The Night the Jack O'Lantern Went Out: Lord of the Garden

By Alexander S. Brown

Halloween. A holiday that inspires memories, excitement, and a little bit of fear in everyone. A single day where all the ghosts and ghoulies come out to play and sometimes its hard to tell which of the creepy crawlies are human and which ones truly rise from beyond seeking unsuspecting souls. Author Alexander S. Brown explores all the wonderfully terrifying possibilities Halloween has to offer in his Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series- THE NIGHT THE JACK O’ LANTERN WENT OUT! Each month Brown delivers a new tale of terror laced with just enough nostalgia that makes us all hope Halloween comes sooner...and stays far enough away that the monsters don’t get us!

Brown’s second tale, LORD OF THE GARDEN, recounts just what sort of sacrifice is required for success and growth sometimes when one unwittingly deals with the supernatural.

LORD OF THE GARDEN by Alexander S. Brown, a Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series from Pro Se Productions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pro Se Press
• Release date: Jul 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310681578

Book preview

LORD OF THE GARDEN

THE NIGHT THE JACK O’LANTERN WENT OUT, PART 2

By Alexander S. Brown

Copyright © 2014 Alexander S. Brown

Published by Pro Se Press at Smashwords

It started three years ago when I made a scarecrow for our garden. I don’t know why it is or how it is, but it’s alive and it craves blood - human blood. If it doesn’t get the blood it needs, the crops won’t grow, and if the crops don’t grow then we could starve. But everyone has to make sacrifices and this garden is what I have to sacrifice to.

It reminds me of ancient times, when worshipers of elder gods would sacrifice virgins for prosperity. It makes me wonder if the scarecrow, towering over our garden is a reincarnation of one of those bloodthirsty elder gods. This thought seems farfetched, especially now that we’re living in the 1940s. Even though I am southern and us southerners do like to spin tall tales, I assure you my question is true.

Three years ago, I built Buddy to keep the crows and other animals away from our crops. There was an old creosote pole we stuck in the ground with another pole hammered across it, making a T figure. We dressed Buddy in an old flannel shirt, work pants, gloves, and overalls. For his head, we took a burlap sack and sewed on buttons for eyes and a piece of red felt for a nose. Carol finished his face by stitching a mouth. He had been stuffed with straw and positioned on the creosote poles so his arms could hold him upright.

At first, my wife Carol and I were happy with the