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Monsters weren’t real. Or at least, monsters like vampires and werewolves weren’t.
It was a lesson that Alex learned at a young age, not long after he went trick-or-treating for the first time. They were figments of one’s imagination, or the costumes that people wore. It made it much easier to enjoy Halloween in the many years that followed, especially once he started going out to get candy with Tod and George. Eventually, they grew too old to go trick-or-treating, forcing them to look for other ways to have fun on Halloween. At first, they watched R-rated horror movies when their parents weren’t looking, but once they reached high school, parties became the name of the game.
One particular party caught their attention sometime during 10th grade. Every year, the seniors would gather in the woods just outside Mt. Abraham High School to have one last Halloween party before they went to college or entered the workforce. They heard rumors of campfire stories, pranks, and best of all, alcohol. The 17-year old couldn’t think of anything that would stop him from having some if he had the chance.
The best part? They could wear costumes.
Sure, some people wouldn’t, but he and Tod certainly would. George said he had outgrown it, though that didn’t explain the bits and pieces of something Tod had seen in his room in the days leading up to Halloween. The party was something their fellow classmates talked about in the halls. Barely anyone mentioned the parade in the town square, or anything else the town of Mt. Abraham did for the scary season.
When the day arrived, Alex grabbed his costume and headed for Tod’s. The plan was to get set up at his place, then they, along with George, would head to the party before it began at sundown. It would be just shy of 6 PM, and the party would keep going until midnight. Alex wasn’t particularly fond of parties, but something about this one was special to him. Maybe it had to do with the occasion.
At about 4 PM, Tod banged on the bathroom door as Alex put the finishing touches on his costume. “C’mon, man! You’ve been in there for two hours now!”
“Just about done, Tod!” Alex yelled back as he put the can of temporary hair dye down, wincing at the black splotches by his hairline and the lack of them near his sideburns. This year, they decided to dress up as Dracula and Renfield, and they had a coin toss to determine who would be who. Unfortunately for Tod, he called it wrong, so he was stuck as the, as he put it, ‘lame, bug-eating servant of the King of the Night’. He probably would have changed his tune if he had to put this costume together. Between the cloak, the fancy clothes, and the pale make-up he put on to look undead, Alex was somewhat regretting the decision himself. Then again, knowing Tod, he would have just bought a Dracula costume from somewhere and called it a day.
“Okay, that’s it, I’m coming in.”
Tod jerked the door open, himself wearing tattered clothes fresh from the attic. He adjusted the loose tie around his neck, wrinkled his nose at the smell of hair dye, and looked Alex up and down.
“Dude,” he said, “you didn’t have to go this hard.”
“May as well,” Alex said with a shrug. “This might be the last time we get to do this.” He grabbed the theatrical fangs he bought from the pop-up costume shop and put them on, having already gone through the process of making them fit roughly an hour ago. “How do I look?”
“Like a creature of the night,” Tod said with a smirk before gently pushing him aside and grabbing some make-up. Unlike Alex, all he had to do was darken the bags under his eyes. It took no time at all. To complete the look, he ruffled his hair, causing it to stick out every which way.
“And...there,” Tod said before whirling around to face Alex. “How do I look?”
Alex smiled. “Like a good little servant.”
Tod narrowed his eyes. “Fuck off.”
Alex laughed, and he managed to hear the slightest hint of one from his friend before the both of them left the bathroom. They were about to return to Tod’s room when they heard a clattering noise from George’s. The two boys gave each other confused looks, but Alex knew from the mischievous glint in Tod’s eyes what he was thinking.
Let’s go see what Georgie’s up to.
Sure enough, Tod put a finger up to his lips, then began to creep towards George’s room. Alex followed, catching the faint smell of a hot glue gun as they approached. Being taller and slightly heavier than Tod, however, meant that he wasn’t as good at remaining quiet as he was. One errant creak was enough to alert George of their presence, for he swung the door open seconds later.
He glared at the duo. “The fuck are you doing?”
“Just seein’ what you’re gonna wear tonight,” said Tod.
“None of your business.”
“Oh, come on! You’re coming with us to the party!” He stood on his tiptoes in an attempt to look past his slightly taller brother. “We’re gonna see it in, like, an hour!”
