
I dedicate this book to my son, Elijah. Stay scary


It was a late afternoon in October. The year was 1965. Four boys who had been best friends sense they were around seven, and all who were about to turn thirteen, gathered at the old clubhouse. Elijah, the oldest of the group and his father had built it together some years back. It didn't start out as much. Just parts from an old shed that his dad had torn down and helped a friend haul off. Over the years though, it had grown into quite the hang out.


The boys had added on a lot of their own accessories. An old card table and chairs from Benny's dad's basement, including cards and poker chips. Various glass jars on the built in shelves full of their "collections", rocks, bottle caps, dice, and marbles. And Martin's jar of dead bugs. Benny, the youngest of the group by a few months was the first to speak up about plans for Halloween. The boys were discussing their age, and how maybe it was about time to stop trick or treating like a bunch of little kids.


Martin, the most intense but also smartest of the group was all for doing something different. Elijah held back a bit just hoping he wasn't going to suggest something that had to do with spiders or other bugs, or anything slimy. John, who was always the most outgoing, suggested throwing a party, but being so close to Halloween already, most parties had been already planned and Elijah wasn't sure about going to one of those. He was never really into crowds or a lot of noise.


Thats why he liked hanging out at the clubhouse so much. Just himself and a couple of good friends was all he needed. It was at that moment that Benny mentioned Rainey Street, and the so-called haunted house at the back end of it. Rainey Street literally came to an end where the big old house sat. Elijah and his friends had grown up hearing stories about that house for years. To go poking around it, especially on Halloween did not sound like a good alternate plan to trick or treating!


Martin was looking more intense than usual, his expression said exactly what he was thinking. He was going to veto this idea. John on the other hand, was all for it! He was going on about what a challenge it would be and the popularity we would all gain at school, especially with the girls! Martin said he could care less about what the kids at school thought and Elijah's feelings on that agreed with him, but not Benny! He definitely cared, sometimes too much, about what other people thought about him. Even though Elijah didn't want to go either, he also didn't want to spend Halloween without his friends.


So, in the end he caved, three to one vote, the "haunted" house on Rainey Street it is for Halloween night! Martin suggested bringing weapons of some sort for protection. Benny said he could probably swipe his dad's hunting knife and John planned to bring a pretty large heavy flashlight. One whack with that would knock anybody or anything right out! Martin was not big on weapons per say, but he did own a baseball bat. It would be the perfect thing for him to bring. Elijah was stumped on what weapon to choose.


Sure, his family owned guns, but Elijah would never touch them, let alone take one out of the house. The thought of ever having to shoot for self defense made him even more anxious. Then, he remembered, in his family's camping equipment was a can of bear spray. Like mace, it would burn anything he sprayed it on. So he decided that would be the safest thing to bring with him. All in agreement the boys continued on with the plan. No one must know ahead of time what they were doing, especially their parents!


This is where Martin took charge of planning. He decided that we could all tell our parents that they were going to an overnight Halloween party at the lake. He could make out some false invites to show their parents, and say we were just riding up there with kids from school. Most of the time it wasn't hard for the boys to do stuff. None of them had ever been in any real trouble. Elijah's parents trusted him to make good decisions, John and Martins parents were always busy and not home often, and Benny's dad never seemed to care all that much where or what Benny was doing.

Ever sense Benny's mother had passed away due to an unforeseen illness, Benny's dad had become pretty depressed. Which was understandable considering. It left Benny feeling pretty alone though. Another reason Elijah was grateful for his clubhouse and close friends. They always looked out for each other. They were never truly alone. Just thinking about that made Elijah more confident in their new plans for Halloween. As long as they were together, everything should be just fine.



The day before Halloween, Martin showed up at school with the fake invitations to the lake party for the boys to take home. Although for him and John, they were not really necessary. Both boys' parents were already planning to be out of town so they would be satisfied to know that their kids would be doing something fun with their classmates. Elijah brought his home to his parents, and after the usual questions about details, they were fine with it also. Benny said later that his dad had used his invite for a coaster for his soda pop. It wasn't really readable after that, but he still gave an okay on it.


The boys had also made a pact not to tell anyone at school their plan either, just in case anyone wanted to tag along. John had no plans to give away any more bragging rights. Benny had even gone to the penny store and bought up a bunch of candy! Even though they were "to old" for trick or treating, there was no use on missing out on the candy. Elijah had a bag for all their weapons of protection, and Martin had a lantern. There was no telling how long, or what they would find at the Rainey Street house.


The house itself was built in 1889. In 1923 there was a fire at the backside of the house, that may have started in the barn that had once been behind it. No one ever found out for sure. A mother and small child had perished in the fire. The father, who was a farmer, and owner of the house barley survived. He lived on alone until his death sometime in the 1950's. The house has stood empty ever sense. Thats when the rumors started. Sightings of the family at the house have been reported as long as the boys could remember. Even their own parents had talked about it before.


Halloween arrived on a crisp cool day, with a clear sky. The moon should be nice and bright, thought Elijah while he was waiting for his friends at the clubhouse. They planned on heading over to Rainey St. just before dark. Elijah felt pretty anxious, a feeling that he'd had pretty much all day. That feeling was quickly quelled at Martins arrival. Or at least who he assumed was Martin. He had all the right clothes on, plus a Halloween mask. He pulled it off and it was Martin for sure. He had three more masks in his hand.


He went on to explain to Elijah that the one thing they did not think of in their plans, was how not to "stand out" to anyone while traveling over to the other side of town. The friends could always count on Martin for smart ideas. The rest of them showed up one by one and after everyone picked their masks, and double checked their supplies, they left the clubhouse and started their trek across town.
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I dedicate this book to my son, Elijah. Stay scary


It was a late afternoon in October. The year was 1965. Four boys who had been best friends sense they were around seven, and all who were about to turn thirteen, gathered at the old clubhouse. Elijah, the oldest of the group and his father had built it together some years back. It didn't start out as much. Just parts from an old shed that his dad had torn down and helped a friend haul off. Over the years though, it had grown into quite the hang out.


The boys had added on a lot of their own accessories. An old card table and chairs from Benny's dad's basement, including cards and poker chips. Various glass jars on the built in shelves full of their "collections", rocks, bottle caps, dice, and marbles. And Martin's jar of dead bugs. Benny, the youngest of the group by a few months was the first to speak up about plans for Halloween. The boys were discussing their age, and how maybe it was about time to stop trick or treating like a bunch of little kids.
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