All Hallows Eve in the town of Banysville was always more trick than treat. You see, every year on Halloween, rumors circled around poor old Tom McKee’s house, the only place in town that looked haunted. It had vine-covered walls and an eerie creaking gate.
Now, the story goes that a carved pumpkin appears on Tom’s stoop each Halloween – a pumpkin that nobody has seen him carve or place. Onlookers would swear it glowed with an otherworldly light, its wicked smile seeming all too alive.
This year, as the tradition continued, a group of brave kids decided to unravel the mystery. Armed with flashlights and fueled by curiosity, they tiptoed to his house under the veil of night. As they approached, the pumpkin’s glow seemed brighter, its grin wider.
They crept up, their hearts pounding, and peered into the pumpkin. And then… surprise! A kitten popped out from the pumpkin’s top, its eyes glowing in the flashlight. It turns out, Tom had been using a special lantern to keep the kitten warm and visible – a makeshift home for the stray he’d found just before the Halloween season!
From that Halloween on, Banysville’s spookiest tradition turned into its most heartwarming story.