Happy Almost-Halloween! This week was supposed to be a character takeover, but instead, ghosts and ghouls are running the show. What could they possibly have to say, you wonder? (Aside from a hearty “boo!” of course!) Well, today they come to you with a reminder that if you want mini spooky stories, you need look no further than the hashtag “beyondspooky22” on Facebook and Instagram. I’ve been participating in this spooky challenge all week, and it’s been so fun to see everyone’s twist on the familiar ghost story! Just in case you’ve missed my posts so far, here they are:

Day One: Set the Scene

It’s day one of the Beyond Spooky challenge! 🎃 I have been looking forward to this all month long. Join in the fun by using the hashtag #beyondspooky22 and tagging me, too!

Without further ado, let’s visit our spooky scene for the first time:

As I made my way across Market Square from the bakery back to my potions shop, I dodged a ghost, sidestepped a zombie, and nearly put my boot right through a carved pumpkin.

Fall in the tiny alpine town of Belville was a dangerous time.

The grassy Square, always the center of the town celebrations, was littered with decorations for All Hallow’s Eve. My somewhat bull-headed friend Officer Thorn had volunteered to oversee the decorating, perhaps because Belville’s one-person police station didn’t give her much opportunity for bossing people around. I could hear her voice booming from the other corner of the park and instinctively put a tree (decorated with monstrous wolf-like masks) between myself and her.

“Hiya, Red!”

The thing about trees is they only keep you hidden from people in one direction. Caught unaware, I gave an un-stealthy jerk as I wheeled to face Luca, town scholar and book seller. Like all scholars, Luca wore a simple black robe and hood no matter if it was rain, sun, snow, or perfectly crisp autumn weather like today. And as usual for him, his green eyes twinkled against his dark skin as he grinned.

But his smile faded much more quickly than usual, and behind his eyes there was worry as he added, “Why isn’t William with you? You weren’t going out alone, were you?”

“Only to the bakery and back,” I said, showing him my basket of rolls with a reassuring smile. “Besides, I think we’re safe in the town square. Maybe not from all the paper ghosts and jack-o-lanterns, but definitely from roadside bandits. I’m not even on a road right now, for goodness’ sake.”

Day Two: Who’s the Villain?

Day two of the #BeyondSpooky22 challenge! 🎃 Yesterday we set the scene with Red and Luca in Belville’s Market Square, talking about roadside banditry. Today we’re jumping ahead a little bit as another of Red’s friends explains his theory about the danger in the woods . . .

Ryuko leaned forward over spindly knees in black trousers. “It’s like this. I—well, did you ever hear of the Big Bad Wolf Gang?”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “I’m familiar with the fairy tale character, if that helps.”

Ryuko shook his head. “I know it sounds silly. That’s just what the newspapers started calling them. They called themselves the Dogs of the Moon. They wanted to summon the actual Moon Dogs, who some people think guard the gates of the afterlife.”

“Wait—are we talking about necromancy?” I asked, startled.

Again, Ryuko shook his head. “That’s just the one example I know of. That gang was caught because they stole this massive cache of obsidian and then a ton of wolfsbane. They used weapons like claws and daggers made of fangs. Really obvious. I’m not saying that whoever’s attacking people on the roads outside of Belville now wants to summon the Moon Dogs. They could want to summon an actual wolf, for all I know. But all the stuff they’re taking is similar, and their weapons are, too.”

“You did mention the obsidian that was stolen,” I agreed slowly.

“The wolfsbane was what really tipped me off,” said Ryuko. “But that’s not all. It’s almost Samhain. That’s the perfect time to summon something like the graveyard Black Dog or even Cerberus or the Hounds of the Wild Hunt—”

“Whoa.” I held up a hand to interrupt him. If he was going to sit there and list mythical wolves or big dogs, we’d be stuck until well after sunset. “Seriously, why would someone go to the trouble?”

“Why does anyone go into crime?” Ryuko shot back. “The main thing is we can’t let them do it. Once you start messing around with this kind of stuff, there’s no going back.”

Day Three: The Stakes

Day three of the #BeyondSpooky22 challenge–we’re already halfway through! 🎃 Yesterday we heard Ryuko’s worries about a spectral wolf summoned by dark magic in the woods. Today we meet someone entirely different, whose life could be in danger . . .

I sat hard on the arm of the sofa next to William, and stared at the newcomer. She was five foot tall at most, her arm slung over the sitting Ryuko, who could’ve easily topped six feet if he stood up straight. What I’d taken for an all-pink haze at first was in fact a striped knee-length sundress, matched with thick tights, a fuzzy white cardigan, and an absolutely adorable pair of pumps.Her bobbed white hair was tucked under a pink bucket hat adorned with live flowers. The smoothness of her fair skin seemed to give her away as young, as did the energy in her shockingly blue eyes.

Ryuko pulled a face. “Sakura’s my sister. We adopted her ages ago.”

“Twenty-two years,” she corrected him. “Almost two dozen!”

“You were a lot quieter back then,” he muttered in reply.

“Are you here for All Hallow’s Eve?” I guessed, trying to get a word in edgewise.

“Not exactly,” she said, “although it is my favorite time of year, and I’m glad to spend it with my big brother! But no, Ryu sent me a note yesterday about the robberies on the road, so I came as soon as I could. That’s why you’re here too, I guess?” she asked William and me.

Despite the situation, I smiled back. Puzzling as she might be, it was clear that Sakura was sharp. “Yes. There was a full-on attack last night, this one right in town.”

“And people think I did it,” Ryuko added glumly.

“And we have a shop to get back to,” William reminded me with a growl.

“True,” I admitted. “But I do want to help—”

“Don’t worry,” Sakura assured me. “Ryu will tell me all about it, and we’ll come find you this evening. Together, we’ll get to the bottom of this!”

For the conclusion to the story, check out #beyondspooky22 on Thursday and Friday this week! And be sure to read other authors’ stories while you’re there. 🙂