Trick or Treat
Gideon Hackles (Barnard Hughes) is a tyrannical old man who enjoys having an absolute stranglehold on his small farming community. He regularly rakes in the townsfolk's riches because he owns the town's only store, where everything can only be bought on credit. The one day a year that the townspeople can pay off their debts to him is Halloween, where they send their children into his house to search for their I.O.Us. But as a means to ensure that they don't succeed, Gideon transforms his house into a haunted mansion with animatronic ghosts and goblins, scaring the children away. This year, however, the various things that go bump in the night plan to turn the tables on the old miser.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Mr. Muldoon, one of the farmers in debt to Gideon, has been toughening his son up for his journey into the old man's house by whipping him with a leather strap.
- Determinator: Young Billy is determined to find his family's I.O.U. and free them from Gideon's debt, in spite of his father's wishes. Lucky for him, Gideon's already been taken care of by the time he gets to his house.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Gideon is lured down a closet that leads to the infernal realms by the Devil.
- Establishing Character Moment: Gideon's first scene establishes what a stingy old bastard he is by not only rebuffing a job offer to a pair of accountants out of sheer distrust, but also charges them 4 cents for every cup of coffee he offers them, and even demonstrates one of his animatronic specters on them.
- Evil Old Folks: Gideon is a man in his winter years, and he's an utterly detestable son of a bitch.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Devil may be... well, the Devil, but he and his minions successfully take Gideon to Hell. Based on his use of Gideon's "You're getting warmer" against him, it's hinted that he's been waiting to claim Gideon for a long time.
- Evil Laugh:
- The Witch greets Gideon this way, both on the porch camera and in-person.
- The Devil after claiming Gideon.
- Exact Words: Mr. Hackles is true on one front: he doesn't harm the trick-or-treaters physically. He just emotionally scars them with his morbid parlor tricks.
- Foreshadowing: Bessie is dressed as a witch, two children as pirates, and Timothy as the Devil. During the climax, Gideon encounters an actual witch, a demon dressed as a pirate, and the Devil himself.
- Godzilla Threshold: Mr. Muldoon talks about toughening his son up and how it will get his family out of debt for the first time in his life, all while looking quite weathered and desperate. He reacts to his son failing by hugging him rather than yelling.
- Halloween Episode: Appropriate for the pilot of a series like this, as old Gideon and his faux haunted house frighten the neighborhood children for the old man's sadistic joy.
- Hate Sink: Gideon Hackles, a sadistic old miser who has gained his massive fortune from the fact that he owns the only store in his farming town. Everything is payable by credit only, and thus the whole town is in debt to him. Every Halloween, he combines his love of money with his other favorite pastime: tormenting children. He hides the I.O.Us of every family in town somewhere in his house, forcing the families to send their children into said house to find them. When they step inside, Gideon transforms the house into a haunted mansion by way of ghoulish sound effects and animatronics, laughing in sheer delight as the children run screaming into their parents' arms. Thankfully, the Devil and his minions turn the tables on the old man, and manage to give Billy all the I.O.Us and all his money.
- Ignored Epiphany: Gideon's view on people is nothing short of cynical, viewing them as "backwards" folks. That said, when he witnesses Mr. Muldoon comforting his frightened son (despite the fact that he returned empty-handed), he merely growls "Backwards!" This establishes that Gideon is incapable of understanding the value of compassion and familial love.
- Ironic Echo: One of Gideon's favorite lines to taunt the children going through his haunted house is a sinister "You're getting warmer." Once he finds the door to Hell, the Devil repeats that exact line as he crawls through.
- Irony: The prologue has Gideon demean the farmers for being "careless little people leading careless little lives" just because they rely on the weather to generate profit, like farmers are supposed to.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Gideon lectures Billy's father by saying, "People make their own misfortunes." His ultimate fate is the direct result of his own cruel and miserly ways.
- Loophole Abuse: Gideon gets away with his sick game because he never physically harms the children that enter his house; he just scares the daylights out of them.
- Madness Mantra: Of a sort. As Gideon tries to collect the I.O.Us and his cash, all he can seem to mutter is "money", even as the door to Hell opens.
- Meaningful Name: Gideon's last name of "Hackles" refers to the back hairs of a dog, which stand on end when it's feeling hostile. Fittingly, it accentuates Gideon's cruel mistrust towards everyone.
- Morton's Fork: The townsfolk are forced by Gideon to bring their kids to his house in order to win their I.O.Us. Given how severely scary he turns his house on October 31st, no loving parent would ever make their kids attend something so cruel. They unfortunately have no choice: they're in debt to Mr. Hackles, and making their kids go is the only way to appease him for another year.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: As if he wasn't odious enough, it's established with Mr. Kimble that Gideon doesn't simply let the parents choose whether to bring their kids to the haunted house or not: he forces them to come, because if they don't, he'll take their farms.
- Only Sane Man: Of the parents, Billy's father is the only one completely opposed to this sick game that Gideon plays, not caring one bit about his debts being thrown in his face. This is attributed to his family being relatively new to the area and thus not worn down by crippling debt.
- Pet the Dog:
- With Gideon disposed of, the Witch gives Billy all of his money and the whole town's IOU's, effectively freeing the town from his control once and for all before flying off.
- Though he talked about toughening his son up, Mr. Muldoon hugs the boy after he runs out of the house in a panic.
- Real After All: Much is made of Gideon's trickery and how supernatural creatures aren't actually real. To his own horror, Gideon finds they are real, and they want to see him.
- Rule of Scary: The demons who torment Gideon and drag him off to Hell seem only to appear because it's Halloween.
- The Scrooge: Gideon fits the trope to a T.
- Self-Made Man: Gideon alludes to being this a couple times, such as his advice to Billy in the store about maintaining resolve at all costs (especially when it comes to ignoring the heart) and boasting to the first trick-or-treater that he never got treated to anything.
- A Taste Of His Own Medicine: The demons could've just grabbed Gideon and been done with it, but they first subject him to the kind of scares he put the children through and then separate him from his precious money.
- Wham Shot:
- Once we see what's behind the door Gideon was leaning against.
- Later, as Billy walks off with the money the witch gave him, we see a tombstone in front of the house with Gideon's name on it, confirming without a doubt that what happened was real.
- What You Are in the Dark: Billy wanted to go into the house to help his family, but his father forbid it. While staring out a window back at home, Billy is thinking about this and decides to go anyway.
