Halloween

Halloween in the Creed household arrives on a night of hard frost, with Ellie dressed as a witch and eager to go trick-or-treating. Gage, however, has come down with a bronchial cold, and after listening to his lungs and consulting the thermometer, Louis decides the boy must stay home. Rachel, though disappointed, agrees. The evening begins at the Crandalls', where Ellie cackles satisfyingly and is pronounced "Just the cutest thing I ever saw" by Norma. Jud agrees, lighting a cigarette, and asks after Gage. Louis explains the situation, and Norma offers an apple and a Snickers bar from her treat bowl, though both fall from her clawlike hand—a detail that shocks Louis with its evidence of her worsening arthritis.

The Heart Attack

As Jud and Louis stand alone on the porch, Jud confides that Norma has been having chest pains and refuses to see her doctor, Dr. Weybridge, out of fear. He asks Louis to examine her. Louis agrees, but before they can discuss it further, a cry from the kitchen interrupts them: Norma has collapsed. Louis finds her on the linoleum, surrounded by scattered apples and candy, with Jud chafing her wrist. Louis administers CPR, feeling for a weak, thready pulse and diagnosing a coronary event. He sends Jud to fetch his medical bag and to have Rachel call for an ambulance. Norma's eyes flutter open, and she whispers that she fainted. Louis reassures her, gives her a pill under her tongue, and waits with her until the ambulance from Bangor MedCu arrives. The experience is a stark contrast to the death of Victor Pascow; this time, Louis is able to intervene, and Norma survives.

Aftermath and Reflection

After the ambulance departs, Louis takes Ellie to finish her trick-or-treating. On the way home, Ellie asks if she caused Norma's heart attack by refusing a bruised apple. Louis reassures her, explaining that Norma had been having chest pains and that Ellie's desire to go trick-or-treating had brought him to the Crandalls' house at the right moment. Ellie considers this and then matter-of-factly states that Norma will probably die anyway, because people who have heart attacks usually do. Louis is struck by her calm acceptance of an old person's mortality, so different from her earlier hysteria over the possible death of her cat, Church. That night, as the wind rises and rips the remaining leaves from the trees, Louis wakes to the sound of slow, dragging steps on the stairs, fearing Pascow has returned. But the landing is empty, and he goes back to sleep. The Halloween episode solidifies the bond between Louis and Jud, while also exposing the deep, unspoken fears about death that will soon consume the Creed family.