Maya Berg paused, the flickering candlelight reflecting in her eyes as she surveyed the scene. The air hung thick with the scent of pumpkin spice and something else…older, deeper. She’d been told to bring the confection, nothing more. But the house pulsed with an unsettling energy, drawing her closer despite a prickling unease. A single candle guttered out on the skull cake as she noticed movement in one of the upper windows - a fleeting glimpse of a face pressed against the glass. It wasn’t friendly. She took another step forward, compelled by something she couldn't name, and wondered if this celebration was truly what it seemed. The pumpkins grinned back at her, silent witnesses to whatever awaited inside.