All was tranquil in the desolate walls of the dark house - no movement, no laughter of children, no sounds at all.

Yet from the abyss of nothingness came a single, solitary note, bowed on a mellow violin. That note eventually evolved into a sweet tune of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Havanaise, with flowing triplets accompanied by a habanera rhythm. Almost hypnotically, the elegant motif captured the image this composition brings, while being interrupted by articulate, yet soothing technical passages. The passage with continuous, flowing ascending chromatic thirds were perfectly executed before the music was halted abruptly.

The musician shook his head. That wasn’t a suitable piece for the atmosphere of his concealed emotions. Commencing again, the previously assumed mellow violin belted out the bold, striking notes that introduced the highly versatile Zigeunerweisen, by the Spanish concert violinist Pablo de Sarasate. After the technical-passage-filled introduction and a strong pizzicato of the G major chord, silence barely filled the room before the sorrowful, yet beautiful melody was sung out by the once again mellow violin. The bow flowed across the strings as rubato filled the phrases, producing a sense of the Romantic time period. Combinations of quick-paced and tranquil passages, assortments of bold and whispering notes, and mixtures of angry and sorrowful emotions filled this improvised composition. Just before a particularly complex diminished arpeggio run, however, the music was paused again.

The violinist sighed and preoccupied himself with his thoughts. Even though the emotions portrayed through this piece was similar to what he had been seeking, the tone and timbre seemed… off. Perhaps another instrument?

An antique grandfather clock chimed midnight somewhere, and his formerly peaceful heart started pumping blood through his veins rapidly. Unfortunately, time ran out on him. Nervously looking over his shoulder once in a while, this musician briskly but carefully placed the violin where it belonged, standing on his tip-toes slightly to reach the case. He longingly gave the violin one last pat, looked around the moonlit room, and vowed to come back tomorrow before slipping quietly out of the room, unnoticed by the dark, shadowy figure that had just arrived through the front door.

The next night, all was tranquil in the desolate walls of the dark house - no movement, no laughter of children, no sounds at all.
Yet from the never-ending darkness came a single, solitary chord, strung on a harmonious guitar. From that chord blossomed the simple tune of the famous Canon in D, one of Johann Pachelbel’s most prominent compositions. The perfect balance of harmony, the recurring theme, and the subtle accompaniment of the descending thirds sequence lulls anyone who could’ve listened to the performance into a peaceful state. However, just as the music started the fluently running 16th-note-passages, once again the music stopped.

But once again, the musician shook his head. The guitar was slightly too big for his tiny stature, so the musical 16th note passages could not be perfectly executed. Searching his mind for another musical composition, he picked up the guitar again, but with slight difficulty, and started playing the non-repetitive chords to a more modern piece - Hotel California from the Eagles. These chord progressions are seldom utilized in musical compositions - none of the chords repeated until the eighth one, but even so, this accompaniment transitions smoothly, without dissonance. The guitarist enjoyed the subtle, yet somewhat foreshadowing melody of this modern-day rock arrangement. Suddenly, the front door crashed open, revealing a dark, ferocious shadow. Terrified, the music performer swiftly placed the slightly-too-large guitar carefully back into its case and darted silently out of the room. The tall, feminine figure paused at the door, eyes narrowing in suspicion before moving about the house.

A week later, all was tranquil in the desolate walls of the dark house - no movement, no laughter of children, no sounds at all.
Yet from the infinite black hole of the shades came a single, solitary tone, played on a melodious piano. That single tone transformed into the main theme of Ludwig van Beethoven’s peaceful Fur Elise. Adding a twist, the now-piano player repeated the theme, again and again, through the different keys of the circle of fifths. The contrasting minor keys blended with one another - the simple key of D minor, the familiar key of C minor, and the dark, ominous key of Eb minor with many others in transitions. Finally, the musician paused after finishing the natural yet acute key of C# minor.

Moonlight was shining through the closed window, brightly illuminating the ancient piano. The light splashed upon the keyboard, creating a mirage of sparkling diamonds and glistening pristine snowy pearls while the dark tan of coal and onyx spoils the perfect white.

Eyes shining with inspiration, the virtuoso pianist closed his innocent eyes and softly commenced another of Beethoven’s most famous piano sonatas - Moonlight. The sorrowful, singing melodic line rings over the murmuring triplets in the middle and subtly changing octaves in the bass radiated a peaceful feeling in the first movement. In contrast, the cheerful, playful second movement became much more lively. Finally, the dark and brisk-paced third movement filled with running arpeggios and drastic changes in dynamics emitted a nervous, rushing sensation. However, everything was cut short by the unexpected loud “CRASH!” of the front door bursting open much earlier than the supposed schedule as thunder clapped deafeningly in the distance. The young performer’s pale, petrified face was illuminated in that moment as a shadow of a woman stormed towards him, and just before everything went dark, a piercing, pained scream of a 7-year-old child rang ominously through the night sky.

One year later, all was tranquil in the desolate walls of the dark house - no movement, no laughter of children, no sounds at all.
Yet… the slight whoosh of something passing by echoed through the house. Music can be heard being played in the distance - first on a mellow violin, then on a harmonious guitar, and finally on a melodious piano.

Then everything was quiet again, as the ghostly-white figure returned to its resting place, the huge slab of one-year-old stone in the backyard.

And nothing more was heard… on the mysterious night of Halloween.