Home-Spun Halloween Horror

A family decided to go on one last camping trip before the cold really set in. As they were settling down for the night, they heard a cracking noise. Going outside to see what it was, they spotted two dark shadows and movement in the woods. The only sound then was their breathing. Dismissing the shadows as tricks of the mind, they began to resettle at the campsite. However, the feeling of being watched was undeniable. Looking around, two pairs of orangish-red glowing eyes were seen next to a large tree, and the silence was broken by a loud howl. The full moon cast an eerie glow. All at once, the woods seemed to come alive. Two small figures began to move toward the campfire. The family huddled next to their tent as the creatures crept closer and closer.

Mom felt something brush against her arm and jumped up. In an instant, the whole group was off and running. Once they stopped running, they realized in their panic they had split up and were now each alone. A scream broke through the darkness leaving each member of the family wondering about the fate of the others.

"Oh my God!" Morgan's voice shouted through the night. "I think I saw a witch!"

Morgan snuck stealthily through the trees and thought she saw an unnatural green face. Without time to even turn and run, Morgan's head was ripped from her shoulders and tossed into the woods.

Deeper in the woods, Jacob heard a thud in the bushes. While peering into the bushes, a screeching pumpkin headed goblin opened his mouth and swallowed Jacob whole.

The rest of the group heard a blood-curdling shriek. They all collided in a clearing, trying to make their way to camp.

"What the hell?!" Cory hollered.

"Did anyone see what that was?" Mom cried.

"I thought I saw it, but I just can't believe it," Dad said.

Mom decided they must be strong and go back to find the others.

"Oh, heck yeah!" agreed Cory. "I'll tackle those freakin' stalkers and pin 'em while you grab Jake and Mo."

The trio took off in search of the rest of their family. During their hunt they thought they saw a body. Stepping closer and closer, they came upon a green pool of blood.

"Oh! Ewwww! What is that?" Mom asked.

"It's a big lump of goo," answered Cory.

"We need to get away from it right away," Dad said. "I've seen those sci-fi movies, and pools of green goo are never a good thing."

Dad, Mom and Cory restarted their search for the others, but to their right came two pairs of glowing eyes.

Slowly the glowing eyes came closer until the group could finally see a pumpkin headed goblin carrying the head of Morgan. They rushed upon the goblin in an attempt to stop its terror. They pushed the goblin back and it tripped over a big piece of sandstone. All three began ripping and clawing at the goblin's chest when lo and behold they discovered Jake, still alive, inside the goblin. He exclaimed that he saw Morgan running the other way.

Looking at the ground where the alleged Morgan head rested, the family discovered it wasn't Morgan's head after all. It was, in fact, a witch's head which inexplicably turned into a bulldog with glowing red eyes and ran into the woods.

Ignoring the bulldog/witch's head, the group set off in search of Morgan. After an hour, the family found the body of the witch and, cowering nearby, a very scared Morgan. She jumped up and ran into her dad's arms. Finally, the family was back together. Unfortunately, before they could make their way back to camp, the two dark figures reappeared.

"Is everything all right here?" one of the park rangers asked.

"Yes," the group replied weakly, afraid to mention the unrealistic things they'd seen.

"Well," argued Jake, "we've been terrorized all through the night by goblins and witches."

"The town kids are always pulling pranks like that on the campers around Halloween-time. I'm sure that's all it was," said the ranger.

"Yeah. It's probably nothing at all," agreed the other ranger. "We'll help you back to your camp. Come on."

In their shock, the family did not notice they were being herded back into the woods like cattle. The family also did not see the rangers' eyes begin to glow an evil orangish-red behind them.

Rumor also has it, that even today the witch's body can be seen wandering through the woods in search of her head.