The Halloween Elf

On October 31, after dark, something has unfolded itself out of the shadows at the edge of the village square — too many joints, a dripping sack, a smile filed to a clerical point. It is not hiding and it is not a maybe; it is simply there, every time you arrive, waiting to be approached. Approach it and it explains, knowing your name, that it has come to collect what is owed: your soul, ideally, or failing that whatever is already in the sack. The forms accept either. This is the Halloween Elf, and it is far less dangerous than it has gone to considerable trouble to appear.

How It Works

  • Guaranteed appearance. No dice. On the night, the elf is lurking in the square every time you enter the village — an "approach the thing in the shadows" option, always available.
  • A few nights of grace. Miss the 31st and it lingers a short while into November — the candy was going stale anyway.
  • Once per year. One reckoning per Halloween.

The Catch (There Isn't One)

Offer your soul and brace for the terrible cold of having it removed. Something is pressed into your palms. You open one eye. It is candy. And gold. And a Sugar Rush that makes you reckless and slightly faster in a fight. The elf looks faintly embarrassed. The soul thing, it admits, is aspirational; they mostly do treats; please don't tell the others.

On a good night it also slips you a keepsake that is either a tooth, a charm, or a tooth that is a charm. This clears nothing up.

What It Is Not

Genuinely frightening, for one. Also: a store. The elf sells nothing and takes nothing — the menace is entirely for atmosphere and the transaction runs one direction. See also the Christmas Elf and the Birthday Elf, who are better adjusted.