8- Halloween

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THE REPORTER:

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Good evening, Witherburn, and welcome to a very special Halloween program. I'm your host, The Reporter, and today we will be discussing costumes, pies, and parties. Plus, a monster of the week that's directly linked to our hometown. All of that and more coming up on Witherburn Afterschool News. 

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Let's start with the talk of the town, the fall festival. Certain people are boycotting the festival saying it's. Cursed. Apparently, every time Witherburn has had a fall festival, bad things have happened. Some say it's cause we call upon the devil when we celebrate. I say it's just classic superstition.

Also, uh, what's that word they use?  A self fulfilling prophecy. Yeah, I also think it's that. Come on, listeners. If you think the fall festival is cursed, then Of course, you're gonna see bad omens everywhere. It's laughable to think that kids dressing up in costumes, doing cakewalks, and getting candy is gonna call upon Lucifer himself.

I would hope that we are more reasonable thinkers than this.  Sadly, though, this town is not. The church is calling for everyone who is boycotting to come to the church grounds and pray together. The Facebook statement says, and I quote,
“While we don't support this festival, we will pray and make sure that everyone is safe during this unholy night.We will show God's love through prayer and protection.”

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They sound like they're coming from a good place, but  damn, they also sound pretentious as hell.  Also, I know they would get their knickers in a twist if someone said this about Christmas or Easter. It's no surprise that these people are still arguing about Ivy's Pagan Club. 

I mean let people live their lives.  I'm sure Jesus said that somewhere.  Enough of my complaining, though. I am sure there are a substantial number of y'all that want to know why this festival is considered cursed in the first place. Certainly, there has to be a reason. And oh, listeners, there is. That's what brings us to our Monster of the Week segment. 

Our Monster of the Week might hit a little close to home because,  well, because it's from home. Today, we are talking about the Witherburn Ghost. In honor of Halloween, I'm going to tell a classic tale from our little town, and maybe we will begin to understand why people think the festival was cursed. Our tale begins in 1959,  when a young girl, Evelyn Grahm, was going to the fall festival with her boyfriend, Stevie.

Now, most people don't know this, but Evelyn was actually thinking about breaking it off with Stevie. She talked with her mom about it a few days before. Maybe that's why they seem to be fighting the entire festival.  Witnesses say that she and Stevie seemed to argue about everything. 

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Cotton candy or popcorn?Which game to play? And what raffle to enter? Truly minor stuff. Then, when the thunder started to roll in, everyone hopped in their cars and went home.  Except Evelyn never made it home.  No one knows what happened after the festival. They were one of the last cars to leave, so people don't even know if she left with Stevie.

Some say that while having a lover's quarrel, Stevie murdered her and dropped her body in the woods.  Some say that she got hit by a trucker while walking home, and some claim that she ran into the woods for shelter and never came out. But the fact remains that she didn't return home to her mother. 

Ms. Grahm, of course, put all her energy into finding her daughter. The whole town pitched in to find the girl. After days of restless searching, her mother was looking in the woods, the volunteers had gone home, and she was just doing one last search while there was still some light. Well, once the sun went down, she heard a scream. 

It was Evelyn! Ms. Grahm ran through the woods to find her daughter, tears of joy running down her face because her daughter was alive! Then she got to a clearing and saw what she thought was her daughter in a pure white dress. Evelyn! She called out.  Evelyn, come home!  But, when the figure turned around,  she realized it wasn't her daughter anymore. 

Her hair seemed to be clawed out, her eyes looked sunken, her skin seemed transparent, but,  most of all, she had a hole in her chest where her heart should be.  The last words Miss Grahm ever heard her daughter say were,  They got me  before disappearing.  They say you can still see this ghost wandering the woods around Witherburn when a storm starts to roll in. 

Though, she's known to bring death and bad luck, so be careful if you go searching for her.  You might get more than you bargained for.  Well isn't that fun? I guess it makes sense as to why people think the Fall Festival is cursed. I mean, ghosts aren't real, but Evelyn was. In fact,  her disappearance isn't too unlike the current disappearances. 

Someone just  vanishing into thin air.  Actually, listeners, I've been doing more research into the missing people after the interview with Dyce.  Something just  didn't sit right with me.  I wonder. 

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I'm going to return to this in a second, listeners, but first, let's get on with our next story.  There is a costume contest this Fall Fest, and some people are truly vying for that costume crown. Scarlett Johnson is going as  And I hate to say this, folks, a really good Princess Peach. I've seen the costume and it is so game accurate, it's insane.

