Spectral Shenanigans

>The clock strikes seven times as a man sits in his lounge.
>As he watches TV near the comfort of his fireplace, he checks his phone.
>A text from his wife, telling him that she's picking up the costumes for the party they'll be attending tonight!
>He texts back the affirmative, before continuing his viewing of the program.
>His favorite talk show was having their annual Halloween episode, and the hosts were carving Jack-o-Lanterns in a variety of designs.
>As he watched, a noise rang out through the house. A knock at the door?
>He checked his phone again, and saw it had been around ten minutes since he had received that text.
>Not outside of the realm of possibility that his lover had already gotten the costumes, he supposed, but pretty fast.
>Maybe a trick-or-treater, he thought as he got up to go check. The porch light was off, but kids these days are pretty hard-headed, so it was still possible.
>Grabbing the bowl of bite-sized candies from the kitchen counter on his way, the man opened the door to the sound of...
>Nothing? He looked around as the cold autumn breeze grazed his body.
>No car in the driveway, no kids at his doorstep. Hell, the only people he could see were down the block, heading out of their own house to start their night of candy hunting.
>He closed the door with confusion, setting the candy bowl down on the table near the entryway before returning to the lounge.
>Sitting down in his chair, he turned back to the television.
>Noticing that he could no longer hear it, he grabbed the remote and pushed up on the volume selector.
>As he did so, the TV turned off. Frustrated, he looked down at the remote, and smacked it a few times before pressing power.
>No dice. Setting it down, he got up to turn on the TV manually, and as he did so, a thud came from the ground near the fireplace.
>Looking over, he noticed a volume of his wife's manga collection had fallen onto the floor neatly.
>Turning his attention to the bookshelf, he saw nothing that could've caused it.
>Suddenly, the doors to the lounge slammed shut, and all light sources that weren't the fireplace went out.
>He began to panic as book after book fell off of the shelf, running toward the door nearest him.
>Grasping the handle, he pulled as hard as he could, but it wouldn't budge.
>Looking back, he noticed one book remaining off of the floor. However, this one was floating in the air above the fireplace, its pages slowly turning as though it were being read.
>"M-m-m..." His voice stammered, trying to call for his wife as he desperately turned back to the door and yanked on the handle.
"Hey, buddy."
>A hand grasped the man's shoulder, and he turned around.
"You look pale. You seen a ghost or somethin'?" The ghastly green man in front of him asked.
>"M-M-MIKU!" He shouted out, finally pulling the door open and bolting from the room.

>Laughing with Natsuki as you nestled together in the former denizen's chair, you read on in the manga she selected.
>"That guy has gotta have connections. This volume isn't supposed to be out until next month!" She exclaimed.
"Shit, I wouldn't doubt it. This house is really nice, they've probably got a ton of cash." You responded, turning on the TV again for background noise, switching it to some cartoon movie of a witch godmother.
>Absentmindedly, she looked up to the TV.
>"Wait, is it that time already?"
"Huh?"
>"Halloween, you dork." Her voice lowered to a melancholic tone. "We used to love it, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we did. The costumes..."
>"The movies..."
"Handing out candy." You reminisced solemnly with her.
>"Yeah..." She sniffled under your arm.
>Looking down to her, you pulled her close.
"Hey, why don't we do that this year?"
>She looked up to you, confused.
>"Because... we're dead?"
"Well, yeah, but check this out."
>Putting your hand out, you picked up her book and lifted it slightly higher.
"Fine enough to give out candy, right?"
>"True."
"And that guy left this place unattended. When we blew in I saw that candy bowl he had, he was all set! So why don't we just take his place?"
>"Well... okay, yeah. That does sound pretty good." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Okay, let's do it!" She beamed.

