This is my entry for round 2 of the horror smackdown. I had to use quotes 1, 3, 6, and 8. The quotes used are from Nightmare before Christmas and Corpses Bride. The pictures I used are 3, 4, 6, and 7. Word count: 2,530.

"You aren't scared, are you?" Kayla asked Jen, who looked scared enough to pee her pants.

"I just don't see why we have to do it all the way out here," Jen whined. "And what if something goes wrong?" she asked as she looked around. They were in the old cemetery, the one that no one ever came to anymore. It was supposedly haunted. And the creepy woods behind them wasn't helping anything. All the leaves had already fallen, making the trees seem like dead limbs rising up from the ground.

"Jen, don't be such a baby!" Ray said, looking up from placing the candles around. She was tired of Jen always trying to back out on things. They all had agreed that they were going to do the spell they found in their book.

"I'm not!" Jen protested. "But I don't see why we had to come dressed up like witches." She pulled up the hood of her cloak again as it kept falling down.

"Because we are going to the Halloween party later, and we decided on going as the Witches of Eastwick." Kayla said as she handed Jen the chalice. They all took their positions in a half circle as Kayla, holding a blade, began reciting the spell.

"I evoke thee, Lady of Night, to grant us the power of fright." Kayla took the blade slicing across her palm with it. The sting of the cut made her feel more alive, almost like a high. She watched, fascinated, as the blood trickled down. Kayla placed her hand over the chalice, letting the blood drop into it.

"Whose heart had been turned to ice, give us the beauty to entice." Ray spoke up as she made the cut on her own palm, imitating Kayla as her blood mixed in the cup with hers.

"Always the corpse's bride, never the wife. Let's show him we still have our pride!" Jen stated as she winced, cutting her own palm. She shut her eyes as the blood joined her two friends'.

"Let your hatred yearn, make the fires burn!" They said unison, each with a hand on the chalice as they tipped the cup over, letting their blood drip to the ground. Gasps filled the silence while they witnessed the candles around them ignite, the flames burning brightly in the dark night.

"If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain. In the ice or in the sun, it's all the same. Yet I feel my heart is aching; though it doesn't beat it's breaking; and the pain here that I feel, try and tell me it's not real. I know that I am dead; yet it seems that I still have some tears to shed."

The candles blew out one by one from the wind that came from nowhere, bringing with it a fog that swept over the land. Like a blanket of death it came, covering everything in its icy mist. They saw an outline of a shape that came with the fog, standing in the shadows. It was a lady wearing a dress, who had her back to them by the old lantern. Her dark hair stayed still in the wind, contrasting with her pale skin. The soft eerie sound of her voice floated to them between the distance.

"How dare you bring me here!" she said, her voice came out sounding like nails raking on steel. She paused to turn around and face them. They could see into the depths of her dark crimson eyes; eyes that were leaking blood. "Little Miss Living, with her rosy cheeks and beating heart." She glided towards them, her feet not touching the ground, and stopped in front of Kayla. "Should I rip yours out and tear it apart? Tell me then, little girl. Would you still feel, if it's torn to pieces?" She reached her hand out, touching her face. "You should have left the dead alone, to wallow in their grief. It was your mistake, now your lives will be brief."

Kayla held still, her heart hammering in her chest. She didn't even breath, too afraid of what the apparition would do. The air around her felt cold; like death.

"There is nothing you can hide from the dead. Shouldn't they know why you summon me here?" The lady of night glance to the other girls, her dark crimson eyes showing malice; pure utter hatred. Jen and Ray both took a step back from under her stare. "Poor miss Kayla, alone in the dark when daddy comes to play. Her little brother only a door away. She thought she could be brave, if I gave her power that she crave to end daddy's life. Wouldn't that have been so nice?" she said, looking back at Kayla. "It would be such a shame if anything were to happen to your little brother wouldn't it?" She plunged her hand through Kayla's chest, clasping and squeezing at her heart.

