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* KickTheSonOfABitch: His torment of Brandon comes across as justified because of how much Brandon has tormented others.
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!!Cal, Vinnie,and Maya
to:
!!Cal, Vinnie,and Vinnie, and Maya
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* MythologyGag: At the start of the book, he tells the kids he's babysitting of the tale of [[Literature/TheHeadlessGhost a boy spending the rest of his life looking for his head after getting it ripped off]].
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Dewicked trope
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* AdultFear: Brandon's mom makes him watch over Maya and Vinnie to keep them safe in a dark, unfamiliar neighborhood. [[{{Jerkass}} Brandon]] [[KickTheDog being Brandon]], he does the exact opposite.
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I Ate What clean up. The trope is when a character eats something, unaware of what they are consuming, and then reacts in disgust after they find out what it is. Misuse will be deleted or moved to another trope when applicable. Administrivia.Zero Context Examples will be removed or commented out depending on the amount of context within the entry. Also, I Ate What is not a character trope.
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* IAteWhat: He's tricked into eating a doughnut full of worms, and when he finds out, he's forced to eat the whole thing.
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* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Despite being an awful person, he's condemned to a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
and admitted he missed his family.]]
and admitted he missed his family.]]
to:
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Despite being an awful person, he's condemned to a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
friends and admitted he missed his family.]]
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None
Changed line(s) 6,7 (click to see context) from:
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Despite being an awful person, he's condemned to a
a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
to:
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Despite being an awful person, he's condemned to a
a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
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None
Added line(s) 7 (click to see context) :
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Despite being an awful person, he's condemned to a
a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
and admitted he missed his family.]]
a lonely FateWorseThanDeath, even after he went through hell to save his friends
and admitted he missed his family.]]
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* BigBrotherBully: He constantly torments his young sister, Morgan, and ditches her and her friends at a neighborhood at night the first chance he gets to spend Halloween with his friend.
to:
* BigBrotherBully: He constantly torments his young sister, Morgan, and ditches her and her friends at a neighborhood at night the first chance he gets to spend Halloween with his friend.a
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* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: He's distraught over how he not only died from his own stupidity, but that he never got to tell his family how much he loves them and how he'll just be remembered as a nasty kid who tortured his peers.
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* PartingWordsRegret: Implied. He contemplates visiting his family before he's trapped in the other-side forever, obviously aware he was an absolute asshole to his sister and can never take that back.
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* YankTheDogsChain: [[spoiler: He tells Brandon he can come back to life if he can save three scared people. When Brandon manages to do just that, Norband tells him [[IronicEcho "Oops, just joking!"]] However, when Brandon shows he's learned absolutely nothing from this whole experience, it comes into question if he would've really deserved to come back anyway]].
to:
* YankTheDogsChain: [[spoiler: He tells Brandon he can come back to life if he can save three scared people. When Brandon manages to do just that, Norband tells him [[IronicEcho "Oops, just joking!"]] However, when Brandon shows he's learned absolutely nothing from this whole experience, it comes into question if he would've really deserved to come back anyway]].anyway]].
!!Cal, Vinnie,and Maya
Brandon's best friend, cousin, and sister respectively, who accompany him on Halloween and are thrown into danger by his malicious antics. Brandon now has an hour to right his wrong and save them all before he loses his life for good.
* AdultFear: Brandon's mom makes him watch over Maya and Vinnie to keep them safe in a dark, unfamiliar neighborhood. [[{{Jerkass}} Brandon]] [[KickTheDog being Brandon]], he does the exact opposite.
* AssholeVictim: Subverted. While Cal was a huge jerk and bully like Brandon, he's still more empathetic as he didn't want to abandon little Maya and her friends on a dark, dangerous night. Plus Brandon has to save him as his first act of redemption.
* BreakTheCutie: Not only are Maya and Vinnie frequently victim to Brandon's scummy bullshit, but they get lost on Halloween and fall into danger. Then Brandon saves them, only to "die" mere minutes later, with Maya herself witnessing her brother drop dead and become a ghost. The poor kids are gonna be reeling from this for a while.
