Giving Compass' Take:

• This Nonprofit AF post has some fun with horror tropes, telling spooky tales from the philanthropy sector, from the misprinted programs to the "Bizplainer." Proceed at your own peril!

• Many who work in nonprofits will no doubt relate to many of these vignettes. Funny because they're true? Which stories continue to haunt your own organization?

• One scare tactic we must learn to overcome for nonprofits' sake: The overhead myth.

I love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday. So here are some terrifying stories set in the sector. Read them, but beware, they are really, really scary, so make sure you are prepared. Happy Halloween.

The Salary History

Every day, Francine applied for jobs, spending time to carefully tailor and craft her resume and cover letter. There were never any responses. It seemed hopeless, until she saw a posting for a job that seemed perfect for her. But as she scanned to the bottom, a sinking feeling swelled up in her stomach. From outside her cold attic room, a crow cackled ominously. There was no salary range listed. A shiver ran through her spine as her eyes rested on a solitary line “Please submit resume and cover, including your salary history for the previous three positions.” Three positions. Three. Why, she thought, what does why previous salary at a previous position have anything to do with this completely different job? What sort of unethical BS is this? Desperate to pay rent and to eat, she applied anyway. Francine got the job, and because she had been underpaid before, she was now doomed to be underpaid at this job too. And the next job. And the next. And at all jobs in her future.

Missing

It was two weeks before the annual Gala. The leaves fell, victims of the cold, relentless October wind. Teresa the Development Director was having a meeting with her Communications Manager, Mary. “Were you able to submit the gala program to the printer?” Teresa asked. “Did it this morning,” said Mary, beaming, “I put the final file in the shared folder.” Throughout the day, there was a strange feeling in Teresa that something was not right. It bothered her, but she could not figure out what it was ...

Read more about the nonprofit scary stories to tell in the dark by Vu Le at Nonprofit AF.