The festival appeared only after sunset, as though it had grown from the darkness itself. Jagged black iron gates stood open beneath twisted trees draped in dead vines, while thousands of crooked jack-o’-lanterns flickered with eerie green and violet flames instead of warm candlelight. Thick fog slithered across the ground, swallowing footsteps and hiding what waited only a few feet away. Every few moments, the silence shattered with distant screams, manic laughter, and the mournful toll of an ancient bell that no one could ever find.