Kayla's eyes widened as she tried to grasp for air, her face turning pale.

"What would happen, if the big sister wasn't there to protect him? Should we find out?" She tightened her grasp, twisting her heart. The pain was excruciating; Kayla thought she was going to die. She tried to pull in air, but only ended up letting loose gurgling choking sounds. "Do you think daddy would like playing with little boys as much as he does girls?"

Kayla could feel the icy cold touch burning her heart, leaving a scar that would never be healed as she relived all the nights her dad had come to her room.

"Stop! Please stop!" Jen screamed, tears falling down her face. "Leave her alone, please."

"Ah, sweet Jen. So innocent, so young. With secrets of her own. You don't tell anyone because you're ashamed of what you do. But, that doesn't stop you does it?" She let go of Kayla, who was about to past out, and moved to stand in front of Jen. "Deep down you like it, like being a slut. Like the thrill of it. Sleeping with an older man. And for what? To make mommy proud? After all, good grades are everything, aren't they? Do you know what happens to sinners, Jen? They burn."

Jen caught fire. Her blood curdling cries pierced the air. The burning smell of flesh stung in the other girl's noses as Jen fell to the ground, rolling around in agony. The girls were crying, unable to do anything. The heat scorched their own skin, burning and blistering their hands when they tried to help Jen. This was just supposed to be for kicks and giggles; it was supposed to be fun! Now, they were left to watch their best friend die before their very eyes. Her shrieks of pain would forever haunt their nightmares. They way her skin bubbled and melted away would always be etched on the back of their lids when they closed their eyes.

Laughter erupted from the Lady of Night; chilling and guttural. They observed in fright as the lady transformed into a demon.

"Always the bride, never the wife. No wonder why she causes so much strife!"

"Who are you?" Ray demanded.

"I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light, and I'll scare you right out of your pants. To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky. And I'm known throughout England and France." He looked at them, bowing theatrically. "My dears, I am the boogeyman!" he said over Jen's yelling. The flames lighting the night, showing them a demonic man with ragged, torn wings.

"Stop it, Stop hurting her!" Ray yelled. "I don't care who you are, you have no right!"

"You're jokin', you're jokin'! I can't believe my ears! Would someone shut this fella up? I'm drownin' in my tears! It's funny, I'm laughing! You really are too much. And now, with your permission, I'm going to do my stuff."

The screams had silence as they were thrown into darkness.

"Ah, that's better. Now you, with the shouting. Haven't we had enough of this pouting? You really are such a drag! Reminds me of my dead hag." His eyes glowed yellow as he smiled wickedly. "I never did like her either."

With that said a grave opened up behind her. Roots of tree snaked out, slithering along the ground, heading straight for Ray. They wrapped up around her legs, causing her to fall as they started to drag her across the ground. She began bawling in terror, her nails digging into the dirt and breaking on the rocks and roots, leaving a trail of blood.

"Kayla, help!" she wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks and onto the ground. Kayla reached for her arms trying to pull her free to no avail. "Please! I don't want to be buried alive!"

Panic tore at her; it was her worst fear coming true. To be buried alive and forgotten to the world. She clawed, kicking and screaming, to pull herself free. Her arms kept slipping out of Kayla's grasp. She felt herself falling and let out one heart-dropping scream before her vision went dark. Holding her breath, she tried digging her way out while fear ate away at her insides. Dirt mixed in with the blood of her nails, oblivious to the pain. Her last thought was how her family would never even notice she was gone; to them she had always been invisible. They had always wanted a boy, and after their fifth attempt, they were given another disappointment; her.

Kayla tried to dig with her hands, scooping up the dirt. But it was fruitless as the ground appeared to be solid; like it had never been touched in ages. She glared at the monster. "You! You bring her back right now!" She walked right up to him, staring at him in the eyes.

"I think not, foolish girl. Do you really think it so wise to threaten me?" he said, rising to his full height. "Besides, she's already dead."

