The Pumpkinhead
Annie doesn’t like Halloween. She does not go to masquerade parties and avoids large crowds. This holiday is the absolute personification of everything that pisses her off. But she bought one thing for herself — a big scary doll in human height with the head of a pumpkin. The doll was dressed in a torn dress with traces of artificial blood and held a knife in her hands. Annie pinned the toy to the front door and inserted a sign in her free hand that said, “No trick, no treat.”
Annie went to bed with a peaceful mind on Halloween night. She knew that most of the children would be scared and would not want to knock on the door of her house. And for those who are not afraid, the doll holds an explanatory note.
Annie was almost asleep when she heard a noise on the first floor. It seemed to her that someone had opened the front door. “I definitely closed the door,” Annie reassured herself and closed her eyes again. However, then she heard footsteps. Someone was going up the stairs to the second floor.
Annie took the bedside lamp, unplugged it from the socket, and went to the door. She was breathing heavily, trying to calm down. She heard as someone stopped near the door and silenced. Annie squeezed the lamp harder. At that moment she heard someone knocking on her bedroom door. With a shaking hand, Annie turned the knob. She saw a doll in a torn dress with a pumpkin head standing right in front of her.
“Trick or treat?” hissed the doll.
