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Chapter 1

Matt rubbed his forehead, both from a budding headache and from his frustration at his brothers. He looked out over the common room of the Eta Alpha Pi House. Only about half of the members had even elected to even show up to the meeting.

“Look, guys, every student organization on campus is doing something for Halloween. Even the CCC is hosting a bobbing for apples booth. But more than that, hosting the haunted house is a tradition for us. I know with the pandemic it didn’t happen the last few years, but everything is open now and it’s time to get our crap together and make our brothers proud.”

“Man, tradition is just old people telling you what to do. Why can’t we just stay here and watch horror movies all night like normal people?” Jack asked.

“Come on, Jack, we’re already committed to this. Hell, the planning started when Jim was still here.” The vice president Ben answered before Matt could say anything

Jim had been the senior elected to be the president of Eta Alpha Pi. Matt was just supposed to be the treasurer for the school year. Jim, however, had to drop out of the university because of a series of events back in September. None of the seniors, including Ben, the vice-president, wanted to step up to fill the position, so it fell on Matt’s shoulders. Matt was a somewhat shy, generally weak willed, rule-following kind of guy, and was perfectly suited to be the frat’s treasurer. When Jim left, however, many of the more confident, yet lazy frat brothers thought he was the perfect choice for president, because he could barely muster a ‘no’ when confronted.

“Look, guys, we’re doing this, there is no debate. We’ll be setting up in the field house on Monday, the day before Halloween. Whatever your schedule is, we need you to show up as soon as you can anytime after three. There’s an entire section down in the basement with costumes we’ve acquired over the years. Please go and…” Matt trailed off as the brothers who had bothered to attend the meeting were already getting up to leave. Son of a bitch… “Make sure to tell anyone who missed the meeting!” he cried out after them.

“This is going to be a rough year.” Ben said with a sigh as he started to gather up his things.

Matt sighed as he pulled out his phone to send a message to the frat house group. “Tell me again why you are still vice president instead of stepping up?”

“You were there in August when I told Jim I would only take over the role of VP on the condition I wouldn’t ever take the lead if something happened to him.”

“Yeah, and then something happened to him, of course.” Matt sighed as he finished typing his message. “I know it’s been so long, but remember when we pledged and everyone went on and on about how awesome the haunted house was and they were pissed the school wasn’t letting us run it just because of the plague?”

“Heh, yeah, I remember.” Ben sighed.

The Eta Alpha Pi Fraternity had hosted a haunted house for Halloween since sometime in the 1970's. It was practically an institution in the university and surrounding community. The older members of the frat would pass down to incoming pledges both the knowledge of how to run an effective haunted house, as well as costumes and props. This tradition, however, was interrupted during the pandemic. No Halloween activities happened on campus the past three years. The members of Eta Alpha Pi that had participated in running it had since graduated.

“I know I’m a shit president, but why don’t they want to at least have fun scaring the pants off of everyone?” Matt shook his head. “It’s not like we’re hosting something lame like a face painting booth.”

“Don’t let the girls of Tau Rho catch you calling it lame, or they’ll never come to another party. Anyway, things change man. A lot of people think like Jack these days. Besides, most people join a frat for parties and house life.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s not like they are stepping up to make new traditions, are they? God, we are going to look like losers! People are going to take the CCC more seriously than us on campus.”

“Don’t stress yourself out too much over it.” Ben patted his shoulder. “Maybe they need the embarrassment to get back on track for next year, or better yet, ready for the Greek Games in April.”

“Please, let me worry about one thing at a time.” Matt shook his head. “My head hurts enough as it is.”

***

The setup had honestly gone better than Matt had expected. There were at least enough people to load and unload the props and wall panels from the moving truck they had rented. Matt didn’t plan a new layout, instead using the same design from the last time they had assembled the attraction. He figured after all this time, no one would really notice. With the walls up and the big set pieces they still had on hand, they broke for the night with the plans to show up the next day with costumes and any other props that could be scrounged up. Matt had left instructions for people to head over as soon as they could on Halloween day and finish setting up.

Tuesday was, for Matt, the day with his heaviest course load. He managed to reply to a few texts from Ben between his classes, but that was about it. Thankfully, his last class for the day let out early because of the night’s festivities. Matt rushed over to the field house as soon as he got out. After walking through the front door, his face just fell. Things looked barely any different from last night. A few discount Halloween decorations had been added, but some plastic pumpkins were hardly the thing that was going to get guests in the mood to be frightened.

“What the hell? Where are the real decorations?” Matt yelled as he stomped over to where his frat brothers were gathered. “And what kind of shity costumes are those? Did any of you go down to the basement to look for something at all?”

