The Unknown Fear: The Halloween Horrors 2023

== Quote ==
"Autumn... the year's last, loveliest smile." - William Cullen Bryant
== Tale 1: The Immoral Carving ==
Location: Aldie, VA
Time: 11:57 PM
Date: 10/31/1964
Nathan woke up confused as he looked around his surroundings. Of course, he knew this place he was in was his house, but something was off. He noticed that the lights of the house were off. The only thing lighting up the living room was the fire from the fireplace and the dead white screen of statics from his T.V. He also noticed that the radio was on, playing "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles. Though it was muffled yet loud, and a little eerie to say at the least. He walked to the nearest light switch to turn on the lights, but the lights would not turn on. He also realized that his whole house was cold, even with the fireplace burning. While a part of him thought this whole thing was nothing but a dream, another part of him felt that something or someone is in the house with him. Nathan: (Whispers in fear) "What is going on? Why aren't the damn lights turning on? Sh*t!" As Nathan continued to attempt to turn on the lights, he could've sworn that he saw something rushing in the hallways of his house in the corner of his left eye. As he knew he saw something, Nathan no longer thought that he was in a dream. This strong grip of fright took a hold of Nathan, and he didn't know what to do. Could it be because of the alcohol he consumed, or was something really in the house with him? Nathan: (In immense fear) "H-hello?! Who's there?! I-I-I SAW YOU!!!" There was no response, besides the wind blowing in the night outside of the house. Nathan looked around more, trying to find signs or clues of another person. All of a sudden, Nathan realized that it could just be his wife... but the question was... why wasn't she answering? Why would she be lurking around the darkness? Nathan: "Honey?! I-is that you?" Out of nowhere, the beautiful voice of his wife answered him from the upstairs, filling Nathan with relief knowing that there was nothing to be afraid of. Nathan: (Sighs in relief) "Oh thank goodness! You scared me!" Nathan's Wife: "Why were you scared?" Nathan: "I thought you was someone else in the hallways." Nathan's Wife: "Oh, honey! Don't be silly! Come upstairs to the room, will you? You should sleep here with me!" Nathan: "Yeah. I'll be up there!" Nathan's Wife: "Don't keep me waiting." As Nathan was about to go up the stairs, he then got suspicious as he was connecting the dots. He realized that his wife wasn't supposed to be in the house, as she was supposed to be in train duty. It also didn't make sense that his wife didn't answer him in the first place. In fact, it was weird how she wasn't complaining about the lights. Nathan: (Slowly goes up the stairs with a flashlight) "Honey... what the hell happened to the lights?" Nathan's Wife: "I don't know. I tried turning them on over and over again, but they would not turn on!" Nathan: (As he gets closer to the bedroom door) "I see... a-aren't you supposed to be working on the train tonight?" Nathan's Wife: "They cancelled it tonight." Nathan: (Right in front of the door) "Oh... why did they cancel it?" Nathan's Wife: (As Nathan opens the door to see his wife's beheaded head on the ground) "Because I decided to be (voice gets deeper) here with you." Right when Nathan saw his wife's head on the ground, Nathan fell back. Her head was completely empty in the inside... but the inside was glowing. The brain, eyeballs, tongue, and all of the organs that were supposed to be inside the head were gone. The bright candles inside her head were illuminating through the empty eye sockets, and the cut opened mouth. Her head was like a Jack-o'-lantern. Nathan: (In fear) "OH-OH MY- OH MY GOSH!!! HOLY SH*T!!! H-HONEY?!"
Nathan then rushed downstairs and rushed out the door to his car, only to find his car destroyed. Nathan didn't know what to do as his head was full of questions and paranoia. What made this even more terrifying and unnatural was the fact that something destroyed his car silently and quickly. He then saw something crawling among the tall grasses near his home. Not only did he saw something... but he heard a faint wheezing sound, as if it was somebody crying, laughing, or coughing from cigarettes. Nathan looked closer into the tall grasses, to see something callous. He couldn't see whatever it was clearly, but it was a tall, slim figure that was crawling. It had long limbs, and it had sharp spines on its back, as if it was a dragon or some otherworldly creature. As Nathan spotted whatever it was, the unnatural black pumpkins on its spines, each with different carved up faces, started to glow. Nathan didn't know what he was looking at, but it certainly wasn't anything from his world. The creature then began to crawl faster towards Nathan, leading him to run back into the house. Nathan: (Quickly locks the door and places various furniture in front of it) "What the hell is that thing?!" *Rushes to the kitchen to grab a knife and proceeds to hide inside the pantry* As Nathan hides, he knows that it's only a matter of time that it will find him and that he must move quick. Nathan was about to move out of the pantry, until he heard the front door broke open. Nathan froze in place and slowly backed up to the pantry wall. This feeling of hopelessness and dread filled him as he saw through the peak of the pantry door the creature crawling past him rapidly. The only thing Nathan could tell from the speed of the creature was that it was vicious and blood hungry. It was merciless. And there was nothing Nathan could do about it.
