Crimson lights flickered along twisted strands, causing the tall tree to resemble a creature with blinking red eyes. Ghoulish garland snaked across countertops, cluttered with holiday cheer. The fireplace roared with hellish flames. Stockings hung limp, like fresh corpses from the gallows.
Aghast, I turned to my wife, shrieking, “No! What did you do?” My voice drowned beneath carols blaring from stereo speakers.
Cobwebs had been replaced with tinsel… Skeletons exchanged for elves… Jack-o’-lanterns ousted for Santa’s eerie visage!
“Halloween’s finally over,” said my wife, sipping cocoa through a peppermint straw.
I moaned. “But Christmas already…? It’s only November first!”
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="To Cleave the Crone by E.M. McCormack"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="They Only See Me When I Cry by Alara Rogers"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="The Last Leprechaun by Dakria"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Sitting on Aine's Cursed Stone by Crystal N. Ramos"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>