“Dude, chill out!” Jack snapped back.

“I will not chill out! Don’t you assholes get it? This is a fucking embarrassment for Eta Alpha Pi! Don’t you know students planning on coming to the university next year attend this event? Who is going to rush us next August when they see this crap!” Matt kicked over one of the plastic pumpkins. “We were known for this, and you’ve all ruined it!” Matt turned and started to leave the field house.

“Hey man, where are you going?” Kyle called after him.

“I’m going to see if I can find any real decorations for this place. Get rid of anything that wouldn’t scare a kindergartner and dig around in the basement for stuff that’s at least scary enough for middle school!” Matt turned back around and stormed out.

“Fuck man, I’ve never seen Matt get that mad before. Kyle shook his head.

“And over a stupid haunted house.” Jack chuckled.

“Just shut up. You don’t have to face the rest of the campus clubs and organizations, he does. He’s got every reason to be angry.” Ben sighed, “Let’s at least do what he asked this time, since we’ve already fucked it up so far.”

***

Matt was a mix of angry and panicked as he drove into town. It was Halloween Day, at this point it was easier to find Christmas stuff than even a plastic pumpkin. He picked over a few things he found in one of those pop-up seasonal stores, but it was far from enough to save the haunted house. As he was tossing his bags into the trunk of his car, Matt noticed something across the street.

It was an old row of stores, obviously dating back before strip malls were a thing. The store fronts were now professional offices for lawyers, doctors, etc. But the one on the end looked different. The green sign over the store window read, ‘Otto’s Antiques’.

You know…an antique store might have something I can use…There’s nothing to lose by checking it out. Matt thought before hurrying across the road to the old shop.

An actual bell above the door rang as Matt entered the store. It was dimly lit inside and the air had an old slightly musty smell to it. He looked around at the various objects filling the store when an old man came out from behind a bookshelf.

“Ah, hello there. How can I help you?”

“I, ah, Hi…” Matt took a moment to compose himself. “My name is Matt, I’m kind of looking for something for tonight.”

“Ah, yes, the spooky season is actually pretty good for business, though you are cutting it awfully close, young man.” He smiled warmly.

“Tell me about it,” Matt sighed, “I’m with a fraternity at the university and we’re putting on our annual haunted house tonight.”

“Oh, you’re with Eta Alpha Pi then?”

He blinked, surprised by the older gentleman’s guess. “Ah, yes, I am.”

“Don’t be so shocked, the haunted house is legendary. In fact, I remember the boys stopping by back in the first few years looking for props to use. I’m glad to hear you’re open for business again.”

Matt smiled, “Yeah, but I’m not sure how good it will be, we’re…out of practice.”

“Well, maybe there is something I have here that will help bring you some luck tonight.” The old man motioned for Matt to follow.

Matt was curious and followed. He was impressed that despite the man’s obvious age he had no problem getting around his rather full shop.

“Ah yes, here we go.” The man said, stopping at a cabinet.

He opened it up and inside Matt saw a rather gothic looking stone idol. He wasn’t sure if it was an actual idol, or just a deranged sculpture. At any rate, it looked pretty awesome, exactly the kind of piece to add some flair to the rather dreary haunted house.

‘Spooky little guy, isn’t he?” The old man chuckled. “It’s said the idol possesses the luck needed to manifest the desires of the owner.”

“We are sure in need of some luck.” Matt chuckled back. “But I’m not sure if I can afford this.”

“Oh, I’ve had this guy for quite a while, and no one has shown any interest. At this point he’ll still be here collecting dust after I’m gone. Why don’t you take him.”

“Sir, I couldn’t-”

“Consider it a donation, to help get the old Eta Alpha Pi Haunted House back up and running once more. Please, I insist.”

Matt looked back at the idol. It really did look like the perfect prop for a haunted house, and could easily be used for future haunted houses, assuming they happened.

“That really means a lot to us, thank you.”

“Oh I assure you It’s my pleasure.” The old man carefully pulled the idol down. “Let’s get this guy wrapped up for his trip onto campus.”

***

Matt returned to the field house in the late afternoon. Tents and booths were already set up and people were starting to gather on campus for the festivities. He drove as fast as he could to the field house. He was a little relieved to see Ben waiting for him by the door.

“I was worried you weren't going to come back.” Ben said as Matt walked around to his trunk.

“The thought crossed my mind, but you know I can’t just abandon a project, no matter how doomed to failure it is.” He paused and took a look at Ben’s costume. “I get the suit since you’re working the entrance, but what’s with the stag horns?”

