Happy Death-O-Ween

Date: 2/26/2020

It all began when I reunited with my elementary/middle school (primary) friends. It was a fun halloween event and a bunch of my friends and family were there to celebrate. There was this huge tree, it looked like it belonged in a forest. I asked my friends, Grace and Seanna, about it and if they had ever seen a tree this big. They both said yes but the tree did look a bit odd. The bottom part had gigantic roots and the top part was cut off so there were no branches... just a dark hole in the middle of it. All of us went back to enjoying the party. A part of me wanted to go back and investigate it, so I did. I stared into the black hole and a scary looking face flashed quickly in the nothingness. I was frightened and hurried back to my family who was leaving. Everyone went home and lived their lives normally. A year later around October... I began my first year in college! I was stoked to be there and I immediately clicked with a group of friends. One of my old friends, Hayley, was in my class. After a week before Halloween, strange things began happening around the town. People were dying more than usual and everyone thought it could be a copycat serial killer. There was a video that surfaced of a group of friends recording what was happening... they were crying and scared to look around. One of them said, "He's coming! Don't look in dark places. He'll play games with you. You'll die. Stay away until Halloween or he'll never leave!" and it stopped as the guy recording screamed. I began to read up about this and it turned out to be a creature of some sort. You have to be cautious when looking in dark places the day before Halloween or you'll see him. When you see him, he'll trap you and a group of others together that saw him as well. He'll tell you the rules of the game which are: "Rule 1 - If you run away, I will find you and kill you. Rule 2 - Only 1 person will leave alive if they succeed. Rule 3 - If none of you succeed before Halloween ends, you'll all die. Rule 4 - No cheating during my games or there will be consequences." They sounded cheesy. He didn't have a name either... it was just "Him." I immediately thought back to when I saw something in that tree a year ago. Hm... I told my friend, Ethan, about it and he laughed at me. He said, "Jeez, Amia. You really need to stay off the internet if a fake story is going to scare you like that." For some reason, this creature didn't seem fake and the copycat serial killer lived up to his name. It was a day before Halloween and that entire story was embedded into my brain. I warned my friends but they didn't listen. Instead, they decided to have a small party in our college classroom to make fun of the fact that I was scared of it. The classroom was small and barely used. They laid out snacks and drinks and for the most part, I enjoyed it. It almost made me forget about that dumb creature! I told them, "I have to use the bathroom, where is it?". My friend, Jade, replied "Uhh. I think it's down the hall on the right." I left the classroom and the end of the hallway was dark. Almost as if there was no light down there. It was weird though because I had walked down there a bunch of times and it was never dark. That's when I saw the face of Him... again. I ran back to my friends in horror, yelling what just happened. I screamed, "He's here! I just saw him in the dark! We have to leave NOW!" They thought I was joking. Ethan said, "Calm down, do you actually think that stupid thing is real? We'll leave in a little bit... just enjoy this party for a tad longer." He hugged me to calm me down, which I did. I stayed as close to them as I could because I was still scared. One by one, they all saw his face in a random dark spot throughout the night. I don't think anyone had said anything but the look on their face was pure horror. Finally, Lexi speaks up. "I saw him too, Amia. Just now. In the corner of the room." I thought she was poking fun at me at first but Lexi never lies. Everyone else spoke out too. Ethan admits, "I did too. But, I didn't say anything because I thought Amia got in my head about this dumb creature and I was imagining it." I told them all about it and they panicked. A friend of ours, Jasper, gets up and goes to exit the door. It's locked. That causes everyone to panic more! I calm everyone down and say, "Let's just wait it out and light the place up more." That's exactly what we did. We thought we were safe until my phone rang. I usually don't answer unknown numbers but this had no deny button so I answered. It was a deep monotone male voice... I put it on speaker phone. He said aloud, "Hello, everyone. You must've seen me in the shadows and for that, I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Grim, like the Grim Reaper, but better. Welcome to my game of DEATH! Just kidding. Kind of. I'm sure my guest, Amia, has already explained the rules to you so let's begin. You have until 12:00 AM (It is currently 5:00 PM) to finish my challenges or you die. Any questions?" He stopped talking. Jade yells at him, "You're a fake! What a stupid prank call... Unlock the f**king door." He resumes, "That's not a question. Watch your language, Jacquelyn. Game starts now." It hung up. Jade freezes, nobody knew her real name was Jacquelyn because she had completely removed that from her memory and everyone else's who knew it. We all sat there in silence, too afraid to speak. It soon began. There was a box that randomly appeared in the room and a curtain covering that part of the room. It had a bunch of different holes and it rotated inside. There was a timer that wasn't set and a whole bunch of random items in a drawer. It had a hole in the glass that was arm length and sharp spikes at the top that looked like they could drop at any second. He called again from the same unknown number. He exclaims, "Time for the first challenge! As you see, there is this box. To play it is simple. You pick up a random small object from inside the drawer and try to match which hole is designed for it. If it fits, that's one point. The person with the least points dies in a not-to-be-announced way. The curtain is here to cover the box and the person so you can't cheat. The order will go from the person who saw me first and last. If you mess up that order, the person in the wrong order will be playing for the person who was meant to go. Think carefully, you cannot play twice. First person will begin in 10 minutes. Have fun!" We all knew I was first but we had to figure out the correct order. The order we came up with was: Me, Ethan, Veronica, Mateo, Alexander, Jade, and Jasper. I went behind the curtain and walked to the box. The box was lit and the rest of the small area was dim. The timer began as soon as I put my hand inside. It span so I could see a bunch of different holes. I placed a lot of objects inside, getting some wrong once in a while. I kept doing it as fast as I could. The timer stopped after three minutes. Ethan went next and so on. We all anxiously waited for the results, not knowing what would happen if one of us had lost. Grim calls again and says, "Good job, you all did good. However, one of you didn't do good enough. Ethan you lost." We all gasped and looked at him. Grim continues, "What's funny is that you got the order wrong. Veronica was supposed to go second and Ethan was third. Therefore, Veronica officially loses the challenge." The call ends. We hear a loud nuclear bomb warning noise which causes us to cover our ears and close our eyes as the sound was extremely intense. It stopped after a couple minutes and we see that Veronica is gone; except she wasn't missing. The chalkboard in the room shows a drawing of Veronica hanging from a ceiling. It was disturbing. We notice that a light keeps flicking from behind the curtain. Mateo steps up and says, "I'll open it." He quickly swings the curtain open and there was Veronica... her body swayed on the rope that hung her. We all screamed/cried and began to panic once again. It seemed as though an hour passed by. Maybe we were meant to die by the hour? That would leave 3 people by 11 PM... My dream skipped those challenges until it was Ethan, Mateo, and I left. The death order went Veronica, Jade, Jasper, Alexander, and Hayley. Ethan whispered to me, "It's 11 PM. We're almost free." I whispered back, "But there can only be one winner by 12 AM or else we all die." It became silent again. Mateo decided to CALL Grim and he surprisingly answered. Mateo asked, "How is this going to work? Will two people die? You sick f**k." Grim doesn't seem too happy, "Mateo, you're annoying. Only one person will die at this very moment and then a death match! Choose who you want to kill." He hangs up. Ethan and I get a rope thrown around our neck and pulled to a different corner. Above us is a machine of some sort but looks like it'd kill us in a heartbeat. The rope is there to hold us against our will until Mateo chooses. Mateo stares at us both but more at me, you can tell he's already made up his mind. A gun appears in his hand and he immediately points it at me. Before shooting, he says, "This is all your fault. You just had to research and learn about this. We could've lived our lives happily without this. I lost everyone I loved." He pulls the trigger and Mateo falls to the ground. The bullet had shot out the back and it shot him instead of me. The ropes let go of Ethan and I. We run to each other and embrace. One of us was going to die and I didn't want it to be Ethan. I told him let me talk to Grim alone, he obviously didn't want me to but I convinced him. I went in the storage room that was in the classroom. It was dark and stuffed but I worked with it. I sat on the ground and called him. He answered and said, "What're you doing in here? You should be out there with Ethan." I said, "I know but I want to talk to you." "Why? Do you have more questions? Poor Mateo, couldn't understand that man if I tried." "No. I want to know more about you. What happened for you to become who you are? Were you once real? If so, did something tragic happen?" "Wow. That's so deep. NO! I'm evil Grim. Get back out there or I'll hurt you." "I'm serious, Grim. I researched about you and now I'm genuinely interested to know more. Kill me, let Ethan go. I just want to know more than what everyone else does." "You're stubborn, I like it. I enjoy killing. It all began when I saw you in that tree. I seen how scared you looked and it was amazing, like a turn on but not in a sexual way. That's when I decided to give this a try. I was heavily influenced by the purge movies and saw." "Oh... so, were you a real person or do you know a lot about humans?" "I'm Grim, I'm not real nor fake. I planned this for a year to see if it was something I'd enjoy doing. I love this game. I forced websites to write about me and that copycat serial killer to murder people because I knew you'd think of me again." "You're a stalker. Or, you like me. Do I attract you?" "Don't get cocky." "Grim, you're an interesting... thing. Please, let Ethan go. It could just be you and I as the death match." "It was already going to be like that, sweetie. I want you to be my partner in this game. We can run it together next year." "Wait, you planned to let Ethan go?" "No." The door opens and Ethan's body says, "I am Ethan." He stabs me in the chest multiple times. It doesn't hurt. The pain is gone. My body collapses. It's dark. I see Ethan... but it's not Ethan. It's Grim. I'm okay with this. Do I know if Ethan was ever real? No but, I'll pretend it was Grim all along. I become his partner in crime and we run the same game again every year.

