It was a small town,
By a small river and a small lake.
In a small northern part of a midwest state.
There was not much wilderness around that you could not see the tower.
On the other hand, there was not much town around,
that you could not see and feel and touch the wilderness.
The town is full of fences to walk on,
And sidewalks to skate on and muted cries and laughter of boys and girls
Full of costumes, dreams, and pumpkin spirits
preparing for the greatest night of the year.
Better than Easter, better than Christmas.
Halloween.
Jenny, you are going to raise the dead with all that racket down there.
Just looking for another broom, mom.
You can only use the new vaccuum cleaner.
Ha ha. Very funny.
Pip is really going to love this.
A little more of my arm. There. That's it.
Oh yeah. By the way, dad. Sorry about using up all of your gauze.
It's okay, Ralph.
I just hope that no one needs any first aid tonight.
Or you have to go tot he bathroom anytime soon.
Gotta go. Can't keep Pip waiting.
Yes, that'll even scare Pip.
Tom Skelton, you are one lucky boy.
With a name like skelton on a night like this...
Pip is going to kill me for being late.
Trick or Treat!
Alright, we made it
This is gonna be great.
I'm ready for the treats.
Bet I get more candy than you do, Wally.
You and who else?
Take that back. Come on, Wally.
Hey you guys, stop it.
Wait.
Where is Pip?
He had never been late for Halloween in a million zillion years.
Bet it's some kind of trick.
Sure it is.
For once, we wil surprise him. Come on!
Pip!
Oh yes, Joe Pipkin.
Some say that on the day he was born,
All the soda pop bottles in the world fizzed over.
Pipkin who could yell louder, sing better, and eat more popcorn.
Pip, the greatest boy who ever lived.
There's his house.
Impossible.
It can't be.
What?
Where are the jack-o-lanterns, and the corn chalks on the porch?
And monsters clinging to the roof.
Something is wrong, awfully wrong.
Oh, Pip.
Hey Tom. Look at that!
Oh my gosh, it's a note.
What does it say?
"Dear Tom, and all the gang,"
"Didn't mean to spoil your Halloween."
"Off to the hospital."
Something about appendicitis.
"Don't worry. Signed,"
Pip.
Appendicitis?
You can die from that, right?
"PS: Go ahead without me. I will catch up."
"Ready, set, go"
But we can't start Halloween without Pip.
It wouldn't be official.
There's a shortcut to the hospital.
No. Not that shortcut.
Come on, You all heard him. Ready, set, go!
Do you think he's gonna be surprised to see us, Tom?
He did say to start Halloween without him
It would be worth it to see the look on his face.
One side, coming through.
Jenny, wait!
Stop, wait up!
There. There's the shortcut.
Not the ravine.
Any other shortcuts to choose from, Tom?
Ralph does a have a point there. I think...
What did I tell you? Look.
It's Pip! Pip!
Hey, I can see right through him.
Guys, it's just this funny moonlight.
The important thing is that he isn't sick.
But what about the hospital?
Don't you get it? I was a joke all the time.
The ambulance, the note on the door... What a trickster!
Hey, Pip. You sure had us fooled!
Where is your Halloween costume?
Hey, Pip. Wait up!
Not you too, Tom.
Come on, Wally.
The ravine. The ravine was filled with variety of darkness.
Night, shadows, toad eyes and raven beaks.
The ravine, birthplace of wild mushroom, pale toadstool,
whispers, and ripples which called: "Come, stay, linger and hide."
"Hide here forever" "Never go, stay. Stay."
Now you know I never believed in haunted houses.
That sure looks like one haunted house to me.
Oh yes. The house looked as if it had been cut out of black marble.
With so many chimneys, the roof seemed a vast cemetery.
Each flue signifying the burial place of some old forgotten god of fire.
This is the best prank he's ever played.
But it's not fair, He's gonna Trick or Treat ahead of us.
Yes, Pip always gets the most candy.
But that house is haunted.
Darn, right! Otherwise, Why would Pip lead us to it.
Oh yeah.
Oh my gosh.
This is no time to hold back, Tom.
Remember. Ready, set, go!
Wait. It's a marley nook.
You know, A Chirstmas Carol. Scrooge and Marley.
So, who's gonna knock?
You.
Ok then. I will do it.