“I think they were part of some kind of druid costume, but I just thought they looked cool.” Ben noticed a strange object in the trunk. “What the hell is that thing?” He asked, pointing to the stone idol.

“Just a little something special I found. I’m going to set it up in the ritual room.”

“Well, hopefully he brings us some luck tonight.”

“I was told it would, but I’m not pinning my hopes on it.” Matt chuckled.

***

Matt was still disappointed in both the decorations and costumes his brothers had chosen for the night, but it looked like at least some effort was made to improve it since he stormed off. He replaced a skull on a pedestal with the stone idol. With a few fake candles from the halloween store, he was convinced it looked suitably spooky. With that done, Matt hurried to get into his own costume.

He had chosen his costume weeks ago. It was a rather striking demon costume, complete with a realistic muscular chest plate. Chains and torn cloth covered the rest of his body. The gloves were a bit tight, but Matt managed to stretch them over his fingers. The mask was missing, so he went with a pair of devil horns and red face paint.

Matt smiled at the mirror. Maybe I can get a good scream or two tonight. That’s the point of a haunted house, right? To get people screaming. I just hope Ben is right and this makes the guys do a better job next year.

The house lights were turned off and the young men took their positions in the haunted house. Ben opened the front door to the field house and propped it open before returning to his spot behind an old wooden desk. Back in the ritual room the small stone idol’s eyes started to faintly grow red. Its owner’s wish was heard, but what fun is a wish if it isn’t twisted first. Ben was just starting to watch a video on his phone when he saw a small group of students enter the attraction.

“Welcome to Eta Alpha Pi’s Haunted house.” He smiled as he hid his phone. “How many are daring enough to enter?”

There was a snicker from one of the men in the group, but it was one of the women who spoke up.

“Just four, Clarisse is too chicken.”

Clarisse’s cheeks went pink. “I’m not chicken! I just don’t like people jumping out at me…”

“Like I said, chicken.”

“Your friend is welcome to wait for you over there, “ Ben pointed to several folding chairs set up in the ‘lobby’.

Ben collected the tickets from the four students going in, while Clarisse took a seat and pulled out her phone.

The group of two men and two women walked through a curtain and into the ‘house’. They were quickly disappointed.

“I thought this was supposed to be awesome, I’ve seen better sets at grade school plays.” Poppy whispered.

Brady snickered again. “Tell me about it.”

“Hush you two,” Mya snapped. “I’m sure they worked hard on this.”

They entered what was supposed to be a hedge maze, although given the plastic hedges only came up to their waists it wasn’t too hard to navigate, even in the low light. When Jack popped out bare chested in a bull mask and growled, the four students just laughed at how pitiful his ‘minotaur’ costume looked. Jack had taken the entire event the least serious, but after that reaction it got to him. He was glad the mask hid his own embarrassed face. Halfheartedly Jack chased them through the maze. When they left his area he sighed heavily and stalked back to his starting position.

Fucking hell, that was embarrassing…maybe I can do better the next time.

The next area they entered was a discount Egyptian tomb. The sarcophagus rattled as they walked by it. They were expecting a mummy to pop out and try to scare them. Instead it was a buff guy in a lion mask with wings strapped to his back.

Kyle did his best to look intimidating as he roared and yelled at the four students, but they didn’t look the least bit impressed.

“At least it wasn’t a crappy mummy.” Luke sighed.

“No, it was a dollar store sphinx instead!” Poppy giggled.

They all laughed and strolled towards the exit to the next area, not even caring that Kyle was chasing after them.

Dollar store? That fucking hurt. Kyle thought as he returned to his hiding place.

Zayden was waiting in the casket in his vampire getup. He didn’t feel too confident when he heard the laughter coming from the guests as they entered his room. Still, he had a job to do. When he heard them getting close he threw open the lid and did his best evil laugh.

They just stared back completely unimpressed.

“Man, pick a time period dude, why are you wearing a ruff with a trench coat?” Luke berated him.

Zayden quickly closed the lid to the casket. Damn, I thought it looked cool, mixing and matching classic and new. He fumbled in the dark casket to pull off the ruff from his costume.

The group exited the vampire room into a graveyard. A fog machine and sound effects were adding to the atmosphere. Overall this seemed to be the best done room so far.

Dawson was hiding behind one of the graves. He jumped up and hit a button. The sound effect of a wolf howling loudly played as he threw back his head. He had found a sweet wolf mask in the basement and had paired it with some torn up clothes. He managed to at least get a small jump from Mya before the group continued on.

Man, that could have gone better. Maybe I need to time the howl better. He thought as he hid back behind the grave.

