Kandy Korn

Kandy Korn Written By: Rafael Lee Ramon III These are the last entries we received from the diary of Jack o’ Roily. The diary was recovered from his burnt home on the night of October 31st, along with his dead body. However, the Jack o’ Lantern mentioned in the diary… was not. October, 1978 I find myself sitting in the dark, rocking back and forth with no collection of thought other than blood. The way it fuels me, the way it heals and nurtures me. Sometimes when I have too much of a supply I’ll binge myself to drunken bliss. I feel like a holiday… a birthday cake, every happy thought a human could imagine. October, 1978 I find myself looking out the window, watching the children walk by, looking anxious and excited. The spicy colors of the trees reflect the sunlight, giving the town an orange hue. I step outside; it’s crisp and breezy with that October smell… latex, candy and children. Everything about this time of year makes my heart fill with Christmas merry. The little suburb that I moved into has many children, to which was splendid. October, 1978 Oak Haven was a town I researched for quite some time… It was well known for its respect to the holidays… especially Hollow’s Eve. For you see, this was a neighboring town of Salem, famous for its witch hangings back in the 17th century; which made me giggle and glee. As my last Halloween, I wanted to spend it somewhere special. The house I am living in now is very old and very rundown but it didn’t bother me because it gave it a sense of history and character. October, 1978 My joints have been aching so. I brewed a tea of garlic, japanese pepper root and ginger, for taste. I gathered some of these exotic ingredients, as well as others throughout my travels. Aah, this tea really does it for me… I need to prepare my body for my harvest. I’ll need all the strength I can get. October, 1978 There was this cat I found lost in the neighborhood when I was riding my bike home from the market. It looked sad and lonely… so I offered it some of my sliced chicken from the deli. He liked it. I wanted him to trust me… so I can take him home with me. He was real heavy when I picked him up, maybe 10-­‐13 pounds… hooray. He squirmed violently; I couldn’t align his neck and my clever just right. The little shit kept scratching my arm, my blood was staining his fur, the sleeves of my sweater helped soak up the blood. Tired, I just banged his head against the kitchen counter top and broke it. Why didn’t I think of that in the first place? After skinning and ripping his meat off the bones I began my soup; sweet potatoes, japanese pepper root, skunk cabbage, walnuts, carrots, celery, onions, a bone from the cat and herbs, one can never have too much herbs. Then when it boiled and got creamy I added the shredded meats of the cat. When I finally sat down along with my soup and an orange crème soda pop, a wave of peace speared my mind. This soup was delicious, though I intend not to brag. After dinner I sat in my living room recliner and read a Shel Silverstein, sucking on my soup bone. These were the days where you appreciated solitude. October, 1978 The tether ball on my front lawn attracted many of the children. I could watch them endlessly, hitting that ball back and forth. Sometimes I would want to go outside and play with them but I wouldn’t want their parents to worry… I don’t blame them. October, 1978 At the super market I was getting some varied ingredients for my candy brew, as well as Halloween decorations for the kids. Candy apples and candy corn are my two favorite things to serve them. My mother use to call me “Sweet Tooth” because of my furious appetite for candy, I guess that’s why my teeth are so decayed now. The cashier checking out my ingredients was very pretty… long black hair parted in the middle, milky skin and supple breasts… I wanted to light her on fire, to see if her screams were as beautiful as she was. October, 1978 Carving Jack o’ Lanterns is my favorite thing to do for the Holiday, besides making candy for the children, of course. It makes me sad to think that this will be my last pumpkin carving so I made a happy face this time; I grew tired of making the usual scary ones… This Jack o’ Lantern is going to be extra special though; it is a magical Jack o’ Lantern. I cut my veins open, my warm blood seeps down my arm, dripping into the wax for the pumpkin’s candle. I clean and stitch myself up. Mixing the candle wax, I add roots of Yew. The wax is turning a deathly red; the candle is ready to be made. The wick is made from my own hair, back when it was longer and full of life; now it could be mistaken for a cobweb. Oh how time treats you with such care… October, 1978 The air feels good against my rotting skin. The woods feel so alive this morning. I see fairies buzzing past me, bringing me a piece of mind, I see one land on my cloak; “Are you going to help me look for mushrooms?” I ask him. He clicks and chirps enthusiastically. If there was one thing that I loved doing when I was younger was harvesting ingredients for my concoctions. Mushrooms are the key ingredient for my Halloween candy. I find some growing near this rotted tree. Having my basket full of mushrooms, this particular one is called “Laughing Jim” it immediately puts me in a smiling mood because it’s orange, just perfect for this time of year. I go home and start to extract their magic which is a stressful process. But once I have the magic I could soon start making the candy for the children. This year, they’re going to be extra yummy. October, 1978 The night grows near and yet there is so much to do. And my energy is slowly fading away but hopefully, soon enough, my last night on earth will be worthwhile. I start constructing the blood gallows, building five, same as always. I always laugh at myself when I start to build them… The children always look like scarecrows when they are strung up, well to me anyway, I have yet to ask for a second opinion. Another joint ailing tea keeps me alive during this project but proudly enough, these are my best gallows yet. It seems my last Halloween is going to be something special, I feel silly, almost like a child again! October, 1978 I decided to cheat and have myself a “sneaky snack” as my mother used to call them. I chased this girl for what seemed like an hour but I finally got her. A simple slice in the carotid always does it… always. We both lied there on the cold October earth. Her blood was so moist and warm, like honey heated on the stove. I kept looking at her while sucking at her neck wound. She was lying face up, looking at the sky. Her skin was turning pale like raw chicken… I could see the veins through her skin now. October, 1978 After a few searches for the girl, and