Great. Now you have done it, Jenny.
Enter...
My Gosh.
Hold on!
Why have you disrupted me and my business?
Please, sir.
Trick...
Or Treat!
Oh, I really have no time for this.
But sir, it's Halloween and...
So, you've tricked me. Is that it?
What would a treat be then, eh?
Well... we saw our friend come in here.
If you let him out, that would be a treat.
Yeah!
Who are you?
Name's Tom Skelton.
Do you know why you're wearing bones, boy?
Bah! didn't think so.
And you?
My friends call me...
Why so dressed up in an ancient Mummy's rags?
Time's up!
And you... The big one.
Me, sir?
Why a monster's face?
And what about you, girl?
Jenny!
Why are you wearing a costume of a witch?
No thoughts, eh?
I've wasted my breath.
All dressed up for old Hallow's Eve but,
But you do not know why or what or even from where.
Pity.
And you sir...
Who are you?
Oh. Yes, of course. I beg your pardon.
Moundshroud is the name.
Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.
Is that not a fine name, children?
Does it ring?
But I have work to do tonight.
No treats. Only trick!
So if you'll excuse me, I have quite the tight schedule.
Pip!
You are a ghost.
So there you are.
Stop!
We still have our appointment, you and I.
Now, see what you have done.
Pipkin!!
Whoa! There must be a million of them.
Pumpkins!
Look at 'em all.
A pumpkin tree.
No...
The Halloween Tree!
Those pumpkins on that tree were not mere pumpkins.
Each has a face sliced in.
Each face was different.
Every nose was a weirder nose.
Every mouth smiled hideously in some new way.
Thousand grimaces and twice times
the thousand glares of fresh carved eyes.
Each blink held a remnant holiday spirit of years gone by.
Pipkin, where are you going?
We are over here.
Why is he climbing up the tree?
Oh bother. Now, stay off of there.
No, Pip! It is too high!
Come down from there. What are you...
Look!
The pumpkin.
It looks just like Pip.
Come on, we gotta help him.
Children, No!
No more interferance.
Hold on Pip, don't move.
A little farther.
You have had your fun, boy.
Don't touch that.
Gotcha.
It belongs to me.
Bring it here.
Inexcusable! Inexcusable behavior.
Here we are, Pip!
Pip! Over here, Pip.
Come on, here we are.
Hey, Pipkin!
Oh my gosh!
Pip!
He's melted.
Where did he go?
Help me, help me...
Bother. Bother. Bother, I say.
Do you have any idea what you've have done?
Now, my entire night schedule is thrown off.
What did you do with Pip?
Where did you send him?
I did not send him anywhere, skeleton.
Where is he?
Yeah!!
Must not've liked my company.
So he escaped.
Escaped I might add with a pumpkin that is my property.
Well then...
Cara Clava...
Clavicle. But you may call me Mr. Moundshroud.
Whatever your name is,
You bring him back right now.
If only life were that easy.
By now, Pip's escaped to the undicovered country.
No telling how long it will take me to find him again.
Find him?
Can we go with you?
We can help.
Impossible.
You've helped quite enough already. Thank you.
But anything is possible on Halloween, right?
What do you know about Halloween?
Four meddlers come barging into my house.
blundering into my business.
Not even knowing why you are dressed as a skeleton.
Witch, mummy, or...
Wait a minute.
It is a long trip and it it's hours before dawn.
So we should have enough time.
If we fly fast enough.
Yes?
And far enough.
Yes Yes!
We might be able to catch Pipkin
Grab his pumpkin fire soul and have a scavenger hunt as well.
So, you can find out who you are, what you are made of,
And retrieve your Pipkin at the same time.
Well, will you come with me and solve 3 mysteries in one?
Yes!
What fun then.
The undiscovered country it is.
Feast your eyes,
A Thousand Halloween wait out there to swallow us whole.
Then a barn. And on the side of the barn. the makings of an October kite.
Do you see?
This way, skeleton.
This road, mummy.
This pit, witch.
This meadow, monster.
Do you see? Do you see?
And they did see.
They saw the poster paper tapestry of circus beasts.
Pasted on the barn side years ago.
It was as if the captured animals were waiting to be released.
Oh my gosh.
Let's build a kite then, shall we?
Time for you to help.
