The Misshapen 🎃

Have you ever heard a horror story? Not just any story. One of those stories where you're not sure how it happened. Not the typical horror stories your grandparents used to tell. Not those... A story that will freeze your blood, one of those you can't forget. One where the one who tells it wasn't because he read it on the internet or heard it somewhere. Something lived by its narrator and that would leave a deep imprint in your mind. This is the story of "The Misshapen". This is my story.

A few years ago, between 2018 and 2019. In the middle of Halloween, a big party was planned in my city "Trick or treat". Venezuela does not usually celebrate this date as in other countries. However, there are those who, out of eagerness dress up and have a good time. They take Halloween as an ideal time to organize a party, have fun and laugh while wearing elaborate costumes. Rebeca, Eduardo, and I were very nervous, as it would be the first time we would be attending one of these parties. With just hours to go before the opening of the "Trick or Treat", we got our costumes ready and prepared. "How do I look?" Rebeca exclaimed, who looked like Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. "Wow! You look really beautiful" I exclaimed. There was a knock on my door and it was my friend Eduardo who was wearing ripped rags covered in fake blood all over. "Grrrrraaa!" Eduardo says grunting. "Geez, what happened to you," I say in a laughing tone "You look like you got hit by a car". "Very funny," He says in a sarcastic tone. She had an elaborate Zombie costume on, just like in one of her shows. "Ivy, what are you going to wear?" my friend Rebeca asks me. Which I run to the bathroom and come out with my Wonder Woman costume, my favorite heroine. Wooo, great, she looks great! my friends exclaim.

We went to the kitchen and prepared some sandwiches while I heard my mom talking to someone at the door. Who was Mom? I asked her, she answered that it was a man looking for his son, he had been missing for 2 days. "I hope he finds him soon" Eduardo added. We left the house at 6:45 pm because we were very nervous and excited. The party would be at 6:00 pm, but being early is boring. It would be at the Círculo Militar, very far from my house. We took a cab there. We started a brief conversation with our cab driver who was an older man, between 70 and 80 years old. "Are you guys going to the "Trick or treat" party?" he asks us "Of course" replies my friend Rebeca. The gentleman laughs and says "You're right, Miss, can I give you some advice? "Sure" replies my friend. "Don't go so late, it will be Halloween and I've lived long enough to tell you that it's not a good idea." Eduardo was getting ready to say something, at which point I interrupt and say "We'll keep that in mind". Once we get to the place we say goodbye to that nice man and as he leaves Eduardo says "He just wants to scare us", "It doesn't matter if that's what he wants or not, he's kind of right" I say to my friend.

The night went well and we even found some of our friends at the party. Everything was going great, the music, the social interaction, there were even games going on with the theme. While at one point around 10 pm I noticed something. "Eduardo, have you seen Rebeca?" he tells me he hasn't seen her for 30 min. We started looking for her, as it was a lot of people and us 7 people. "Ah, there she is!". While I was talking to a handsome guy, with light eyes disguised as a gentleman. He introduced us to his new friend and I could see the chemistry between the two of them. As the night wore on 11:30 pm the party was slacking as it was running out of people, but I wasn't surprised. The party was good though. The strange thing started when we noticed that those who said it was going to last until dawn had left without saying goodbye. Carlos and Rosa were not the types of people who would leave without saying goodbye and when we saw the reduced group of people remaining we thought "It's ok, they were tired". Eduardo, Rebeca, Rebeca's new friend, 2 more friends and myself remained in the place.

At around midnight the moon had a reddish color, As I looked around I notice that despite how cool everything was, there were fewer and less people left and it was an incredibly cold night, even I started to get a bit suggestible. "Who's yelling?" exclaimed Eduardo, as he runs out to one of the warehouses inside the place. "Wait where are you going?" says Rebeca, as we get to the warehouse we are approached by a military man with a strange appearance, he had a blank stare and was talking funny "Do you need anything?" he asked. That was enough to give me goosebumps. "Let's go," I say to my friends, "And where's your friend Rebeca?" I said to my friend, quizzical, as she wasn't there. "He said he would go to the bathroom when he comes back we'll go, ok?" a little nervous about the appearance of the Guard. At that moment I notice that there are fewer and less people. "This party is dead," says Andrea. Although it was very strange, because of all the people there were at the beginning, the publicity that was given, and the entertainment, Already by 12:52 am there were only 20 people and my friends. The vendors were gone, and although the tents were still open, there was no more music, not even the security personnel. Ricardo and Andrea moved a little away from the group, while in my curiosity I approach the stage. "Pssst, girl." Rebeca's friend was under the stairs. "What are you doing there?" "Eduardo was Right, there is something strange in that warehouse," He tells me. I was a little scared, I told him that maybe there was nothing, It was a suggestion for Halloween. "No, actually something is whispering in there and there was a knock on the door earlier." What do you think it is? I asked, "What if they kidnapped someone?". Nervously I said, "Let's look for the others." Well, I wouldn't go with a stranger to a bodega. On the way, I realized as he was walking ahead of me and asked him, "How do you know Eduardo was saying something about that place if you weren't there?

