A Haunting Night of Partying

The four teenagers were so excited they could hardly wait for school to be over that Friday afternoon in October. Tonight was the night they were going to have the time of their lives. It was Halloween and everyone was planning on celebrating with parties or just a night of fun and pranks. Several of the troublemakers in school had already put out the word that "Eggs and other things might be flying through the air. So Beware!"

But the four best friends, Missy, Nick, Beth, and Oliver, weren't planning on being in on any of their friends' plans. They had special plans of their own. They had found a special party going on in a real haunted mansion a couple of towns over from where they lived. At least that's what the web page promised. "A night of haunting fun and partying in an honest to goodness haunted mansion." Oliver had found the web site a month before while checking out Halloween stuff. You had to solve a special problem to get the invitation to the party. It had taken all four of them over a week to work out the answer to the riddle. The only confirmation that their answer was correct was an email with the address of the haunted mansion and some instructions. "Come in costume and be prepared to be scared to death."

All four of the friends had gone together and picked out their costumes. Friends since grade school, they had shared family problems, school problems, and dating problems. They went everywhere together, and although no one acknowledged it, everyone knew Oliver had a huge crush on Beth. But they remained only friends, much to Oliver's chagrin. Still, he had hope, and tonight he planned on trying to become more than just friends.

The plan was to meet at Missy's house at six-thirty. They had all told their parents they were going to the school's haunted house and would probably stop by a friend's party afterward. The parents knew about the school haunted house and verified the party at the friend's house, and that the parents would be there. Besides, they trusted their children; they had never had any reason not to. The four always stayed together unless one of them was dating someone.

Right on schedule the other three showed up at Missy's house. Her parents smiled and waved to them as they all piled into Nick's old mustang, each dressed in their costume. They high-fived each other as they headed toward the freeway and their night of haunting fun.

Forty minutes later they pulled up in front of the address they had been given. They all stared at it in disbelief. Surely, they had the wrong address. They were sitting in front of a cemetery!

Oliver was the first to speak. "Looks like we're the victims of a bad joke." His anger was clear in the high pitch of his voice. "Let's get out of here!"

"Wait! That looks like some kind of paper stuck to the door of the mausoleum. Let's see what it says, anyway," Nick argued, hating to give up the idea of the fun night they had envisioned. "Come on, Oliver. You and I will go up and see what it says. The girls can wait in the car."

The boys climbed out and headed toward the gate. The old gate creaked ominously as it swung inward. Spooked in spite of themselves, they glanced around nervously before climbing the steps to the mausoleum. There they read the note carefully, then left it pinned to the door. They ran back down the steps and jumped in the car.

"It's okay, guys. The address is two blocks over. The note said they thought this would prepare us for what's in store. Creepy, huh?"

The girls glanced at each other. They were starting to have second thoughts about this. Why would someone go to such lengths for a party?

Missy spoke cautiously. "Hey, you know, I don't feel right about this. I think maybe we should just forget it and go back home. We can still go to-"

"No way! We came all this way and I want to see this haunted house." Oliver glanced over his shoulder at Beth. He hoped she would be scared and hang onto him like she did sometimes when they watched scary movies. He thought he might even try to steal a kiss in a dark spot.

The others agreed to go, but Missy made them promise they wouldn't stay long. Soon they were cruising down a darkened street and reached an old iron gate standing open. A sign read: "Drive to the back of the house, park, and enter." They all leaned forward to get their first glimpse of the huge, creepy old mansion. And it was huge and creepy. They all gasped in surprise. It stood three stories, its windows all dark.

"It doesn't look like there's a party here to me," Beth said nervously. "I think we should get out of here."

"I agree, guys. Let's go home," Missy chimed in.

"You chickens. Don't you have any sense of adventure? They're making it look dark and creepy on purpose. It's supposed to be a haunted house." Oliver was excited. He knew Beth would not let go of him all night. "Come on, Nick. Drive around back."

Nick glanced at the girls and they slowly nodded. As the car eased around the side of the old mansion, they all sighed with relief to see about ten cars parked out back. Dim lights highlighted the path to the door. As they climbed out of the car, Beth reached for Oliver's hand. He smiled happily. Together, they climbed the steps and knocked on the door. It swung open immediately and the teens stepped inside. The door had seemed to open on its own and no one was near. They could, however, hear music down the hall. Cautiously, they followed Nick as he led them down the carpeted hall. He stopped outside a set of double doors. The music was slightly louder here. Nick glanced at the others, then opened the door.

There were maybe fifteen people in the room, standing and sitting. No one was dancing, but then, how could they? The music was creepy. Everyone was in costume and they all turned to look as the four teenagers entered the room. The music stopped as one guy, dressed as a vampire, came forward to greet them.
"Well, it appears the main guests of our party have arrived at last. Welcome to Hell, my children." He smiled, revealing real looking fangs with something red dripping from them. "Come in, join the party, and have something to drink. He pointed toward a huge pot sitting on a table. Steam rose from it along with the sticky, sweet smell of --BLOOD!

Frightened at once by the eerily real smell of the blood and the look of the vampire, the four teenagers felt their sense of adventure fleeing faster than they could turn back toward the door. But too late! It swung shut with a slam. At once, the Vampire began laughing, as did several of the other costumed figures in the room. They all started advancing toward the four frightened teenagers, and Oliver got his earlier wish as Beth grabbed hold of him, hanging on for dear life. Nick tried to pry open the door, but it was clearly locked. He began beating on it as the group of people began chanting, and formed a solid wall around the four teens. Missy and Beth began screaming as one by one, the group pulled off their masks, all revealing sharp fangs in their open mouths and a look of thirst in their blood red eyes.