* CowardlyLion: Vinnie is supposed to be a cowering, easily frightened little boy. Nonetheless when he's trapped in a haunted house of certain doom, he yells for Brandon to save himself rather than risk his own life to save him.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Cal may be a hooligan and bully as well, but he's very uncomfortable with how Brandon treats Maya and Vinnie and is genuinely worried for the kids' safety.
* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: Vinnie initially yells for Brandon to save himself when the latter comes to save him, showing he may not be as big a coward as Brandon thought.
* MoralityPet: Downplayed. While it's Brandon's fault they're in danger to begin with and he doesn't have a choice but to rescue them, it's implied Plush harbors guilt that they could die because of him, and he shows genuine concern for their safety.
* {{Mundanger}}: Compared to Cal and Vinnie, Maya's peril isn't obviously life-threatening or supernatural and merely has her and her friends lost in a dark, dangerous part of town being menaced by vicious strangers. The situation is terrifying regardless.
* SapientHouse: Vinnie finds himself trapped in a mysterious old house that's apparently sentient and keeps ghosts as pets, which might have consumed him and taken his spirit as well.
!!Cal, Vinnie,and Maya
Brandon's best friend, cousin, and sister respectively, who accompany him on Halloween and are thrown into danger by his malicious antics. Brandon now has an hour to right his wrong and save them all before he loses his life for good.
* AdultFear: Brandon's mom makes him watch over Maya and Vinnie to keep them safe in a dark, unfamiliar neighborhood. [[{{Jerkass}} Brandon]] [[KickTheDog being Brandon]], he does the exact opposite.
* AssholeVictim: Subverted. While Cal was a huge jerk and bully like Brandon, he's still more empathetic as he didn't want to abandon little Maya and her friends on a dark, dangerous night. Plus Brandon has to save him as his first act of redemption.
* BreakTheCutie: Not only are Maya and Vinnie frequently victim to Brandon's scummy bullshit, but they get lost on Halloween and fall into danger. Then Brandon saves them, only to "die" mere minutes later, with Maya herself witnessing her brother drop dead and become a ghost. The poor kids are gonna be reeling from this for a while.
* CowardlyLion: Vinnie is supposed to be a cowering, easily frightened little boy. Nonetheless when he's trapped in a haunted house of certain doom, he yells for Brandon to save himself rather than risk his own life to save him.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Cal may be a hooligan and bully as well, but he's very uncomfortable with how Brandon treats Maya and Vinnie and is genuinely worried for the kids' safety.
* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: Vinnie initially yells for Brandon to save himself when the latter comes to save him, showing he may not be as big a coward as Brandon thought.
* MoralityPet: Downplayed. While it's Brandon's fault they're in danger to begin with and he doesn't have a choice but to rescue them, it's implied Plush harbors guilt that they could die because of him, and he shows genuine concern for their safety.
* {{Mundanger}}: Compared to Cal and Vinnie, Maya's peril isn't obviously life-threatening or supernatural and merely has her and her friends lost in a dark, dangerous part of town being menaced by vicious strangers. The situation is terrifying regardless.
* SapientHouse: Vinnie finds himself trapped in a mysterious old house that's apparently sentient and keeps ghosts as pets, which might have consumed him and taken his spirit as well.
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* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only appears at the beginning to tell off Brandon for his behavior. Plush's subsequent vandalism of his house on Halloween is what sets off his terrifying journey to the afterlife and [[spoiler:failed]] attempt at redemption.
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!! Brandon Plush
The VillainProtagonist of ''Headless Halloween'', Brandon loves scaring people, especially those weaker than him like his little sister or his nerdy cousin. One year, Brandon decided to get revenge on his science teacher by playing a few mean Halloween pranks on him, [[spoiler: but ends up getting chased off a ravine and dying. He then has to perform three good deeds in order to come back to life]].
* AesopAmnesia: His teacher and mother are frequently trying to show that his bullying behavior has consequences but he never listens. [[spoiler: Not even dying is enough to set this kid straight.]]
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: It's impossible to feel sorry for this kid after he receives his comeuppance]].
* BigBrotherBully: He constantly torments his young sister, Morgan, and ditches her and her friends at a neighborhood at night the first chance he gets to spend Halloween with his friend.
* TheBully: A rare example in that he's a bully who's also the protagonist.
