Bea and Ben’s Halloween
by Joan Hobernicht
“I think we turn here,” Bea said to Ben as they passed a cul-de-sac. They were looking for the home of new friends they had met at the Senior Citizens Center. Ben turned the car around and they went in the little housing area.
Most of the houses were decorated with Halloween items.
“Ooh, look at that one,” Bea said.
A headless body attired in western clothing complete with cowboy boots was in a sitting position of the bench in front of the house. Beside him was a head with popped eyes and “blood” running down its cheeks. It had a mustache and
short black hair.
Bea shuddered.
Ben stopped the car and went over to check it out. “Nothing real here, all plastic and synthetic,” he proclaimed when he returned to the car.
The couple soon found their friends in another cul-de-sac and enjoyed coffee and rolls with them.
“I’m glad Halloween comes only once a year. It’s one of my least favorite holidays,” Bea said.
Jocelyn agreed, “I never did like all the spooky stuff, but we used to have some good parties,” she said.
Only three little tricks or treaters showed up on their doorstep that evening “It isn’t like it used to be, Bea complained.
The next morning the newspaper declared that it had been a quiet holiday with only a few arrests for minor infractions of the law.
On another page was a notice of a missing man. His sister had no contact with him since the day before Halloween. He was fifty years old, medium build, mustache and dark hair. The picture looked familiar to Bea.
“Look at this, haven’t we seen this man before?” she asked Ben.
That’s the man on the porch at the cul-de-sac. Is someone trying to pull a joke on the police department?” Ben asked.
“Let’s go check it out,” Bea said.
They found the street and noted that all but one house had removed their decorations. The third house still displayed the man on the bench with his head on the floor beside him.
Bea felt chills running up and down her back as Ben inspected the dummy again.
“Police were here a while ago. Wanted to know if I had seen or heard anything the last few days. I saw him drive away in his pick-up on the day of Halloween,” An elderly man who lived next door informed Ben as he walked across the driveway to their car.
“Have they searched the premises?” Ben asked.
“No need. He’s not here. I reckon he just went off on a fishing trip or something.”
Bea called the police department when she got home. “”I just have an uneasy feeling,” she told them.
The next morning newspaper headlines screamed. “Local Man Found Dead in His Bathtub.”
The article stated that the man was naked and had been decapitated. His clothing had been used to make a scarecrow and placed on the front porch of his residence. Police were questioning the neighbors and family of the deceased.
“Now do you see why I don’t like Halloween?” Bea asked Ben.
Ben shook his head and went out to the garage to work in his workshop.
