Patrice Rowen pushed a pram along the walkways of the sleepy village of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The season of pumpkin pies, goblins and candy stirred excitement in her mind.

This was her time of year. Everywhere reminders prepared townspeople for Halloween. Jack-o-lanterns and fall leaves decorated house entrances. Children wandered the streets dressed as witches, ghosts, and skeletons. Black cats sat silently on front porch steps.

They awaited their moment to share the magic. Patrice turned toward the porch of a house where the Jack-o-lantern glowed so bright that its sides gave the appearance of pulsing with light. Once inside, Patrice took her infant daughter, Alicia out of the pram and played with her until Alicia was ready for a nap.

Being an old fashioned mother, Patrice breast fed her child. Shortly before Halloween, Patrice took Alicia to the pediatrician. She worried because her daughter often pushed away the baby foods Patrice offers.

Patrice felt a lump grow in her throat as Dr. Strange wrinkled his eyebrows in a look of concern. "Patrice, are you still craving junk foods? Just because Alicia no longer lives within you doesn't mean cravings from pregnancy will disappear over night. While you are breast feeding what you eat affects her also. She'll want only that which you eat in excess. Foods we crave are seldom healthy for us."

"You mean I must stay on a yucky diet even though my figure has returned to normal? How sad. I need something to enjoy here and my food is it." Patrice hung her head in silence. Displays for seasonal pumpkin pies caught Patrice's eye every time she turned on TV or opened a weekly magazine.

A friend, Darcy Jones, who enjoyed her baking asked Patrice to make a pumpkin pie for her. In the grocery store pumpkin meat was abundant. Patrice bought enough meat to make one for her own family as well as Darcy's, but a craving for pumpkin pie haunted her mind. Patrice ate both before she realized what she had done.

When Darcy asked her what happened, Patrice almost burst into tears. "I did bake the pies. I really don't know what happened. I just had to taste and then all the pies were gone...right into my stomach. I can't seem to stop myself anymore. While you visit me I'll make another but please get it out of my sight before I devour it."
Patrice's craving continued. At first she wanted these pies at dinner once or twice a week. Then her craving grew until finally Patrice found she wanted another immediately after eating the first.

Patrice flipped her head in the air in disgust when Darcy showed her astonishment at Patrice's eating habits. After one binge Patrice's husband, Sean decided he must point out her uncontrollable craving.

"My dear sweet Patrice, this will not do. You have a wonderful creative talent for baking. Each meal should bring an exciting new surprise. Apple or cherry pie would be nice I don't want to turn into a pumpkin this year."
"But Sean, my love, I can't help it. I cook what my taste buds tell me and right now they cry for pumpkin, JUST PUMPKIN."

As Halloween approached, Patrice's supply of pumpkin meat vanished. That fateful afternoon her last pie lay on the table enticing her. She picked it up and devoured it. With ears flat against his head and the hair along his spine standing up in crew cut fashion, Rambo, the family cat spun around the table leg. The sky outside the window turned the color chartreuse and a ghostly film of fog enveloped the outdoor scene.

Suddenly other pies mysteriously appeared on the table. Patrice continued to devour each new pie as it appears. Alicia awoke hungry and cried for dinner. Patrice's insatiable appetite made her deaf to her daughter's pleas.

The noise of her infant's distress played havoc with her nerves. "Be quiet, Alicia, Mommy is busy now. You'll get yours when I've finished mine."

Finally Patrice placed Alicia against her body to feed. She continued her own gorging, ignoring her doctor's warning that the foods Patrice ate would affect Alicia. Sean walked in, carrying a pumpkin in his hands. He intended to carve it into a Jack-o-lantern to place in his daughter's window. Patrice spied the familiar orange object and grabbed it. Without bothering to cook it into a pie, she gnawed on it ravenously.

Patrice showed no shame as Sean stared at her. She just watched his lips move with no sound coming out. She glared at him for looking so foolish. "What are you staring at? I like pumpkin, always have."

"Raw! Don't be ridiculous. What's this?" Sean pointed to the table where a new pie appeared in front of Patrice. She stuffed that in too as more appeared.

Patrice never noticed that Alicia's face had a glow of orange as she finished sucking on her mother's breasts. Sean noticed and took her away from her feeding, leaving his wife to gorge. Father and daughter went into the living room to play until bed time. Patrice never stopped shoving remnants of pie into her mouth even to notice her family had left. Only Rambo, sat on the window sill grinning knowingly, as black cats do on Halloween.
Just before midnight, the bewitching hour, Patrice went in to check on her lovely, sleeping daughter. At the door of the darkened room sat Rambo, his green eyes illuminating the blackness within. An eerie wail grew from the depths of the cat's throat. Patrice took no heed of her pet's warnings as she crossed the room to her
daughter's crib. An odd, eerie glow seemed to pulsate from inside the bassinet.

As Patrice leaned over to peer in, she discovered a Jack-o-lantern burning bright with an evil grin. Patrice picked up the Jack-o-lantern, blew out the candle and started to munch down. Then she noticed Alicia's nightclothes in a little pile next to where the pumpkin had sat. She pulled the pumpkin away from her mouth and cradled it in her arms. Sitting in the rocking chair, Patrice hummed her favorite lullaby as Rambo's wail turned into a cat-like laugh in the background.