Young Writers Society

Author’s Note:

Okay, pretty much everybody in the Spooky Month fandom knows about this theory and considers it canon; I’m not the first person to figure this out. However, this is a topic I’m really passionate about and I must share this with other people or else I will spontaneously combust. Obviously, reading this would only make sense if you’ve watched Spooky Month. It’s an animated series on YouTube. Here’s a playlist of the series (this includes secret endings). It’s PG-13 because it has disturbing themes such as cults and serial killers, as well as adult jokes and occasional swearing. Also one last thing: I don’t really know what genre to put this in, so I’m just going to put it in “review.”

I put a language warning only because some of the photos I’m going to include have foul language in them.

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Spooky Month is an animated horror-comedy series created by YouTuber and animator Sr Pelo in 2018. The series stars Skid and Pump, two children who love the spooky season more than anything; they enjoy horror movies, they never go anywhere without their costumes, and they even have a special dance move they call the “Spooky Dance.” Skid and Pump unintentionally cause trouble on their spooky adventures, and they’re often oblivious to the supernatural dangers around them. Sr Pelo is known for his loud style of comedy, and Spooky Month is no exception. The first few episodes include his iconic table slam sounds, and a running gag in the series is the Ooga Booga—a character who exists solely to jumpscare viewers.

The series initially started as a goofy year-round Halloween special. However, as it gained more attention, the series became more of a serious project, with longer episodes and improved animation quality. Episode 3, “Unwanted Guest,” also introduced ARG elements. ‘ARG’ stands for ‘Alternate Reality Game.’ An ARG is a type of game that incorporates real-world elements—such as social media accounts or webpages—to tell a story. Spooky Month may not be a game, but it still successfully implements elements similar to actual ARGs. The episodes often have hidden QR codes that lead to images when scanned (sometimes those images have links within them as well). There are also alternate endings available on Newgrounds, referred to as “Real Endings.” Through both of these, we learn the dark lore of this seemingly lighthearted show. We learn about a secret cult in Skid and Pump’s town. Most, if not all of the antagonists in the series have some connection to this cult.

However, we’re not here to talk about the cult. Instead, we’re here to talk about a character that I personally find very interesting. A character who’s lore can mostly only be found through ARG elements. A character who kills rats, bats, cats, and everything fast!

Yes, we’re here to talk about Dexter the Exterminator.

Now, I’m going to step out of my formal facade for just a second to issue a quick disclaimer: from this point on, I’m going to assume that you, the reader, have watched Spooky Month. I’m not going to explain every single thing like I did in my intro, because I’m going to assume that you’re already familiar with the show.

With that out of the way, let’s begin to dissect Dexter.

Dexter is an exterminator who appears in episode 3. Skid’s mom, Lila, calls him when she needs to get rid of a rat in her attic; what she doesn’t know is that it’s actually Moloch, the demon Skid and Pump summoned in the first episode, “It’s Spooky Month.” While Skid and Pump are away, Dexter goes into the attic, getting possessed by Moloch in the process. When the kids come back, Moloch tries to go after them. However, they don’t believe that he’s actually Moloch, so they ask him to turn his head all the way around to prove that he’s a demon. In doing this, he accidentally dies in Dexter’s body. This is the last we ever see of Dexter.

Or so we thought.

The main antagonist in the fourth episode, “Deadly Smiles,” is a possessed killer doll called Happy Fella. He tries to convince Skid to ask his mom for a cat to kill, before finally deciding to go after Skid and Pump. I firmly believe that this doll is being inhabited by Dexter. This can be proven by analyzing the ARG elements found by scanning QR codes.

 In episode 4, when Happy Fella is hiding in Pump’s toy box, there is a QR code that leads to this image:

The notes are all sprawled out, but you can kind of sense when each note was written. The first note reads, “Where is my backpack and body? There is only junk and photos. She did this to me.” This note was written when Dexter was first possessed and shows his confusion about not having a body. The “she” he is referring to is Lila; he believes Lila purposely hired him just so he could be trapped in the doll.

The note labeled “Day 1” reads, “I am inside the damn doll!” This confirms that Dexter’s soul was pushed into the Happy Fella doll. The rest of it is covered by another note, but it seems like he’s talking about how he remembers being possessed by Moloch.

There are multiple sources that prove that Happy Fella dolls are specifically designed to be vessels for ghosts. In episode 3, there is a QR code on the phone book that leads to this page. I’ve circled the portion says that someone’s son got trapped in the doll:

Additionally, if you look very closely at the Happy Fella doll package in episode 3, there is text at the bottom that reads “This doll is a vessel for ghosts. Do not bring it close to a cemetery, abandoned house, or kill someone close to it.” The text is nearly impossible to see, though, so I think it’s pointless to put up an image.

The note labeled “Day 9” reads, “I finally have my base in the fat kid’s [toy] chest! I can finally stop carrying these papers! I also need to kill something!” The “fat kid” is Pump; because Skid and Pump take turns with the doll, Dexter has made a base in Pump’s toy box.

