On the cusp of All Hallows Eve, the Moonlit Mansion danced with eerie shadows. Young Billy, wrapped snug in his sheets, was the only one not watching haunted movies downstairs.
Ecstatic whispers swept through his room as he watched his toy soldiers come to life. They enacted delightful Halloween parades on his bedside table, complete with jack-o’-lantern smiles.
Soon, an aged pair of ghostly spectres wafted under his bed; their only request – to join the parade. Billy, feeling brave, agreed. The specters floated up and led a ghoulishly splendid procession around the room.
Billy’s joy turned to unease when he noticed the specters turning everything they touched into old, rusted relics. His toy soldiers became rusty tin figures. The fear crept under his blanket as he realized his home was becoming like the Moonlit Mansion.
With a swift strike of genius, Billy asked the specters for a dance instead. They engaged in a waltz, spinning faster, until with a final twirl, he flung them out the window.
As the dawn broke, everything was as it was. But every Halloween, Billy keeps his window firmly shut, and on his bedside table, a rusty tin soldier stands guard.