A pale, luminous moon peeked behind an ominous sky with no stars in sight. The night was cool. Fall was at its peak, and everyone was drinking this special holiday up for all of its worth. It was Halloween night arguably the best night of the year. People of all ages dressed up in costumes roamed the streets as Tómas Lewis, an 18 year old high school senior waited in his car for his best friend, Katherine. 

Tómas had been waiting in his car for nearly twenty minutes. Growing impatient, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and clicked the call button on Katherine’s contact. She picked up within the second ring, but Tómas could hear the struggle of the girl trying to throw her outfit together.

“What is it?” Katherine huffed.

“By the time you’re done getting ready, the night’s gonna be over. Come on, Eren. Your carriage awaits.”

“We’ve been friends for how long now? You should know getting ready takes me a long time, and it’s Halloween, so I have to look my best. I just finished my makeup and my costume is on. Let me put my shoes on, dummy. I'll be right out.”

“Alright, alright. Get a move on now,” Tómas hung up, tossing his phone on the dashboard. 

Katherine opened the front door and made her way down the steps of her front patio, careful not to trip over her skirt. She adjusted her red corset beneath her collared cape as she opened the door to the passenger seat. 

“Vampire? You couldn’t have picked something a little more creative?”

Katherine scoffed. “I could say the same about you, Dwight Schrute. That butt-cut hair and necktie isn’t doing you any favors.”

Tómas grabbed his chest, flinging his head back dramatically. “You’ve wounded me. Now get in the car before I change my mind and decide to leave you here.”

She lifted her skirt over her combat boots and slid into her designated seat. The two of them drove around.

“Halloween landed on a weekend this year. You’d think there would be tons of parties,” Katherine sighed. “We should have figured out our game plan sooner.”

Tómas shook his head. “While you were in your room getting ready, I decided for us.” He tapped on the brakes and made a sharp left turn onto an unknown road.

“Where are we going?” Eren questioned. 

Tómas smirked. “Remember that story everyone used to talk about in middle school? Evergreen Manor, that big mansion where its owner, Kornelius Evergreen III went crazy and killed his wife, then himself? Come on, you have to remember.”

Katherine shifted in her seat to look at the boy. “Tómas, you cannot be serious. I love scary stuff just as much as the next guy, but that story is messed up. Please don’t tell me we’re actually going there.”

“It’s going to be fun, I promise,” he reassured her. 

Katherine sighed and leaned back in her seat. She knew once Tómas made up his mind about something, it was difficult to convince him otherwise. She said nothing. 

After driving for practically hours, they finally arrived at their destination. The headlights of the car formed a shadow on the dark and decaying estate. It was a beautiful yet terrifying slight. Overgrown vines wrapped around the sides of the house like police tape. A warning not to enter. From the corner of her eye, Katherine could have sworn she saw someone peeking through the window… 

“Alright, let’s go,” Tómas turned off the ignition, grabbing his keys as he swung the driver door open and stepped out into the foggy night.

 Katherine opened hers, slightly trembling. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

She rolled her eyes. “My hero.”

 Grabbing the handle to the front door, Tómas expected it to be locked, but it opened with ease. The creak of the door was like a high pitched whine. They stepped in.

Almost immediately, the door slammed shut and locked from the outside. This caused Katherine to jump.

  “Really, Tómas? Could this be any more cliche?” But when she looked at him, he was pale as a ghost. 

“I didn’t do that,” Tómas whispered as he pointed upward.“He did.”

When Katherine looked up, she immediately wished she hadn’t. A man stood before them, but he didn’t look quite… right. His skin was gray and almost see-through. His eyes sunken in. His body was covered in bullet holes from his head down to his stomach.

Neither of them could move. They just stared in horror. 

The man spoke in a hoarse voice as if he hadn’t uttered a word in ages. “What are you doing here?”

Finally, Tómas responded. “A-are you.. Mr. Evergreen?”

The ghost did not respond. Instead, he opened his mouth and let out a deep shout. The two teens   out of the room, screaming like maniacs. Tómas opened a door and Katherine followed him in. As he raced through the room, one floorboard caved in and triggered a trap. He just barely missed a handsaw that fell from the ceiling and fell onto the floor with a loud clang. He shrieked and ran as far as he could.

“Tómas, don’t leave me!”

As soon as those words left Katherine’s lips, the boy was already gone. She searched for an exit in a state of panic. Finding the nearest door, she stepped into what seemed to be a closet. In it was a shelf full of papers. One slid onto the floor on its own. She picked it up. All of the papers were the same. Thousands of articles with the same headline. 

Death of Kornelius Evergreen III Leaves Town in Shock

Wife of Mr. Evergreen discovers her husband’s affair with their male butler and murders him in cold blood. Read about it now!