AI generated interpretation Dreams can often be a reflection of our subconscious thoughts and emotions, as well as our fears and desires. In this dream, it appears that there are several themes at play. The dream begins with a fun Halloween celebration with friends and family. This suggests a sense of nostalgia and a desire for connection and camaraderie. The presence of the large, odd-looking tree with a dark hole in the middle may symbolize a sense of curiosity and a willingness to explore the unknown. The introduction of the creature known as "Him" and the copycat serial killer suggests a sense of danger and the fear of the unknown. It is interesting to note that the dreamer initially dismisses the creature as a fake story, indicating a skepticism or unwillingness to fully accept and acknowledge the presence of danger. The challenges presented by "Grim" in the later part of the dream represent a struggle for survival and a fight against external forces. The dreamer and their friends are forced to play a deadly game with high stakes, and the failure to complete the challenges result in death. The dreamer's research about Grim and desire to understand him may suggest a curiosity about the darker aspects of life and a fascination with the unknown. The dream takes a surprising turn when the dreamer chooses to become Grim's partner instead of fighting against him. This may indicate a willingness to embrace one's own darkness or desires, or a recognition that sometimes it is easier to join forces with what seems threatening rather than fighting against it. Overall, this dream seems to be exploring themes of curiosity, fear, danger, and the internal struggle between light and dark aspects of our psyche. It is important to remember that dreams are highly personal and can be interpreted in different ways depending on individual experiences and emotions.