I shivered upstairs, hearing trick-or-treaters retreat for the night. I’d been dared to sleep in this house, alone with its midnight groans.
Black silence outside, then a slow thumping: Knock… Knock… Knock…
The front door opened with a creak. More knocking echoed up the stairs. Or were they footsteps? I crept into the hall and looked down. The wind blew like a restless spirit through the open door. Only shadows danced on the floorboards below.
Making my way down, I tentatively placed my hand on the door and swung it closed.
“I have you now,” a voice rasped behind me.