On a full moon night
I'll show you something straight from a dream
You should turn back now
'Cause it'll really make you scream
Town of horrors and terrors
It will send chills down your mortal spine
It’s freaky and frightening
I’ll show you down there a creepy fun good time
Meet the Nocturnes is a Horror Comedy series made up by Magnus Force. Inspired by the creator's love for Halloween, monsters, Spooky Kids Media, and the Dark Is Not Evil aesthetic, it is a largely episodic work with minor story-driven elements and themes of community, family, and friendship.
The series follows 11-year-old Mark Macintyre, a quiet and solitary but good-natured boy fascinated by the supernatural. Mark has just moved with his family to the town of Sunshine Falls, where people pride themselves on being the most perfectly normal place in East Coast USA. Unfortunately for Mark, his fascination with the paranormal and his loner attitude get him shunned by the people of Sunshine Falls, who view his behavior as an unacceptable violation of the image they strive for. To take his mind off the ostracism, Mark decides to explore the local cemetery and discovers a forgotten mausoleum tucked away in a remote corner. Driven by curiosity, he enters the crypt and finds a mysterious door inside. When he goes through it, he makes the landmark discovery of his life.
As Mark discovers not long after emerging from the gateway, the mausoleum is a gateway to another world, a dark and dangerous parallel realm populated by monsters and creepy creatures of every type. Specifically, Mark has ended up in the tiny Monster Realm town of Nocturne Creek, where his presence causes a buzz among the town’s populace of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. Initially frightened and confused by this strange, new world, Mark ends up encountering Anne Macbeth, a plucky young witch of his age who hopes to become the greatest sorceress ever despite her phenomenal ineptitude with magic. Anne is quick to befriend him and soon brings him to the rest of the town's monstrous populace... who as it turns out are terribly nice people and quite eager to meet Mark.
Realizing the citizens of Nocturne Creek (known as Nocturnes) mean him no harm, Mark lets the town accept him with open arms and returns home, knowing he might have just found a community that truly accepts him. Labelled an "honorary Nocturne" by the morbidly quirky townspeople, Mark makes the point of visiting Nocturne Creek every day, exploring the town alongside Anne and getting to know its populace while Anne trains herself in magic. But as the two get themselves involved in a variety of dark, creepy, and paranormal misadventures around town, Mark will learn what it truly means to be part of a community (even if said community is as weird, spooky, and eccentric as they come), while Anne will learn the secret in one's heart that will let her master magic.
For the other Unpublished Works made up by Magnus Force, see Roger Rocket and the City of the Stars and Incredi-Girl.
Mark Macintyre
Mark Macintyre is the protagonist, an 11-year-old boy fascinated by the paranormal who has settled with his family in Sunshine Falls after many years of hopping from town to town. Quiet, mild-mannered, and fond of solitude, Mark is shunned by his new home’s citizens, who view his interest in the unexplained and behavior as a loner to be an affront to their image of normality, despite his polite and respectful personality. Typically dressed in dark clothes, his interest in the supernatural has also made him quite inquisitive, and he often conducts solo research and investigations into the unexplained. It was through one of these he discovered Nocturne Creek, a community that truly accepts him for who he is. Labelled an "honorary Nocturne" by the town's lovably ghoulish populace, Mark is eager to get to know the place he considers his true community — even if their morbid brand of quirkiness can be a bit much for him sometimes.
Anne Macbeth
Anne is the series' Deuteragonist and Mark's primary guide around Nocturne Creek, an 11-year-old witch who dreams of becoming the greatest magician of all time. While Anne may have the determination, courage, and pluck to help her strive for this goal, she is the most inept witch in her family's history, and even the simplest spells will go horribly wrong in her hands. Nonetheless, Anne remains cheerful and optimistic, steadfast in her belief she'll make it one day as long as she continues to study and practice. Anne also loves to help people and will take any opportunity to use her magic to assist others. Indeed, Anne has a deep love for her community and a genuine liking for everyone in Nocturne Creek. The Nocturnes in turn find Anne's cheerful, positive, and friendly personality to be quite endearing, even despite their keen awareness for just how much trouble her incompetence with magic can cause for them.
Granny Betty Macbeth
Granny Macbeth is Anne's short and stout grandmother, matriarch of the Macbeth family, and one of the most powerful witches in the Monster Realm. She owns a small shop called The Bubbling Cauldron, which provides magical goods and services to the rest of Nocturne Creek, but is also Anne's teacher in magic. Granny is well aware of her granddaughter's amazing ineptitude at casting spells, but she is endlessly patient and possesses an unwavering confidence in Anne's potential to become a great sorceress. Granny always encourages Anne to solve problems on her own, believing that personal experience is the greatest teacher and only intervening in the rare event the situation grows too extreme for Anne to handle. Wise, loving, and mirthful, Granny is Anne's greatest supporter and adores her granddaughter more than anything else in the world, possessing endless faith in Anne's ability to achieve her dreams.
