Twisted Family Holidays Collection

by JR Wirth

  Concerned for our collective wellbeing, and unable to figure out the unfolding events, I firmly said, “The pranks must stop, they’ve already led to danger. I also think we should stay together; close together, very close.” I slowly looked into each of their eyes, demanding attention and respect. From the look in their eyes, they all seemed to know I meant business. When I felt I’d received everyone’s verbal and non-verbal assurance, I motioned with my head and we started toward the next brightly lit home.

  “Epic,” I heard Josh say, as he turned back toward Jim’s house, reveling in one last victorious smile. He then straggled behind the group, surely contemplating his next trick of the evening.

  I noticed, but, like a good big-brother, I let him have his moment.

  The next house we went to was the one that had the family of strange, disappearing, observers. It was now decorated with full Halloween paraphernalia, complete with a dozen or so, candle-lit, carved pumpkins running the length of the walkway. Near the front door, the house had mummies, witches, and a full-size Frankenstein.

  “Whoa this is cool,” Josh said. “I don’t remember this house ever being this cool.”

  “I know.” Brittany marveled at the serious decorating that was completed in the hours since I mowed the odd-man’s yard. “Hey, isn’t there a new family living here?”

  “Yeah,” Desi replied, in a dour, suspicious voice. “I watched them move in and they had a couple of sarcophaguses. And they were all dressed in black with bright-white faces and dark eyes, like they hadn’t slept in weeks. ”

  “A sarcopha-what?” Jessica asked with a nervous laugh.

  “Now that’s really cool,” Josh started up the walkway. “This is the coolest house ever!”

  Feeling a little out of sorts, I called to Josh. “Wait up.” I then turned and did a quick inventory of the Halloween posse. My gaze stopped at Jessica and Steve.

  Steve was smiling. “A sarcophagus,” he said, “is a coffin. Like the kind you see in movies about mummies, or in vampire movies.” He then raised his hand in the air and gave a haunting screech. His mummified rendition of Malcolm McDowell, in “A Clockwork Orange,” made the moment quite disturbing.

  It didn’t seem to bother Josh, as he chuckled at Steve’s outburst. “And now we’re all going to be vampire dinner,” he added with a haunting yelp of his own. Josh then smiled and quietly nodded.

  “Steven—Joshua,” I said with a condescending tone. “Enough of the theatrics.”

  Steve chuckled and looked down, kicking the pavement. “All right, I guess.”

  “Good; and Josh?”

  Still gawking at the house, Josh ignored my plea and whispered, “Can we go up yet?”

  Yoko stepped up to the front of the group and shouted, “I bet they have some great treats!” She licked her lips in an exaggerated, creepy manner. “And some pretty rad tricks too! Come on, JR, let’s do this thing.”

  “Hmm.” I wasn’t quite sure what to do at that point, though I sensed I wasn’t going to be able to stop the others from checking out the haunting house. “Okay.” I waved everyone together. “But, everybody, grab a partner and stay close. I’ll stay behind and watch so nothing goes wrong.”

  I did another visual rollcall and noticed that Karlos was no longer with us. “Desi, Yoko, what happened to Karlos?”

  They shrugged and gave each other a confused look.

  “We don’t know,” Desi said. “We turned around and he was gone.”

  “Not good. Okay, be careful and remember to stay next to each other.”

  Brittany and Josh grabbed hands and sauntered toward the door, behind them were Steve and Jessica, and finally Yoko and, a not-so-enthusiastic, Desi.

  The closer they got to the door, the weirder things became. I could see tiny heads peeking out from behind thick, dark-burgundy drapes, which covered both the garage, and front picture windows. They looked like the faces of young children, too many to count, but they all seemed somewhat deranged, slightly disfigured, and mostly evil. Each one seemed to be yelling, but no words could be heard. It was as if their muted voices were calling out for help; an escape from damnation of sorts.

