The Rise of Mr. Dred: Mascot of Halloween

Long ago, in a fog-choked village hidden in the folds of Europe’s oldest forests, there lived a man the world only came to know as Mr. Dred. No one remembers his true name. Some say he was once a gravekeeper, others claim he was a failed priest. What is certain is that he had a gift for fear.

The Birth of Fear

Mr. Dred was clean-shaven, his pale face stretched tight over bone, eyes like two empty lanterns. People said his stare alone could make candles gutter out and milk curdle. He never shouted, never struck — instead, he whispered. Those whispers carried the secrets of people’s worst nightmares, as if he could reach inside their minds and drag out what terrified them most.

One autumn, children began to vanish on the eve of the harvest moon. Doors were locked, prayers muttered, but it was useless. In the morning, carved pumpkins with twisted faces sat at each family’s doorstep, flickering with an unnatural flame. Inside the hollowed gourds, villagers swore they could hear the faint giggling of their lost little ones.

The Curse of October

The villagers finally stormed the graveyard where Mr. Dred dwelled among broken tombstones. But instead of fleeing, he welcomed them. “I do not take your children,” he rasped. “I give them new faces for a new world.” When they tried to seize him, the ground split, and the fog itself rose to his defense. The mob scattered, and by dawn, Mr. Dred was gone — but the pumpkins remained, glowing on every stoop.

From that night on, every October 31st, the air carried his presence. Families began carving pumpkins of their own, hoping the lanterns would trick Mr. Dred into thinking he had already visited their home. The practice spread, and soon entire towns glowed with fiery, leering faces.

From Terror to Tradition

Over centuries, the memory of Mr. Dred blurred. Parents told the tale to frighten misbehaving children: “Behave, or Mr. Dred will carve your smile for the pumpkins.” What was once a curse became a custom. His legend twisted into games, masks, and laughter.

But those who study the old ways warn:
Every Halloween, when the carved faces shine brightest, Mr. Dred walks again, searching for one house that forgot to light a lantern. And those who look too closely into the jack-o’-lantern’s flame may see not fire at all, but Mr. Dred’s smiling, bare face staring back.