Within These Walls – 2025 Spooktastic 8th Place

The wretched old house at the end of the street,
Lamppost burnt out, welcoming every child with a grin of deceit,
A small wooden sign reading the words “trick or treat”,
Word of the neighbors urging children to stay away,
But somehow the kids always recall a chilling voice innocently asking to play,
In silent procession, children are summoned to the door,
First Mary Jane, then sweet Eleanor,
All records of camera footage suddenly wiped clean,
All you can hear in the recording is a faint eerie scream,
One by one, the children fall victim to the devious lure,
Not one finding comfort to reassure,
It is clear to see this so called “home” has nothing remotely welcoming or pure,
October 31, the house marked “for sale”,
All the neighbors watched the buyers with faces tense and pale,
A fresh coat of paint and a new wooden door,
As if the troubles of this house could ever be found a cure,
Six weeks crept by unnoticed,
The house suddenly appeared cold and soulless,
Whatever may have occurred within this house, no soul could tell,

For not one who entered lived to dispel.