Mattie Love paused at the gate, the chill wind tugging at her crimson skirt. The floating skull pulsed with an eerie light, its gaze fixed on the pavilion ahead. Tonight was the Harvest Offering; she’d been chosen to present the first pumpkin. But something felt wrong. The air hummed with a discordant energy, and the carved faces of the pumpkins seemed to twist into mocking grins as she watched them. A whisper slithered through the gnarled trees – “Not just pumpkins…” Mattie gripped her hands together, a sudden dread tightening in her chest. She wasn't sure what awaited her beyond those gates, but it felt far more sinister than any festival celebration. The skull pulsed again, and she knew she had to proceed.