“Yeah, but until then, it’s none of your business.”
Before Tod could say anything else, George shut the door in his face. The brunette scoffed and turned around.
“Man, what happened to twins sharing the same thoughts, or whatever it was?” he grumbled. “Where did it go oh-so wrong?”
Alex couldn’t help but laugh as Tod put a hand up to his head and pretended to faint. He looked out a window across from George’s room. It wouldn’t be long before sundown.
– –
Given that the Waggners didn’t exactly trust Tod with their SUV, it was expected that George would be tasked with taking everyone to the woods. What Alex wasn’t expecting was the bag that took up the passenger’s seat, forcing him and Tod to sit in the back. Furthermore, the ‘costume’ George was wearing was a simple black cloak. Nothing at all like the noise in his room suggested.
“So,” Tod said with a smile, “mind telling us what’s in the bag?”
George briefly glanced at them from the rearview mirror. “You’ll see.”
Alex shook his head and looked out the window. By now, they had entered the woods proper, having taken a back road to get to the spot by the high school. The sun was near the horizon now, its light poking through the rows of trees. Seeing them blur past gave him time to reflect. It felt like it was only yesterday when he met Tod for the first time. Now, here they were, in their final year of high school. He never imagined time would go by so fast.
“Earth to Alex, we’re here.”
Before he realized it, the car came to a stop, surrounded by several others. Already, he heard the clamoring coming from the other seniors, most of them dressed in costume. Some, of course, thought they were too old to play dress-up, so they showed up in weather appropriate clothes. The chill in the air made Alex suppress a shudder. Although it looked cool, his costume was a bit too thin to keep the cold out.
George grabbed the bag from the SUV, then looked back at the duo. “You two have fun. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Tod looked over at Alex as George walked away, a smirk spreading across his face. They didn’t even have to communicate their plan; of course they were gonna follow him and find out what was in the bag.
Or at least, try to.
They barely took a few steps before a flash of red caught their eye. Terry brushed past them, red cloak blowing in the breeze. She held a woven basket in her hands, the only thing in it a blanket. Underneath the red cloak was a white dress and a dark brown corset. It didn’t surprise Alex that she looked good. She consistently wore well-designed costumes for as long as he knew her. What surprised him was the fact that she was alone.
“Oh hey, it’s you guys,” she said.
“Hey,” Tod said as he looked around for George. “Where’s Carter?”
Her grip on the basket tightened as she sighed. “He didn’t want to come.”
“Really?” said Alex.
“Yeah.” She twirled her hair. “He said he’s too old to dress up now. I tried to change his mind. Even showed off my costume.” As if to prove a point, she twirled in place, but the sour look on her face remained. “But no, he’d rather stay home.”
“That’s surprising.”
She shrugged. “I’m not surprised.”
“Terry, over here!”
All three of them looked over at Christa and Blake, who were waving at her. Terry waved back before looking over at the boys.
“Enjoy the party,” she said with a smile before walking away. However, as nice as it was to find out that Carter wouldn’t be around tonight, that little interruption was more than enough for them to lose George altogether.
“Man,” Tod grumbled.
“Don’t worry,” said Alex. “He couldn’t have gone too far.”
They took a few steps forward, bringing them closer to the pile of old branches that would eventually become fuel for the campfire. Some of the seniors were still trying to make sure everything was set up correctly before they lit it up. Another teen bumped into Alex and Tod, dropping the bag of marshmallows he was carrying. He whirled around, revealing patches of green and brown make-up on whatever skin was exposed. Some of the make-up rubbed off on his clothes, which were littered with holes. Despite not wearing one of his hats, Alex recognized him fairly quickly.
“Billy?” he said as he looked him up and down. “What are you supposed to be?”
“Hmm?” Billy said as he bent over to grab the marshmallows. “Oh! I’m a zombie.” As if to prove his point, he raised his arms and began to walk, moaning as he dragged one of his legs behind him. Tod stifled a laugh.
“That’s what we need,” said Tod, “another living dead man.”
“You two look pretty cool. What are you supposed to be?”
Alex flared his cape and draped it across his face before putting on a dramatic voice. “I am the King of the Night, Dracula.”
“And I’m his servant,” Tod said plainly as he crossed his arms.