It's been a little while, and the dread lurking in Nathan was unbearable. He couldn't even breathe properly as his heart did nothing but pump faster and faster. While Nathan was scared, he was also surprised that the creature somehow didn't find him yet. However, Nathan also thought that this might be what the creature wanted. As he thought about the risk, Nathan tightly gripped onto his knife, and he took a few deep breathes. Nathan then slowly opened the door and quickly snuck through the backdoor of the house. He ran to the tall grasses as if it was literally the only thing that was going to save him. Nathan ran deeper into the grass until he encountered a black Jack-o-lantern. Like the black pumpkins on the sharp spines of the creature, this black Jack-o-lantern also had a unique face carved up. As he stared onto the abnormal black pumpkin, there were voices in his head that were debating whether to pick it up or not. Something about the pumpkin was attractive to Nathan and like a kid wanting a new toy, Nathan wanted this pumpkin bad for some reason. After hearing the creature's wheezing in the distance, Nathan abruptly picked up the pumpkin and ran for his life as the wheezing sound was getting closer rapidly. Nathan didn't know where to go, but he kept running out of desperation until he felt an immense pain on his right shoulder. He could feel the claws of the creature stabbing into his shoulder. After this, Nathan was being lifted up by the creature as if he was nothing but a ragdoll to the beast. Then, the beast turned Nathan to face it and Nathan could finally see the grotesque face of the demon that's been chasing him. Its head was a big orange Jack-o-lantern, but it had long, sharp teeth of a blood hungry animal. Unlike the other black pumpkins on its back, its head wasn't glowing and crimson blood were dripping out of its eyes and mouth. It stared dead into Nathan's eyes, and a green hue started to illuminate its face, all of a sudden. Not only did its face started to glow, but green gas started to come out through the face slowly. Then, it lifted its left hand and Nathan saw a green gas coming out of his body onto its palm. He can see more of this mysterious gas coming out of him, but as it did, Nathan also felt that he was slowly dying. He realized that his soul was being taken. And the more it was being taken, the more his vision was blackening. Finally, after his soul was completely taken, the creature dropped Nathan's lifeless corpse on to the ground. The creature then grabbed the black pumpkin from Nathan's dead body, and he put Nathan's soul inside it. The black pumpkin then started to glow, and Nathan's faint screams could be heard. The creature's face stopped glowing and the green gas stopped emitting. And finally, the creature placed the black pumpkin with Nathan's soul onto the sharp spines on his back. But Nathan felt the spine stabbing into his pumpkin and his soul, and he screamed again. The faint screams of the other souls started to sound, and it filled night skies of Halloween 1964. Nathan became a part of it, and there was nothing his soul could do to change his eternal role.
(The End)
== Tale 2: The Halved Witch ==
Location: Woodbridge, Haymarket
Time: 9:10 PM 
Date: 10/23/1997
Omar Narrating: The other night, I had a dream where I heard a voice of a familiar woman calling for help behind a locked door of a strange facility. The thing is, I know that building that was in my dream. I've seen it somewhere around these woods. While a dream could just be a dream, it could also be the answer to several of these missing persons' cases. It's truly an opportunity to investigate a building like that. I'm no detective... and the hard truth is that this could get me into big trouble if I ever get caught. But I don't care... that building is strange in many ways, and there has to be answers inside.
After a few minutes of searching, Omar finally found the building he was looking for. It looked so accurate to how it looked like in his dream. The building was very bland and old. It looked like what would be an electric station for the power grids of the town, but it wasn't. Minus the power grid and gates, it was just an old building with no windows, and it had one door. Omar carefully approached the featureless building, and he tried the door after looking around. The door opened, and like any old doors, it let out an eerie creaking sound. Omar turned on his flashlight and pointed it towards the pitch darkness. Even with a new, bright flashlight, Omar still couldn't see anything but black. He cautiously stepped inside and walked slowly. He tried to look more deeper into the darkness, until his focus was disrupted by the door slamming shut behind him. Omar: (Shocked) "What the hell?!" *Runs to the door and tries to open it, but it doesn't open* "F*ck!" After a few attempts to open the door, the door still wouldn't budge, and Omar decided to proceed into the unexplored darkness. As he walked deeper into the strange building, he noticed that he hasn't touched any object or wall yet. This was strange to him, because the building was supposed to be small. Something was definitely off, and it was frightening Omar. He reluctantly kept walking onwards, until he saw a light in the distance. He walked towards it and once he reached the light, there was a village. Omar: (Confused) "What the f*ck?! How is there... how is there even a village in here?! What is this place?!" Omar couldn't believe that he was still in the building as he found the village. The village was the only thing lighting up in the dark facility. As strange as it already was, the village was empty and blank. There was nobody present, except for one man who was just standing there. Omar couldn't tell if the man was looking at him, or if he was zoned out. While this was already creepy enough, the man was the only one that could give him answers to this confusing reality. 
