they ran through the woods.
The creature spiraled overhead, but would not enter the forest. The moon rose orange and cast a warm faint glow across the fields and plains. Little nocturnal insects also rose to meet it. They danced, raced, and glowed.
“Lightning bugs. We could use lighting bugs!” cried Isaac.
“Great idea. Let's catch them and put them in the jars,” said Alice.
They went to work snatching and catching the fireflies as they spiraled and drifted about. After one had caught three or four, they would carefully open the jar, so that no others could get out, and knock them off their hand and into the jar.
A large company of lighting bugs performed an exquisite ballet before the rising moon and under the stars. Isaac, spying the company, ran out into the open air and grasped at them. The ghost screeched, reeled overhead then dove at them. Meredith screamed. Isaac unaware of his peril, turned in circles while catching handfuls of the glowy-rascals.
Hearing the scream, he spun around but his foot caught a hole and he tripped. The ghost passed harmlessly over and cried out in frustration. He clambered to his feet, careful not to crush the insects in his closed fist, and scurried into the wood. The others helped him with his catch. The jars glowed brightly with the gentle throbs of the fireflies.
“Perfect! Now all we need to do is hang them back in the tree,” said Horatio, the other nodded in agreement.
They walked slowly and quietly through the forest, each listened and kept a sharp watch.
The moon cast sharp shadows under the boughs of the trees and the breeze tossed leaves at the four youngsters. They stopped at the other side of the wood, and stared at the willow. The ghost was nowhere in sight, so they dashed out, each one with a glowing jar and tied them back up into the tree. The light from the jars was bright enough to drive all the shadows from under the long draping willow branches.
Suddenly they heard the ghost screech again.
“SKREEE! Beware! Beware!”
It circled over the tree and disappeared.
“Look! It didn't work,” cried Alice, pointing to the cloaked figure that staggered towards them. “Go away!” shouted Horatio, as he coiled back and pitched his bag of seeds into the chest of the ghost.
The seeds fell into a pile on the ground and the ghost fell to its hands and knees and sniffed at the seeds. They heard the screech again, but it came from above, not from the ghost. Suddenly a second dark creature flew down from the top of the tree and alighted on the first ghost's back, which caused its cloak to fall off. The little children gasped to see its lanky, skeletal silhouette.
The skeletal ghost, with the flying ghost still on its head stood back up and came into the light. Terror over took the children's' little hearts and they could not move. Finally the ghost came in to the light.
Horatio pointed and stammered, “It's- It's a dog and bird.”
Sure enough, it was a gangly, little dog with a parrot on its shoulder. The children laughed and giggled as the doggy staggered along on its hind legs.
“Skreee! Beware! Beware!” cawed the parrot.
The kids gathered around the animals to pet them. But the hungry bird and dog were still to interested in the seasoned sunflower seeds.
Horatio bent down and read the shiny tag on the dog's red collar.
“Property of the Massachusetts Traveling Performers.”
“I told you some of the animals escaped!” said Alice.
As the children ran home, luring the bird and dog with the seeds, Angus MacGwenn caught them.
“There ya are! The whole town is in search of ya. What have you four been up to?”
The kids told him the whole story, at which he laughed heartily as they came to the end.
“I'm glad no harm came to you. Now, why don't ya head home and I'll take the animals back to the performers tomorrow?”
The children were tired and hungry and did just that!
The End
