Author's Note:

Welcome everyone! Halloween season is upon us (for those who celebrate) and I've been sitting on the idea of a little Halloween Riverdale story.

This idea originally came out of joke made in Chapter 12 of my other Riverdale story, "Forty Days in the Wilderness" that I'm working on. (If you want an alternate Season 4, I suggest you check it out!) The gang was making jokes about being Ghostbusters and well, my imagination just kind of went with it and I finally decided to write a short story based on what if the gang actually stumbled into something supernatural?

While this was originally intended as a solely Ghostbusters parody, the story did what it does best and grew into something else. So this is Ghostbusters, Hocus Pocus, Harry Potter, any other Halloween/witchcraft/folklore movie and/or book you can think of - inspired.

I wanted to write something smaller and fun and more carefree to try to get me out of a slump with my other writing. So jump in on if you look fantasy, Halloween, comedy, or spooky, because this has all that!


Chapter 1: Something Wicked This Way Comes

"No. No way."

"What? Come on, Jug." Archie bounced up from the couch, walking to stand in front of the drum case his friend was lounging behind. "Two guys, two girls, you already eat all the time. Plus, we have Vegas!" The redhead stooped down to pet the dog laying on a cushion in the middle of the refurbished garage.

"There's no way we're going as the Scooby gang to Cheryl's Halloween party." Jughead remained resolute on his stance, twirling a drumstick in his hand.

"Surprisingly I'm with Jughead on this one," Veronica piped up, overtaking the whole couch now that Archie had moved. "We're seniors and you want to go as cartoon characters? No thanks."

"I don't know, it's the best idea we've had so far." Betty joined in the conversation, swiveling back and forth in the recliner. She had been staring at the ceiling but turned her head to look around at everyone. "It's much better than the Ninja Turtles idea."

"Very true." Veronica pointed a finger at Betty. "Whose idea was it to do a group costume again?"

Everyone, even Vegas, turned their heads to look at Archie.

"Hey, this is our last Halloween in high school while we're all still together! I wanted to do something special. I thought it'd be fun." He plopped down on the arm of the couch. "So I'm guessing it's a no on Mystery Inc.?"

"No." The resounding answer reverberated through the garage.

"Fine." Archie hung his head and when he spoke again, there was a soft ache to it. "I just, you know, wanted to be Fred."

The three friends grew quiet and looked uneasily at each other. Jughead placed the drumstick gently down on the kit and slowly got up. "Well, this has been a good start, but I think we need a break."

"I second that." Veronica lifted herself back into a sitting position on the couch. "We've still got time before the party to think of something."

"The party's tomorrow night." Archie puffed, sticking his hands in his hoodie pockets, giving Veronica a skeptical look.

"Precisely!" Veronica smiled at him. "That means we still have 24 hours to come up with the perfect costume idea. I'm sure inspiration will strike us when we least expect it."

Jughead walked toward Archie and slapped a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I need to pick up a part for my bike at Junkyard Steve's before he closes up, want to come with?"

Archie looked up at his friend and sighed, slowly bouncing to his feet. "Sure. Why not."

"While you guys go do that, Veronica and I will grab something for dinner. How does pizza sound?" Betty rose from the recliner.

"Amazing," Jughead replied, pulling his head out of the fridge in the corner, a pop can in hand. "I'm starving."

"We'll meet back here in an hour," Betty declared, grabbing her jacket and heading toward the door, Veronica right behind her.

Jughead gave her a thumbs up, a small hiss emanating into the room as he cracked open the pop can, foam running over the top.

"See?" Archie spread his arms, indicating at Jughead as he lifted the can to his lips. "The Scooby idea was perfect."

"Yeah, sure," Jughead smirked, pushing Archie in the back, leading him out of the garage and into the cool autumn air. "Come on."


Archie and Jughead trudged up the sidewalk, red and golden-leafed trees swaying in the gentle evening breeze above them. Archie had his hands shoved deep into his pockets, walking with his head down. He kicked at a small pile of fallen leaves, listening to the satisfying crunch as they crackled apart under his feet.

He turned toward Jughead. "Hey, thanks back there."

"No problem, man." Jughead patted the bottom of his pop can, sprinkling the last few drops of the drink into his mouth before depositing the can into a nearby trash bin and turning toward his friend. "I know it still hurts."

