All characters depicted are 18+. This story has been edited from a previous version.

"Are you sure you put the right address into the GPS? We're in the middle of corn fields, not the city dude!" whined Antoni as he fiddled with his cowboy costume. The van was feeling cramped with five guys packed in and it was dawning on them that they were not in the right place.

"I'm sure she gave me the right address for the big bash...but maybe the address itself is wrong? There's no signal out here so I can't even check my messages and the GPS is working in offline mode..." Jose tried reloading his Maps app for the fifth time to no avail, rolling up the sleeves of his prince outfit as the car was starting to feel warm.

"Where the hell are we? I don't want to be stuck out in the middle of the country dude..." Simon was dressed in his older brother's football equipment, not having bothered to get a real costume for the bash. He wasn't particularly big but still had to work out some room to stretch.

"Ugh, Simon, c'mon, leave some room for me," complained Angel, feeling squished in his demon outfit as Simon attempted to stretch his legs. He covered his mouth, wincing at the feeling of his new braces.

"Alright, stop complaining y'all. There's a gas station up ahead. Maybe we can ask for directions there," directed Jessie. He didn't really want to get out of the van in his evil clown get-up but it was better than being stuck in the van with these four idiots for another minute.

Squealing to a stop, the five friends got out and started stretching. Jessie walked into the store and found the sole employee working the stall. "Uhh, hi. Sorry to bother you, but I think we're a bit lost. We're supposed to head into Knighton for a Halloween party but..."

The gas station attendee smiled and said, "Well darling, you’re pretty far away from Knighton! That's about 300 miles in the other direction. Nightown is the closest place you'll find, a few miles up the road if you keep going to same way. Unfortunate, as you don't look quite...cute enough to handle the Halloween festivities there."

"Uhh, yeah I'm not supposed to be cute...wait, so we're that far away? Crap. Well, what's going down in Nightown, are there any parties or stuff going on?" asked a despondent Jessie.

"Of course! Nightown is well-known for it's Halloween night. All the women in town get dressed up and celebrate well into the night. The trick-or-treating is particularly good. You'd be the only men in sight if you went, more than likely. Hehehe, if only for the witch that hunts for any men that are sighted at night-" the attendant sounded like she was about to spin a tale before Jessie interrupted.

"Woah. You mean this town is packed with ladies? On Halloween night? In cute costumes? We're in, thanks ma'am!" Jessie ran out the door before the attendant could get another word in.

The other four college students watched him scurry up to them excitedly. He explained what had happened and after they all poked fun at Jose for mixing up Knighton with Nightown, they were all excited for the possibility of a Halloween night surrounded by cute girls in costumes. This seemed way better than the college bash they'd been heading to. Agreeing that this was the best course of action, they packed into the van and drove the rest of the way into town.

Per the attendants’ instructions, the guys made it into Nightown after a few more miles. The town was charmingly quaint, reminding Angel of old small town movies. There were several people already decked out in adorable outfits, making early rounds of trick or treating. Simon noticed that several of them had bulging candy bags already. "This town must be loaded! I bet we can get some good candy before we even make it to a party tonight."

"Yeah, this all looks real nice but..." started Antoni, "I don't see any other guys. Like, it's all girls and their moms right now."

"Oh yeah, the gas attendant lady said something about a witch thing in this town. Think it must be like a tradition that only girls go trick or treating? Maybe they go earlier than the guys? I dunno." Jessie only somewhat remembered what he'd heard from the woman but the guys all generally nodded, too excited about what the town had to offer.

Finding a place to park in the town center, the guys got out to meander, trying to get an idea of where to go. They noticed stares from the locals as they wandered about. All five of them wrote it off as their costumes not really fitting the vibe that everyone else was giving, until a witch passed by them and pointed at them.

"You're not wearing the right costumes! Don't you know the witch will get you if you're dressed like a dumb boy?" she exclaimed. The guys were dumbfounded, not knowing what to do about this costumed local yelling nonsense at them. A woman ran up to them as they stood dumbfounded.

"Oh so sorry about him, he's just really into the witch tale we tell here in Nightown!" The woman hurriedly said this as she attempted to wrangle the witch, who was still going on about how their costumes were dumb. Upon closer inspection, they caught that the witch was indeed a young man.

