“…and that’s when the pumpkins decided to carve back.”

What immediately popped into my head was:

Next, on Sick Sad World!

La la la la laaaa…

^–^

“More and more of them appeared, even as the trees were dissolved, the grass dismantled, even the animals taken apart molecule by molecule. Humans tried to escape the spreading onslaught, but they too would be taken – not destroyed, exactly, for nothing is ever truly destroyed – but changed. The landmasses of the world changed from green to yellow to orange, visible from space, but there were none on earth left to behold the scene. When the technicians had tested the assemblers, they had given them all the instructions they needed, but had forgotten the most crucial step – when to stop. Were the test undertaken around Christmas, the results might have looked at first glance far more natural. When it was over, the land was covered, horizon to horizon, sea to sea, with grinning orange jack-o-lanterns.”

Close. Cracked.com.

EDIT: D’oh! I didn’t realize that Phil already covered the “thing in the trick-or-treat” bag angle. I need to read more carefully!

@Thomas, #14:
“Congratulations BA, we just sold the film rights for your book to Michael Bay.”

That line would make H.P. Lovecraft void his bowels in abject horror. And the man dreamed pure nightmare fuel as it was.

Congratulations BA, we just sold the film rights for your book to Michael Bay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket

For the Saudi criminal “justice” system see :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_system_of_Saudi_Arabia#Criminal_law

which notes :

Families of someone unlawfully killed can choose between demanding the death penalty or granting clemency in return for a payment of diyya, or blood money, by the perpetrator.

Pretty sure I read somewhere the victim or relative can, if so desired, act as exceutioner themselves although I could be mistaken about that. Guess the surviving batmsman who executes Kutt would have to be the brother of one of the batsman. We’ve had some good cricketing brothers in the Aussie XI – eg. the Chappells, Waughs and Husseys – so that’s entirely plausible!

Plus, what do you know – Saudi Arabia actually has a cricket Eleven :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia_national_cricket_team

which I didn’t know before and which means that story may be somewhat more likely to come true (yikes!) than I first thought!

Here’s another gruesome flash fiction tale for Halloween for y’all. Although, alas, I’m not sure all the non-cricket fans will get it :

(You need to know a little cricketing terminology.)
*****

The Unfortunate Ending of the Saudi Arabian Cricket Tour :

Run out by his batting partner for a diamond duck* with his partner then run out himself the following ball, a furious Bruce Kutt returns to the dressing room. Where heated words quickly turn into something far nastier and Kutt commits a brutal quadruple homicide with his bat. Arrested and convicted before a Saudi court, the judge invites one of the victims from the team to do the honours and personally carry out the death sentence by beheading as is Arabian custom.** Offer accepted. So it was that the surviving batsman executes the Late Kutt** for four.

NB. The remainder of the tour like the late batsman was cut short.

* Run out without facing a single ball.

** Yes, that is apparently what happens. In the Saudi system the victim can be offered the job of executing the criminal responsible.

*** A type of shot – click on my name for example as executed by Indian batsman Rahul Dravid.

———-

120 words including title but excluding footnotes. More “gallows” humour with a bit of horror mixed in when you try to imagine it.