A Family Ties Halloween (Fan Fic Episode set in 1982) Multi Participation

[Crimson]

Multi Participation means anyone is free to add to the story.

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(It's 2:00 am Halloween morning and Alex get's up in the middle of the night for a midnight snack. He opens the refridgerator and notices a plate full of pumpkin faced cookies wrapped in plastic wrap with a note on it that says, for jennifers school party...)

"Oh that's right, it's Halloween. Another stroke of genius for the business man. Well, I doubt if she'll miss just one." Alex says as he starts to lift the plastic wrap in the dark.

Suddenly from behind, he hears his mothers voice.

"Don't even think about it. Those are for Jennifers party. Why are you up so early Alex?" Elyse asks.

"I skimped a little on dinner, and it caught up with me." Alex answered.

"Well I'm sure we can find a number of other things than Jennifers school cookies. Let's see what we have here." She says opening the fridge.

"You know, I don't know what the big deal is about Halloween anyhow." Alex adds.

"Oh you loved it as a kid and you know it." His mothers answers.

"Yeah but now I am all grown up now. As an adult, I think it's all rather silly." Alex says

"You're 17, Mr all grown up, and really I think that you are being a sour puss for no reason. Halloween is supposed to be about fun. Where is your sense of fun Alex?" Elyse asks as she sets a plate of left over pork chops on the counter.

"I don't have time for fun anymore." Alex answers.

"See, now Alex, I think that may be part of your problem." Elyse says to her son before taking a pork chop on a small plate and leaving to return to her bedroom.

Alex stands and says nothing as he begins to think his mother may be right. He begins to put a plate of food together and the scene fades to darkness.

Morning time comes and everyone is up getting ready for school and work.....

[Crimson]

In school, Alex is sitting in the library during free study period.

"Hmm, all caught up on my homework, but then again, aren't I always?" Alex says to himself with a smirk.

Alex walks up and down the isles of book looking over the titles.



"Mom seems to think I need to loosen up, maybe I should read up on Halloween?" Alex says to himslef.

"Shhhhhhhhhh!!!" The librarian warns him.

"Okay okay geez." Alex replies.

You can begin to hear Alex's thoughts to himself as he reads the titles.

(The complete Halloween project guide for Home Ecomnomics? Please! Hmmmm.... Here we go, Halloween legends of Columbus Ohio! And we have a winner.)

Alex picks the book up, checks it out, and sits down to read it.

The scene swithces over to the home after school as Alex begins to walk up the steps.

"All set for tonight?" Elyse asked Alex.

"Like clockwork, I figure i'm too old to dress up, but to be in the spirit I bought this bright orange pumpkin shirt down at the corner discount store." Alex said.

"Well i'm happy to see you're finally going to try to have fun with this again. What are you reading there?"

"Oh i'm heading up to my room to read up on Halloween." Alex replied.

[In his room...]

Alex reads....

(On of the most notorious tales told by long time residents of Columbus Ohio is the story of Shamus' Haggardly. Shamus was sentenced to death in 1969 for the tripple murders of three fourth grade trick or treaters.

On Halloween night of 1968, Shamus stalked the streets of Columbus Ohio with a wood axe...)

"Woa!!!" Alex yelled as he slammed the book and set it down.

"You alright Alex?" Steven asked as he walked into the room.

"Oh yeah, just a little spooked. I just read an interesting bit of local history about a man named Shamus' Haggardly." Alex answered.

"Oh yes, a very unfortunate tale. The media called him Wood Axe Shamus'. Those poor kids, and their families. Listen, try not to let that story get to you. Shamus hasn't been alive for thirteen years. Shake it off." Steven said patting alex on the back and walking out of the room.

[Crimson]

The Shamus angle may be a bit harsher than I had intended, but i'll mold it around to feeling like Family Ties again, and to having a lesson linked in with recent atrocities. I dedicate the end moral to Nick Berg. RIP.

Alex sat in his room in awe of the stark reality of that local piece of history. He was always so used to the comfort and security of his life. But he sat in his room slightly paled that something like that actually happened so close to home. He was forced to accept a ghastly reality of life.

Alex stood up slowly and he tried to shake it off. he put on his bright orange shirt and grabbed a plastic Jack O Lantern bucket which he had purchased for Jennifer. He readied himself, but he kept thinking about the true story.

Downstairs Elyse walked up to Steven with a smile and asked, are we ready to send or kids off into the night? Bwwooooo," She said mimicking a ghost. She recieved no playful demeanor from Steven.

"Steven what's wrong?" Elyse asked.

"I believe Alex may have just been horrified by something he read." Steven repsonded.

"Oh my goodness, well what did he read?" Elyse asked.

"He checked out a book about local Halloween tales, and one of the stories was about Shamus O Haggardly." Steven said looking straight at Elyse.

Imediatly she knew where Steven was coming from.

"That was a horrible event, but it happened, and we can't always protect our kids from reading or seeing such things in books or on the news. It's a reality of life that he's to young to have to grasp!" Elyse said.

"I know..I tried to downplay it in front of him, hoping he would follow my lead and shrug it off, but you can't shurg things like that off so easily. He's been affected. Now we need to be there for him, and try to distarct him with Halloween fun tonight." Steven said.

"You're right." Elyse answered.

[Crimson]

" I don't know Jen, Et is a very popular little guy." Alex said to her patting her on the back.

Jennifer noticed something wrong with Alex, like he was putting up a front.

"Alex are you okay?" Jennifer asked.

