The House around the Corner

It was Halloween night 1952.  He had finally reached the age of 5 and was allowed to go out with just the other kids for Halloween. No longer would he have to hold anyone’s hand, no mom, no aunt, just the guys.  The group that night consisted of the kid next door, 3 cousins, and his older brother.

 The older brother was as mean as they come and had planned a night of total terror for the 5 year old. Unhappy about having to mind the little guy, it would be sure that after tonight, little brother would never ask again to tag along. Not only was the older brother mean, he was good at it. After all, he was 4 years the elder, he’d had many years to practice and perfect his reign of terror.  His plan had been cooking for months. He would scare the kid so badly that he would be feared forever by all small children.

It was a well know local legend that the old house around the corner was haunted.  A true mansion, it took up nearly half the block. A classic structure built in the late 1800’s, surrounded by a massive stone pillar and iron fence.  Over the years the vines had overgrown the fence closing off the view to passers-by. This no doubt had added to its spooky appearance and perpetuated the many and often told stories, legend or not. 

The plan had been put into action several months earlier. A sinister plot contrived by the older brother and the reluctant but threatened cousins.  Talk of the old house around the corner came up frequently at the playground all that summer long. The legend would be well implanted, and the fear would be genuine by the time Halloween rolled around. Tales of disappearing children and small pets were discussed regularly, and that no one was ever seen entering or leaving the house.  Or at least leaving, for Halloween was the one night that the huge gates were opened. Many children were invited in, but none were ever seen or heard from again.

He absolutely hated the stupid looking clown costume that his aunt had worked so hard on for so long, but it was Halloween! He would wear anything just to go trick or treating with the guys. To no longer be a “kid” that mom had to take by the hand to the neighbors houses. This was to be the best night of his life, or so he thought. The first several hours were more fun than he could have imagined. More candy than he had ever seen, and other kids dressed in costumes even dumber than his. This was indeed a night that would be remembered.

It was very late into the night when they finally arrived at that house around the corner, nearly 8 o’clock, why it had been dark for hours already.  As soon as the next door neighbor kid realized where in fact he was, it was suddenly very important that he needed to go home.  On an entirely different thought train, the little guy was having the time of his life. This was something completely new and felt really “grown up” to be outside in the dark. He had indeed arrived.

 Suddenly, startling him out of this euphoria was the sound of his bully brother’s voice declaring that he had been duly selected as the one who would go to the door. Being somewhat gullible and by now completely convinced of the legends, the little guy expressed his reservations about being the only one to go. Then, without warning the devious monster that he was, older brother issued a double dare proclamation. Since this event pre-dated the “dog-dare”, the ultimate challenge had been publicly announced.  It was indeed decision time.  Was he to prove once and for all that he was no longer a baby, or pay attention to 5 years of amassed wisdom and suffer the eternal teasing of his elders?  Toughened by the years of being bullied by the evil one, he took a breath as deep as if it were to be his last, gripped his candy bag like it was his safety line and proceeded onward.

The walkway from the gate to the massive stairway seemed much longer than its 40 feet. The stairway itself looked as big as the one at city hall downtown. It led to a front porch that probably could have held 2 school busses. With these tremendous obstacles behind him, it was time to knock on the door.  Unable to reach the knocker mounted high on the oversized door, he made a fist as tight as he possibly could and summoned whatever awaited him on the other side.  As the door slowly opened he saw an old man of at least 100 it seemed, dressed like the butlers in the movies. Well, “I haven’t died of fright” he thought, so in a firm and sure voice proclaimed he was there to “trick or treat”. 

With a half grin on his face, the “butler” directed the boy into the house. After a quick look back to see the look of surprise on the faces of his companions, he entered. As the door closed behind him, the reality of what he had done suddenly hit him. This was only to intensify as he was led through the house, into the kitchen and directed to descend the cellar stairs. “Holy cow” he thought, “Are these the stairs to hell?” Accepting the fact that he was indeed to become a legend himself, he began the descent to the basement, prepared to accept whatever fate awaited him. Just the knowledge that the evil one would finally get in trouble for what he had done, and would surely be sent to an eternity in hell where he belonged, was enough of a life accomplishment.

 The light at the bottom of the stairs was brighter than expected.  Sounds of laughter could be heard from below, it didn’t sound at all like the torture dungeon he expected. Finally able to see into the room, he indeed saw no racks or chains, or anything else of standard decor in a Boris Karloff movie. What he saw were children playing, bobbing for apples, drinking bottles of Coke and circling the washtubs filled to the brim with more candy than any one person could possibly eat in a lifetime. It was a Halloween party! The past 3 months had been nothing more than an attempt to scare him away from the gauntlet that led to such a reward!

The next several Halloweens were spent in that basement, eating candy, drinking Coke, bobbing for apples, and listening to spooky stories of Halloweens past. Many more years since have been spent enjoying Halloween as a happy time for children of all ages. Older brother, he got his just reward, his children turned out just like him.  And the little guy? Well, I’m much older now but remember that night as if it were last night. That was the night I learned that few things in life are as scary as they appear. Reluctant to give up any part of me that used to be that 5 year old, I took that inspiration to create what ever legends and stories I could for the generations of Halloween revelers who have made it through the gauntlet to my door.