Lou looked over at his cat, Nyx. The black cat stared into the corner. There was nothing there.

“Nyx, knock it off. It creeps me out when you do that.”

The cat ignored him.

Lou got out Nyx’s favorite toy and dangled it from the couch. The cat finally moved and stared batting at the toy.

The Shadow Demon peaked out from the corner darkness. Good, it thought. With the feline protector otherwise engaged, he would be able to sneak out. He flexed his long, clawed fingers. It had been too long since he had a human to play with.

Dr. Desmond tried to swat the creatures as they darted in to attack him. Each time one hit him, it was like being stuck with a sharp needle. Drops of blood dripped down after each attack. And they were so damned fast.

As he cowered in the corner of his lab, trying to stay alive, the geneticist realized it had been a really bad idea to combine the DNA of vampire bats with hummingbirds.

“Go forth my human minion. It is time we conquered the world.”

Little Jenny looked under her pillow at the white tooth that had fallen out that morning. She flopped over onto her back and looked up at her mommy, tears in her eyes.

“Mommy, I don’t want the teeth fairy to come.”

Lara looked puzzled. “Why not, sweetie? The tooth fairy will give you a dollar for that tooth.”

“I’m not scared of the tooth fairy. I’m scared of the teeth fairy.”

“Oh honey, you’re saying it wrong. It’s the tooth fairy, not teeth fairy.”

Then Lara heard the whirring behind her, coming through the window. Hundreds of sparkly little women with dragon-fly wings moving so fast they were little more than silver blurs. Each one carried a small wand. And then they smiled, all at once, and Lara saw the mouths filled with sharp, jagged teeth, like a swarm of glittery piranhas.

“See, Mommy,” Jenny said, pulling the sheet over her. “I was right.”

Joanne walked into her bedroom, flipped on the light and screamed.

A face peered in the window. Bug-eyed and leering with his hands cupped around his face.

“Darryl!” she yelled. “Very funny! I told you not to put that peeper mask up on the window!’

“What are you talking about?’ Darryl answered. “It’s still sitting here on the kitchen table.”

Donnie adjusted his red bulb nose and orange fright wig as he spotted the campfire girls around the fire pit. He chuckled at the fright he would give them as the “creepy clown.”

He jumped out from behind a bush and yelled “Boo!”

The girls turned to look at him, blood dripping off their chins. One was chewing what looked like a femur.

“Oh look,” one said. “Dessert.”

Chuck knew he should have charged his phone before coming out into the middle of Nowhere, IN. But he had been in a hurry. Now he was stuck with a flat tire, no spare, and no way to call for help. He hadn’t seen another car in over an hour.

He looked at the planted fields on all sides. Right green vines spread over the landscape. He spotted a small farm house across the field. He sighed and started walking.

He had only gone about 20 feet when he started to feel uneasy. He heard a squish under his foot and jumped. A small cucumber lay crushed on the ground. He took a few more steps and then saw the first of them.

The child crawled through the vines, a faint green glow to its eyes. He spun and and saw more of the green-eyed children crawling towards him. They held sharp sticks and they were everywhere.

That’s when Chuck remembered the stories form his youth and realized he was about to become another victim of the children of the cucumbers.

Jerome popped a handful of mixed pain relievers into his mouth. It was less than two hours since he took the last handful but his head was still pounding. He had never had a headache like this before. That was when he noticed the tiny fist bursting through the skin at his temple and realized it really was a pounding headache.

Today, DC Comics announced that Zack Snyder will be writing and directing all future DC comic-based movies and tv shows in perpetuity.

Jake rolled his eyes at yet another cheap Halloween bowl with the hand that grabbed at you when you reached into the bowl. The teenager looked around but the owner wasn’t in sight. Good. He would take it all. He did notice that this bowl looked a little more realistic than others, but he shrugged and reached for the candy. The hand snapped out and closed over his wrist. He yanked but it would not let go. He tried to pry the fingers loose but he couldn’t. Finally, he yanked backwards, falling backwards as he pulled the hand out the bowl. The hand still held on to his wrist.

“Look what you did! You broke my bowl,” said an old woman coming around the house. “I guess I’ll just have to make a new one.”

She raised the machete in her right hand and came at Jake.