Dorothy Macbeth
Dorothy Macbeth is Anne's mother and Granny's daughter. Extraordinarily beautiful and a highly capable magician, Dorothy works with her mother at The Bubbling Cauldron. Although she is nothing except loving and doting towards Anne, Dorothy frequently worries for Anne. She is greatly concerned about her daughter's poor magic skills and is often afraid of Anne getting herself into danger, to which Granny usually dismisses by pointing out that Anne is more capable than Dorothy thinks she is and that Dorothy was an even bigger troublemaker than Anne at her age. Nonetheless, nothing gets to Dorothy quite like the possibility of Anne getting hurt, and while she is always quick to scold Anne for making her worry so much (while embracing her in relief), she is ferociously protective of her daughter and will not hesitate to cast a curse on anybody who dares to threaten Anne's safety, even her fellow Nocturnes.
The Macbeth Familiars
The Macbeth Familiars are the family's companions, a trio of Monster Realm-native animals specially bound to their masters at an early age to help them with performing magic (and doing household chores). They are bound to their respective masters for life and are only able to help their specific master with casting spells. When the Macbeths aren't around though, they form their own little Comic Trio that gets into various misadventures around Nocturne Creek.
The Macbeth Familiars are:
- Cleo, an Egyptian-styled mummy of a Sphynx cat and Anne's familiar. Her undead nature is normal for the Monster Realm, as monster versions of animals often replace regular fauna there. Cleo is a terribly unhelpful familiar to Anne though, usually making snarky meows at her magical screw-ups and refusing to take responsibility for any part she plays in them. Understandably, Anne finds her frustrating to work with and wishes she knew how to get her to cooperate.
- Tyto, an ordinary, non-monstrous barn owl and Granny's familiar. His mundane nature is also normal for the Monster Realm, as appropriately "creepy" animals are common there. Tyto is extremely fussy and uptight, constantly urging Granny to be as meticulous and as by-the-spellbook as possible whenever she’s doing magic. Granny however usually just ignores his nagging hoots and goes by her heart, more often than not proving her familiar wrong.
- Yig, a horrifyingly gigantic constrictor snake and Dorothy’s familiar. Due to his sheer size, Yig lives in a tower-like kennel in the Macbeths' backyard, his many coils wrapping around the place over and over. Despite his terrifying form however, he is very lazy and spends most of his time sleeping, usually only motivated out of his slumber by food. Dorothy utterly adores Yig however and still treats him as the tiny pinkie-sized snake she received him as when she was a little girl.
The Macintyre Family
Mark's family consists of his parents Bob and Julia, as well as his 7-year-old sister Maddie. They are well aware of Mark's quiet loner attitude and his interest in the supernatural, but each react to how Sunshine Falls shuns Mark differently. Mark's dad Bob is a burly and stoic man who works as a plumber, and while he does care for his son, he feels it would be in Mark's best interest to give up on "ghost stories" and take up a more conventional interest. Mark's mom Julia is an absolute sweetheart with the patience of a saint, and she is always trying to find a friend for Mark in hopes that somebody in Sunshine Falls will accept him. Mark's sister Maddie is a fearless and adorable little girl entirely innocent to her brother's ostracism, instead telling her own stories of exaggerated encounters with monsters and how they never scare her (which Sunshine Falls typically dismisses with a warning to her parents to curb her imagination).
Rex
Rex is Mark's pet Big Friendly Dog and his Only Friend in Sunshine Falls. He is very loyal to Mark and often follows him on his paranormal investigations, sometimes even joining him for his adventures in Nocturne Creek. However, Rex gets scared easily, and is especially frightened by the monstrous townspeople of Nocturne Creek, who find Rex to be quite delightful and nothing like the kinds of monstrous dogs they have in their world (even if he doesn't feel the same!).
Sunshine Falls in General
Sunshine Falls embodies the ideals of small-town American suburbia, a place of happy nuclear families living in uniform houses with perfectly cut lawns and white picket fences. Its people (known as Sunshiners) take pride in their perfectness and normality, greeting the world with pearly-white smiles and working hard every day to build a thriving community. However, there is a dark reality underneath Sunshine Falls' seemingly idyllic representation of the classic American neighborhood — the Sunshiners are a highly intolerant lot when it comes to those who fail to conform to their image as a picture-perfect society, holding nothing but contempt for those who don't share their values or fail to fit in with the crowd. And to them, Mark Macintyre's oddball status as a quiet loner with a deep interest in the supernatural goes against everything their town stands for, especially when it comes to how children ought to be.