"Geez, everyone, I am okay. Really. Now let's go have fun." Alex replied with a half smile.

As Alex walked Jennifer down the sidewalks of Columbus, Steven and Elyse sat in the car, still worried about what wasa going on in Alex's mind.

"You know, Alex can do this. We reall don't need to drive them around." Steven told Elyse.

"Well it's cold and the car has heat." Elyse replied.

"And you're worried" Steven replied.

"You are too." Elyse replied.

As Jennifer went on and on about how cool the decorations were, Alex's imagination carried away with him. The wind blew leaves across the sidewalk causing a scratching sound. And as the wind blew, it whistled. Alex saw a dark figure standing in a yeard carrying an axe.

"Jennifer I don't think we need to go to that house." Alex said with a shaky vgoice.

"Are you kidding? They might have Milkey Ways!" Jennifer said running up to the door.

The figure walked out of the shadows and Alex was startled, only to see that it was a man dressed up in a Jason Voorhees outfit, there to creep out the children.

Alex stooped over to catch his breath.

[Crimson]

Alex slowly stopped to think of Jennifer.

"Okay, let's keep going. Halloween only comes once a year." He said with a smile.

"That's the spirit" Jennifer replied.

As they walked down the streets, a creepy old man looked at Alex. He started ranting.

"Halloween should be banned! It's like they forgot! Remember Shamus! REMEMBER SHAMUS!"

Alex freaked and so without thinking, he took a detour down another road.

Jennifer was back at the car showing her parents her big bag of candy when all three of them suddenly noticed that Alex was not there.

As Alex alked down the dark side road, he kept hearing the old mans words, "Remember SHAMUS!". So again, without thinking, Alex jerked off into an alley way as if to run from something. Alex was panicking. He also kept picturing the after math of what Shamus had done in 1968.

As he walked around in circles not sure of how he got to where he was, he saw a dark figure walking down the alley. In a fright, Alex quickly jumped the fence of a families yard, and ran into their wood shed to hide.

"Remember SHAMUS!" Kept coming into his head, along with thoughts of the story about Shamus O Haggardly and the image of the person in the alley.

"Those poor kids." Alex kept saying. "Those poor kids!"

Suddenly, the shed door began to slowly creek open creating a slow screeching noise of grinding rusted metal.

"No way, how is this happening?" Alex said in a low voice. As the shed door stood opened, a tall fgure with an axe in one hand and a flashlight in the other stood, undefined by darkness, over Alex.

"No Shamus, don't do it, i'm too young to die! " Alex screamed.

The person reached up and pulled the light switch to the shed.

"Kid...kid calm down! I was just checking for prowlers." The man said to Alex as he watched Alex curl up in a panicked ball.

A little girl walked out by her father. She was wearing a Strawberry Shortcake costume.

"Daddy, daddy, is everything alright?"

"Pumpkin, listen everything is okay. Now I need you to go dampen a towel with cool water, and bring me a glass of cool milk." her father said.

"Listen, calm down now okay? Where do you live?" The man asked in a very understanding way.

"Mmmm..i'm..I was taking my sister trick or treating...and I thought...Shamus..I ran...and.." Alex said sweating.

"It will be okay, you got terribly frightened. That name still haunts this town. But we can't rewrite history. So let's get you calmed and okay again, and we'll get you home where you'll be safe." The warm hearted man said slowly.

The girl returned with a damp towel and the milk. The man placed the towel on the back of Alex's head. And he convinced Alex to drink the milk.

Off in the distant street voices could be heard yelling for Alex.

"Alex, Alex where are you?"

The man asked him,
"Are you Alex?"

"Yeah, that's me." Alex replied kindly.

"Okay, your family is nearby. That's good. You just stay here, and I will call them over. Okay?" The man asked.

"Okay, thank you sir. Thank you." Alex.

"No problem at all Alex." the man replied.

(..Hey, Alex is over here. Alex is over here.)

Minutes later Alex looked up to see the kind man standing by Steven and Elysse in the woodshed.

The man had explained to Alex's parents what had happened.

"How can we repay your kindness?" Steven asked.

"No need what so ever. Just get him home where he can feel safe again."

The group exchanged courtesties, eventually meeting the mans wife and daughter. Jennifer happily quit Trick Or Treating because she was worried about her brother. And the family made it home.

[Crimson]

Malory turned to walk away, and Alex said, "Wait...Malory...i'm glad you're alive and well and I love you."

Startled by Alex's statement Malory insisted, "Okay Alex, you're going top tell me what is wrong!"

Alex walked up and hugged her, and started to weep. Malory without hesitation hugged him back asuring him,"It's okay, you're going to be okay. No matter what it is Alex. I love you too."

Standing in the doorway watching stood Elyse and Steven.

"We need to set him an apointment for some counseling I think, Steven." Elyse whispered.

"We will. But for now, I think Malory has everything well in hand." Whispered Steven back, both parents looking concerned.

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The show ends with a special message by cast.

Michael Gross stands there and says, "If you are someone you love are exposed in any way, whether directly or indirectly to a frightening situation, and experience fear and panic, never hesitate to seek help."

Michael J Fox adds, "turn to your family, your friends, your local pastor, a neighbor anybody. Don't try to handle it alone. And make sure to notify the police if anything or anyone needs to be reported."

The Meredith baxter Berney finishes, "and most importantly, never be ashamed to seek counseling. They're there to help you when you need it most."

(Have a safe and Happy Halloween from the cast of Family Ties)