Jack-o'-Lanterns by N.D. Graveheart from the DEATHLY AFRAID Collection

Artwork by Breanna Knoth

It was a small, mid-western town of about one-hundred-and-fifty citizens. Most of the populous farmed, while others ran service stations, grocers, and convenience stores. Nobody was above the rest, nor below. It was an even slate, a saturated grove of a community along the nothingness that spread like wildfire on weeds across the land.

But a decade ago, the neighborhood kids began a tradition. On the outskirts towards the east side of town, there was a pumpkin farmer. This farmer took considerable pride in his pumpkins, even sold them to the “big city-folk" in the autumn. But the kids decided on the first of October to smash all the pumpkins he grew as a trick, leaving him devastated.

Then around two years ago, kids started going missing. Alarm and panic tore through the community. Nobody could trace the children’s last whereabouts, nor pin a motive on anyone. Though, the children knew ...

Fall came back and soon it was the Eve of Halloween, when teenagers would dare the children to explore the haunted grounds of the old pumpkin farm. One brave boy volunteered, creeping his way through the oranges surrounded by vines and dying leaves. It wasn’t long before he witnessed mysterious lights illuminating from some jack-o’-lanterns. And upon uncovering one of the many lids, peered down in horror to find a candle lit atop a small, decapitated head.

-Jack-o'-Lanterns by N.D. Graveheart from the Deathly Afraid Collection