The Ghost Shadow

“My name is Kathy,” the littlest girl at the sleepover spoke as everyone gathered around, “and I have a scary story to tell.”

All the girls from Kathy's new school had gathered for a slumber party the night before Halloween. With excited chatter, they discussed their costumes for the big day. Kathy had chosen a long, black dress with a black mask and black shoes; her strange costume, however, comes with a story.

“Last Halloween, I lived in another town where there were no strangers. On Halloween morning, I dressed into my pretty princess costume; my best friend said she wanted to be herself, and we spent the day talking about ghosts and monsters.

'As we prepared to leave, the doorbell rang with sudden vigor. My friend's mother opened the door, and began to laugh as she let a dark figure enter the house. It was the shortest figure I ever saw, and it stood as dark as a shadow. Before I knew what was happening, it stood toe to toe with me. It was as if an unwelcome shadow had decided to join us. And join us it did.

'Every doorbell I rang, the figure took a little bit of my candy. The shadow would reach into my little basket and take a few pieces. Every doorbell my friend rang, it took some of hers too. It followed closely behind whomever had the most sweet things. Little by little, the ghost shadow took our candy.

'Not a single person in town asked about the shadow, they only chuckled when it took our sweets. As I became more and more afraid, more and more of my sweets disappeared. Nobody asked where our shadow came from, and no one seemed to think it strange. It was not until the last house on our street that someone took notice of it.

' In this last doorway stood our own teacher. And she told us something that terrified me.

“Every year, the shadow follows some poor kids. You never know who it'll be next.” And with that one statement, she turned around and closed her door with a chuckle.

'We continued down the second street, and the third. Still the shadow followed us. I became more afraid with every door. Every piece of candy, and every lost sweet was parted with in fear of the dark figure standing so near. Finally we turned the corner and returned to the house where we first met the shadow. And this is when I thought the night of terror would end.

'Just then the shadow stopped in its tracks. Its hand reached for its face and removed what looked like a mask. From underneath the pitch black hood, a little boy's face peeped out. At first I thought he must be trapped in the shadow. Then he pulled back the hood and I realized: it was a costume the whole time.

“Thanks Mrs. Smith!” the little boy exclaimed, “Do you think I scared anyone this year?”

“Yes, Tim, I do believe you did.”

'I turned to my friend in disbelief. This whole time I thought we were going to be attacked by a mysterious shadow, and it turned out to be Timmy (the smallest kid in our class).”

Kathy looked around the room at the startled group of girls, and felt a pride like no other. Each girl was taller than she, making for a perfect chance to become a shadow herself.

“This year, the shadow will follow you. The shadow will take some of your candy. And you will fear the ghost shadow.”