Here's a short Halloween story.


Under the Halloween Moon

Johnny had always loved Halloween — the stories, the costumes, the smell of the candles held within the carved pumpkins. But he never believed in the legends behind it. He was human, after all — an ordinary person who laughed at the horror stories and myths.

That night, though, something felt different.

The air itself seemed to shimmer as he walked home from the Halloween party. His breath could be seen in the chill, and his jacket still smelled faintly of smoke and cider. The laughter of distant trick-or-treaters echoed faintly behind him.

It was later than he thought, and the full moon rose high over the rooftops, casting a cold silver light across the quiet streets. Clouds drifted across the sky, and for reasons Johnny couldn’t explain, his heart began to race.

He turned onto a narrow path that cut through the woods. He’d taken it hundreds of times, but tonight, every step felt uncomfortable. The wind whispered gently through the trees, and the shadows moved with the branches. Johnny kept telling himself it was Halloween — that all those people in costumes were just still on his mind.

Then, with no warning, it hit him — a tremor deep in his chest.

Johnny froze mid-step, clutching his ribs. It wasn’t pain, more like a vibration pulsing through muscle and bone. His vision flickered, and the soft amber glow of the streetlights behind him faded into the cold shimmer of the moon.

He stumbled to a puddle by the path and stopped in terror. His reflection stared back — with glowing eyes. Not brightly, but with an intense green aura.

“No... no, that’s...” Johnny gasped.

He reached up to rub his face, but his fingertips fell upon something rough. Something furry.

Black and white strands were spreading across Johnny's cheeks and forming under his eyes. His heart pounded as his fingernails darkened and curved. The bones beneath began to flex and shift, and the sounds around him grew sharper. He could hear the individual flutter of wings, the rustle of leaves, the hum of crickets — every noise all at once, intertwined and clear.

As he listened, his ears moved. They twitched and focused on each noise around him.

"Wh... what's happening to me?!"

Johnny staggered back, holding his head as the shape of his skull shifted. His hair thickened into a coarse, shaggy mane, and his shoes tightened around his feet. His toes pushed forward — he could feel them reshaping within.

He fell to his knees, panting. His spine lengthened with a deep crack that made him cry out, but the sound that came wasn’t his normal voice. It was half-human, half-howl.

His jeans split slightly as his legs reformed, and his fingers and palms softened into padded hands. Behind him, something unfurled — a black and white tail, bushy and sleek, that moved in a sweeping motion.

Johnny looked at the puddle again. The reflection that stared back was no longer human. An anthro border collie stood in his place, wide-eyed and breathing heavily beneath the moonlight. His chest rose and fell, and his new fur rippled in the cold air. His muzzle caught the glow of the moon, and Johnny felt something inside that he hadn't felt before.

The fear inside faded and was replaced by something different. Freedom.

The collie in the reflection smiled back at him, and he realised that whatever had just happened to him wasn’t a curse — it was a revelation.

Although he wasn't sure if it was real, Johnny could have sworn he heard a voice echoing through the trees.

“Happy Halloween.”

Johnny lifted his muzzle to the sky and howled — not in fear, but in joy.

The human he once was faded beneath the silver light of the moon. In his place stood Johnny, the anthro border collie, reborn under the Halloween sky.

At last — truly himself.