#and TECHNICALLY I'm still posting it on Halloween! it's just...v close

[thelastspeecher]

if you're taking halloween prompts, maybe Stan and the gucks dealing with the headless horseman coming to the guck farm?

I tapped into my Irish folklore knowledge and did my best to make a kinda spooky story.  Hopefully, I pulled it off moderately successfully!

(Oh, also, this ficlet takes place immediately following the last ficlet I posted, of Stangie going trick-or-treating.)

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              Stan parked his car outside the McGucket farmhouse. He grinned at Angie.

              “Damn, we got a huge haul,” he said.  Holding the buckets filled with candy, Angie grinned back.

              “We sure did!”

              “Time to go eat so much we make ourselves sick.”

              “Yeah!  Wait, what?”

              “I’m jokin’, Angie, don’t worry.”  Stan turned the car off and took his bucket from Angie. “C’mon.”  The two got out of the car.  Stan heard rustling.  In his peripheral vision, he could see movement.  He tossed the bucket back into the car and rushed over to stand protectively in front of Angie.  A figure emerged from the bushes.

              “What in the-” Angie started.

              “Back away, Angie,” Stan hissed.  He and Angie backed away slowly.  The figure followed, only to split away from them just as they reached the porch.  Stan watched as the figure headed for a horse tied to one of the porch rails.  Angie suddenly gripped Stan’s arms tight enough that he had to bite back a yelp of pain.

              “Stan!” Angie whispered, terrified.  “That feller don’t have no head!”

              “Yer seein’ things,” Stan said back.  He looked more closely.  His blood ran cold.  Angie was right.  The figure looked exactly like a man, but a man missing his head.  The front door opened behind them.

              “Kids, inside!”  Pa McGucket roughly dragged Stan and Angie in, then closed the door and locked it.  “Sally, the salt.”

              “On it, dear.”  Ma McGucket gently nudged Stan and Angie away from the door.  She laid a line of salt across the threshold. “I can check the other points of entry.”

              “Thank you, sweetheart,” Pa McGucket said.  Ma McGucket left.  Pa McGucket looked Stan and Angie over, relief on his face.  “I’m so glad yer safe.”

              “Uh, yeah, we- we are,” Angie squeaked.

              “What’s the deal with No-Head McGee out there?” Stan asked, jutting his thumb in the direction of said headless man.  Pa McGucket sighed.

              “He’s one of the Fair Folk,” he answered. Angie’s eyes widened.  Stan frowned.

              “The what?”

              “Oh, that’s right.  You wouldn’t know much ‘bout the Fair Folk, would ya?” Pa McGucket mumbled to himself.  “Well, come on into the livin’ room.  We’ll have a chat.”  Stan and Angie followed Pa McGucket into the living room.  Pa McGucket sat in his favorite armchair, while Stan and Angie sat on the couch.

              “All right, explain,” Stan said.  Pa McGucket raised an eyebrow at him.  “…Please.”

              “The Fair Folk have been called many things. They can be found in just ‘bout every place in the world, so’s each culture had their own name fer ‘em.  The one yer prob’ly most familiar with would be ‘fairy’.”

              “Fairy?  That ghost-looking thing was not a fairy,” Stan interjected.  Pa McGucket sighed.

              “The real Fair Folk are a far cry from the pop’lar representation of a lil lady in a sparkly dress and wings.  ‘Course, my fam’ly never called ‘em that.  We called ‘em the Fair Folk, or, on occasion, used the name they gave themselves, the aes sidhe, or just the sidhe fer short.”

              “She?” Stan said, testing out the word.  Pa McGucket nodded.  “That doesn’t sound English.”

              “It ain’t.  It’s Irish.  That’s where my fam’ly came from.”

              “I kinda figured.”

              “I had a feelin’ ya had figured that out on yer own,” Pa McGucket said, a twinkle in his eye.  “Yer quite the clever fella.”  He cleared his throat.  “As I was sayin’, the Fair Folk ain’t the fairy you’d see in a cartoon.  They’re mysterious, magical folk who manipulate perceptions of the world, an ability referred to as glamour.  They live in the hills of the old country, in a world that runs parallel to ours.  If ya wish to visit ‘em, ya need to go ‘sideways’.  At least, according to tradition.”

              “Uh…okay,” Stan said after a moment.  Angie leaned forward.

              “Pa?”

              “Yes, Junebug?”

              “Is the feller outside Seelie or Unseelie?” she asked.  Pa McGucket smiled.

              “I’m so glad to hear that yer pa’s old stories stuck in yer brilliant lil mind.”

              “Pa!” Angie whined.  Pa McGucket chuckled.

              “The Headless Horseman ain’t aligned with either Court.”  Pa McGucket turned to Stan.  “Broadly speakin’, the Fair Folk tend to belong to either the Seelie Court or the Unseelie Court.  ‘Course, there are those, like the feller outside, who opt out of the system.”

              “Let me guess,” Stan said slowly.  “Seelie is good and Unseelie is bad?”  Pa McGucket leaned back in his chair.

              “Not quite.  It ain’t wise to use such human terminology to refer to bein’s what are so far from human.  Their minds don’t work like ours, so their morals don’t, neither.  The Seelie Court is the kinder of the two, yes.  They won’t attack unless ya offend.”

              “That’s nice of them,” Stan muttered.

              “Eh.  The Fair Folk have very specific etiquette to follow, and it’s very easy to accidentally offend.  So even if yer in the presence of a Seelie, yer not out of the woods.  The Unseelie Court, they thrive on pain and suffering and chaos.”

              “So, stay away from Unseelie.”

