Hawk the Hawk was an icon in Hawkins. Dustin often went there when he was a lot younger to catch his favorite movies in matinees. He went with Mike a few times, but his favorite friend to go with was Lucas. Lucas had much of the same case in movies that Dustin did.

Normally a trip to the movie theater was a Saturday morning adventure. He liked the matinees because the popcorn was fresher and the sodas weren't so watered down. Dustin went at other times too. This time he was going to go for a late night marathon of all three Star Wars movies. It was supposed to start at 7pm on a Friday night and it would go right up until midnight Saturday morning. There were still many Star Wars fans who would sit and watch them all back to back. Dustin was definitely one of them.

He was all excited. He had on his favorite Star Wars costume right to his toy lightsaber. Star Wars had been such a deep part of his formative years that Dustin would never turn his back on it. His mom was cleaning up after dinner when she heard him in his room making final preparations. She came to check on her son. "Are you sure you want to go?" She asked with a level of concern.

"Duh Mom. Of course I do." Dustin cast a backwards glance at her. "You don't have to take me. I can go myself. I'll be fine." He had been there hundreds of times. Nothing was going to happen to him or was it? "What aren't you telling me?"

Mrs. Henderson smirked at her son. "Oh nothing. You said you were going to be fine. You can take care of yourself." She turned to leave him alone for now. She knew her son well enough to know he'd follow her down the hallway. "Are you going by yourself or are you bringing one of your friends with you." Dustin suddenly appeared behind her a lot faster than she anticipated. She jumped slightly.

"I'm going by myself." He was agitated now with the wheels of his imagination turning at light speed now. His mom could see it in his eyes. "Is there a reason I shouldn't go alone?"

She sighed before making him sit down. "There is no easy way to tell you this son, so I might as well just come out and say it. The Hawk is haunted." She took a seat across from her son preparing for the onslaught of questions he would inevitably have.

Dustin's questions broke forth with the torrent of a dam being burst. "Haunted?! You can't be serious. You just don't want me to go out so late. So...what's haunted and who's haunting it?" He was on the edge of his seat waiting for answers.

"He was the usher who used to take care of the kids when they came to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings during the War. All their dads were gone to Europe and Japan. He saw himself as a surrogate father for the kids of Hawkins. It was one day in December of 1943 that there was a fire in the theater during the Saturday cartoons. He got every last kid out of that burning building. He went in for the last one but a beam fell on top of him. He died saving the kids he loved the best. Now it can be said that sometimes at night you can see him walking around the theater cleaning it up late at night getting ready for the kids to come for the Saturday morning cartoons even to this day."

Dustin took in the story with great interest. After his mother was finished speaking, he stood up still in costume ready to go to see his movie. "Don't wait up for me mom! I'll see you early in the morning!"

"You're still going to go even though I told you it's haunted after midnight?" His mom canted her head to the right.

Dustin grinned broadly and nodded as he headed for the door. "Yep! Love you mom!" He kissed her cheek before heading out the door. The thought of the local theater being haunted made him even more determined to see it for himself.


 

"I Am On A Curiosity Voyage, And I Need My Paddles To Travel."