Hello, friends, and welcome to Sleep Tight Stories.
Zeb is a zombie that has a problem.
All of his friends have something that bothers them, but nothing like Zeb's problem.
Zeb worries about the problem but has no idea how to fix it.
The zombie who kept losing his head.
Seb has a problem.
His head keeps falling off.
None of his other friends have this problem.
The ghosts keep their heads on.
Even the skeletons do.
But not Zeb.
Lucky for him, it doesn't hurt because zombies don't feel pain.
Not like his friend, Fred Frankenstein.
Fred feels everything. especially when he stubs his toe.
And he's got big toes, the kind that are always finding table legs and door frames and rocks that shouldn't even be there.
Sometimes fred stubs his toe so hard he lets out this huge bellowing shout ow, and scares everyone half to death, or well, all the way to death if you're already dead, like zeb.
One time Fred stubbed his toe on a gravestone and yelled so loud that Seb jumped three feet in the air.
His head popped right off and rolled down the hill.
That's when it really started happening.
Fred was super apologetic about it.
He even helped Zeb chase his head down before it rolled into the creek.
But ever since that day, Zeb's head has been loose, like a lid that doesn't quite screw on right.
Zeb Fred, Susan the Skeleton, Grace the Ghost and Marvin the Mummy all hang out near the abandoned cemetery on the edge of an old spooky town.
You know the one.
Always foggy. always a little too quiet with those iron gates that creak even when there's no wind.
Have you ever visited?
You should, you know.
It's actually pretty nice in the summer, peaceful even.
But you probably shouldn't visit during spooky season.
That's when things get... complicated.
You see, Zeb and all the other spooks have rules.
They're not allowed to go out and deliberately scare people, especially kids, at night, though it does happen, sometimes by accident.
Like that time.
Grace sneezed and accidentally blew herself straight through someone's kitchen window during dinner.
The whole family screamed.
The dog fainted.
I hear they move to another town after that.
But during spooky season, all bets are off.
They're allowed to go out and give everyone a good fright.
Well, except Zeb.
Zeb doesn't scare houses that leave candy outside because he's got a real sweet tooth.
Literally, just one tooth.
He doesn't remember when the others fell out or if he ever even had them.
But that one tooth?
It's a champion.
And it would be so nice to have more, he thinks.
Then he could eat hard candy without worrying.
And maybe smile better, too.
Out of all his friends...
Marvin the Mummy is probably the one Zeb gets along with best.
Because, well, zombies sometimes have an odor problem.
And mummies understand.
They can get pretty stinky, too.
Have you ever smelled a zombie?
Like ever?
Okay.
Go smell your food waste bin, or maybe a pile of old fruit, the kind with flies buzzing around it.
Take a deep breath.
That's what Zeb smells like.
Would you want to smell like that?
I mean, it's the kind of smell that even a soapy bath won't wash off.
But you know what?
Everyone still likes Zeb, even with his odor problems and his head falling off all the time.
Because we're all different, right? and no one's perfect.
Imagine having super-sized toes like Fred and stubbing them every five minutes.
Or accidentally flying through someone's house like Grace.
That would be embarrassing, don't you think?
Would you want to fly through someone's house?
Catch them when they are picking their nose?
That would be just yucky.
Marvin has two things wrong with him.
He moans all the time.
He just can't stop. and his wrappings are always unraveling.
Susan the skeleton has a teeth-rattling problem and she's constantly combing her hair, even though she doesn't have any.
So, yeah.
Zeb's head falls off sometimes, but at least he's in good company.
Tonight was Halloween, the big night, the one night a year where spooks could really let loose.
Zeb was excited.
He'd been planning his route for weeks, hitting all the best candy houses, avoiding the ones with dogs.
Dogs do not like zombies.
Cats did though.
And making sure his head stayed on. for at least most of the evening.
It's hard to carry your head in one arm and a bag of treats in the other.
Ready?
Fred asked, adjusting the bolts on his neck.
Ready, Zeb said.
Then his head wobbled.
Um, almost ready.
Grace floated over and gave his head a firm pat.
There, that should hold it for a bit.
Thanks, Grace.
Marvin groaned.
It wasn't a sad groan or a worried groan.
It was just...
A groan.
He did that.
Susan clattered her teeth in agreement, which Zeb had long ago learned meant she was excited.
All right, Fred said, grinning.
Let's go scare some people and get some candy, Zeb added.
Obviously.
They made it three houses before Zeb's head fell off again.
It happened right in the middle of a really good scare, too.
Some teenager had opened the door, seen Fred looming there with his stitched-up face, and screamed.
It was perfect!
Then Zeb stepped forward to do his zombie moan.
Brains!
And his head just... plopped off, rolled right down the porch steps.
The teenager stopped screaming, stared, then started laughing.
Dude, that's hilarious!
Zeb's head now sitting in the flowerbed, sighed.
This is so embarrassing.
Fred went down and picked it up.
You okay, buddy?
I'm fine, just, you know, mortified.
Grace giggled. which sounded like wind chimes.
At least he thought it was funny.
Yeah, Zeb muttered as Fred plopped his head back on.
Hilarious.
By the end of the night, Zeb's head had fallen off six more times.
Once in a yard, twice on sidewalks.
Once it bounced into a storm drain.
Fred had to fish it out.
And once it rolled all the way into someone's garage.
But you know what?
People loved it.
Kids thought it was the coolest trick ever.
Parents laughed.
Even the grumpy old guy on Park Street cracked a smile when Zeb's head tumbled into his candy bowl.
Though he might have replaced some of the candy afterwards.
You can't serve candy to kids that have brains on them.
You know what?
Zeb said as they walked back to the cemetery, his bag full of candy and his head finally staying put.
My head falling off does have some advantages, I guess.
Fred grinned.
Told you.
Marvin groaned in agreement.
And Zeb?
He smiled his one-tooth smile.
Because, yeah, his head kept falling off, but at least it made people happy.
And really, What more could a zombie ask for?
And that is the end of our story.
Good night.
Sleep tight.
Thank you.