At that moment the boy turned his head like an owl with a very long sideways smile and teeth like saws, his 2 eyes on one side, and whispered "I know everything". That left my legs shaking, I let out a scream and started to run. While that specter was chasing me like a dog and on my back. Along the way, I was taking everything I could find, tripods, chairs, everything I could throw on the ground to cut him off. I feared for my life as it ran and dodged everything in its path. I got to my friends and shouted: "RUN, WE HAVE TO GO". What's wrong Ivy? My friends asked me, "Calm down, you look like you've seen a ghost". I looked at Rebecca "Your friend is not who he says he is". My words wouldn't come out, my heart was racing. Eduardo thinking that boy tried to do something to me said "I'm going to hit him". "Don't GO" I shouted, "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE". At that moment the gate of the place closed, and my frustration was growing more and more every second. Andrea who was in front of the stage said, "What exactly did you see? And while I was trying to explain something to her, she dragged her under it. We all started to run, while that thing was screaming or growling.

Then, we arrived at one of the kiosks and closed it. Rebeca and I were crying while Ricardo and Eduardo were discussing what we could do while trying to digest what we had seen, it was 2 am. We stayed in that place for another hour. 3 am until we decided to leave, we were the only people in the place. The guys concluded that we could go out the back since that was where they kept the crates of beer. The idea was to jump over the wall and get to the back street. With the plan in mind, we carefully moved through the kiosks to get to the back of the stage. We walked as fast as we could and on the way, the screams of our friends coming from the cellar alerted us "HELP, GET US OUT OF HERE". "They're alive!" exclaimed Ricardo, as he ran out into the bodega. "Ricardo No!". We went after him, and as we reached the door we heard Andrea and the others asking for help. Eduardo and Ricardo forced the door with a rope and when we entered we saw the most grotesque thing we had ever seen. Many people "melted", with traces of their skin detached by a viscous and corrosive liquid. Ricardo ran in shouting Andrea's name, "Over here" his voice calm and subdued. "Andrea, I'm sorry", As he hugged her, she embraces him laying her face on his shoulder. "Let's get out of here" Only to see when this one raises her face a twisted deformed face, with a terrified expression on it. She grabs Ricardo and vomits acid all over his face as he screams. "LET'S RUN!" I exclaimed, only to reach behind the pallet and jump over the wall. We ran 3 blocks to the avenue.

We called the cab driver to come and pick us up. It was quiet on the way. How was the party, guys? says the cab driver. No one answered cold and scared thinking about everything we saw inside. You saw it, didn't you, what? We exclaimed. The "Misshapen"? We looked at each other. It turns out that every 50 years on the eve of Halloween something happens there. A long time ago, in 1576, 7 years after the city was founded, a peasant woman who practiced witchcraft was constantly assaulted by criminals and guards. One day one of her cows was killed. Her husband decided to stand guard for 4 days and when the criminals showed up they ambushed him and killed him by shooting him in the face. The grieved peasant woman began to create a scarecrow using her husband's body as a figure to keep him always present and remind him that he would always be there, accused of witchcraft and black magic, she was imprisoned. She lasted 50 years in prison, but managed to escape because she knew what her destiny would be, she returned to her farm, already devastated by time. No cattle, no crops, nothing. His uncontrollable rage fell on the only thing still standing, his scarecrow, and he cursed his land so that every one after his departure would succumb to his anger for what he had lost. We were silent and he smiled at us, "Well, here we are." Says the cab driver. "Eduardo, Rebeca, are you staying here today?", "Sure" they answer me. I turn and see him say goodbye "Trick or treat! Smiling" while his tired face lacked a nose.