DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was impaired by the artwork provided by kiome-yasha. Let's just say it stroked my interest the most.
CAST:
Jack Frost as Jack Skellington
Merida DunBroch as Sally
Queen Elinor as Dr. Finklestein
Sandy as the Mayor of Halloween Town
Pitch as Oogie Boogie
North as Santa Claus
Harris, Hubert and Hamish as Lock, Shock and Barrel
Bunnymund as the Easter Bunny
The Townsfolk:
The Vampires:
Count Dracula
Barnabas Collins - (from Dark Shadows)
Lestat de Lioncourt - (from Interview with a Vampire)
Vicente - (from 30 Days of Night)
Mavis Dracula
Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman
Winnie, Mary and Sarah Sanderson - (from Hocus Pocus)
Imhotep
Freddy Krueger - (from A Nightmare on Elm Street)
Jason Voorhees - (from Friday the 13th)
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
The Headless Horseman
Chucky and Tiffany - (from Child's Play)
Michael Myers - (from Halloween)
Pinhead - (from Hellraiser)
Leatherface - (from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Ash Williams - (from Evil Dead)
Samara Morgan - (from The Ring/Ringu)
Carrie White - (from Carrie)
Matilda Dixon - (from Darkness Falls)
The Addams Family:
Gomez Addams
Morticia Addams
Wednesday Addams
Pugsley Addams
Fester Addams
Lurch
Grandmama
Djinn - (from Wishmaster)
Cujo - (from Cujo)
Pumpkinhead - (from Pumpkinhead)
Hannibal Lector - (from Silence of the Lambs)
Slenderman - (from Creepypasta)
Pyramid Head - (from Silent Hill)
Ghostface - (from Scream)
John Kramer/Jigsaw - (from Saw)
Kayako Saeki - (from The Grudge)
Pennywise the Dancing Clown - (from It)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Susan Murphy/The 50 Ft. Woman
The Fly - (from The Fly)
The Creeper - (from Jeepers Creepers)
Jack Torrence - (from The Shining)
The Blob - (from The Blob)
The Thing - (from The Thing)
Alma Wade - (from F.E.A.R.)
Bughuul - (from Sinister)
Victor Crowley - (from Hatchet)
ChromeSkull - (from Laid to Rest)
The Miner - (from My Bloody Valentine)
Papa Jupiter - (from The Hills Have Eyes)
Lola "Princess" Stone - (from The Loved Ones)
"Twas' a long time ago, longer now that it seems,
in a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams,
For the story you are about to be told
took place in the holiday worlds of old.
Now, you have probably wondered where holidays come from.
If you haven't, I say it's time you've begun."
In the middle of a circle of trees, each of had a door concealing a portal that lead to the worlds of holidays and each door was shaped as the symbol of that respective holiday. There was one like an easter egg, a turkey and a Christmas tree. Coming up to the one shaped as a jack-o'-lantern, it opened on itself and we are taken into the darkness of it.
Inside of it lies the mysterious Halloween Town, where said holiday takes place. It was not a place you'd be familiar with or one that you'd possibly want to visit. Everything about it and in it was absolutely strong, creepy and downright scary. It was inhabited by many infamous monsters. Ones that are traditional in the holiday, some that are a part of myths and folklore and some that you've probably seen in horror movies and such. There were a lot of creepy, twisted buildings. Well, at least at the capital of the town. Leafless, deformed trees sprouted the land, as if preparing to grab you if you got close. It was mostly cloudy with dark thunderclouds or swirling clouds covering the full moon at night. The inhabitants prepare for Halloween night every year and it was their natural goal to make it as frightening as possible. And that's where our story come in. Beginning on that one Halloween.
A pumpkin-headed scarecrow with an all, but friendly grin carved on it's face stood guard in a dark cemetery. It is suddenly swiveled around by the bitter wind as the witching hour began and ominous music began to play. On the tombstones of the cemetery, eerie shadows creeped up and began singing.
GHOULS: Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see,
This our town of Halloween
A group of ghosts flew through the gates leading into the dark town itself. Pumpkins with various expression were impaled on the spikes of a metal fence.