“Cool!” Billy immediately backpedaled upon seeing Tod’s displeased expression. “I mean, not the ‘servant’ part, but your costumes!”
“Hey, Billy!” someone yelled from nearby. “You didn’t dig into the marshmallows yet, did you? We need those for s’mores!”
“Coming!” He flashed the duo a smile. “Sorry, gotta go. I’ll talk to you guys later!” Clutching the bag close, he ran towards the source of the voice. Alex shook his head; if they hadn’t lost George before, they certainly did now.
Despite this, they continued to look around for any signs of him, taking note of who was wearing what costume. Christa and Blake were dressed up as witches. Lisa looked like she walked out of a prom night gone wrong. Somewhere near the trees was the reclusive Clear, wearing only a black dress. Lynn and her friends weren’t in costume, as expected...
Before they could go any further, the campfire roared to life.
“Sun’s down!” someone yelled. “Let’s party!”
Instead of the sounds of woodland creatures, the woods were filled with the echoes of teens hooting and hollering.
– –
By the time night truly descended upon Mt. Abraham, the party was well underway.
Someone brought a stereo to play some music, so one spot was cordoned off to allow people to dance to a burned CD filled with Halloween music. Others were content to just stand around and talk. Alex and Tod were currently sitting on a log by the fire, their lips smeared with melted chocolate and marshmallows. Tod rubbed at his hand, still sore from when George appeared out of nowhere and smacked it as he reached for a beer someone passed out.
“‘Mom and Dad will kill me if you drink’,” he said mockingly, doing his best impersonation of his brother. “Like that’s stopping anyone else here!”
“I mean, he’s not drinking, either,” Alex said as he pointed towards him and one other person in a cloak. Tempting as it was, he ultimately decided to leave the beers alone out of solidarity.
“We don’t know what he did after we lost him. He probably grabbed one and drank the whole thing before he came back!”
“I doubt it. He’s an asshole sometimes, but he’s not like Carter.”
“Carter?” Billy said from behind them. “Where?”
“Relax,” said Tod, “he’s not here.”
“Oh, thank God.” Billy settled next to Tod, his face a mess of make-up and graham cracker crumbs. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t get a beer, either.”
“Gee,” Tod mumbled, sarcasm dripping from his voice, “I’m so glad.”
Billy put an arm around Tod’s shoulder, not having detected the sarcasm. “It’s okay, though. Someone’s gone out to get hot dogs and buns. We’re gonna have a weenie roast! Won’t that be nice?”
“You say that like food makes everything better,” said Alex.
“It does, though.”
Finally, Tod choked out a laugh.
Good, Alex thought. Someone needed to brighten up his mood.
Before the trio could move on to something else, George and the other teen stood before the campfire. They were dangerously close to it; if one stray ember landed on them, then...
Alex shook his head. Now was not the time to let himself get paranoid. This was a party. They were meant to have fun, not look around for danger.
“Gather ‘round, gather ‘round!” George yelled. “Come and listen to our tale of woe and horror!”
He stepped aside, allowing the other teen to take center stage. He lowered his hood, revealing a mop of blonde hair that gave away who he was to Alex. No one besides Dustin rocked a hairstyle like that. Once enough of the teens had taken their seats on the logs, and the stereo was turned off, Dustin cleared his throat.
“Once upon a time,” he began, his voice low, “there was a kid who grew up near the woods, just like you and me. He was short and scrawny, and stayed that way even as he grew up.”
The crowd began to heckle, with someone saying, “You talkin’ about yourself, Richie?”
Dustin rolled his eyes, ignoring the use of his first name. “But one day, despite his parents’ warnings, he wandered into the forest at sundown. For you see, there was this girl that he liked, and all he wanted was for her to feel the same way about him. That was why he went into the woods: to find a present for her. He searched high and low, but couldn’t find anything until...he stumbled upon an old house. Now, he was shaking in his boots, but he was determined to return home with something, so he walked...on...in.” He made a walking motion with his hand.
“What would he even get from a place like that?” Christa said from the back.
“Yeah, did he want to bring back a spider?” said Blake. “Or something freaky like that?”
“No, but love makes people do crazy things!” Dustin yelled, still keeping up the theatrics. Alex couldn’t help but be a bit impressed; who would have thought that one of Carter’s friends would be into that sort of thing?
