vanillalime

Despite a general dislike for horror movies, I LOVE the original Halloween (1978) movie. (I think it helps that I've watched it so many times now, I know every scene practically frame-by-frame and it no longer scares me. Well, it still scares me, but in a good way, not a traumatic way, if that makes sense.) It's without a doubt in my Top 10 list of all-time favorite movies. It's simply a masterpiece in filmmaking--the pacing, the camera work, and OMG the MUSIC. John Carpenter is a genius, and it's remarkable what he accomplished, especially considering the budget. One scene in particular always has an impact on me (as explained in my end note), and for this year's third and final Spook Me story, I decided to pay tribute to it.


Title: The House Next Door
Main Characters: Unnamed Canon Characters, Laurie Strode, Michael Myers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,526
Creature Prompt: Boogeyman
Summary: When Laurie Strode came to their house, begging for help, they should've just opened the door.
Notes: Written for the 2021 Spook Me Mult-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3 and Livejournal. The artwork prompt used for the story is included at the end. Additional inspiration for this story is explained in the end note.

This story is based entirely on a short scene in the original Halloween (1978) movie, where Laurie cries for a neighbor's help and is ignored. The neighbor is unnamed in the movie, so I've made one up for ease in storytelling.

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Halloween Night, 1978

It had been a long day, and Mary Castle was exhausted. The kids had wanted to trick-or-treat until their bags were full, and it felt like they'd visited every house within a half-mile radius of their own. She curled up on the living room couch to watch a bit of television before bed, and then promptly dozed off…

Until the sound of terrified screaming roused her from her sleep.

( The House Next Door )