The Dead Dude is special to Uncialle's Halloween. He was born in 1988, before Uncialle and Magnus had taken the Stronghold, and served to frighten children on an ordinary street in a typical subdivision. He hung from a noose then, dangling from a tree in the front yard, an object of fear and adventure to local schoolchildren. From the house we could hear the whispers: "You go touch him. I dare you." "No, you go touch him." The Dude moved to the Stronghold with us, and somehow it felt comfortable to bring him inside, since he was our oldest Halloween figure. Since then, he has sat in the old oak rocker during every Halloween celebration, and for a month after.

During this time, very slowly and stealthily, the Dude has become real. Many a time Uncialle has risen to look at the late moonlight and has been startled by the silent figure in the rocker. But the Dude became a real being on Halloween of 1992, when a number of friends were gathered around a table in a darkness lit only by jack o'lanterns, winding down from the celebration, telling stories at two in the morning. One guest bent to me and whispered, "Say, who is that sitting in the rocker? He's been so quiet for so long that I have forgotten who it is."

The forgotten guest was the Dead Dude, of course, bony hand clutching the arm of the rocker, motionless but alert and listening. So he came to life, and so he will live at all Halloween celebrations in the Stronghold--and after. May you live long in death, Dude. This Halloween, we will celebrate the Dude's tenth birthday with a special spectral toast. Happy tenth Birthday, Dude!