In this note, he also claims that he needs to kill something. In episode 3, Dexter says “With this, I will satisfy my needs!” while he sets up a mouse trap. In episode 4, the Happy Fella doll says to Skid and Pump, “I’ve been trying to fulfill my needs, and you always stop me!” A casual viewer who hasn’t seen the ARG pictures may not understand what kind of “needs” Dexter/Happy Fella are talking about. However, upon seeing the notes, it is clear that he is deranged and has an uncontrollable urge to kill. It makes sense as to why he became an exterminator; he can legally kill animals, get paid to do it, and be helpful doing it. Also, he doesn’t have to feel guilty about killing people.

“Day 9” isn’t the only note where Dexter says he needs to kill something. The surrounding notes show Dexter growing more unstable as he goes more and more time without killing. He does not want to hurt Skid and Pump—as seen by the note that repeats “I can’t kill them they’re just kids”—so he tells Skid to ask his mom for a cat. He finally snaps when Lila doesn’t give him the cat. This is seen in both the notes and the episode itself.

The last note that we haven’t discussed is the one underneath “Day 9.” This one was either written after or at the same time as “Day 9.” It reads, “The fat kid looks at me weird… he knows I am not a doll… his eyes change. I’ll lie to him, I might get something to satisfy me!! YES!!” This note is a reference to the fact that Pump’s eyes turn blue when he is around something supernatural. This started happening after episode 2, “The Stars,” in which he meets The Eyes of the Universe and becomes hypnotized. There are many theories as to why this happens; some think that Eyes is protecting Pump, some think that Eyes is merely spectating through Pump’s eyes, and some think that Eyes is controlling Pump. My theory is that, after being hypnotized, Pump now has the ability to see paranormal stuff for what it is. Skid and Pump are mostly ignorant to the spooky stuff happening to them, but Pump is usually more aware of what’s going on. For instance, in episode 3, he instantly knew that the demon possessing Dexter was Moloch, while Skid didn’t believe him. This explains how he knew the doll was possessed while Skid didn’t. He only became wary of the Happy Fella doll when his eyes turned blue.

There is evidence outside of episodes 3 and 4 as well. In episode 5, “Tender Treats,” there is a scene where Lila’s friend Jaune is watching TV. There is a small segment showing a mugshot where the reporter says, “We ask for your help to find Dexter Erotoph. There is no information about his [location].” Dexter Erotoph and Dexter the Exterminator are definitely the same person. This makes sense, because in episode 3 Moloch died in Dexter’s body, and therefore he would be deemed missing.

There is one last piece of evidence in defense of this argument: they have the same voice actor, Metamaniac. In the credits of episode 4, their role is listed as “H. Fella (Dexter).”

(Note: “Happy Fella” and “H. Fella” are two different characters; “Happy Fella” is the cartoon character seen in the beginning while “H. Fella” is the doll).

With all of this evidence supporting it, it is easy to see why so many people, including myself, believe in this theory. Dexter and the Happy Fella share many traits, such as their bloodlust and their associations with Moloch.

Alright, I guess it’s time to put my serious tone aside and get all mushy. Like I said in my author’s note, I’m not the first person to discover all of this. However, Spooky Month is one of my favorite shows ever, and despite all of the dark and messed up stuff that happens in it, I’d consider it a comfort show. I love to gush and gush about this show any change I get. I also think Dexter is an underrated character and all of his lore is so interesting to me. I’d just like to thank you, the reader, for reading this very niche essayn’t. You didn’t have to do that, but you did, and that’s totally awesome of you! Also, feel free to let me know if you think I’ve missed anything.

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Bonus:

This segment doesn’t relate to Dexter being the Happy Fella doll, but I thought it was cool anyways and I thought I’d add it in.

Remember the TV segment I mentioned earlier? Well, after the reporter talks about Dexter, a QR code flashes on screen. It leads to this image:

The picture shows multiple links, but we’re going to focus on the patient file in the drawer. The link leads to this image:

The text is a little hard to read, so here’s what it it says:

“Name: Dexter Erotoph???

The patient’s blood can’t be drained. The “blood” burns and melts everything that touches it.

Patient’s skin is hard to cut. I already destroyed 2 saws. It feels like rock. Maybe it’s a new kind of scleroderma.

The patient is… not a patient, is a thing, an alien in vegetative state. I should of said something but, every time I think about it, I have this feeling that I shouldn’t, a feeling of dread.

I will experiment on it more. I am close to something. But I am afraid to kill it or if it wakes up.”

If you’ve seen the real ending for episode 5, then you’ve seen the hospital where they were going to do an autopsy on Bob. I’m thinking this is the same place. However, I don’t think they’re doing an autopsy on Dexter because the last paragraph implies that she thinks he’s still alive. On the right side of the file, we see three things: a bag with a tooth in it, a picture of possessed Dexter, and what looks to be a picture of Moloch in the corner with Dexter’s body in the front.

The lady in the hospital probably tried to treat Dexter, only to find that his body was no longer human; his skin became harder and his blood became like lava.

One last thing:

This is kind of unrelated, but I noticed that Dexter’s catchphrase changes in the phonebook: 

In episode 3, he says “I kill rats, bats, cats, and everything fast!” But in the phonebook, “cats” is changed to “wasps.”

Well, that’s all I’ve got to say on this one. On a related note, I sort of wonder if Dexter has any association with the cult like Bob did. It would make a lot of sense, but there’s not enough evidence to prove it yet.