"Uhm, sorry," responded Jessie, "um, so is there anything going on in town we can go to? We ended up here by accident, so we'd like to have some fun..." He ended that rather quietly realizing he was asking a mom about where he could take four other college guys to have a blast.

"Oh of course! The town hosts a huge party tonight, there should be plenty of cuties there," she winked at a blushing Jessie. "The younger ladies your age usually stay up later than the rest of us if that's what you're after hahaha! Although if you want to get into the town spirit, the costume shop is still open." The guys perked up, hopeful that they had indeed hit the jackpot. They all thanked the woman and energetically began to make their way further into town. The witch continued to yell about the other witch as they moved away.

Making plans for what they needed for tonight, Angel pointed out that they probably wanted to spend the night here as it was already a long drive. Simon and Antoni were into the idea of trick or treating some, hoping the residents wouldn't be too annoyed at some young adults asking for candy. That left Jose and Jessie to explore the town. Agreeing that Angel could hold onto their things while he booked a hotel room, the rest of the group split up.

It was about this time that the sun was beginning to set, starting off Halloween night proper. Jessie and Jose stood out in their respective evil clown and prince outfits, but Jose at least earned some admirers from several princesses who asked for pictures with him. After being stopped for what seemed like the tenth time in a row, they got a breather by turning onto a fairly empty street. At least, until they saw someone walking towards them.

A young woman in a red and white cheerleader outfit was sauntering right up to them, holding a single pom-pom. Thinking this was their chance, they both got busy making themselves look cool. It was much harder for Jessie in his ridiculous outfit, but this didn't stop her. They both drooled over her before they could stop themselves, but it was when Jessie was eyeing her pigtails that he noticed something about her makeup...

"Hiya handsome devils," she started in a deeper voice than they expected. "Don't you know boys aren't allowed here after hours? Mother says it's wrong to let naughty boys wander around on their own. Why don't you come with me and we'll get you out of those dreadful clothes." 

She winked at Jose in his prince costume and using a finger to gesture a "follow me" command, starting walking towards one of the largest houses in town. Jessie was noting how much older and larger it seemed compared to the other homes they'd passed before he saw that Jose was indeed following the cheerleader. Grabbing him by the shoulder, he tried to stop him.

"Dude! That's not a chick, didn't you see her face? It's feminine but that's definitely a guy under that skirt." Jose scoffed in response.

"Yeah dude, don't you think I noticed? I'm bi. I'm happy either way," smiled a delighted Jose to an understanding "Oh!" from Jessie as he bounded after the cheerleader into the yard of the weird house.

Left alone, he watched Jose enter the house with his new friend. Bummed that he wasn't Jose right now, he attempted to distract himself by checking out the house's decorations. Instead of the usual Halloween decor, the yard was filled with posts. They held up what seemed to be scarecrow-like objects, almost like they were 2D mannequins. Each represented some sort of popular costume, all of them worn by a woman. One was a pinup girl, another a queen of hearts type outfit. Several posts were empty or else had something beneath them, such as a red-and-white pom-pom or a tiara.

"Huh, weird decorations," thought Jessie. After waiting a few minutes, he figured that Jose was probably having fun and they'd catch up later. Checking his phone, he still didn't have a signal so hoped he'd just meet them at the party tonight. The cheerleader would probably know where it was.

Walking around some more, Jessie was back on the busier roads and kept running into more trick-or-treaters who gawked at his clown outfit. He was really starting to regret not choosing the superhero costume and considered visiting the costume shop when he ran into Antoni. Surprised to see him without Simon, he asked where their friend went.

"Oh, you won't believe this dude, almost immediately we ran into this hottie dressed as Dorothy who was all over Simon. Like, she had never seen another dude or something. I was so pissed that his dumbass was walking in front and she didn't spot moi. Anyway, they walked off together like an hour ago and she was saying something about her mother not usually approving of boys. Where'd Jose go? Found some princess to kiss or something?" asked Antoni.

"Naw, Prince Jose found a cheerleader. Pretty sure she was a dude though, did you know Jose is bisexual? Never knew but it's cool that he was ok with telling me! Oh shit, did I just out him? Fuck. We're bonding and finding out more about each other tonight...but guess this means our chances of getting lucky are pretty good tonight huh?!" rambled an excited Jessie. 