>"Go on, honey! It's okay, they're just wearing costumes, like you!" The woman urged her daughter forward towards you and Natsuki.
>"Yeah, it's just a fancy costume!" Natsuki responded, slightly shakily.
>The girl, dressed as a top-hatted time traveler, nervously stepped in front of you and held out her bag.
>"Trick-or treat...!" She half mumbled, half yelled.
"Here you are!" You smiled as you reached into the bowl, retrieving a king-sized pack of Reese's Cups and depositing them in the girl's bag.
>"Wow... thank you, mister and miss! Happy Halloween!" She excitedly said, hurrying back to her mom.
>"Thank you both; oh, and nice costumes. How'd you make it so that we can see through you?" Her mother asked.
"Uh..."
>"Cameras on our backs, and we're actually wearing a bunch of flexible screens that show you what they see with a green tint." Natsuki responded.
>"Woah, that's pretty neat. Anyway, happy Halloween!" She said, walking slowly with her kid down the walkway back towards the street.
"Good thinking." You say, nudging Natsuki.
>"Thanks." She flashed a smile at you, before looking down to the candy bowl. "Oh, shoot. Looks like this is our last one." She retrieved a Kit-Kat.
"Damn." You eyed it over. How long had it been, you wondered, since you last tasted something? "Hey, wanna try splitting it?"
>She looked at you wide-eyed, then to the treat, then back to you. "Sure, I guess. Couldn't hurt to try."
>Opening the wrapper, you broke half of the Kit-Kat off for her, and half for yourself.
>Raising it up and giving a 'cheers,' you put effort into materializing your teeth and tongue as you chomped into the bar.
>"Ooh, that's sweet!" Natsuki exclaimed, quickly munching down the rest of her first bar and moving onto the second.
https://i.imgur.com/Zyc23T0.png
"Not as sweet as you, dear." You dryly said, swallowing your first bite. But she was right; it tasted really, really good.
>She bumped into you with her shoulder, and as she did, the bits of candy fell out of both of your bodies and onto the porch underneath you.
>Laughing once more together, you pulled her close.
"Hey, Nat?"
>"Yes, Anon?"
"Happy Halloween, sweetie."
>"Same to you."
>You embraced, the cool autumn breeze blowing through your cold ethereal forms as you sat on the porch.
>"Hey, you wanna do a little bit more haunting before we move on for the night?" She spoke up, poking you in the chest.
"Sure, what do you got in mind?"
>"I mean, it's been so long since we've had a nice rest, and..."
>You looked down at her, a small darkening appearing on those minty-cheeks.
"I think I get what you mean." You scoffed, before rising to your feet and pulling her up into a princess carry, making your way into the house.

>"Listen, honey, I know what I saw in there!" The man spoke in the dead of night as his blue-haired wife walked toward their home from their car.
>"Dear, I'm not going to let some 'ghost' kick us out of our home. Especially when I'm so tired." She spoke, unlocking the door.
>"Once you see the lounge, you'll understand. I'm sure of it." He nodded, following her inside.
>Making their way through the house, they reached the lounge, the only thing separating them from his grim visions being a door.
>The idol reached toward the knob, and pulled the door open plainly, revealing...
>Nothing. The place was spotless; the fireplace put out, the books neatly arranged on the shelves, and the TV still playing on the channel he left it on.
>"But... how?" He asked.
>"Hmm..." Miku hummed, walking into the room and picking up the bowl from the table, retrieving the empty Kit-Kat wrapper. "Did you make that all up just to cover up eating all of our candy?"
>"N-no, I would never!" He defended.
>She set the bowl down and hugged him. "It's really not that big of a deal, we can just get more. It'll even be on sale, you can go get it tomorrow."
>"Honey, please believe me." He pleaded as he returned the hug.
>She agreed that she believed him, and the two got ready for bed as normal. She made it first while he finished brushing his teeth, and climbed underneath the covers.
>"Dear?" She called out.
>"Mmph?" He responded, leaning out of the bathroom with a mouth full of toothpaste.
>"Why is the bed damp?"