Synopsis[]
Nasty old Mr. Killup loves using Halloween as an excuse to be cruel to children. But this year, he's in for a surprise.
Cast[]
- Roy Poole as Mr. Killup
- Tim Choate as Michael Killup
- David K. Varnay as Medical Examiner
- John Edward Allen as Goblin
- Gary Pratt as Children
- Paul Sparer as Narrator
Plot[]
Act I[]
It is Halloween. Kids are trick or treating and getting plenty of candy.
Michael Killup is visiting his elderly father. He takes his father's cigarette away, but Mr. Killup simply lights another one. Mr. Killup tells his son that he hates Halloween and kids begging for candy. He complains that the children soak his windows and toilet paper his trees, but Michael tells him that is because he did not give them any candy. Mr. Killup doesn't think that the kids should expect candy, but his son informs him that they do because his mom always gave the kids candy. Michael admits that even when he was a child, he played tricks on those who would not give out candy.
Give out the candy!
Michael goes into the kitchen and begins sorting out the Halloween candy into bowls. As he does, Mr. Killup mentions that he is now the meanest man on the block. Michael closes the refrigerator, remarking that it has not closed correctly in nine years. When Mr. Killup asks him what he is doing, Michael brings the candy into the living room, telling his dad to give it out because he does not want to end up cleaning up the soaped windows or toilet paper from the trees. He tells his father he brought some Halloween candy to give out. Mr. Killup feels it is a waste of money. Michael insists that his father give out the candy and that he is completely capable of doing so. Michael makes the point that Halloween does not last forever. Mr. Killup still does not want to do it. In fact, he mentions that if he is lucky one of the "trick-or-treaters" will drop dead on his porch of a sugar overdose.
The meanest man.
When Michael is getting ready to leave, Mr. Killup asks him to lock up the windows. He says he does not want children to try to get in the house when he doesn't give them candy. Michael again tells him that the solution to this is to simply give out the candy. Mr. Killup gets up and slowly makes his way over to the window. He opens the blinds, showing the lock. With a sigh, Michael locks the window. He then takes a Tootsie Roll and gives it to his father.
As Michael is headed to the door, Mr. Killup is still complaining about the "trick-or-treaters". He feels that once the door bells begin ringing, they go on forever. Michael tells his father that he has always been welcome to move in with him. Mr. Killup, however, thinks that if he is not at home to protect the house, the kids would burn it down. Michael tells his father that he will be back the following evening since there is almost no food in the house. Mr. Killup admits that he is always feeling hungry. He says there is nothing else for him to do but eat. Michael tells his father to not eat all the candy himself and leaves.
As Michael is leaving, Mr. Killup opens his front door. He asks his son to bring him some waffles when he comes back; real ones, not ones that are pulled out of a carton. Michael tells him that he wants to see all of the Halloween candy gone when he gets back. He tells his father that if he is not nice to the children, he will deserve whatever he gets from them. He closes his father's sweater, the two exchange an almost friendly glance, and then Michael leaves.
Act II[]
The child in the bunny costume from the beginning of the show knocks on Mr. Killup's door. The old man opens the door and the child asks for candy. Mr. Killup says he is sick and points to his neck brace. He asks the kid why he is bothering him. Mr. Killup says he does not have any candy and would not give the kid any candy even if he did. He closes the door.
No treat? Here's a trick.
Once alone, the trick-or-treater puts his basket down and takes out a spray can of paint. As he is shaking it up, Mr. Killup opens the door back up. He tells the child that he knows all the child's tricks and that the police are on their way. The child in the bunny suit runs out.
Mr. Killup returns to his chair. The moment he sits down, his door bell is ringing again. This time there is a clown trick-or-treater at the door. Mr. Killup answers the door, telling the kid to leave. He tells the child that there is no free food there and if any children soap his windows, he will call the police. The clown runs off.
As soon as Mr. Killup closes the door, the bell rings again. He opens it up and there is a child in a devil costume. He assumes it is the clown child again, and at first asks the child if he just changed his mask. Rather than wait for an answer, he simply closes the door. Mr. Killup ignores the ringing bell and tells the child to "go to hell."
Goblin candy.
The trick-or-treaters do not leave Mr. Killup alone, so he develops a trick of his own. He mixes together honey, glue, and mayonnaise. Mr. Killup goes back to the door and the devil child is still there. Mr. Killup says that he has goblin candy for the boy and pours the concoction into his bag.
Act III[]
As the night continues and the trick-or-treaters stop coming around, Mr. Killup falls asleep in his chair. His television is showing static and a few shots of a goblin face appear on the screen. He is woken up by the sound of his door buzzer. Looking at his watch, Mr. Killup notes that it is 11:30 PM.
Mr. Killup lights a cigarette as the door buzzer continues to go off. He then gets up from his chair and walks over to the front door of the house. Looking through his blinds, he sees that there is no one on his front porch. His door buzzer continues to ring, however. Mr. Killup walks over to the door, which then opens on its own.
The kid who won't go away.
