T h e l a st Hailov v e en Night Oc tober 31. .. Hall ow een Nigh t ... not for me anymore ... nev er. .. Looki ng ar ou nd in the "Part y Cit y" sto re in San Pat ri cio Plaza , I no tic ed alJ the Halloween d.e~o~ ation son the aisl es. There we re all kind s ofco stumes of.the not orious scary' ,~h ara~ters.s~ch' as: Dra cula, Fra nkens te in, witches, mummies , aI1 d many more. B~ts, spider ~~ari d pumpkins .}Ver e ha ng ing from the ceiling, arid the wal ls were co ve red 6 7 with the rypi~ al bla ck and orange colors. Thr ough th e speakers, you cou ld hea r a sin iste~ " vo ic e la ughin g mi sch ievously ~Flttu£l ,'Zhahaha ... It wa sthe Classicspoo ky atm os pher e ofHalloween. I di dn 't lik e it. I prom i se mys el f t hat I would ne ver like Hall oween day s again. Not anymore ... after what happe ned on my la st Halloween nig ht . .. a long time ago... and I st ill remember it ... I was 14 years old, and I was in 9 th gra de at La s Am er icas Jr. Hi gh Sch ool in Rio Piedras. I was a good st ud ent wi th goo d gra des , I had man y frie nds, and ev~r yrhing was going fin e for me at that time. So, when they in vited me to the usual H allowee n-co stu me party at Josiah's ho use, I simply said- " O h yeah , sure I'm goin g . " We spen t the whole weeklooking for the cos tumes to wear, and talkin g abom hmv co ol the pa rry was going to be. After al l, we a i l go t permissions from ou r parent s, and Jo siah 's par ent s were pr et ty cool about letting us ~se their house in Cupe y Alto . The party was scheduled for Satu rda y and we couldn 't wai t! Finally, the nig ht of O~tober 31 arrive d and we were at the party! It wa:~th e p~rfeet ,Ha llo ween night fo r a pa rl y. Even nature was decora tin g th e sky with a bright -ye llow fu ll moon ... altho ugh som e ug ly da~kclouds were form ing up on the horizon. When I got th ere , th e music was rockin g ... bum~.. bum ... bu m. Th e DJ was blasting the house with all th e fa vorite bands of the mom ent . Al l my frie nds were wea rin g crazy co stumes. IndiJu z was dr essed up as a hippie; Miri am was the bad witch , and Deborah, the goo d witch. Em manu el was a pir ate , Michael was Dracula, and Del ines was Ci nde rella. I was "El Za rro ." Wao! Everythi ng was so aweso me!The house was decorated with all the Hallow ee n or na men ts an d the re was fo od ever y \'vher e. Jos iah's fath er wa s ma king "p in chos " . at
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8/8/2019 The Last Halloween Night - English Short Story
October 31. .. Halloween Night ... not f or me anymore ... never. ..
Looking around in the "Party City" store in San Patricio Plaza, I noticed alJ the
Halloween d.e~o~ationson the aisles.There were all k inds of costumes of .the notorious
scary',~hara~ters.s~ch' as: Dracula, Frank enstein, witches, mummies, aI1d many more.
B~ts, spider~~arid pumpkins .}Verehanging f rom the ceiling, arid the wallswere covered 67
with the rypi~al black and orange colors. Through the speakers, you could hear a siniste~"voice laughing mischievously ~Flttu£ l ,' Z hahaha ... It was the Classicspook y atmosphere of
Halloween.
I didn't like it. I promise myself that I would never lik e Halloween days again. Not
anymore ... after what happened on my last Halloween night ... a long time ago... and I
still remember it ...
I was 14 years old, and I was in 9th
grade at Las Americas Jr. High School in Rio
Piedras. I was a good student with good grades, I had many friends, and ev~ryrhing was
going fine for me at that time. So, when they invited me to the usual Halloween-costume
party at Josiah's house, I simply said- "Oh yeah , sure I 'm going. "
We spent the whole week looking f or the costumes to wear, and talk ing abom hmvcool the parry was going to be. After all, we ail got permissions from our parents, and
Josiah's parents were pretty cool about letting us ~se their house in Cupe y Alto. The party
was scheduled for Saturday and we couldn't wait!
Finally, the night of O~tober 31 arrived and we were at the party! It wa:~the p~rf eet
,Halloween nightfor a parly. Even nature was decorating the sk y with a bright -yellow
full moon ... although some ugly da~k clouds were forming up on the horizon.
When I got there, the music was rock ing ... bum~.. bum ... bum. The DJ was
blasting the house with all the favorite bands of the moment. All my friendswere wearing
crazy costumes. IndiJuz was dressed up as a hippie; Miriam was the bad witch, and
Deborah, the good witch. Emmanuel was a pirate, Michael was Dracula, and Delines wasCinderella. I was "El Zarro."
