Agatha peered out the cabin window as the sun sank beneath the horizon, staining the sky in bruised purples and blood-red streaks. Her only thought was surviving another night. By the twelfth day of October, so many had already perished—women, children, entire families, and the fathers who had tried to protect them. The village reeked of death and despair. Every night claimed yet another victim, leaving a growing trail of silence where laughter and voices had once lived.

And the sightings of the creatures who were doing these heinous acts were becoming more common. So common that they were given names. Deathfeather, named by Marta was the among the first. The vampire witnessed by Bartholomew and who took the lives of Sable and Ezekiel was named Vampress Bloodveil. The devil-horned creature of goat and man seen by Hugh was named Gorehorn. The monster that left a trail of thick webbing, had many eyes like burning coals, and eight long legs stretching as tall as a man was named Arachneborn. And the beast whose haunting laugh that echoed from everywhere and nowhere, who looked like a hyena and whose fangs left victims mangled, was known as Madfang.

Some spoke of Gorehorn in hushed tones, terrified that even mentioning the name might summon it. Others heard the cries in the night followed by a sinister chuckle and knew instantly it was Madfang. Outside lay thick trails of webbing left by Arachneborn. A monster who had knack for leaving its victims tied, twisted, and injected with its deadly venom. Those bitten felt the effects of its deadly poison, eventually succumbing to its cruel plague-like symptoms. Each new report deepened the villagers’ terror, a growing chorus of despair that seemed to creep into every home.

At daybreak when it was marginally safer to go out, people would gather within the dusty village roads, gossiping before mass that day. That’s when the news would spread with each day revealing who was able to survive another night. Father Obadiah tried to remain hopeful, speaking of God’s protection, but even he doubted as each day revealed more death and another foul creature roaming about.

As some fled their homes, the dark tales spread from village to village as they passed through. Stories of the monsters of a place once called Eden's Brook. Obadiah called them “the beasts of the earth,” insisting that good would prevail, that no man should allow Satan’s lapdogs to steal their homes. Yet even he feared that what they faced now was beyond human reckoning.

The twelfth day of October left the people divided. Most chose to stay and stand their ground. Others were gone only hoping to find shelter somewhere else if they were so lucky for people to take them in. But not Eli and Agatha. No beast would make them leave—not while they still drew breath.

“By God, Eli, you made sure we’ve enough ale, but what about everything else?” Agatha asked, glancing at the darkening woods.

“We’ve plenty of timber for the fire,” he replied, glancing over his shoulder to her. “The cold won’t bite like it did last night.” He added that he had also picked up fresh bread to go with her porridge.

“Plenty of timber?” She asked, suspicion tightening her voice. “And where would that happen to be?”

Eli looked toward the woodpile. Most of it was gone. His stomach twisted as his heart lurched.

“Stolen. Someone came and took it,” he spouted, his eyes scanning the treeline for movement.

“They took that but nothing else?” she asked, a tremor in her voice.

Eli stepped outside to check the back woodpile. Gone as well. He grabbed his axe, telling Agatha he’d be right back. He wanted to be brave but the forest around them seemed alive, and the wind whispering through the trees like a chorus of warning.

Agatha pressed herself against the window, scanning the dimming woods. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first raindrops struck the roof. A flash of movement made her heart hammer in her chest. She stepped cautiously to the door, opening it just enough to peek outside.

Eli’s footsteps returned, carrying an armful of firewood.

“Hurry up,” she urged, anxiety sharpening her tone.

“Just a bit more, and we’ll be set for the night,” he replied, disappearing back into the dark.

Agatha’s eyes flicked toward the trees. Something moved—a shadow too large to be a man. Her heart sank. Thunder cracked, shaking the earth, and she screamed, slamming the door. Her hands trembled as she held the door shut.

When she quickly opened the door to call Eli, she saw not him but a stranger, carrying firewood with a calm, confident stride. Her eyes darted to where Eli had gone but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Who are you?” she demanded, voice overwhelmed with suspicion.

“I am known by many names, ma’am. Each brings its due fear,” the stranger said, as a faint, mischievous smile shaped his lips. The air around him seemed to thrum with a quiet, dreadful power.

“Eli!” she shouted, but there was no reply. The shadows of the night deepened further, swallowing the familiar shapes of trees and whatever may be hiding within them.

Thunder cracked above as rain began to fall steadily. Behind her, inside the cabin, something moved gracefully across the shadows of the distant corner, its many legs crawling against the timber. When she turned back to the stranger, his eyes glowed faintly, dark and commanding. Agatha realized with a cold dread that her death would not come from the creature behind her but would come from him.

In the blink of an eye, the stranger transformed. His size doubled, his face now the animalistic reflection of a predator. His eyes still glowed yet had a depth within its pupils of centuries of wickedness and his teeth ready to sink into to her. She didn't know what on earth or in hell this man was as her wide eyes glared upon this sinister hybrid of man and wolf. Once he launched his attack upon her, she was at its mercy, struggling against impossible power. Then, the spider crawled its way toward them.

