It was a chill night in Puppetland. The full moon stood high and two small squirrels were peeking out from behind the hole in the tree. An owl hooted in the forest and mother wolf howled on a hill and her tiny puppy was trying to mimic her, but instead it sounded like the cutest little squeak. A beaver was sniffing in the air and swam under the water to its nest.

A happy laughter was echoing through the forest as Pee-wee was riding on his scooter in full speed towards his beloved playhouse. It was Halloween and he was looking forward to the big night when they were going to go trick-or-treating, and he especially hoped that Cowboy Curtis would like it as it was his first time celebrating Halloween with him and his friends. Perhaps Mrs Rene would bake some delicious cookies or that Miss Yvonne would drop by in a wonderful costume, being the most beautiful woman in Puppetland. If everything went well, they would get lots and lots of candy and if the King Of Cartoons came by they could watch a cartoon or three.

A bat squeaked a little as it was searching for food and a raven was screeching in the distance. Sure it was a little spooky, but it was fun too and perhaps Reba would want to join them too. He passed by a tree and for a moment he thought he saw a figure behind some bushes. Curiously, Pee-wee stopped for a moment to take a look. Maybe he was mistaken, it could very well just be a bird, nothing creepy or spooky. He heard a little rustle but it stopped. Pee-wee swallowed hard but to his relief it was just a dove that flew away, but then he heard another sound. He waited for whatever it was to appear, or at least make a sound. Just a little noise so he could tell whether it was something dangerous or not but nothing happened. No more noise, no more rustling. It was awfully quiet until another bird flew out looking quite terrified, but Pee-wee didn't see this.

It was a bird after all. Nothing to worry about. It was all good. With a chuckle Pee-wee started his scooter again and drove straight towards the playhouse. When he finally had arrived, he took off his helmet and put it neatly aside on the scooter, petting it gently as he snickered a little as he tiptoed towards the door. Come on, it was Halloween after all and it was nothing wrong with a little mischief, wasn't it?

He opened the door and yelled "Boo!"

But no one was there. It seemed so strangely... empty and... quiet. That was funny, whenever Pee-wee arrived, he was always met by his wonderful friends but this time it was different. They wouldn't be forgetting to visit him, would they? That wasn't like them at all, especially his closest friends who lived here. With an audible gulp Pee-wee nervously looked from side to side, carefully glancing over his shoulder to make sure nothing was behind his back.

"Uh, guys?" he called timidly. "Anyone there?"

There was nothing but silence. He swallowed hard but did his best to hide his discomfort even though it was practically written in his face. He heard a small noise and quick as a flash, he looked to his left. But nothing was there.

"Globey?" Pee-wee asked and wrung his hands. "Clockey are you there?"

No answer.

"Charry? Magic Screen?" he called. "Conky?"

Still no response. He was getting really nervous and a few drops of sweat were beginning to form.

"Miss Yvonne! Reba! Anyone!" Pee-wee whined. "Come out! This isn't fun anymore!"

In all of a sudden, the lights were turned on and everyone in the playhouse laughed as they shouted in choir: "Surprise! Happy Halloween, Pee-wee Herman!"

At first Pee-wee just stood there feeling scared, he was shocked and his mouth was agape but it quickly became a smile and soon he was laughing along with the others.

"Ha, ha! You got me this time!" he laughed. "I wasn't scared though, but nice try."

"Weren't you scared at all, Pee-wee?" Chairry asked. "I know I would be."

Pee-wee smiled. "No," he replied and walked over to sit on her, which she loved and patted him on his arm. He grinned and patted her gently too.

"Not even a little bit?" Magic Screen inquiried.

"Nope!" Pee-wee said cheerfully. "Not even a little bit, however, I was surprised though."

Just then Randy appeared and snickered devilishly. "Yeah right, you liar! You were shiverin' like a baby!"

"Was not!" Pee-wee protested, crossing his arms as he pouted.

"Was too!" Randy teased.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not! Was not! Infinity!" Pee-wee said stubbornly. Before he could react, Randy snatched the candy bar from him and snickered as he said "See ya later, sucker! Hee hee hee heee!"

Pee-wee watched him go and rolled his eyes slightly but smiled. Randy sure could be a little dickens, but he was a friend of his no matter what. So were the other residents of the playhouse. As he got up from Chairry he was about to look out of the window when the Picture Phone was starting to ring. His face lit up with pure, childish excitement.

"I'll get it! I'll get it!" Pee-wee called and rushed over to the booth and sat down. He rolled down a poster of a witch riding into the night with a black cat on and a few pumpkins and ghost were in the background. He pulled out some earmuffs that looked like bats and put them on as he put the can to his ear.

