Once upon a time, in the cozy town of Harvest Hollow, there was an old decrepit mansion nicknamed “The Gripper”. Its glaring face would tower over the town every Halloween, looking as indulgent as a kid with a king-size candy bar. The legend was, way before the rise of the smartphone era, a spirited old man known as Hambone vanished without a trace in The Gripper. Amateur ghostbusters in town whispered that Hambone wandered the mansion, lost in its eerie eternity.
Every generation, a daring teenager would summon enough courage to enter The Gripper before midnight of Halloween. Stories of twisting passageways and blood-curdling cries would ensue the next day as they bragged about their adventure. Poor Hambone, the town would sigh, still unable to leave his old haunt.
One year, a paperboy named Billy took the challenge. However, to the towns surprise, instead of the usual sinister tale, Billy emerged with a toothy grin and an old dusty map. Almost shivering with conspiracy, Billy revealed the truth about Hambone’s seeming ‘disappearance’; the old mansion held a secret candy factory! “Hambone was not trapped, he was just busy making Halloween candy all these years!”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Harvest Hollow became the richest candy town in the country, with sweet swirls of lollypop trees to chewy chocolate pebble paths. And as for Hambone, he stands to this day, in his mysterious mansion, creating delicious Halloween delight year after year while reveling in the sweetest trick – that of being forever missed, but never really gone.