October 29th, 2022

,I've always loved Halloween. For me it's a fun time for all of us to face our fears and laugh at them a bit.  The dramatist in me LOVES dressing in costume.  I'm all about a theme, and I think MOST of what we celebrate at Halloween is fantasy-fun. However, I'm quite a wimp when it comes to scary -- I have an overactive imagination and don't need any help scaring up frightening images. LOL.  I'm not a fan of super-scary Halloween; I don't watch horror movies, and I don't do haunted mazes or haunted trails or houses, although some of my fall/Halloween writings do dip into the macabre, YA, haunting, suspenseful brand of literature. For this contest, I stuck with my more typical picture book style, and chose simple and sweet.  I hope you enjoy it!

Halloweensie is an annual writing contest for kidlit.  
THE CONTEST: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in word count) using the words slither, treat, and scare. I'm posting it here, but also on Susanna Leonard Hill's site, where the contest is hosted each year. This is her 12th annual Halloweensie contest, and this is my third time entering. You can find out more about the contest here: https://susannahill.com/2022/10/29/the-12th-annual-halloweensie-writing-contest-aahhhrrrooooooooo/

A Halloween Smile

The O’Lantern family was thrilled Halloween was here. 
Jack’s job as the chief scarer for the general store was getting intense. 
Day slithered into night as he rolled home.

Jill had a treat waiting.  
“A baby?!” Jack grinned.
“Let’s carve a Jack Be Little,” she smiled back.

They cut two triangle eyes, like his mom.
They drilled a round nose, like his dad.
As they began to carve his toothy grin,
a “roll-ll-ll, THUNK!” scared them
and the knife slipped.

Turns out, the toothy grin was toothless,
just like Grumpkin, 
who had bumped into the door.