Halloween
 Characters:
Children: John, Ann, Mary, Tim
Evil Spirits: Ghoul, 3 Ghosts, 3 Skeletons, Bat, Cat, 3 Witches
Bird
Scene 1
(A bird is dancing to a slow tuning.)
Storyteller: This story happened long, long ago. There was a
special time late in the year before the cold raw nights of winter set in, when it was
still warm enough to go outside and to enjoy the beauty of fall. People lived happily and
knew nothing about evil spirits. One day three friends called Mary, Ann and John played in
the old half-ruined castle. The children ran up and down the stairs, shouting and
laughing.
(Joyful voices are heard and children run into the yard. There are
stones, flowers and an old chest in the corner.)
John: Look what I have found.
Ann: It’s a chest. It’s very beautiful and so old.
Mary: Just imagine there can be some jewelry or gold inside.
John: It’d be great! Could you help me to open it.
(The children open it, the light changes, hard music sounds, the
shouts of children are heard and the evil spirits begin filling the space. They are
dancing, the children are sitting on the floor.)
Ghoul: We are the real power in this crazy world. We have been
waiting for so long and at last we are released.
Ghost 1: Our day has come. We’ll ruin everything on our way.
Those human creatures will suffer and cry every minute, every second.
Ghost 2: I like to frighten people at night, to hear their
screams, to fill their souls with horror of the coming end.
(Three skeletons come forward and sing a song, it can also be read
as a poem. At the very end they let out a terrifying and blood-curdling shriek.)
Skeletons:
 A woman in the
churchyard sat,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
She was very short and fat,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
She saw three corpses carried in,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
Very tall and very thin,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
Woman to the corpses said,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
Shall I be like you when I’m dead?
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
Corpses to the woman said,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, ah-ah, ah-ah!
Yes, you’ll be like us when you are dead,
WAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!
Bat: We’ll drink their blood, we’ll make the world change.
Ghoul: People, tremble.
All together: We are coming.
(Suddenly they notice the children.)
Bat: Oh! Look! What luck! We have something for dinner!
Ghoul: Grab them for our feast!
(The evil spirits capture the children and take them away shouting.
The bird who was watching everything appears on the stage.)
Bird: There is great trouble. The evil spirits have been
released and might capture our land. They will kill little children. I must hurry up and
warn people.
(She flies away.)
Scene 2
(At the house. The boy is reading. The bird appears.)
Bird: Tim, Tim, something awful has happened. When John, Ann and
Mary were playing in the ruined castle they found a chest. Your friends opened it and
released the evil spirits. They captured your friends and promised to kill all people.
Tim: That’s impossible! I should help them but I don’t know
how.
Bird: I guess you should visit the wise old man. He knows
everything. He’ll advise you what to do.
Tim: Yes, you are right. I can’t waste any time. My friends
are in trouble and they could die. I’ll go right now.
Scene 3
(At the old man’s house. Tim enters the room.)
Tim: Good afternoon, Mr. Wiseman.
Mr. Wiseman: Afternoon, Tim. Has something happened?
Tim: Oh, yes. A really great disaster has come to our land. My
friends opened an old chest and released a horde of terrifying evil spirits. They can kill
people and poison our lands. The lives of my friends are in danger now. I don’t know
what to do.
Mr. Wiseman: I can help you. Your friends opened the gates to
the underworld allowing the evil spirits to roam freely. To save your friends and to drive
away all unpleasant spirits, you need to make a huge bonfire. But remember you should
light this bonfire with some light from a jack-o-lantern.
Tim: Where can I get this jack-o-lantern?
Mr. Wiseman: Tonight at the forest it will be the Witches’
Sabbath and all bats, skeletons, devils will be there. You’ll find your friends there.
Your main aim is to take a jack-o-lantern and to light a huge bonfire not far from that
place.
Tim: Thank you, Mr. Wiseman. I’ll do my best to help my
friends.
Mr. Wiseman: The bird will show you the way. Be careful. It’s
very dangerous. Good luck.
Tim: Thank you. Good-bye.
Scene 4
(The place in the forest. The children are tied up. The black cat
stirs her brew in a pot.)
Cat: (at the pot) I’ll brew the best mixture, there we
have (adding): six bats wings, worms in brine, ears of toads, eight or nine, slugs
and bugs, snake skins dried, buzzard innards, pickled, fried. Oh, what a smell!
(The witches enter on broomsticks. The dance of the witches.)
Witch 1: Hey! Cackle! Hey! Let’s have fun today. All shoelaces
will have knots. No knots will untie.
Witch 2: Every glass of milk will spill. Nothing wet will dry.
Witch 3: Every pencil point will break. And everywhere in town
peanut-buttered bread will drop upside down!
Together: Hey! Hey! Hey! Have a pleasant day!
Witch 1: What a nice smell! My favorite drink!
Witch 2: Our dinner is not bad either. (points at the
children).
Witch 3: Hey! I hear the guests are coming. Welcome, dear!
(Spirits come out.)
Ghoul: How are our little children? Ready to be cooked for
dinner?
Mary: Oh! Mr. Ghoul, please, don’t eat us. We can sing a
lovely song for you. Just listen!
(They sing a song.)
Ann: Let us go, please. We are not tasty at all.
Witch: Don’t talk any more. Though let’s have fun today.
We’ll play a little bit. The rules are as following: one of you and the cat have to
throw the bones into the basket.
Each of you will have 10 bones. The creature with the most bones in the basket is a
winner. If you babies win, you’ll be eaten tomorrow not today.
(Bone game begins. Players have to throw bones in their own baskets
from a 2 meter distance. The rest of the actors should loudly support the players. It must
be a quick game. The winner really doesn’t matter. Meanwhile Tim should take the
jack-o-lantern, which must be on stage and then he goes away. In the middle of the game
the Ghoul notices jack-o-lantern has disappeared.)
Ghoul: Stop! Stop it! (nobody moves) Our jack-o-lantern
has disappeared. Someone has stolen it. We should find it. Let’s go.
(All spirits go away. Only children stay.)
Scene 5
(Tim appears on the stage with the jack-o-lantern and hurries up to
the bonfire. The Evil Spirits return then.)
Ghoul: We’ll eat you right now, nasty boy. Give that
jack-o-lantern back.
Tim: No, I want to save my friends.
(He lights the fire. Music sounds. Some spirits go away, some of
them fall down. His friends appear. He unties them.)
Mary: Oh, thank you, Tim, you saved our lives.
Ann: I’m so happy to be free again. You are very brave.
John: Thank you. You are a real friend.
 Tim:
Together, we can defeat even the evil spirits. Friendship is powerful!
(Then children read the poem about friendship.)
Friendship is a dream, which comes true,
Only when you believe in it.
Friendship is a sun, which rises,
Only when your heart has set on it.
Friendship is a throne, on which you can sit,
Only when you share your kingdom with it.
Friendship is a path, which you will find,
Only when you know you are lost.
Friendship is a hand that holds yours,
Only when you extend yours .
Storyteller: So, my dear friends, that is the happy end of my
story about four friends and the evil spirits. The truth is simple: if you have real
friends, you can overcome everything. Even the bad spirits can’t capture you.
By Tatyana Gritsyuk,
Poltava
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