  I got an eerie feeling, telling me that something was very wrong. And for some reason, I was compelled to turn and glance at the odd man’s house across the street. “Oh my,” I slowly whispered, with a shrill in my voice and doom in my eyes. At the front door, behind the screen, I noticed the silhouette of the man, or whatever it was. And his aged hand was just outside the door, in almost the same position it was earlier. The porch light highlighted the decrepit hand that was now rolling its index finger, summoning me to join him. Spooked, I looked back at the kids making their way to the door of the disappearing family’s, authentic haunted house.

  Suddenly, evil figures, big and small, started to surround them. And the children of the damned, like angry rats, swarmed from everywhere.

  “Get out!” I yelled, just before Frankenstein tried to grab Yoko.

  Yoko screamed, “Help!” Seemingly on instinct, she stomped on the monster’s large foot. The attack stopped the monster briefly, just long enough for her to escape. She ran back to where I was, but kept on running.

  The others must have also freaked-out, because they also ran back and then past me toward the street.

  Steve was the last of the bunch. When he ran past, he grabbed me, yelling, “Run JR, run!”

  So I ran.

  While I made my sprint to freedom, I shouted, “What the hell is going on!”

  Nothing’s making sense, I thought, yet I tried to wrap my mind around the day’s exploits.

  We ran halfway up the block without stopping or looking back.

  Chapter Eight

  When we stopped we shared nervous giggles, along with rushed stories of being freaked out by Frankenstein, the creepy haunted house, and the realistic lost-souls of the children of the damned. While we caught our breath, we deliberated on whether it wouldn’t be better to cut our losses and end the horrific night while we were all still in one piece.

  The discussion was short-lived however, as Yoko loudly grunted her displeasure. She pushed her way from her usual spot in the back of the crowd—to the front. Once there, she turned to face us all. “I’ve waited an entire year,” Yoko shouted, with conviction in her voice. Candy bag in hand, she threw her arms in the air. “So I’m going to continue, whether you’re coming, or not.”

  “Epic,” Josh uttered, seeming to react to Yoko’s tirade.

  “If she’s going, I’m going,” Desi defended her friend.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I pleaded, hoping to rally some support.

  “I’m with them,” Brittany commanded.

  Almost immediately, Josh smiled. “Count me in.” He turned and high-fived Brittany.

  Despite my plea to end the evening and go home, they all wanted to continue the candy walk from hell.

  While we continued our trek, I observed the other trick-or-treaters, or, should I say, the lack thereof. Usually we’d run into the neighborhood kids, big and small, making their way toward decorated houses. The sound of “trick-or-treat” would reverberate through the streets and give a festive atmosphere to the area. But that didn’t seem to be the case this Halloween.

  The neighborhood adults, furthermore, liked to party a bit themselves while they handed out Halloween goodies and forged, menacing stares. Many of the adults created, and shared, makeshift haunted houses, while indulging in their favorite beverage and haunting laughs. Thank God, the usual haunted houses were much less demonic than the one we’d just escaped. But it didn’t matter, since there were no other haunted houses this Halloween.

  The more I scoured the neighborhood, the more disturbed and scared I became. In lieu of the usual sights, I noticed large creatures of the night, stumbling
through the streets and lurking between houses. They all seemed to float and, for the most part, traveled alone. With each new encounter, I hoped to come across some other kids like us—not to be. There were no young children dressed up like action figures, or children’s storybook characters. In fact, other than our group of misfit kids, I didn’t see any children at all. And each adult-sized figure we passed was morbidly gruesome in their presentation and, like a fright-night at a theme park, very convincing in their hair and make-up. The undead, witches, warlocks, mass murderers, and other various evil beings were all that could be seen. The area even lacked the sexy vixens that seem to reign free during the Halloween season. Each new villain of the night heightened my fear; and though I never let on, it nearly incapacitated me.

  “Let’s hurry up,” I shouted and pushed the little ones along. I made sure to accompany them to each home, where unfamiliar, ghostly figures handed out beleaguered candy, along with conspicuously eerie, sinister smiles. It was as if they all knew something we didn’t.

