Matilda's Halloween Dreams

A ghost or goblin in the basement?

By Andrea Samuels | Posted 10/12/08 | Updated 10/4/24

Be a Smartie. Don't forget the Halloween candy.

As the wind rumbled down Fairypark Lane piles of freshly raked fall leaves rustled and rattled stirring up dreams. It rolled and reeled up and down and all around the houses of that lane, until it reached the window of a little girl named Matilda. And as she lay awake, tucked into her bed, that dark night before Halloween brought stories of goblins and ghosts creeping and crawling through her head. The wind thumped at her window and she pulled the covers over her head only to doze off once again to dreams of what Halloween may bring.

The next day Matilda woke up to the sound of leaves tumbling down and crackling to the ground. She wiped the sleep off her eyes, sprung out of bed and scurried downstairs. From the kitchen window she could see the whirlwind of leaves and excitement of Halloween calling her name. She slipped on the closest pair of shoes she could find, they weren't hers but they would do just fine. And in a second's time she shot out the door. She couldn't resist the fun of raking up the leaves anymore. In her father's shoes and with her pj's still on she scooped up the rake lying on the ground and got on. "This is going to be fun," she thought until she heard something scuffling behind her. She turned with such a fright only to see to her delight that it was her neighbor Mr. Brown and his dog Fred.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Brown," Matilda said.

"Good morning Matilda" responded Mr. Brown with such dread.

"What's wrong Mr. Brown?" Matilda worriedly said.

And once again Mr. Brown repeated with such dread "Good morning Matilda," as his eyes began to turn red and she could hear growling sounds coming from Fred. Mr. Brown began to groan and finally said "You didn't do your homework, did you Matilda? I'm going to tell Mrs. Waters at school."

"But, but. . ." Matilda stuttered.

"You didn't do your chores either, did you?" Mr. Brown snapped as Fred snipped and snatched at Matilda.

"But I, I was going to . . this, aft. . . afternoon" it was now Matilda that responded with such dread.

"And don't forget about the little joke you played on your brother, I know about that too," Mr. Brown said with his eyes still big and red.

"It was just a . . ." Matilda couldn't finish before Mr. Brown began again. 'I know. . .' Matilda ran off and went back to bed.

"Oh what a nightmare," Matilda squeakily said. And she tossed and turned in bed until another dream came into her head.

With the leaves sweeping and swooping up and down Fairypark Lane, another scary dream made its way into her brain. The sound of the stairs creaking and squeaking from below shattered Matilda's slumber once more.

This time with her trusty dog Lucy by her side, she made her way down the stairs to inspect those clinking and clattering sounds that had kept her from sleeping some more. With a deep breath she was ready to explore and opened the basement door.

Once she opened the door the sounds seemed to roar and Matilda shook with fear. From the crack in the door she peeked into the dim and dark room where down below spooky shadows seemed to bump and thump while they danced across the floor and pranced up and down the walls. And then she spied something in the corner that seemed to sway back and forth. It was a big and dark ghoulish shape.

"Oh no," shrieked Matilda and she began to shake even more. It looked like a person or perhaps even worse a ghost or goblin hiding in her basement.

Matilda trembled at the thought that these ghosts or goblins might just be living in her basement and may one day want to come up the stairs and swallow her up! But just as Matilda began to feel flooded with fear, brave little Lucy began to bark at the basement that lay down below. Then Matilda heard a clang and then a clatter! She gulped down her fear as she saw something fall to the floor. It was another ghost or goblin that seemed to be slithering and wriggling across the floor. This one even moaned and groaned as it slithered some more.

Lucy began to wiggle and jiggle, she let out a growl and then a howl, fearless at what came from down below. As the shapes and shadows seemed to move more and more, Matilda crept back away from the door. Just as she was about to slam the door shut and never look down there anymore, Lucy scuttled down the stairs and sprinted across the floor. Matilda called after her "no, Lucy, no, come back!" But Lucy was determined to make those ghosts and goblins go away. Lucy tugged at the big goblin shape. Matilda shivered with fear, hoping that the goblin would not come stomping up the stairs to gobble her up.

She switched on the light in a hurry and she called for Lucy once more "Lucy come back, Lucy we have to get out of here!" But Lucy was determined to get the other ghost or goblin that was in their basement. As the light came on Matilda's eyes darted and dashed around the room below, "oh, gosh!" Matilda cried with glee. There was no goblin or ghost creeping or crawling in the corner, but instead just an old Christmas tree with a sheet hanging over it. As Lucy stood by what had seemed like the other ghost or goblin that was rumbling and grumbling before, Matilda's fear was no more and the scary sounds died down to a slow purring coming from the dryer. The big scary shape was just a pile of dirty clothes that had fallen to the floor and began wobbling back and forth with the shaking of the dryer.

Now that the ghosts and goblins were no more Matilda went back to bed with Lucy, both ready to fall asleep and dream so more. But before they could dream anymore the alarm clock rang and the scary nightmares were no more. Halloween

Next story: Too Big for Halloween