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A Halloween trick gone wrong: The tale of John Walkins

It was a cold, rainy night. John Walkins had just returned home after a very long day of running errands. Exhausted, and chilled to the bone, he was looking forwards to climbing into his nice, warm bed.

As John put away his groceries, he wondered where all the time had gone. It seemed like spring had just arrived a few weeks ago and here it was the end of October already. Soon it would be Halloween.

Mr. Walkins hated Halloween with a passion. He hadn't always hated it though. John used to love this special holiday up until two years ago. When Melinda, his wife, had been alive, they had lots of fun celebrating Halloween.

John still remembered the look on John Junior's face the very first time someone gave him candy just for saying "Trick or Treat!" Melinda had made Junior's puppy dog costume herself, and he had worn it for days, pretending to be a real dog. John Junior had been so happy and excited that first Halloween.

As each year passed by, Junior grew even more excited when Halloween came around. He loved helping his mother make costumes for the family, and decorations for the yard and house. John Junior could hardly wait for nightfall to come so he could go trick or treating. He would go for a couple of hours, then come home and hand out candy to other trick or treaters.

But that's all over now, John Walkins thought. Melinda and John Junior will never celebrate Halloween with him again. "I can't believe it's been two years already, " Mr. Walkins said to himself. Then he ardently hoped that the drunk driver who had killed his beloved wife and child would burn in Hell forever.

John didn't want to think about Melinda and John Junior anymore. Remembering them only made him feel lonely and more depressed. He missed them both so much! John wished it had been him killed instead of Melinda and John Junior.

Mr. Walkins finished putting away the groceries, and then changed into some dry clothes. He climbed into his warm, comfortable bed and picked up the book he had been reading. It was a new version of Washington Irving's story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Later that night, as he was drifting off to sleep, the doorbell rang. John jumped up out of bed and went to answer the summons. He flung open the door and looked around, but nobody was in sight. He closed the door and headed back to bed.

Again, the doorbell rang. John once again opened the door merely to find no one there. This time, as he was closing

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