Archie kicked through another pile of leaves. "You'd think it would stop after so long."

"It's only been five months." Jughead patted him on the back of the shoulder, his face sympathetic. "That's not something you just get over."

"I know," Archie scrunched his forehead. "But I just feel like I should be… somewhere by now, you know? That I should feel better."

Jughead stared at Archie as he lowered his head back down toward the sidewalk. He thought for a few moments, turning his own eyes forward, and said, "I know it's not the same, but when my mom left, it took me a long time to not think about it, to not feel it so personally. But eventually, the pain faded."

"How'd you get it to go away?"

"Time." Jughead nodded slowly, his hands now going to his pockets. "Leaning on other family and friends." He grinned, bumping his shoulder into Archie's, who's mouth turned up into a faint smile as they continued walking. "And I was able to talk to my mom about it too, over the years. That's helped me to let it go, to move on with my own life."

Archie swallowed as they rounded the corner, coming up alongside a black metal fence that extended the length of the sidewalk. A cold breeze rippled along the way, swirling a pile of the dead leaves around the boys.

"Thanks, Jug." Archie pulled his jacket a bit tighter and stopped, walking over to the fence and leaning an arm over it. "But I'm not sure all of that will help in my case." He looked out solemnly over the quiet cemetery stretching out beyond the fence. "Death doesn't exactly let me talk to my dad."

Jughead walked up beside him. Archie sighed, "I don't know how to let it go." His eyes drifted to a far corner of headstones. "I'm not sure I want to let him go yet."


The late evening sun was beginning to dip behind the distant mountains, its red and orange light streaming down on Betty and Veronica as they walked the red-brick path of downtown's main street.

The golden haze lingered over the hay bales, pumpkins, and straw stalk decorations that so commonly characterized lampposts and storefronts in small towns in the fall, Riverdale being no exception. Betty and Veronica strolled past these decorations as they headed in the direction of the pizza shop.

"Do you think Archie will be alright?" Veronica asked, toying with the handle on her purse. "He had that far-away look in his eyes again."

"He'll be okay." Betty nodded back. "Talking about his dad is still a touchy subject."

"I thought he was doing better. He's been really happy ever since school started."

"Grief is complicated." Betty stepped out of the way of a few passersby heading in the opposite direction. "It can come in waves."

The girls' hair gently blew around their shoulders as a small gust of wind blustered down the street. "This is his first holiday without his dad, so I bet it's on his mind more than usual." Veronica shivered, the temperature dropping as the sun continued its descent. "I can't imagine what that feels like."

Betty's steps began to slow next to her, eventually coming to a full stop. When Veronica looked up, she found Betty had turned away and was now staring out at something across the street, a somber grimace etched across her face.

"I can," she said in a voice just above a whisper.

Veronica paused and craned her neck, trying to see what Betty was looking at. She frowned, her stomach dropping when she realized what it was: a small, boarded-up storefront across the street, the faded red letters spelling out "The Riverdale Register" still visible against the sheen of the street lamps flickering to life.

"Oh, B, I'm so sorry," Veronica said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, attempting to steer her forward once more. "After everything this year I sometimes forget that you lost your dad, too."

Betty kept her eyes on the building for a few more seconds before finally walking again. She breathed a heavy sigh, shaking her head slightly as she turned her gaze back to the sidewalk ahead of her.

"I keep trying to forget, but it feels like life just won't let me."

xxxx

The girls continued down the main street of Riverdale, a lighthearted banter about Halloween candy and pizza toppings now taking place of the more morose conversation.

All of the lamplights running the length of the street were blinking awake, their orange glow throwing crisscrossing muddled shadows around the area. A few of the straw scarecrows attached to the lampposts shook forcefully, the tinny shudder of the rustling stalks echoing through the dark as another sudden burst of wind swirled around the people walking about the small town.

"Geez," Betty zipped up her jacket even higher, watching others on the street do the same before plunging her hands into her pockets. "Where did this wind come from? It feels like we just stepped into a freezer."

"I know, right?" Veronica had noticed it getting colder a bit earlier. She glanced at her watch. "And it's only a little after five, it shouldn't be this dark yet."

