Spooky Month



Spooky Month is a show of shorts that appears every October on Newgrounds and YouTube. It follows two kids, Skid and Pump, who go around town celebrating Spooky Month, even when it's not October.


 * Abusive Parents: Implied to be this way with Roy. In "Tender Treats", we meet his parents and they seem pretty loveless. It's also implied his uncle is sexually abusing him.
 * Admiring the Abomination: In "Deadly Smiles", Roy and Ross call out how strange Dexter in the Happy Fella doll is behaving. Robert (who already likes the Happy Fella dolls because his sister has one) instead finds the fact it can walk and laugh cool.
 * Adorkable: Despite being a bully, Robert is quite lovable. He is the kindest out the Hatzgang. He stops bullying Skid and Pump after The Stars. In Tender Treats, the Hatzgang are stealing candy for Robert's sick sister. He even asks Skid and Pump to borrow some of their candy instead of stealing it like Roy was intending to.
 * Adults Are Useless: Zig-zagged. It seems to averted since Lila is always ready to protect her son and his friend. Also John and (maybe) Jack do their jobs much better than most police in media. However, then you remember the missing kids either someone or Frank seems to abduct and/or go missing. Also, Jaune was only willing to look for her son after she, Lila and the kids are attacked by Bob.
 * Artifact Title: Only in "it's spooky month", "The Stars", and "Tender Treats" is it actually Spooky Month (i.e. Halloween/October).
 * Black Comedy
 * Cerebus Syndrome: The first three shorts were mostly comedic in nature. Although comedy wasn't lost on the series as it went on, "Deadly Smiles" is the first episode to take itself mostly serious, this would continue in "Tender Treats".
 * Chekhov's Gag: Early in "Tender Treats", the boys are shown looking both ways before crossing the street. When the protagonists are approached by Bob later, they look both ways before crossing the street. Bob, on the other hand, does not and is instantly ran over by John and Jack.
 * Comic Book Time: Despite the fact that the story spans three years (as of "Tender Treats"), none of the characters appear to have aged at all.
 * Crapsack World: Skid and Pump's neighborhood is plagued by criminals, supernaturals and an eerie cult. Missing persons posters are plastered on every wall. Skid and Pump are unaware of this and merely have fun around town, somehow avoiding joining the missing people.
 * Creator Cameo: Sr. Pelo appears in "Tender Treats", where he gets murdered by Bob to use the bathroom stall he's using.
 * Creepy Doll: The Happy Fella dolls are clearly based on the Good Guy dolls from Child's Play. Played even more straight when Dexter possesses one of them, having gone through Sanity Slippage and tries to kill several people.
 * Curse Cut Short: Happening a few times during the series run.
 * In "Tender Treats", when a teen dress similarly to Bob informs Kevin that children are stealing from the unsecured candy shop, Kevin sprints towards the door cursing "Ah, sh—" before the scene transitions.
 * In "Deadly Smiles", Lila stabs Dexter the head of Dexter inside a Happy Fella doll. However, it doesn't hurt him since he's a doll and he begins to call her "a dumb bi-" but is stopped by Skid and Pump pushing him into the oven.
 * Demonic Possession: Happens to Dexter constantly. In Unwanted Guest, he possessed by Moloch (a demon Skid and Pump summon in the first short). In Deadly Smiles, he's possesses a Happy Fella Doll. It's implied at the end, he is stuck in a cycle of possessing these dolls until they are destroyed.
 * Dirty Old Man: Roy's Uncle is heavily implied to be this.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: If you see Skid without his mask, he has long purple hair like Lila.
 * Emo Kid: Ross. He has dark hair (assumed to be dyed by many fans), speaks in a raspy voice, and is pretty monotone in comparison to Roy and Robert.
 * Everybody Do the Endless Loop: The iconic 'Spooky Dance' is a three-frame shot of the characters moving left to right.
 * Everyone Has Standards: In "Deadly Smiles", Roy and Robert (and Dexter) are disgusted when Roy says "gimme your clothes" to Skid and Pump. They apologize when he clarifies he just wants their sweaters.
 * Free-Range Children: Skid and Pump are seen running around town, getting into all sorts of trouble. The Hatzgang are also this (though it's implied Roy is sneaking out). The only time Lila stops this is will Bob Velseb is chasing Skid in Tender Treats. After getting attacked by him, Jaune also goes to look for Ross.
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus: In "Tender Treats", you can see 'Kevin x Streber' written on the bathroom wall.
 * You actually can see Skid and Pump without their masks in pictures. You can also find pictures of Pump and Susie's missing parents on the wall.
 * Freudian Excuse: Roy seems to be shaping up to have one. In his first appearance, it's implied his uncle is sexually abusing him and his parents are implied to be abusive.
 * Gang of Bullies: The Hatzgang start out as this, though they only bully Skid and Pump all together in "The Stars". After this, only Roy antagonizes them with Roy and Robert working with them more civilly.