October Halloween Story Time
The Hollow Man
In the small town of Raven's End, there was a legend that every Halloween, the Hollow Man wandered the streets, searching for his missing heart. Parents told their kids to be careful after dark, warning them to be inside by midnight—or risk being taken by him.
For years, it was just a story—a way to keep kids from staying out too late. But one Halloween night, as friends Max and Ellie sat by a campfire in the woods, they dared to speak of him.
“I heard the Hollow Man doesn’t knock on doors,” Max said, grinning. “He just… watches.”
“Yeah, right,” Ellie scoffed, tossing a twig into the fire. “It's just a story to scare kids. There's no such thing as the Hollow Man."
Max leaned in, his voice low. "Want to prove it? Let’s stay out here past midnight.”
Ellie hesitated but shrugged it off. “Fine. But when nothing happens, you’re buying me candy for a week.”
The hours passed, and soon, the woods fell eerily silent. No rustling leaves, no chirping crickets—just the faint crackle of the dying fire. Ellie checked her watch. It was 11:58 p.m.
Suddenly, Max’s face paled. “Do you hear that?”
Ellie listened, her heart starting to pound. At first, she heard nothing. But then it came—a faint, hollow thump, thump, thump—like the slow, rhythmic beat of a heart.
“It’s probably a deer,” she whispered, but her voice wavered.
The sound grew louder. Closer.
They both stood up, turning to face the trees. Out of the darkness emerged a shadowy figure, tall and gaunt, with a gaping hole where its heart should have been. The Hollow Man.
His head was lowered, but his hollow chest echoed with each step.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Max grabbed Ellie’s arm. “Run!”
They bolted through the woods, branches clawing at them as they ran. The sound of the Hollow Man’s hollow chest echoed behind them, growing faster, louder.
Ellie glanced over her shoulder and saw him—closer than he should’ve been, his head slowly lifting. His eyes were empty voids, his skeletal fingers reaching for her.
“I don’t think he knocks,” Ellie whispered, eyes wide with terror.
Suddenly, the window shattered, and a skeletal hand shot through the glass, grabbing Max by the collar.
Before Ellie could scream, the Hollow Man’s head appeared in the window, his hollow chest echoing with that terrible thump.
“I found you,” he whispered, pulling Max into the darkness.
They reached Max’s house, slamming the door behind them. Panting, they locked it, hands shaking. The house was silent, the world outside eerily still.
Ellie pressed her ear to the door, listening. Nothing. No thumping.
She let out a shaky breath. “I think we lost him.”
Just as Max moved toward the window to check, there was a soft, hollow thump against the door.
Max froze. The sound came again—thump, thump, thump—as if something was lightly tapping.