THE BANSHEE DEMON – by Peter Halder

THE BANSHEE DEMON

by Peter Halder

    Simone and Tiara were cousins and next door neighbors. It was October 31 and the two young girls were at a loss at to what to do that Halloween evening. Their parents could not afford costumes so they were not keen on going trick or treating.

    “Well, life is full of let downs but we can still find something to do. So you have any ideas?” asked Simone.

    “Aha. I’m glad you asked. I did have an idea. What if we walk around the neighborhood and admire some of the costumes worn by kids for the night. Who knows, maybe something weird may happen which will make our Halloween stroll a night to remember.”

    “Good idea Tiara. I sure our parents will have no objections if we walked around together holding hands. Maybe we can even take that small wooden Holy Cross you have on your bedroom wall with us just in case we run into a demon.”

    It was unusually dark and cloudy when the cousins left home. The dreary black surroundings was ominous. It was also chilly.  Little did they know what the night and its omens had in store for them. Holding hands, they walked down their street and turned at the corner onto a long winding street that ran past a wooded area of oak trees.

    They stopped to admire the many costumes kids wore. Some wore costumes depicting angels, witches, devils, cartoon characters and many more.

    The sidewalk next to the woods was deserted.

    “Should we cross the road to the other wide and avoid the woods?” asked Simone.

    “Naw, let us walk past it. I have a strange feeling that on this night some kind of demon may be lurking in it,” replied Tiara.

    “Aw come on Tiara. Demons are only in fairy tales. And besides you have the Holy Cross with you.”

 

The Demon Strikes

    The girls had just reached the edge of the woods when the darkness grew thick and more chilly. They looked up. Dark clouds were everywhere in the sky. They glanced in the woods and had the shock of their lives. A red ball of fire appeared within it and rose over the top of the trees. There it hovered.

    And then. slowly and slowly it moved to where they were standing. They were stunned. Their feet could not move. The ball of fire came nearer and nearer. The light from it shone above their heads.

    Hands still held, their bodies began to quiver and then shake. Tiara dropped her precious Cross. She could not bend down to pick it up. Her body felt like it was in a straight jacket. Simone was in the same situation. She tried to squeeze Tiara’s hand but her hand was frozen. Their knees were shaking more than their bodies. Their mouths were shut tight, They could not speak to each other, shout for help or scream. All they could do was to stand like concrete pillars staring at the ball of fire.

    The ball of fire suddenly broke into two pieces. Their shape changed into two fiery red eyes. The eyes descended slowly until they reached a few feet away from them and stopped. A piece of dark cloud flew from the forest and joined the two red eyes. It covered the eyes and a body was taking shape. Slowly, ever so slowly.

    While the body was assuming a shape, a cold blast of wind rushed from the woods and headed straight for the girls. Their bodies no long trembled or shook. They were frozen. The hair on their heads stood upright. The deadly wind rushed back to the woods.

    While their bodies were frozen, their eyes were not. They were open wide staring in shock and terror at the body taking shape before them. The trees in the woods shook to and fro with the return of the wind. A terrible shriek came from the woods and from the shape in front of the girls. A flash of blue light enveloped the shape. It vanished as suddenly as it came and left in its place an old woman. She had long grey stringy hair that reached to the sidewalk. Her face was long, narrow and bony, her forehead creased. She had a long bony nose, thin lips and long hands with fingernails that were claws. When she opened her mouth to speak, the girls saw sets of long, narrow pointed teeth.

    “I am the Banshee Demon of the woods and I shall eat you both for my Halloween dinner and delight. You will be my treat with no tricks,” wheezed the old woman.

    At the words, the girls lost all hope of being saved. Frozen to the sidewalk only their eyeballs moved. As though communicating by thought they both raised their eyes to the sky and saw that the moon in it. They could not even smile. They  prayed to the moon for divine intervention to save them from the horrible death that awaited them. The moon began to shine brighter and brighter. A bright golden moonbeam accompanied by strong hot wind rushed from it. It sped to the sidewalk and blew the Holy Cross on the ground into the chest of the old Demon. She shrieked in agony. A bolt of forked lightning lit up and sky and rushed to the old Demon. It hit her chest and she exploded and disappeared. The wooden Hold Cross flew back into the hand of Tiara. The bright golden moonbeam shone on the girls. Movement returned to their body, arms and legs. Their sanity returned and fear vanished. They could speak again. They hugged each other and said, “Fee fi fo fum, all’s well that ends well. Let’s hurry home. What an incredible story we have to tell about this amazing Halloween Night.”

End