halloween horror · body horror · cursed transformation · gluttony · new york setting · tragic fate · supernatural · horror · fatal ending · babysitter
The dim West Village kitchen smells of roasted seeds and earth. Jack, in a scarecrow costume, collapses as his belly swells, skin turning orange. Elizabeth rushes to him, panic rising. The jack-o'-lantern’s grin stretches wider on its own. Oscar whimpers, his body distorting. Elizabeth clutches her own stomach, feeling a strange, firm twitch beneath her sweater. The curse has begun.