A Halloween night in Cantabria.
1. The Worst Halloween Ever
Cantabria, 31 October 2026.
“This isn’t fair! It’s just not fair!”
Thirteen-year-old Lucía sat in the back seat of the car, arms folded, headphones on. She had been in a foul mood all afternoon.
Her mother was trying to squeeze the last suitcase into the boot.
“Lucía, sweetheart, we’ve talked about this.”
“But Mum! All my friends are celebrating Halloween together! We’ve been planning it for weeks!”
“Well, I don’t want to go either,” chimed in her eleven-year-old brother, Nico. “We were supposed to go trick-or-treating. Look!”
He held up an orange pumpkin-shaped sweet bucket.
“What am I supposed to do with this now?”
“Take it with you,” their mother replied. “Maybe Grandma has some sweets.”
Nico stared at her in horror.
“Mum! It’s not the same!”
Their mother shut the boot and sighed.
“We’re only going for the weekend. You haven’t seen Grandma in ages, and she’s so excited to have us.”
“Brilliant,” Lucía muttered. “Halloween in a village where absolutely nothing ever happens.”
Nico let his head fall back against the seat.
“The worst Halloween ever.”
Neither of them had any idea how much they would come to regret those words.
2. Grandma’s House
By the time they reached the village, dusk was falling.
The last light of day touched the mountains. A thin mist drifted down between the trees, and the air smelled of wet earth.
Grandma’s house was an old Cantabrian stone farmhouse, with a long, dark wooden balcony, deep overhanging eaves and a roof of weathered tiles. Ivy climbed some of its walls, and a narrow path led through the garden to the front door.
“Well, at least there’s a signal,” Lucía said, looking at her phone.
“How exciting,” Nico replied. “We can watch our friends having fun without us.”
Before their mother could say anything, the front door opened.
“Oh, look at you! My darlings!”
Grandma came out with her arms wide open.
She kissed them, hugged them and insisted they had grown so much since her last visit.
“Come in, come in! It’s freezing out here! Dinner’s ready.”
Inside, the house smelled of hot soup and burning wood. A fire was crackling in the hearth, and rain had begun to tap gently against the windows.
Over dinner, there were questions, jokes and the inevitable complaints from Lucía and Nico about missing Halloween.
Then Grandma smiled.
“Well… perhaps I can make it up to you with a story.”
Nico looked up.
“A scary story?”
“One my own grandmother used to tell me when I was little.”
Lucía rolled her eyes.
“Oh, please, Grandma. We’re not little kids any more.”
The old woman did not answer straight away.
She stood up, placed another log on the fire and glanced towards the windows.
Then she sat down again.
“Very well. Listen carefully.”
3. The Stories the Elders Told
“A very long time ago, when nights were darker and houses were lit by candles, there was a small village tucked away in the mountains of Cantabria.”
Grandma’s voice sounded different now.
“It was a peaceful place. During the day, people worked in the fields, cared for their animals and helped one another. But when night fell, everyone made sure their doors and windows were firmly shut.”
“Because of thieves?” Nico asked.
“No,” Grandma replied. “Because of something much worse.”
Lucía gave a little snort of laughter.
“Here we go…”
Grandma went on.
“One morning, a boy from the village woke up terribly ill. He was as pale as wax and could barely get out of bed. His mother thought he must have a fever, but his skin wasn’t hot. He wasn’t in pain, either.
“He simply had no strength.
“The next morning, another child woke up in the same condition. Then another.
“No one could understand what was happening.”
The fire crackled in the hearth.
“One night,” Grandma continued, “the first boy’s mother decided to stay awake beside his bed. She wanted to find out what was making him so ill.
“The house was completely dark. Only a single small candle burned on the table.
“Hours passed. Nothing happened.
“Until, shortly after midnight, she heard a sound.”
Scrr… scrr… scrr…
Nico stopped playing with his pumpkin bucket.
“What was it?”
“It sounded as though someone was scratching at the wooden window frame.
“The woman held her breath.
“The noise stopped.
“She crept towards the window, but she could see no one. Outside, there were only the shadows of the trees.
