Hello, my dark darlings. I'm Marquia, and this is the Something Scary podcast. To our veteran listeners and those voyaging into the dark with us for the first time, welcome. We couldn't let Halloween go by without giving you an extra treat. So this is our first Halloween special, and this story is inspired by Anonymous.

The house at the end of the lane was a sleepy Victorian, but an October came to life,

surrounded by brilliant jack-o' lanterns that shone their carved faces onto the sidewalk.

Mrs. Cabal's house was known for her pumpkins all around town. During the

rest of the year, you could see glorious round gourds growing and a variety of sizes from the

gardens next to her home. Some were small, most were medium or large, and there were even some

as big as a pony. By September, her pumpkins were perfectly ripe.

Most she simply sold for pies and crafts around town.

However, it was her jacko lanterns that were most popular with families.

Her creations were true pieces of art, carved with striking, spooky faces.

Jacko Lanterns lit the way down to the Halloween Harvest Festival in the field.

Everyone gathered for the biggest celebration of the year.

Dear Mrs. Cabal's pumpkins always won best of the festival.

It was one of the few times each year that Mrs. Cabal appeared. She'd proudly

appear from the solitude she preferred. Her family had been part of the founding fabric of the town

for generations. After retiring from a career as a schoolteacher, she mostly kept to herself,

especially after her husband passed. But on Halloween night, she would be celebrated for her

harvest contributions. Folks would always stop to ask her, what was her secret? And she just laugh,

telling them it's the green thumb she inherited from her grandmother, and the miracle compost recipe her family

passed down to her. Tending to the garden soil, young Nathan Barnes gagged at the smell of the

compost he had to roll with the barrel spreader onto the garden. Talking to himself loudly,

he complained and smelled like rotten eggs and like something had died. His strained, over-dramatic

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