"Pee-wee's playhouse! Pee-wee speaking!" he called enthusiastically.

"Hello Pee-wee!" Miss Yvonne said with a sweet smile.

"Hi, Miss Yvonne!" Pee-wee said happily. "How's it goin'? Come on over, let's mess around!"

"I'm fine, thank you. Oh, I'd love to drop by. See you there!" she answered and blew a kiss in the air. Pee-wee chuckled a little and said "Bye!" as he hung up.

When he got out of the phone booth he began to sing and dance as he cheered that his friends were coming over to visit him. Pterri flew over to him and tugged at his suit.

"Hey, Pee-wee!" Pterri said.

"What is it Pterri?" Pee-wee said softly.

"What's today's secret word?" Pterri asked.

"Ooooh, interesting question. Let's go and ask Conky!" Pee-wee replied and began to walk over to Conky the robot.

He pushed the button and Conky greeted his friends.

"C-C-C-Conkey 2000 r-r-r-ready to assist you, Pee-wee." Conky said.

"Hey, Conky. What's the se--"

Ding dong!

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard someone ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. Globey, raised his eyebrows.

"Who on earth could that be?" he asked. "Everyone's already here!"

"I dunno Globey, let's find out, shall we?" Pee-wee laughed. Mrs Rene, the playhouse gang, Cool Cat, Chicky Baby, Dirty Dog and even the Cowntess looked a little suspicious of who it could be. Globey, Pterri and Magic Screen walked over to Chairry and sat next to her and Dog Chair.

Pee-wee walked over to the door and opened it, but saw nothing.

"Huh? I thought I heard someone knock." he said to himself.

"Trick-or-treat!" a little nasal voice called. Pee-wee looked down and saw a little strange figure looking up at him, holding a huge sack and was dressed in a plain red, long-sleeved shirt, red pants and brown arab-shoes. And his mask of his looked like a grinning devil. Spooky indeed. Pee-wee was beginning to feel a little nervous but didn't have the heart to shove him away, he looked and sounded like a little kid.

"Why, hello there. What a pleasant surprise!" Pee-wee said in a friendly tone, "Come in, we have lots of candy for you here! I don't think we've met. What's your name?"

"Lock!" the little devil said proudly and enthusiastically as he took off his mask to reveal that his face looked extremely similar to the mask of his, if not more hideous. He arched his back and grinned widely, showing his razor-sharp teeth. He looked around and saw the strange new people looking at him, it wasn't surprising considering they probably never had seen a real devil before.

"Nice to meet you, Lock." Pee-wee said, trying to sound friendly despite feeling a little curious yet anxious as he extended his hand. Lock gave him a little confused glance but smiled as he shook his hand.

"So, can I come in? Where's the candy?" Lock asked, and Pee-wee gently urged him to go inside. Even though Lock didn't show it, he couldn't say he was used to people being that nice to him and EVERYONE was looking at him at this very moment. He bowed a little and laughed a little, as if trying to brush off his uncertainty.

"What's your costume?" Little Punkin asked sweetly, being the youngest in the playhouse gang.

"Yeah, what's your costume?" Fabian asked, another member of the playhouse gang. Rapunzel didn't say anything but she too, smiled at him in order to be friendly.

"I have a devil costume!" Lock answered.

"And what are you, a zombie? A ghost?" Pterri asked.

"I'm a devil!" Lock replied proudly, straightening his back and laughed mischievously. He watched Pee-wee closing the door behind him and announced "Okay Conky, what's today's secret word?"

Conky buzzed and a little card came out. Pee-wee snatched it and it read "Night."

"Now, you all remember what to do whenever anyone says the secret word, right?" Pee-wee asked, grinning.

"Scream!" everyone exclaimed except for Lock who was new to the playhouse.

"That's right! For the rest of the day, whenever anyone says the secret word, scream real loud! Ready? Let's try it!" Pee-wee said. He set his gaze onto the little devil.

"Hey, Lock." Pee-wee said with a sly smile. "Which part of Halloween is best?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Lock replied. "I go out trick-or-treating at night!"

Everybody screamed at the word night.

The gang laughed and Lock was slightly confused at first but understood very quickly that it was a game and he followed around the little tour of the playhouse with Pee-wee and watched the ant farm, greeted Floory, looked at the fishes and took a peek into the mouse hole to watch the tiny dinosaur family getting ready for Halloween.

And soon, everyone began to feel hungry and since Lock was the new guest, Pee-wee wanted to get him a treat.

"Wait here, I'll get the candy everyone!" Pee-wee announced cheerfully.

"Okay, Pee-wee!" said the playhouse gang.