a few questions answered. I was left unsuspected; they figured an old man like me wouldn’t be able to chase and kill a young junior high school student down. They could have easily have found her if they just walked into my living room, stupid pigs. October, 1978 As I prepare my last few days, I walk into the woods carrying my Jack o’ Lantern, looking for a place to rest it. I have found the perfect spot. I have accepted the time here on this beautiful earth was coming to an end; my hour glass is at its last grains… I am becoming too weak to carry this life style. But I won’t be gone for long, no, not for long. My Jack o’ Lantern will find the purest of heart and I will come back. I’ll be damn sure. October, 1978 My old heart fills with youthful glee! I could feel my blood flow with anxiety of the good kind. Everything is in place... I can feel the full moon grip my sanity… I am ready. The kids looked so happy going from door to door… I sat inside on the second floor looking down on them, watching them get the wrapped candy apples and candy corn filled baggies. The street was dripping with Holiday and I couldn’t be any happier. With my Polaroid, I was taking photos for the children I wanted for the ritual. There was a ghost, a witch, a fairy (she was my favorite), a kid dressed like a character from the Star Wars and finally a little skeleton boy. My hands are sweating. It was 10 o’ clock and the neighborhood was empty, nothing but the dead decorations were out and the littered streets of empty candy wrappers and broken pieces of costume. I left a candle burning by the upstairs bedroom window. I saw the children come walking to my front lawn, still dreaming, their eyes heavy and half open. A lure them into the trees with the sweet melodies from my flute; we all walked deep into the woods together. One was talking in his sleep. “I can see the ghosts… they want to play… mommy, can I play with the ghosts?” he kept repeating. And I answered him with a nurturing “Yes.” The candy makes the children experience wondrous things, beautiful things… for as long as I want them to. We entered the open circle where the blood gallows stand, my little glowing bonfire in the center sparkling and crackling into the sky. I held my sacred five’s hand as I led them to the gallows, stripping them each into their undergarments and pitching them up by feet and throat, their blood flows to their necks this way. The unchosen ones surrounded and circled the gallows, running and spinning to whatever dream they were having in their innocent little minds. The moon shined its whimsical light as I stripped my robes and felt the magical Halloween wind dance with my naked body. The children started singing for me as I danced around my fire, singing my prayers. With sweet relish I slit each chosen child’s throat with my dagger as I excitedly watched their blood pour into my bucket. I never had more energy flowing through my body… my stars were aligned and the earth was responding to my enchantment. I could feel the dirt and leaves from under my feet start to caress me. I grabbed the bucket and poured their blood into my mouth gulping it like a delicious orange crème soda pop. The blood dripped off my body and onto the ground as I gorged myself with the youth’s energy. One after one, I cut them open, their little necks oozing with life. I couldn’t help myself, I tip the bucket showering my body with their gift; dancing on the bloody leaves, the fire rises with my singing and the moon blinding like the afternoon sun. All I could think of was how great and powerful I would be once I came back from the dead. Oh joy! Nox spirat mi nocte musica! Suscipe me, Domine! Paratus sum! With the other children dancing around me, I could feel their mesmerized happiness. They were in the same world as I… an enchanting one. A world where the dark does not seem so terrifying, a living dream where nightmares won’t hurt you, a place where magic still exists… I stand in the middle of my burning home, writing to you as my lungs fill with black smoke. I would rather have my last words be written and not said. I have been given so many wonders from this earth that I do not feel an ounce of melancholy in me, not anymore. I am content with leaving because I will come back. My Jack o’ Lantern will find you, whoever you are… all you have to do, is blow it out. -­‐ Goodbye for now, Jack o’ Roily Oct. 31, 1978 Epilogue That morning, of November 1st, the bodies of the 20 missing children were found in a clearing within the woods, 5 still pitched up to what seems like the “Gallows”; the other 15 were found huddled together, sleeping on the forest ground, next to the hanging dead. A search team was sent into the woods the following day to recover the ever mentioned Jack o’ Lantern but it was never found. During the announced autopsy of Jack o’ Roily, an angry mob was waiting outside the medical facility, demanding his body and diary. The Mayor of Oak Haven and the Oak Haven City Council have decided to cremate the corpse; his ashes and diary are in a “confined and confidential” area. That was his only statement regarding the corpse and evidence. A memorial statue has been built in Oak Haven town square for the 5 children that died that night of October 31st, 1978. The townspeople of Oak Haven honor their death every Halloween season but they no longer celebrate the holiday. It wasn’t until recently of 2008 that Oak Haven City Council decided to celebrate Halloween once again, under a strict curfew law and heavy surveillance. The Mayor has publicly announced “What happened in the past is in the past and will not affect our future.” Stating that he was thinking of the children and their happiness while some parents tried to retaliate and hold a petition to keep Halloween banned. However, they did not get enough signatures. Jack o’ Roily has reached cult status over the years, along with other serial killer’s of his time, such as Charles Manson and Ted Bundy. Garnering nicknames such as “Sweet Tooth” and “The Vampire of Massachusetts”, he has been featured in many articles, books and T.V. specials. To this day, people flock to the Oak Haven woods to try and find the infamous Jack o’ Lantern. Some say you have a better chance of finding “it” at night, when the candle is flickering in the dark. Although, people insure that the Oak Haven woods are not safe at night. Some have claimed to see and experience other worldly phenomenon. The 5 children who died are said to still be in the woods, running around, trying to find their way out with their throats still slit open and bleeding. As for the missing Jack o’ Lantern… it is still hiding somewhere in the dark with its candle still lit, waiting for someone to blow it out.