The Thicket

by Noelle W. Ihli

The Thicket made the list of “10 Scariest Haunted Houses in the United States” on SocialBuzz every year.

Norah wonders idly if the security guard in the tan uniform and hat she saw earlier has been trained to tell whether or not someone actually needs help. From where Norah sits, all the screaming sounds the same.

And when the first scream does tear through his throat, he knows it’s loud enough that everyone will hear it. But no one will come.

Norah doesn’t ask why. Because the look in the woman’s eyes tells her to cling to these last few minutes of not knowing like a life raft.

Sometimes, Norah feels like her family members are living in different dimensions. Or maybe different circles of hell. She doesn’t feel abandoned. Or resentful. She just accepts that they can’t reach each other right now.

But that feeling of staring into the dark and wondering if there’s danger lurking there, even just a little danger, will never get old. It’s the whole point of Halloween.