He looked over at the other two he had for company. Billy was leaning in, his hands gripping his knees, while Tod had his head on his hand, a hint of interest present in his otherwise bored expression. Dustin cleared his throat once more, the signal that the story was about to continue.
“The boy searched the house from top to bottom until, at last, he found something.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of jewelry. “A silver necklace with a pale moonstone dangling from it. He thought it was perfect for the girl he loved, so he took it.”
The fire began to dim, prompting George to put more sticks and leaves in the pile. It came back to life in no time. The orange light of the fire cast a dark shadow on the evergreen trees behind Dustin. For the briefest of moments, he reminded Alex of the Grim Reaper itself.
“But the boy had made a terrible mistake, for before he could leave the house, an old hag emerged from the darkness! She hissed and screamed at him to put the necklace back, but he refused! Enraged, she froze him in place with her dark magic and uttered a terrible incantation!” He pointed towards the nearly full moon that hung above them, then spoke with his attempt at an old woman’s voice:
By light of moon, your self will wane
And the beast within will have its day!
Trembling, Billy spoke up. “What h-happened to him?”
Dustin gave him a sly smile. “He tried to give the necklace to the girl, but didn’t keep track of the time. Before her eyes, he became the monster hidden within his soul, one driven by a need to devour human flesh!”
Murmurs began to rise from the crowd, seemingly entranced by Dustin’s story. Terry, who was sitting on the log next to the trio’s, kept one of her hands under the blanket in her basket. Alex couldn’t help but wonder if anything else was in there. They were so close to the fire, it was impossible to feel the chill in the air.
“She ran as fast as she could,” Dustin continued, “but he caught her in his teeth! The townsfolk found pieces of flesh and bone strewn about the forest, and the boy was never seen again! To this day, however, when the moon rises over her grave, you can hear the boy’s ghost return with an almighty...!”
Before Dustin could finish, a loud howl echoed throughout the forest. The crowd grew loud, trying to make sense of that particular coincidence. Dustin looked around, confused.
“What was that?” he said, fear in his voice.
“Bullshit is what that is,” someone with a Hawaiian shirt and shutter shades said as he stood up. “We don’t have wolves around here. It’s probably someone trying to fuck with you.”
“Vance, seriously, what else could that be? We’re all here, right?”
There was a nervous energy in the crowd now, something Alex couldn’t ignore.
“Dude, it’s just a story!” Vance said as he leaned against a tree. “There’s no such thing as – ”
A clawed hand grabbed Vance by the throat and dragged him into the dark forest, his screams ringing in Alex’s ears. He stood up in a hurry, his already paranoid imagination going into overdrive. A few people started to scream as Vance’s panicked cries stopped. Dustin and George grabbed a couple of large sticks from the pile. The fire continued to dance. Billy held on to Tod tight, ignoring how the smaller teen tried to push him off.
For a few seconds, the only noises came from the crackling wood in the fire.
Then came a growl.
Something jumped out of the bushes, roaring. Its fur was jet black, and its claws were long, sharp, and covered in blood. Glassy yellow eyes burned with bloodlust as they glared at the screaming crowd. Tod and Billy cried out as Alex grabbed a nearby stick, ready to plunge it into its eyes. The creature took a step forward, the fire casting an imposing shadow against the trees behind it as Dustin and George held their sticks high.
As Alex stared at it, however, details began to filter in that made him see sense. Its skin was clearly rubbery, and its claws, despite how sharp they looked, were made of plastic. Its eyes were really glass balls hot glued to a mask. Most damning of all were the clothes it wore: a plaid button-up, a white shirt, and a pair of tight jeans. Separate, they meant nothing, but together, they matched the wardrobe of a certain jock that supposedly wasn’t here. The creature raised its arms. Dustin and George tensed up.
The claws came down on the back of the mask, rubber twisting and bending as the wearer roughly yanked it off. Laughing, he threw the mask to the dirt, his face covered in sweat as strands of black hair stuck to his forehead.
“Carter!” Billy shouted as Tod tried to push him off again. “You dick!!”
“Ah, shut it, Hitchcock,” Carter said as he walked past Dustin and George, who put the sticks down and fist-bumped each other. He came up to Terry, who stood up to meet him. “Hey, Little Red.”