They siezed huge rolls of animals from the weathered walls.
They tore off patches of fangs, strips of piercing eyes,
and sheets of claws and tails.
The unshackled beasts cried and assembled in freed leaps and bounds.
Oh my gosh.
Will it fly us?
I thought you would never ask.
It won't fly straight.
A tail, we need a tail.
Right, boy.
Who else for the tail?
I am next.
Not before me.
Fly, fly!
I just remembered. I hate heights.
2 time 2 is 4, 4 times 4 is16...
... Times 256 is 6,500...
It's Pip.
Pip.
... 740... Pip.
Pipkin.
Where is he going?
Not where, when.
Four thousand Halloween ago.
Pipkin with my pumpkin has gone ahead.
Or should I say past.
The moon began to blink,
faster and faster it began to wax, to wane.
Till a thousand times over, it flickered.
And flickering changed the landscape below.
Egypt
But it's brand new.
That means, we really have gone back in time.
Four thousand years!
Are those real life ghosts?
They prefer being called spirits.
Trying to get into those houses?
True.
And the food on the porches is for them?
Seems so.
Why, it's good ol' fashioned Trick or Treat.
Four thousand years ago?
Yes. Imagine that.
Look there! That ghost... spirit.
Let's sneak up on him.
Pip - Hold on. Wait!
Here we are.
Enter. Sit. You are welcome.
Oh my gosh.
Who is that?
Our great-grandfather.
Don't make a fuss.
He does not look very good.
He's been dead for 67 years.
What's he doing here?
Once a year at the feast of the ghosts,
we invite him out to sit with us.
Eat.
Don;' you wish we had a custom like this back home?
Dinner for the dead.
What?
Pip!
Well, children. Seems we don't have time for dessert.
Come on, Mr. Moundshroud. He is getting too far ahead.
The time has come. Hurry, race, run.
Your 3 mysteries await.
Just look at these.
They are giant.
Pip didn't go in there, did he?
Yes...
Great.
Go ahead, Tom.
No, Ralph should go first.
It's all yours, Wally.
No, you first.
I insist.
Did Pip send this out here to show us the way?
It's got me!
Hold on!
You, with the mummy wrappings and mummy face.
Who me?
Day is killed by night.
Summer by winter.
Osiris, the sun god destroyed by his brother, darkness.
The seasons.
Is that what the Egyptians thought of Halloween?
You tell me.
Why do you wear that costume?
You are a mummy, boy.
Because that's how the Egyptians dressed up their dead for eternity.
Turned around in a cocoon of threads.
They hoped to come forth like fresh butterflies,
of far dear loving underworld.
Know your cocoon, boy.
Touch the strange stuffs.
Then, every day was Halloween to them.
Yes, every day Ralph, very good.
But what about Pipkin?
Maybe it's too late. They're wrapping him up as a gift to eternity now.
You don't mean like right now?
Save him, Ralph!
I am coming, Pip!
Ralph?
Pipkin?
Ralphie, is that you?
Yeah yeah, it's me.
I'm going to get you out of here.
I am fading.
No, you can't leave now.
What about all of our plans?
You said someday you will teach me how to bat lefthanded.
And you are he only friend who's never made fun of my wearing glasses.
Trying to bat lefthanded isn't so bad, Ralphie.
Great. Now, What do I do?
Come along, Pipkin. You've had your fun.
You and I have an appointment to keep.
You must keep it.
Live forever...
Live live forever...
No!
The air vents. Come on.
Yes, fine him. Catch him.
Wait up, Ralph.
Hurry, but don't fall.
Oh my gosh.
Wally, don't jinx it, OK?
Pip!
Hurry then. Four cornors, kids. Grab on.
If he can hide, but if we hurry, we can go seek.
Oh my gosh.
Look down there.
Wally Bat, don't you dare tell me how high we are.
Time to celebrate, children.
Happy New Year.
No, it's Halloween.
Well, maybe in our time, it's All Hollow's Eve.
But this time, it's New Year's Eve.
Through end of summer and cold start of winter.
Happy New Year!
Down in the crowd, is that him below?
No, he's there above.
What is this place?
Where we are?
When are we?
It's old time, children.
Ancient time. Stonehenge.
You will need courage tonight.
It's the dark ages.