Omar: (Nervous) "H-hello, sir! Uh... what village is this? And is this place still inside a building?" The Man: (Slowly turns to look at Omar) "What's this? A human in a human body? I never seen such a thing for a while now." Omar: "What are you talking about?" The Man: (Laughs in an insane fashion) "What do you mean what am I talking about? You're a human with a human body." Omar: "What the f*ck does that mean?" The Man: "It means that you are a human in a human body!" Omar: (Getting aggravated) "Look, can you just tell me the BULLSH*T YOU'RE BABBLING ON ABOUT?!! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SH*T!!! In fact, you can cut out whatever you're saying, and just tell me where I am at!" The Man: "You and I are humans!" Omar: (Confused) "Yeah, so?" The Man: "But you are in a body." Omar: "What?" The Man: "You. Are. In. A. Body." Omar: "'kay that's it! I've had enough with you. You are going to tell me right now where I am at! That's all! Where am I?!" The Man: (Clearly getting afraid and quiet) "Run." Omar: "Run?" The Man: "Run right now. She's coming. I knew I shouldn't have come out. Run. Now." As the complex man warned Omar to run, Omar suddenly felt cold and somewhat dead. Out of the strange man's warning and his senses, Omar quickly hid inside a cabinet on the front porch of a strange house. He looked through the peep of the cabinet doors, and he was confused as to why the strange man wasn't running. Then, in the distance of the darkness, Omar saw a red hue lighting up around a woman. She already looked dangerous from the red lighting, but she somewhat looked beautiful. She approached the stranger, who was just oddly standing there. She stood right in front of him. The strangers back moved up and down rapidly, implying that he was clearly afraid. After a few moments of silence, the woman then grew taller, and her hair grew longer and became darker. But that didn't disgusted Omar. Out of nowhere, as she was growing taller, another neck and head grew out of her, and she was splitting. As her other head spread a little farther, with a slimy texture of wires connecting it with the original head, two other humanoid arms grew out of her chest area. And the two heads split farther. After completely transforming, the lady had two torsos, which both had two humanoid arms, and there were still slime-textured lines connecting the two torsos. But the two torsos were in one body, as both were connected to two legs. One half of the body had a pale, long hair moving like tentacles. It also had a wide opened mouth full of sharp teeth, with no eyeballs in its empty eye sockets. It immediately grabbed the man with its hair, and the two heads were eating his head alive. After his head was completely removed, the woman with two heads absorbed his body in her body. She grew taller than before, and stronger. After witnessing such a horrifying scene, Omar realized that he wasn't in the same world he lives in. He was in a reality where there was no hope. His desperation to escape grew, but the question he asked himself was: is it possible to escape?
It's been a while since the dreadful incident occurred. In the span of that time, Omar also realized that his phone doesn't work in this world. Even his watch doesn't work. Who knows how long he's been waiting. It could've been minutes or hours. But after a while, Omar got out of the crawlspace of the cabinet, and he cautiously walked towards where he came from. He kept walking carefully, until he could see a light coming from the bottom peep of the door he entered. Omar ran to the door, and he attempted to break through it. He kept banging, punching, and slamming on the door, until he heard a loud, terrifying scream of a woman. He looked behind, and he could see the halved lady rushing towards him. Omar began to slam on the door with all his might harder and harder with desperation and fear, each time she comes a step closer. Finally, Omar was able to open the door and he ran out of the building, slamming the door shut behind him, to his car. He started up the engine and drove away from the building fast. Omar: (In relief after what he experienced) "Oh my gosh! Thank goodness! Holy sh*t! What the f*ck was all that?! N-no way... *takes a breath* no way that was real." Omar drove the car, until he saw the halved lady teleport onto the middle of the road out of nowhere, blocking his way. This led Omar to swerve out of shock and crash into a tree. After the aftermath of the crash, Omar couldn't get up and his vision was blurring. He could barely see, but it was still enough to see the halved lady dragging him out of the car. After seeing that he's being dragged, he blacked out. Omar woke up shockingly, but he didn't know where he was. He didn't see anything but the ceiling of the building he was in. He couldn't move, however, and he felt relaxed. That wasn't until he could feel a hand stroking his hair. He could finally move his head to see that it was the halved lady. Omar screamed and tried to move, but he remembered that he couldn't move. He moved his head to see his own body, but he realized that he wasn't in his body. He could tell, because he remembered that there wasn't supposed to be hair on his arm. After realizing that his soul was placed in another body, he also realized that this was what the stranger was talking about. He was a human now in a fake body, made by the Halved Witch. Omar thought more critically about what would happen next, and he could tell that he was going to go through the same thing the insane stranger from the beginning. This filled him with fear, of course, and he started screaming more. And now, to this day, Omar lives in that harsh, unbelievable reality, going through the insane survival the man had to go through.
