Years after the fall, survivors spend their days scavenging for food and other items to make apocalyptic life easier. Water is scarce and there hasn’t been a good harvest crop since the end of the war.

A man pours dirty water from a rusty cup into a small pot. He digs a little hole and turns to the small child beside him. She opens her tiny hand to reveal a bunch of pumpkin seeds. She drops them in the pot and covers them with dirt. “Happy Halloween!” the child says triumphantly. The man smiles at her. Hopefully a pumpkin will grow this time.

Monday Macabre is all about the scares during October, but this year, we’re tapping into the psychological fear of dystopian Halloween horror.

pumpkin seeds
water in a rusty cup
Halloween’s last hope