Author's Note: I had an idea and couldn't resist writing another Halloween type tale. This one was inspired by a line from the first of Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. It is dedicated to the fans and readers of Tick Tock, Drip Drop – in humble thanks of their kind reviews and continued reading. The greatest compliment a writer can receive is that their stories are read and enjoyed. Thank you all. – below is a preview of chapter 1 – which has been posted in its entirety under the title – When the Dead Walk. Hope you enjoy.

And when the dead walk, the living will fill these coffins. – Sherlock Holmes

The bare branches of the scraggly patch of trees swayed drunkenly with an ominous creaking, reaching downward like giant grasping fingers as a low moan echoed through the park. A nervous twitter of laughter answered, followed by the sound of quickening footfalls as a loitering couple quickened their pace along the well beaten footpath.

It did not do to linger on a night such as this.

A few remaining leaves tugged free and swirled along with the gust of wind as it continued on its way. An abandoned sheet of newsprint slipped from a nearby bench, rustling quietly as it joined the odd dance. It twisted upward like a kite and then hung for a moment on the air, suspended in place as the wind stilled, before twirling toward the ground in an oddly graceful fall. It came to an abrupt halt as the toe of a well worn boot caught its edge, pinning it to the damp earth.

The boot shifted as a gloved hand reached down and plucked the battered paper from the dirt, smoothing it open carefully and angling it toward the yellow glow of a nearby lamp post. A pair of intelligent eyes narrowed beneath the brim of a tweed cap as they studied the large dark print of the headline.

HEADSMAN SIGHTED IN HYDE PARK

Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade grimaced at the pronouncement. He crumpled the paper into a tight ball and pitched it into the nearest bin as he resumed his brisk pace.

Headsman indeed.

Unlike the sensational string of murders that had plagued Hyde Park during the late eighteenth century, the current 'headsman' appeared to be less of a deranged murderer and more likely someone's idea of a Halloween inspired prank. There had been no murders as of yet, no assault...unless a splattering with pumpkin bits counted as such. In fact the whole matter seemed to revolve around a mere handful of reported sightings of a 'ghostly apparition' carousing about the park on horseback.

A headless apparition…on a glowing horse.

Not that sightings of this sort were uncommon at this time of year. In fact, they were likely to increase the closer the calendar crept toward the end of October…less than a week away. Already there had been reportings of vampires in the Underground (a promotional for an theater show), thefts attributed to an invisible man (a not so invisible thief and a small monkey), the usual amount ghost and goblins sighted in various parts of the city (greatest number near the cemeteries), a woman who had shot her neighbor's dog after mistaking the wolfhound for a werewolf (or so she insisted)…

….and now one distinctly American folk villain was carousing about in Hyde Park.

Some days he really hated his job…

Continued in When the Dead Walk…