* CassandraTruth: He tries to tell Vinny that he can be strong and walk out of the [[spoiler:haunted house they are in]], but he doesn’t listen.
* DisneyVillainDeath: A surprisingly gruesome example. [[spoiler:He outright runs off a cliff and falls onto jagged rocks at the bottom of a ravine. And we actually see ''his corpse'' later on when his ghost returns to the scene.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As much of a callous jerk he is, Brandon does despair over how his family will react to his untimely demise and regrets that he can't spend his last moments with them. It's probably ''his only'' redeeming quality.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He's a callous jerk, but when he briefly wonders if his actions got Cal killed, there's no mistaking the horror in his words.
* HateSink: He has absolutely no redeeming qualities and ends up [[spoiler:killed]].
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: By the end of the story, Brandon has risked his life several times to save the people he endangered in the first place and shows considerably more compassion for his friends and family than he ever did as a mortal.[[spoiler: Unfortunately, Norband then reveals that he ''never'' had any intention of giving Brandon back his life and that he's trapped as a spirit forever. He then decides to go back to terrifying people with the other undead kids.]]
* IAteWhat: He's tricked into eating a doughnut full of worms, and when he finds out, he's forced to eat the whole thing.
* {{Jerkass}}: Takes delight in tormenting and scaring others.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: He doesn't actually care about helping other people, but he'll do it if it means he can come back to life]].
* JustJokingJustification: He frequently says "Oops, just joking" when pulling pranks.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: He actually dies halfway through the book, and is tricked into believing he could come back to life. It turns out that, no, he's dead for real]].
* LackOfEmpathy: He's incapable of feeling sorry for anyone unless he's forced to. It's telling how even his friend Cal, who's as much a bully as Brandon, and Brandon's wimpy cousin Vinnie have more integrity. Cal hesitates to abandon Brandon's sister and her friends on Halloween by pointing out they're only 7, isn't really comfortable leaving Vinnie in the haunted house, and [[spoiler: doesn't want to leave Brandon at the mercy of Mr. Benson's dogs.]] Vinnie [[spoiler: begs Brandon not to save him from the haunted house as he doesn't want Brandon to get captured too, even though Brandon was the reason he was trapped to begin with]].
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: He falls to his death, is then tortured by Norband and the other dead children, forced to save three scared people thinking it will undo his death, and is then told this is a lie. At first, the ending seems to make him a KarmaHoudini as he is more than happy to go back to scaring people, but he's ''still'' dead and there's no indicator he'll actually be allowed out of the Other Side]].
* NightmareFetishist: He loves seeing people scream, cry, and vomit from fear. [[spoiler: Of course, when he's on the other side of this naturally he's all talk and no game.]]
* TheSociopath: Brandon has no redeeming qualities and gets off solely on tormenting those around him. What's more, while his mother is clearly disturbed by his destructive tendencies, his dad actually thinks it's funny and encourages him. That said, he isn't ''nearly'' as awful as [[TeensAreMonsters Micah Brill]] or [[EnfanteTerrible Tara Webster.]]
* VillainProtagonist: A clear example of a main character who deserves everything they suffer.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: When Brandon and Cal are attacked by Mr. Benson's dogs, Brandon cowardly leaves Cal at their mercy as Cal begs for help.
!! Mr. Benson
Brandon's science teacher, a mountain of a man who has no patience for Brandon's cruelty and frequently tries to stop his victimizing the younger students.
* AdultsAreUseless: Averted, with his one downfall being his inability to realize Brandon will ''never'' change. That said, he always steps in to punish Brandon for his cruel behavior.
* CoolTeacher: Kids like him because his science classes are always fun.
* TheGoldenRule: He explains this to Brandon and tries to tell him that him pretending to spill acid on Vinny is a violation of this rule.
* HeroAntagonist: He antagonizes Brandon by lecturing him and making him do extra work as punishment for tormenting others, and since Brandon's a VillainProtagonist it puts Benson in this role.
* {{Hunk}}: Brandon's narration describes him as a well-muscled hulk of a man fond of flannel shirts and jeans, giving an image of a rugged mountain man.
* PapaWolf: Do ''not'' try to play mean jokes on his students as he will definitely punish you for it.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Brandon's the only kid who hates Benson ''because'' he's this trope, since Benson shows no tolerance for bullying or cruelty.
