The Not-So-Spooky Tale of Miss Spellcaster

Welcome to the town of Misty Water! It's Halloween night and as you might imagine there are some children looking for a good fright. Lucky for them, Miss Spellcaster's abandoned home is open and ready to send shivers down their spines.

Many decades ago, Miss Spellcaster was believed to be a witch that tormented the people of Misty Water in secret. After discovering her identity, the townsfolk attempted to hunt her down however, she disappeared before they could even reach her home! Convenient for her, but some people believe she never left Misty Water, and that every Halloween since, she's been plotting her revenge against the small town.

"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea. The freaking ceiling could collapse on us at any second!" Jimmy whimpered, hugging his arms tightly against his body.

"Oh please! That's so typical of you, Jimmy. Always finding an excuse to be a bore," Annie said clearly irritated by Jimmy's lack of courageous spirit.

"I'm not boring, I'm being practical! Look, If the ceiling doesn't kill us my mom sure will if she finds out where I am." The nervous tone in Jimmy's voice was replaced with certainty thinking about his demise at the hands of his mother.

"Well that settles it doesn't it? If the ceiling collapses, we'll be sure to leave you behind since your life is already over," Bill chimes in, appearing from Annie's shadow.

"Alright, enough of everyone's yacking! Let's just get to this old bat's basement, stand there for five minutes and prove she doesn't exist." Johnny signaled with his hands as if he were commanding an orchestra.

"You know what? No! I don't want to stand in some dirty, dusty, down right health hazard of a basement with you idiots! See ya later." Jimmy began walking towards town but was stopped by an angelic voice.

"Jimmy, will you come in with me please? I'm pretty scared to go in," Abby asks softly, her cheeks turning rose red.

Jimmy, frozen mid-stride, turned to look at a bashful Abby, holding both hands to her mouth to warm them. "You know, this place really isn't that bad." He walks up to Abby scratching his head and reaching out his other hand. "Here, I'll keep your hands warm."

"Wow. Anyway, let's get on with it already! We're the only kids skipping trick or treating this year and I want this to at least be worth missing all the delicious candy," another kid, Jack, exclaimed while pushing his friends into the abandoned house. "Oh man, I'll be dreaming about Mrs. Mars and her full size candy bars till next Halloween!"

The children entered Miss Spellcaster's once beautiful home and were surprised at how aged and withered the structure was. The walls were covered in graffiti with phrases like "Who's A Bad Witch Now" which the kids found amusing. Nevertheless, the children pushed through the cobwebs and creaky floorboards, traveling deeper into the witch's house until they finally reached the basement.

"See, this place isn't so bad, Abby. Totally nothing to be afraid of here!" said Jimmy through his clenched teeth.

"Yeah, you definitely didn't get scared by Abby's shadow and you definitely didn't run off screaming like a girl," Annie scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well I came back didn't I?"

"Oh yeah a real--"

"Enough bickering from you two! I swear I'm the only one who's heard enough of your voices tonight," Johnny exclaimed as he shook an irritated finger at the arguing kids. "We just need to take picture perfect proof that we were down here and leave."

"But I thought Bill's plan was to try and summon her?" asked Abby.

"Pssh, please! Bill was just trying to scare everyone with the same ghost story he hears from his older brother every year. She doesn't really exist," Johnny said with assurance.

While the other children were fighting, Bill had slipped out of their group to investigate the dark, dank, daunting basement further. He came across what looked like a face hanging on a wall. Bill squinted as hard as he could but the basement was too dark to make out any details and for some reason he didn't think to use his camera light. Suddenly, the eyes snapped open while two, long, green arms shot out from the wall and grabbed Bill's waist and dragged him half way under the basement staircase before he could react.

"GUYS HELP ME," Bill exclaimed as loud as he could to get the other's attention. The kids turned their lights to the staircase where they could only see Bill latched onto a wooden pole and grotesque, green fingers slowly climbing up his body.

"It's the witch! She's got a hold of me and--" Bill looked back at the full form of the witch under the staircase. Her face had patches of green and white, boils in every corner, and a giant, yellow grin with missing teeth. "And oh my God is she ugly! Get me out of here now!" Bill yelled.

The kids moved as quickly as they could but a second before they reached Bill, he lost his strength and the witch snatched him away, into the blackness under the staircase.

"I swear if this is some prank you boys decided to pull on us, I am not having it tonight!" Annie exclaimed harshly.

"No, I swear, this isn't... I don't know what that was... W-what should we do?" Johnny said, out of breath and frightened.

Before the children could think of a plan, a powerful presence appeared behind them and whispered, "Not everyone knows about my appetite for children. I guess that's because they don't usually live to tell anyone."

The kids turned slowly to look at the monstrous figure behind them and found themselves amazed at how terrifying she truly looked. Not only was she ugly but she was tall enough to soar above the children. As she smiled her ugly grin and reached for her next victim with her green, skeleton-like arms, the children screamed as loud as they could!

"Quick, let's make a mad dash for it!" yelled Jack, pointing to the staircase. "We might be able to out run her!"

When the children made it back to the first floor, they were shocked; the house had come to life and it was nothing like the kids had ever seen. Furniture was floating, doors were slamming, floorboards were disappearing, and shadows were leaping off the walls, grabbing at the children as they ran through the house. One might think that this is the end of the line for these kids however, to their own amazement, they made it without a scratch!

"What was all of that? It was," Jimmy exhales deeply, "like something out of a movie!"

"It doesn't matter now, we made it out and that's what's important," said Abby.

Annie walked towards Abby with clenched fists. "Not all of us. Bill is still in there," she hissed.

"...BILL OH BILL THAT HORRIBLE WITCH HAS TAKEN HIM..." Jack falls to his knees screaming. "Oh well, no use in crying about it now. I guess we'll just have to see if he's still around next year!"

"You guys can't be serious?" Annie laughed. "I know this was his idea but we're his friends. We can't just leave him behind!"

Jimmy shrugs. "It's not like we're saying he deserved it, but what do you want us to do?" he said, turning away from Annie and sliding his hands into his pockets.

"Unbelievable. You guys suck and I mean really suck!" Annie exclaimed. She turns to look at Miss Spellcaster's home and with courage in her stride begins walking towards the dilapidated structure. "If you guys wont do anything, then I will!"

Annie was prepared to do whatever it took to get her friend back however, before she could even make it in the house, she ran into the very person she was looking for: Bill.

"Bill... Bill! You made it out!" Annie cried. "But how? It looked like you were done for."

Bill puffed out his chest. "Come on Annie, did you really underestimate me?" He was completely unscathed after the witch's attack. In fact he looked better than when he arrived at the house.

"You look totally normal but, are you sure you're okay? It seemed like the witch roughed you up pretty good," Abby asked while walking up with the rest of the kids.

"Yeah, don't worry about! Like I said, it's nothing I can't handle. I'll tell you about it later." Bill starts walking towards town. "For now let's go see if Mrs. Mars has any of her full sized candy bars left!"

"YES PLEASE!" exclaimed Jack.

As the children left Miss Spellcaster's property, Bill had an odd feeling take over him. A feeling of longing for the house. He looked up at the empty, dark windows, waiting for something or someone to appear.

Annie noticed Bill had fallen back from the group and was staring at the house. "Hey! Are you coming? You're falling behind everyone else," she called out as she ran back to check on Bill. He didn't respond, he just kept gazing at the house. She grabbed his arm to pull him along but an eerie sensation stopped her; something was different about Bill. He turned slowly to face her and smiled a grin much larger and much more yellow than she had ever seen from him. And in a ghastly tone whispered, "Don't worry, I'll catch up with you children soon enough."