Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Why I No Longer Run A Halloween Store

I used to own a small, Halloween-themed shop. It's located downtown in a fairly small city, and unlike many businesses in town after Wal-Mart's arrival, my store never really suffered when it came to customers. Of course, it was only open for the month of October. I sold a lot of unique things you might find at other novelty stores in bigger cities, but for cheaper prices. I really didn't do it for profit as much as I did it to celebrate the spooky Halloween spirit. I also loved to celebrate that spirit by doing my best to scare the crap out of people every Halloween.

One particular Halloween, my chosen victim was my buddy Alex. He was a pretty relaxed and calm guy most of the time, so he was the perfect person for the plan I had in mind. First, you should know that I always began packing up my store every Halloween fairly early in the morning, as it was unlikely to get customers on the holiday itself. I'd told Alex that I had much heavier merchandise that year and could use help moving it all out. Not knowing what he was getting into, he accepted, and I told him to meet me at shop at 10 at night, sharp.

As I said, Alex was a relaxed and calm guy most of the time. Unfortunately for him, he had once told me about his irrational fear of clowns, and how he could not function around them.

So naturally, my plan involved dressing up in a clown costume. When he arrived at shop, I would stand perfectly still like a statue. Once he realized he couldn't find me, he would then call me, most likely. But when my phone rang, it would be in the pocket of an apparent clown statue, and when he came over to investigate, I'd give him my best scare.

Pretty simple plan, right? Everything was set in motion. I dressed up, stood near the back of the store obscured by some boxes and other decorations, and waited for his arrival.

A little after 10, Alex entered. It was very dark, as I'd made the last minute decision to cut the lights before he arrived. He called my name a few times, but of course I didn't respond. I heard him walking around a bit, looking around the shop for me. I could barely hold back laughter.

After a bit more shuffling, I heard Alex speak in a defensive tone, "Not funny, dude."

I looked around, but there was definitely no way he could see me right now, even if I had twitched or anything. I continued to play dumb.

"Come on man," he repeated again, sounding angrier this time. "That's not funny."

Confused, I quietly adjusted a nearby stack of boxes so I could peer through a crack toward his voice. I couldn't make out his shape very well, but I knew for sure he was not looking in my direction.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

I heard Alex turn toward the sound instantly, and I froze, giddy with excitement that the plan might be working. But as he approached, I realized he wasn't holding his phone, and a wave of disappointment fell over me as I discovered my prank had been ruined by another caller.

"Alright, fine, you got me," I announced shortly after the phone stopped ringing, taking off my mask and stepping out into the open.

But Alex's face didn't looked relieved. His face twisted in such horror that I had never seen before. He began yelling and spouting panicky words, and I spent a few minutes trying to get him to calm down.

He explained to me that when he entered, a man in a clown costume had stared at him and began walking slowly towards him. But, when my phone rang, the man had dashed right out of the store. Alex had no idea that I was actually hiding in the back the whole time.

I don't want to think about what would have happened if Alex had showed up late that night, or if my other buddy had never called during the prank.