I have to talk about Halloweentown

This thought has been rattling around in my head for the last week or so of my kids obsessively listening and watching Nightmare Before Christmas.

I over analyze everything, it’s just how my brain works. Well a line from the song “This is Halloween” in the beginning says, “That’s our job, but we’re not mean” which has always stuck out to me as weird. These gross creatures want to take a second from their very planned, year long choreographed, song and dance to make it very clear that they are not in fact mean. They are just doing their job.

This led me down a weird path where I tried to figure out the currency of Halloweentown. Was it scares? Nah, you can’t quantify that, it’s too subjective. Was it some unspoken of currency? Nope, not that I could find.

So, I’m left with the realization that it isn’t really their “job” but rather something ingrained in them. It’s just what they do. They scare people, but none of them are evil or mean, as they very clearly state. They are all actually extremely happy, despite the terrible things that happen to them, or at least that they describe would be funny or fun.

Because I write fantasy, in which history of the world is important, I began to wonder the why of what was happening. How could these creatures, who have no malice or ill intent be so joyful with the thought of murder and decapitation and other terrible frights and pranks?

Well, reader, I am fairly confident they are immortal.

I think the members of Halloweentown are immortal creatures who cannot die, no matter what happens to them. But no, not just immortal. You can be immortal and still be tortured for eternity, see Greek Mythology for a thousand examples.

They also do not feel pain in anyway.

With these two parameters, it all makes sense. It’s the only way you can live in a world where getting pranked so hard your face tears off, but still be jovial about it, makes sense. They are all gross, immortal, beings without any form of pain. This creates a world where they cannot fathom anything funnier than the most extreme, because anything less would leave something to be desired.

And so forever when I watch the movie, or listen to the song, I imagine these beings stuck in what would be hell for Santa, but is actually heaven for them.

Because really, aside from Oogey Boogey, none of them are mean at all.

It’s just their job.