GHOULS: This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene.
Trick or treat 'til the neighbors gonna die of fright.
It's our town, everybody scream!
In our town of Halloween
Then an unseen monster sings one verse while hiding underneath a bed in a dark bedroom. It's sharp canines are shown as well as it's red eyes as they suddenly glimmered.
MONSTER UNDER THE BED: I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
Then another monster sang another verse from underneath a flight of stairs. It was deformed in appearance and seemed devoid of human features.
MONSTER UNDER THE STAIRS: I am the one hiding under your stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair.
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween, Halloween
Halloween, Halloween!
Inside a living room of some sort with a grandfather clock at the center, four vampires emerged from four sections of the room. There was Count Dracula, the self-proclaimed leader of the vampires, Lestat de Lioncourt, Vicente and Barnabas Collins. Walking with them is Dracula's teenage daughter, Mavis, who wore a black cloak like her dad.
VAMPIRES: In this town, we call home,
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song.
There stood a small man with golden skin and hair in a business suit and a rather long and skinny top hat. This was Mayor Sanderson "Sandy" Mansnoozie, the bipolar and narcoleptic political leader of Halloween Town.
MAYOR SANDY: In this town! Don't we love it know?
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise!
GHOULS: Round that corner, man
Hiding in the trash can
Some things waiting to pounce and...Scream!
A black cat wandered around an alleyway when the humanoid, mutant, Fly, popped out of a garbage pail, scaring the cat away. Then Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman smashed through a wall in his black-haired werewolf form, while the mummy, Imhotep, emerged from a manhole.
WOLFMAN: This is Halloween!
THE FLY: Red and black
IMHOTEP: And slimy green
WOLFMAN: Aren't you scared?
The Sanderson witch sisters, Winifred, Mary and Sarah rode on their broomsticks to sing another verse.
SANDERSONS: Well, that's just fine!
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
The witches flew past a possessed, man-eating tree with skeletons hanging by the neck on nooses from his branches.
MAN-EATING TREE: Everybody scream! Everybody SCREAM!
SKELETONS: In our town of Halloween!
Then a sinister-looking clown, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, rode on a unicycle and carried a balloon with a dark, toothy grin on his face.
PENNYWISE: I am the clown with the terrifying face!
Here in a flash and gone without a trace!
GHOULS: I am the "Who?" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair
I am the shadow of the moan at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright.
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween, Halloween
Halloween, Halloween!
The rest of the townsfolk, involving Dr. Jekyll, The Creeper, Freddy Krueger, Slenderman, Samara Morgan, Hannibal Lector, etc., danced through the town gates. Two young children, Wednesday and Pugsley Addams, were playing with a guillotine.
WEDNESDAY AND PUGLSEY: Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare.
Their parents, Gomez and Morticia, joined in.
GOMEZ: That's our job
MORTICIA: But we're not mean
BOTH: In our town of Halloween
MAYOR SANDY: In this Town! Don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!
Then Jason was pulling the scarecrow through the forming crowd which was riding on a straw horse. A young girl with a mane of red, curly hair was watching just as expectedly as the rest. But she seemed the most anxious. She stood behind the man-eating tree and Kayako Saeki.
GHOULS: Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee and make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everybody scream!
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy?
The scarecrow grabbed a torch and swallowed it, setting itself ablaze before it stood on the horse to dance as it burned. The crowd shielded themselves as they watched in awe when it leaped forward at them.
GHOULS: Our man, Jack, is king of the pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!
This is Halloween, this Halloween
Halloween, Halloween
Halloween, Halloween!
The flaming scarecrow then jumped a few meters into the air, did a twirl and dove into the glowing green fountain. Wednesday and Pugsley came to it and looked in it. Then, a young boy with snow white, spiky hair and wearing a black, gothic Victorian style suit rose slowly from the fountain as the entire crowd sang the final verse.
WEDNESDAY AND PUGSLEY: In this town, we call home,
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
GHOULS: La, la, la, la-la la, la, la, la-la la, la, la, la-la la, la-la la, Wheeeeeee!