“She went back to the bedside.
“And then she heard the same sound again.”
Scrr… scrr… scrr…
“This time it came from the other side of the room.”
Grandma paused.
“When the woman finally managed to light another candle, she discovered that the window was open.”
“Had someone come in?” Nico asked quietly.
“She never found out.
“By morning, the boy was weaker still.
“Word spread throughout the village. Mothers were frightened to put their children to bed. Some slept beside them. Others kept their candles burning until dawn.
“And then an elderly woman in the village spoke a name that no one had dared utter for many years.”
La Guajona.
4. The Creature of the Night
“They said she was a witch who prowled around houses while everyone slept,” Grandma continued. “She wasn’t looking for money or food. She wanted something far more terrible.
“The blood of children and young people.
“She would creep up to them while they slept, steal a little of their blood and vanish before dawn.
“She didn’t want to kill them. She came back night after night.
“That was why her victims woke paler and weaker each morning… until they could hardly get out of bed.”
Nico swallowed.
“Hadn’t anyone ever seen her?”
“Some claimed to have heard her footsteps. Others spoke of a shadow beside the bed. But whenever they lit a candle, there was nothing there.”
“So basically, nobody had any proof,” Lucía interrupted.
“Perhaps not,” Grandma replied.
“Exactly! The children were probably just ill, and people made up the whole witch story.”
“Perhaps you’re right.”
Grandma gazed into the fire.
“But there was one thing everyone agreed on.”
“What?” Nico asked.
The old woman slowly raised her eyes.
“If you heard three scratches at your window during the night, you had to stay exactly where you were.
“And, above all…”
She paused.
“You must never open it.”
For a few moments, no one spoke.
Then Lucía burst out laughing.
“Grandma! That sounds like something from a really bad horror film!”
Nico laughed too, though not quite so convincingly.
“Yeah, yeah. A witch who scratches at windows. Terrifying!”
Grandma gave a faint smile.
“Well, children, it’s late. Time for bed.”
5. Goodnight, Children
Lucía and Nico were sleeping in a room upstairs.
It was a large bedroom with two wooden beds, an old wardrobe and a small window set deep into the thick stone wall.
“Lovely room,” Lucía remarked. “All it needs is a ghost.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Nico replied.
Grandma came in behind them.
“I’ve left you some extra blankets in case you get cold.”
She walked over to the little window, checked the latch and drew the curtains partway across.
“And don’t open the window tonight.”
Lucía gave her a teasing smile.
“Don’t worry, Grandma. We wouldn’t want your friend La Guajona coming in.”
The old woman did not laugh.
“Goodnight, my darlings.”
She kissed them both and switched off the light.
When her footsteps had faded down the corridor, Nico turned to his sister.
“Lucía…”
“What?”
“Do you think Grandma made that story up?”
“Oh, Nico, please. You’re eleven.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Go to sleep.”
A few minutes passed.
Lucía was looking at her phone beneath the covers. Nico lay perfectly still, his eyes wide open.
Outside, the wind shook the branches of the trees.
The rain had stopped.
The house was completely silent.
Until there came a sound.
Scrr…
Nico’s eyes widened.
Scrr… scrr…
“Lucía…”
“What do you want now?”
“Did you hear that?”
“It’s probably a branch.”
“But it’s coming from the window.”
Lucía sighed, put her phone down on the bed and raised her head.
For a few seconds, they heard nothing.
Then, very slowly:
Scrr… scrr… scrr…
This time, Lucía heard it too.
Both children turned towards the little window.
The curtain stirred slightly.
“Lucía…” Nico whispered.
“Shh.”
Moonlight glimmered faintly on the glass.
And then they saw it.
A dark, hunched, motionless silhouette, outlined on the other side of the window.
They could not make out its face.
They had no idea what it was.
Only that someone was there.
Someone was watching them.
Nico clutched the blanket with both hands.
“Lucía…”
His sister did not answer.
Because she had just remembered something.
They were upstairs.
And on the other side of that window…
There was no balcony.
The story continues with you
Help Lucía and Nico escape while practising Spanish.
