The Grumby

The locals all knew of the Grumby since the cradle. When you hear three snaps of a limb on Halloween night the Grumby was on the prowl seeking a tasty child to satisfy his voracious appetite. It was said that he was over seven feet tall with claws that could tear a kid in half with one swipe. He had the body a grizzly bear and the head of a goat. The Grumby stalked his prey from hidden by the trees that lined the neighborhood where Samantha and her very best friend Chloe trick-or-treated every year.

Three snaps and a snatch. The Grumby would drag an unexacting trick-or-treater into Finnegan Forest never to be seen again.

The story always scared Samantha when she was younger. But she was ten now and those phony ghost stories didn’t frighten her anymore. Chloe was a year younger and a grade lower.

Samantha and Chloe ran up to Mr. And Mrs. Dechant’s front door. The first stop of the night. Two jack-o-lanterns with sly grins and triangulated eyes greeted them as they pounded up the creaky wooden steps. A stuffed scarecrow slumped in Mr. Dechant’s old rocking chair. Low moans filled the air, then the mournful howl of a wolf followed by a piercing cackle of an old witch.

“I hate those recordings,” Chloe said. “They creep me out.”

“What I want to know is who is making that chair rock?”

Chloe stiffened with fear, her blue eyes widening.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be such baby. Don’t you see the string?”

Chloe let out a breath.

“Trick-or-treat!” Samantha shouted through the screen of the front door.

“Look here. It’s one of those punk rockers and what’s this? A jailbird?” Mr. Dechant’s tall, thin frame appeared in the doorway. The candy wrappers crinkled as he used a shaky hand to dig into the bowl of candy. He chuckled as he dropped a handful into each of the girl’s pillowcases.

“Thank you!” Samantha and Chloe chorused.

“Oh girls,” Mr. Dechant called as they turned to leave. “Beware the Grumby. He’s on the prowl tonight. He especially likes the gingers. Says he likes the way their bones snap like a wishbone and taste like a savory Thanksgiving turkey.”

Samantha giggled, but Mr. Dechant didn’t crack a smile.

“Why do you think he said that?” Chloe asked tugging at her red curls.

“He’s just trying to scare us.”

The girls padded along the sidewalk, itching for more and more candy to fill their pillowcases. Street lamps cast long, lurching shadows as a dense fog began to form.

“Are you cold?” Chloe hugged herself. “It’s getting hard to see. I think we should stop.”

“Why are you acting like such an infant?” Samantha scolded.

“I was just-” Suddenly Chloe grabbed Samantha’s arm. “Did you hear that?”

“If you’re trying to scare me, you’re not.” Samantha crossed her arms over her chest.

Chloe shook her head and pointed.

Samantha followed Chloe’s gaze to the tree line. The tall oak and maple trees appeared to move and bend unnaturally.

SNAP!

“That’s one,” Chloe whispered. “Three snaps and the Grumby comes.”

“You don’t still believe that, do you?” Samantha said.

SNAP!

The girls whipped their heads toward the thick of the trees. Their hearts throbbed hard in their chest.

SNAP!

“Someone’s just trying to scare us.”

The girls gagged as a putrid stench filled the air and the fog took on a greenish hue.

Two glowing yellow eyes emerged from the mist.

The Grumby?

Samantha and Chloe clapped their hands over their ears as the hideous beast dragged his stone-like claws against the pavement. Closer and closer he came.

“We’re not afraid of you!” Samantha screamed.

Chloe’s trembling body said otherwise.

The hideous beast stood three feet in front of them and tilted his goat head from one side to the other before letting out a haunting laugh.

It reached up his long, clawed paw and ripped off his own head.

Samantha and Chloe let out a shriek that would put a banshee to shame.

The Grumby doubled over with laughter.

“RJ! I’m gonna kill you!” Samantha shouted. “I’m telling!”

RJ, Samantha’s twelve year brother and royal pain in the rear, was always playing tricks on Samantha and her friends.

“That was so scary!” Chloe said, her heart still threatening to jump out of her rib cage.

“I wasn’t scared,” Samantha lied. “Let’s go over to Sycamore Lane. They pass out full size candy bars.”

Samantha led Chloe deeper into the fog, leaving RJ to gloat in his victory.

