A Dickens Halloween

We endeavor in this ghostly little tale to raise the arousal of a Ghost, but not put the readers out of pleasure with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with us. May it haunt your computer pleasantly, and aid your lays. Read the dickens out of it.

--(paraphrased from C.D, 1843)

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Marla was dead, to begin with. There was little doubt whatsoever in Eleanor's mind about that. After all, Eleanor was the one that found Marla face down in chocolate vat number four. It was Eleanor who notified the constable and identified the remains. And it was Eleanor who had the unsavory task of breaking the news of the accident to Marla's closest living relative, her Aunt Petunia.

So by all measures Marla's demise was assured by Eleanor's way of thinking. As the executor of the will, she also knew that some good would come of this terrible tragedy. Since the will would give all worldly possessions, including Marla's half share of the lucrative chocolate factory that they had partnered for twelve years, to "my dearest Eleanor," Marla's death was not without profit for her best friend.

Nevertheless, she did miss her friend and bemoaned the timing of her inheritance. It was Halloween, the start of the chocolate season. The bothersome spook day was quickly followed by the gluttonous Thanksgiving, commercial Christmas, and the most sappy of them all, the lucrative Valentine's Day. Curse the fucking cloud on all her silver linings.

Closing early so as not to have the town gossip about her irreverence, Eleanor came home in a particularly foul mood. There she found that her husband, Bob, had decorated in his usual elaborate and irritating manner for the frightful holiday. He was such a slave to the distractions of idiocy, she thought as she pulled up the long driveway.

Strobe lights sat facing a cardboard coffin on their front porch. Plastic bats and streamers hung from every limb in the yard, and a fake cemetery lined the walk. How morosely appropriate, Eleanor smiled, as she contemplated the day's events.

Kicking one of the styrofoam ghosts sitting on her front step, she flung the door open, screaming "Bob!!!" in her most shrill voice. There was no sign of her silly husband except a note sitting beside two large bowls containing homemade popcorn balls reading, "Dearest Elle, please begin giving these out if I arrive too late to see the first trick-or-treaters. Love, Bob."

Eleanor made short work of the balls, crushing each with a stomp and throwing them in the trash can. Then she turned out all the lights and sat in the dark, waiting to give it to old Bob for wasting so much money on those ridiculous decorations. She tried to masturbate to calm down, but the anger in her soul kept her from cumming. Soon the frenzied day took its toll as she fell into a fitful slumber in Bob's lounging chair.

************************************

The doorbell rang, awakening Eleanor with a start. Children's voices from her porch argued whether there was anyone home. She rapped her fingers on the cushion in anger as she debated whether to bother dispersing the little candy mongers at her door. With the second ring, she was up like a shot, sending the children scurrying with her terrifying appearance at the door.

"Get outa my yard, you nasty little vermin," she shouted as she threw the door open in disgust. "I'll have you for trespassing if you step foot here again."

Eleanor glared at the disappearing figures, falling over themselves and the fake tombstones in their way. As the pack crossed the hedges, they passed what looked to be a gray statue of a woman. Eleanor peered into the darkness at what she thought was a familiar profile, but it could not be. The only woman who looked like the statue was tits up on a morgue table at the moment. And the next moment, the mirage was gone.

Eleanor closed the door and triple locked it. She was shaken, but all of her glances from the foyer curtains failed to show a return of the shadowy figure. Turning to run a bath, she heard a soft sound come from the den. The sound of scraping, then a glow of a light emanating from the den doorway just ahead of her. The flickering light couldn't be seen from her vantage point, but it's dancing beams stopped her in her tracks.

"Bob?" Eleanor's voice shook, because she couldn't have missed her husband's arrival home. Someone had lit the fireplace candle all right, but she was not at all confident it was her poor demented husband.

Eleanor took a step toward the doorway, and a pause, then another small step. She picked up the coat rack in the hall and held it before her body like a lance, not entirely sure what she would do with the unwieldy thing. Another step forward. Nothing, no sound at all. With a giant leap, she jumped into the middle of the den waving the coat hooks before her in offense or defense, whichever came first.

Before the fireplace, directly across from her, stood a gray figure placing the candle back on the mantle. It was a woman, completely naked and covered with flaking spots. As Eleanor, still clutching her fearsome coat rack, stared wide-eyed at the woman, the spirit waved a hand over the candle as if to summon it to burn brighter then turned around to confront the intruder. The gray woman was Marla.

