Halloweentown was a place dedicated to its name. Through the dark clout of night, tall lanterns barely broke the darkness with a dim orange, while grates and fountains glowed an eerie green from the ooze that churned below the streets. Traps armed the entire town with a collection of nasty surprises, from statues spitting acid to giant gravestones falling over of their own accord. The grotesquely deformed creatures that resided there, all once human at some point in time, reveled in the same delight, each terrorizing the living on other worlds with their uniquely frightening semblance. In return for their devotion, the citizens of Halloweentown had become amicably immortal, gifted generously by the festive spirit of their home.
But underneath the rabid fun, the otherwise innocent worshiping of fear, there lied in the essence of the world something sinister. For those claimed by the Hallow's Eve curse, the presence left them untouched, and thus the inhabitants lived in their undead reverie immune and blissfully unaware. Upon all others, however, with blood too flush and too red for a corpse, true horror preyed in the blackest of the shadows.
As Demyx learned all too well, Oogie Boogie was hardly the true Boogie Man.
Are you afraid, child? - A voice hissed in an echo.
Demyx hung there, immobile, his eyes adjusting to what little light the reservoir of slosh could provide. Metal claps gripped at his wrists so tightly that his gloves bared no protection, sharp edges bloodied with the weight of his body tugging his arms. In his peripheral, he could see the incandescent sack skin of Oogie Boogie, watching from his stage behind the misshapen iron bars.
"No." Demyx replied. "I-I don't have a heart to be scared."
Despite the truth, Demyx helplessly glanced about the void, seeing absolutely nothing to alleviate an anxiety that had begun to grip his mind. Unable to tilt his head, the eyes that watched above him brought him no comfort, one yellow and two vibrant greens anticipant in the rafters of the oubliette.
Really?
Demyx breath hitched in the face of a monster that emerged from the depth. It was withered, white if not tainted green by the light behind him, with next to nothing but a skull jutting from sickly skin. The color of rust poured from the gored husk of its nose, lining its lips and streaking down its chin in a rich cascade. Lips parted to reveal a ravenously sharp set of teeth, as clawed fingers graciously sprawled about the floor, stained with the same evidence of carnal hunger among the bone.
The thing's eyes were hidden beneath yellowed, dirtied cloth, yet Demyx felt its unwavering gaze trained longingly for him.
"Where from, then-" It smiled viciously. "- do I hear the beating of perfect flesh?"
...
Happy Halloween to all of you. Enjoy!