Everyone applauded and cheered at the boy's appearance. The music finally died down as everyone celebrated their success. This was Jack Frost, known as the Pumpkin King, who was the mascot of the town and icon to the Halloween season. Everyone idolized him as he gave the most scares and screams every year on Halloween night. The red-haired girl applauded with the rest of the townsfolk with a smile on her face. The Sandersons laughed.
"It's over!" Pennywise cried.
"We did it!" Ash agreed.
Jason and Pennywise did a chest bump.
"Wasn't that terrifying?" The Wolfman asked his friends.
"What a night!" Dr. Jekyll and Jack Torrence said together.
"Great Halloween, everybody!" Mayor Sandy replied with glee to his people as Jack climbed down from the fountain next to the short man.
"I believe it was our most horrible yet! Thank you, everyone!" said Jack.
"Oh, no!" The Mayor rebutted. "Thank you, Jack. For your brilliant leadership."
"Not at all, Mayor."
"You were a scream, Jack." Vicente told him and Barnabas nodded in agreement.
"You're a witch's fondest dream!" Sarah Sanderson added dreamily.
"You made wall's fall, Jack." Mary Sanderson said with a hand on his shoulder.
"No doubt about it." Winifred Sanderson said along with her sisters.
"Well, I..." Jack was about to say.
"A real chip off the old block." Gomez commented.
"I most certainly agree." Morticia agreed.
"We could've never have done it without you." said Susan Murphy, the 50 ft. Woman.
"You are a true pumpkin king!" Samara Morgan chirped.
"T-Thanks." Jack said nervously.
The red-haired girl, whose name is Merida, watched Jack from afar with wonder. She is a humanoid rag-doll girl who's had a deep crush on Jack for so long. She was suddenly grabbed by someone.
"The deadly nightshade you slipped me wore off, Merida." Dr. Elinor Dunbroch, a paralyzed middle-aged woman with long brown hair tied in two ponytails replied gripping the girl's arm. She wore a lab coat, glasses, black gloves and black boots and sat in a wheelchair. This was the mad scientist who created Merida. They never seem to get along, but Elinor always looked after her as her own daughter. She always tried to keep her from leaving their home. But all Merida wanted was to be free so she made it her best to slip away as best she could. Even if it meant sedating her creator/mother.
"Let go!" Merida squeaked, trying to get free from her grasp.
"You're not ready for so much excitement!" Elinor scowled sternly, tightening her grip.
"Yes, I am!" Merida argued as her "mother" turned and began to drag her away with her.
"You're coming with me!" Elinor growled.
"No, I'm not!" Merida screamed and then loosens the stitches from the top of her arm, causing it to fall off and Elinor to fall out of her wheelchair and onto the ground.
"Come back here, young lady!" Elinor shouted holding her disembodied arm, which proceeded to punch her repeatedly on her head.
The citizens were still giving Jack compliments as the Pumpkin King himself was backing away as they advanced closer to him, making him grow increasingly nervous.
"Oh, Jack, you make wounds ooze and flesh crawl." mused the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
"You make me want to cuddle you all night long." exclaimed Mavis with lust.
"The werewolves howl with delight at your presence." Matilda Dixon said.
"T-Thank you, thank you, thank you very much." Jack stuttered with the best positivity he could muster. All he wanted was to be alone right now. Then as if by some miracle, Mayor Sandy started announcing the ceremony. With their attention turned to the Mayor, Jack took the chance and scurried off.
"Hold it! We haven't given out the prizes yet! Our first award goes to the vampires for most blood drained in a single evening." Mayor Sandy said over the speakers to his hearse.
"That's you, dad." Mavis smiled, urging her father to step forward.
"As always." Barnabas rolled his eyes.
"Jealous much?" asked Count Dracula smugly.
"A frightening and honorable mention goes to the fabulous Dark Lagoon leeches." continued Mayor Sandy.
Everyone applauded while Jack hid behind a corner, hoping that no one saw him make his exit. He sighed with relief and wiped his forehead. It was like this every year. Jack would make a tremendous entrance and so forth and everyone would just smother him with compliments and attention so much that he couldn't have any time alone. Not that he didn't want it, but it was just too overbearing. The down-in-the-dumps Jack somberly walked passed the skeleton jazz band, putting a coin into their change cup.