In General
The Nocturnes are the delightfully nightmarish townspeople of Nocturne Creek, a tiny town in the Monster Realm accessible through a hidden gateway in an abandoned mausoleum in a remote corner of Sunshine Falls' cemetery. Composed of an eccentric variety of spooks and horrors, they are all united by their adoration for the monstrous and the macabre and their revelry in all things gruesome and ghastly. But even despite generally being a weird and creepy lot, the Nocturnes possess a strong sense of community above all else. They welcome strangers and oddballs from all walks of life with open arms, and they will always come together for each other when push comes to shove. It is among the Nocturnes does Mark find a community that truly accepts him for who he is, and through his adventures in the town with Anne, he gets to know many of the Nocturnes firsthand and learn more about the Monster Realm's secrets.
Mayor Hollowcrane
Mayor Hollowcrane is the newly elected mayor of Nocturne Creek, a tall, thin Headless Horseman adorned in an oversized collar and cape. Typically seen carrying his head under his arms and riding atop a vicious, fire-breathing demon horse named Mara, Mayor Hollowcrane is extremely eager and enthusiastic about his job and is determined to prove himself a worthy mayor to the town. However, his efforts to earn the respect of Nocturne Creek's citizenry are often undermined by his great clumsiness, and he frequently humiliates himself in the process, often by losing his head or being thrown off his steed.
The Professor
The Professor is the Macbeths' neighbor, a Mad Scientist's disembodied brain (and eyeballs) floating in a jar of green liquid. The Professor's brilliance cannot be understated (nor can his Large Ham), and he is often called in by Mayor Hollowcrane or other Nocturnes to provide his scientific expertise whenever he's not busy conducting his own twisted experiments. However, he is also extremely arrogant, having no tolerance for any slights against his genius and firmly believing that his mad science is supreme to all other mad scientists' work and magic (much to the chagrin of Granny and Dorothy Macbeth).
Ivan Quasimovich
Ivan Quasimovich is The Professor's hunchbacked lab assistant, apprentice, and caretaker, typically seen carrying The Professor's container in his arms. In contrast to his master, Ivan is a very humble individual. He tends to be rather eager and childlike as well, being very friendly with Nocturne Creek's children and always up for fun. But despite his simple nature, Ivan is extremely loyal to The Professor and sees him as a father figure. The Professor in turn is genuinely fond of Ivan and considers him his honorary son, even letting Ivan enthusiastically carry out many of the most important parts of his experiments.
Pauline Weaver
Pauline Weaver is one of Anne's friends, a Cute Monster Girl with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a giant spider. Adventurous, mischievous, fun-loving, and bold, Pauline acts as the ringleader among Anne's friends. She leads them into all kinds of trouble around Nocturne Creek and always seems to have a plan for what the group is going to do that day. While Anne is always happy to follow Pauline in the name of excitement and shenanigans, she also knows just how much Pauline cares for the rest of the group, for she is always the first to step in whenever they need some support or protection.
Stephanie Stoker
Stephanie Stoker is another of Anne's friends, an adorable young vampire with pale skin, raven hair, and Cute Little Fangs. Stephanie is utterly obsessed with corny romance novels about ordinary vampire girls falling in love with handsome human boys, and she is rarely seen without her head buried in one or holding one up to her chest. She tends not to pay much attention to her surroundings because of this, instead usually daydreaming about one of her grand romantic fantasies or of finding true love someday (ideally with a human). Not surprisingly, she develops a massive crush on Mark when they first meet.
Rufus Garou
Rufus Garou is the last of Anne's friends, a lanky werewolf boy who is anything except scary and ferocious. Physically and socially awkward, Rufus is painfully shy and something of a worrywart. He speaks in a soft and mild-mannered voice that reflects his cautious and reserved character, and his attempts at growling and snarling always come out as sounding like the whimpering of a puppy. His physical prowess also leaves a lot to be desired; athletic activity exhausts him quickly and his muscles are basically nonexistent. He does however have a crush on Stephanie Stoker, but he's much too timid to share this with anyone.
Lou Garou
Lou Garou is Rufus' father and Nocturne Creek's resident handyman, a hulking beast of a werewolf with Glowing Eyes of Doom, a long, slavering snout filled with More Teeth than the Osmond Family, and a deep, snarling voice. Despite his fearsome appearance however, Lou is decidedly lazy. He rarely ever does his job, instead usually pursuing leisurely activities like fishing, hunting, napping, howling at the moon, and gnawing on bones — all pleasures his great physical prowess helps him exceed in. He is however extremely proud of his son and will always take the chance to bring Rufus along on his activities.