Eleanor dropped her coat rack, gasping in horror at the pariah before her. She pointed with a weak finger at the ghost, while one hand found a speechless throat. The ghost looked placid, content, and waited for Eleanor to find her voice.

"Oh... oh my. My god, who are you? Why... it can't be you. You're... you're deader than a door nail!"

"Strange saying that," said the spirit, "since a door nail had no life to lose, and I can't seem to get rid of mine." A faint smile appeared on the face of the nude ghost.

The voice was definitely Marla's, there was no doubt. The ghost reached down to peel gray chocolate off her thigh and dropped it with ceremony in front of her. The bit of chocolate floated to the floor and disappeared.

Eleanor took in Marla's naked body in silence. God, she was gorgeous. It had been twenty years since she had seen Marla naked, but not much had changed about her body since high school. Except maybe her breasts were fuller.

"Damn, that's not fair, not an ounce of cellulite," thought Eleanor. "I wonder why she never got a man, I would even fuck her if I had a dick. If she cleaned up that is. And if she weren't dead."

They stared at each other for several moments, Marla merely waiting while Eleanor unabashedly stared at her breasts. Her colorless tits still looked youthful with smooth nipples and gentle slopes, while her pubic hair was barely noticeable between her legs. Her long shapely legs stood parted slightly in a most enticing manner and there was a tag hanging from one toe. Eleanor started at the sight, then noticed that the tits didn't rise and fall with respirations. She acquiesced to the obvious.

"Sweet Lord, you are Marla. But... how? Why?"

Marla's Ghost smiled more broadly. "I don't know, Eleanor. I'm unable to come back, unable to move on. I have a purpose and I'm not entirely sure what it is. But it involves you."

Eleanor stepped back with horror, hand on her chest. "Me? Why me, what did I ever do to you?" Her voice took on her usual biting tone, "You won't haunt me Marla Peach, I won't stand for it!"

Marla's Ghost giggled slightly. "I'm not haunting you, partner. I'm taking you." With that she held out her hands as if to draw Eleanor close.

"Take me?!?! Take me where?" Eleanor shrieked in fear as her feet began to move forward against their will. Her hands lifted stiffly to meet her outstretched fingers.

"I don't know yet, my dear. But we shall see now, won't we?"

And with that, their hands touched. And they were gone.

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Where the hell am I, thought Eleanor, squinting into the darkness around her. She had the feeling that she was home, but even in the dark she knew that she was not inside her house.

Suddenly a young girl appeared out of the darkness, creeping slowly right toward them. She stopped every few feet to listen carefully, but continued to look as if she were aiming to run over Eleanor.

"Hey, watch it kid," yelled Eleanor suddenly, as the child stopped inches from her face. The shout didn't seem to startle the girl, who promptly walked right through the stunned Eleanor.

Turning, she watched the girl creep onward into the darkness. Marla stood beside her, still smiling most absurdly.

"She doesn't see or hear us." Marla stepped ahead as if to follow the sneaking child.

"Well, no shit. Who is she?"

"One of my closest friends from my childhood," said Marla's Ghost.

They followed the girl on her slow journey down the hallway and into a kitchen. Moonlight through the window revealed an antique green refrigerator and sixties-era kitchenette set. Upon the table lay two plastic orange pumpkins filled with candy. The girl paused above the pumpkins listening, then began to gently take pieces from one to fill the other.

"That's... that's me, isn't it?" Eleanor blurted out. This was her kitchen, and that was her pumpkin, the other belonging to her younger brother. She watched herself taking his candy in the dark, awash in memory of her childhood.

"Yes, that's you. The loving sister."

A bump came from the opposite door and the younger Eleanor froze staring into the darkness. Bump, snap... then a series of moans wafted through the quiet house.

The girl started back to her room, stopped, then turned and crept toward the door with the sounds. Eleanor followed, reliving her past suddenly as if being splashed with cold water. Marla trailed behind as if pushing her.

Coming up behind the younger version of herself, Eleanor tried to turn away. Looking at Marla's face, her eyes pleaded. But Marla's Ghost nodded toward the young girl and Eleanor took her place to watch with choked breath.

