Hello everyone, and welcome to "The Crumplebottom Curse." This is my entry for the Halloween Showcase 2008. Bear in mind that it's satire, so it's not to be taken too seriously.

I hope you all enjoy!

October 31; 10:30 PM

"This movie's boring," moaned Helen Hartzel, staring at the horror movie flashing across her television screen. Sighing, she flicked a piece of blonde hair from her eyes and tried to focus on "The Wolfman."
"You're the one that picked it out," laughed Celeste Singleton, Helen's best friend.

"I thought it would be scary!" the blonde protested.
"Well, it's not. Can't we do something else?"
"Like what?" Helen asked, but was cut off by a sudden rattling throughout her room.

Climbing to her feet, Helen and Celeste walked across the room.
"Dumb vent. It always does this," Helen groaned, her voice muffled by the duct's constant rattling.

"Maybe there's something stuck inside," Celeste suggested, looking at her friend.
"Yeah, sure."
"Really. Maybe it's a secret treasure or something..."
"Maybe it's just an old house," Helen chuckled.

"Really. Lots of old places like this have stuff hidden all over the place. Why don't we take a look? We've got nothing better to do."
"...Oh, fine. Come help me get a chair to stand on."

Chatting gaily, the two girls made their way into the upper hallway.
"What do you think's inside?" Celeste asked.
"Dust...maybe a few bugs."
"You're really boring, you know that?" the brunette sighed.

Walking down the stairs, the pair made their way into Helen's brightly lit kitchen.
"I'm not boring," Helen frowned, "I'm helping you, aren't I? So, stop complaining."
"Oh fine. I'm sorry," Celeste giggled.

Walking across the kitchen, the two shuffled into the dining room. Suddenly, a deep feeling of dread overcame Helen. It felt as if the room didn't want her to take the chair.
"Weird..."
"What?" Celeste asked.
"Nothing, just help me."

Shrugging, Celeste walked around the table and helped her friend lift one of the heavy, wooden dining chairs.
"Don't break it. My mom'll kill me," Helen scolded.
"Sorry..." Celeste murmured, suddenly overcome by the same feeling of dread.

October 31; 10:45 PM

"See anything?" Celeste asked, watching as Helen dug through the vent on the wall.
"No. It's dark up here."
"Well, keep looking," the brunette called, tilting her head to one side.
"Why aren't you helping? This was your idea," Helen frowned, her voice echoing through the duct.
"I'm supervising."

"Find anything?" Celeste smiled again.
"....Yeah."
"What is it? What is it?"
"...It looks like a video," Helen called, pulling a black box from the wall.

Climbing down from the chair, Helen walked over to the television and pushed the video into the VCR.
"What do you think it is?" Celeste asked, sitting on the floor.
"We're about to find out," the blonde smiled.

As Helen sunk down next to her companion, the television buzzed to life.
"What is it?" Helen blinked as a circle flashed onto the screen.
"...I don't know. Just watch."

The screen darkened to a lonely well, surrounded by a lush layer of forest.
"What is this supposed to be?" Celeste asked, her dread deepening.

"Look....Something's coming out of it..." Helen pointed, as a dark figure climbed out of the well onscreen.

"I have a bad feeling," Celeste whispered, as the figure fully emerged from its prison.
"...It's just some weird old movie," Helen chuckled, her voice cracking.

The screen began to fade, leaving the girl with the eerie image of an old woman with a purse. She looked straight ahead, as if watching the two bewildered teenagers from her position within the tv.

"Weird...Heheh," Helen suddenly burst out laughing, "What a waste of time."
"Yeah...heheh. A waste of time," Celeste laughed softly, staring at the blank screen.
"What was it even supposed to be?"
"No idea," Celeste shrugged.

"Well..." Helen started, but was cut off as the shrill ring of the telephone broke the silence of the home.
"Who's calling at this hour?" Celeste asked, looking over.
"Probably my parents," the blonde frowned, "I'll get it."

Standing up, Helen hurried into the hall, the ringing piercing her ears.
"Sheesh, I'm coming. I'm coming."

