The Pumpkin Lantern” 🎃
The wind howled through the hollow of Briar Lane, scattering crisp leaves across the cobblestones. Every house was dark except one—the old Halloway place, where a single orange glow flickered in the front window.
No one had lived there for decades, not since old Martha Halloway vanished one Halloween night. Still, every year, without fail, that same pumpkin lantern appeared in the window, carved with a jagged grin that never seemed quite the same.
This Halloween, twelve-year-old Nora dared herself to see it up close. Armed with a flashlight and a pounding heart, she crept up the path. The door stood slightly open, groaning as she pushed it wider. Dust floated like ghosts in the beam of her light.
Inside, the pumpkin burned brighter than any candle should. The flame inside danced in strange patterns—letters, almost. Nora squinted, and the letters shifted to form words: “WELCOME HOME.”
The air grew cold. Behind her, the door slammed shut. Her flashlight flickered, then died. In the glow of the pumpkin, she saw the faint outline of a woman—long hair, hollow eyes, a smile far too wide.
“Martha Halloway?” Nora whispered.
The figure tilted her head. “Not anymore,” she said softly. “Every Halloween, someone must keep the lantern lit.”
Nora stumbled backward, but the pumpkin’s light followed her, wrapping around her like smoke. She felt her body stiffen, her skin hardening, her mouth stretching into a carved grin.
By morning, the Halloway house was dark again. Only the window glowed faintly with the smile of a brand-new pumpkin—its eyes bright, its teeth sharp, and its carved lips shaped just so, as if whispering a single word:
“Welcome.” 👻
Stake ID: DcYungstar101