And this is the longest darkest night in all of dark time.
Oh my gosh.
What what?
Is that you, Pip?
In this dark times, people thought that in this special night,
Those who had died during the year would turn into beasts, became animals.
Dogs, wild boars, or worse of all, cats.
Black as bad luck. Black as sin.
Pip?
Black as night.
Easy Pip. Steady, boy.
We will save you.
No, I will get him.
Come here, Pip.
Pip.
No. Come back!
Tom.
I think this is the last time ever going Trick or Treating with you guys, OK?
Peek-a-boo.
There was a hustle of brooms in the broomworks.
An immense traffic jam of broom for witches to perch upon.
If was as if all earth's forests gave up their branches in one boom and fling.
Scaaring all the fields, cut clean and throtled tight.
Such serial rings had made good sweepers, thrashers, and beavers.
Hey, do you know what this is?
A broom festival.
And they are making brooms but not ordinary brooms.
Touch them.
Feel them.
Broomsicks for witches.
For you.
Me?
Whoops!
Ride 'em, Jenny.
Anyone else care to try it?
Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
Jenny, listen to me.
No, I want to be back on the ground. Just put me back on the ground.
Where is your spirit of adventure?
Witches have nothing to fear from their brooms.
Imagine it's no different than riding your bike.
My bike. Like my bike.
Hey, you're right.
Now, how about follow the leader?
Look.
I can not believe it.
While flying I saw, I saw...
Pip? Was it Pip?
No, witches, everywhere.
Of course, it can't be Halloween without witches.
The, there really were witches?
Well yes... and no.
They fly broomsticks?
Not really.
But they can talk to the dead, right?
Nope.
Big hairy warts grow on people?
Sorry, no.
Make people jump by sticking pins in them?
Not to my knowldge.
Well, what else then could they do?
Nothing.
Nothing?
Critics claimed they could.
But that was just the means to protect their privacy.
Wondered what the word witch really means?
Well, no...
Not until tonight.
Witch. Information.
In the dark ages, they were what had to bring any knowledge.
And his wits about him. Yes?
So, anyone too smart was called...
A witch!
Exactly.
And the really smart ones, the ones with the wits called it...
Magic!
In every town, in every tiny village, the old religion hid out.
And all the little lollygagging cults of all flavor and types,
Scrambled to survive.
By every crossroads and by every haystack,
Dark forms jumped across flame,
as fire burned everyone.
In the end, all Europe was a cloud of witches' smoke.
Anyone want to be a witch?
No, no, not me.
Pip?
Wonderful, let's play tag.
Now, Pip. The pumpkin does not belong to you anymore.
Hold on, Pip.
Grab on.
Hurray.
That's showing him, Jenny.
Some switch, huh Jenny?
You saved me, huh.
Don't fall, Pip.
What if I ever needed to talk me down out of an apple tree again , huh?
Tighter, Pip. If I ever lost you.
Hey, no tears. wouldn't you just hate to have Tom see you cry?
Fun and games are over.
No they are not.
Follow me if you can.
Ready, set, go!
Gosh, there's gotta be 2 zillion 10 billion acres of air wrapped around the world.
Which half acre is he headed for?
Now what?
I am still a witch, right?
I got the wits. Follow me!
You heard her, let's go.
There he is.
Well, is he here?
Gotta be, I can feel 'em in my bones.
Where is he, Mr. Moundshroud?
Where you may ask.
Why, hiding out.
Protecting his pumpkin soul.
How observant of you, skeleton.
But to be precise, it is my pumpkin.
Come out, come out, whereever you are.
I have a riddle for you, monster.
Can't you ask someone else?
No, no, it's your turn now.
What is bigger and stronger than demons and witches?
A face so big, it holds back the nights and nightmares.
What'is bigger than devils and ghosts?
Bigger?
Bigger?...
Cathedrals?
Well done, monster.
Yes. Places where a running renegade child can hide and take santuary.
Sanctuary... Sanctuary... Sanctuary...
Sanctuary?
Help...
Pip!
Ralph, Wally, Tom, Jenny...
I think we are getting warmer.
Something wrong, Mr. Moundshroud?
Yes, you flew half the night to catch Pip.
So, how come you are not going off to get him now?
Well, simply because there are some places where...
I'm not as welcomed as others.
