It was an eerie night. The wind whispered, blowing through the trees as the fall air sent shivers down everyone’s spine. The full moon was out, a single cloud covering it making it nearly pitch black outside aside from the few lamp posts outside. It was quiet, both outside and inside the house of an old woman. She sat in her lounge chair, leaning back as she knitted a small sweater. Everything was calm, peaceful… quiet. Disturbingly quiet. Even the wind seemed to die down. The old lady paused her work, looking up as she noticed the eerie quietness. A fear began to settle in her stomach, the itching feeling that something dreadful was about to happen.

*Knock*

Something. A soft knock came from her front door. She turned her attention to the sound. She waited for another knock but nothing came. The world again went silent. The woman breathed a sigh of relief, going back to knitting.

*Knock knock*

Her head jerked up at the sound again. The knocks were louder this time. Whoever, whatever was on the other side of the door hadn’t left yet. The woman placed her knitting supplies on a table next to her, moving near the door. She pressed herself up against the hard, wooden oak, peering through the peephole and seeing no one there. Perhaps it was a teenager playing some sort of twisted prank, trying to give the woman a fright on the already spooky evening. She held her breath, waiting for another knock, but the house remained silent. She sighed in relief, trying to ease her panic as she walked back over to her chair.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The woman froze as the banging echoed throughout the house. She turned to look back at the door and noticed a movement in her window. A dark shadow had been peering into her house, staring at her before quickly moving away. The woman choked back a scream, her hands beginning to shake as she slowly backed away from the door. She clutched the arm of her chair, trying to steady herself, taking deep breaths. The fear she felt was suffocating and paralyzing.

More bangs echoed throughout the house. Whatever was at the door wanted in and they didn’t plan to leave soon. Another shadow of a figure peered through the window before disappearing again. The woman’s legs gave out as she fell to the ground, holding back a sob, trying to stay as quiet as possible. She prayed the figure never saw her, that whatever it was would eventually leave. But more bangs sounded, along with shouting from whoever was on her doorstep.

“Leave! Please just leave me alone!” Her shaky voice cried out, trying to sound in some way intimidating, but fell short of the mark. Her voice warbled and was barely heard over the loud banging. It was loud enough for the excessive knocking to pause… only to continue louder and faster than before. The woman continued to cry out, begging the stranger outside to leave her be, to go back to whatever hellhole it crawled out of.

The door finally gave way, the lock breaking as the door swung open, the wind howling as moonlight shined through the door. The lights of the house went completely dark, the place shrouded in darkness, except for the entryway, which was lit up by the pale moonlight, the cloud no longer covering the full moon.

“Trick or Treat!”

A small voice rang throughout the house, belonging to a small child standing on the porch. The child was dressed up as some furry creature, eager to get their hands on some candy. However, there was no candy, there was no treat. As the door continued to creak open, the moonlight pierced through the clouds and shrouded the entry with it’s pale light. Visible to the child was the old lady on the floor.

However, she was no longer a sweet old lady.

She was a hideous beast, snarling and baring its teeth at the child, who screamed in fear, running far from the dark and quiet house. The door slammed shut as the child ran off, the house going still and quiet once more.

Be careful whose house you knock on! 😀