"Honey! Come downstairs and open your present!"

A mother called to her 5 year old child as she stood at the bottom of the stairs. Watching as her daughter skips across the landing and rushes down the stairs. The mother smiling as her child giggles.

The girl jumps into her mother's arms, wrapping her legs around her waist as she's carried over to the kitchen table, where the father stood with a smile on his face as he holds a square present in his hands.

It was wrapped in bright purple paper with pink and yellow butterflies all over it. Finishing off with a red ribbon tied around it, creating a bow to sit on top.

"What is it?!"

The daughter squeals with excitement as she wriggles out of her mother's arms, running to grab the present and giving it a shake, holding it next to her ear as she does so.

"What do you think it could be? Maybe it's a dinosaur that will gobble you up!"

The father jokes as he pokes his daughters ribs to tickle her. Putting a massive smile on her face as she laughs cutely.

"Don't be silly Daddy!"

She laughs shaking her head. Her two pigtails swishing back and forth as she does so.

The child pulls out her chair and sits at the table, placing her present down and staring at it intensely and full of wonder.

"Go on sweetheart, you don't have to wait. Open it."

The mother speaks softly as she smooths her daughters head.

The girl grins widely and begins to tear at the wrapping paper, giggling as more and more of the present becomes visible.

But once all paper and ribbon was gone, she gasps as she holds the item in her hands, her eyes lighting up with joy. In her hands was a bright orange box with a small pink handle on the side. The outlines of the box where a light blue and the top, seeming to be a lid, was a dark yellow.

"Do you like it? Mummy and I picked it out special, just for you birthday girl."

The father smiles as he stands beside the mother, putting his hand on her back, rubbing her shoulders as the two of them smile together.

"Give the handle a turn"

The father points towards the pink handle on the side.

The girl nods in excitement, grabbing the handle in her small soft hands, slowly beginning to turn it, but gradually getting faster as the playful music of 'pop goes the weasel' that came from the box excited her more. She keeps turning and turning until the music stopped, to which she frowned, but then gasped and laughed joyfully, clapping her hands as a brightly coloured clown toy suddenly burst out of the lid of the box.

"It's called a 'Jack in the Box'! Do you like it darling?"

The mother asks, smoothing her daughters head once more.

The girl pushes the clown back in, closing the lid and frantically starts turning the handle again. Laughing more and more every time the clown popped up. Exclaiming her love for it to her parents.

"How about a trip to the park while Daddy cooks us dinner? You can take your box if you like?"

The mother asks as she rests her head on her husbands shoulder. The girl smiles practically ear to ear, jumping off of her chair and rushing upstairs to get changed out of her pyjamas.

~**~

The mother and daughter arrive at the park together. The husband staying home to start on the family dinner.

Smiling down at her beautiful daughter, the mother smooths her cheek.

"Go on! Go have fun! But don't go too far. I'll be sat on that bench over there. Okay?"

The mother tells her daughter before heading over to the bench.

The girl runs through the park, finding a nice place where she can play with her Jack in the Box.

However, it wasn't long before a young boy, around the age of 10, storms over to the girl, snatching the box out of her hands.

"Hey! That's mine!"

The girl cries as she stands to her feet, reaching out to take it back, but the boy steps away and raises the box out of her reach.

"Well it's mine now!"

The boy sniggers selfishly as he constantly moves it out of reach from the girl. Teasing her by pretending to give it back, only to pull it away again.

"That's not fair! My Mummy and Daddy got it for me! It's my birthday present! Give it back!"

The girl cries as she desperately tries to take it back from the boy. But he just laughs and pushes her down to the floor. Causing her to

gasp on impact.

"You want it? Come and get it!"

The boy snorts before running away from her, heading into the trees.

The girl rushing to her feet to run after him. But once she reached the trees, the boy was out of sight.

"Where did you go?!"

The girl calls as she walks into the wooded area. Following a path that seemed to have been created by people walking in and out of the woods previously. Following footprints that were left in the mud, until they come to a sudden end.

The girl stops and stares at the ground in confusion, wondering why there were no more footprints. Assuming she had gone the wrong way, she takes a deep breath in to sigh, looking up in front of her, but gasps at what she sees.

She saw the clown. The clown from her Jack in the Box. Only this clown wasn't small, or bright and colourful. Instead, he was tall and dull in colour, seeming only to be in black, white or grey. He had a wide grin plastered across his face, his teeth seeming pointy and sharp like fangs. His long nose stretching out into a sharp tip. His eyes a glowing red. The girl gulped as she heard a deep and menacing chuckle come from him.

But it seems this clown didn't know she was there, it was almost as if he couldn't even see her, she was so small in comparison.

She looked the clown up and down before noticing his arm was stretched out. Following along it, her eyes slam open at what she sees. The boy, the bully, the one who took her box. The clown held him up high against the tree by his throat. His long sharp fingers latched around his neck. His other hand at the boys stomach level. His long sharp fingers slowly slicing across the boys stomach, like a knife through butter, causing him to scream in pain as blood poured down, but the clown tightened his grip on the child's throat, causing him to wheeze and gasp for air, silencing him.

The girl was about to back away until she notices something.

"Hey that's mine!"

She blurts out as she spots the box in the boys hand. He was still holding onto it.

The clown suddenly stops slicing the boys stomach. His toothy grin disappeared and his glowing red eyes faded away into a black. His head slowly turns, his eyes looking down at the girl.

His head tilts to the side as he notices she wasn't screaming or running away scared. The only thing she seemed to care about was the box in the boys hand.

Yanking his needle like finger out of the child's stomach, causing blood to splatter; the clown takes the box out of the boys hand. Instantly covering it with blood as he hands it down to the girl.

She smiles happily as she takes it, seeming to forget what was happening around her.

"Thank you Mr clown! You got my box back! I'm [Name] and!....-"

She smiles as she looks down at her box. But once she saw the blood soaking the wood of it, She remembered what was happening. Interrupting herself from talking, her body begins to shake as she slowly looks up. The clown suddenly bends down, his face only inches away from hers, his eyes a glowing red as a large toothy grin forms on his face, opening his mouth as he chuckles evilly. His long black tongue dangling out of his mouth, saliva dripping from it as his laugh starts to become more distorted. Reaching out his blood soaked hand towards the girls face.

"Pop goes the weasel."

He giggles scarily in a low, quiet yet threatening tone, as he raises his hand, ready to slice it down across her face. But she screams and turns to run. Rushing out of the woods, back into the park and heading over to her mother as quick as possible. Listening to the terrifying laughter of the clown fade into the distance.