Mirror Image

October is my favorite time of year, even though living in Costal Grove makes it difficult to enjoy the season. While other towns are covered in colorful leaves and surrounded by chilly mornings, our town stays warm well into November. There is no real fall weather, no changing leaves, and certainly no spooky atmosphere. If you want Halloween in Costal Grove, you have to create it yourself.

Luckily, our town takes Halloween seriously. Every year, people decorate their houses, dress up in elaborate costumes, and attend countless Halloween parties. However, there is one party that everyone talks about, but very few people have actually attended.

It is known as the Blackwater Party.

Nobody seems to know who started it, and nobody can agree on exactly where the invitations come from. The party takes place at Blackwater House, an enormous mansion on the edge of town. Every year, a select group of people receive invitations, and everyone else is left wondering what goes on inside. Some people claim it is the best Halloween party in the country, while others insist that people who attend never seem quite the same afterward.

I had heard the stories for years, but I never expected to receive an invitation myself.

When I opened the black envelope sitting on my front porch, I almost thought it was a joke. My name was written across the front in silver lettering. Inside was a small card with three instructions.

Arrive before midnight.

Do not take photographs until instructed.

Do not remove your costume until the host permits it.

There was no signature or explanation, just an address and the words, We look forward to seeing you again.

I stopped reading.

Again?

I had never attended the party before, so I assumed it was a mistake. I decided not to think much about it and called my friends instead. Tessa, Jace, and Owen had all heard about the party, but none of them had ever received an invitation either. We agreed that if we were going, we were going all out with our costumes.

I dressed as a female version of Ghost Face. I wore a long black robe that dragged slightly along the ground, black gloves, and a long black wig that fell past my shoulders. My white mask had dark gray shading around the eyes and mouth, making the familiar screaming expression look even more unsettling. I added silver rings and dark makeup around my eyes.

Tessa dressed as a Victorian mourning widow, wearing a long black lace gown, a dark veil, and a silver locket. Jace went as a plague doctor, complete with a leather coat, a long beaked mask, and tiny glass bottles hanging from his belt. Owen chose to be a drowned sailor, with torn clothes, fishing nets, seaweed, and a thick rope wrapped around his neck.

By the time we arrived at Blackwater House, I was already impressed.

The mansion stood at the end of a long driveway, surrounded by enormous dead trees. Its black stone walls seemed to absorb the light, and several gargoyles crouched along the roofline. The windows were tall and narrow, with dark curtains that made it impossible to see inside. A few candles flickered behind the glass, but I couldn't tell whether anyone was watching us.

The front doors opened before we even knocked.

Inside, the house was decorated with black roses, twisted branches, and hundreds of candles. Skeletons dressed in old-fashioned clothing stood along the staircase. Portraits of unfamiliar people covered the walls, and their eyes seemed to follow us as we walked past. Some of the figures had their faces scratched out, while others looked so realistic that I wondered whether they had been painted from photographs.

The ballroom was even more impressive. Black mirrors covered the walls, and a large chandelier hung above the center of the room. A string quartet played slow music in the corner. Guests wore elaborate costumes, from headless horsemen to vampires and creatures I couldn't identify.

Near the entrance stood a fountain filled with glowing green punch. Cups were arranged around it, each with orange, purple, and green sprinkles lining the rims. I grabbed a cup and took a drink. It tasted sweet at first, but a strange metallic flavor lingered in the back of my throat.

"That's actually pretty good," Owen said.

A man dressed as a scarecrow passed us, carrying an empty cup. Dark stains covered the corners of his mouth. When I looked at him, he smiled beneath his stitched mask.

"Drink up," he said. "You won't remember it otherwise."

I turned to ask what he meant, but he had already disappeared into the crowd.

A few minutes later, I noticed a woman standing across the ballroom wearing a Ghost Face costume.

At first, I didn't think much of it. Ghost Face was a popular Halloween costume, after all. But then I noticed the details. She wore the same long black robe, the same black wig, and the same silver rings. Even the gray shading around the eyes of her mask looked identical to mine.

I raised my cup to take another drink.

She raised hers.

I lowered it.

She lowered hers.

I stared at her, waiting for her to do something different. Instead, she tilted her head to the left, exactly as I did when I was confused.

I grabbed Tessa's arm.

"Look across the room."

Tessa followed my gaze. "What am I looking for?"

"The woman dressed like me."

Tessa frowned. "What woman?"

I looked back.

The woman was gone.

I tried to laugh it off, but my stomach felt tight. I had spent hours putting my costume together, and I couldn't shake the feeling that the woman had been watching me.

As the night went on, I began noticing other strange things. Some guests stood perfectly still for long periods, staring at the walls. Others repeated the same phrases whenever someone spoke to them. Nobody seemed interested in introducing themselves, and whenever I asked how they received their invitations, they simply smiled and changed the subject.

Then I saw the woman again.

This time, she stood beside the grandfather clock at the foot of the staircase. I turned toward her, and she slowly raised one gloved hand.

I raised mine without thinking.

She pressed her hand against the glass of the clock.

I felt a cold sensation spread through my fingers, as though I had touched ice. When I looked down, my hand was trembling.

I looked back at the clock.

She was gone.

"Are you okay?" Jace asked.

"I think someone is messing with me."

"Who?"

Before I could answer, the lights went out.

At exactly 11:15, the ballroom fell completely silent. A few guests gasped, but nobody screamed. Then the grandfather clock began to chime.

I counted twelve strikes.