Max Stoker
Max Stoker is Stephanie's father, a leanly built vampire who strongly resembles Nosferatu. The proprietor of a small inn known as The Black Coffin, Max is a dandy and mild-mannered fellow, always dressed in a ruffle suit and meticulously clean. He is very big on his personal hobbies, which include brewing drinks made of blood and collecting coffins, some of which he uses for his inn. He always finds time for his daughter though, and always encourages Stephanie to never give up and follow her dreams. He and Lou are childhood friends of Dorothy Macbeth, and the three maintain a close friendship as adults.
Helen Weaver
Helen Weaver is Pauline's mother and Nocturne Creek's tailor, a gigantic spider-like Animalistic Abomination similar to Ungoliant. Utterly inhuman and eternally ravenous, Helen is a gluttonous horror who considers all other creatures to be potential meals, including her fellow Nocturnes and Mark. The only thing as bottomless as her appetite however is her love for her daughter. Helen is nothing but warm and nurturing towards Pauline, and the feeling is mutual, for Pauline loves her back just as much. In fact, being Pauline's friend is usually the best way to convince Helen not to eat you — provided she's not too peckish, that is.
The Wyrmson Brothers
The Wyrmson Brothers are a two-headed dragon who own the local Greasy Spoon, Double Dragon Diner. The left head is named Stuart and has one large horn on his snout, while the right head is named Stanley and has two small horns on his crown. The squeaky-voiced Stanley is utterly brainless, possessing zero attention span and primarily speaking in obvious statements, stupid questions, useless comments, and nonsensical observations. Stuart, by far the smarter and deeper-voiced of the two, is endlessly annoyed by his brother's idiocy and does most of the meaningful talking for the pair in most conversations.
Tonia Graves
Tonia Graves is the keeper of Nocturne Creek's beloved cemetery, the ghost of a beautiful woman dressed in a funerary gown. Tonia's old mausoleum is the gateway between Nocturne Creek and Sunshine Falls, but its longtime abandonment in the Human Realm deeply depresses her. Unable to remember her old life and fully aware that Sunshine Falls has forgotten her too, she is a joyless and gloomy soul with a bleak outlook on life. The resting dead are her sole source of comfort, and she seeks solace from her endless misery by tending to their graves, wanting to give them a better fate in death than she was given.
Sheriff Hirsute
Sheriff Hirsute is Nocturne Creek's local law enforcement, a big, hairy, one-eyed monster resembling a cross between a Sasquatch and a Cyclops. Sheriff Hirsute loves nothing more than good old-fashioned brawl and will gladly man-fight anything that dares to threaten his town, with only his two bare claws for weapons and his thick, shaggy fur as armor. He usually battles the deadly wildlife of the surrounding swamps and forests on the occasions they venture into Nocturne Creek, but the fact his foes are generally just animals does not bother him so long as he can successfully protect his town and get a good fight in.
The Colossus
The Colossus is a massive golem sculpted from clay and resembling the Golem of Prague. Strong enough to tear a house from the ground and carry it on his shoulders, the Colossus carries out all the heavy-duty labor around Nocturne Creek, from erecting structures to hauling large loads. He speaks entirely in deep, bellowing roars and is infamous for his terrible temper. His usual response to things that annoy him (the list is long) is to try and smash them under his fists. But under his eternally foul mood and monstrous size and strength, the Colossus is a lonely soul who simply feels unappreciated for his hard work.
Oscar Oculus
Oscar Oculus is a weird, humanoid monster covered in countless glaring yellow eyes he can pluck from his body at will. As the proprietor of Nocturne Creek's grocery and general store, Oscar sells most of the food and goods the Nocturnes purchase regularly. However, he is extremely paranoid and constantly suspicious of everyone, always keeping an eye (or several) on his surroundings and being perpetually convinced that everyone around him has some kind of big secret to hide. The other Nocturnes for the most part tolerate his behavior, but they also try to avoid encouraging his many wild theories.
Dr. Yersinia
Dr. Yersinia is the town physician, a Plague Doctor whose thick, dark robes and beaky mask conceal his diseased, zombie-like body. Cheerfully sadistic, Dr. Yersinia finds endless joy in making even the simplest checkup as painful as possible for his patients, and he is rarely seen without an oversized syringe or a rusty bonesaw in his hands. Surprisingly though, the other Nocturnes don't mind his agony-inducing appointments and actually respect him as a doctor. Indeed, as maniacal as he is, Dr. Yersinia is extremely skilled, filling in every medical role in Nocturne Creek, from dentist to veterinarian to obstetrician.
Catarina Calavera
Catarina Calavera is Nocturne Creek's schoolteacher, a Calaca skeleton dressed in bright, flamboyant clothes and with ornate markings on her face. Catarina is as passionate as she is joyous, possessing a Large Ham and an ironic zest for life. She adores marigolds and loves to dance, but above all else, she treasures her family. Being originally from Mexico, Catarina has a large family of fellow Calacas and living Human Realm denizens that she visits every Dia de los Muertos. Nothing fills her with joy quite like watching her living family decorate their ofrenda with sugar skulls and honor her memory.