Wao! Everything was so awesome!The house was decorated with all the Halloween
ornaments and there was food every \'vhere. Josiah's father was mak ing "pinchos". at
8/8/2019 The Last Halloween Night - English Short Story
< " f .l ~ - : · - y g:~ ·.~ y.i) i / s .! - l a .l k /uJ6 1e n tzig/J t! I ts : : i~ : f .r k f ~[ t~: ~ ?:;:; : -i; :·;~ / l7 . ;~ll.£ .i-:~~ cio j·o J neth it! .~ :< ..6 ~ : - : : : 1 : _ ; ; " Y : l.t
J{ra:3.~3:.J.k~J~;al:.r.OOtt~f:nm~.. (a huge r : l l.u I} _ d (~ 1 .· :struck at tite distance) " \ ' :\ 7 c ~ j: . ..U l' 1 .r · · { ·, : - : , : : : f r
OLE chair;;,. >. and .~'1khael continued - ' ' H ' J U -' about t C fUt ' all tell scar y st o r ie ) ' ~ , : ' i ~: Yf .
< 'n 0 7 : / ' I J ' ' j- k T ' tt' ! ! i ' 'W',:t Z 7 ..J f t · ; ; ' ," . , ' " tl ·· ·u n d e .? 's .. ' . ' _ · . '. \ .'!· l· ". · . ': : .' .' · .· .'" ', \ ·y' e-t., aon , .• nou/ , .. m ge" tng sc a re r ;; · 11I - ? · f .fl - t )' ." _' " I: ~. _. " _ _
with her black witch hat."D h plea' " · · ; ; ·, · ,/ t b e c ; o ' rnied osaw-sor:nc Gth~rs reulied. .t. ... -~'v: ' .....•1' . .• .. I.
Kra~kaak al}oc:m.n.L .. rain was pouting no,;' \!. :4.i~JIr)w,we h a z J t n o c A 'o ic ; , ' , \ : ( . ~ ; · : ' : : · s
here unt il o U ' t " i 't.:;·; · · C l·Zt ' S cmne ,;' 0 ll/e hu lle t o do .wm et }.iing i- (f t l m u s e oursdves. :·' ....}.;E .:b -.:,· :.<.::;\ .;,
Soon. af ter a little argurnent, everibody \V''Y .S quiet listening to all tbe: f L;:~ \ r",,
stories. >vIidncl began. telling one tt'l:.at· his old grandfatl'ler had told h.itn '.ilL.-:!;.; ;.;::
'.) littk t>; h ;;"·as·~b,,,t 'Lh r",r-' l lo -l y wi',-!·'F..· ·:;;'.ho 'J ., ,,,d "0 blOCk on his ? .L .' .n . ;i. :.· ,- < ,:- , : : :C o • • "h.~ •••• _ ••••• _,.~ •••• J j _ t. .~.·'--b .. ''-_.l'" ~' • .'''''-.'w'.''' .•..•... .•..•
PVC"y n;,,·h,· a' ,~ven'hO'.lI Th i> wi"rhe'o vr-~ ,..·. ,n ; ..· ,c.. o o , . ,f ,,,,,,parning at bin', ·· d j o . ; . . .· ~ .h ,· h,:.,• .. . .~ .•. .• / : ) .- t .. .~ I _.. , . - '" •...•.. . .. J \ -J. \ ... .' ~ ' - " ~ ' - E, .;J. •.•.••••.•...••••... i. . . . . ~ _ .- . _ r _......,: .
1 1 · 'r(r>" 1 . ., 1 h . 1 l' ,.wa.x:e ·Hm.u.p. " N nene'Jer l.C vyent out wlch a stHJtgun. ne .ad, tney ,VOlUo. (I'; · ': .:;'- : · · i· " '· ,l '
the night only i:C- come back later and rhrow I 'i ':: c ) .; :s and de 2.d. anilnals ~lt; his v,: j;: · .L: ,···· f : ..
. door:5. I : 1 > COl1\] not .c;t~ep-8.t all. They "vauld crawl and. creep allover the 'v\ J..U:, :.,:' . !. ''- ' ; ;
.roo f of tt H :: . }lOl .t~e .... 1vilcb.aei k.e pt Oft "y·virJ:i. h _ ~ _ s story - ...
E - \ - : " r . 2 . \ y " " b (J . : 1 y ';,~T2.5 scarEd then. ~['ltenigL.t '~:vas tU~l~lng very terlse 8.L~:J .- i· ~ > ;:
Kraaakk::..kk i±boCK?m •..• T'he rain W C'Ldd nnt stop, and it was getting Vel?... ..
parents had told ?~ years ago about a girl that hung herself in the woods near their. "; ",, ","~ i"'.. .; , . . .
house. Thentwe 1:i~ard)stoJiesabout ghosts, spirits'inside houses, dead P~8pl.{:,Y{~.....·· .