Antoni assured him that he wouldn't say anything until Jose was ok with telling the group. Thinking about it, the Dorothy they ran into was pretty tall and he was too busy checking out her body to get a good look at her face...

"I guess we should find this party, Angel is probably there by now and the other two are probably busy," suggested Jessie to Antoni. They agreed on this course of action and made their way back downtown.

They heard the party before they saw it, taking place inside what seemed to be the town's recreational center. Waltzing in, the pair of guys were pleasantly surprised to see that the place was indeed packed full of cute women their age. They got a few odd looks as they made their way into the crowd, with Antoni tilting his cowboy hat to every woman in sight. As they got to the center with all the food and drink offerings, Jessie saw something which caught his eye.

A woman dressed in a pink and glittery ballerina outfit, complete with wide tutu, was standing at the punch bowl with her back to them. The tutu did nothing to hide her perfectly toned ass or legs, which enticed Jessie to make his move. "If Simon and Jose can get lucky that fast, I should try my chances too!" he thought to himself.

Jessie checked his breath before stuttering out a "Heyyy," in a gruffer voice than usual which made Antoni snicker behind him. The woman turned her head, her tight curls arranged into two cute afro puffs on either side of her face. She smiled at Jessie, her makeup was immaculate and her pouty lips painted a glittering pink. Jessie stood dumbfounded, mouth agape for several seconds, apparently in awe of this beautiful woman before he stammered out...

"S-S-Simon?! Dude! What are you doing in a ballerina costume? What happened to- Why do you look so-so..."

The ballerina giggled, covering her mouth with a manicured and painted hand before replying, "Why do I look so girlishly wonderful? Oh dear, I'm not Simon, I'm Simone. I look like this because Mother doesn't like it when wayward boys wander around her town. She thinks boys are naughty and deserve to be punished. But she doesn't mind it if those same boys are sweet as can be in their precious outfits," Simone gave both a girlish giggle and a small curtsey as she said this.

Jessie and Antoni looked aghast at each other. "Umm, hey dude, if you like dressing up that's cool and all but...what's with all the talk about ‘Mother’? Did that Dorothy lend you the costume? I mean, you look great! But uhm, are you feeling alright?" asked a nervous Antoni.

Simone tittered as both the other guys grew visibly uncomfortable. “Oh, silly dear, I’ve never felt better! But you two look so dreadfully boyish. Mother thought my sporty outfit was too gruff for my fine physique and so fit me with this wonderful leotard.” She spun in place with her arms above her head as she continued, “But she says the two of you would be better off in a shepherd and dolly costume rather than as a cowboy and clown. What do you say, would you like to meet Mother?”

Simone finished turning and gave them a sweet smile as Antoni and Jessie realized the music and talking had stopped in the party. Looking around, they saw themselves surrounded by women all in costumes ranging from mermaid to ice witch to a bride. Mixed in among them, after some inspections were clearly men dressed in drag and others who passed for girls quite well. Gulping, Jessie turned to Antoni who nodded in quiet agreement before they both bolted for the exit.

Not turning around, Jessie burst through the crowd of dresses, skirts, Mary Janes, and high heels as he made a beeline for the exit. He heard a loud “NOOOO-” as he grabbed the exit door’s handle. Daring to look behind him, his heart skipped a beat as he saw Antoni on the ground, being dragged away by not only Simone but also several costumed women. They seemed to be ripping into his costume and replacing it. A large, pink bonnet and long, blonde wig was being attached to his head. He and Jessie exchanged one last terrified look before the former had some candy stuffed into his mouth and the latter burst through the door into the chilly night.

He continued to run for several minutes before he found an empty street to turn onto. Doubled over, catching his breath, he looked around to make sure he wasn’t followed. With the coast clear, he pulled out his phone, praying that he could get a signal. Unfortunately, there continued to be no bars available, and he cursed his luck. He wanted to go back and help Antoni, but he knew he’d be overpowered by the crowd of ladies if he tried.

