Anna Kendrick's Ghost Story Is Creepily Relatable

So you’re bored of horror movies (both gore fests and cult classics). You’ve heard every urban legend 20 times over. But it’s Halloween and you’re jonesing for a generous helping of fear. Where can you find that rare emotion in this cynical age? In Anna Kendrick’s kids' ghost story reading on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, of course. The actor appeared on the show Friday night, and with the assistance of Fallon and John Lithgow, proceeded to read out ghost stories written by elementary school kids. Sure, these tales aren’t, y’know, conventionally terrifying. You’re not going to get so scared that, in the words of one ghost story, “your pants come off.” But there was a certain relatable quality to Kendrick’s ghost story in particular that made the tale rather unsettling.

Are you ready? Prepare yourself for the story of a hungry ghost, who comes away empty-handed when trick-or-treating, because, well, he’s a ghost and people are way too scared to reach for their candy. So instead, the poor ghost has to go to McDonald's and fill the gaping abyss of emotional despair with a cheeseburger and fries and a milkshake (because "his mom said he could have one").

The terrifying aspect of this story? It's actually twofold. One: a projected parallel universe in which you don't get candy when trick-or-treating is too scary to conceive. Add to this the fact that the trick-or-treater's outfit is *Italian chef kiss* because they're not just dressed as a ghost, but they are a ghost and this story gets even more gut-wrenching. Secondly, when your candy expectations are high on Halloween, you then have to satisfy them with your post-apocalyptically drunk-night-out food of McDonald's? Too sad to imagine. When you're craving candy, how does a cheeseburger fix it? It just doesn't.

Kendrick, a story this scary needs at least a PG rating. It may have been written by a kid, but this tale's incredibly creepy content means it's not suitable for kids or adults.

Images: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube