Joey loved Halloween. For weeks he had looked forward to selecting the right costume and mask and finding a huge bag for his loot, while pleading with the older kids to go trick-or-treating with them. That was the hard part — they didn’t want little kids tagging along and getting in the way. His mother arranged with a neighbor for his son to take Joey with him, which took care of that problem.

As soon as it was dark, Joey was out the door and running down the sidewalk to the neighbor’s house. He loved his Batman costume, even though it was a little large for his six-year-old frame. Just as he arrived, Lance came out wearing a gorilla suit. "Cool mask," Joey said, so excited he was jumping up and down. "Where’s the rest of the guys?"

Lance slouched down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. "Around the corner. C’mon, kid." Joey happily trotted along behind him.

Within half an hour, the boys had hit every house in their neighborhood and wanted to go farther afield. Since Joey’s bag was almost full anyway, Lance told him to go home, using the excuse that Joey wasn’t allowed to leave the neighborhood.

Joey watched the older boys disappear into the night. He was crushed. He wanted to stay with them, but he’d really catch it if he disobeyed his mother. As he slowly walked back toward his home, he noticed a house sitting back from the street in a stand of tall bushy evergreens. There were no lights on, and Joey knew that meant you weren’t supposed to disturb them, but he decided to try it anyway.

When he reached the porch, he looked back toward the street. It seemed a lot farther that it did before, and it was really dark under the trees. He stood on his tiptoes and pushed the doorbell. He could hear it ring inside, but there were no other sounds.

Just as he turned to leave he heard the door creak open behind him. When he whirled back, it looked pitch black inside and he couldn’t see or hear anybody. "Trick or treat," he said, in a quavery voice. The door opened wider, and Joey went inside.

He never came out.