Page 74 of Manors & Mischief

Devon squeezes my hand. Tonight, he’s stepped out of his work clothes and into a nice pair of jeans and a black shirt he surprised the rest of us with that reads, “Sleepy Hollow Manor, STAFF” under an outline of the manor itself. We’re all sporting them tonight, and I have to admit it’s a nice touch.

I check my watch, sucking in a little breath as the clock officially hits six p.m. “Let’s do it.” I move toward the door myself, but then reach back out for Devon. He has just as much at stake in this as I do. We both worked tirelessly, sometimes late into the night this past week when it became evident we weren’t going to get it all done in time.

He takes one handle, and I take the other, and we whisk the doors open just as a family starts up the steps. A mom, dad, a child about four dressed as a pumpkin, and a toddler dressed as a bee stare up at us. I squeal. “Don’t you guys look perfect? Welcome to Sleepy Hollow Manor!”

They hand us pre-purchased tickets, and I close my eyes, briefly taking a moment to thank my lucky stars that pre-sales were so good. It was a little slow at first, causing me to panic, but then sales picked up across the board for all participants, most of them coming within the last few days, and I am just so incredibly grateful that I’ll have money to put back into the manor, but most importantly, have money to live off of. With the winter months coming, I’m sure it won’t be cheap to heat this entire place, and these sales lessen the burden.

We decided to sell the tickets in waves of thirty minutes. Once it’s their time to go into the haunted house, they can enter the ballroom and stay in there for as long as they want. Until then, they can wait in the foyer. I moved some of the old furniture into this room, giving people places to sit. There’s also the porch, or waiting outside. We’ve been blessed here in Harvest Falls to have a mild October so far.

While I man the foyer, the others take their positions in the ballroom. Devon is in charge of the haunted house, making sure the children who have tickets at the specific times can go inside, while everyone else mans the booths around the room and a couple of others who volunteered to assist in the area as floaters. Most of them parents. We promised them free tickets for their entire family if they volunteered and had more takers than I imagined.

That’s Harvest Falls for you, though. People are willing to step up and help. Of course, Rose and Mark are also here, as well as I’ll be volunteering for their haunted houses when it’s their turn. It really takes a village sometimes, and luckily, Harvest Falls really accepts that adage and runs with it.

Soon, the foyer starts to fill. I turn up the spooky music just a little in the foyer, as well as the speakers in the windows facing outside. The house is lit up with green lights, upping the scary factor. Yard signs dot the landscape, letting everyone know what’s going on. We didn’t want to turn down any free publicity. Plus, there are signs all over town. The mayor is quite impressed with the ticket sales, and she’s already talking about making it bigger next year.

Devon takes the first round of participants in. I stand by the door, listening to the child-like gasps that stream from their mouths as they enter the room. Mood lighting, more green but with purple as well, and some fake candles do a lot of the legwork.

They run in their costumes to the front of the haunted house. Devon, ever the showman, gives a little speech. Just spooky enough to get their hearts racing but also being mindful that they’re still little. We don’t want them to come through the haunted house in tears. We want them to come through eager to go to the different booths. We even left an area to have a dance party with glowsticks and glow wands.

A woman I haven’t had the chance to talk to before gives me a thumbs up. “This is fantastic,” she coos. “What a great idea to give the kids a safe space to do fun Halloween things.”

When the last of the kids goes through, Devon walks toward me. He gives me a hug, settling his mouth by my ear. “Everyone loves it.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. I think we only had ten so far.”

“Stop being modest and take the compliment. The place looks beautiful, the kids love it, the parents are thankful they have entertainment to take the kids to. I predict that the pre-sales will be one thing, but once word gets around, we’re going to get a lot of sales at the door.”

I bite my lip. I love that we’ve started talking as a “we” now. It’s not my project, it’s ours. With all the work he did, he deserves to take credit. We brainstormed together. Worked together. Honestly, if it was just me putting this on, it wouldn’t have come out as well as it did.

A knock sounds on the door, and we break apart so I can scurry to let the next wave of kids in. Devon waits with his hand on the ballroom door, getting ready to shut it so the kids won’t just make a beeline for the place, but it isn’t a family who stands on the other side of the door. It’s Nichols.

It’s not his appearance that sends a sliver of fear through me, it’s what he stands for. He’s been the bearer of bad news, but I’m determined to put on a smiling front. I look for a wife and maybe a kid, but no one accompanies him.

“Miss O’Malley.”

Behind me, the ballroom door shuts, but moments later, I feel Devon’s presence off my left shoulder.

“Mr. Nichols.”

“I regret to inform you that the Office of Code Enforcement has decided to shut down your haunted house.”

I gasp, confusion and anger slicing through me. “Shut it down?”

“We’ve determined that this kind of event could shed a bad light on Sleepy Hollow Manor as a historical landmark. In Harvest Falls, we treat our historic properties with respect.” He looks around the room with distaste.

Next to me, I can feel the anger wafting off Devon. “You’re using words like ‘we’ and ‘the Office of Code Enforcement,’ but we all know it’s you, Nichols. Why wait until the Haunted House is open to tell us to shut down? The signs have been out for weeks.”

“You haven’t even seen it,” I interject. “How do you know it’s in bad taste?”

Despite our two objections, Nichols charges on. “Code Enforcement reserves the right to judge based on what is best for the landmark and for Harvest Falls.”

“But you are Code Enforcement!” Devon says with an obnoxious laugh. “Just say you don’t like the Children’s Haunted House.”

“We do what’s best for the landmark.”

I rub my head, not even believing this is happening. “I think when you buy a house, you should determine what you can do with it,” I snap.

“Not with historical landmarks. Per the code I previously gave you⁠—.”