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The Halloween Midnight Express - Part One

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            Tiny  Jackson  was badly misnamed.    OK it wasn’t his actual name, but everyone had called him Tiny since he actually was.   Now, considering his ability to make mischief, his name might have been “Jumbo” Jackson .   His latest stunt had been directed as eleven-year-old Ray Haroldsen.               It was a rare thing that Mrs. Haroldsen had put anything special in her son, Ray’s lunch pail beyond her delicious oatmeal raisin cookies every Friday.   But this day being Halloween, she had done the unheard of thing, she had put in a glorious cinnamon roll, larger than father’s fist, richly covered in cream icing.   And now as he sat down on the steps of the Jarnigan School for lunch, it was gone.   But to make the disappointment even greater, there was in its place a slimy blight-infested potato, which had dripped black ooze and spoiled the rest of his lunch.             And there he was, Tiny, laughing at his victim’s mixed look of regret, rage, and revulsion.    “YOU
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The Halloween Midnight Express - Part Two

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        What a night.   Every house had at least two doomed jack o lanterns on the porch.   If Tiny and his gang didn’t get them, someone else would see that those triangle eyes would not see the light of day.   While pulverizing pumpkins was a genuine pleasure, what Tiny longed for was to tip a few outhouses, hopefully with some old coot inside, and hopefully while the old coot was under way.   But no luck.   Instead they just had to settle for tormenting little kids.   They prowled in the darkness of the trees that lined the road, looking for their next victims.   Fred and Ray held deeper to the shadows to make sure that Tiny remained unaware of their presence.   Then the blessed moment came that renewed their hopes for the night.      One of Tiny’s friends cried out, “Oh dang!   It has got to be close to ten o’clock .”      “Oh yah.   So what?” responded Tiny.      “My Pa will whip me if I’m not home by ten.   I’m already gonna be late!” he said in a panic while looking at his
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Zombies For Breakfast Part Two

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  By the time the boys and Uncle Knud got back for lunch, Aunt Maren had swept and dusted the whole house three times over. She even took care of the deposits of zombie dust that she had been trailing. Ma was doing her traditional singing in the kitchen as she prepared lunch. Grandma tried to join in the music but was only capable of adding a contralto drone that complemented Ma’s singing remarkably well. Before lunch was over, all present could hear the familiar puttering sound of the returning Model T. When Oliver came in the back door, Reuben announced, “You have been replaced! Your reputation of being the hardest worker on the farm is a fading memory.” Uncle Knud waved in acknowledgement of his achievement with a flutter of his crackling fingers. Oliver gave a deferential nod towards his Uncle. “I am pleased to yield my exalted position to you, good sir.” “These people are just marvellous,” exclaimed Morgan. “I bet we can get them to work right through the night, and they don’t eve
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Zombies For Breakfast Part One

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  That heavenly smell of bacon; such a gift.  Always an obedient young man, Oliver allowed the aroma to draw him down the hall along to the breakfast table.  “How odd,” he pondered.  “Why are they here?”   While bacon had great power, its spell broke in lieu  of the three dead people seated at the table.  While it had been quite a few years ago, Oliver noted that Grandmother sat in her traditional spot.  Uncle Knud and Aunt Maren rooted themselves in the two guest chairs at the end of the table.  Each of them gazed forward with milky-blue eyes, then turned in his direction.  There was no emotion, not even with the prospect of bacon at hand.  Yes, a very strange morning.             Ma seemed uncertain just what a proper hostess should do with such unexpected guests.  She nodded towards one of the chairs on the opposite side for Oliver to take.  Reuben sprinted in from the back porch, skidded across the linoleum  floor , ready to make one of his typical comic quips: “A Rabbi walks into
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A Night in the Old Dark House - Part Three

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     The farm boy’s head was swimming.   He only barely listened as Minnie gave him the option of taking a room or sitting up all night in the library. Being an avid reader, he selected the library without giving it any thought.      After Mrs. Hitt’s departure, Oliver took a few minutes to calm himself and gather his thoughts. Upon reflection, he was grateful for his decision to stay in the library. Had he taken a bedroom, he would have been all the more miserable. He knew that sleep had no chance of coming. At least the library was cozy and he could find much to keep his mind occupied. Unfortunately, the walls of glorious leather-bound volumes that would normally have enchanted him failed to hold his distracted mind. He needed a few more minutes to take stock of the situation.      He planted himself in a high wing chair in front of the fireplace and pondered. The greed of all the other guests seemed evident and sadly understandable. Oddly, it only occurred to him much later that as
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A Night in the Old Dark House - Part Two

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       To distract himself, Oliver scanned the room and was stunned to see that there were other people at the table. To his right sat three men, one at the foot of the table and one at the end of each line of girls, himself excluded. The center man was corpulent, cigar in hand, breathing out a haze of smoke. The other two men were slightly younger, but sharing the same haughty aspect of privilege. All three men hungerly roved their eyes over the young women.      A ringing of fork on crystal goblet pulled Oliver from this disagreeable sight to the head of the table where Minnie Hitt stood in authority. “My friends,” she said with a poorly-concealed choke in her voice. “You are all welcome into my humble home on this dreadful evening.” The rumble of the storm and the shriek of wind required that she increase her volume. “Our fine lawyers have informed me that in less than an hour, we arrive at the earliest legal moment to settle my dear husband’s affairs.” With that last word, she su
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