All Hallow on the Eve 2026 - Flash Horror Stories - "Jack-o'-Lanterns Pt. 4"

It was the night of Halloween when the onslaught occurred. Before then, the pumpkin farmer was hiding out, lighting an array of Jack-o’-Lanterns to lure children in like moths to a flame. He had utilized this method numerous times over the years, and it didn’t seem like his strategy could fail.

That was until, in the warped soil and wrapping vines, a strange noise was heard in the nearby distance. Something like the cracking of twigs, or the splitting of earth, as he looked across his pumpkin patch in bewilderment.

At first there was nothing to view out of the ordinary. He had wondered if it was another mischievous child or teenager making their way onto his farm stead. So, he crept a little further, keeping his body low, with his eyes circling the patch. But again, nothing out of the ordinary appeared.

That was, until another snap, and then a crunch was heard.

He approached the sound, just as the noise itself was growing closer. Readying his knife, he was prepared to decapitate another wandering child, put their head inside a pumpkin, and light a candle atop of it before taking the remainder of the body to his truck for further use.

But when he stumbled upon the sound, there was nothing but a lit Jack-o’-Lantern sitting in the center of the patch, untouched and unbothered. Yet, a similar noise was heard nearby, then another, and another…

Until suddenly the farmer was surrounded by walking Jack-o’-Lanterns, with bodies made up of vines, all encroaching upon him. Fueled by the souls of the deceased, they crowded around him, wrapping their vines along his limbs until his own head was removed and properly placed in its own jack-o'-lantern...

All Hallow on the Eve 2026 - Flash Horror Stories - "Jack-o'-Lanterns Pt. 4"