No, he needed the other three in order to save Antoni. “Crap, they already have Simon too! That leaves Angel and Jose,” muttered Jessie to himself as he continued down the sidewalk. Thinking about it, he knew where Jose was but Angel was MIA. It dawned on him that there was no getting out of town without at least Angel, who had all their belongings and the keys to the van. Paranoid, he didn’t want to ask for any help from the town’s citizens. Whatever was going on, he felt only fear for his four friends. Well, the two that weren’t captured…yet.

Lost in his thoughts, Jessie almost didn’t hear the rustling amidst the nearby bushes and was almost caught off guard. A bright, white angel was running towards him out of the shrubbery, her sparkly, translucent dress showing off hints of embroidered lingerie underneath. Her wings fluttered in the air, spreading glitter everywhere. Stunned, Jessie braced for impact as the angel tripped on her glittery heels right into his arms. Looking down and her looking up, Jessie realized this woman was no angel.

“Angel?! W-what the hell dude?!” Jessie couldn’t help but hug his friend tightly before immediately pushing him away. Tripping backwards on his barely covered ass, Angel cursed loudly.

“Fuck dude! Nice to see you too.” Apologizing, Jessie helped Angel onto his heeled feet. “Thanks…Dude, we need to get out of here, the people here are f-ed up! I tried to book us a room and got jumped by a catgirl and Rainbow Brite! They were way stronger than they looked and took me away to some room filled with costumes. It was weird, they made me eat some candy and I felt super calm and blacked out for a while. Later I woke up feeling the same. Like, I was drugged and just laid there while they changed out my demon outfit for…this!?” Gestured Angel towards his whole body. “I felt my body get like…less hairy. And I started to think real…girly like? Anyway, I don’t know what happened but some of the candy got stuck on my braces. The effect wore off a little bit, so I took my chances when they were looking away and made a run for it!”

Nodding, Jessie told Angel what had happened to him so far. “So, Simon and Antoni got captured…leaving us and Jose. Fuck dude. I managed to run out of a creepy house, it sounds like the one that the cheerleader took him into…I guess we should try to save him? Shoot, we need to go back anyway, the keys to the van are in that room I escaped from!”

Agreeing solemnly that they should attempt to free their friend while reclaiming their means of escape, they began walking towards the creepy house from before. Angel’s heels clacked against the pavement while he held onto Jessie’s clown sleeve for support. Jessie’s clown shoes slapped on the ground as he continuously glanced around them, hoping to avoid an ambush.

It wasn’t long before they were at the same house from before. The Gothic-style home loomed before them, appearing even more sinister than before in the full moonlight. Holding each other’s hands for good luck, the two made their way past the rusted metal gate up towards the front door. It was hair-raising walking past all the costume-display posts from before, almost like the feminine costumes were watching them.

Once at the front door, they nodded in silent agreement about what needed to be done. Pushing open the unlocked door, the clown and angel creeped their way inside. The home was eerily quiet upon entering. Candles of various widths and lengths lit up the rooms, with cloudy stained-glass windows preventing much of the moonlight from making its way in.

Turning to Angel to see where they needed to go, he pointed a white gloved hand upwards towards the second floor. The two padded forward as silently as they could, quietly cursing the stairs as they creaked every other step. Once upstairs, the two could see that there were several rooms and the hallways meandered around as though it were a maze.

Gulping, Jessie turned to Angel for any help on where to go. Angel merely shrugged but made his way towards the first room he could see. Peeking inside, they saw that this room was simply a bedroom with a four-poster bed and simple furniture. The only other thing of note were two frilly maid’s costumes laid out on the bed. The two turned to each other in an affirmative “Nope!” headshake and continued down the hallway.

Trying the next few rooms in succession, they didn’t see any of their belongings, Jose, or anyone else. Losing hope, they tried yet another room which was well-lit compared to the rest of the house. Inside, they could see it was full of garishly pink furniture. Angel seemed to spot something and made his way inside. Jessie looked back up and down the hallway before creeping his way inside as well.

While Angel was checking a corner, Jessie looked at some drawings scattered on the floor. One depicted someone in some sort of party dress smiling. Another with the same person frowning surrounded by others in various costumes. Yet another with the costumed others throwing what looked like mud onto the person in the middle. Frowning, he picked up another drawing beneath the other three. Upon inspection, this drawing depicted the person in the party dress angrily flying in the sky, zapping the others and turning their outfits into girlish costumes. Trying to figure out what this meant, he was interrupted by Angel trying to get his attention.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that Angel had a costume in his arms. The puffy sleeves and dandy collar were clearly part of Jose’s prince costume. The guys looked at each other in terror, realizing they were the last ones standing.