The wolf and Arachneborn killed like it was a game—reinforcing their dominion over the night. And just as quickly as it began, the wolf returned to human form, leaving the carnage behind as he continued his hunt elsewhere. And Arachneborn disappeared off into the night to create its own terrors.

The storm raged, thunder and rain washing over the village, masking the faint sounds of distant screams. The killings may be random, but they had a purpose.

A purpose everyone would soon know.

But for now, the night was just beginning.

Nearer to the dusty and narrow roads of the inner village, rats poured in. Hundreds of them, all piling on top of each other. The rats came in waves but was led by their master, Festerclaw.

“Rats! I hate rats!” Shouted Lavinia as batches of them made their way inside.

Her two older sisters, Gwendolyn and Cordelia, recoiled as the saw the rats piling inside. They quickly exited the scullery knocking over the dishes they had just cleaned. They called out for their father, Micah. He raced to them quickly asking what was wrong. Then, he saw them. Rats. And they were flooding the house like a tsunami forcing them into the closest chamber.

After they slammed the door, they stuffed rags and clothes at the drafty opening at the bottom of the door. The infestation could be heard all around them as massive swarms had surrounded them. The girls clung onto their dad for dear life until something left them all speechless.

They heard their front door burst open along with a maddening roar. Some kind of monster was inside, and it was getting closer. At first, it sounded like a bear but then, they could tell it was something else. It kept making a high-pitched squealing sound and clawing at everything.

It sliced through the door with its huge sharp claws the size of daggers and began ramming the door, caving it inward. Micah held the girls tight as they all trembled. As the door began to crack and split open even further, something slowly came up near the freshly splintered opening. A mess of dark wild hairs around a its burgundy eyes filled vertical split in the door. The wood of the door bowed inward as it pushed its head forward, growling like a mistreated animal.

As more wood split open, the details of this monster began to emerge, revealing the hellish abomination that it is. It’s face, obviously once human, and now something deformed. Only parts of what this man used to be remained. Its face, elongated from its forehead down to its jaw, whiskers folding over razor sharp teeth, elongated ears folding back.

It was Festerclaw.

Once he fully broke inside, Festerclaw stopped momentarily. All three of the girls screamed as Micah held them tightly as this predator decided which one to attack. The girls dove their arms and heads into Micah. This monster stepped forward with its front and back paws leaving a trail of marks along the floor with its razor-sharp claws. Its tail swaying back and forth as it crept in, crouching down, and preparing to lunge toward them, leading with its jagged teeth.

Micah could see the freakish details of this monster now: a bizarre combination of human rat. Micah pushed his legs on the ground, sliding himself and the girls against the wall in a desperate attempt to get away, but they were cornered. To save his girls, he swung himself around putting him in-between the girls and Festerclaw.

“Run toward the door now!” Micah said before Festerclaw leaped toward him teeth first.

The girls stumbled over each other as their father shielding them. The sounds of death echoed their home as they raced beyond the room, heading outside. Gwendolyn made it away first and opened the door for her sisters. Cordelia had to carry their youngest sister, Lavinia as she was paralyzed by fear.

Then, Gwendolyn’s heart sank as soon as she saw it. As soon as Cordelia lifted up her sister, Festerclaw was already behind them. As the rat sank its teeth and claws into Cordelia, Lavinia lay trapped underneath the chaos. When Gwendolyn bravely stepped forward with her hand out, Lavinia connected with it and was pulled out of the slaughter.

“Run as fast as you can!” Said Gwendolyn as they escaped from the house.

“Don’t let the monster get me!” Said Lavinia with tears streaking down her face.

“Just run and you’ll make it.” Said a voice that soon faded out.

Lavinia kept running like her sister said and didn’t look back. If she were to have, she would’ve seen yet another slaying, but the rat didn’t pursue Lavinia. The man far away in the distance raised his hand signaling the rat to stop. Lavinia ran to him for help. The man walked toward her with open arms and picked her up and carried her away.

“Don’t go that way. Please mister!” She cried out.

He told her not to worry as though he was not capable of fear. As he carried her along, clearing a path, the monsters scattered. Trees and shrubs bent to his will, his presence a masterful command over earth and beast alike.

The man carried her from the outskirts of the village back into the main town and to the chapel. Once the chapel doors open, he gently put Lavania down and she quickly ran toward father Mattias. Monsters soon appear in the distance. Mattias tells the man to quickly come inside and that he’s in grave danger, yet he just smiles.

“Step away from him.” Father Obadiah firmly said as he approached them.

“Why are the monsters coming back? I thought you were a good guy.” Said Lavania.

As soon as the mysterious man held up his hand, the monsters who were creeping toward them yielded. It was then that the man said he wasn’t there to hurt a single soul, only to negotiate.

