Spectral Night

The ringing of the doorbell brought a smile to your lips. It was only a little past five in the afternoon, still light outside, but it seemed that the first of the night's Trick-or-Treaters had arrived.

Leaving the comfort of your warm living room behind, you trudged towards the door of your first floor apartment, bypassing the front window of the house. The tree out front had already shed some of its red-orange leaves, only adding to the cold, spooky ambience of the night. A few Halloween decorations were strewn about the lawn, some plastic headstones, a skeleton stung up from the tree, fake spiderwebs on the railings and overhang of the front porch, and of course the obligatory jack-o-lanterns you had prepared a few nights before. Nothing glamorous, it certainly was no haunted house, but you hoped the effort would still be appreciated tonight.

Grabbing the bowl of candy that you had left earlier in the hallway, you opened the front door to a beaming, happy family, all dressed up together. The husband was bravely sporting a sort of Greek toga and light armour despite the cold of the fall season, and his Holstaur wife was dressed up similarly, much like a ancient princess or priestess, the only difference being that a small baby was swaddled up against her, held above her obviously pregnant tummy.

Another figure, too, was sporting a Greco-Roman Halloween costume, dressed up much like her father complete with toga, sword, shield, and golden helmet. "Trick or treat!" She proudly exclaimed, holding her bag out towards you, having already collected quite the haul of goods.

"So a big group theme, eh?" You asked in effort to strike up a friendly conversation, fishing out a few pieces of candy for the young Holsataur girl, her cow-like tail flicking eagerly as she eyed the chocolate.

"Yeah! Me and Dad are legendary heroes, and Mama is dressed up like a goddess!"

The motherly Holstaur sighed happily at her daughter's compliment, patting her head as the girl clutched her "riches" against her chest, guarding her newfound, sugary treasure. "Leonore here really loves old myths and stories, and she wanted us all to go out together dressed up like characters from one of her favourites."

"Mhmm! We're like the hero who slayed the Minotaur and saved all of Greece! And Mama is our goddess that we're protecting!"

You chuckled along with the family, the father stepping back down the steps of the porch to lead the way. "Thanks a bunch," he said with a wave, taking his wife's hand to help her down the stairs. "I'm sure you'll have a busy night."

"Of course, stay warm you guys!" You replied as the family strode away, the young Holstaur "hero" charging off towards the house of your neighbour, plastic sword and bag of candy in hand.

It sure would be a long night, but you were looking forward to it.

----

Another ringing of the doorbell came a little while later, rousing you from where you sat in front of the television and prompting you towards the front door. The sun had begun to set a little while ago, but a warm, orange glow still illuminated both the house and the street, Halloween night having begun in its earnest.

"Trick or treat!"

This time a different group greeted you. Three slightly older girls, no more than nine or ten, stood holding their trick-or-treat bags out, all dressed up in their costumes as expected. With eye flames flickering and crackling, the young Hellhound beamed up at you whilst dressed up in a borderline-stereotypical outfit, with Devil horns, a tattered, bright red outfit, and a three-pointed pitchfork. If anything, she got bonus points for sticking to something that truly suited her well.

Beside her was a much shorter Ratatoskr, whose costume was moderately ill-fitting, but still well put together. A Victorian-era detective, not much unlike that of the classic Sherlock Holmes, complete with a detective's cap, a (hopefully) fake pipe, magnifying glass, and of course the woolly, chequered coat and scarf.

The last of the trio was a Kikimora, also holding out her bag for candy. Dressed up like a princess, her plastic tiara glimmered in the light of the porch light, fluffy wrist feathers poking out from the sleeves of the costume.

Both the Kikimora and the Ratatoskr gave a bright "Thank you!" as you gave them the candy they so desired, and while the Hellhound's "Awesome! These are my favourite!" was a little less polite compared to her friends, you knew that she was more than happy with what had given her.

As they turned away and shuffled down the stairs, you gave a wave to the supervising Kikimora mother and silently prayed that the Hellhound girl's eyeflames didn't light your fake cobwebs on fire.