Wanting to get out quickly, they both dropped what they were holding, not bothering to say anything. They hurriedly but quietly continued down the hallway, checking each door to no avail until… “Jessie, come here! It’s the room I was in before, look!” Angel exclaimed a little too loudly for Jessie’s nerves but nevertheless they were both excited.

Inside the room was a treasure trove of costumes, with glittering, sparkly, frilly dresses taking up half the room and the other side covered in heaps of costumes clearly taken from other boys and men. The walls were filled with makeup tubes, bottles, and brushes. Jars of candy were scattered through the room along with…

“Our bags!” Angel stomped over in his heels to pick his bag off the floor, checking inside. Pulling out the van keys, he looked over at Jessie, hands held high in victory amidst his dazzling costume and makeup.

Jessie grinned in shared victory but then his mouth opened wide in fear. The pile of clothes behind Angel slowly rose before it stood as tall as him. Whipping around, Angel screamed as a figure burst from the various football regalia, cowboy gear, and other costumes covering it. 

A frilly, pink body effortlessly snared its arms around Angel. A wide, cute bonnet atop their head. A shepherd’s crook locking the wings in place around his body. Jessie quickly realized it was Antoni in a pastel pink Bo Peep costume, with his eyes glazed over as he called Angel a naughty boy.

Jessie and Angel locked eyes as the latter yelled, “Run!” and threw the keys at the former. Catching them, Jessie cried, “I’m sorry!” as he sped his way out of the room and down the hallway. Brushing away tears that formed at the thought of abandoning his friends, Jessie didn’t see the knee-high blob of starched frills and fabric that caught his legs as he passed by an open door.

Tumbling forward, he groaned in pain as the keys flew out of his hand. A few feet in front of him, he reached out for the keys before a pair of ballet slippers stepped on them. Looking up, he saw the now tell-tale afro buffs of Simone in her pink leotard and tutu. Hearing the click-clack of heels behind him, he turned to see a figure as wide as the hallway. Stepping into the candlelight, he could see that what tripped him was the royal-blue skirt and white petticoats of a princess dress. With black hair piled on his head, adorned by a tiara, the dainty makeup highlighted the face of his friend Jose.

“Josephina, be a dear and hold Jessie down. It’s time for him to meet Mother. Antonia is getting Angela ready,” said Simone in a lofty voice. Nodding, Josephina kneeled, her petticoats heavy upon Jessie’s chest as candy was stuffed into his mouth. Forced to chew the sweets, his vision grew foggy and soon he felt himself falling into a deep sleep.

Hours later, several figures emerged from the tall, Gothic building. A ballerina twirled her way over to a post where a bouquet sat as though an offering from a happy audience. A princess in a puffy gown drifted to another post where she laid down her tiara. Following her was a Bo Peep, whose short dress fluttered in the wind and her shepherd’s crook clattered to the ground under yet another post. Next, a lovely angel daintily made her way to a post where she rested her halo.

Others walked out of the house, such as a cheerleader and Dorothy carrying a small dog plush. Last to come was a woman in a short, Lolita-like dress. The jumper skirt was checkered black and white, with a black, lace blouse covering her chest. Her purple petticoat bounced up and down, matching a pair of frilly bloomers that could only be seen briefly. Her legs were encased in purple and black stockings, ending in shiny black Mary Jane shoes. Surprisingly, she didn’t hint at being cold even though her arms were bare, only ending in a pair of lace gloves.

Her purple hair was tied into two spiral curls, framing her doll-like makeup. With a bow atop her head, she didn’t have a care in the world as she settled onto her post. She set down a small teddy bear, right before the sun rose.

If one looked up at the windows overlooking the decorated yard, they might see the figure of a woman, clearly enjoying the girlish costumes adorned before her. As the dawn hit the costumed ladies, they were replaced with flat, wooden mannequins with outfits matching the costumes throughout. A small but delighted, “Happy Halloween!”, could be heard from within the house before the doors slammed shut…