“Hey, Big Bad Wolf,” she said as her hand reached behind his neck. One of his arms snaked around her torso before they pulled each other in for a kiss. The crowd groaned and jeered.
“Get a room, you two!” someone yelled.
Alex, still a bit shaky, threw his stick to the ground as Tod gawked at the couple in disbelief.
“Terry,” said Tod, “you were in on this?!”
She broke the kiss and smiled back at him. “Well, someone had to distract you. We couldn’t let you spoil the fun.”
Carter chuckled as the crowd began to scatter, still grumbling. Alex sat back down and listened to the people around him. Some were annoyed at being tricked, while others said they weren’t fooled at all. He was certain that nearly everyone fell for it, and more than a few weren’t willing to admit it.
A truck pulled up, and two teens jumped out of the cab, holding a few bags.
“Hey,” the driver yelled as he stared at the crowd. His expression scrunched up when he saw Carter and what remained of his costume. “...We brought the dogs...”
– –
Just as it was tradition to hold a Halloween party in the woods, it was a common courtesy for the teens to clean up after. Well, if by ‘common courtesy’, you meant, ‘do it, or you’re getting detention until winter break’. Of course, most of them conveniently left before midnight arrived. Dustin, George, and even Tod and Browning, of all people, stuck around to clean up the mess, but they left before too long. That was fine with Carter. He and Terry could finish up on their own.
It only took a few minutes before the last of the skewers were placed in a bag, which was then put in the back of Terry’s Chevy Lumina. His car was off-limits for the night; if anyone had seen it, they would have caught on to the prank right away. He stared at her, his fingers tapping his leg. If he hadn’t remembered to remove the sleeves that the claws were a part of, he would have poked himself senseless by now. As Vance was quick to point out, George did too good of a job making them sharp.
God, how does she do it? he thought as the red cloak fluttered in the wind. Every year, he couldn’t help but be impressed with whatever costume she wore. It could be argued that she went a bit too simple this year, but as she pointed out last week, every Big Bad Wolf needed a Little Red Riding Hood. He certainly didn’t complain.
Staring down at the mask, a mischievous idea came to mind. Halloween may have been over, but there was just enough time for one last trick.
He put it on and crept up behind her, thankful that she didn’t seem to notice. Or if she did, she didn’t care to turn around until he was right behind her. He planted his hands on both sides of the trunk, staring down at her as he growled.
“Ooh,” she said as she twirled her hair. “What sharp teeth you have.”
Carter lowered his head so that the teeth were by her ear. “All the better to eat you with.”
She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. “You cannot make that line work, baby.”
“Oh, can’t I?”
Shaking her head, she pulled the mask off and threw it back on the trunk. Carter was on her neck in an instant, teeth grazing her skin as he worked to leave marks. Terry let out a quiet moan before gently pushing him back.
“C’mon, let’s get out of here,” she said. “This place is starting to give me the creeps.”
“Alright, alright,” he said before grabbing the mask. Maybe they didn’t top the zombie prank from last year, something only whispered about in the halls, but he’d like to think he and the others did a damn good job tonight. The mask’s glass eyes caught the moonlight before he opened the trunk back up and threw it in with the rest of the stuff he planned on taking home. Once he shut it, he turned around to face Terry, who was about to get in the driver’s seat.
The wind bristled against the trees, several left bare from autumn’s onslaught. Something beyond them caught his attention. He doubted he was seeing things; given that he needed to be at 100% for the prank to go right, he didn't have a sip of alcohol tonight. He squinted as the wind howled again.
A twig snapped.
“Carter?”
He whipped his head around, trying to find the source. Over there, in the bushes: was something staring at them? Something touched his shoulders, and he turned around in a panic, only to find Terry.
“Carter, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, trying to sound cool and collected. “You weren’t kidding about this place being weird.”
She didn’t press the issue further, and he refused to talk about it. Not when he got in the passenger’s seat, not when Terry started to drive, and not when they returned to her place to crash for the night. By Monday, Carter had decided that what he saw was a trick of the moonlight, and the wind hit the trees in just the right way to make that noise. He refused to believe that there was something else in the woods that night.
After all, monsters weren’t real.