              “Stay away from all Fair Folk,” Angie said firmly. Pa McGucket nodded.  “Some are kinder than others, but they…”  Angie scratched her cheek.  “They ain’t human.  They don’t think like we do, they don’t understand us, we don’t understand ‘em. Seelie are better, yes, but ya never want to be in the company of the Folk unless yer in complete control of the sit’ation.”

              “Exactly,” Pa McGucket said.  “There are Fair Folk on our property that we have communicated with before, and each time, we determine when and where, and protect ourselves against their glamour.”

              “Wait, what?” Angie asked.  “Pa, you’ve seen the Fair Folk before?”

              “Of course, dearie.  Grandmama and Grandpapa set up our current arrangement with ‘em back when they settled here.  And the Headless Horseman tends to drop by on Samhain.”

              “There are so many new words,” Stan groaned, putting his head in his hands.  “I feel like I’m in school.”

              “I’ve never seen him ‘fore,” Angie said, ignoring Stan.

              “You’ve never been up late enough to see him ‘fore,” Pa McGucket said.

              “The Fair Folk never go sideways to our world unless they have a reason.”

              “Sweetie, they don’t need a reason on Samhain.  It’s as much their celebration as it is ours.”

              “Fine, I’ll bite,” Stan said.  He lifted his head.  “What is Saw-win?”

              “Samhain is an ancient Irish festival to signal the end of harvest and comin’ of winter.  Tradition holds that it is when boundaries between worlds are the thinnest.” Pa McGucket shrugged.  “Don’t know how true that is, but it’s what they say. And it’s when the Headless Horseman shows up, so.”  Pa McGucket looked in the direction of the front door.  “I’m glad that this Headless Horseman appears to be dif’rent to the kind Grandmama and Grandpapa told stories ‘bout.”

              “How so?”

              “He’s never killed anyone by sayin’ their name, fer one thing,” Pa McGucket said dryly.  Stan’s mouth went dry.

              “How long does he stay before leavin’?” Angie asked. Pa McGucket shrugged.

              “Depends.  It could be a while though, you should start gettin’ ready fer bed.  It’s late.”

              “I don’t think I can sleep knowin’ he’s out there,” Angie said softly.  Stan nodded in agreement.

              “I’m not easily scared, but that guy doesn’t have a head.”

              “Don’t worry, he can’t get in here.  Not with the precautions we’ve got: holy water, blessed iron, salt, the whole nine yards.”  Stan and Angie stared at him silently.  “I can go check if he’s gone, though.”  Pa McGucket got up from his chair and headed for the front door. After a few moments, he called back to them.  “Yep. He’s gone.  Come see fer yourselves if you’d like.”  Stan and Angie headed for the door as well, Angie lagging slightly behind Stan.

              When they got to the front door, Pa McGucket had it wide open.  He stood on the porch, surveying the yard with his hands on his hips.

              “See?  No Folk here,” Pa McGucket said cheerfully.  Stan stared.  No one was there.  In fact, he was beginning to doubt he’d seen the Headless Horseman in the first place.

              “They usually leave behind a sign of some sort,” Angie said, brushing past him.  She made a beeline for where the Horseman’s horse had been tied to.  She crouched down, inspecting the soil.  Her eyes widened.  “Stan, come here.”  Reluctantly, Stan joined her.  His blood ran cold, just as it had when he first saw the Horseman.

              In the otherwise undisturbed dirt, there was a set of fresh hoofprints.

[littlemisslol-fic]

tag mutuals you wanna get to know better!

Thanks for the tag @wallywestfestest !! Love you to bits dude!

favourite time of year: Fall!! Definitely fall, there's Halloween, there's the pretty colours the trees turn, SWEATER WEATHERRRR!! And my birthday lmao, so I'm biased

comfort food: Mac and cheese, lol, I make a really good baked version! My grandmother used to make a really good mac and cheese for family get-togethers, but ever since she stopped being able to the responsibility fell to me

favourite dessert: Cheesecake! My mum has an awesome cheesecake recipe and it's easily my favorite type of cake!

things you collect: Do books count? I absolutely collect books lol, I have three huge shelves in my living room. If books don't count, probably fluffy blankets lol. I have tendency to amass blankies and make nests during the winter.

favourite drink: Either hot chocolate or iced tea, OR if we're talking drinks-you-buy then Iced Capps from Tim Hortons is always my go-to!

favourite musical artist: Bear Ghost! Every song by that band is a banger, though Sirens and Big Town Bankey Blaine's Rockabilly Barbecue are my favorites.

last song listened to: Mental Funeral by EHLE - gives me MAJOR vibes for battybatzgirl's serial killer au lmao

last movie watched: Technically How To Train Your Dragon because I'm literally watching it right now lmao

last series watched: Lost! My roommate's never seen it so we've been chewing through it for the last few months. We just got to the end of season four!

current obsession: Still Varigo ngl lmao, I live in this pit and I can't escape

dream place to visit: I've always wanted to go to Whistler for the snowboarding, but also I've always wanted to visit Athens, Giza, Rome, Paris, London, all those "architecture" heavy cities.

place you wanna go back to: I really liked Myrtle Beach, the heat and the ocean were loveellyyyy! And British Columbia was beautiful too, the redwoods were awesome!

something you want: Does wanting to be finished moving count? Lmao I'm out to a new apartment at the start of October and the process is A W F U L

currently working on: A collab! Well technically two collabs if you count Cor (which isn't dead!! Iza and I are both just very busy beavers lol) I can't say too much since it's not just my project, but we're very close to starting posting!! Excitinggggg

Thanks again for the tag wally!! Love you ❤️❤️

I'll tag @ashdoesfandom @battybatzgirl @trashghetti-v @cayenneavocado @hybrix-hijinx annddddd anyone else who'd like to play (AKA ALL MY MUTUALS COME HERE SO I CAN KISS U)