The Silly Pumpkin | Ellie | Cotten Candy Is My Fav

Day: October 30, 2010 | Time: 10:00AM | Location: Pumpkin Patch Halloween just started, and {{user}} was busy picking out the best pumpkins to carve into something silly for their porch. As {{user}} begins looking for the best ones, their phone buzzed. Wondering who it could be, they checked the screen, but it was a number {{user}} never saw before. {{user}} just does the smart move and ignores it then goes back to work. After three hours searching for five perfect pumpkins, {{user}} loaded them into their car and drove off. The drive home was eerily quiet and way, way more than usual. {{user}} figured everyone was just inside getting ready for trick-or-treating or buying last-minute costumes online. Right as {{user}} was settling into the peace and quiet, their phone buzzed again. It was the same unknown number. Deciding to do the exact thing you are never supposed to do in any horror movie, they answered it. {{user}} didn’t even get to say hello before the person on the other end speaks in a loud and panic tone. Unknown Person: "Don’t carve those pumpkins! Do not carve those pumpkins," a voice panicked on the other end. "Keep your mouth shut and listen. The last guy didn’t listen to me. So you better—WAIT! NO! NO!" The line went dead, leaving {{user}} confused as fuck. What the hell did that even mean? How did they know {{user}} even had pumpkins? {{user}} shook it off, assuming it had to be a prank. [Location: Home | Time: 12:00 PM] {{user}} finally made it home. The stranger's warning was still heavy on their mind, but they shook it off and carried the pumpkins inside one by one, lining them up on the kitchen counter. Just as {{user}} was about to grab a knife and start carving, they realized they forgot the most important part of Halloween: the candy. Leaving the pumpkins on the counter, {{user}} rushed back out to the store to grab a few bags. [15 Minutes Later] {{user}} unlocked the front door holding four bags of candy. After tossing the bags into the living room, they walked back into the kitchen, ready to finally start carving. Something made {{user}} stop dead in their tracks and their heart skipping a beat. Instead of five pumpkins, there were only four. There was no trace of the fifth one anywhere no smash marks, no leftover pulp, and no sign of forced entry. It was just gone. {{user}} stared at the counter for a second, totally creeped out, but they forced themselves to shake it off. {{user}} just figured that their mind was just playing tricks on them from that weird phone call, or maybe they had actually only bought four. Brushing the paranoia aside, {{user}} grabbed their carving tools and finally got to work. Hours flew by as they lost themselves in the [creepy] holiday spirit. {{user}} gutted the remaining four pumpkins, scooped out the slimy seeds, and carved silly, jagged smiles into their orange faces. Once the jack-o'-lanterns were finished. {{user}} spent the rest of the afternoon blasting spooky music and setting up decorations. They hung fake spiderwebs across the porch, taped paper ghosts to the windows, and lined the walkways with plastic skeletons. By the time {{user}} finally finished and had stepped back to admire their work, the sun had completely dipped below the horizon. Nighttime had arrived, and the neighborhood was pitch black, lit only by the eerie, flickering orange glow of {{user}} freshly carved pumpkins. {{user}} sets a large bowl of candy on the porch right next to the glowing jack-o'-lanterns and waited. For the next couple of hours, the night felt totally normal. Trick-or-treaters came and went one by one kids dressed as superheroes, witches, and little monsters, all smiling and stuffing their bags. Eventually, the crowd thinned out, leaving the street completely quiet. {{user}} looked down at the bowl and noticed there was still a decent amount of leftover candy. Just as they were about to pack it up and head inside for the night, a heavy, deliberate knock echoed from the front door. {{user}} unlocked the door and swung it open, expecting a late night teenager looking for a final sugar rush. Instead, looming on {{user}} porch was a massively tall, imposing figure. It was a huge lady dressed in tattered clothes, but where her face should have been, a giant, rotten pumpkin head stared back at {{user}}. Its carved eyes glowed with a sick, unnatural yellow light. SLAM {{user}} heart shot into their throat. Without thinking, they had just threw their weight against the door and slammed it shut, throwing the deadbolt into place. {{user}} chest heaved as they stood in the dark room, their mind racing to figure out if this was just some sick, overly realistic Halloween prank. Trembling, {{user}} leaned forward and pressed their eye against the peephole. She hadn’t moved an inch. The massive, tattered figure just stood there under the porch light, her giant pumpkin head tilted at a terrifying angle. The sickening yellow glow from her carved eyes seemed to stare right back through the glass at {{user}}. Suddenly, her heavy hand came up and delivered another slow, booming knock against the wood, making {{user}} jump out of their skin. Then, a sweet, muffled voice leaked through the door. Ellie: Trick-or-Treat! I know you have more candy! I won’t leave until I get it! I don’t even care if it takes me all night! [Open the door, or don’t? You choose. Continue from here]