As the Halloween festivity period approached, Jessica and the family were involved in
the planning while putting their creativity into developing the most appealing environment that
would enable them to join other Americans in the celebrations. In the process, Jessica gets into a
conversation with the parents about the dead and the significance of Halloween to help the living
connect with the dead. Jessica’s father tells a story of a mythical god that is considered involved
in the deaths of people in the community that they belong to that need to be confused during the
Halloween period to slow the rate of deaths in the community. However, Jessica’s mother, a
staunch Christian, does not believe in evil and stories of gods and seems enraged with the
narration and confronts the husband to stop the conversation and make the Halloween period in
their family celebrated as a conformity issue the American society.
“Don, stop the scary stories! The dead have no reason over the living, while every death
is God’s purpose for the living since, we are all destined to die. We are not immortal, and death is
a consequence of sins.” Jessica’s mother responds to her father about the story of the mythical
god responsible for the deaths in the community. She continues to say, “when one dies, they
anticipate resurrection nd the second coming of Christ, which is an indication of God’s purpose
of death! We should not associate the deaths in the community with any gods. However, the
giver of life, who is God.” The conversation led Jessica’s father to commence talking directly to
Jessica, who never seemed terrified of the story that was being told. Jessica’s father says, “these
stories are meant to introduce and draw out attention to the Halloween period and not meant to
be factual or reality. Furthermore, we cannot eliminate the role of evil in our lives. These are
issues that exist, and regardless of our spiritual life, we need to recognize them.”
Jessica does not seem interested in the stories and the argument between her parents.
However, her mother is bothered by her silence because she is not saying anything about
Halloween or the stories the father is talking about. Notably, Jessica is a thirteen-year-old girl
who likes to think, and at a young age, Jessica boasts of an experience that has changed her
experience about death and the dead. When the mother asks her about the stories the father is
telling them and if it is scary, Jessica responds to the mother and says she has once witnessed a
murder. The parents could not believe Jessica and thought she was alluding to the movies she
watched at home.
Jessica’s parents antagonize her thinking and tell her to understand that her family
conducts the Halloween celebrations to conform to the American social life. That is, to join the
neighbors in commemorating the day. Jessica insisted that she had experienced murder and seen
a person die and thrown into the river by people she cannot describe since they vanished after
committing the act. Jessica’s parents were surprised and could not consider her sentiments true.
Jessica’s mother said, “Don, this is why I told you to stop the stories that sounded evil. The
narration you gave us awakened her passion for Jessica, and now she is thinking about issues
related to evil and the dead. We should pray about it as we continue with our Halloween
preparations.”
Without notice, Jessica stormed off home. The parents thought she needed some fresh air
and went for a walk. As the parents remained indoors, Jessica was taking a long outside the
house, and the mother was concerned with what was happening to Jessica. She walked out to
look around and could not seek Jessica anywhere. In a loud voice, Jessica’s mother called, but
nobody could respond to her call. Jessica never carried any phone that she could be reached if
she went out missing. However, within hours of searching around the house and the neighborhood, her body is still found in the house. Her body was drowned in an apple-bobbing
tub. The incident terrifies Jessica’s parents, who are in shock and disbelief. They cannot
comprehend what has happened to their child, who was doing well. One thing ring in Jessica’s
parents’ mind: the experience of death that she alluded to while the father narrated it to them.
Jessica’s parents question her motive for telling them that she had experienced murder
and suddenly went missing. Jessica’s mother starts to believe in the stories that her husband,
Don, was narrating to them while preparing for the Halloween celebrations. The night of
Jessica’s departure, Hercule Poirot is called in by the family to find the ‘evil presence.’
Summoning Hercule Poirot is motivated by the mythical stories that Jessica’s father was making,
which the wife thinks will be the key to unlocking the truth of their child’s whereabouts. Jessica’s
mother is in disbelief of whether evil exists and the role of spirituality in their lives. As Hercule
Poirot is on the mission of finding the presence of evil in the house, she is in prayer and has not
summoned the police to investigate their child’s whereabouts since they believe she is alive and
not dead. Being a Halloween period, they hold that evil can prevail in any circumstance, which
can be attributed to Jessica being lost in the natural world that we are in through time travel. In
the bathtub, no blood stains can be located, making them more optimistic that their daughter is
still alive regardless of seeing her body in the bath tab still and not moving. Jessica’s body is not
responding to any coordination impact on her.
Hercule Poirot walks around the house dressed in attire meant to scare evil presence in
the house, alluding to a language meant to connect to the world of the dead. At the time, Jessica’s
mother stopped praying, pleading with her to wake up from the bat tab, which she is lying about.
As Hercule Poirot approach where Jessica’s body is laid, he claims that the evil spirit has started
to flee the house and Jessica would come back to life. Jessica’s father nods his head and starts to believe in the community’s cultural belief that there are evil spirits that are responsible for death
in the community. Hercule Poirot blows some smoke toward Jessica’s body that chokes her as
she wakes up in awe and asks why she is surrounded. Hercule Poirot tells her that she was taken
to the world of the dead by the evil responsible for the community’s deaths, and he has
commanded them to flee away from her. Jessica’s mother cannot believe the narrative, while
Don, Jessica’s father, seems to believe the story he is telling and is convinced it can be associated
with Jessica’s “death.” However, the occurrence turns out to be a lie and fiction to make the story
that was said by the father relevant to them and conform with the Halloween period. Jessica tells
the mother that evil exists and anything can happen, making Halloween a critical period for
confusing evil and appeasing them. Jessica tells the mother that is necessary that they live in the
reality that such things can occur among people and regardless of being Christians, they should
have that recognition as they celebrate Halloween.