“At least the wolf-boy tried.” Brady said as they reached the end of the haunted house.

“It doesn’t make up for the rest of it.” Luke shook his head.

“Yeah,” Poppy sighed, “Let’s just get out of here and grab Clarisse.”

They were walking down a mostly dark corridor with the exit door in front of them suddenly closed and red lights turned on. Stepping out from in between the curtain walls Matt smiled wickedly at the students.

“Leaving so soon?” He asked in the deepest voice he could muster.

Mya jumped slightly, but they all seemed surprised. Matt started to approach them slowly, laughing maniacally. He chased them half way down the hall when the door at the end opened again. The red lights went out and Matt slipped back out of sight.

They were laughing again as they spilled out into the lobby.

“Did you guys have fun?” Clarisse asked as she got up.

“Eh,” Brady shrugged his shoulders, “it was mostly lame until the end.”

“Yeah, you’re better off not wasting your tickets on this one.” Poppy said, shaking her head.

Mya started towards the door. “Come on, let’s get some cider.”

Ben sighed heavily. The last thing he wanted to hear was, “don’t waste your tickets”. As he leaned back in his chair something felt a little off. He couldn’t quite place the sensation. He ended up scratching his arm, but it wasn’t really an itch. Alone in the lobby again, he resumed watching the video.

Even though there was only one fog machine and it was set up in the graveyard, a light swirling mist started to creep along the floor of the haunted house, across all the rooms and hallways. None of the frat members noticed. The eyes of the idol started to grow a little brighter.

It didn’t take too long for the next group to arrive. A trio of male students stepped into the lobby. Ben stood up from his seat to greet them, a large smile smoothly spreading across his face.

“Welcome! Is it just you three handsome chaps, or are we waiting on a few ladies?”

Two of the three blushed and looked away. The third one managed to answer.

“It’s ah, just us.”

“Well the night is still young, isn’t it?” Ben smiled as he collected tickets from the small group of friends. “Thank you, sweet screams.” Ben’s laugh came out as more of a giggle.

They hurried into the attraction and Ben sighed as he stretched out his body. He was still smiling and was feeling good all of a sudden. He didn’t seem to notice but his body was thinner and more lithe than it had been when he first put on the suit, but if anything the old three piece seemed to fit his body better, as if it was tailored for him.

Man, I don’t know what came over me there. I guess I’m just getting in the spirit.

“What was up with that guy?” Elliott said softly as they walked down the hall.

Lance shrugged his shoulders. “Come on, it was just an act to get us feeling disturbed.”

“Yeah well, it worked, I feel creeped out and we haven’t even made it to the first room.”

Lance chuckled and looked around. “Wow, it looks better than I thought it would in here.”

They walked through the mist swirling at their feet to the first room. Somehow, the plastic bushes had grown since the last group went through. Though the three young men could still see over the tops of the hedges, it was harder to make out the path to the exit.

“A maze?” Elijah said as he looked around, the lighting and ambient sounds were slowly starting to get to him.

“Stay with me, I’m good at mazes.” Elliott said confidently. “I grew up going to a corn maze every fall.”

Lance and Elijah stayed close to their friend as he started to make his way through the maze. They were so focused on the hedges, they were honestly surprised when Jack jumped out and roared at them. They let out surprised shouts and Elijah turned to run the way they just came.

“Elijah! Stop! That’s not the way out!” Lance shouted as they took off after their friend while the minotaur chased after them.

Jack was surprising himself with the sound of his roar. It sounded remarkably bovine to his ears under the mask at least. He smiled as he chased the young men, backing off now and then to let them find the route out of the maze. There was a bit of laughter from the three of them as they escaped, but it wasn’t mocking like it had been with the first group. Jack made his way back to his hiding place. He started to scratch at the shredded rags of his costume, not noticing how much hairier his arms and chest had become.

Ok, I have to admit, that was fun…I wonder if I should actually catch the next batch? Wait, I’m not allowed to touch the guests, right? Or am I? A confused Jake took his place again, still scratching idly as they tried to remember the instructions.

Candles and lamps flickered across what appeared to be stone walls decorated with hieroglyphics as the boys entered the crypt.

“I bet a mummy is going to jump out of that sarcophagus.” Elliott pointed across the room as they slowly drew closer.

Even with the expectation they still jumped when the shiny decorated box rattled and shook. With their attention on the prop, they didn’t notice the Sphinx sneaking up behind them. That is until Kyle let out a roar. There were genuine screams as the boys quickly turned around and cowered in front of the well built man in a lion’s mask. The wings on his back only made him look larger and more imposing. The three yelled as they ran through the exit door.

