On the porch, Alden had me replace the regular light bulbs on either side of the door with the black ones, which shone purple when I turned them on. Meanwhile, he had a funnel with a long, skinny spout that he used to pour a small amount of water into the cauldron.
"There’s a metal dish inside," he said. "I’ll have to add more later. Can you plug that cord over there into the outlet in the wall?"
Alden flicked a switch near the bottom of the cauldron, and then another one, and an eerie orange light shone from inside it.
"What’s the water for?"
He grinned at me. "You’ll see." He emptied the bags of candy into the now-empty pumpkin, sat in one of the chairs, and gestured for me to take the other. It was nearly dark by this time, and in the weird light the look Alden gave me sent shivers