"Get me some snacks too," Pterri said.

"Me three!" Magic Screen chipped in.

"Got it!" Pee-wee called from the kitchen and opened the fridge to get some ice cream and some fruit too. He watched a tomato waving at him while the other vegetables were watching a horror movie and they all wore Halloween costumes. That's it, everyone could make their own masks for trick-or-treating! That gave him a marvelous idea.

"What are ya doin'?" Lock asked, trying to get up on the counter but failed to do so, being very short. Pee-wee just chuckled a little and picked him up and sat him on the counter.

"I'm making parfait for everyone. Do you want one?" Pee-wee asked politely.

"Is it candy?"

Pee-wee nodded.

"Good, fork it over!" Lock said with a mixture of greed and impatience and his mouth was watering already at the sight of the delicious snack. "What's in yours?"

"I got ice cream, cookies and chocolate..." Pee-wee began counting.

"Did you say chocolate? Give me some!" Lock demanded. Without hesitation Pee-wee did so, though he did wish that the little devil could be a little nicer, but he was a devil after all so he guessed he could let it slide and he was also a kid, so he couldn't blame him either. Lock took the glass from his hands and was about to jump down but it was too high and he nearly dropped his glass to the floor.

Almost like a flash Mrs Rene caught him before any damage was done. She gently put the boy down and said softly "Easy there, little guy."

Lock didn't reply but nodded a little and followed Pee-wee Herman and Mrs Rene towards the others who were in the playhouse. Globey suggested that they should do something together and that gave Pee-wee an idea and told everyone that they could make their own Halloween decorations and make their own masks as well and everybody did so, with the exception for Lock as he already had one and instead sat on Chairry, watching the others.

Suddenly Miss Yvonne came in along with Reba and Cowboy Curtis and Ricardo.

"Hello everyone!" Miss Yvonne said in her cheerful voice, smiling brightly.

"Howdy partner!" Curtis said with a laugh and Reba waved at them.

"¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?" Ricardo asked and laughed. "How are you?"

"Great, Ricardo!" all replied.

"Who is that?" Reba asked, looking at the little devil who sat on Chairry, now looking a little sad. Pee-wee saw that and answered "It's Lock, I think he's new here."

He walked over to Lock and sat next to him.

"Is everything alright, Lock?" Pee-wee asked gently. Lock nodded quietly, it wasn't anything wrong really. It was just that he wasn't used to anyone being that nice to him, it felt so strange and unusual for him but he really did like it and even though he didn't say it out loud, he was secretly touched that they all were kind to him.

He put on a forced smile and said "This... this is really new here."

Pee-wee gave him a sympathetic look and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Were are you from?" Globey asked.

"I'm from Halloween Town." Lock explained. "It's a place where everyday is Halloween and I'm Halloween's finest trick-or-treater. That's my job!"

He turned to Pee-wee.

"Hey, Pee-wee," Lock said, turning to Pee-wee and smiling mischievously. "Do you trick-or-treat?"

"Yeah!" everyone in the gang replied.

A devious idea came across his mind. Yeah, that should work, Lock thought to himself. Surely Oogie Boogie would be pleased to have such a huge feast tonight. Without any further ado, he jumped down and explained to the gang that they could go trick-or-treating together and since he was an expert at trick-or-treating, he should lead the crowd.

"Are you a trick-or-treater?" Chairry asked.

Lock nodded.

"Do you get to eat lots of candy?" Pterri asked with excitement.

Lock nodded again.

Then he got an idea.

"I know! Let's go trick-or-treating!" Lock said enthusiastically with a hint of underlying deviousness. "Are you coming with me?"

"Yeah," they replied and the others nodded in agreement. After they put on their costumes they began to walk out of the playhouse and begin the heist for candy. Lock suggested they walked into the town in Puppetland, and so they did, they went from house to house and wrecked in plenty of candy. He had to wait for the opportunity to ensnare them into his trap and bring them all to the Boogeyman.

When they walked for three hours, Pee-wee and Reba were starting to feel uncomfortable about the new forest Lock was leading the gang into. Surely, Pee-wee was optimistic and believed the best in everyone but Reba reminded him that even though Lock might have good intentions he might not always know that he does the right thing, so he nodded quietly and agreed.

"Hey, Lock," Pee-wee said, trying to sound as polite as possible while also being honest. "It's fun to trick-or-treat but now it's quite late at night."

Everyone screamed at the mentioning of the word night.

"And we are far away from home," Reba pointed out. "That is quite dangerous if you ask me, I think we should go home to the playhouse."