Why don't you collect him for me?
Please...
Hurry...
But how do we reach him?
There are ways. After all, tonight of all night is still...
Halloween.
Precisely.
So, why not finish building the cathedral with you feet?
Are you kidding?
No, call the stones with your feet.
You coming, Mr. Moundshroud?
No. I am always with you.
Carry on.
Come on guys, Pip is counting on us.
Leap, run. They will follow.
Step lively.
Sorry, Wally.
Bravo!
They ran on pure windy light.
Only to have bircks, and stones, and mortors
shuffle like cards, deal themselves solid,
and take form beneath their toes and heels.
Oh, enough.
There. Much better, much better.
Notre Dame.
I think we built Notre Dame.
This can't be Notre Dame.
Why not?
Can't you see what's missing?
Monster faces.
You know, stone devils.
Marble demons.
Gargoyles.
Ever wonder why we like dressing up as monsters, beasts, and ornery critters?
Monsters remind us of all the dark nights, and all fears and nightmares.
Go ahead, monster. They are waiting for your summons.
The unemployed of all midnight Europe shivered in their stone sleep,
And came awake.
All the old beasts,
All the old tales and unused demons put by,
who reared at the whistle and spectral dust devils of proportions arived.
Monster, there is your carved stone quarry.
Gargoyles, now the building is finished, Tom.
Tom, Jenny, Ralph, Wally...
Where are you, Pip?
Here...
Oh my gosh.
Help me, get me out of here, I'm scared...
It is gargoyle language.
He can only talk when rain comes out of his mouth.
Or the wind blows over his teeth.
Come on, just a little bit higher.
You can do it.
No cutting in line. Penny for all. One at a time.
Hold it.
I am the only live gargoyle here, right Mr.Moundshroud?
Indeed.
So, it's up to me.
Tom, right. Ralph, left.
Together now.
Pipkin, what's happened to you?
I think I'm dying...
You are now.
You tried Wally. All of you did.
Shut up, shut up, will ya?
Don't quit. Keep running. Escape. We'll follow.
Gotta go now, Wally.
No. But you can't.
Wait, will ya?
Remember that time those fireworks I started on my bedroom?
I was the one who started that fire.
Sure smoked up your house.
And you took the blame for it. I never thanked you for that.
Wally, come on. Two points.
Toss it right up here.
Bye, Wally.
No, Pip, I won't let you go.
No!
That's it.
Get the pumpkin
I am coming, Pip.
Come on, we can't lose him now.
There is no escape. I will chart his course to the final graveyard.
We have arrived, children. Our final destination
Where we are?
Listen, guitars.
And those must be skeleton bones.
No, marimbas and xylophones.
Castanets.
Ole!
That sounds like a bullfight.
Mexico!
Look at all the graveyards.
Where are all these people going?
El Dia de los Muertos.
The day of the dead.
Back home, we'd never think to go to a graveyard on Halloween.
This looks like fun.
Yeah. Right.
Look it. Little funerals for sale.
Are those real coffins?
Hey, look.
What is this?
The newspapers are full of bones.
Mexican Halloweens are sure better than ours
Pipkin! He must be around here someplace.
Sweet Skulls. Sweet Skulls.
Crystal suger candy skulls.
Sweet skulls. Sweet skulls.
Crystal sugar candy skulls.
Hey, look at the candy heads.
Tell me your name. I give you skulls.
Tom.
How about Ralph?
Wally.
Jenny
Hold the dark holiday in your palms.
Bite it, swallow it, and survive.
Come out before the black tunnel of Halloween.
And declare oh so glad you are alive.
Hey, we better look for Pip now. It's getting late.
Yes, All Hallow's Eve is slipping away.
Get them.
Hey, what's going on?
The was fun.
What's next?
No more time for games, children.
The night ends here.
Down in that hole?
Down in the catacombs.
He is waiting.
Simon says, " Bring him up".
And be extra careful with my pumpkin.
We'll bring him up but we will keep him for ourselves.
Bravely spoken.
Pip would like that.
Hurry. The dawn is approaching.
Mummies!
Their families couldn't pay the rent on their graves.
So, the gravedigger put them down here.
Little too dry for me.
What are you doing there, Pip?
I have to stay.
I'm trapped.
But if you stay there, you will stay forever.