* SternTeacher: To Brandon, whose punishments are no more than he deserves.
!! Norband
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/norband.jpg]]
A mysterious boy who just happens to have the same unique monster mask Brandon Plush owns. Brandon encounters him in ''Headless Halloween'' after getting on the other side of Raven's Ravine. Norband leads Brandon to a Halloween party in a creepy neighborhood, and then shows him what it's ''really'' like to be scared.
* CoolMask: He wears the exact same of horrible monster mask Brandon has.
* EnemyWithout: [[spoiler: He's some kind of weird doppelganger of Brandon, but claims he "dressed up" as Brandon for this year]].
* GoodIsNotNice: He only comes across as villainous in that he's giving Brandon a taste of his own medicine. It reads as Norband trying to get Brandon to understand how he makes his victims feel.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: His torment of Brandon comes across as justified because of how much Brandon has tormented others.
* LosingYourHead: [[spoiler: When he takes off his mask he reveals he has Brandon's face. But then he takes ''that'' off as well and reveals he has nothing above his neck]].
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: [[spoiler: He's implied to be some kind of angel or spirit. He doesn't have an actual name or face and his entire role was to show Brandon what it's like to be on the Other Side, as in the other side of being scared]].
* SignificantAnagram: Norband is another way to spell [[spoiler: Brandon]].
* YankTheDogsChain: [[spoiler: He tells Brandon he can come back to life if he can save three scared people. When Brandon manages to do just that, Norband tells him [[IronicEcho "Oops, just joking!"]] However, when Brandon shows he's learned absolutely nothing from this whole experience, it comes into question if he would've really deserved to come back anyway]].
The VillainProtagonist of ''Headless Halloween'', Brandon loves scaring people, especially those weaker than him like his little sister or his nerdy cousin. One year, Brandon decided to get revenge on his science teacher by playing a few mean Halloween pranks on him, [[spoiler: but ends up getting chased off a ravine and dying. He then has to perform three good deeds in order to come back to life]].
* AesopAmnesia: His teacher and mother are frequently trying to show that his bullying behavior has consequences but he never listens. [[spoiler: Not even dying is enough to set this kid straight.]]
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: It's impossible to feel sorry for this kid after he receives his comeuppance]].
* BigBrotherBully: He constantly torments his young sister, Morgan, and ditches her and her friends at a neighborhood at night the first chance he gets to spend Halloween with his friend.
* TheBully: A rare example in that he's a bully who's also the protagonist.
* CassandraTruth: He tries to tell Vinny that he can be strong and walk out of the [[spoiler:haunted house they are in]], but he doesn’t listen.
* DisneyVillainDeath: A surprisingly gruesome example. [[spoiler:He outright runs off a cliff and falls onto jagged rocks at the bottom of a ravine. And we actually see ''his corpse'' later on when his ghost returns to the scene.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As much of a callous jerk he is, Brandon does despair over how his family will react to his untimely demise and regrets that he can't spend his last moments with them. It's probably ''his only'' redeeming quality.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He's a callous jerk, but when he briefly wonders if his actions got Cal killed, there's no mistaking the horror in his words.
* HateSink: He has absolutely no redeeming qualities and ends up [[spoiler:killed]].
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: By the end of the story, Brandon has risked his life several times to save the people he endangered in the first place and shows considerably more compassion for his friends and family than he ever did as a mortal.[[spoiler: Unfortunately, Norband then reveals that he ''never'' had any intention of giving Brandon back his life and that he's trapped as a spirit forever. He then decides to go back to terrifying people with the other undead kids.]]
* IAteWhat: He's tricked into eating a doughnut full of worms, and when he finds out, he's forced to eat the whole thing.
* {{Jerkass}}: Takes delight in tormenting and scaring others.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: He doesn't actually care about helping other people, but he'll do it if it means he can come back to life]].
* JustJokingJustification: He frequently says "Oops, just joking" when pulling pranks.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: He actually dies halfway through the book, and is tricked into believing he could come back to life. It turns out that, no, he's dead for real]].
