It's scary season, so prepare to be chilled by our spine tingling Halloween stories!
The Pursuit
By Padraig Brosnan (3rd Year)
Chicago, 2014
Two police officers on the night shift were having lunch in a roadside diner just outside the city. It was a freezing cold October night, the wind was strong and the rain had no end. Half way through their meal, officers Williams and Barnes had a 911 call forwarded to them. Someone camping in the woods not too far from their location reported blood stains in the forest path and had thought at one point they saw someone out there, but they weren’t sure. The call cut off abruptly.The two got up, paid for their food and left for the woods.
Both of them arrived at around 11:30 pm. They threw on their jackets and as they left the car as the rain was still pelting down. The two of them grabbed flashlights and went off on the trail to the location of the call. It was a roughly ten minute walk to the caller's last known location, but when they arrived no one was there, only a broken phone. The two officers drew their sidearms and scanned the area, but saw nothing. Barnes crouched to further investigate, the phone screen was cracked and the phone itself was bent as if someone stood down on it to intentionally break it. Barnes and Williams suspected something had happened to the caller, so they tried to radio for backup but could not get through to dispatch. They decided to go back to the car. As they were walking Barnes caught a glimpse of someone in the trees beside them, and as he turned to look a dark figure ran deeper into the woods. The two chased him, shouting at him to stop but he didn’t. They had lost him, Williams tried his radio again but no luck. The two searched for a trail to follow but they couldn’t find one. What they ended up finding was a campsite. They checked the site. The fire had been stomped out, a tent was broken with a blood stain dragged across it and the crisp amber leaves going west of the camp were pulled aside as if something was dragged through them. Once more Williams tried the radio and with luck got through to dispatch. Williams described the situation and back up was on its way.
ETA for the backup was 15 minutes, so they decided to sit tight at the camp. After a few minutes they heard a bloodcurdling scream from nearby. They jumped up, guns drawn, scanning the area as they walked. They found a body brutally murdered with a fresh stab wound in the back. They looked through the area with their flashlights but saw no one. When the two turned to face the body, behind them leaves rustled quickly and before they could turn, a man with a massive dark coat slashed Barnes down the back with his knife. As Barnes screamed in agony the man tackled Williams causing him to drop his gun. Williams broke free of the struggle but before the two of them could grab their guns he ran. Williams picked up his gun and hesitated to leave Barnes, but Barnes pleaded with Williams to go. Williams chased the man to an old wooden shack buried deep in the woods. Before Williams could get close he heard a shotgun blast and the man inside shouting “Don’t come in I have a gun!” Williams stopped for a moment and heard leaves rustle behind him. He was relieved that it was his backup. They all set up aiming at the door, Williams shouted to come out and the man’s pride caused him to do so. He burst out the door aiming his gun and before he knew it he was shot dead by a volley of gunfire.
The Bone Collector's Lair
By Séan Leahy (3rd Year)
It was the day of Halloween, and Will and Tom were wondering what they should do for the night. They were too old to go trick or treating that was for sure and certain. Will came up with an idea. "Most people go into the woods on Halloween night and try to get into the old cabin and see the bone collector", he said. The one thing he didn’t mention was that the few brave enough to go in are never to be seen again.
Tom agreed to go after a bit of reluctancy. He had heard of legends around town of people who went in, especially on Halloween night. So, later that evening, the boys set off on their bikes. After an hour of tedious cycling, they arrived at the woodland, which seemed to go on forever. The boys thought it seemed awfully quiet for Halloween night. Usually tonnes of people try to be brave and go in. Tom was cautious the entire journey, but Will was eager. Tom, frightened to within an inch of his life, suggested that they turn back. Will disagreed and told him to keep going, reassuring him that it shouldn’t be too much further. The dark forest was a bit unnerving, but Tom didn’t want to go back on his own. Walking through the woods, Will saw a dim light while Tom was getting more and more nervous. They both saw a chimney with smoke pouring out, but could see little else. The clouds moved away, and the moon lit up the sky. They could now clearly see the cabin.
"That’s fine, stay close,' said Will. A shaken Tom strongly argued that they should go home. Will didn’t want to.Tom followed him reluctantly to the door. The door creaked open, and they walked inside. The door slammed behind them. There was a big open fire dimly lighting the room. ‘Someone lives here, we can't just go in’, sighed Tom. Other than the fire, there was no sign of anyone there. ‘Maybe someone is in trouble', Will suggested as he pointed at a small spatter of what looked to be blood. ‘No way!’ Tom squeaked. ‘For all we know the bone collector is more than a story to scare kids on Halloween. What if there really is a murdering lunatic out here?’ ‘Relax’ said Will. ‘What if some old lonely person is out here on their own and they fell down or something? Let's just look around for five minutes then we will leave ok?' A terrified Tom mumbled something under his breath and reluctantly continued on.
They walked around for a while and then they heard what sounded to be the front door locking. The two panicked and then Will spotted a newspaper and slowly picked it up. The headline on the front page caught his eye: “The Bone Collector Strikes Again”. The article described a serial killer who had terrorized the area 50 years ago, collecting the bones of his victims and stowing them away in a dusty basement.
As Will read down through the chilling article, his hands trembled. He realized that they were trapped in the very house where the murderer had once lived. Tom looked around frantically, hearing noises from deep inside the house. They locked themselves away in a room but then the doorknob creaked, and the door slowly opened...