Gary Goyle
Gary Goyle is a horned, winged, and long-tailed gargoyle who reports, writes, and edits for Nocturne Creek's local newspaper, The Nocturne Creek Howler. Slick, sneaky, and shifty, Gary spends long periods of time perched on rooftops around Nocturne Creek and watching everything that goes on below him before rushing back to the office to publish his scoop. As a result, he seems to know about almost everything that happens in Nocturne Creek and is easily the biggest source of gossip in town. The other Nocturnes are well aware of Gary's talent for eavesdropping and tend to be wary around him because of this.
Phineus Acherontia
Phineus Acherontia is Nocturne Creek's local librarian and archivist, an elderly mothman with huge red eyes, moth wings, and fuzzy antennae. A former world traveler well versed in the lore of the Monster Realm, Phineus is also The Jinx, accompanied by accidents, calamities, and misfortune wherever he goes. He doesn't take much notice in the disasters that follow him though, simply just laughing them off in his boundless good humor. Phineus harbors romantic feelings for Granny Macbeth, and the two have an on-and-off relationship in which he often makes attempts to impress her that she finds both sweet and amusing.
Elsa Karlstein
Elsa Karlstein is a muscular and heavyset Frankenstein's Monster in charge of Nocturne Creek's railway station, which is the town's primary connection to the outside world. Elsa works very closely with the Ghost Train that arrives every day with goods or visitors, affectionately calling it "Boris". But since "Boris" is a self-automated supernatural machine, it is very volatile. And while Elsa is genuinely fond of "Boris", she has very little tolerance for any nonsense or attitude from the train (or the other Nocturnes for that matter), being the only Nocturne tough enough to keep it in line and caring enough of it to calm it down.
The Nocturne Lake Monster
The Nocturne Lake Monster is an enormous plesiosaur-shaped Stock Ness Monster who lives in a lake near Nocturne Creek fed by the town's namesake river. Nicknamed "Nockie" by the other Nocturnes, the Nocturne Lake Monster is also known in the Human Realm, for she spends a lot of time in Sunshine Lake near Sunshine Falls, where is regularly sighted by humans (who call her "Sunnie"). But despite her vast size and unnatural talent for elusiveness, "Nockie" is incredibly bubbly and scatterbrained, with a sweet, chirpy voice more like that of a cute, lovable airhead than a legendary prehistoric lake monster.
Davey J. Locker
Davey J. Locker is an amphibious fish-like monster resembling the Deep Ones, albeit with a tiny lure on his, a spiny beard, and a crab-like claw and leg in place of his missing right limbs. A former sailor who now lives as a trapper and hermit in the swamps and forests around Nocturne Creek, Davey is well versed in the region's many, many dangers and extremely blunt about them. He has very little faith in anyone else's ability to survive in the wilderness and often tells stories about the possible ways it can kill you. Nonetheless, the other Nocturnes often recruit him for his survival expertise and his skills as an outdoorsman.
The Hooded Horror
The Hooded Horror is a mysterious entity concealed in dark robes, its sole visible feature being the numerous tentacles that trail from under its cloak and out of its sleeves. The Hooded Horror never speaks and never removes its hood; it just suddenly showed up in Nocturne Creek one day and settled in. As a result, nobody knows anything about the Hooded Horror. Rumor has it however that those who discover the Hooded Horror's true nature will go insane from what they find. Nevertheless, the Hooded Horror gets along pretty well with the other Nocturnes... so long as they don't pry their noses into its identity.
Lynne Hobgob
Lynne Hobgob is a tiny monster resembling a gremlin or an imp, complete with tiny horns, a pointy tail, and bat-like ears. The owner of a toy and hobby shop called Hobgob's Hobbies, Lynne is the tiniest of the Nocturnes, able to comfortably perch on Anne's shoulder. She compensates for her diminutive size with a love of creation and destruction. Feisty and energetic, Lynne finds great glee in tearing things apart and rebuilding them in horrific and imaginative new forms that are typically dangerously unsound and excessively lethal. And if she decides it could be deadlier, she'll rip it apart and do it all over again!
Madame Meduse
Madame Meduse is Nocturne Creek's resident hairstylist and beautician, a gorgon with Cute Little Fangs and the lower body of a giant snake. Proprietor of The Gorgeous Gorgon, Madame Meduse is considered the most beautiful of the Nocturnes by the rest of the town, her appeal enhanced by her refined tastes, her elegant personality, and her French accent. But don't let her gracefulness fool you — Madame Meduse is notoriously quick-tempered. When angry, her eyes glow red, her fangs grow, her face turns hideous, and then her infamous stone gaze activates, making short work of anyone who dares to cross her.
