Gerrit used to like Halloween. Be it dressing up himself or helping his children craft the perfect scary costume ("They're way too young!" his wife used to object, but she always had that twinkle in her eyes when she scolded him like that), he always felt somehow free while mingling with all the ghouls and monsters on the streets.

Of course, that was a long time ago. Even previous year's attempt to rekindle that tradition in his new life didn't do him any good in the long run. So he thought he'd try to make some new traditions.
He spent the whole day decorating his shop to be as spooky as possible: there were lots of orange, red, and yellow flowers in the shelves, dry dead branches, and he even carved out some jack-o-lanterns. Sometimes, while he was working, he almost thought the pumpkins talked to him. Of course, that was nonsense: he was in the Mortal world, talking decoration was a thing of Faerie. He knew that.

And still.

Cobwebs were strategically placed near the ceiling and in other corners of the shelves. He Didn't want to use fake spiders. Fake spiders would lessen the impact of the whole installation.
Candles on the other hand were a must! Ever so slowly, a different form of excitement was spreading through the Ogre's body like electricity: anticipation.

He was done just before it got dark. The sign in front of the shop advertised a spooky deal: autumn flowers for the adults, scary stories for brave trick-or-treaters. Sure enough, there was a trickle of customers, but those were not the people Gerrit was interest in. The real costumers would show up every now and then, and they would show up alone.


"H-Hello?" A meek voice called into the dim shop. He waited behind his counter until the two children were close enough to see him, then he grumbled a foreboding "Good evening." He really wanted to drop his Mask for the night, but the Winter in him wouldn't allow that. It wasn't about his horrifying looks anyway - life had its ways to terrify you like no disfigured face could.
A pirate and a ladybug, probably brother and sister, slowly came closer. They looked like 7 and 6 respectively, but Gerrit didn't hang on the fact that this could be the same age his children would be now. He shook his head, cleared his throat and the wet sound actually made the girl 'eek' and grab the arm of her brother, who in turn gathered all of his courage and squeaked: "Trick or treat."

"Oh, I have a treat for you. Do you like scary stories?" The ladybug was almost completely hidden behind the boy now, but Gerrit could make out the hesitant nodding motion anyway. The pirate bit his lip, his free hand found its way to his nose and nervously picked it - but he also nodded.

So the Ogre told them the story of the man who - one by one - lost everyone he cared about. The man who would die alone, his friends and family turned to ash and leaves in the wind.

Frankly, it wasn't so much 'scary' as it was 'sad', but children probably didn't know the difference either way. It certainly had its intended effect: soon enough pirate and ladybug bawled their eyes out and the parents who were waiting outside immediately came running. Gerrit of course apologized profusely, but it was hard keeping a straight face when the bittersweet Glamour could still be tasted on the tip of his tongue. He offered them some candy and a bouquet to make up for it and the family left. Maybe they even cancelled the rest of the night and put the distressed children to bed. Oh well.

It was a bit mean, but if you couldn't be a bit naughty on Halloween, when could you?
Yes, Gerrit could very well grow to like this kind of Halloween.