Tonight.

I'd spent the evening, or the early part of it, bolstering my local reputation, as a sort of mixture of werewolf, wizard, monster who ate young children, older children, adults, in fact who ate anything which came across his path. People murbled that I even had recipes for each stage of life, of EVERYTHING!

Actually, the flickering light that everybody saw coming from my quarters, amounted to nothing more than my feeble attempts to beat the kids who, accompagnied by their parents, felt that this evening they had the right to ring everybodie's doorbell, and DEMAND sweets, a treat, or whatever. My earlier attempts to offer a cooking pot as a treat had been unsuccessful, the little beggars (and the bigger ones too) suspecting that the scenario was not quite sweeties/bonbons and coke-cola! Anyway, everything had gone off well, and my switching on and off the lights had probably deterred a few, less determined, and maybe some of the really determined had passed by during a period of darkness, and murmured to themselves - "Ahha, the warpeds creature is out and about - elsewhere!"

Now it was late, and I could hear the wind literally howling around the corner of the building. This was a Southerly wind, coming from Spain, bringing mild but damp area from the sea, just the type of wind required for this very night of Halloween.

Spirits covered in a mantle of smoke are best coming from the South/South east, for the very need of dampness is inherent in every spirit. These spirits gave the impression of "tilting at windmills" and coming from the "Old World" emerging from the continent of Africa, with its mysteries, and tales beyond our comprehension.

The children begging, the adults begging, all had disappeared, here was true silence, apart from the howling of the wind, the slamming of shutters on the old houses, from the wind - or some other presence?

There was no moon, I had expected a full moon on this evening, but no, the darkness was intense, just the moaning of the wind, the occasional hurling of a blast, the sensation of waiting for .......................?

I waited, and I waited, and then IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all dawned on me, and it was the 1st November 2005!