Written by Book of the Month author Julie Clark.

Author website: https://julieclarkauthor.com/

New members can get Julie Clark's novels The Lies I Tell and The Last Flight at bookofthemonth.com for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout.

Here's the brief:

Every kid in the neighborhood knew not to go near the big house at the end of the crooked lane. The Victorian mansion was perpetually dark and shuttered, surrounded by overgrown trees that cast long, spindly shadows. The old lady who lived there was known to threaten trespassers with a sharp-handled broom. Rumor had it there was even a dead body buried in her backyard. And so every Halloween, the neighborhood trick-or-treaters steered clear of that driveway. That is, until this Halloween night, when we noticed something unusual: The big house's porch light was on. The door was open. And Tommy dared me to go inside.