Boo!

Happy Halloween and Merry Samhain too. Hope you are all enjoying the festivities today. I have to say this is my very favorite holiday! No presents to buy, only fun, and costumes, what's not to like?!

This is my themed post to participate in a virtual Bloglandia Halloween party: Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun! Go check it out and participate if you feel so inclined.

This is the story that I wrote to accompany the card image(click for larger version so you can see details) for the annual Halloween deck that RedDog puts together. This year it is a story deck ,so I can't wait to read what everyone else submits along with checking out the cool artwork.

Halloween Sojourn

by Julie Zaccone Stiller, October 2007
It was the afternoon of Halloween, but suddenly the day was gone and night came out from under each tree and spread its fingers across the red hills. I looked up into the low hanging, barren trees and caught a glimpse of the twinkling spider webs threatening to catch up my elaborate hairdo. I hurried down the twisting soapstone pathway, catching up the hem of my gown with my gloved hand. Where was this house anyways? Was I even in the right area, after all this hurrying, I worried I had completely lost my way. Grousing to myself about the earliness of this party, I twisted my ankle in a hole in the path. Falling in slow motion down to meet the ground, the last thing I was conscious of was the red earth rushing up to meet me.
I came back to myself and opened my eyes slowly, sitting up and clutching the very sore side of my head. That was quite a fall, I checked myself for bleeding head wounds, every thing seemed to be ok. Then I heard the rustle. It was quite close. Looking up, my eyes widened to behold a lacy, arched doorway, where a woman clothed in a deep twilight robe stood silently. She seemed to beckon me, so I gingerly righted myself and walked carefully toward her. Two marble steps up and I was at this gateway or door. She had no voice, no face, I’m not sure how I knew she was a She. Placing my gloved hand in her outstretched robe covered one, we crossed the threshold.
I heard a roaring, almost screaming, and rushing water too. There were faces, some contorted in pain, some in pleasure, streaming past me as we walked through this passageway. Strange creatures passed near me, fierce and fish-like with many circles on their flanks, disembodied eyes examining me and then finally, nothing at all. Quiet and peace descended, muffling all of the chaos.

She turned to me and pushed back her hood. As she looked down into my face I cried out! It was me. Or someone I closely resembled. I opened my mouth to speak, wanting to question her/me, but she reached out quickly and touched my lips with her finger quieting me immediately. She pointed to the ground and I searched to see what she indicated. Three human skeletons, in shallow graves, covered in jewels and surrounded by precious pottery and jewelry. This shook me to my core, the skeletons, the strange journey, I began to shiver uncontrollably. She took me into Her arms and comforted me with a strange embrace, Her smell was spicy and unreal. I looked back and the skeletons were gone now. I sensed rather than heard a bell ring and then saw Her mouth begin to hinge open and keep opening more and more, her eyes widening into the size of the moon, her mouth becoming the tunnel we’d past through before. I felt myself pulled through into this cavern, tumbling forward until I felt myself hit bottom.
Tasting dust, I again opened my eyes and found myself on the pathway being shaken gently by two children dressed in exotic Moroccan costumes. “Hey lady, are you okay?” They helped me up and I shook my head to clear the residue of the dream or hallucination or whatever that was. Thanking them profusely, they skittered off with their glowing Halloween pumpkin buckets. I guess I better make it to the party if it is still going on, the sky was full dark and full of stars and the bright moon. Looking off to the lit part of the pathway, I saw the house I was looking for, hopefully there would be no more strange dreams the rest of this Halloween night.

May all your Halloween wishes come true!