THE MASTER OF FEAR

"Every Halloween night is said to be a tribue to HIM, the headless delusion that lurks in the dark corners of our minds."

"The maker of monsters and madness."

"The haunting ghost of gods."

"The Lantern of Madness."

"FRIGHTMARE."

Introduction

True fear comes from within...

Frightmare is a timeless being born from the dark, decrepit pit of imagination, a manifestation of humanity's fear, doubts, and chaos. He is responsible for creating the very emotion of fear, as well as being the creator of nightmares and the concept of monsters. Like a Santa Claus for Halloween or a dark Sandman, he ensures fear is properly spread, treated, and respected.

Most importantly... HE KNOWS WHAT SCARES YOU.

BIOGRAPHY

Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide, or a silly spook may sit by your side...

A cunning, tactile, sadistic being, yet playful and described more-or-less like a jester, Frightmare resides in a sleeping dream-realm known as the Dark Harvest, a sinister plane where all nightmares take place, and entirely bends to his will. While his home is the human mind, Frightmare can also enter the material world and bring his creations with him. It isn't exactly known how Frightmare came to be, though he claims that he has existed for a very long time, and has haunted higher beings such as deities.

Humanity isn't exactly sure where he came from or if he even exists, rendering him an urban legend or some schoolyard spook story. Some theorize he's the spirit of halloween, a figment of the imagination, or a sleep paralysis demon. Some specific groups believe that he was originally the greek god Phobetor, however, this contradicts with Frightmare's own claims that he is much older. Another belief is that Halloween was originally a holiday that paid tribute to him, but due to his obscure workings, the memory, legacy, and possibly worship left behind in the masses gradually faded.

Sinister, but not necessarily evil, Frightmare will indiscriminately haunt everyone, but people who are truly evil and despicable will die by their worst fears. Around children, Frightmare is a much more light-hearted being that often joins ranks with them on Halloween, exchanging spine-chilling tales and joining them on trick-or-treating.

Abilities
Almost limitless potential over ones mind, Frightmare can manifest one's worst fears both in their dreams and the material plane of reality. Once he's in someone's mind and they show the slightest ounce of fear, every bean is spilled for him. Dark secrets, repressed memories, their innermost fears, Frightmare can try every trick in the book to ensure a proper scaring, with his methods getting more darker and grizzlier as time goes on. The only way to beat him is to ultimately face your fears and suck it up. Succeeding will allow you to "wake up" with a complimentary halloween bowl full of candy. Fail, and he may never leave. Victims that have failed to overcome their fears often see themselves brutally murdered by mysterious forces, committing suicide, or being driven insane.

In a lot of instances, Frightmare can conjure his own monsters out of people's phobias and even raise the dead due to the high amounts of Thanatophobia that resides in people.

Appearance
Frightmare takes on multiple shapes to situations that he sees fit, and will often disguise himself to blend in to the common eye or take on the persona of a close relative or friend to get the trust of someone to play into their fears easier.

However, Frightmare's primary form, known as the Effigy or Scarecrow, is a slender, humanoid, yet headless figure. The body, tarnished in tattered, black clothing, seems to be made of sticks, briar, and what appears to be the innards of animals and humans tucked away in the chest cavity. The most notable feature is the jack o lantern substituting for a head, carved with triangular eyes, nose, and a sharp-toothed grin, topped off with what appears to be a stereotypical witch's hat with a bird skull belted to it. Sometimes, he is seen carrying around a large scythe, with the blade being made from the skull of some unknown, demonic-looking creature. This form stands at roughly 7.9 feet tall.

Other notable forms could be shadows on the wall, the mere darkness in a room, and many others. His true form is said to be an immaterial aura of maddening paranoia. Sometimes, he will disguise himself as a mortal being to not cause immediate alarm, usually by collecting bodies via grave-robbing for potential disguises.

FATHOMWOOD

The mysterious town of Fathomwood was a farming town established some time in the mid 1800's. Since it's very foundation, the town could never seem to catch a break from outright malicious events. Plagues, droughts, murders, human cruelty, and most if not all the time supernatural events. It is believed that the Dark Harvest models itself after this very town, and may have something to do with its demeanor. Frightmare refers to it as "the darkest slice of America's heartland."

In 1845, the town was founded on fertile farmland and next to a branch of the Transcontinental Railroad in the hopes of gathering those looking for a quiet yet prosperous life. It's founder, about two years into settling, would be murdered by the would-be mayor of the town, inheriting Fathomwood's fortune, and the first to awake the slumbering darkness beneath it.

In 1850, people are being murdered in a near-ceremonious matter, with symbols carved into their body and a jagged face carved into their faces. This started an unofficial town witch hunt that ended futilely, the killer was never found, but around the same time, this is when cult activity began to arise in the cracks of Fathomwood's society.

In 1861, the Civil War breaks out, with Fathomwood's open fields becoming a mass grave for the Union and Confederate soldiers, during the final week of October 1861, both Union and Confederate troops were attacked by their own night patrols, with one soldier describing the attackers having "skin as white as snow, blank eyes, and not a breath escaping their lips. When their massacre was done, they faded back into the night." Both the Union and Confederacy withdrew from Fathomwood, with both citing the reason "the night bringing something beyond our control".

In the 1900's, Tuberculosis and the untreated mentally ill began to increase in the town, already accelerated by the numerous ghost stories of the town, people coming back from night shifts no longer the same. An asylum, known as the "Fathomwood Home for the Insane" became the first major attack from Fathomwood's slumbering darkness. Deceased tuberculosis patients would crawl out of their still-burning morgues, the nightmares and inner demons of the insane would materialize into reality and consume their cruel captors. The asylum is currently abandoned, but in the Dark Harvest, serves as a network towards other people's nightmares.