Grim Events at Hamilton Cemetery

“Susan! Let’s go! We were supposed to leave five minutes ago!” Elizabeth called, impatiently tapping her foot against the floor and glancing at her watch. On the floor beside her was a pink duffel bag stuffed with two days’ worth of clothes, shawls, a flashlight, and two sets of pillows and blankets.

A few hours before the official start of Halloween, the sisters decided it would be the perfect opportunity to spend the night at Hamilton Cemetery to really get the vibe of the spooky month.

Her twin’s auburn head appeared at the top of the stairs, then quickly ducked back into her room. “I’m coming, just give me a second!” Susan replied. A minute later she joined Elizabeth with bicycle helmets in hand. 

“Safety first!”

“Thanks,” Elizabeth said, grabbing her blue one while Susan strapped her pink one on. “Ready?”

“You bet!”

After saying a quick goodbye to their parents in the shed, the girls rode their bicycles to the cemetery, excited about what the night would bring. It was a windy yet eerie night. They could hear owls hooting and wolves howling in the distance.

“This is pretty spooky. I’m getting goosebumps all over!” Susan whispered, nudging her sister as they rode side by side.

“Same, let’s enjoy the spirt of Halloween! Last one to the cemetery owes the other 5 bucks!” Elizabeth replied, cycling faster.  

“Oh, you are so on!” Susan declared, grateful that her older twin had eased some of her uneasiness.

Arriving at their place of destination, the girls gasped with glee at what they saw. The swinging and creaking gates were opened wide and through them the girls admired the décor for the upcoming festive night. Lanterns hung from poles surrounding the graveyard illuminating it with a sickly yellow light. A walking skeleton hung in the back beyond the burial mounds; with candle lighted Jack o lanterns taking up the places in between. To complete the creepy atmosphere, cobwebs with fake spiders crawled over the gravestones.

 “I win!” Elizabeth announced, parking her cycle in one of the bicycle stands located outside the cemetery.

“Oh damn!” Susan whined, braking in the stall beside hers and locking her cycle. She reluctantly handed over the amount agreed upon from her wallet.

 “Wow, this looks legit! They really thought of everything. Better take out those shawls.” Elizabeth said, noticing the fierce wind hitting their faces.

“True, this no doubt screams Halloween, I’m getting chills all over, honestly.” Susan said in awe, gazing around. Unzipping the duffel bag, she took out the shawls they had packed. Taking off their helmets, the girls wrapped themselves in them and entered the graveyard, depositing their fee at the table in the corner.

“Enjoy your night.” The host greeted, handing them back their change.

“Thank you, we will!” The girls said in unison, smiling at him.

“This place is deserted. I wonder why there’s nobody here. Right Liz, Liz?” Susan turned around, searching for her sister. She saw a miniature dark form prowling around in the bushes. An instant later, something slimy laid a hand on her shoulder. Too afraid to turn around, she screamed. 

Instantly, she heard muffled laughter from a voice she was all too familiar with.

“Honestly, Lizzie, that wasn’t funny! You scared me half to death!” Susan huffed, facing her double who was holding a Frankenstein severed hand in one while barely controlling the fits of laughter coming from her mouth with the other.

“I… I’m s…sorry. I cou...couldn’t resist!” Elizabeth squealed, doubling over while clutching her stomach.

Knowing her sister’s fear of black cats, Susan said, “Don’t look now, but I saw something in the bushes. Why don’t you go and check since you’re so fearless?” She challenged, pushing Elizabeth forward.

Determined to not let her sister get the best of her, Elizabeth boldly made her way over to the pushes and cautiously peered through them.

“There’s nothing here, nice try.” She said, whirling around and coming face to face with a black cat with golden eyes. Taken completely by surprise, she laid a hand on her mouth in attempt to stifle a scream but then stumbled and tripped.

“I guess we’re even now.” Susan declared happily, lending Elizabeth a hand to help her up.

“Guess so.”

Deciding to settle for the night, the girls continued onwards, finding the perfect spot in front of an old willow tree.

“Ah! This night just keeps on getting better! What an amazing spot to sleep.” Elizabeth joyfully stated, laying out her sleeping bag.

“Agreed.” Susan said, snuggling in her blanket, and handing one to her sister.

“Goodnight.” Elizabeth said sleepily, fluffing up her pillow.

“Night.”

A few hours later, a strange growl woke Susan up from her sleep. Puzzled, she sat up, groped for the flashlight and her eyes widened in horror at what she saw. There, just a meter away from where they had set up camp, she could just make the outline of a prowling werewolf.