Her boyfriend, Bo Stoker, is going as Mario, but his costume is nowhere near the level that Scarlet's is on. I mean, it's good, but it's meh. Another contender is Kennedy Golder. I know, he doesn't seem like the costume type, but his Last of Us clicker costume is amazing. Y'all, this costume is scary. I asked him about the SFX makeup and he says that he has always had a minor passion for makeup and costuming and dreams of being a horror movie makeup artist one day.

Which, wow, you learn something new every day. We all know that Mr. Farrow's costume is a town classic. He dresses up as famous fishermen every year and it's always so cute and funny. He also gives out Swedish fish to trick or treaters, which, as an enjoyer of Swedish fish I greatly appreciate. This year, he's going as Captain Ahab with, get this, his dog as Moby Dick.

I hope to have this much fun with Halloween when I get older. Our next Halloween costume stands out from the rest, I will have to say. I mean, seriously, it's really good. Alice Doyle has made a screen accurate female version of the Freddy Krueger costume. Looks like Golder isn't the only one who can do makeup.

This costume must have taken FOREVER. And honestly, I think it's a shoe in for first place. If I do say so myself.  But all these costumes are really good, and good luck to all the contestants tonight. Okay everyone, I did a little more digging and I found something really interesting. All of the missing, including Evelyn, went missing on or near a new moon.

Which is  weird, especially if they're all runaways.  I feel like this means something. I just, I just, I don't know what.  It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? I mean,  I guess.  Yeah, there's talk about text conversations between most of the missing people with some conversations supposedly saying things like, we should get out of this deadbeat town, but those are just rumors leaving the police station.

I can't confirm that.  What if,  what if it's not just runaways, listeners? What if there's something else going on here? Something darker? I  Nevermind. Forget I said anything.  I shouldn't be talking like that anyway. These families don't need me feeding their worries. We should just move on to our next story.

Ms. Paige is baking a ton of her famous pies for the raffle and the cake walk. There are 25 pies in total, ranging from blueberry to pecan, so y'all will have multiple chances to win those award winning desserts. Though, and you didn't hear this from me, Apparently, the Stokers are bidding big money on her blood orange pie.

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It's a play on the key lime pie, but she manages to keep this recipe extra secret, and she only brings it out twice a year. Beau says it's his family's favorite, so if y'all want to get into bidding war with the Stokers, you can be my guest. I, on the other hand, will be trying my best to win that apple pie at the cakewalk. 

Apple pie is my favorite, especially Ms. Pages.  And I know, I could just go to the diner and grab a slice any old day of the week, but there's something nice about having a whole pie all to yourself.  Anyways, bid on those pies, and thanks to Ms. Page for supporting the Fall Festival. Our final story is about a party.

Yes, a party. Parents, I suggest you cover your ears.  I don't know who, but apparently someone is throwing a party in the woods. It will be happening after the festival, and you can get the location if you know a guy. All I know is that it's by a waterfall, but to be honest, listeners, there are like 10 different waterfalls in the woods around here.

There will be a bonfire and alcohol, which is an absolutely lovely combo that I'm sure has never gone wrong before. I've also heard that they want you to bring your own reusable cup for environmental reasons and to try and prevent drink spiking.  Oh, this generation. We will have a party in the middle of nowhere with fire and alcohol, but littering is where we draw the line.

I'm not complaining, good for them and all that, but I'm saying it's a bit funny where our morals lie. That's all the official news I have for the party, but here are some unofficial tips by me to stay safe. Number one, don't go alone.  Seriously, it's a mysterious party in the middle of the woods. Go with a group.

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Number two, don't do drugs.  As a general rule in life, you just shouldn't do drugs you find in the middle of the woods. Especially not mushrooms. Number three, have a designated driver. This is just smart for not weird Halloween parties.  Number four. This tip is mostly for me, but I swear if half the school comes back with a hangover tomorrow, I will riot.

Like, seriously, don't ruin my school day because you couldn't handle your cheap beer.  That's it. Mom mode is off, and I'm done lecturing you. Whatever y'all decide to do with the rest of your night is up to you. Just make sure to stay safe,  especially with all these people going missing. 

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That's our broadcast. I'm about to head off to the Fall Festival, and I hope to see y'all there. Unless, of course You believe it's cursed, then I expect to see you walking into the Witherburn Church. Happy Halloween! Tune in next week for more after school news. I'm the Reporter, signing off.

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