Kyle had to try hard not to laugh. It felt great scaring the crap out of those three boys. He adjusted the heavy necklace that now adorned his upper chest. It went well with the large bracelets he was wearing on each of his wrists. Kyle suddenly paused, looking down at the heavy jewelry through his mask.

Wait, where did I find the jewelry? Must have been in the basement with the other Egyptian stuff. Kyle rationalized as he returned to his little hiding place. I wish I could actually spread my wings, that would really spook them. He thought smiling under his mask.

Zayden could hear the yelling coming from down the hall. He smiled in the darkness of his casket. Zayden had been running through his mind what to say and do since the last group. He listened to the whispers of the three new guests and slowly opened the lid of the casket and sat up.

“Welcome, how nice to have some guests stop by.” Zayden smiled, curling his dark red lips and showing off the prosthetic fangs he was wearing. “What’s the matter boys, come closer. I promise I won’t bite…” he started to laugh a low sultry chuckle and climb smoothly out of the casket. “Perhaps you would like to join me for dinner?” A long flowing trench coat flared out around tight leather-looking pants and a tight black shirt.

The young men weren’t screaming, but they were staring at the sexy almost androgynous vampire as he slowly drew closer to them. Almost as if he had captivated them. Lance gave his friends a quick shove and the three hurried out of the room.

Zayden’s smile didn’t fade in the least as he made his way back to the padded casket. Now that’s more like it. He thought as he closed the lid.

Elliott, Lance, and Elijah spilled out into the graveyard. They had to do a double take that they were still inside as the moon and star effects were better than they were expecting. The three of them stayed close together as they nervously made their way past the grave markers and monuments.

Dawson jumped out right in front of them howling loudly. He snarled and barked as he chased the three of them through the graveyard. Dawson was really getting into the role of the crazed wolf chasing them all eventually into the final corridor. He was smiling under his mask as he came to a stop right at the doorway. As hard as Dawson was breathing, he didn’t even consider removing his mask. As he walked back into position he felt an intense itch right at the base of his spine. He pulled the waistband of his torn jeans down to find some relief scratching at it.

They came in here a lot more keyed up than the last group. I guess the guys must be doing a better job.

As he finished scratching and pulled his hand away, a small nub had formed. It twitched slightly as Dawson hid back behind his favorite tombstone.

“Man, the stories about Ha-pie’s haunted house were true!” Lance said as they made their way down a dark hallway towards a rectangle of light that represented the exit.

“No kidding,” Elijah sighed, “I thought that dude in the werewolf costume was really going to pounce on us.”

“Come on, you know you’d like that.” Elliott smirked.

“Dude, for the last time I’m not a furry!”

The other two started to laugh when suddenly the door up ahead slammed shut. The corridor was pure darkness then slowly a red light started to fill the void. Then they heard the laugh from behind them. They turned to see a red demon smiling at them.

“Come on boys, the fun is just starting!” Matt smiled, his eyes almost glowing in the red light.

The costume felt more natural as he chased the guests down the last corridor. The chest piece felt like it moved with Matt as he ran. He hadn't noticed that the little demon horns he had clipped into his slicked back hair had started to grow bigger and were starting to curve back. Matt ducked back behind the curtain before the door opened and the three young men spilled out into the lobby. They were panting for breath and started to laugh, not out of humor as much as to release the built-up tension.

“Did you boys have a good time?” Ben asked from the desk. He wasn’t sitting at the desk, rather on it. His long legs dangled over the side and were crossed at the ankles. Ben was looking far less masculine since they had entered the haunted house. His lips were now painted a dark purple color and his nails seemed to be painted to match. The tight suit showed off a bit of a curve to his chest and hips and his dark hair had grown much longer.

“I, ah, yeah, lots of fun…” Elijah managed to stammer out as he stared at the antlered ticket collector.

“Well, be sure to tell your friends, and if you feel the urge to return we will be open all night.” Ben winked at the three blushing young men.

They slowly made their way out the front doors of the field house.

Those customers seemed way more pleased than the first batch. Maybe we just had a rough start. Ben thought as he jumped down from the desk. Still, they aren’t exactly lining up at the door, maybe if I were to go out the door and try and entice people to stop in instead of just walking by. That wouldn’t be me leaving my post as long as I collect the tickets, right?

Ben walked towards the doors with an obvious sway in his steps. After taking a moment to arrange his hair around his horns he stepped out into the early evening.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Eta Alpha Pi invites you to enjoy a few screams at our famous haunted house!” Ben called out in a loud but somehow sultry voice.

_________________________________________

Characters and setting belong to the commissioner

Writing by Syntaxerror37

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