"Maybe there's a storm coming." Betty glanced up at the darkening sky. "Hey! Oomph," she grunted, running straight into the raven-haired teen. "What-,"

But Veronica hadn't seemed to notice. She was stopped in front of a small storefront to their right, staring through the glass window into the interior of the shop. The display in front was wrapped in a red velvet lining with cauldrons, chests, and mannequins donned in costumes resting on top. There was a strobe light coming from somewhere behind one of the larger cauldrons, a cloud of white, wispy smoke rising from it. Cobwebs, spiders, and skeletons decorated the rest of the glass, and a sign in the corner of the window read, "Keep calm and carry a wand."

Betty roved her gaze up toward the black wooden sign hanging above the door, its hinges creaking in the wind.

"The Spell Nook," Veronica read aloud, looking slightly enchanted by the mist and light swirling inside the store. "I've never seen this before. Must be one of those pop-up Halloween stores."

Betty felt a cold prickle along the back of her neck. Pop-up stores usually occupied large lots left by vacated department stores, not small mom-and-pop shops. "Maybe," she answered back, although something about it felt off. It gave off the sense that it was somehow old, like it had stood there for hundreds of years, although after living in Riverdale her entire life, Betty knew this shop had never been here before.

Veronica grabbed Betty's arm. "Come on, let's check it out."

"Uh, I don't know," Betty dragged her feet as Veronica pulled her forward. The wind continued to whip around them and Betty could have sworn she had just seen something fly overhead out of the corner of her eye. "We told the boys we'd meet them back in an hour-,"

"So we have plenty of time," Veronica chirped, peering down at her watch. She continued to pull Betty forward. "Maybe we'll get that inspiration for our costumes we've been looking for."

Betty hesitated, looking to the left. The inviting glow of the pizza shop was only a few stores away. And then she looked right. People were still walking up and down the street under the warm lamplight, none of them looking concerned or troubled.

She must just be on edge because of the memories of her dad that had been on her mind lately. After all, it was still just a normal chilly, autumn night here in Riverdale. Birds twittered in a nearby tree, a pair of them flying out of the branches and she realized that must have been what she had seen. A couple walked out of the door of the Halloween store, smiling and laughing with a bag in hand.

"Alright," she told Veronica, shaking her hand away from her arm to walk forward freely. There was still a slight nag in the back of her mind, and a few hairs were still raised on the back of her neck, but she shook it away, chalking up the Twilight Zone vibes she was getting to nerves and the underlying hum of caution that took up permanent residence in her mind after years of enduring one frightening experience after another.

"But only for a few minutes."


The inside of the shop was a larger version of the display window. The walls were a black and white pattern and the carpet matched the red velvet lining in the display case. Plastic Halloween decorations and costume accessories lined the walls, sporting everything as simple as candy buckets and masks to more elaborate and detailed items such as cowls, capes, and jewelry. There was a shelf of wands and scepters, of chalices and cauldrons, much like the one in the front window.

A row of glass cases lined the back wall, filled with books and crystal balls on sculpted metal stands. A few kids were hunched over what looked like birdbaths filled with different assortments of candy and cheap toys. Three boys were flinging rubber frogs back and forth and chasing each other down the rows of costumes in the middle of the store, their parents yelling in vain after them.

One brushed close to Veronica, and she scowled at him before turning back to the racks of clothes. Betty had moved toward the glass cases in the back, trying to examine the ornate bindings on some of the books.

The light was already dimmer than a normal store, in keeping with the spooky atmosphere of most Halloween stores, but the wispy smoke that she had seen brewing out of the cauldron from the front seemed to have permeated the entire store, causing a thin white mist to hang in the air resembling that of fog clinging to the grounds of a cemetery.

Betty bent down to get a closer look at a pair of identical books in particular. They were large with a shiny black and silver pattern twisting across the cover, like that of a Celtic knot, snaking and winding in a seamless array with no apparent beginning or end. In the middle of each was a gleaming green emerald, with the book clasp a brilliant deep purple.

She squinted at the cover of the book, the soft light revealing writing on parts of the silver strips. She panned her head, trying to read what it said, thinking it must be holographic as it kept slipping just out of view.

But when she moved her head, the writing didn't move with the light, instead, it looked like it-,. No that couldn't be right. It couldn't be moving.