The young Eleanor squatted in front of her parents bedroom, listening with an ear against the door. Low voices and soft music were nearly inaudible but occasionally a crack and moan could be heard.

As the older Eleanor mouthed the words "No, don't" behind her, the girl raised her hand and turned the knob, gently pushing the door in so that only a finger-size crack was revealed. Taking their places to witness the haunting scene, the Eleanors spied on their unsuspecting parents.

Eleanor saw her father walk past the door, a massive man with a low soothing voice. Only on this night his voice growled as he paced beside the raised bed. From the back, she could see his buttocks in the glow of candlelight. Black leather chaps fell over his hips and circled around his thighs leaving only his ass bare. A solid black vest and a black cowboy hat hid the rest of him from her. Except for his massive arms. And the whip.

A curling, sinister black whip flipped back and forth in his right hand. She jumped at the sight of it as she shared the fear in the girl beneath her. Then she spotted her mother.

Stripped bare and spread eagle on the bed, her mother was handcuffed to the bedposts. Her straining arms fought the bonds as her legs were splayed apart at the foot of the bed. Eleanor could not see the bonds on her ankles, but she knew they had to be there, keeping her mother from running away or kicking out.

Horror filled her as she saw her father's bulging arm reach up and threaten the whip to her prostrate mother. A burst of low conversation followed, until the arm came down, the whip striking her mother across the stomach with a snap. The Eleanors jumped, not able to run away, but not believing their eyes.

Her mother moaned softly several times, as the whip traveled over her naked skin. Eleanor's father moved toward the foot of the bed, allowing them to see her mother's face, twisted in agony. Her mouth was open, and she was pleading with him, a blindfold covering her eyes completely.

Feeling helpless, the pair watched as their father laid the whip down into the crotch of his wife. "Spread them for me" echoed through the crack in the door as the bound woman lifted her knees and spread her legs even wider. Eleanor watched stupefied as her father then tenderly ran his fingers along her mother's legs, stopping at times to play between them.

Taking off his cowboy hat, her father leaned over and opened a jar of petroleum jelly. Dipping two fingers inside, he ran the lubricant over the end of the leather whip, working it into the handle with his tight fist. Then, with a smile, he turned back to his wife, whispered something inaudible, and plunged the whip into her opened pussy.

The little girl darted from the door, racing back into the kitchen. Eleanor stood stunned, remembering that from her low vantage point as a child, she had not actually seen much of anything. But the overwhelming sense of violation that she had felt was suddenly twisted. She looked back through the door to see her mother rocking her pelvis against the black leather whip. Her tensed face took on a mask of ecstasy.

Eleanor turned to Marla's Ghost, an astounded look on her face. "They're just fucking, aren't they? He isn't hurting her at all. She's.... cumming."

Marla's Ghost nodded again with a somber frown. "You remember this Halloween very well don't you, Eleanor? And it's not at all how you remember it, is it?"

Eleanor turned back to the door. Her father's semi-erect cock lay dripping across his leg as he bent to kiss his wife's tit. The whip had fallen to the floor as it was replaced by his large hand playing over her clit. Her moans of pleasure became a crescendo of approaching orgasm as he fingered her.

"I've seen enough. Take me back." Eleanor turned away, and suddenly the room faded to black.

*********************************

Disco music was the first thing that Eleanor noticed as she stepped forward and placed her hands on the hood of the car. She and Marla's Ghost stood in a sea of muscle cars and Gremlin's parked haphazardly around a ranch-style house. The Brothers Gibb barely drowned out the chaotic noise of teenagers partying in the back yard. Looking down at the gold embossed emblem covering the front of the black Trans Am beneath her hands, she squealed in surprise.

"That's Bobby's!! I mean, this was Bob's car in high school. And that's Kenny's car over there. And that house, that's your..."

She stopped suddenly and stared at Marla's Ghost who was cradling her full nipples with her crossed arms. Marla was looking back toward the house and shivering as if there were a nip in the air, but Eleanor couldn't feel a thing.

"Yes, it's my house. Remember my Halloween party?"

Eleanor's face brightened wistfully, "Hell yeah, it was awesome. Everybody was there. That's where I first..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed a thin girl staring at her from the shadows of the garage. The girl stood motionless, arms crossed against a tight sweater as if warming up from the cold.