Before that group had reached the end of the driveway, however, another duo began making their way up towards your door, one of the kids dragging the other behind them. The leader was a young Wight, dressed up to the nines in an exorbitantly fancy (and you presumed expensive) dress and tiara, putting the previous Kikimora's store-bought costume to shame. If you knew anything about this species of monster girl, you had to presume that her tiara was in fact decorated with real, valuable gems, and her dress was made from legitimate silk and painstaking embroidery.

Her less-enthusiastic partner was an emotionless Lich, wearing a tattered, hooded black cloak and holding both her candy basket and a plastic scythe in her other hand. Well, you hoped that scythe was plastic.

"Trick or treat! Trick of treat!" The Wight exclaimed happily and loudly, jumping up and down while encouraging her undead friend to do the same. Another, considerably more monotone "Trick or treat..." followed, the Lich stiffly holding out her plastic basket towards you, her purple eyes staring right through yours.

"You guys look really great!" You complimented them, fishing out a few choice candies to give the two girls. "I can tell you put a lot of effort into your costumes!"

That, combined with the sight of a full-sized chocolate bar being placed in her basket, was enough to make the young Lich crack a small, cute smile, her Wight friend gasping at your generosity. "Thank you mister!" She exclaimed, giving you a small, but impeccable curtsey with her fancy dress.

And off they went, the Wight dragging her friend off yet again by the hand towards the next house, down the stairs and cutting through your lawn, stirring up the dead leaves scattered on the ground. A chuckle came to you as the woman who was obviously the Wight's mother came running past on the sidewalk, having hiked up her own fancy dress to run after her daughter while crying out "Brunhilda! Stop running!" A despondent and considerably less worried Lich mother came strolling along after her, giving you a nod, chewing on a small candy bar you assumed she had liberated from her daughter's haul.

----

"Have a good night, you guys!" You called out towards the large group happily trotting away from you, the five respective bags of the young Trick-or-Treating lamia, Wonderland dragon, two desert wolves, and beholder each now full with candy, including a full-sized candy bar of their choice. Your supplies were dwindling, however, there were no more refills available for your candy bowl, and those full-sized chocolates were running dangerously low now. Maybe you should've bought a box or two more.

It was a bit later now, the sun had set and the temperature had dropped, and so you warmed your hands by blowing into them as the next group walked up the driveway, stepping into the light of the front porch.

"Trick or treat!"

Your eyes squinted, looking incredulously at the trio now mounting your steps. A Succubus, a Cheshire Cat, and a Manticore, but each of the three were well past their trick-or-treating years, probably around in their late-teens. Despite this, they expectantly held out their bags to ask for your candy, their "costumes" not much more than oversized hoodies for the Succubus and Cheshire, and a rather bold crop-top and leggings for the Manticore.

"Sorry girls, I've only got a bit of candy left and I want to give it to actual kids." You attempted to dissuade them, crossing your arms. Normally you wouldn't really mind all too much, but you figured it would feel pretty crappy to turn away young child on Halloween since you had given too much candy to a bunch of teenagers.

"Aw come on, mister~!" The Succubus chided, her shoulders dropping as the other two teenagers sighed. "Even just a piece each, don't be such a Scrooge!"

Shaking your head, you stepped back into the doorframe and slightly closed the door. "One, 'Scrooge' is for Christmas, and two, you girls aren't even dressed up at all. I'm low on candy as it is, and I don't-"

A sudden poof of smoke where the Cheshire was standing interrupted you, the two other teens stepping back off the porch with giggle. "Wrong answer, mister!"

"What the fu-"

You were suddenly pushed to the side and out of the doorframe by someone behind you, that Cheshire Cat darting past and out of your house, following her two friends as she laughed and nyaa'd maniacally. "Get dabbed on, Scrooge!" She shouted, looking back at you with her signature grin and taunting you with said dab, cutting across the street.

The box holding the last of the large chocolate bars was gone from beside the door, the Cheshire having teleported behind you to snag it for herself before scrambling away. They were long gone by the time you realized it, you stopping your short-lived chase at the bottom of the stairs, the mischievous teenagers having ducked down a sidestreet.

"God fucking dammit."

"What a bunch of jerks!"

The sound of another voice caught your attention, your eyes snapping to what appeared to be the next trick-or-treater for the night. A small Demon, dressed up as an astronaut, was watching the teens run off with a pout, what you assumed to be her mother walking up behind her.