  As we continued, we passed a couple who were apparently murdered on their wedding night.

  “Check that out,” Brittany shouted and pointed. “Great costumes.”

  Acknowledging Brittany’s salute, the decaying couple turned and nodded. What was left of their skin, barely clung to their cheekbones, while their eyes bugged out of their skulls. And it looked as if worms and other creatures of the earth took up refuge in the bride’s wedding dress.

  Josh smiled and gave two thumbs up, simultaneously shouting, “Radically awesome,” back at the couple.

  The couple nodded, returning a grunt and an evil smile. The convincing grin froze me in my tracks, yet the others encouraged the couple by applauding.

  Were they not aware, I wondered, of the terror the night had become? I know for sure that Jessica and Steve weren’t paying attention, since every time I glanced their way they seemed to be either starting or ending another extended kiss. Lips locked, eyes closed, they were consumed in their own little, alternative world.

  When I noticed them falling further behind, I yelled out, “Jessica, Steve, keep up. Remember, we need to stay together!”

  Chapter Nine

  From that point forward, I pushed the pace even more. We were soon turning toward the home stretch. All I needed to do was get them through this one last cul-de-sac and then home. Then it was my time. With Destiny patiently waiting, and a party brewing, anticipation began building through my loins.

  When we reached the end of the cul-de-sac, we encountered a house, which, when I did my morning rounds, wasn’t there. To make things more mysterious, the rundown, two-story house was located right about where the earlier lightning strike would’ve hit. The fog that covered the streets was mild compared to the spooky-haze that oozed from underneath the phantom house. The fog seemed to spill from under the floorboards, covering the yard and everything around it. Each new puff of fog built on the previous, creating tidal waves of the grey and white condensed vapor; while faces of agonized, dead people danced in the waves. And like the children of before, they seemed to be crying out for me to help.

  “A nice parlor trick, designed to scare the locals on Halloween,” I whispered, trying to hide the renewed, intense fear, caused by the scene before me. Given the way the evening was going, and the fact that the scary structure was not there in the morning, I didn’t know how long I could be stout and appear fearless.

  The others, however, appeared totally unaffected by the scary structure. They seemed to view the decaying home as the ultimate haunted house. It was as if they were being lured toward the structure by some unexplainable, hypnotic trance.

  Paralyzed and speechless, I watched Josh speed towards the house.

  “I told you this night would be epic,” he shouted. Turning around and walking backward, almost jogging, Josh waved to Steve, who was clutching Jessica’s hand. “Steve,” he yelled. “Come on. Let’s check it out! You too, Brittany. Come on, hurry up!”

  As an observer in a dream sequence, still in my stance, I watched Brittany make a dash to catch up to Josh.

  Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, I came to my senses. I quickly looked around for a way out of the dire situation. Hoping to find a reason to leave, I checked my watch. It was the perfect cover.

  “It’s too late,” I shouted. “We need to go!”

  Once again, Josh ignored my comment. He grabbed Brittany’s hand, and the two began a spirited dash for the haunted house. “Steve, Jessica, come on.”

  “No!” I screeched. “We have to go!”

  I took another look at my watch, for what reason I don’t know, but when I glanced back at the house, all I could see was Desi and Yoko, the last of the kids, using their arms as swords to cut through the fog, where, if I could’ve seen it, the front door would’ve been.

  Panicked, I turned around to find my bearings; instead, twenty-feet in the distance, opposite the foggy-house, I found Karlos, who was now teamed-up with Mondo, standing under a streetlight. Together they stood, each with a shoulder leaned against one side of the street pole. Mondo leaned on the right and Karlos to the left. Dejection filled their expressions, while vengeance crept from their stares.

  With a chillingly frightful grin, Karlos lifted the chainsaw and appeared to rev it in my direction.