It was harder and harder to see and Samantha’s flashlight only bounced the light back in their faces.

“We’re lost, aren't we?” Chloe asked.

“This is Sycamore. We’re not lost.” That might have been a lie. They might’ve been on Sycamore or they might’ve been in the next town over.

“Sam, I want to go home. I’m scared.”

Not far in the distance, the soft glow of a lantern broke through the thick fog. The warm, glowing ball swung gently from side to side. Bearing the lantern was a silver haired woman with more wrinkles than a shar-pei.

“Lost, are we?” She asked in a crackly, ancient tone. A tattered gray frock hung limply over her bony shoulders.

“Oh, come on, RJ. We’re not falling for that again,” Samantha said.

“Dear children, if you are lost in this fog on this Halloween night, follow me for a trick-or-treat bite.” The woman extended a long, gnarled finger beckoning the girls.

An owl hooted an ominous warning somewhere from the treetops.

“Let’s just go with it,” Samantha said in spite of her better judgment.

With trepidation, Samantha and Chloe followed the old woman, allowing her to lead them through the ever thickening fog until they came to the lake.

“Let’s go back,” Chloe said. “I’m not allowed to go by the lake at night. Heck, I’m not even allowed off my block at night.”

RJ’s dinghy was tied to the dock. He usually didn’t let Samantha or her friends ride in his boat. The old woman lowered herself into the boat first. She smiled sweetly and pointed to the empty seats across from her.

Samantha’s body moved apart from her mind as she slipped into RJ’s rowboat tied to the dock. She patted the wooden seat beside her, urging Chloe to come along.

“It’s so spooky,” Chloe said sinking into the seat beside her friend. “My mom is going to be so mad at me if she finds out I went on a boat at night.”

The old woman’s crackled lips turned up into a wicked smile, her watery eyes filled with secrets.

Chloe shuddered.

Samantha leaned back and dipped her fingers into the cold, slimy water. She listened to the bullfrogs serenade them as the old woman rowed to the other side.

Finnegan’s Forest was a familiar stomping ground for the girls.

It wasn’t long before the boat bumped gently against a thicket of dense trees.

The fog dissipated as the threesome climbed out of the boat. The old woman seemed to float toward a twisted, beaten path in the dense forest.

“Come, children.” Her voice was less inviting now.

“The trees,” Chloe said. “They have…”

“Eyes,” Samantha finished, her voice barely audible.

Carved faces turned toward the jittery girls. Their hollow eyes were darker than the night itself.

“Ummmm….RJ, we have to go home now,” Samantha said. She turned and shoved Chloe toward the water.

“You must face what is beyond the trees,” the old woman hissed.

“We’ll face it next year. We have school in the morning,” Samantha said.

The girls attempted to make a run for it, but the woman’s spindly fingers were too quick. She wrapped them around the girls arms. The more they resisted, the more the old woman’s grip ripped into their flesh.

“It’s not funny anymore, RJ!” Samantha shouted. “Let go! I’m gonna tell!”

The woman’s smile melted into a deep set frown as she narrowed her amber eyes. She pointed toward the path.”

“You must take the trail. The Grumby is hungry.”

Samantha swallowed the puke that crept up her throat. She straightened her back and took in a deep breath.

“Ok. We’ll play your dumb little game, but you are going to be in so much trouble.”

The rustling of leaves and acorns dropping to the earth comforted the girls as they began down the path. The sweet scent of pine and fallen leaves wafted by on a soft breeze.

The bullfrogs deep calls faded as they went deeper into the woods.

“I don’t feel good,” Chloe said, slumping against a tree trunk. “My stomach hurts and I want to go home. I think I ate a piece of poisoned candy.”

“We just have to make it to the end of the path,” Samantha assured her. “Then RJ will get his last laugh because I’m telling as soon as we get home.”

A low, guttural moan came from somewhere a few feet ahead. It sounded like a goat and bear calling with the same voice. It was almost other-worldly.

Leaves and twigs crunched behind them. The girls spun around to see nothing but darkness.

“The path isn’t too much longer. It’s a loop,” Samantha reassured her.

SNAP!

Samantha’s heart seemed to halt in her chest. Tremors skittered throughout her body. The snap she heard came from somewhere in the trees. Like someone or something snapped it on purpose.