“See here, if you’re claiming responsibility for this all, I’ll have you know that word has gone forth from north to south and east to west. Reinforcements are on their way — men of faith and flame, who will drive these beasts of the earth back into the pit.” Said Father Obadiah.

“Are you referring to the noble guards of lord Garrison?” He said mischievously. “I wouldn’t count on their alliance if I were you.”

Obadiah shivered. “And what do you mean?”

Before he was ready to answer, flashbacks of what had happened to the small army of guards delightfully played through his mind. Rooms of blood so deep your feet would get lost in, bodies torn apart that lay in piles, and strown about. The stronghold village of the territory now a ghost town.

He smiled. “We’ve already met lord Garrison. Sadly, me and him just couldn’t see eye to eye.” The beasts began creeping through the streets. Lavinia screamed as Mattias shielded her.

“Who are you, truly?” Mattias demanded.

“I’ve been called tempter, serpent, king of ashes—take your pick.” He said smiling faintly.

“I see. And what is it that you want?” Mattias hesitated to ask.

He spoke of a bargain: the killings would cease only if every October was dedicated to honoring the dead, homes made frightening, costumes worn by all, leading to the thirty-first, when humans would confront and play among spirits. A holiday dedicated to him.

The beasts of the earth were roaming further beyond nearby villages and across England since the beginning of October. And eventually the beasts would expand their killing spree throughout the country, even targeting Queen Elizabeth the 1st. England would be forever doomed by the stalking the beasts of the earth unless a deal was made and this devils holiday: Halloween was born.

Father Obadiah and Mattias slowly step back, closing the tall church doors and quickly securing them shut. Both of the men are at a loss for words after what they just heard. Especially once Lavania tells them what had happened to her father and two sisters. When she explained how that man could control the monsters, this made it all the more convincing that this man was who he said he was.

The next day, October 13th, Father Obadiah hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. He could see the outline of the spider as it rested on the outside of the large stained glass window of the chapel. Distant sounds of screams were carried with the bitter cold wind as it pushed itself through the cracks of walls. Father Obediah wanted to call the bluff of the man who walks with the beasts of the earth when he implied he had killed lord Garrison and his army. But deep down inside, he knew that he was right and they were all dead. Unless Father Obediah bargains with that man, the deaths would not stop.

Father Obadiah favored neither option, but time was running out, and so were lives.

Those who came to mass in the morning, those who survived yet another night, were less than ever. Each night claimed lives and the people had grown tired of hiding from these demonic predators out there. Neither Mattias or Obadiah could lift their spirits. Nobody wanted to live there anymore but nobody knew where to go either. The beasts of the earth were roaming towns and villages all the way to Salisbury leaving a trail of bodies everywhere.

Obediah’s decision regarding the devils bargain begins to change as he hears the testimonies of the those who survived so far, and the dark tales of the loved ones who didn’t survive. When he looked over at the sweet young Lavania who had just lost her family last night, he realized the deaths must stop at whatever cost, even if it is a deal with the devil.

He then warns everyone at mass that one of the beasts of the earth does not look at all a beast, but is a man. He goes into detail about this bargain and what all it entails. That every October from now on will be known as the devils holiday – it will be the season of fear. The congregation is stunned leaving a heaviness in the air. What gave the moment even more dreed is when he tells them that reinforcements are not coming.

“Nobody is coming for us.” Father Obadiah expressed as the energy in the room dropped even further.

With a showing of hands, those in favor of the devils bargain greatly outnumbered those opposed to it. During the day, before the danger of nightfall, the villagers created masks and costumes even so far as dressing up as witches – something quite forbidden for that era. As the sun went down, candles illuminated the village as people filled the streets dressed to scare.

Soon, the monsters walked among them.

Not to kill, but to celebrate.

The season of fear was forming.

Then, out of the crowd suddenly appeared the devil- the only one not wearing a costume. In his hand was a contract and once signed by both of them, all killings and stalking would cease and desist. Father Obadiah looked at the contract through the holes of his mask. All of which stated exactly what his demands were that he had spoken to them last night. It had to be signed by him and passed down from chapel to chapel until it reaches the Vatican and is signed by Pope Gregory XIII.

And so, along with it came the eraser of October 5th-14th. To history, it is known as the switch of the Julian (Julius Caesar) Calendar to the Gregorian calendar leading people to believe it had become out of sync with the solar year. Pope Gregory XIII ordered the reform to become the Gregorian calendar to realign it but the real reason for it was to cover up the bargain that was made with the devil.

A bargain that was titled: Halloween

Since the year 1582, the real details of the devil and his beasts of the earth have remained locked in the vault of the Vatican. A secret, that few besides the devil knows.

Happy Halloween

Hope you enjoyed my take on Halloween – my favorite time of the year. If you’d like to know how the monsters in this trilogy were created, read my latest novel Blood & Seeds.

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