Emma Hotep
Emma Hotep is a short, pudgy mummy who owns a pawn shop called The Pawning Pyramid. An obsessive collector of cursed objects, Emma hoards all kinds of dangerous and malevolent artifacts alongside the regular used goods she pawns. She is utterly meticulous when it comes to organizing all the cursed objects she amasses and is easily excited by the discovery of any new ones. Emma spends long periods studying and testing her collection, gaining great knowledge in the usage of cursed artifacts at the expense of sleep, exercise, a healthy diet, going outside, and having any form of social life.
Masaki Mujina
Masaki Mujina is Nocturne Creek's mailman, a tall, pale Nopperabo Youkai with Creepily Long Arms. Masaki has an uncanny talent for Jump Scares and Offscreen Teleportation, often appearing behind others without warning or staring at them from a distance before moving closer the second they look away. He seems unaware of his powers though, usually giving whoever he just startled a friendly greeting and their mail before going on his way. Masaki was originally from Japan and is very proud of his Youkai heritage, often recounting stories of his old life in his baritone George Takei-like voice to make a point.
Mr. Lickety
Mr. Lickety is a Blob Monster with an Overly-Long Tongue perpetually trailing from his giant mouth. The owner of a snack shop called Lickety's Lickables, Mr. Lickety is the single most disgusting creature in Nocturne Creek. His mouth is full of rotten teeth and reeks of bad breath, his tongue slobbers over everything he touches, and he leaves a trail of slime wherever he goes. Sluggish and oblivious, Mr. Lickety never pays heed to the mess he leaves on everything and never gets anything done quickly. However, none can deny how delicious his treats are — even if they are usually covered in his slime and drool.
The Grindlesplitter
The Grindlesplitter is a muscular boogeyman with a wide toothy grin that can open as a Flower Mouth like that of the Demogorgon. A horror enthusiast who has devoted his whole life to the art of scaring people, the Grindlesplitter loves to terrify humans, hiding under their beds and in their closets to pull off the perfect scare. He constantly strives to be at the top of his terror game, keeping up with the latest discussions on the topic and maintaining an active lifestyle full of exercise and workouts. To him, fitness is the only thing more important to pulling off a good scare than having knowledge of what frightens humans.
Billy Capromet
Billy Capromet is one of the neighborhood kids, a goat-headed demon with black fur, red eyes, and razor-sharp teeth. A rough-and-tumble boy born and raised on a dirt farm, Capromet is the same age as Anne and her friends, but generally not part of their group. Boisterous and unsophisticated, he loves to deliver friendly punches or noogies, wrestle others to the ground, give people nicknames, and make friendly teasing. And while his habits make him seem like The Bully at first glance, Capromet is simply just an extremely outgoing and fun-loving farmboy unaware of his own strength, sometimes to his own detriment.
Andy Beelzebrundle
Andy Beelzebrundle is Billy Capromet's best friend, a monster whose body is split down the middle, with his right side being human and his left side being a monstrous fly. A charming and friendly lad, Beelzebrundle lives in a lavish mansion and possesses the polite and dignified attitude expected of his wealthy background. But Beelzebrundle is Capromet's buddy for a reason — he's the only one capable of handling Capromet. And while genuinely charismatic and kind when off on his own, when around Capromet, he becomes quite the bruising troublemaker, even as he maintains his upper-class sophistication.
The Monster Realm
- The Monster Realm is the dark, shadowy parallel of the Human Realm. Gloomy, macabre, and twisted by its very nature, almost everything in the Monster Realm has a creepy or monstrous spin to it, from the dangerous landscapes to the horrific flora and fauna to the morbidly designed objects and buildings.
- The Monster Realm is inhabited by monstrosities and horrors of every type imaginable. Despite how grim and treacherous their world is (even for them), the vast majority of monsters live very similar lives to those led by the denizens of the Human Realm and behave no differently than humans normally do.
- The denizens of the Monster Realm are well aware of the Human Realm, but most don't really care enough to ever visit it and prefer to remain in their own world. However, many of the Monster Realm's most famous denizens are also famous in the Human Realm, like Count Dracula and the Loch Ness Monster.
- Gateways between the Monster and Human Realms exist everywhere and in all forms. Some monsters use them to visit the Human Realm, but humans have been known to go through them and settle in the Monster Realm. Such humans were the ancestors of witches, mad scientists, slashers, and similar beings.
- The Monster Realm is permanently shrouded in darkness. The closest thing there is to daytime and nighttime is a 24-hour lunar cycle in which a full moon becomes a new moon and then a full moon again. Said moon is the only natural lighting in the Monster Realm sky; there are no stars to be seen above.
