Content Warning: Mild gore
~~~
They thought he had forgotten. The pumpkins on Holiday Hill Farm thought Spookley had forgotten all the things they’d said, all the things they’d done. After all, it was so long ago, and memories were bound to fade eventually. They laughed and played and joked with him every day as if none of it had ever happened.
But Spookley remembered. He remembered it all. Every playful nickname they stuck nowadays reminded him of the horrible insults they used to hurl at him. Every friendly smile was reminiscent of the cruel grins once plastered on their faces. It was clear by the way they talked—the way they treated him now—that nothing from the past weighed on their conscience anymore.
Big Tom and Little Tom said they were Spookley’s friends, or at least tolerated his presence. But friends don’t ridicule you in front of everyone, lamenting how the world would be better without you. Friends don’t treat you like a weed—something that’s unwanted, unloveable—just for the fun of it.
The Honeydoos seemed to love Spookley, being the backing vocals for all of his G-rated adventures. But if that's true, why did they sing a song about how strange and ugly he was? Why would they edge everyone on, feeding into the mockery like fuel in a fire?
Jack claimed to care about Spookley and said he could talk to him about any troubles he may have. He was a scarecrow, after all, and it was his job to protect his patch. But where was Jack when Spookley was being bullied, harassed, tortured en masse by his community? Jack had been a bystander, giving the perpetrators nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Tonight, all the pumpkins settle into their places in the patch. But Spookley is not with them. No, he’s on the farmer’s porch, a candle's light glowing within him. The fire burns like hell, his insides ache from having his guts scooped out, and his body threatens to collapse as mold spores eat away at his flesh. His sharp corners have softened with time, making him almost unrecognizable to anyone who once knew him. But it’s alright, he supposes, because all the other pumpkins are basking in his light! It’s okay that he’s rotting and burning from the inside because everyone loves him now! That’s what he tells himself, but he knows such shallow positivity won’t fill the void within him.
As he looks out at the field below him, every pumpkin so still that they seem inanimate, he wonders if he should've let them fall into the river—if only to show them how it feels. And as he sees Jack casting a shadow in the moonlight, he wonders if he should've let him burn under that tree branch—if only to feel genuine warmth.
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Canary word: Present
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125,029 Literary Works • 672,781 Reviews
Well... this is like my first story I've published on here in a while lol
I watched this movie when I was younger, and I never really liked how Spookley became friends with the people who harassed him from the moment he was born, so consider this a fix-it.
I've come back after watching the full cartoon. It was an intriguing cartoon with silly gags and colorful characters (my favorite being Boris). Now, I still stand by what I said in my review. In fact, this kind of reminded me of the Rudolph cartoons, when they only treated him nicely after he was useful to them.
Spookley deserved better.
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm Kate and I'm here to leave a quick review!!
First Impression
I'm unfortunately not familiar with the movie this is from so I'm going to treat it as I would any other story and this honestly is quite an intriguing little tale that we've got here.
Anyway let's get right to: Kate's Line by Line Reactions;
Well looks like we've got a bit of a dark undertone to work with here running through what otherwise appears to be a pretty fun little moment there. Loving the way things are coming across at any rate. Let's see where we're going to be headed from here.
Well that definitely does not seem like the behavior of friends. I can confirm that there for Spookley. He's definitely right to be as suspicious as he appears to be at this moment. We'll see how exactly its going to proceed from here although suspicious are now quite high.
Well for someone who is supposed to protect the whole patch that definitely reeks of some sort of bribery going on. There's no way you'd let people get away with things to that extent. I'm firmly on Spookley's side so far.
Well that seems like quite some dark thoughts by the end there but then judging by everything that we've seen of the poor pumpkin here being treated rather horribly that is about as much as one can expect honestly.
Aaand that's it for this oneee!!!
Overall
Overall I think you've done a great job bringing this tale to life here and showcasing how Spookley was mistreated and ignored and showing a rightful little moment of vengeance coming about there at the end.
As always remember to: Take what you think was helpful and forget the rest!
Kate
Hello there, Gengar! I'm reviewing using the YWS S'more Method today!
Shalt we commence with the haunting S’more?
Top Graham Cracker - I’ve never heard of this movie until I saw this fanfic, and then I searched it up to learn more. (Searching it up is different from watching the movie, though). All I have to say is…poor Spookley. Just because he’s different, they all bullied him. :<
Slightly Burnt Marshmallow - This is fine, I think. If you wanted to edit it then you can, but if not, then don’t.
Chocolate Bar - I love how you described how Spookley was rotting on the inside, and yet everyone “loves” him. It makes one wonder if they really care about Spookley or if they only care after he changed to what they wanted him to change. He’s been carved out to be “perfect”….and yet he still feels the pain of the past.
Closing Graham Cracker - I’m going to have to watch this movie sometime! I’m very glad to have read this, it’s perfect for the upcoming Halloween season, and from what you typed and what I’ve seen online, I think that your ending is better.
I wish you a spooky day/night! ^v^
Hi Gengar! Pumpkins are one of my favorite aesthetics, especially around Halloween time, so this title caught my attention right away!
I'm not gonna lie to you, I was a little confused at first. Not because the writing didn't make sense, but because I didn't realize this was a fanfic. I was wondering why you chose the name "Spookley" for a bit. I'm also very tired so that doesn't help. I googled the title, finally, and saw what this is referring to! I admit I have not seen or heard of this, though.
Despite my lack of knowledge, this is still a very interesting fanfic and I really enjoyed it! I didn't find any grammatical errors to nitpick. I think the pacing of this narrative was great. Your descriptive language was fantastic - even though I did not realize this was a fanfic at first, I still enjoyed the ambience you created and the imagery that was evoked by your writing. You described the narrator's pain at being mistreated by his(?) peers, his bitterness at being overlooked and written off, and finally, his final thoughts at the end of the story. How he tried to convince himself that he was content with where he was now, despite thinking wistfully about misfortune occurring to those that wronged him.
I really liked the last paragraph, where Spookley talks about how he would drown and burn his "friends" just to show them how it feels, and I especially liked this line a lot:
With that said, I unfortunately do not have any constructive criticism for you because I didn't see anything that popped out. I think the decision to not use dialogue here was a good one. You have a strong narrative flow going here and I think dialogue would have disrupted it. Thanks for the good read.
~ Iggy