"You don't scare me." she uttered with conviction.

"Maybe not. But what about Jackson?" He took off, rising up above her. "It is Halloween, and I think I have a few tricks in store. My dear, you're in for a real treat!" he shouted down to her as he flew away.

Without a second thought, Kayla sprinted off towards home. Her heart raced as her lungs pumped in oxygen. She couldn't let anything happen to Jackson. She had promised her mother that she would look after him. Kayla ran through the trick-or-treaters, dodging her away around them and bumping into those who got in her way. There were a few disgruntled shouts and cussing, but she didn't care. Her focus was on reaching Jackson and making sure he was safe. He was her reason to stay alive day to day, the reason she kept her secret, and the reason why she put up with her dad. It was all to keep him safe.

She rushed inside, slamming the front door closed behind her. "Jackson!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Jackson, where are you?"

She reached his room, huffing and out of breath as she opened his door. A calm settled over her upon seeing him laying in bed, his back turned away from her. Kayla walked over to him, sitting down. Touching his shoulder, she tried to wake him up. "Jackson. Jackson, wake up," she said gently.

"Daddy's home!"

Kayla let out shriek, looking down, instead of her brother she saw a beast, half his face was missing showing his teeth and flesh. His red eyes were cold and filled with madness.

"Lets play!" he hissed out. "Trick or treat?"

Kayla took off, running through the house and slamming doors open as she went. Laughter followed in her wake, leaving a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Jackson had to be okay! It wasn't until she reached the bathroom that she had found him.

"Kayla!" His little face lit up in a smile seeing his sister as he splashed around in the tub.

"Come on, Jackson. Let's get you out of the tub. We need to go," she said, yanking a towel off the bar.

She sat down on her knees and went to reach for him. However, her hands were met with resistance as fear gripped her heart when he was pulled under the water. His face went from happy carefree to an expression of terror while his arms and legs kicked around wildly, trying to free himself. The water wrapped around him, not letting him free. His gurgle screams came up to her through the water. She tried to pull him up, but her hands couldn't penetrate through the water.

"No! You can't have him too!" she yelled, but was only greeted with laughter. She kept trying to free her brother, despite the attempts proving to be useless. And too soon, the water had stilled as did Jackson's thrashing. His little body laid limp in the water. His blue eyes stared blankly up at her.

She was dead; she felt something inside of her break. Life no longer mattered to her.

"You want to play, Boogieman or whatever the hell you are?" She hollered out, sitting on the bathroom floor by her dead brother. Her clothes dripped to the floor while she stood up. "I have a few tricks of my own!" She went to the kitchen, turning on the gas stove and snatching the matches out of the drawer. Then made her way to the garage door, where she found cans of gasoline. She walked through the house, dousing the walls and floor with it.

"Come out and play!" she taunted, holding the remainder of the gasoline in the can. She stood in the middle of the living room, a puddle of water forming under her.

"Boo!" he said, materializing in front of her.

She flung the rest of the gasoline on him and threw the can away. "Trick or treat." she said, lighting a match. She flicked it at him, only the flame died out.

He broke out in laughter. "Is that all you got?" He opened his mouth wide, spit and saliva spilling forth as he let out an unearthly roar. Wind blew and tugged at her as demonic creatures flew around the room; some of which were her friends and of her brother brutality transformed. They blamed her for their deaths as they wailed about; like a legion of demons. She was numb to them though, and didn't cower as they flew right through her.

A smirk began to play at her lips, however, as she noticed that the wind that had come with the dead had also sparked an amber that was glowing by the Boogieman's feet. She watched in satisfaction as he combusted into flames. Screeching in pain, he flailed about and caught the house on fire.

Kayla smiled as the flames licked up the walls, swirling in an inferno. He had killed her by taking away everything that had mattered to her. And now she would kill him.

One last thought floated across her mind before the house exploded; she would finally be free of her dad.