“Did you hear that?”

SNAP!

Samantha nearly wet her pants at the second snap.

“Chloe! I heard two snaps. Did you hear it, too?”

“Sam?” Chloe whispered. “Is there a cave in Finnegan’s Forest?”

A few feet ahead, the full moon broke through the trees to illumine the mouth of yawning cave. Tangled moss draped over the large cavity, creeping over the edge like snakes.

SNAP!

“I’m done,” Samantha said.

She and Chloe reversed toward the trail, but it was gone. In its place stood the old woman wearing a menacing smile. Behind her was a grove of trees with carved faces, their expressions morphing between fear and pity.

“Run! Run! Run!” Wispy voices urged.

From the blackened mouth of the cave a horrible beast with massive, curled horns emerged. He had piercing yellow eyes that glowed and a long blood-stained beard.

The beast sniffed the air.

“Dinner!” The old woman cried. “Dinner for you, my pet!”

The Grumby set his menacing gaze on Chloe, took in a long breath, then let out a snort with a stench worse than death.

Samantha’s gagged, her eyes burned, and her legs turned to taffy.

Chloe’s teeth knocked together. “It’s…it’s…real.”

“Real and hungry,” the old woman said.

“RUN!” Samantha shouted.

Chloe’s feet were rooted to the forest floor, seeming to sink deeper into the earth.

Samantha hurled forward and tackled her friend. “Snap out of it! He’s going to eat us!”

Samantha and Chloe stumbled to their feet. The Grumby’s hot, sticky breath slapped the back of their neck. The girls dashed into the forest, stumbling over roots and batting away the limbs and sticks that whipped their arms and legs. The Grumby gained speed. His tearing claws ripping through the dangling vines.

“We’ll never out run him,” Chloe said between gasps.

The beam of Samantha’s light bounced in the distance revealing a stack of fallen trees.

“This wasn’t here a second ago,” Samantha said.

The girls clawed and scratched at the rotting wood.

“We’re never going to get out,” Chloe cried. “We’re going to die!”

Samantha dug into her pillowcase and pulled out a handful of candy. “Break the lantern!”

She hurled it at the old woman’s lantern until the sound of glass shattering echoed against the trees. A spark hit the ground.

Chloe clutched handfuls of candy and flung them at the Grumby. The beast batted at the sweets like he was swatting at flies.

Samantha dropped to her knees and blew hard against the tiny flame. “Feed the fire,” Samantha told Chloe.

The dry leaves flashed into flames and a blazing fire took over the forest floor.

“You fools! You fools!” The old cried, shielding her face from the blaze. “My pet must feed.”

The old woman’s jagged cries faded as the smoke thickened and cloaked her in gray billows. Her long, gnarly fingers reached for the girls, but the fire quickly consumed her.

The Grumby let out a final hellish cry as he swiped the air with his claws.

A strong gust formed a leaf tornado swirled around the girls, lifting them into the air then suddenly dropping them into a pile of dry, crunchy leaves.

Samantha and Chloe landed with a with a thud. They drew in deep breaths as their hearts struggled to beat at a normal pace.

The night became eerily still.

“Do you think he’s gone?” Chloe asked.

“For now,” Samantha said.

A burnt candy wrapper danced int he soft breeze.

“At the least the Grumby won’t be eating any kids this year,” Chloe said.

“Let’s get out of here,” Samantha said.

They followed the path to the edge of the forest and hurried onto Sycamore Lane.

RJ rushed over to them.

“Sam, where have you been? Everyone in the neighborhood is looking for you two!”

“We defeated the Grumby!” Samantha said triumphantly.

RJ gave her a skeptical look. “I don’t think Mom’s going to buy that. Let’s go home.”

Samantha and Chloe plodded slowly behind RJ. Candiless and weary from the battle no one believe they fought.

SNAP!

“What was that?” Chloe asked.

“Just the wind,” Samantha said.

SNAP!

It came a little louder this time.

After dropping Chloe off at home, Samantha and RJ arrived at their house. RJ sprinted into the house first. Samantha hesitated at the bottom of the steps. How was she going to explain this one?

“Beware the Grumby,” a voice whispered just before the porch light flickered and a heavy fog settled in the air.