* LackOfEmpathy: He's incapable of feeling sorry for anyone unless he's forced to. It's telling how even his friend Cal, who's as much a bully as Brandon, and Brandon's wimpy cousin Vinnie have more integrity. Cal hesitates to abandon Brandon's sister and her friends on Halloween by pointing out they're only 7, isn't really comfortable leaving Vinnie in the haunted house, and [[spoiler: doesn't want to leave Brandon at the mercy of Mr. Benson's dogs.]] Vinnie [[spoiler: begs Brandon not to save him from the haunted house as he doesn't want Brandon to get captured too, even though Brandon was the reason he was trapped to begin with]].
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: He falls to his death, is then tortured by Norband and the other dead children, forced to save three scared people thinking it will undo his death, and is then told this is a lie. At first, the ending seems to make him a KarmaHoudini as he is more than happy to go back to scaring people, but he's ''still'' dead and there's no indicator he'll actually be allowed out of the Other Side]].
* NightmareFetishist: He loves seeing people scream, cry, and vomit from fear. [[spoiler: Of course, when he's on the other side of this naturally he's all talk and no game.]]
* TheSociopath: Brandon has no redeeming qualities and gets off solely on tormenting those around him. What's more, while his mother is clearly disturbed by his destructive tendencies, his dad actually thinks it's funny and encourages him. That said, he isn't ''nearly'' as awful as [[TeensAreMonsters Micah Brill]] or [[EnfanteTerrible Tara Webster.]]
* VillainProtagonist: A clear example of a main character who deserves everything they suffer.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: When Brandon and Cal are attacked by Mr. Benson's dogs, Brandon cowardly leaves Cal at their mercy as Cal begs for help.
!! Mr. Benson
Brandon's science teacher, a mountain of a man who has no patience for Brandon's cruelty and frequently tries to stop his victimizing the younger students.
* AdultsAreUseless: Averted, with his one downfall being his inability to realize Brandon will ''never'' change. That said, he always steps in to punish Brandon for his cruel behavior.
* CoolTeacher: Kids like him because his science classes are always fun.
* TheGoldenRule: He explains this to Brandon and tries to tell him that him pretending to spill acid on Vinny is a violation of this rule.
* HeroAntagonist: He antagonizes Brandon by lecturing him and making him do extra work as punishment for tormenting others, and since Brandon's a VillainProtagonist it puts Benson in this role.
* {{Hunk}}: Brandon's narration describes him as a well-muscled hulk of a man fond of flannel shirts and jeans, giving an image of a rugged mountain man.
* PapaWolf: Do ''not'' try to play mean jokes on his students as he will definitely punish you for it.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Brandon's the only kid who hates Benson ''because'' he's this trope, since Benson shows no tolerance for bullying or cruelty.
* SternTeacher: To Brandon, whose punishments are no more than he deserves.
!! Norband
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/norband.jpg]]
A mysterious boy who just happens to have the same unique monster mask Brandon Plush owns. Brandon encounters him in ''Headless Halloween'' after getting on the other side of Raven's Ravine. Norband leads Brandon to a Halloween party in a creepy neighborhood, and then shows him what it's ''really'' like to be scared.
* CoolMask: He wears the exact same of horrible monster mask Brandon has.
* EnemyWithout: [[spoiler: He's some kind of weird doppelganger of Brandon, but claims he "dressed up" as Brandon for this year]].
* GoodIsNotNice: He only comes across as villainous in that he's giving Brandon a taste of his own medicine. It reads as Norband trying to get Brandon to understand how he makes his victims feel.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: His torment of Brandon comes across as justified because of how much Brandon has tormented others.
* LosingYourHead: [[spoiler: When he takes off his mask he reveals he has Brandon's face. But then he takes ''that'' off as well and reveals he has nothing above his neck]].
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: [[spoiler: He's implied to be some kind of angel or spirit. He doesn't have an actual name or face and his entire role was to show Brandon what it's like to be on the Other Side, as in the other side of being scared]].
* SignificantAnagram: Norband is another way to spell [[spoiler: Brandon]].
* YankTheDogsChain: [[spoiler: He tells Brandon he can come back to life if he can save three scared people. When Brandon manages to do just that, Norband tells him [[IronicEcho "Oops, just joking!"]] However, when Brandon shows he's learned absolutely nothing from this whole experience, it comes into question if he would've really deserved to come back anyway]].