Tourists will buy tickets to come look at you.
Pip, come on out. It's just us.
Oh my gosh.
But why?
What do we do?
I don't know.
Tell me, why do you wear bones, skeleton?
Because of my name.
No! Have you learned nothing tonight, boy?
Because maybe...
If we face death eyeball to eyeball,
It loses its power over us?
It can't scare us.
Excellent, Tom.
So, I have got to save Pip... alone.
You can do it.
Don't look back, don't look right, just go straight.
Oh Pip, don't die.
I'm sorry. So sorry.
What do you mean, Tom? You came through.
No. All this tonight, it's my fault.
I once wished for something to happen to you,
so I could be leader for a change.
But I never thought nothing like appendicitis.
Don't be silly, Tom.
I will let you lead anytime.
What's happening?
Pip, no.
This truly has been fun, hasn't it?
And I know just where I am going to hang this.
No. I got to him first. I want it.
Sorry. This never was a contest.
Pip's rent was passed to you. It's simple and plain.
That's not fair.
You cheated!
You said if we cme with you and solved the mysteries of Halloween,
We would save Pipkin.
Children, it's business.
With his illness, his rent came due and there was no payment.
He is mine now.
Well, we tried.
We did our best.
Let's go home.
No, wait.
Mr. Moundshroud, I will make his payment for him.
You?
What could you possibly have to pay with?
Money?
Currency?
Coin of the realm?
What if...?
What if what, boy?
Well, what if I gave you...
something of value.
Say, a year of my life?
You would do that for him?
Yes, a year from the end of my life.
It's yours if it would save Pip.
What precious year from the far burned out candle end of your life, eh?
Think before you answer.
You won't miss it now but 60 years from tonight, 72, or 80.
When I come for payment, you may regret it.
Is he worth it? This friend of yours?
More than you will ever know.
One boy's love.
Take one of mine too.
And mine.
I am in.
Four for one makes good business, doesn't it?
Yes. I like it.
Here then.
Chew. Swallow. Swallow and chew.
Pip, wait!
Come back!
Where has he going?
After all this, only one place. Home.
But we saved him, didn't we?
Will he live, Mr. Moundshroud?
Come, our night journey is over.
One last game of Musical Chairs.
Moundshroud spun about like a whirlwind.
His arms flung out, cut the air, slicing grabs and swoops,
that shook the mummies of earthquake of bones.
"Fall down", whistled the whirlwind.
" Fall up", was the echo.
They tumbled through the sky like a self-made storm.
It was the end of their 4000 years flight.
From Egyptian crypts.
To English broomfields.
French quarryworks.
To Mexican boneyards.
They swooped forward, once around the courthouse.
And twice around the pumpkin grinning tree.
And final time around old Moundshroud's house.
Where dust shifted out windows to greet.
And that, children, is Halloween all rolled up in one.
Night and day, summer and winter,
Life and death.
4,000 years ago, 100 years, or this year.
One place or another, the celebrations are all the same.
El Dia de los Muertos.
Day of the dead.
Feast of ghost.
All Hallow's Eve.
Halloween!
I thank you for a most amusing and profitable evening.
After what you have done with your friend.
One I will never forget.
But what about...
Run, see for yourselves.
The last grand Trick or Treat.
Look, it's a pumpkin.
Oh my gosh, he must be OK.
Hi, guys.
Pipkin!
You are alive.
Hurray.
They took my appendix out.
For a while, they thought I was a goner.
Imagine that.
Anyway,
Thanks for everything.
What are you talking about?
We didn't do anything.
Nothing, Pip.
Gosh.
So,
Well, I had dreams about Pyramids.
Stonehenge, Paris, and Mexico.
Like I said,
Thanks.
Then, a great wonderous happy tiredness,
gathered in their eyelids, and arms, and feet.
The witch and mummy, and monster, and skeleton,
ran back to their own houses to remember this special night.
They would never, in all their lives, ever forget.
Old Moundshroud blew out one last candle, causing it to flicker and flare.
The wind crooned in and out of the fresh cut mouth with a whispered song.
A thousand pumpkins were seized and blown in the sky.
That is all but one pumpkin.
Pip's pumpkin.
Pip's spirit and soul.
That was traded for and saved that Haloween night.
So long ago.