It continued.

Thirteen.

A spotlight appeared above the staircase, revealing a tall figure wearing a black suit and a smooth white mask.

"Welcome, everyone," the host announced. "I hope you have enjoyed your evening. Before the night is over, there is something I would like to share with you."

He motioned toward the portraits covering the walls. One by one, the paintings changed. The unfamiliar faces disappeared, replaced by photographs of the guests inside the mansion.

I recognized Tessa, Jace, and Owen immediately. Their photographs showed them standing in different rooms throughout the house.

Then I saw mine.

It was a picture of me standing in front of my bedroom mirror, wearing my Ghost Face costume. The picture had clearly been taken that evening, hours before we arrived.

I turned toward my friends.

"How did they get that?"

Nobody answered.

Then I noticed something in the photograph.

Standing behind me in the mirror was the other Ghost Face.

I remembered taking the picture. I had been alone in my bedroom. I had checked the mirror, checked the room, and even looked behind the shower curtain because I thought I heard something.

Nobody had been there.

But the photograph showed her standing directly behind me, one hand resting on my shoulder.

I stepped closer to the portrait.

The woman's head was tilted, just as it had been when she copied me in the ballroom.

I turned around so quickly that my mask nearly slipped off.

Across the room, she stood among the guests.

This time, I could see her clearly.

She wasn't copying me anymore.

She was smiling.

The host continued speaking.

"Every year, we welcome new faces into this house. Some arrive knowing exactly why they are here. Others need a little help remembering."

I felt my face grow hot beneath my mask.

"Tonight, one of our guests has returned after a very long absence. A guest who seems to have forgotten what happened here last Halloween."

I had never been to this party before. I was certain of it.

At least, I thought I was.

Suddenly, I remembered a dark room. A door slamming shut. Someone screaming. My hands pounding against wood as I begged to be let out.

I stumbled backward.

"I need to leave," I whispered.

I pushed through the crowd and hurried into the hallway. The portraits seemed to stretch farther down the walls than they had earlier. The candles had burned almost to their bases, and the air smelled of wet earth and something faintly rotten.

I passed the staircase and noticed a narrow wooden door tucked behind it. I didn't remember seeing it before.

There was a small silver keyhole in the center.

I reached into my pocket and felt something cold against my fingers.

A silver key.

I pulled it out and stared at it. I had no idea where it came from, but I knew exactly where it belonged.

Behind me, I heard footsteps.

"You're not supposed to open that door," a woman's voice whispered.

I turned around.

The other Ghost Face stood at the end of the hallway.

She slowly removed her mask.

I couldn't breathe.

It was my face. The same eyes, the same nose, and the same small scar near my eyebrow. Even the tiny mark beneath my chin was there.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She smiled.

"You really don't remember?"

I backed away. "Stay away from me."

She took a step forward.

I took one backward.

She took another.

I froze.

She didn't move.

I raised my hand to my mask, and she did the same.

Then she leaned closer and whispered, "You left me here."

Before I could respond, Tessa, Jace, and Owen appeared behind her. Their costumes looked darker now, stained and worn, and none of them would look me in the eye.

Tessa's voice trembled. "Please. Just open the door."

I turned the key in the lock.

The door creaked open, revealing a small room with a single chair in the center. On the wall behind it hung another photograph. It showed me sitting in that chair, wearing my Ghost Face costume. My hands were tied, and my mask lay on the floor beside me.

I remembered everything.

Last Halloween, I had attended the Blackwater Party. I remembered drinking the green punch, hearing the clock strike thirteen, and being led into that room. I remembered the woman who looked exactly like me sitting across from me, smiling as though she knew a secret I had forgotten.

I remembered trying to escape.

And I remembered someone locking the door.

I turned toward the hallway, but the door slammed shut behind me.

When I woke up, I was standing in the ballroom again. The music was playing, the guests were laughing, and the green punch fountain was full. Tessa, Jace, and Owen stood beside me, smiling as though nothing had happened.

I looked toward the staircase.

The host stood at the top, watching me.

"Welcome back," he said.

Across the ballroom, another woman in a Ghost Face costume stepped forward. She was wearing my robe, my wig, and my silver rings.

She lifted her cup.

I lifted mine.

She smiled.

I felt my own mouth move beneath the mask.

Then she walked toward the front doors, leaving the party behind.

I watched her disappear into the night, knowing she was going home to live my life.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't remember how.

The clock began to chime again.

Thirteen times.

I looked around at the guests, all dressed in elaborate costumes, all smiling beneath their masks. I wondered how many had once arrived with their friends, excited to attend the most exclusive Halloween party in town. I wondered how many had forgotten their families, their homes, and the lives they had left behind.

Then I looked at the portrait of myself.

My photograph had changed.

The woman standing behind me was gone, and I was sitting alone in the chair, my face pale with terror.

I stared at it for a long time.

Then, somewhere in the back of my mind, a memory began to fade.

I couldn't remember what I had been afraid of.

I couldn't remember why I wanted to leave.

And when the host approached me with another cup of green punch, I smiled and thanked him.

After all, it would be rude to refuse.

Outside, the people of Costal Grove were already preparing for another Halloween. They were buying costumes, decorating their homes, and telling stories about the mysterious party at Blackwater House.

Some of them would receive invitations this year.

Some would arrive with friends.

And one of them would look across the ballroom and see someone wearing their exact costume, copying every movement, waiting for the moment they finally remembered.

The clock would strike thirteen.