Twas a dark and Stormy night and the moon was shining bright...

Twas a dark and stormy night...and the moon was shining bright
And somebody said, "Jack, my boy, tell me a story--and this is the story he told.

I think it all started when someone jumped into the icy Odense harbor

and swam through the dark waters of the sea.

Some called him a "Sea Man". Someday he was going to be the captain of a great ship.

Then he started lurking in the shadows near our house. He even helped us cook unusual foods at the center. Maybe there was something in the food.

His dark shadow could be found everywhere. He had great power and influence.

Even the horses loved him. I know that he fed them strange food.

Last Tuesday night we planned a nice, quiet Family Home Evening at the Odense Young Adult Center. I made ordinary food but when I began to serve it...it became:

1. Spider potatoes,

2. bloody vampire bat wings,

3. goblin drumstick bones,

4. mummy dogs,

5. and swamp salad

Instead of singing normal hymns, we all joined together to sing "My Darling Frankenstein" to the tune of "Oh My Darling Clemintine."

When we uncovered our favorite Rice Krispie Treats, a ghost was dancing on the top.

Some tasted the ghost and found it to be sweet and delicious.

We sang another spooky song called "Have you seen the Ghost of John?"

There was a chill in the air. (Click on the song so that you can sing it with us)

Loise was in charge of the Family Night lesson. She began to tell us about an ancient celebration called "Halloween." Some one was watching her .. was it the ice man from the harbor? It was a dark and stormy night. Mark just kept smiling.

Then I was going to give a spiritual thought, but it turned into a dark tale of a skeleton woman that got so cold and hungry that she ate herself and tried to eat her husband.

I felt the breath of someone dark .. breathing on my neck. (pause here)

I turned and saw..."The Grim Reaper !" He was dressed all in black, with a dark veil over his head. His robe looked suspisciously like black bed sheets. They were tied at the waist with a sailor's knot. (How interesting)

Our Family Home Evening took a turn for the worse when he began to tell a scary tale in a strange new language- Greenlandic Danish. We were chilled to the bone when a giant professional wrestling monster jumped through the kitchen door.

In a frenzy, we all ran to the pumpkin room in our center. (Most Outreach centers do not have a pumpkin room). We didn't know what to do.

Many grabbed knives and began to stab each juicy pumpkin.

For hours they scooped out seeds and chiseled faces in the pumpkins.

It was a gruesome sight...on this dark and stormy night. (And of course, the moon was shining bright).

Elder Francis couldn't stop carving. Every little cut had to be deep and sharp. Over and over again he stabbed the pumpkin. Paul just sat there trembling.

Allen could hear a wolf howling through the woods as he cut deep into the flesh of his pumpkin head.

Asker tried to warn us about the dangers of using sharp knives on Halloween but we just kept cutting.

Hours went by and the group was getting restless.

They were starving. They found a tub of apples floating in sea water.

Was the grim reaper trying to drown our hungry guests?

He challenged them to grab an apple before it was too late. They could only use their teeth. No hands were allowed. (He must be trying to drowned them).

Time stood still, as they frantically grabbed apples from the chilly waters. (I think that I have used the word "Frantically" too many times)...but they were very hungry.

The grim reaper was hungry too. Who could survive this terrible tale?

Mighty Asker saved the night and the grim reaper went down in defeat.

The dreadful night was almost over. The Grim Reaper tempted Elder Francis to eat one last apple. I still think there was something about the food.

The grim reaper looked on, as Rene lit the pumpkin faces. We ended the night judging each pumpkin. One was the most scary, one was the most cheerful, one was the most creative, one was the most Danish, one was the most well lit, and another was the most "Martha Stewart." (although few people know who Martha Stewart is here).

After that, all was well at the center. Asker, our hero saved the day. . or did he?

We don't know where the grim reaper went that night- Maybe back to the deep, dark harbor. But after the lights were turned out, and we were ready to go home, the pumpkin heads began to glow brighter, and brighter, and some say that some of us are still using sharp knives and eating crisp, juicy apples dipped in sea water.

It was a dark and stormy night, and the moon was shining bright,

and somebody said, "Jack, my boy, tell me a story" and THAT WAS THE STORY HE TOLD.