The Night of Halloween

The students in our Creative Writing 1 (Winter Semester 2025/26) class were tasked with writing a group story on a Halloween theme. This story was voted the favourite.

by Ioannis Lidorginakis, Helan Barhim, Avni Besiroglu, and Nina Abazovic

Dear Diary,

Sometimes, on those cold windy autumn days, where the ground is filled with bright orange leaves and the sky covered with a thick layer of dark clouds, I remember that fateful night. Today is one of those days, and for this year, I have decided to write down the events of this haunted night in order to finally find closure.

It all happened on 31st October 2018, the night of Halloween. Mom and dad had to work the night shift and I was so happy that I was gonna be alone at home. To my dismay they asked Daniel if he could babysit me for the night. Daniel would be the enforcer of my parents’ strict  rules: No going outside, staying up late or any kind of  R-rated media. What they didn’t know was that the oh so well-behaved cousin Daniel couldn’t care less what I did or didn’t do. As long as he and his girlfriend could hang out in peace and I didn’t get lost, he wouldn’t even interact with me. 

That night, while the wind hissed through the trees and shadows danced on the walls, I decided I wouldn’t let Daniel ruin Halloween for me. He and his girlfriend were downstairs, lost in their own world, so I quietly put on my jacket and mask, determined to sneak out for some trick-or-treating. My heart pounded as I reached for the front door handle, freedom was just one step away. But before I could turn it, the temperature dropped sharply, and every light in the house flickered out. Then, from the hallway mirror, I saw something move behind me, a small, pale figure standing by the stairs, watching silently.

I was never that scared, and suddenly hated the fact that my parents were not at home this Halloween. I felt so alone, but I felt that I was not alone… because I had seen it. The shadow, the silhouette of the… thing. Even though I was too scared to watch it directly, I had seen it, and it knew that. I turned on the light, but somehow I felt more insecure in the house, so I decided to go outside. What could be there anyway? Only kids with scary costumes. I decided to walk the way to school because it was the way I knew best. There was nothing to be afraid of. Children were on the way for trick-or-treat, and I even felt more calm when I saw some of my classmates. We greeted each other, and then I decided to go back home. I convinced myself that the shadow I saw earlier at home was just something from my imagination. It was Halloween, everything was scary that night. Just as I turned left to go home, suddenly I found myself alone in the street. Where were the other kids? It wasn’t a long way anymore. But there… behind the tree… there it was. Again. It must have followed me.

I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn’t move. The figure stood perfectly still, half hidden behind the tree, the mask gleaming faintly under the streetlight. For a second, I thought I saw its hand reaching toward me.Then the wind picked up again, swirling the leaves around my feet. When I blinked, the figure was gone. Just like that.I didn’t stop to think. I sprinted home, my breath visible in the cold air, my heart pounding like it would tear through my chest. When I finally reached the house, everything was dark and silent. Daniel wasn’t downstairs anymore. Neither was his girlfriend. The door was still locked.

I remember whispering to myself, „it wasn’t real“, over and over, until I fell asleep clutching my blanket.

The next morning, Mom and Dad came home early. They told me Daniel had been in a car accident the night before, a few streets away from our house. They said he must have left after I’d gone to bed. But I hadn’t gone to bed. I saw him leave.

And someone ,something, was standing in the yard, watching him drive away.

Since then, every year, when October ends and the air smells of wet leaves and smoke, I feel it again. The cold. The stillness. The sense that something is waiting.

Tonight is that night again. The wind is howling outside and I can almost see the reflection of the tree in the mirror by the stairs.