The girl made her way down the stairs, moving for the kitchen.
However, she froze, overcome by the sudden sensation of being watched.
"....Hello?" Helen whispered. She recieved no respone but the ringing phone.

Sighing, she reached for the device and brought it to her ear.
"Hello?" she whispered, her stomach curling into a knot.
"....Hello, Helen."
"Who is this?"
"..I see you and Celeste are gaining interest in Film and Literature. If you keep this up..."

"Ugh," Helen rolled her eyes, slamming the reciever back down. However, the phone seemed to have a life of it's own. It immediately began ringing again.

"Hello?" Helen groaned, lifting the device once again to her ear.
"Hey, I found some new places to hang downtown. Do you want to meet me there?"
"Umm...do I even know you?" Helen blinked.
"....No."
"Yeah...bye," the girl groaned, hanging the phone up again.

However, sure enough, it began to ring again.
With a exasperated moan, Helen grabbed for it once again.
"What?" she yelled.

"...You're going to die in seventy minutes."
"...What?" Helen blinked, "Who is this?"
There was no response.

"Lousy prank callers," the teenager moaned, slamming the reciever back down.
Turning around, she headed back for the stairs.

"It was just a prank, Helen," she chuckled, but was unable to rid herself of the nausea welling up in her stomach.

Celeste walked over as her friend walked back into the bedroom.
"Who was it?"
"Some weird prank caller," Helen forced a small smile.
"What'd they say?"
"That we're going to die in seventy minutes..."
Suddenly, Celeste's face paled.

"What?" Helen asked.
"Well I was thinking...what if it was the tape?"
"What'a you mean?"
"Well...I heard about cursed objects. Apparently, you use them, and then....bad things happen."
"...And where exactly did you hear this?"
"I have sources...let's just go look it up online. I have a bad feeling."

November 1; 12:05 AM

"Find anything yet?" Celeste asked, looking over at her friend, "We've got five minutes left..."
"Not yet."
"Are you even looking?"

"Not right now! I almost beat my high score in SSX3!"
"Helen!"

"Fine. Fine," Helen sighed, "Let's see...evilcursedobjects.org."
"Find anything?" Celeste asked, nervously glancing at the clock.
"I'm looking!"

"Let's see...Giant pink rabbits, nope. Invisble therapists, nope. Ah, here we are, purse-wielding maniacs."
"What's it say?" the brunette looked up.

"Let's see...The Crumplebottom Curse. On Halloween, 1940, Mrs. Agatha Crumplebottom was murdered by her husband and tossed down a well. Apparently, he'd gotten tired of his wife's hate for all humanity. But, according to legend, Mrs. Crumplebottom imprisoned her evil on a video-tape. All those who watch it will die seventy minutes later."
Clicking off the monitor, the blonde stood up and sunk onto the sofa.

"What're we going to do?" Celeste whispered, her voice cracking from worry.
"I don't know...It's all just a legend, right?"

"I...." the brunette began, but suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence.
"What?" Helen asked, looking around.
"...You hear that?"
"What?"
"The tv's on, upstairs..." Celeste gulped, looking across the room.

"Did you turn it off?" Helen asked.
"...Yeah."
"...Should we go check it out?"
"...Probably," Celeste nodded, standing up.

The friends crept up the stairs, the hearts racing faster with each step.
"I still hear it..." Helen whispered, pausing in front of her bedroom door.

"Are you going in?" Celeste queried, biting her lip.
"...On the count of three. One."
"Two."
"Three."

The girls flung themselves into the room, blinding by a sudden flash of light.
They barely had the time to scream.

The teenagers were found dead several hours later. The analysis of their bodies revealed they had been beaten to death...by a purse.
Helen's distraught parents found the cursed video and placed it into the box for "The Wolfman." Several days later, they returned it to the local video-store.
Now remember everyone...if you happen to pick up a copy of "The Wolfman", be sure to check the tape. Or you could be the next victim of the Crumplebottom Curse....

I hope you all enjoyed the story. I sure enjoyed writing it.

Maybe you got a few scares...a few groans...or a few laughs out of it. Sign my guestbook if you want to sure your opinions.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Watch out for Mrs. Crumplebottom!