Halloween Candy
Mr. Killup (Roy Poole) is a grumpy and misanthropic old man who hates every living person on Earth, even his son (Tim Choate), who only takes care of him under legal obligations. Killup also hates Halloween with a fury, as it's one of the most frequent days where he has to put up with people knocking on his door. Feeling mean-spirited, Mr. Killup spends this 31st of October tormenting the trick-or-treaters who come to his door by giving them a gross mixture that he calls "goblin candy". The old man suddenly has the tables turned when he is visited by a goblin who insistently and sinisterly demands candy. When its offer is repeatedly blown off, the goblin punishes Mr. Killup by trapping him outside of time with no food, forcing him to sustain himself on the bowl of candy his son gave him to hand out.
Tropes:
- The Bad Guy Wins: The goblin not only gets candy from Mr. Killup, but it succeeded in killing him.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Before he leaves his house, Michael tells his father that he expects to see the candy bowl empty by tomorrow night. He technically gets what he asked for by the end.
- Bottle Episode: The episode takes place entirely in and around Mr. Killup's house.
- Broken Record: The goblin frequently repeats "Trick or Treat" to Mr. Killup.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Mr. Killup's opening conversation with his son has him express a bit of pride in being "the meanest on the block".
- Child Hater: Mr. Killup rebukes the kids who expect candy from him, even hoping that at least one dies of a "sugar overdose" on his porch.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: As part of his attempts to get trick-or-treating kids to go away, Mr. Killup offers to give them "goblin candy": candy mixed in honey, mayo, and glue.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: If Mr. Killup had just handed out candy like his son said, he could've avoided the goblin.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Mr. Killup is spiteful enough to give a child a horrid concoction of food and chemicals for the mere crime of asking for candy.
- Similarly, a trick-or-treater he rudely shoos away nearly spray-paints his house for not getting any candy.
- Downer Ending: Mr. Killup starves to death, and his son Michael is facing undue charges of elder abuse for letting his father die.
- Evil Sounds Deep: The goblin has a notable raspy baritone voice.
- Faux Affably Evil: The goblin puts Mr. Killup through absolute hell with a shit-eating grin on its face the whole time.
- Foreshadowing:
- While trying in vain to persuade his dad to give out candy if he wants to be left alone, Michael tells him that Halloween doesn't last forever. The goblin strongly suggests otherwise.
- Michael notes that his dad's fridge is pretty empty, hinting that said dad will have to sustain himself on the candy he's given to hand out. Michael even warns his father about not eating all the candy before he leaves.
- Among the fridge's contents are 5 eggs, which cockroaches later pour out from.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: As noted below, the penultimate shot is of the goblin popping up and demanding "tricks or treats" from you.
- Grumpy Old Man: Mr. Killup is a textbook case.
- Hated by All: As much as Mr. Killup hates everyone, it's said that the feeling is mutual. Not even his own son can stand his attitude, and only bothers checking up on him at all because he's legally obligated to do so. Michael even tells his dad that he's not planning to have any kids out of the fear that he'll become as bad a father as him.
- Jerkass: Mr. Killup is an old grump who despises pretty much everyone. His front door even has a sign on it to warn away potential visitors.
- Jump Scare:
- As Mr. Killup looks out the front window, he finds the goblin swinging on the porch swing. When Killup looks away upon realizing that the goblin isn't just a kid in a costume, then looks out the window again, the goblin is gone. When Killup turns to his other side, the goblin is right in front of him, big as life and twice as ugly.
- At the very end, just before the final shot, the goblin pops back up to demand "Tricks or Treats" from the audience.
- Meaningful Name: Mr. Killup likely gets his name because he's known to be a killjoy or buzzkill among the neighborhood children.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Mr. Killup despises everyone, even his son at times. It's gotten to the point where he's put a plaque next to his door reading "No salesmen, census takers, or religious fanatics."
- Mythology Gag:
- Mr. Killup is heard watching Night of the Living Dead (1968) on TV at the start of the second act.
- Much like Creepshow, also directed by George Romero, the grumpy curmudgeon is also tormented by an onslaught of cockroaches.
- The goblin's head is also reused from the puppet used for "Fluffy", the monster from that film's story "The Crate".
- Nothing Is Scarier: The goblin shows up out of nowhere, for no reason, after Mr. Killup torments a few trick-or-treaters. Unless it was interested in the "goblin candy" the old man was giving out.
- Offscreen Teleportation: The goblin uses the skill to fool with Mr. Killup.
- The Scrooge: Mr. Killup's first onscreen words are how he hates Halloween, and that's after we see the sign on his front porch.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When his father complains that children will egg his house if he doesn't give them any candy, his son exasperatedly tells him to just give them the candy. As it turns out, had he done this, he wouldn't have summoned a goblin out to kill him.
- Tempting Fate: Before leaving him for the night, Michael quips that Halloween is just one night a year, and it doesn't last forever. Unfortunately for his dad, it does.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: Weeks pass for Mr. Killup as the goblin torments him, despite all sources of time indicating that it's midnight. The end of the episode shows that for his son and the rest of the world, only one night had transpired.
