House on the Corner.
By Eoin Brosnahan.
In the eerie darkness of Transylvania an elderly man dressed in a woollen jacket and baggy jeans shuffled along the footpath. The wind howled as it blew through the gloomy night. He stopped and began shuffling through the contents of his pocket. He pulled out a cigar and a lighter. As he lit the cigar the orange flame from the lighter illuminated the dull night. All was silent. Then, a rustling noise came from the bushes. Sharply, he twisted his body towards the bushes. As he turned, a fatal blow was delivered to the back of his skull. He relinquished his grip on the cigar and dropped to the ground, dead! The werewolf had successfully killed his first victim.
Every house was prepared for Halloween night. The luminous glow of the lit pumpkins shone fluorescently through the misty night. In his house, Joe was waiting impatiently for his friends. He stared out through the broad stained glass window of his elegant three story house. He watched closely, examining every child’s costume thoroughly as they passed. In the corner of his eye he spotted his friends Sam and Kevin shuffling down the driveway towards his house. He scurried downstairs to greet his friends. Joe clenched his sweet bag and mask and ventured out into the open night.
After voyaging through every street and collecting every morsel of candy they decided to rummage around in Mr Walker’s old house. Mr Walker was a cranky old man who patronised the local children until he died last year. Since then his house was declared haunted. As they neared their destination the howling breeze became louder and colder. The eerie house was about 20 yards down the road. They trembled when they reached the front gate but not because of the chilly breeze, but because of the gloomy house that lay in front of them. “I’ll go first,” said Joe.
Darkness filled the eerie house. The floorboards creaked quietly and rats and mice scurried along the filthy floor. Joe’s heart beat frantically. Suddenly, without notice every door in the house swung open. He stumbled backwards and felt his leg brush of something coarse and unusual. Slowly, he rotated his body to greet whatever was breathing down his neck. There, in front of his eyes was a creature you would encounter only in the foulest of nightmares.
Joe made a rapid decision to run for the door. At that moment, a strong gust of wind blew the door closed. The creature gave a deafening howl. It had green mucus dripping from its fur and dry blood cemented around its jaw. Joe was terrified; he examined the room thoroughly for an escape, nothing. He gazed out the window and to his horror he saw Sam and Kevin galloping to the safety of the narrow footpath. Joe was horrified; he was alone, with the werewolf!
Joe backed away from the horrid creature. It licked its blood stained lips and moved slowly towards him. Joe was trapped, he needed a weapon. He searched the room vigorously. There, at the far side of the room was a broken curtain pole. Joe shot towards the curtain pole but was stopped in his tracks when the werewolf jumped athletically through the air and landed directly on him. The creature dug its sharp, grubby nails into the back of his leg. Joe let out a sharp groan. He was within reach of the curtain pole. He used every ounce of strength in his body. He grabbed the curtain pole and swung aimlessly at the creature. The curtain pole delivered a fatal blow to the creatures head. Joe quickly shattered a window with the curtain pole and climbed awkwardly out on to the front lawn.
Joe lay shivering in the grass. His leg was throbbing and his head ached as the cool breeze penetrated his skin. He was safe, until next year!