PUNGO WITCH
By Danny Taylor
September 18, 2024
Present day, Moyock, NC
It's moving day for the Jones family. The moving truck is parked in front of their new house at 934 Privet Drive. Lee and his wife Sharon are busy unloading the UHAUL while their two kids, Danny & Casey, are exploring their new home. The address of their new house is displayed on the mailbox at the end of the driveway. A neighbor walks towards the UHAUL and says, "Welcome to the neighborhood." Lee, standing in the back of the UHAUL holding a box, nods in response and says, "Hello." The woman introduces herself as Jenny Jennings, their new neighbor who lives next door. Sharon hears the conversation and emerges from the back of the UHAUL, also introducing herself. Jenny welcomes the couple to the neighborhood, and Lee asks if she is close to the previous neighbors. Jenny replies, "No, they were a strange family. One day they just up and moved. The house sat vacant for a year or so."
Just then, Casey runs up and interrupts the conversation. "Daddy, daddy, come quick!" Jenny tells the couple it was nice meeting them and walks back towards her house. Casey pulls her daddy's hand and tells him to come inside. Lee walks with her towards the house. Sharon goes back inside the U-Haul. Casey leads Lee inside and points to the white owl next to the door under the staircase. Lee stands there, staring in amazement. He wonders where it came from and how it got inside. He looks around the room to see any other birds or animals. He asks Casey where Danny is, and she points at the door under the stairs. Lee opens the door, and Danny jumps out, "Boo!" Lee jumps back and shakes his head. Danny runs off down the hall. Casey follows behind. Lee watches for a minute and then yells for Sharon to see it. He walks to the front door and yells again so Sharon can hear him. Sharon is still inside the back of the U-Haul. She hears Lee yelling and comes out to see what he wants. "What?" she says. "Come quick, you have got to see this," he says.
She walks toward the house carrying a large box labeled "kitchen." Lee takes the box from her and says, "Go inside and see what's in the foyer." Sharon walks inside and doesn't see anything. She looks around and asks Lee, "What am I looking for?" Lee walks inside and sets the box down on the floor. He walks over to the staircase door and peeks in. "It's in here." "What is it?" "Just come and see." Sharon walks over and joins Lee. She peeks inside the staircase and sees a white owl walking around. The owl is walking away from them towards the back wall. All of a sudden, it walks through the wall and disappears. The couple looks at each other, their jaws dropping.
***