Cli-boing, Cli-boing, Cli-boing!

The back-faced clock with iridescent, orange hands chimed the 13th hour, audible only to witches, sleek, jet-black cats, hobgoblins, bats and bright orange pumpkins.

It signaled their time to leave the land of mortals for one glorious night of revelry on Allhallows Eve.

Hobgoblins sprang onto the backs of black cats. They clung to their ears during one gigantic leap to reach their destination ahead of the fleeing conglomeration.

Breathless from this feat the cats sat motionless except for blinking their slanted green eyes to guide the fleeing entourage to their sanctuary-the dark side of the moon.

Wide-eyed owls blinked three times, then swooped en-mass into the starless sky, hooting, Follo-o-w me-e, Follo-o-w me-e.

Great clouds of bats followed the owls. Witches leaped onto their broomsticks with such speed that the last autumn leaves shuddered and fell to earth.

Pumpkins of many shapes and sizes, with hideous faces, rolled and tumbled across the sky in a glowing curly-que. The massive exodus from planet earth, no more than a sw-ish-sh created a fearful wind gust that caused hearts of all mortals to tremble.

Owls took up their guard posts on the highest peaks of jagged rocks that loomed in ghostly spires like the jaws of dragons, spewing white fire into the starless sky.

Owls watched for intruders. Their amber eyes cast searchlight beams across the uneven deep purple surface of the moon, questioning all unfamiliar sounds in eerie low tones, repeating, "Who-ooo?"

Thick, silver streaked, blue-black steam billowed into the icy-cold air from craters, many fathoms deep on the dark side of the moons surface, and from some thick, gooey green-grey mud oozed and bubbled rhythmically, plop- plop- plop.

Hordes of bats zigzagged through the amber beams cast by owls perched high on their watchtowers. Low flying bats were sucked into the caverns by the steam's magic power or were drawn into the witch's concoctions.

This set the witches to stir their brews vigorously. Their grunts and groans echoed across the dark side of the moon like thunder. Accepting the fate of the bats, the owls lazily blinked.

Not wanting to be drawn into the steaming craters, hobgoblins rolled ugly faced pumpkins across the bumpy surface, from a safe distance, toward the billowing craters.

Booming thud-thud-thuds shook the moon's surface as pumpkins rolled into the bottomless pits of steaming liquid. Ear-splitting cackles that cracked like thunder burst forth from the excited witches. The black cat's fur stood on end and whiskers twitched. Their green eyes were wary, but they kept silent.

From the black crevices of slate-gray rocks, millions of slanted green eyes watched the old wizened witches tirelessly stir their secret mixtures with long broom handles. They lay in wait to pounce on a tasty morsel discarded from their bubbling vats.

Pandemonium, reigned on the dark side of the moon for hour on end, there being no leader to keep law and order over the congregation of free spirits.

Cli-boin-n-n-ng- Cli-boin-n-n-ng- Cli-boin-n-n-ng!

On the 13th hour the clangorous chimes sounded, again signifying the end of a time period, for there is no daylight on the dark side of the moon.

Old wizened witches, sleek, green-eyed black cats, mischievous hobgoblins, owls, bats and bright orange pumpkins did not welcome the spirit Light on their domain.

Mortals beware on Allhallows Eve when the iridescent, orange clock with black hands strikes the 13th hour lest you be sucked into the whirlwind flight of mischievous merrymakers to the dark side of the moon.