A Halloween Story

Caulfield’s was crowded on this the Saturday before Halloween. People were almost shoulder-to-shoulder in the three big rooms of the store, looking for that one item that will set them apart. Caulfield’s will be legendary in the future when it’s gone but it isn't much to write about now, an old place jammed with novelty items, now mostly for Halloween.

In a far corner of the store, I saw a little girl of about four almost lost in the crowd as she stood in front of a display.  It was a set of bars made to resemble a jail cell.  In it, behind the bars, was a bunch of ghoulishness; trap doors in the floor from under which hands appeared as if trying to get out; a door in the back that opened revealing a dreadful mummified apparition, and in the center was a full-sized casket, which was the focus of the display.  It was seemingly inert. 

All of the other stuff activated several times before the lid on the casket slowly and quietly opened; the little girl was rapt.  Then, suddenly, a floppy corpse catapulted towards her with a loud shriek, arms and legs flailing!  She became unglued, screamed, cried, and covered her face with her hands.  Her mother comforted her and she quickly regained her composure when she saw what it really was. 

 People all around her quietly laughed in amusement, especially after they saw that she had calmed down.  The floppy corpse retracted, the casket lid closed, ready to startle the next unsuspecting victim; and the crowd dissipated back into their shopping. 

A short while later, as I stood in line forever to check out, I saw the little girl again.  She seemed fine and not at all affected by her encounter with the casket.