- Autumn is extremely important in much of the Monster Realm, treated with the same reverence summer has in most of the Human Realm. In fact, many parts of the Monster Realm treat October and Halloween (or its regional equivalents) in the same way the Human Realm treats December and Christmas.
- The rulers of the Monster Realm are the Monster Lords, eldritch beings of incredible age and power said to be born of the Monster Realm itself. Legend has it they created the Monster Realm's inhabitants, and many of them are very famous in the Human Realm, like The Grim Reaper and The Krampus.
- The origins of the Monster Realm are shrouded in myth. The most popular story claims the Monster Realm was born of the Human Realm's fear and sorrow (but NOT its evil), with the Monster Lords then arising from the newborn world as personifications of all the things that cause fright or despair in humans.
- Monster Realm legend also speaks of the Fairy Realm, a bright and whimsical counterpart world born of human joy and passion. Said to be ruled by the great Fairy Lords, its inhabitants include elves, gnomes, dwarves, pixies, unicorns, griffons, centaurs, mermaids, Nature Spirits, House Fey, and so much more.
- Most Monster Realm denizens believe the Fairy Realm to be nothing more than a children's fable. Anne's father, Arthur Macbeth, however believed otherwise and conducted extensive research into its existence and how to reach it. However, he mysteriously disappeared only two months before Anne was born.
Nocturne Creek
- Nocturne Creek is a small and insignificant part of the Monster Realm, a tiny town in the middle of the dark woods that cover eastern North America. While not so isolated from the outside world that its inhabitants are ignorant of it, it is certainly not a major center of monster society by any stretch of the imagination.
- Nocturne Creek is surrounded by swamps and forests infested with deadly Monster Realm wildlife. Escaped abominations created by magic or mad science gone awry are also often found in these dark woodlands. Understandably, the Nocturnes tend not to venture out into the wilderness surrounding their town.
- Nocturne Creek's primary link to the outside world is its small train station, the final stop in a very long railway line that starts all the way in the bustling city of Necropolis, the Monster Realm's answer to New York and Boston, governed by the Jersey Devil. The railway forms the town's western border and heads north.
- Nocturne Creek gets its name from the small, slow-flowing river that forms its eastern border. A small stone bridge forms the only path across the river, although it is quite old and in a state of disrepair. The Nocturnes tend to use it only on the rare occasions they have to enter the surrounding woodlands.
- Nocturne Creek's namesake river flows northwards into a large body of water known as Nocturne Lake. Many Nocturnes like going to Nocturne Lake's beach for their day off, but few have braved its dark depths, which host a massive underwater cave containing a gateway to Sunshine Lake in the Human Realm.
- At Nocturne Creek's southern edge is a large hilltop cemetery. At the very center of this cemetery is the mausoleum that contains the town's gateway to Sunshine Falls. The gateway's origins are a mystery to the Nocturnes; some say it was always there, others that it appeared after the mausoleum was built.
- At the center of Nocturne Creek is the town hall, where the Nocturnes often gather to discuss important matters. In front of the town hall is a statue of Nocturne Creek's founder, a living scarecrow named Samuel Hain famed for his love and sympathy for oddballs and outcasts of all walks of life.
- Nocturne Creek is actually a relatively new settlement by the standards of the Monster Realm. It was established only in 1820 when Samuel Hain led a band of likeminded monsters (many of whom were his friends) deep into the woods to establish a haven for those who did not fit in with Monster Realm society.
- Many of the Nocturnes are descendants from Samuel Hain's misfit friends, but others are newcomers, having only recently moved to Nocturne Creek when they found nowhere else to go. A select few however are actually older than Nocturne Creek and lived in the region before the town was founded.
- The Macbeths were among the original inhabitants of Nocturne Creek. Granny and Dorothy both grew up in Nocturne Creek and married visiting outsiders (Grampa Macbeth died a long, long time ago), but Dorothy initially moved to Necropolis after marrying Arthur and then returned home after he vanished.
Tropes of the series:
- Always Night: The Monster Realm is like this; the phases of the Moon replace the day-night cycle in this world.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: Played with. When the inhabitants of the Monster Realm do this, they tend to combine a positive word with a negative one. So rather than saying "horrible" or "dreadful" in reference to something good, they would say "wonderfully horrible" or "delightfully dreadful". Even then, they only use such terms to compliment appropriately creepy subjects, such as a chandelier of bones or a garden full of bloodsucking flowers.
- Bat Out of Hell: A standard form of Monster Realm wildlife, ranging from vicious piranha-like swarms that tear prey to shreds in seconds to plane-sized giants that stalk the ground for prey to eyeless horrors that blast at victims with sonic screams.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Common wildlife in the Monster Realm, often made even more monstrous, giving us such wonderful things as zombie spiders the size of elephants and man-sized centipedes with heads at both ends.