Standing outside his door is a short creature. In a gruff voice, the creature says "trick or treat". Mr. Killup tells the creature several things. He says that it won't get any candy because it is too late, and that he never had any candy to give out anyway. Mr. Killup then closes the door in the face of the trick-or-treater. The door buzzer keeps ringing and the door knob continues to move as if the creature is trying to turn it from the other side. Mr. Killup starts backing away from the door, telling the trick-or-treater to go away. He looks through the blinds and sees a bizarre creature looking in at him. He then closes the blinds.
Mr. Killup walks back over to the door. He tells this creature to go home, but it responds "no". Mr. Killup opens the door and tells the creature that it is too late for him to be out trick-or-treating and to go home and tell its mother that it is a wicked child. As Killup tries to close the door, the creature opens it back up. It walks in the door and repeats its request. The creature walks in and goes over to the candy dish. It grabs some of the candy.
Mr. Killup attempts to stop the creature from taking any candy. He tries to grab it, but the creature grabs his arm and knocks his watch off. It does a back flip and lands outside on his porch. It then jumps up on the porch railing and waves to Mr. Killup as the door closes. Killup reopens the door, but when he sees nothing there, he simply closes it again.
He won't take no for an answer.
Walking back into his house, Mr. Killup accidentally steps on his watch. The glass cracks. Killup picks up the watch and holds it to his ear. It is broken. Killup says "damn kids".
Act IV[]
Later that Halloween evening, Mr. Killup is watching television. He notices the burlap bag that the creature dropped on the floor, moving as if something is inside it. Cautiously, he gets out of his chair and approaches the bag. Little bugs start crawling out and scamper across the floor.
Killup walks over to his table and picks up his phone. He calls Michael, but instead realizes he has called for the time. He hangs up, redials the phone and again has called for the time. In his attempt to dial the operator, Killup again only gets the time. It's still midnight.
Killup falls asleep in his chair. Later, the clock still reads midnight. His television is still showing snow. There is a flash and the sound of the creature saying "Killup". Killup wakes and looks around the house. He feels like he had to have slept for hours and assumes that it must be breakfast time. He slowly gets up and walks over to the phone. Picking it up, it gives the time as midnight without even having to be dialed. Killup sets the phone back in its cradle.
Killup remarks that he still feels like he must have slept for hours. He looks around and cannot understand why it still seems to be midnight. All the clocks have also stopped at midnight. Killup remarks that he feels like he has not eaten in days. His refrigerator door opens and an egg falls out and breaks on the floor. Many roaches come out of the cracked egg and scurry around on the floor.
A not so yummy egg.
Killup walks over to his sink and makes a glass of water. There are roaches all over his house. As he drinks the water, the creature from earlier looks in through his window. When he turns to look at it, the creature disappears. Killup remarks that the creature cannot be wearing a mask. He looks down at his glass of water and sees that it is a glass of roaches. Killup drops the glass on the floor.
The door buzzer starts to ring again, while the operator's voice states that the time is still midnight. Killup grabs a bat and makes his way to the door. He tries to open the door but is unable to. The creature's voice is heard, over and over again, saying "treats or tricks". Killup takes his cane and tries to break the window, but the window will not break. The creature's face appears on his TV and says his name. Killup asks the creature how it knows his name, and breaks the TV with his cane. As Killup backs away from the TV, the creature can be see behind him, through the window, standing on the swing on his porch.
Killup turns around and sees the creature on his swing. The creature waves at Killup, who immediately looks away. He notices that his front door is open. The creature is suddenly gone from the swing. Killup walks towards the door and is suddenly face to face with the creature which is standing on a table. The creature grabs Killup, says "trick or treat" and scares Killup. Screaming, Killup falls to the floor and hits his head.
The creature.
The creature repeats "trick or treat" and walks over to Killup. It pats him on the head, and then leaves.
Act V[]
The following evening, Michael arrives at his father's house with groceries. He knocks on the window and calls for his father and gets no answer. Michael takes out his own key and then he enters the house. Michael sees some liquid on the ground and moans about seeing his dad as a slob. He then walks into the other room and seems shocked.
Later, the police are at Killup's house and tells Michael that he should get a lawyer. Michael is confused as to why, and the police tell him that his father has died from the worst case of neglect they have ever seen. Michael claims he did not neglect his father and was there to see him the night before. However, his father lays dead on the floor, and the officer says he starved to death, with nothing to eat for weeks other than a bag of Halloween candy.
Having your candy and eating it too.
Trivia[]
- The sign on Mr. Killup's door says "no salesmen, census takers, or religious fanatics".
- Michael's phone number is: KL5-1186
- This episode's plot strikes many of the same beats as Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol", though without the happy ending.
- This episode bears similarities to the "They're Creeping Up on You" segment of Creepshow, also crewed by George A. Romero and Tom Savini. Both include an old man trapped in a single space and cockroaches emerging from places they shouldn't.
- The goblin is the same creature seen in "The Crate" segment of Creepshow. Director Tom Savini still has the costume at his home.
- The front door's deadbolt is clearly locked right after the "trick-or-treater" shows up. However, a few seconds later, the door is opened without unlocking it.
- The movie "Trick 'r Treat" (2007), also a horror anthology, also involves a grumpy old man who has a little demon visit him on Halloween night.