It was a bitterly cold Friday evening in the ancient Sussex town of Lewes. The autumn wind whistled through the narrow streets, rattling loose windowpanes and sending dead leaves dancing along the cobbles.
Above the rooftops, a great yellow moon was rising.
It was Halloween.
And for five youngsters from Lewes, it promised to be an evening they would never forget.
There was Peter Collins, who considered himself the leader of the gang. His best friend, Michael Harris, was always ready for mischief. Then there wasBilly Watkins, whose freckles and untidy hair made him look considerably more innocent than he really was.
The two girls were Susan Miller, and her younger sister, Margaret.
They had spent most of the afternoon preparing for their Halloween expedition, cutting frightening faces into turnips, making paper masks and collecting an assortment of old clothes from their parents.
“Now remember,” Mrs Collins had warned Peter as he prepared to leave the house, “I don’t want to hear of any nonsense tonight. No frightening elderly people, no knocking on doors and running away, and certainly no throwing things.”
“Of course not, Mother,” replied Peter, looking the very picture of innocence.
“And I mean it!”
“Yes, Mother.”
Unfortunately, Peter had already made quite different arrangements.
For several weeks, the youngsters had been discussing a particular old lady who lived alone in a crooked little cottage just off Keere Street.
Her name was Mrs Agatha Thistlewick.
Nobody knew exactly how old she was. Some said seventy, others eighty, while Billy Watkins insisted she must be at least a hundred.
She wore long black dresses, heavy boots and a curious pointed hat whenever she ventured into town.
More importantly, she owned seven black cats.
Seven!
And they followed her everywhere.
“She’s a witch,” Billy had declared one afternoon.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Susan had replied.
“Well, my brother says she is. He saw her talking to a black cat outside the butcher’s shop.”
“Lots of people talk to cats,” said Margaret.
“Yes, but the cat answered her!”
That settled the matter as far as Billy was concerned.
And so, on Halloween evening, Peter announced that they would pay Mrs Thistlewick a special visit.
“We’ll give the old witch the fright of her life!” he declared.
Little did he realise that Mrs Thistlewick had plans of her own.