  Meanwhile, Mondo, suddenly wearing a hockey mask, laughed a haunting laugh while juggling three hatchets in air. “I’m back,” he yelled, in an equally haunting voice.

  “What the hell?” I froze, not knowing what to do or how to react.

  Then, remembering the girls, I quickly turned back. “Stop!” I yelled. I made a dash for the door, thinking, at least, I can keep the little ones safe.

  I was too late. By the time I got there, Desi and Yoko were already inside the creepy house.

  Out of breath, I paused and bent at the waist. When I looked up there were two figures in my view. Both were dressed in ancient, shredded garb, appearing quite dead. The one to the left smiled and introduced the pair. “I am Barabbas,” he said, “and this is my brother-in-death, Judas.” They looked at each other, nodded. When they looked back at me, they smiled a “Joker” smile, if ever there was one—or two.

  “Welcome to our hell,” said the one called Judas, waving his hand for me to enter.

  I hesitated. “What have you done with my family?”

  “Your family, JR?” growled Barabbas. “Well, they’re enjoying themselves in the mazes of purgatory.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  “Oh, JR…” Barabbas paused and shook his head. “Have you learned nothing? We know everything about you.”

  “Yeah,” Judas puffed, with a new, spooky smile. “Haven’t we already touched on all of your fears?”

  Suddenly and inexplicably, Judas appeared behind me, holding my arms tight to my side. I could feel his heavy labored-breath on the back of my neck; the awful stench of death purged from his words. “Do you want to know about your precious Destiny?” he asked. “Perhaps you’ll want to know about the painful, grueling death that awaits you and this Destiny.”

  “No!” I growled, while I tried to break free of his clutch. “Leave Destiny out of it!”

  Despite my best efforts to get away, Judas pushed me to the door with relative ease.

  “Yes, JR,” Judas teased, with a menacing laugh and heavy breath. “It is time for you to experience Satan’s house of ill-repute. It’s a necessary ritual, one which we will thoroughly enjoy.”

  After pushing me through the threshold, Judas was no longer behind me. Instead, he was in my direct view, standing on a donkey and putting a noose around his neck. “There’s no other way,” he said, “to deal with this madness that plagues me night-after-night.” He paused and sniffed. “It was never about the money, JR. It was about the power I surrendered in the name of lust. A
nd I just couldn’t take it back.” Lips together, Judas smiled and continued. “And now, JR, it’s your turn.” He laughed and kicked the donkey.

  The donkey jumped and Judas fell—violently—snapping his neck in the process.

  Barabbas smiled and burped. Then, from an old-fashioned milk bottle, he took a drink of what looked like blood. Grinning from ear-to-ear, he walked up to Judas. “I always enjoy a good kill,” he said, with a disturbed cry. “Don’t you?” Barabbas wiped the residual blood from his lips, and pulled out a large, curved knife. He thrust the knife into Judas’s chest, cutting him wide-open. Judas’ guts shot about the room, while Barabbas indulged himself in another squealing laugh.

  Behind Judas, through the rising fog, I could see Desi and Yoko running in the immediate hall, from right to left. They laugh, but are they scared? I quickly considered between racing visions of evil.

  “I need to get to them.”

  Disoriented, I looked around for a weapon.

  Barabbas chuckled. “Go to the little ones,” he urged. “Do not be afraid.” He then waved for me to journey further into the house.

  Empty handed, I cautiously continued. Unable to see the floor I was walking on, I shuffled, coming in contact with several items. When I looked down, all I could see was dead bodies, body parts, and endless streams of blood. The blood mixed with water and alcohol, creating an intolerable smell, and a rising-pool of human waste. Then, from nowhere, I heard a voice yell, “Kill him!”

  I quickly turned to see where the voice came from. When I did, I witnessed a head, hanging from the rafters. It smiled at me, mockingly singing, “Boo hoo, to you hoo.”

  I glanced to the left and, with tears in my eyes, whispered, “Oh no; not you too.”