.-;;;~~~t~if~:mft?~;;~!~~Kraak akldi.h~oili.~.It " v is also difficult"to \ ieter~ipe where was the nois~;,coJ)J.ing;"·
from since it was verydarkqutside. We tried{(:rl()~k :vthentherewaslightning:' 8~t~e
couldn't seeanything. Hov:,ever"on one thing we allagf e~d ... the noise sounded just like
the distressirigvoic~ of someorte crying... .
We we~e terrif ied and confused,The \ rp \ ~e.or·~blid4;~coriung right from the tall'
'.. :.•.:pi1ieti:ee~<tha.'t.~~~~,bdiindan ,abandon;4"y6~den .how,~n&tt~ Josiah's house. The rain
"-continu'ed poUring and th,e noise was becon;ung louder',and more frightening .•.}it ,fdt
'like'3.voice cryi~g a ; { d sUffering.'Westopp~d 'ii;teni~g to"the f oolish stories wcLjtln;,ped '
to the gate'()f th'e porch trying to find out ""hat was rtiak ing that'i.1oise or where vias it
coming f rbm~. ..\ ..,
We were focusing~verytime there\ va:slightn.i~g. s'O;nebody brought out afl~iilight ...
and we saw a black d .6 ~circling one of the tall trees. That was even.stranger since I could ~ t : inever recall seeing dogs getting wet like that. The dog noticed our lights and stoppe4th,~;,,; ';'~ l.F (;f: ~ n '::;;,j ,:'; · '\ {'·
~~:::;~~~.~~::;;~i~~::ddi~e~t~~a~~:r~Z~,~~ili~~ii~~i~O£l 'ii~9 go outside undef ith;e;ii'~dryr~, but nobody would dare to g o withhif u. - ~<"
Josiah's parents were pretty busy inside the house and didn't notice what was going
on outside. It was, a scary feeling... something was crying 'out there and this was not a .
, story, We started arguing about the location of the sounds so we could focus through the
lightning.' ' ' V iene' de alI i... N o vi'enede aquel palo ... , N o viene dealld !" And the voice came
. , again, and we agreed that it was f rom the tallest tree. " We were all look ing ...
Then ... a lightning flashed.. ,
c~aaaatUlaaahh! Ay Dios miooor ' -Deborah shouted in horror
Some girls,ran back inside, others were screaming f rom the top of their lungs ... there
•.: was confusion ... they saw somethi~g out there. . ." '.
. Kraaaakkaaakkabooom ... My friends were running in and out. "Que paso?" "Qui
. fue f o que viste alld ?" "Que era?" Nobody could talk ... they were panick ing, .
The voice was laughing now... Imich 'lo~der.. ~and crying again. I was trembling, my
heart was pumping and I had trouble breathing. Another huge lightning struck the sk y
. brightening the dark Halloween night... .'. .
And there I saw it. ..or her. .. That was the scariest mOrJ.?entof mYJif ~"llptheri / ,t:>
about 30 feet high, stuck in the branches of the tall tree / the{~~~sth~ fi g u r~ of a sm~i
creature naked an9-gettirigweCli{spiitseconds, Isaw how creepy the f ace was, and th~
69
8/8/2019 The Last Halloween Night - English Short Story
eyes were wide open .. .looking straight at me ... and the mouth was desperately crying
under the heavy rain. Then, it began to smile at me.. .it was a small girl with a rope tied
around her neck . It was up there, on the br~ches of the tree, under the rain ...
In the middle of the commotion and the sct~3..JIlS,a lot of flashlights appeared. Some "parents had arrived and began flashing their cars' headlights. Josiah's parents ~d othirs
ran towards the tree to look for the creature; I bak ed out and noticed that the dog was-
gone then., ," - , '
Kraakakakkabooom ... They couldn't f ind anything. There were no sighs of any giri
out there. The voice vanished in the air leaving us with just:the memories brth~spirit o f . ; 'that girl who hung herself on that sinisrer night. " ,c ,.t:
I won't ever forget that image of that Halloween night. I don't wam ~o celebr3te,tlk
Halloween no more. I can't even look at dark trees at night whenever it'sraining. I nevel'f:i(f ~
knew wha~really happened that night. .. nobody k new... and we didn't want to talk aboLf ; ,; ;' i
it either. Later on, I learned that Josiah and his f amily moved out of the house. ,¥:~ , "Miraa ... hellooo; vamos a cer r ar f a t ienda" -s'aid the clerk at Party City. I noticed:·h'''i.tk\
she was dressed up like a grotesque zombie with a hanging rope around her neck . As I w a s . ~ ~ i E leaving the store, she smiled at me and told me -"Have a happy Hallowee n N i g h t r ~ : m ; ~ ! \ ; ;
8/8/2019 The Last Halloween Night - English Short Story
seventh century, Pope Bonif ace IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to
honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting
to Jeol;:tce the Celtic festival of the dead with a re.lawi but church-sanctioned·
holid~y. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (f rom Middle I ·English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night bef ore i~, the night of
Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later,
in A.D. 1000, the church would mak e November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor
the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and
dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations,
the eve of All Saints', All Saints', .and AllSoyJs', were called Hallowmas.