Halloween night, and Dudley Bud was ready

It was Halloween night, and Dudley Bud was ready—or, at least, as ready as a guy who had already eaten half his stash of Halloween candy and smoked “just a little too much” could be. His plan? An epic, haunted-house-style prank for his buddy Mel, who was stopping by later with extra snacks. He had set up an entire lineup of cheap spooky props around the apartment, from a rubber skeleton by the door to a singing zombie bust he’d found at a yard sale. For a finishing touch, Dudley pulled on a bedsheet he’d cut eyeholes into earlier (a bit unevenly, mind you, but it would do the job).

To set the mood, Dudley hit the lights and set up an “eerie” glow using some leftover Christmas lights, which he’d convinced himself looked more “ghostly” than “tangled-up Christmas mess.” His pièce de résistance was a cheap fog machine he'd found at a thrift store. Sure, it smelled a little like old sneakers when he turned it on, but he figured Mel wouldn’t mind.

Mel was due any minute, so Dudley stashed himself behind his couch, poised to jump out at just the right moment. He popped a marshmallow into his mouth for courage (because Dudley, obviously) and waited.

That’s when things started to go sideways.

Unbeknownst to Dudley, his fog machine was chugging along like a smoke-breathing dragon on overdrive, filling the apartment with what quickly became an impressive layer of dense, murky fog. So much fog, in fact, that Dudley couldn't see his own outstretched arms.

Just then, Mel knocked on the door. Dudley, forgetting he had draped himself in a ghostly sheet, tripped over the edge of it in his excitement and went barreling toward the door. He barely managed to crack it open before he went down in a heap, tangled in the sheet, his face smooshed into the hardwood floor. From Mel’s perspective, the door creaked open, and a heap of writhing white fabric was lying on the ground.

“Uh, Dudley?” Mel called, stepping inside.

From under the sheet, Dudley tried to yell "BOO!" but ended up sneezing from the smoke-fog combination.

“B...uhh-choo!” Dudley muttered, which sounded nothing like "boo" and a lot like “somebody had an allergy attack.”

Mel paused, glancing around at the smoke-filled room, the toppled-over skeleton, and Dudley still flailing under the sheet. Then the zombie bust, apparently motion-activated, started singing “Monster Mash” in a garbled, scratchy voice.

“Dudley… have you been smoking the fog machine?”

“NO, it’s fog! It’s, like, for the atmosphere!” Dudley insisted, finally managing to sit up, the sheet completely bunched around his neck.

Mel raised an eyebrow, totally unimpressed by Dudley’s failed attempt at terror. "You look more like a possessed laundry basket than a ghost.”

Dudley sighed, pulling himself up. "You know, it’s hard to scare people when the smoke machine’s got a mind of its own. Besides, it was a little spooky if you were… you know… imagining it right."

“Well, maybe if you had me on the same atmosphere level as you, it’d work,” Mel joked, tossing Dudley a bag of gummy worms as a peace offering.

As they laughed, Dudley realized he had, in fact, achieved a kind of Halloween prank—just not exactly the terrifying one he'd planned. But hey, if he couldn’t be scary, at least he could be entertaining!  "Aw Man" #DudleyBud #DudleyAdventure