The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Hector sealed the house an hour before the festivities. The porch light off, curtains closed, door and windows secured. He followed this routine annually on October 31st. Halloween isn’t a fun day of frolicking around neighborhoods begging for candy.
Not after the dumbasses opened the portal. The perfect spell spoken at the exact wrong time and voila: Hell on Earth for three hours every Halloween.
The last twenty Halloweens have been plagued by interdimensional monsters that devoured children, demons that mutilated wives, and vermin that desiccated crops. No human dares trick or treat. October 31st is deadly.
Three years ago, a vampire seduced Hector’s precious wife from the safety of their home. A real-life God-be-damned-bloodsucker stood on the front lawn and bit chunks of flesh from her body while she moaned in ecstasy. The monster devoured her in an hour. Hector wanted to shoot her and deny the monster the pleasure of a successful hunt.
But that was against the rules. Thresholds can’t be crossed from either party. A lesson learned through trail, error and mayhem.
Hector darkened his home like a tomb, placed headphone in his radio and tuned to a jazz station. Ella Fitzgerald soothed him and drowned out the sounds of monsters traipsing through his neighborhood. There were three families left on this block.
Most everyone knew the rules now. He’ll survive.
A flash of light outlined the window. A burst so bright that Hector half expected thunder. He checked the time. Too early for the monsters. He removed his headphones and crept to the heavy drapery.
He leaned forward.
He listened.
Something giggled on the other side of the pane. A deep, throaty chuckle full of mirth and phlegm.
Tingling sensations traveled up his spine and parked at the base of his skull.
That’s against the rules.
He snatched the curtain from the window to confront the monster. “That’s against the-“.
A bright light flashed.
Hector felt his eyes melt and his skin burn…then nothing.
Apparently, the rules have changed.
Fiction © Copyright Ella Rite
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
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Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View
Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View: a collection of twelve stories told from the Zombie’s perspective.
They’re shambling toward you, feet dragging on the broken roadway. Arms outstretched, faces slack, they move as if they’re tracking your scent on the wind. You want to run, but you know there’s nowhere to hide.
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Spreading the Writer's Word 
A dark and creepy story, very enjoyable.