She furrowed her brow and tilted her head again. Sure enough, what she thought had been the words slipping in and out of view wasn't them disappearing at all, but rather the words writing themselves into the binding, sliding further along the metal as though an invisible hand was penning it.

It didn't look English, and as she tried to make sense of the writing her vision got a bit blurry. She rubbed her eyes, but the fuzziness was still there. She looked around and realized that sensation wasn't just with the book; no matter how hard she tried to focus on one thing, it was always slightly distorted.

The mist around her began to shimmer and a warm feeling washed over her.

Her head got heavy and lulled for a moment, and then suddenly, as quickly as it came, the feeling was gone.

The hum of the music playing in the shop came back to her ears, clear as day, as though she had just snapped out of shell shock. Betty gazed at the case, finding she had forgotten what she was even looking for.

She frowned and shook her head, picking herself up off the floor and straightening up, but almost immediately gasped and stumbled backward as she unexpectedly came face to face with a woman behind the counter.

Betty blinked, waiting for her pulse to return to normal. She could've sworn the woman had not been there a second before.

"Hello," the woman said cheerfully. She was young and tall, her reddish-brown hair tucked neatly up into a pointed black witch's hat. She wore a matching black gown with a dark green cowl flowing freely around her, fastened together over her shoulders with a sparkling green brooch.

"Do you need help finding anything?" The woman continued smiling at Betty.

"Oh." Betty finally shook away the last of her stupor. "No. My friend and I are just browsing." She bobbed her head back to where Veronica was still skimming through the costumes. The woman glanced at her but turned her attention back to Betty. "You've got a very nice shop here. Did you just move in?"

"Yes. Just opened a few days ago." The woman spoke with a light accent. It sounded Scottish, but a bit of the inflections and rises were broken in places, as though she had neglected to speak the full dialect in quite some time. But her tone held the vocal remnants that told Betty that at one time it would have undoubtedly been her native tongue. "Just in time for the Halloween season."

But her age did not match her voice.

"This is pretty elaborate for a pop-up shop," Betty observed, an uneasy feeling beginning to creep its way through her again.

"Oh, this is not a pop-up shop, dear. I plan to be here all year round," the woman chimed, "When it's not near the season of Samhain, it will simply be a magic shop."

"Oh," Betty said a bit absently, still focused on the woman's odd features. "Wait." She had heard something a bit odd, though. "What's that?"

"A magic shop?"

"No. Samhain. What's that?" Betty felt as though she had heard that word before, but she couldn't remember where.

The woman frowned at her. "I do not know what you are talking about, dear. All I said was that after the Halloween season, I would turn this into a magic shop."

Betty scratched her head. "I could've sworn you said something else." She shook her head. "Never mind. Well, you've got some very unique items here, especially the books."

"Oh yes!" A deep admiration crossed the woman's face as she looked down and stroked the top of the case above the twin tomes. Her eyes had moved away, but Betty still felt as though she could feel the calm yet piercing gaze. "Most of these have been in my family for generations and are mostly out as decorations. To give the shop a more authentic and antiquated look. Though I do let the occasional soul buy one from me if they are willing to pay the proper price."

She lifted her head and Betty saw a strange glint overtake her eyes, one that made her begin to back away. The chill she had felt outside the store was running down her neck again and she thought it about time she and Veronica should leave.

"That's very interesting." Betty reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone, pretending to open a text. "Oh, uh, looks like I need to get going. Thanks for everything, Miss…" Betty found herself asking for the woman's name.

"Ms. Aisling. But no need to be formal." She smiled again and Betty nodded. She turned around, searching through the lingering smoke for Veronica. Once she spotted her, it was now her turn to grab Veronica by the arm and drag her toward the door, ignoring her small cries of protest.

"Oh, and Betty, dear," Aisling called, her entrancing voice somehow still sounding crystal clear despite the music and mist. "Sorry you didn't find what you were looking for. I do hope you and your friend come back again soon."

Betty didn't respond but simply continued to pull Veronica along.

She wanted so badly to get out of there that she never even stopped to think about the fact she had never given Aisling her name.


One chapter done! Tell me what you think!

I don't expect this to be super long, probably ten chapters max.

I wanted to have a little fun writing and I've been watching far too many Halloween movies this month. Next chapter should be up in a day or two, hopefully. Leave a review and a follow if you like it!