It’s a story they told when I was young. It’s probably just something older kids said to scare their younger brothers and sisters, but who knows?

Many Halloweens ago, a group of children was out trick-or-treating. There were about six of them. This was back when kids could go out on their own, without supervision.

The group had gone to all the normal places when they decided to try a new block. They entered a dark street they weren’t familiar with, with low-hanging trees, few street lights and stiff, imposing houses three stories high.