Charley had been sneaking away to create a menacing atmosphere which wasn’t too hard to do since the place had become rather perfect for the occasion.  Some of the kids in the neighborhood had been telling tales of ghosts who they said lived there.  That was what gave Charley the idea for what would be a great laugh.

          He had worked tirelessly to set up a display using an old mirror that had been stored in the family garage for years along with an old spotlight and some Halloween decorations that his Mom and Dad had evidently forgot they had a long time ago.  This consisted of a jack-o-lantern, a light that was shaped like a ghost and an old witch hat.  He had set up the display to turn on automatically using a motion detector device to turn the lights on when someone came within range.  Charley felt he had the place set up to scare the others out of their skins.

          Once everything was in place, Charley snuck around back to the rear stairway to park himself.  He would create screeching and screaming sounds to scare the others.  He sat there looking at the sign he had put in front of the house saying, “Come on in… The Party is starting” and smiling to himself as he waited for the fun to start.

          Time past and so did a lot of kids who didn’t seem to notice the sign and paid no attention to the house.  They went on past to the next house and cried out, “Trick or Treat.”  Charley decided that he needed to do something to somehow lure the kids into his little trap but what?

          He climbed down from his perch and went out to replace the sign, pointing it more toward the street.  When he came back he noticed something in the far corner of the room that had up until now eluded him.  Upon closer inspection Charley decided to climb up into this cubby-hole to hide.  He would be heard well when he let out his blood-curdling screams.  He reached up to grab what looked like a handle but when he pulled on it the wall behind shifted and slid partially open.

          Charley climbed up to see what this was and that was when he heard the voices.

          “You’ve got a dead man’s hand, Igor,” Charley caught his breath.  Did that man say somebody had a dead man’s hand?  Then there was hysterical laughter.  Another voice rose louder.

          “I’ll show you a dead man’s hand.”  Then there was silence and another voice replied.  “I guess that man’s wasn’t as dead as we thought.  Now Charley forgot about his plans to scare his siblings.  This was far too weird for him.  He was down off that perch and literally flew out the front door.  He would never go back into that place again.

          Meanwhile in the basement of the old house the poker game continued.  They all applauded George, who had bought the house and maintained it as uninhabitable.  This was where he and his buddy’s spent their Friday’s playing their weekly poker game.

          So, you see… Things are not always what they seem.

The End