ONE HALLOWEEN EVENING

ONE HALLOWEEN EVENING

One Halloween evening

I went trick-or-treating

       I went by myself,

but my courage was fleeting

I crept down an alley;

it was long dark and twisty

       There were seven old houses;

the air was quite misty

I dressed up as a ghoul,

with a mask made of rubber

       Unseen I would be,

if I started to blubber

At the first house I knocked,

rapa-tap, tap, tap-tap

       And when the door opened,

I felt such a sap

The dark house contained,

not a witch or a goblin

       Instead it merely held,

a sweet girl named Robin

I wondered aloud,

why she stayed in her home

       And did not go out,

and make herself known

She told me she did not

dare go a-knocking

       “The other houses have

great monsters a-lurking.”

I trembled a bit when

she gave the news

       But I found that my cowardice,

was starting to loose

I grabbed firm her hand,

and said “Don’t be afraid.”

       “I’ll go on with you;

I’ll give you my aid.”

She smiled as she ran,

back inside of her house

       And soon she returned,

dressed up as a mouse

We walked down her street;

we held our hands tight

       And soon after we came,

to the next house of fright

We knocked on the door,

with rapa-taps taps

       And soon as it opened,

we felt like poor saps

The old house contained,

not a warlock or zombie

       Instead ‘twas a boy,

by the nice name of Tommy

“Why, you’re not so scary.”

said Robin and I

       “No I am not,

except for my eye.”

We leaned closer to him,

and peered at his lookers

       And then we found thousands

of small yellow boogers

“Surely you won’t

let a thing like that hinder?”

       “Halloween only comes

once a year, you remember!”

But Tommy began

to sniff and walk back

       “I cannot go out:

I’ve been cursed by that shack!”

He pointed across

to the house “over there”

       “Cursed by a shack?

Oh well, I declare!”

“You don’t believe me?”

 said Tommy with ire

       “You come to my house,

and call me a liar?”

“That house over there,”

mad Tommy quipped

       “is home to a witch,

named Susie Von Ziffed.”

“You knock on her door;

you’ll see what I say.”

       “And then boogers will come,

out of your eyes all day”

“Can this witch be defeated?”

I asked rather boldly

       “Only by feeding her

cheese that is moldy.”

“Is that all there is;

just ‘cheese that is moldy?’”

       “Well that, and you must

play a couple of oldies.”

“What, like Dean Martin?”

said Robin so nicely

       “Yes that will do fine,

or maybe some Presley.”

“I’ve got my headphones.”

“I’ve got the food.”

       “Then let us defeat her,

once and for good.”

We waited for Tommy

to get dressed for the journey

       And soon he came out,

as a Pirate named Gurney

We walked ‘cross the street,

and came to the shack

       We knocked on the door,

with a raka-tak tak

The door slowly opened,

but no one was there

       We marched on in anyway,

without even a care

Soon we had found her,

taking a nap

       Green skin, and long nose,

with a black pointed cap

We placed on her ears,

the head phones and then

       We turned on the music:

Jailhouse Rock (for-the-win!)

The witch then woke up,

let out a sad bunch of pleas

       And then in her mouth,

we shoved in the old cheese

The witch squirmed and gagged;

said “This is the end.”

       She went back to sleep,

never to mend

We hooped and we hollered;

we high-fived and said

       “Let’s go to the other homes,

before going to bed!”

We walked down the road

to house number four

       “Trick or treat!” we said,

expecting candy-galore

We met a thin woman,

her face frail and old

       “I’ve no candy to give you;

just a warning foretold.”

“Go not to house seven,

it has nothing to offer;”                            

“Just a man in a suit,

and half-dozen coffers.”

With that the door shut,

leaving the trio quite miffed

       “I’m not afraid,

we defeated Von Ziffed!”

So we trio agreed,

and set off up the hill

       First stopping at a house,

with a blue windowsill

House five this one was,

all painted quite blue

       There was a sparrow over head;

it kept watch as it flew

We knocked on the door:

“Trick or Treat” we began

       But no one did answer,

a girl or a man

We knocked one more time,

and decided to go

       But then came an answer,

and oh what a show

The door opened to,

a party so festive

       There were great costumed people,

our own now quite bested

“Look a witch!” “Look a goblin!”

“Look a giant white rabbit!”

       We stared at them all

(quite a rude little habit)

A wizard named Louie

met us and smiled

       “I think you should go,

this party’s quite wild.”

Then Frankenstein’s monster

came lumbering by

       He scratched his head stitches,

and then he said “Hi.”

“I think we should go.”

said Robin’s soft voice

        “Here take some candy.

Any color: your choice.”

We reached our hands in for,

we thought peanut brittle

       Instead we found nothing

but wrappers with riddles

Outside of the house

we opened a wrapper

       The riddle inside

was quite a big laugher

Once it stopped laughing

it spoke its clues thusly

       “Answer it right,

but answer it quickly:”

How can Chris walk,

through the rain and get wet

       Yet not a hair on his head

gets soaked, and him fret?

We all stopped to think;

to stare and to nod

       “The answer of course,

poor Chris is just bald!”

“For answering it right,”

the wrapper did say

       “I’ll give you a clue;

then go on my way.”

“Go not to the seventh house,

for there you would find”

       “nothing but sorrow,

and a box made of pine.”

“I am not scared.”

I said as they twitched

       “We answered the riddle,

we defeated the witch!”

“But maybe let’s go

to the sixth house first.”

       “And then we will go

to the house that’s the worst.”

The sixth house was actually,

a church with a steeple

       “Surely there’ll be

candy-offering people

We rang the church bell,

 and knocked on its door

       And finally an answer,

from a nun looking poor

“I’ve no candy to offer,

 but please enter in.”

       “This night is not safe

for you and your kin.”

The nun gave us water,

but no candy or food

       Instead she gave warnings, which dampened our mood

“First you must not go,

to the house up the hill.”

       “That place is so haunted;

regret it you will.”

“If you must go then please,

take the path that I say:”

       “Go down the road first,

and turn left on your way.”

“You’ll find an old shack,

with a witch colored green.”

       “She may look scary,

but she’s really not mean.”

“Tell her you’re going

to the house on the hill.”

       “She will give you a spell

that will keep quite well”

“Without it I fear,

you do not have a prayer.”

       “That house is bad place,

it is evil’s lair.”

She patted our heads,

and led us outside

       We looked at each other,

and started to cry

“Well I am not scared.”

I said, doncha know.”

       “I’ll go to that house;

I’ll take down that foe.”

My friends stood in silence,

they followed me not

       I marched to that house,

and then I did knock

The door creaked open,

and on I went in

       I was not scared,

I knew I would win

I defeated the witch,

I answered the riddle

       This was no challenge;

twas hardly a quibble

“Come out, you villain!”

is what I had said

       But that was the last thing,

which I ever did

One Halloween evening

I went trick-or-treating

       I went by myself,

but my courage was fleeting

I started my journey afraid

I would cry

       But then I got cocky,

and feared not to die

And now I remain,

in the house on the hill

       My friends went back home,

saddened and chilled

They try to warn others,

who trick-or-treat there

       To have fun and play,

but please oh, beware

If riddles you get,

and council you find

       That warns you don’t go,

to this house of mine

Please listen well,

and follow their heed

       Or you might end up,

like this ghost indeed