Lock was about to protest but if he did so, they might see through his plan and he couldn't do that. Not yet, he tried to hide it but his disappointment was clearly visible. Miss Yvonne walked up to the little kid and said:

"Lock, it's very nice of you to take us trick-or-treating but we have to go back," she said softly. "You can always join us and watch a nice cartoon and maybe Jambi can grant you a wish."

"Yeah," Pee-wee chimed in, trying to cheer him up. "Let's go back home, shall we?"

Lock nodded in defeat, even though he didn't succeed in tricking Pee-wee and his friends, perhaps he could get what he wanted without involving Oogie Boogie and especially since he could be granted a wish instead of his friends Shock and Barrel. That was the best part, Lock reasoned with himself.

When they got back, the King of Cartoons showed them three fun cartoons with Halloween theme and Roger the monster came there for a visit too and watched the cartoons and ate candy with his friends. Lock was more than a little scared and immediately without thinking his behind Pee-wee for protection, and to his relief Pee-wee didn't tease him and gently explained that Roger was another friend of his and he wasn't dangerous at all.

The hours passed by and soon it was midnight. Mrs Rene turned out all the lights and lit a candle. At the sight of the burning light in her hand, Lock bolted upright, letting out a loud cry of fear and tripped on the toybox and hid underneath the bed in Pee-wee's room. At first Mrs Rene and the others were confused as neither of them said the secret word but Pee-wee understood why he screamed. Apparently Lock was scared of fire and that made him scream.

Carefully Pee-wee knelt down and peeked underneath the bed.

"What's the matter, Lock?" Pee-wee asked gently.

"Nothin'!" Lock grumbled, trying not to cry. He didn't want anyone to know what had happened to him that made him fear the flames, it was far to shameful and embarrassing to say. It was better to shut up about it and he had to think quickly in order to find an excuse. "I'm just trying scare you so you get into the mood for that ghost story."

"It's okay to be scared," Pee-wee reminded him. "When I was little, I was scared of the dark."

"You were scared of the dark?" Lock asked, trying to dampen his sniffles. "Why?"

"Because I was afraid something would snatch me! It sure was scary but my friends helped me."

Pee-wee took out a flashlight and gave it to Mrs Rene and whispered why she should use it instead. She nodded without saying a word and blew out the candle and took the flashlight from his hand.

"It's okay, Lock." Pee-wee said, gently urging him. "Come on out, nothing's going to happen."

Lock didn't say anything but let Pee-wee picking him up from underneath the bed and carried him over to the others as he didn't want him to be alone and feel left out.

"See, there's nothing to be afraid of." Pee-wee said softly and for the first time Lock did feel more at ease. He didn't say anything but he was secretly feeling grateful that Pee-wee helped him when he got frightened by the lit candle.

Lock smiled a little as he sat there next to Pterri in his nest and listened with amusement and excitement to the ghost stories everyone told each other.

"Spooky!" Lock laughed when they watched another cartoon.

"Heh, heh. Yeah, it's scary at night." Pee-wee laughed.

All screamed at the mentioning of the secret word. Suddenly Lock remembered something.

"Hey, what about my wish?" Lock asked.

"Wish? Did somebody say wish?" Jambi asked.

"Lock did, Jambi!" Pee-wee replied and when Jambi saw the little devil he smiled and rolled his eyes. Pee-wee sure had a knack of befriending the strangest people sometimes but nevertheless he did like him.

"Alright, Lock. What is your wish?" Jambi asked.

"My wish is to get alllll of the Halloween candy in my two candy bags!" Lock replied, licking his lips.

"Alright then," the genie said and with a blink the candy was inside the two candy bags and were neatly placed inside the walking bathtub Lock had brought with him that was waiting for him outside.

"Thanks, everyone!" Lock said and laughed. "I gotta say this Halloween was really excitin'! I'll miss you guys, but I gotta go!"

When it finally was late and everyone needed to go home, they bid each other goodbye and waved farewell to Lock as he walked towards a tree with a grinning Jack-o-lantern carved in it.

"Good night, guys!" Lock called and laughed when they screamed at the mentioning of the secret word again.

Lock smiled to himself but couldn't help but feel quite... happy and it felt nice to meet people who were treating him well instead of scolding him or nagging at him like most people did whenever people saw him and his companions. The walking bathtub passed the gates and stopped near the bridge next to the Treehouse he and his friends shared.

He was soon encountered by Shock and Barrel who came running at him in full speed.

"Where have you been!" Shock shouted in an annoyed tone, but underneath she and Barrel were truly worried about him.

"We've been looking all over for you!" Barrel filled in.

Lock just grinned mischievously and handed over the candy bag.

"That's for me to know and you to find out!"

The End