- Bizarrchitecture: The architecture of Nocturne Creek. The Nocturnes' homes reflect their occupants' natures (ex: the Macbeths live in a house shaped like a witch's hat, the Weaver house is choked in webs, and The Professor lives in a gothic laboratory), and other buildings reflect their purpose in some way, often resembling certain objects or being creepy in appearance (ex: The Bubbling Cauldron looks exactly like what you'd imagine it would).
- Black Comedy: A lot of the humor is derived from the disturbing things the Nocturnes do or say all while treating it as perfectly normal and usually horrifying unfortunate humans or inadvertently causing terrible things to happen.
- Creepy Child: The children of Nocturne Creek tend to have elements of this in their personalities, although some more than others.
- Cute Monster Girl: Some Nocturnes fall under this.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Monster Realm and many of its inhabitants. Even though the setting and its denizens are all about the ghoulish, the gruesome, and the ghastly, they're really no different from you and me.
- Dark World: The Monster Realm is a shadowy parallel version of the our world inhabited by all manner of dark and disturbing creatures. Its legendary counterpart, the Fairy Realm, is the bright version inhabited by fairy tale and fantasy creatures.
- A Day in the Limelight: All of the denizens of Nocturne Creek get stories focused upon them, and we get to learn more about the townspeople in the process.
- Death World: The Monster Realm. While there is plenty of civilization (albeit morbid and disturbing), everywhere else is nothing but shadowy wilderness full of deadly flora, monstrous fauna, treacherous terrain, and sinister supernatural power. And while the monster inhabitants are well aware of just how dangerous their world is, even for them, it doesn't bother them that much.
- Eccentric Townsfolk: All the inhabitants of Nocturne Creek. They're freaky and frightening in both appearance and behavior, but are also full of small-town heart.
- Enchanted Forest: The forests and swamps surrounding Nocturne Creek are a dark and dangerous place full of dangerous Monster Realm wildlife, as well as the failed/escaped results of mad science and magical experiments.
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink: The inhabitants of the Monster Realm cover all the different categories of classic horrors and terrifying monsters from werecreatures and undead to yokai and cryptids.
- Halloween Town: Nocturne Creek has elements of this. In fact, Halloween is very important to the Monster Realm, and the entire month of October treated the same way as we do with the winter holidays or summer vacation.
- Lightmare Fuel: The series absolutely revels in this. All sorts of dark and disturbing occurrences happen, but the Nocturnes find it endearing, hilarious, or mundane.
- Mad Scientist: The Monster Realm is home to many, as they have the same origins as witches and wizards. In fact, "mad science" is a familiar part of life in the Monster Realm like normal science is for the Human Realm.
- Mage Species: Witches and wizards are the descendants of humans who have lived in the Monster Realm for so long they have become naturalized denizens of the realm, hence the magic powers.
- Man-Eating Plant: Common flora in the Monster Realm. Asides from your classic Audrey II-styled giant flytraps, we also have roses able to drain a man of his blood in seconds, trees that strangle people to death, and creepers that spray victims with flesh-dissolving sap, among other delights.
- Meaningful Name: Many of the Nocturnes have surnames that are related to what kind of monster they are.
- Monster Mash: Just check out the folders above and you'll see what we're talking about. Also, many of the Human Realm's most notorious monsters are famous in the Monster Realm too, like Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Jersey Devil.
- Nightmare Fetishist: The Nocturnes are big on this, adoring disturbing and horrific things in the same way humans might adore cute and cuddly things.
- Our Monsters Are Different: Monsters of all sorts are represented amongst the inhabitants of the Monster Realm in general and the denizens of Nocturne Creek in particular, generally adhering to their classic traits.
- Perky Goth: Most of the Nocturnes all have aspects of this in their characterization; see Dark Is Not Evil.
- Quirky Town: Nocturne Creek. The inhabitants are a monstrous and macabre bunch, but despite their disturbing eccentricities, they are all-around good people who welcome fellow oddballs with open arms.
- Raising the Steaks: Many animals appear only in monstrous forms in the Monster Realm, but undead versions are some of the more common forms.
- Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: Many of the Nocturnes, with some being more blatant representations than others.
- Town with a Dark Secret: Sunshine Falls. The people there present themselves as the ideal carefree town (not unlike 50s American suburbia), but in reality, they are little more than snobby conformists who are quick shun and ostracize anybody who fails to meet their picture-perfect standards.
- The Undead: All types exist in the Monster Realm, and many of the Nocturnes are undead. Many undead in the Monster Realm also have living relatives in the Human Realm.
Hear my cauldron boil and bubble
Know all mortals, it means trouble
All of sorts of spooks and horrors and frights
To cackle, shriek, and howl away
But in that time, they'll have lots of scary fun!