(The End)
== Tale 3: The Midnight Chimes ==
Location: Coastal County, Haymarket 
Time: 12:37 AM 
Date: 10/27/1999
Jake Narrating: I could hear it again. Those midnight chimes from the grandfather clock keeps ringing throughout the house. It's way past midnight. It must be broken, but I can't convince myself that. I try to tell myself that but every time I do, I have a feeling that someone else is in here with me. I can swear I also hear a faint shuffling sound through the melody. This didn't only happen tonight, but also the past few nights. It happened over and over again. I can't take it anymore. I'm not going to rest until I fix this error.
Jake slowly rose out of bed, as if he was trying to sneak past someone... or something. He also grabbed his knife he kept under his pillow. He didn't know why, but his instincts were strongly suggesting him to take it just in case. As he began carefully moving closer to the bedroom door, he had this sinking feeling that was crawling under his skin. His mind told him that he was going to do something stupid and that he should stop, but his determination was stubborn and kept him going. He slowly opened the door, and he quietly made his way to the light switches. He tried to turn them on, but the lights wouldn't turn on. No matter how much he switched them on and off, the lights were still dim. This made him increasingly frantic. He could still see through the darkness without the light, but just barely. Jake then slowly made his way towards a drawer. He opened one of them to get out a flashlight. Once he turned on his flashlight, he was relieved as if it was the only thing that will keep him alive. He then looked closely around his environment, as if he was searching for something or someone. After a few seconds of his frantic observation, he carefully approached the grandfather clock. Even after all this, he could still somehow hear it chiming. He looked carefully inside the clock, but everything seemed to be normal with no damage. After observing such a surprising discovery, he then noticed that the haunting melody was fading. It eventually stopped; and while it was partially relieving, it was also suspicious and frightening. Oddly, the silence was intimidating. He looked around to see if there was an explanation to such an odd occurrence, but it was disrupted when Jake discovered something on the floor near the grandfather clock. There was some sort of red stains on the ground. They were droplets of what Jake assumed to be blood. Jake then realized that it must've been paint from the painters the week before. Jake sighed, and he went back upstairs to his room.
As he got into his bed, he closed his eyes to sleep, until he got a burning sensation when he heard a creaking sound coming from his closet doors. Jake didn't dare to even move a muscle, except his eyes. He looked into the corner of his eyes to see something unnatural in the darkness of the closet. He saw an incredibly tall, humanoid figure that was horrifically boney. So boney that you could see its ribcage and the bones of its limbs. It had what look like blood stained all over it, and its face... it had huge eye sockets with tiny eyes in them, and a wide opened mouth. Jake didn't know what to do, and he didn't even dare to hold his knife that was under his pillow. He saw the unnatural entity slowly approaching him, and when it was right at the side of the bed, Jake closed his eyes, hoping that it didn't see his eyes opened. Jake then heard the midnight chimes playing again, and it was this moment when he realized that the haunting chimes were coming from this thing. Jake then had enough, and he was afraid at first, but he quickly grabbed the knife under his pillow, and he slashed at the strange creature. The creature then backed away and it let out an awful roar. Jake then stabbed the knife into its ribcage, and he immediately ran away from it. At the point when Jake reached the downstairs, he then heard a loud roar coming from the creature. He knew it was angry, and he ran out of the house.
Jake ran as far away as possible because he knew he would die if it caught him. Jake ran away from the beach, which was where the houses were, and into the field of long grass. He hid behind the tall grasses and looked at his house. A little while later, he saw statics from a T.V. screen in his eyes. Jake was scared and confused when he saw static, flashing images of gore, and even clips of videos that were brutal. He was confused as to how he was seeing this in his eyes, until he turned around to see another horrifying creature. It was wearing a black cloak and a black hat. Its face wasn't real. It had this black... mysterious substance stained on the upper half of its head, while a drawn sinister grin on the bottom half. While it looked happy, it looked down at Jake with no signs of joy present. Instead, Jake knew it looked into his eyes with dark intentions. Jake also realized that the static grew more severe once he laid his eyes upon whatever it was. Then it tilted its head to its right side. It was at this moment when Jake's vision and hearing was completely filled with static and more videos and images. After seconds of this irritating phenomenon, Jake's vision finally blackened. He went missing after that night, and to this day, there is still no trace of Jake and no closure to what truly happened to him.
(The End)