Realistic or Modern The Halloween Game

[Mage_Clawhammer]

The Halloween Game
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They play it every year, or so the locals say. After the tricks and treats, after the pranks and the parties; the children, the teenagers, and the young adults all march in a great cacophonous parade through the center of town and out into the woods surrounding Shady Valley's borders. Some of the grown-ups come too, mostly to chaperone, though there are always a few trying to clutch tightly to their faded childhood. The old timers stay home, along with those who have jobs, responsibilities, or simply can't make it out. They've all played, though, and the desire still lingers. It smolders as a dying ember behind the eyes, ignited briefly at the mere mention and memory of it.

It is a tradition that has endured the generations, withstanding the test of time and the oppressive march of technology.

The Halloween Game.

On October 28th the town holds a festival. Amidst the food, music, and celebration, farmers from across the county bring pumpkins for the townspeople to pick through. Anyone who wishes to participate in the Halloween Game must not only pick their pumpkin, they must carve it as well and turn it in before the end of the festival. After-which, there is a contest, and awards. Then the carved pumpkins are spirited away until the 31st, where they will be hidden throughout the forest surrounding the town.

On the night of Halloween, as the players gather, a flame is lit inside each pumpkin which will burn for up to three hours. The goal is simple, find your pumpkin and bring it back before the flame goes out. If the flame dies, you lose.

For the children, the pumpkins are never hard to find, and there are plenty of surprises and treats to be had as they play. For anyone over fifteen, though, the game becomes very different.

Your pumpkin can be anywhere, literally anywhere within the woods. It's an endurance race, and there are more obstacles waiting in the woods than shadow, rock, and branch. The Others are waiting too; people who stand between you and your goal. Some of them are dressed to scare, and others to lure. They will frighten you, chase you, entice you, and trick you. Some may even be willing to help you, but one can never fully trust a stranger in the dark.

It's a small comfort to know that none of them can touch you. At least, not until your flame goes out. If they touch you, you've lost already.

To the outsider, the newcomer, and the tourist, the Halloween Game can seem a little silly, a little juvenile. There doesn't seem to be much that the game can offer that other haunted attractions don't already, even less without the movie grade theatrics and gore of the typical spook house. But the town's enthusiasm is infectious. The stories of past games played by locals and returning visitors are stories of adventure in the night; exaggerated without a doubt, but no less enchanting. What the Halloween Game offers is a hint of magic sorely missed by the world outside Shady Valley.

And that is why you are here, today, on October the 28th. As you turn in your pumpkin there is a twinge of anticipation amid the doubt. This is going to be different. It's going to be fun. As people congratulate you, however, on your very first Halloween Game, a seed of apprehension begins to take root. Is it the way they seem to suddenly be forcing their smiles? Why is it they can't look you in the eye?

Probably your imagination. But no matter how many times you reassure yourself. No matter how many hands you shake, back slaps you endure, or compliments you accept, the same thought repeats in your subconscious.

There is something they aren't telling you.