The Mysterious Mr. Trist (standard:Suspense, 3215 words)
Author: TJC	Added: Oct 08 2009	Views/Reads: 4804/2892	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Two thirteen year old boys decide they are too old for trick or treating. They decide to make this their final Halloween and to trick or treat the local haunted house and the frightening resident within.

The Mysterious Mister Trist 

The house belonged to an old recluse named Mr. Trist.  He'd lived there
as long as Benny or his friend Rickey could remember.  It was a huge, 
brick structure with a wide stairway and spacious porch leading up to 
the massive wooden door.  The outside lights were never on and the man 
himself was seen only occasionally driving his old black car to and 
from the store or sometimes getting his mail.  He was hardly a 
frightening specimen, short, bald, hunched over as he walked, and his 
face dominated with thick coke-bottle glasses.  If one didn't know 
better, one would just consider him an old codger waiting for his spot 
in the cemetery to open up.  To the residents of Sunnyvale avenue, a 
quiet tree-lined street in the suburban Chicago area, he was like a 
ghost.  The adults never said a word about him, if they saw him along 
the street they would give him a respectful nod but never would they 
engage in conversation.  As for the kids, including Benny and Rickey, 
all were terrified of him. 

Over the years the kids of Sunnyvale had spoken in hushed voices about
the rumors and stories about old Mr. Trist and his dark, forbidding 
house.  Supposedly the house was haunted by the ghost of his wife whom 
he'd murdered years before after being caught in an adulterous affair.  
It was said he could never sell the house because her spirit had 
threatened to kill him if he ever did so.  Then there were the stories 
of his being a witch and having conjured her spirit back to the world 
out of his own guilt.  Finally there were less supernatural stories, 
but no less intriguing, the most common being that he'd robbed several 
banks and had the money hidden somewhere.  Another story was that he'd 
done several stints in prison and killed men while on the inside.  
Whatever the truth was, nobody really knew, but nobody ever dared 
investigating it either. 

On Halloween Sunnyvale was a creepy street.  The trees hung over the
neighborhood and gave it a cave-like appearance as the sun went down.  
Costumed demons and goblins walked all over the place, mixing with 
super heroes, sports stars, and movie villains.  Benny and Rickey  
loved the holiday, but they were thirteen now and they'd decided that 
this year would be the last year of trick or treating. 

“Benny, this is our last year and I think we should do something
unforgettable.  Make it memorable.”  Rickey was finishing his face, 
decked out like a pirate with a fake knife through his neck. 

“We could forget about trick or treating and just roam the neighborhood
and scare the little kids,” Benny remarked.  He was happy with his 
costume.  Never one to wear a traditional costume, this year he was in 
a western duster and cowboy hat but had his face made up as a flesh 
eating zombie.  “Night of the Living Dead meets the Gunfight at the OK 
Corral,” he said as he looked at his reflection. 

“I think you have outdone yourself, Benny.  That is a creepy looking
outfit.” 

“Yup, I think so.  Perfect costume to retire from Halloween with.” 

“You know what we should do?”  Rickey smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.
 Benny just stared at his friend, wondering what was going through his 
mind.  “We should go to the Trist place tonight.  Knock on his door.” 

“Knock and run away?” Benny wasn't sure he wanted to go anywhere near
the haunted Trist house. 

Rickey shook his head, fingering the knife in his throat, adding some
red paint to accentuate the blood.   “No, I mean knock and say trick or 
treat and see what he says.  Actually show him we're not afraid.” 

“I don't know.....” Benny was always the follower between the two of
them, it was always Rickey leading the way.  “That's not exactly 
something I want to do on my last Halloween.” 

“Oh come on,” Rickey chided. 

“It might make it our last Halloween for real, Rickey.” 

“No way, what it will do is make us legends.  No kid has ever done this


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