Every Halloween, a tale is told about the mysterious, rickety mansion at the end of Maple Street. The house, they say, is haunted by a headless horseman who relentlessly rides around at midnight searching for his missing skull.
One Halloween night, brave 12-year-old Timmy, devised a plan to finally get to the bottom of this perennial tale. Armed with only his flashlight and courage, Timmy sneaked toward the grotesque mansion under the pall of darkness.
The clock struck midnight and just like the stories, the headless horseman appeared, thundering around the mansion’s grounds. Amidst the terror, Timmy’s bravado did not waver. He shined his flashlight toward the horseman.
Then, with a sudden burst of laughter, Timmy bent over. His light had revealed the horseman’s head hanging on a branch of a tree. A black crow perched upon it squawked back at Timmy, fluttering about to create the illusion of a floating head.
“Mystery solved!” Timmy celebrated, heading home. As he walked away, an eerie laughter echoed from within the mansion. The headless horseman was no more than a trick, but the true specter still lay unseen.”