All I want for Halloween is...London, 2015

In a little house, a little girl was singing:“This is Halloween, this is Halloween!Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!Come with us and you will seeThis our town of Halloween”1

“Stop singing this stupid song, you idiot! It has no connection with Halloween!” her father said.

Sam Peter Cole, also called Doctor S (for strange or just Sam), was really irritated by what Halloween had become. When a child, his whole family used to respect Halloween. They were fond of death and paranormal, and this passion had been kept by Doctor S. He had tried in vain to teach it to Leila, his daughter.

He was trying again to explain to her how important Halloween was, when the bell rang. He opened the door, and saw two little boys. One was dressed up as a pirate, and the other one as a mummy.

“Trick or treat!” the children said.“How did you manage to look so much like a mummy?” Sam asked.“My mother asked me to use some toilet paper.” the child replied.“And you, why do you wear pirate's clothes?” Sam asked.“My mother finds it beautiful and your neighbour told me I was cute.” the other one

retorted.“Do you know what Halloween is? It's death's day. It's fear day. You can't scare me because

you are cute. So I won't give you candies, dear. In any case, I haven't got any candies anymore.” Sam said, then he slammed the door, letting two poor children cry in front of his house.

The following day, Sam woke up. It was 5 a.m. He ate cereals with milk. Then he brushed mechanically his teeth, had a cold shower and dressed up. Finally he went out and walked to the huge building at the bottom of the street called the SPC: it was the Seriously Paranormal Centre, led by Sam Peter Cole. He was opening the door when a young woman came and caught him by the arm.

She was pale-skinned, with black hair. Her eyes were green with red stripes. When Sam saw her eyes, he concluded that she certainly had not slept well. She had a little nose. Her mouth was painted red, and through her horrified face, he could see a little grimace, nearly imperceptible. She was wearing a white torn shirt, and dark grey dirty trousers.

He was so surprised by this woman that he couldn't utter a word. She pulled him silently to a car and she started driving.

“What are you doing, you b...bad girl?” Sam asked, terrified.“It is unnecessary that you should be violent. I just need your help. Only you can help me to

solve my problem.” the mysterious woman answered.“Only me... What kind of problem?” Sam asked“Some strange events happened yesterday.”“Go on!”“If I tell you now, you won't trust me.”“Where are we going?”“We go to my house, in the countryside.”

1 Chorus of the song “This is Halloween” from Danny Elfman, written for Tim Burton's film: “The Nightmare before Christmas”

Sam, who was now Doctor Strange, was really afraid of what could happen. They arrived an hour later. On seeing a big dilapidated house, he felt panting.

“I cannot be afraid...it's impossible...it's just a house...there is nothing.”“Now go into the house. Its first owner was a mad man. Before going out the house, he left

letters. You will see them. Please help us...”“Us? How many people are there in this house?”He turned his head and realized he was alone. He called, called again and again, without any

answer. He tried to go out but he couldn't find the door handle. So he walked, shaking, on a practically non-existent floor, because of the darkness. He was terrified, but determined.

“I must find the secret of this house, should I sacrifice myself.”You're right.A childish voice was resonating in his head.Hello, Sam.“How do you know me? H...How do you know my name? Who...Who...Who are you?”I...I...I am your worst nightmareIt was laughing at Sam.Just try not to be stressed. Relax! Just concentrate before dying. No sooner had the thing pronounced the word dying than the room lit up. Thus Sam

discovered he was walking on a woman: the one who had asked him for some help a few minutes before. Then he saw a girl, crucified, whose blood was pouring.

“No...Not her!”

The SPC was just a little district of a huge secret association, even if it was one of the most important part. D was at the head of it. Everybody called him D. Nobody knew his name. Nobody actually saw him. D was nobody. D was just a voice. Indeed, his voice was hidden under a vocoder with the utmost caution.

But now D had a big problem. A very important one. One of his most important agents had disappeared. He knew it: he knew everything. But he didn’t know why, why he had disappeared. He had no mission. And even if he had one, he would have told him. He tried to keep calm. He had to concentrate. Now he would have to show his face, his body, so as to solve this mystery. He knew, he was sure, he was persuaded that it wasn't a human being who was responsible for it. He had to fight something he didn't know. He tried to convince himself ghosts didn't exist. Anyway, he was in a right mess.