She silently prodded Elizabeth awake. As her eyes snapped open and she opened her mouth in protest, Susan placed a finger on her lips, shushing her. Elizabeth fixed her with a questioning glare and followed her duplicate’s gaze. She mirrored Susan’s shocked look and whispered, Is th... Is that a... a werewolf?? I can... can’t b... believe it!”  

“Same. I don’t either. What do we do?”

"Slowly back away without drawing to much attention to ourselves.” Elizabeth instructed, as both sisters quietly got up.

 Just then, her phone rang, piercing a shrill voice through the graveyard.

“Oh no!” Elizabeth gasped, her panicked fingers poking aimlessly at her pants, trying to stop her phone from ringing.

 But it was too late, the werewolf’s ears poked up, tilting his head in their direction. He advanced a step forward and howled. 

“So much for not drawing attention to ourselves.” Susan muttered. “RUN!” She shrieked, grabbing her twin’s hand.

Terrified, they sprinted through the cemetery, not daring to glance back. 

“We’re almost there!” Elizabeth stated, seeing the exit before her.

“I think we lost him.” Susan gasped, the creature’s howl still echoing in her ears. 

“Leaving so soon?” A voice hissed to their right.

Anxious, Elizabeth skidded to a stop and let go of her sister’s hand. “Are my ears playing tricks on me, or did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Susan said confused. “This place is haunted! Come on, let’s get out of here!” She urged, shoving her forward.

The wind whooshed and she heard it too, “Going somewhere?” A husky voice mumbled. Susan stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around. A few feet away, a cloaked figure stood, eyeing them hungrily. 

She poked her sister in the side, motioning her to turn around. Susan latched onto Elizabeth’s hand, and the girls slowly backed away. “If I wasn’t scared out of my skin, this would actually have been pretty cool. It’s a vampire!” She whispered excitedly in her sister’s ear.

Elizabeth’s mouth fell open. “Wow, things just went from being weird to outright terrifying.” She concluded.

Unable to believe the calm demeanor her twin was pulling off, Susan tried to slap some sense back into her “Quit dilly-dallying! We need a plan sis! He’s going to suck the life out of us. Do something!” She screamed, the first rays of sunlight hitting her face.

 Elizabeth thought for a moment, and suddenly her eyes lit up.

“Maybe we won’t have to. Watch.”

“The sun, it burns us... it burns us.” The vampire croaked, turning around and running away from them. 

The girls breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew, glad we got rid of that. I know that look, what’s wrong?” Susan asked, squeezing Elizabeth’s hand.

“I don’t know. Something just doesn’t add up. When sunlight hits a vampire, their forms whither and they crumple into a pile of ash. Unless...” She paused, her green eyes dawning with realization.

“Unless that wasn’t a real vampire!” Susan finished for her.

“And that time when we were sleeping, you thought you saw a werewolf, but maybe there wasn’t really one.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it. Our mind has been playing tricks on us all afternoon. So, it might just be that your brain tricked your eyes into thinking there was a werewolf standing there. When really it could just have been a cardboard cutout of one!”

“I see where you’re going with this, but how do you explain the howling?”

“Simple. We were backed up against the tree. So, I figured behind it was a voice recorder and speakers to maximize the effect of the howling.”

The girls heard the sound of an applause behind them.

“Brilliant, just brilliant. You’re absolutely right!”

Turning around, they saw a bony man with a scar running down his left eyebrow, making his way towards them.

Speaking for both of them, Susan inquired, “Who are you?”

“I’m Justin Hamilton of course. Owner of Hamilton Cemetery.” He boomed, leaning against his black cane.

Furious, Elizabeth questioned, “So you’re the one who’s playing tricks on us all day! Making us believe that this was all real, when it was just an illusion. Well, let me tell you something Mr. Hamilton,” she said, advancing a step forward, “looks like we’ve outsmarted you, after all.”

“Agreed, darling, I wouldn’t go that far per se.” He said, with a glint in his dark eyes. 

“Ha, you don’t scare us! Right Liz? Come on, let’s leave.” Susan boldly declared.

Turning around, they both screamed and ran out as a white ghost popped down from the apple tree beside the entrance.

Arriving home, the girls ran upstairs and locked themselves up in their room. A few minutes later, their mother knocked on the door.

“Girls? How was the experience, I’m sure it was a night to remember!” Mindy’s voice rang as the twins huddled together under their blankets.

“Oh, you have no idea!” The sisters remarked sarcastically.