When asked a question that at this point feels as old as time—does Trump actually believe his own bullshit or is he just trying to appease his base of selfish bigots?—former Vice President Al Gore said on last night’s The Late Late Show with James Corden, “I have no idea what’s going on in his mind.” Hm, same.

After the bugler blurted out Taps, the only thing left to do was to clean out my grandfather’s house. It wasn’t the kind of house that one would expect to be haunted: a squat ranch house with a stucco exterior, the kind of unremarkable house that clutters the working class neighborhoods of suburban Fort Lauderdale.

Gather round, ghoulies, ghosties, and goblins. It’s time for what is both the best and most dreaded time of the year: Jezebel’s annual spooky stories contest! I know it’s exciting, but try not to lose your head...

I’ve heard that Margaret Shilling was deaf. I’ve heard that she was unable to speak, to call for help. I’ve heard that she was playing hide-and-go-seek, and I’ve heard that she just wanted to die. She has been called Ohio’s most notorious ghost, the lost lady. Teenagers have prayed to her, broken into a building for…

As the grass grows deader and an otherworldly chill fills the air, thoughts turn to the march of darkness into waning summer days, and the unknowable, and sometimes horrifying secrets that it holds. It's here. It's finally here. It's our annual Spooky Stories contest.