"Genevieve, we don't call people jerks, you know that."

"Sorry auntie Amelia," she continued to pout, looking up towards the older Demon who was actually her aunt. "They just stole all of his chocolate though!"

You sighed, doing your best to sport a smile despite the mishap. "Not all of it, thankfully. Just the last of the big candybars. I still have a bit more candy for you though!"

The young Demon let out a small cheer as you led her and her aunt back up the steps, fishing out the last of the candy from your bowl. "Here," you said, dropping the handful into her pillowcase bag. "That's the last of it, happy Halloween!"

Her deep-red eyes lit up at you giving her an entire handful of candy, a giant smile coming to the little one's lips as she jumped up and down in joy. "Thank mister! You're the best!"

And she was off like a shot, skipping down the staircase the best her astronaut suit could let her. "Don't wander too far, Genevieve!" Her aunt called out after her, still stood on your porch with her arms crossed. Her niece complied, and instead of running to the next house, took the time to inspect your decorations for the night.

"Sorry about that," the older Demon said, brushing her purple hair behind one of her pointed ears, red and black eyes focusing on you with a small frown. "Pretty crappy of them to steal your stuff."

"Nah, it's fine," you assured her, leaning against the doorframe. "Would've been nice to give your niece one of the big candybars, but I'm glad I still had something left for her."

"Me as well," Amelia replied, "It was really kind of you to give her the rest of the candy, too. You didn't have to do that."

You chuckled and again brushed her off. "Again, I don't mind at all. Though if you had dressed up as well you might've gotten some candy too!"

The Demon giggled to herself at your little flirt, looking down towards her plain outfit. "I'm pretty much dressed up as a nun, I'll have you know! Frumpy sweater and mom jeans? Borderline blasphemy for a demon!"

It was your turn to laugh at her self-deprecating humour. "Well you look wonderful in it regardless!" That wasn't a lie, either, although a little frumpy as professed, the clothes looked great on her and accentuated her rather voluptuous hourglass body type. "'Sexy nun' was a great choice!"

That caught her off guard a bit, the Demon's blue cheeks blushing as she bit her lip. "Compliments are a quick way to a woman's heart, so be careful or you may end up with more than you bargained for~!" She teased, grinning at you and following her niece down the steps. "Come on Genevieve, lets hit up a few more houses before we go back to your mom and dad's place!"

The Demon, that Amelia, shot you a wink and a small wave as she followed her niece down the driveway and onto the sidewalk, headed out together in search of more candy before the night ended.

Your own night was over now though, it seemed. With no more candy left, there wasn't much left for you to do apart from turn off the porch light and leave a note taped to your front door, one that read "Sorry, out of candy! Happy Halloween!"

----

Another ring of the doorbell roused you from nearly dozing off on the couch, fumbling to mute the television and unsteadily begin to make your way to the front door. Whoever it was had obviously missed the sign you had taped there, and besides, it was already past eleven, much too late for any trick or treating.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any-"

You cut yourself off mid-sentence as you opened the door, caught off guard by who was leaning against the doorframe, hand on a hip and a suggestive grin on their lips.

"Now that I have my costume, does that mean I get my 'treat'~?"

Amelia, having donned her outfit, teased you with her little quip, biting her lip just as she had done a few hours ago. "A sexy nun, just like you had wanted~"

An upside-down cross necklace was hanging from her neck, the rest of her outfit was as equally as unholy. High-heeled, black leather boots that continued up well over her knees, with white stockings peeking out from underneath to accentuate her plump, blueberry thighs. A skirt that wasn't much of a skirt at all, one that she was currently lifting to reveal a pair of white panties with a black cross on them. Her hefty chest puffed out towards you, hardly contained at all by her top and threatening to burst out of the sacrilegious breast-window. And of course the coif, a mix of sheer black and white and resting atop of her pointy handlebar-like horns.

"Though if you still don't have any candy, I'm sure we could figure out a 'trick' we could show each other~"

The Demon took a step forward and placed a hand on your chest, pushing you back a little into the house. "Come on, show this nun what it's like to sin~"

The door slammed closed behind her, thus truly ending your traditional Halloween night, but it seemed that another sort of trickery would continue in its stead.