"Nice work, pumpkin boy." One of the players stated to him.
Jack sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess so. Just like last year and the year before that and the year before that."
He left through the gates as they opened for him to find a place of peace and quiet. It was more than what he deserved after all the hard work. The fame, the glory, the positive feedback, what more could he get? More importantly, what more couldn't he get? The town's cemetery was the only place Jack could find solace. Merida was picking at her stump where her arm fell off when she recoiled in shock at hearing the squeaking of the gates opening, thinking Elinor had found her and hid behind a tombstone. But she saw that it was only Jack, letting a smile grow on her lips. Making his way through the multitude of tombstones and whatnot, a small ghost of a white German Shepherd dog named Bolt arose from his grave and smiled upon seeing his master. Jack stood by the statue of a gargoyle and felt his dead heart erupt into song.
JACK: There are few who deny at what I do I am the best
For my talents are renowned far and wide.
When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night,
I excel without ever even trying.
He then hopped from tombstone to tombstone before hopping back down to the ground.
With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms
I have seen grown men give out a shriek
With the wave of my hand and a well-placed moan
I have swept the very bravest of their feet.
Yet, year after year, it's the same routine
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams.
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King
Have grown so tired of the same old thing.
Merida eavesdropped on the whole thing. She listens as Jack poured his heart out into heartwarming song of emotion. Jack slowly walked up to the edge of a cliff to a small hill as he bathed in the illuminant light of the full moon, ever so bright on this dark Halloween night.
Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones
An emptiness began to grow.
There's something out there, far from my home
A longing that I've never known.
Looking down at his ghostly pet of a dog, Bolt looked at his master with concern.
I'm a master of light and a demon of light
And I'll share you right out of your pants.
To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mr. Unlucky
And I'm known throughout England and France.
And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearian quotations.
No animal nor man can scream like I can
With the fury of my recitations.
But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown, if they only understood
He'd give it all up if he only could?
Merida gasped and hid back behind her hiding spot as Jack started to take steps down the steep edge of the hill without even slipping.
Oh, there's an empty place in my bones
That calls out for something unknown.
The fame and praise come year after year
Does nothing for these empty tears.
He left the graveyard with a heavy heart and entered the forest ahead of him with Bolt following him. Having overhead his song of depression, Merida felt sympathy and remorse for the poor lad.
"Jack, I know how you feel." She said sadly.
Merida came upon a garden on deadly, poisonous weeds and plants that she had been growing to use on her mother. There was the deadly nightshade, witch hazel, wolfsbane, etc. She collected a few herbs and returned back home, putting them into a jar labeled "Deadly Nightshade" and placing it in a cupboard for safe keeping. That's when she heard a familiar sound of wheels coming down the stone flight of flat stairs.
"Merida." Her mother's voice called.
The rag doll girl quickly closed the cupboard and turned to face her mother holding a lantern and giving her an almost smug stare.
"You came back." smirked Elinor.
"I had to." Her daughter/creation said.
"For this?" Elinor presented Merida's disembodied arm which waved at her.
"Yes." Merida answered meekly.
"Shall we, then?"
With a defeated sigh, Merida walked up the steps with her wheelchair-bound mother close behind her. Elinor brought her into her science laboratory and had her strapped to the table she was brought to life on while she restitched her daughter's arm on.
"That's twice this month you've slipped deadly nightshade into my tea and run off." Elinor scolded.
"Three times." corrected Merida.
"You're mine, you know!" Elinor shouted in her face. "I made you! With my own two hands."
"You can make other creations, mum." Merida suggested. "I'm restless. I can't help it."
"It's just a phase, dear. It will pass. It always does." Her mother dismissed. "You just need to be patient. That's all."
"But I don't wanna be patient." Merida sighed.
A/N: I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter. I really enjoy the aspects of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The songs are kind of my favorite part. Please leave some reviews and see you all in the next chapter.