Eleanor turned to Marla's Ghost. "That's you. I thought they couldn't see us? Why is she staring at me like that?"

"She's not, she's looking at this." Marla's Ghost nodded at the car beneath Eleanor's outstretched arms. The windows were fogged over completely and there was a different rhythm rocking the car gently, unrelated to the disco beat echoing through the neighborhood. Eleanor suddenly recalled the situation and gulped. This time, she didn't look up at Marla's Ghost.

"That's me in the front seat, isn't it."

"Yes it is." Marla's Ghost was cold and matter of fact. Teenage Marla stood as still as a statue by the house.

Eleanor knew where this was going now. She turned to Marla, first the unseeing teenager and then to her spirit. "I'm so sorry, Marla. I didn't mean for this to happen. I thought it was just a crush, I mean, he didn't... well, you know. God, what a bitch I was."

Marla's Ghost made no move, as if she were waiting for something. Then, as if on cue, the black passenger door opened, pot smoke pouring out of it. A young lady stumbled out, her blouse unbuttoned and bra askew. She straightened them as she leaned over to argue with the pleading boy still sitting in the front seat.

"Bobby, I'm not sucking you till you cum all over me. That's gross." The teenager flipped her feathered hair back in mock anger, obviously enjoying calling the shots.

"Ellie, you can't leave me like this, that sucks. Aw shit, I didn't mean you HAD to swallow it, I just figured since you were already doing it... C'mon, Elle, let's talk about it!!! I'll return the favor, I promise. If you want we could even run and get some rubbers. C'mon, please!?!?!"

The young Eleanor had her blouse nearly buttoned before he finished whining. "Are you through yet?" she asked shortly. "I came out here with you to see if you like Marla, not to get my cherry popped in a Trans Am."

The boy zipped up his pants, opened his door, and looked across the top at the young girl. Eleanor and Marla's Ghost stood right beside him, but listened in silence as he replied. "And I told you, I don't dig Marla, I dig you. Marla and I were so Junior High, she doesn't rev me up like you do, Ellie. C'mon, don't be mad. I'm just being honest. Would you rather I lie to you? Lie to Marla?"

The teenage girl hit the top of the car in a melodramatic gesture. "No, but that doesn't mean I have to fuck you 'cause you're suddenly in the mood. I've got to break it to Marla, you know." Her voice began to boom loudly as she picked up steam, "AND YOU'RE NOT HELPING THINGS!!!"

"Shhhhh," he cautioned as he looked around. "Let's take it slow then. Tell Marla whatever you want. I'll even write her a note if she's confused. Something sweet. But," he lowered his voice even more, "I have to see you."

The young Eleanor lowered her eyes in thought for a moment before looking back at the house. "Ok, give me till Friday. Pick me up before the game for a real fuckin' date, understand?" With that she stormed back to the backyard, eventually followed by the teenage Bob.

Eleanor looked back to see that Marla, the live version, was no longer in sight. Then she turned to see Marla's Ghost looking at her.

"Does that explain some things, Eleanor?"

"God no, Marla. If you knew that Bob and I were hooking up, why did you let me tell you the story about him having a girl from Central High? Why didn't you slap the shit outa me? Why..." Eleanor stared into her eyes, "Why are we still friends?"

Marla's Ghost smiled. It was a deep and affectionate smile, catching her friend off guard. "Because I knew he loved you and not me. And that's the only thing that made it bearable. I loved him more than anything. And you make him happy more than anything."

Eleanor watched the beautiful face of her best friend and marveled at the peace in her as she spoke. She paused to consider this. Then, with a tear in her eye, she turned away. "Your amazing. And yes, I guess I really did make him happy. A long time ago."

Marla's Ghost touched her shoulder from behind. "Let's go see about that."

With that, the spirit's arms encircled Eleanor in a loving hug. Eleanor felt like breaking away and arguing that she didn't deserve such a friend. But the warmth of her friend's arms wrapping around her seemed to melt her resolve. Turning to face Marla, they embraced until the scenery around them faded away once again.

****************************************

Bob pushed the back door open and threw his keys on the counter. Peeling his coat off, he searched the house, turning on lights as he went. "Eleanor? Why are all the lights out, babe?"

Eleanor sat at the kitchen table with Marla's Ghost. "I can't talk with him can I?" The spirit shook her head and finished peeling the gray chocolate from her legs.