Peter’s Really Bad Day

This story was written in 2003 while I was teaching in California at Los Olivos Elementary School. Halloween was coning up and I wanted to read something in front of the entire school. So, I spent a night or two coming up with this fun Halloween-themed story. I wanted it to be a little scarry, a little gross, and most of all, fun. I knew I had hit the nail on the head when all of the kids yellod out “Eww!” while I was reading.

Please feel free to share with any school or group of people for a spooky Halloween story.

Peter lived a good life. He had grown big and strong. In fact, he was the biggest of all in his neighborhood. He had a lot of friends that lived around him and there was always time for entertainment. He enjoyed  playing games with the mice that he would find, for they were so cute.

One day, as Peter was showing his friends how strong he was, something strange happened . . . something that had never happened before . . . something that Peter and his friends had never experienced.

The ground shook.

At first, the shaking happened only once. But when it occurred again, a hush fell over the crowd. Everyone listened for what would happen next.

Then, the ground shook again. And again.

The shaking became faster and faster. Soon, it was shaking all the time.

And then the most bizarre thing happened. Something grabbed Peter and picked him up. He tried to fight . . . he tried to get away, but he couldn’t. Something had him in a death grip and he couldn’t escape.

Peter called out to his friends, “Help me! Somebody help me!”

He heard the screams of all of his friends echoing his own.

“Please, somebody, help me,” Peter whimpered.

He could hear the fear in his friend’s voices . . . and then nothing. The screams stopped suddenly and he could no longer sense his friends nearby.

What has happened? Peter though. Is everyone okay? He hoped that nothing bad happened to all his friends. Peter didn’t want to think about it.

Now his head hurt.

What’s wrong with my head? Peter thought.

Something was missing, but he wasn’t sure what it was. All he knew was that he felt alone, so very alone.

The creature that held Peter started moving him up and down. The jostling became so bad that Peter thought his brains would become mushed up inside his head. The pain became so bad that Peter fainted.

When Peter finally awoke, he’d forgotten about his ordeal and called out to his friends.

“Pauline! Piper! Paul! Penny! Where are you?”

His only answer was silence.

Then he remembered.

What’s going on? he wondered. Where is everybody? Am I all alone?

Something touched the back of his head. It pushed him this way and that. Even though Peter fought the rolling, he could do nothing. It was as if all his strength no longer mattered.

All of a sudden, an incredible pain speared right through his head.

“What is that?!” Peter screamed in terror.

And then it happened again. Something was cutting into his head. It went all the way around the top of his skull.

Something grabbed his hair and pulled the top of his skull off of his head.

And then the worst thing ever happened. He felt this creature, this mean aweful creature, whatever it was, reach inside of his head and pull out his brains.

Peter screamed.

Then he heard something.

What was that? he thought. What am I hearing?

Faintly, in the distance, he heard a little voice.

“Daddy, I want to scoop the gooky stuff out of the pumpkin. Please, please, let me do it.”

As the light dimmed in Peter’s eyes, his final thought was, I’m a pumpkin?