“Dad, come here, please. Help me...” Leila shouted.Sam ran towards his daughter.“It's inside you.” she told her father.“What?” he asked.“The key... you have it...”“Which one?” Sam asked, getting more and more stressed.“Uh oh...”“What?”“You aren't relaxed...”“What is the connect...”Doctor S felt literally out of control. Against his own will, he took his keys from his pocket

and pierced his daughter, who sang “This is Halloween! Halloween...”. When he finally got a grip on himself, her daughter said:

“Oops, you murdered me...”Then she expired with a piercing high-pitched scream.He tried to remember and analyze what his daughter had said. He had the key? Now he was

imprisoned in a dark huge room, whose floor was covered with a red viscous pond. He thought:

“I have the key... so I can go out. I just have to keep calm...just keep calm...aaaah!”

D decided to stop hiding. He knew he had to be seen. But it didn't really disturb him: nobody knew what he looked like. His only fear was to know what he would have to confront, and which type of person or...which type of thing.

He was at home today. He decided to wear jeans and a T-shirt, with trainers. Then he went out of the house and decided to go to Sam's. He was going to use his pass to go into the house (he had a pass to go into each agent's house), when he saw a girl running towards him. The pale skin of this girl didn't inspire any confidence in him. When the girl came near him, he caught her arm and put it behind her. Then he asked her:

“What the hell did you want to do?”“I just wanted to help you...to find your friend.” she responded.“How do you know?”“It knows everything, it asked me to find you.”“What?”D was getting anxious for the first time. He had already fought worse people. However, he

wasn't sure it was a person. He tried to concentrate on what he was aiming at:“Where is my friend?” he asked.“Just look at the TV.” she answered“Which T...what? How did you...”He wasn't in the street anymore, but in a strange dark blue room. There was a little screen in

front of him. He saw on television somebody swimming in a blood-red water while shouting. D recognized the man.

“Sam, who did that?” he said, anxious.Sam said: “Leila...just calm keep...oh Leila, sorry Lilly!”. Then he laughed. D was going to

fall down when the screen blurred. He tried to look at the girl who brought him to that place, in vain: she had disappeared.

Do you know what happened to your friend? These are my deeds. I control him. If you don't want to be mine, just surrender and let me be your little friend. You have two minutes to decide.

“Just tell me who you are.”I am...

Sam was quite calm now. He didn't want to live the hell he had lived minutes before. The less calm he was, the crazier he became. He became crazy because he didn't want to be the monster, the one who had a voice. The voice which made him lose his mind. He always heard this voice.

Let me go inside you. I need you.He couldn't resist: he would become mad again, maybe he would die. He wanted to stay

alive. He had to stay alive. He had to let the thing go inside him, and take control. He wasn't strong enough to fight. He screamed:

“I ‘m waiting for you, darkness!”Oh! you gave me a nickname, so cute! So you don't resist anymore? I thought an expert in

paranormal would fight. But I'm too strong for you, ain’t I? But that's OK. Now your mind is mine. Just let it go...

D was becoming angrier and angrier:“Who are you? Tell me now. I won't leave if you don't tell me who you are.”I am...your worst nightmare, all you fear, especially ghosts. You know, we are alike. We

have never been seen by anybody. We are both voices. But our difference is that I don't feel anything...well, for the moment. Oh, time is over. So I can now get all I wish. I'm happy to be in you...

Sam felt good. He felt the power inside. But he knew he wouldn't be alone in his mind anymore. He felt the presence of the voice and it was nearly a source of comfort for him. But he felt tired now. He felt it was taking control. He wasn't the master anymore. He saw himself writing “YOU HAVE IT”. Then he saw a door with somebody behind, but everything was blurred. Then he felt he couldn't resist anymore...

...myself, Sam Peter Cole, but you can call me Monlit Sam Terry. I rather like being called Mon. S. Ter.

D knew he wouldn't go out. Sam was approaching him. D had always feared Sam, because of his knowledge in paranormal. But now he feared him more than ever. So he decided to kill the monster, even if he was sure he would die. He ran towards Sam, and got a strong and powerful punch. But while falling, he kicked his opponent's kneecap. The monster fell down. D was on the ground too. He couldn't move. He heard the monster's voice:

You are very strong: you killed the body I loved... I'll give you a gift: what do you want?“I wish...nothing had happened.” D said.The he felt like dying.

D woke up on his desk, in his office. Somebody knocked on the door.“You can talk.” he said.“Hello, D, it's Sam. Have you got a mission for me?”“Yes, I've got a mission we could do together.” D answered with a happy feeling.Sam laughed.I think it will be great.