Previous Post THE PUMPKIN PATCH by Alex Watson The tale I’m about to tell you is one usually said to be myth or legend. But what is myth or legend? A story made up to scare little children. No, the truth is myths and legends are there to explain the unexplainable, when there’s something so terrifying, so hideous we just say it does not exist. That is what the human race does with fear, we sweep it under mat. There is one flaw to this system. Any time you step on the mat a spark of fear shoots out! I will explain this story in a way you will understand it with a beginning middle and an end, I will start in the middle. *** 1998 Deadwood Forest Cottage Drip, drip, drip “Mum, the roof’s leaking again!” screamed George “Well actually son it’s the gutter that’s leaking not the roof, for the roof to be leaking it needs to be raining and the storms ending so it has to be the gutter leaking.” explained Dad “SHHHHHHH.” “What.” “You’ll wake Harry up,” scorned Mum “The storm’s probably already woken him up.” “When I checked a minute a go he was fast asleep so don’t wake him up or you can go without pancakes for breakfast.” “Too… late,” said Harry yawning Mum glared at George sharply. George pulled an I don’t care face and stormed into the front room. George grabbed the remote and fell back into sofa. Click, click, click, the TV wasn’t working. “Dad, the TVs not working.” yelled George “Oh, I forgot to tell you the storm has broken our dish so no TV.” “But I’m bored,” exclaimed George “I know, why don’t you and Harry spend the day carving pumpkins from the pumpkin patch round back for Halloween tomorrow?” “Ok!!” said George enthusiastically; and so they did. After Harry had finished eating his breakfast ( 10:00 ) they went outside, then round the back to where the pumpkin patch was. They got there to see one massive pumpkin the size of their fireplace! “Harry, George, we’re going out for some more fire wood.” “Ok,” said the boys in unison “I’ll go get the knives,” screamed Harry and he did. They tried all the knives but they kept chipping, snapping and or breaking. “Let’s try this one I found in the pumpkin patch. It looks like iron,” said George holding up a knife encrusted with dirt and mud George slowly ran the sharp side of the knife across the roots. After he had cut it something weird happened. The roots started to ooze this sticky red substance, blood! The boys did not notice this and started to cut the top off. They pulled the top off getting ready to pull all the guts out. But… there were no guts in the pumpkin.      “Whatttt? I thought pumpkins had guts!” said George           “Oh it must be a different variety,” said Harry          George thoughtlessly tossed the knife onto the centre of the pumpkin patch - then when he wasn’t looking it sank into the soil. Suddenly the boys went quiet. Their eyes turned bright orange. They could see a face on the pumpkin - and they carved it perfectly without trying! They did not know this, but they had carved the devil himself. Somehow the pumpkin lit up a fiery red and if you stared into its eyes you could see a dancing flame!      At that point George and Harry’s eyes restored to their original colours and the pumpkins’ flames died out. The boys could remember all that happened. Of course they don’t believe they saw it, it was a trick of the light and our imagination they’d say, even though at the back of their mind they knew what they saw was real. That spark of fear growing as they stepped further and further onto the mat. It was not till 9:00 till the door bell rang, Ringgg, Ringgg. “Who could that be?” asked Harry “Probably Mum and Dad, they might have lost there keys or something,” replied George The boys went out of the living room into the kitchen to let their parents in to find the door open a violent wind brewing outside. Also there was a thin trail of blood from the door into the living room! Harry and George followed the trail back into the front room to see the pumpkin sitting in the middle of the floor. Suddenly the pumpkin lit up, its eyes living flames! The boys couldn’t help but looking into them, then their eyes took the colour as well. The pumpkin started whispering to them a voice in their heads. They had to do what it said. They could still think freely they had to obey anything the pumpkin commanded. There was one more voice they could hear. They could hear each other. The power of the pumpkin was doing this by accident. Then the voice said “Reach into the pumpkin and get a hand full of sand.” So they did. Then they could see these two circles on the floor with complex patterns around them and without being told they poured a thin layer of sand on the lines. Without trying they did it perfectly. After they were finished they stood back without wanting to. They tried to move but it just made them weaker. They were then told a witch was buried underneath the pumpkin patch and she could only get up if we were to crush all the pumpkins and chant the ritual. Then Harry thought of it, George could hear him and Harry had a plan. He told George his plan. George went outside to the pumpkin patch to smash the pumpkins but Harry stayed there and picked up a steel hammer from the tool box in the kitchen. Then brought it into the living room. He lifted it high then brought it down on top of the pumpkin sending broken pieces of pumpkin everywhere! Then just after, it said “How, how did you disobey me?” “You said all the pumpkins - that includes you too.” Suddenly the pumpkin’s flames died and the kids eyes reverted to their original colour. George then walked in. “So it worked them?” gasped George Ringgg, Ringgg, the boys looked at each other then at the door. They went to the door to see there parents standing in the kitchen. “Explain to me why the kitchen door was unlocked at this time and you’re not in bed, oh and what’s this there’s sand everywhere,” bellowed Mum Harry and George ran up to their mum and gave her a massive hug. “And don’t forget the smashed pumpkin,” said George “Stop joking George, I’m not in the mood and why is the fire on in this weather? You’ll be roasting.” “What!” said the boys in unison? Harry and George walked through in to the front room to find the pumpkin bits gone and the fire place lit, and if they stared at its heart they could see a dancing flame flickering in the light! Original concepts, characters, and situations copyright © 2009 reserved by Alexander John Watson. The right of Alexander John Watson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved.

I enjoyed the tale, especially the way the pumpkin-devil's oversight allowed the boys to turn the tables, and hint at the end of a vengeful fire waiting to return. Personally, I would plant a lot of pumpkins on that ground to keep that witch buried. Maybe some zucchini too. Once zucchini starts growing, it never seems to run out... it's pretty mystical in its own right.

Good job!