Author: James >>
• Editor
Genre: Slasher / Psychological Horror
Fandom: Halloween (Canon Divergence post-1989)
Premise: Following the events of Halloween 5, Jamie Lloyd is committed to a secure psychiatric facility. To the staff, she is a mute, traumatised child. In reality, the psychic bond with her uncle has completed its cycle. She has not just inherited his rage; she has inherited his patience. She is the new Shape, waiting for the door to open.
THE PITCH | A TREATMENT
The story deconstructs the “Final Girl” trope. Jamie is not escaping to survive; she is escaping to hunt. The narrative focuses on her manipulation of the hospital ecosystem. She breaks the catering hot-plate cabinet weeks in advance, not with force, but with saline solution corrosion. She plays the long game.
The climax of the first act is the escape itself. It is not an explosion or a riot. It is silent. She hides inside the condemned catering unit as it is hauled away by unsuspecting contractors. It is a claustrophobic, high-tension sequence that establishes her intelligence and her ability to suppress her humanity, just like Michael.
SAMPLE SCENE | THE DISCOVERY
The metal interior of the catering cabinet smelled of rancid pork fat and copper. Jamie pulled her knees to her chest, wedging herself between the rack runners. It was a tight fit, but she was small. Small enough to be invisible.
“Lift on three,” a voice grunted from the outside.
The cabinet lurched.
Jamie didn’t flinch. She didn’t breathe.
Through the vents, she watched the flickering fluorescent lights of the hospital ceiling roll by. She heard the nurses laughing at the station. She heard the squeak of the orderly’s shoes. They looked at this rusted metal box and saw trash.
They didn’t see the predator inside.
The dolly rattled over the threshold of the loading bay. The air temperature dropped. The sounds of the hospital, the beeping monitors, the distant wailing, faded away, replaced by the roar of a diesel engine.
Goodbye, she thought. I’m coming home.
AUTHOR NOTES | DIRECTION OF THE STORY
I want to explore the idea that “The Shape” is a contagion. Michael Myers was the vessel and now Jamie is. The mask isn’t just rubber; it’s a mantle. The story will follow her journey back to Haddonfield, not as a victim running from the Boogeyman, but as the Boogeyman coming to claim her territory.
INTERNAL TEAM NOTES
JAMES: My interest in the franchise faded after the fifth movie, as I wish this is the direction the franchise should have gone. We have the opportunity to introduce a new ‘Shape,’ unassuming and smarter than Michael ever was.
SAM: Visually, I want to play with the clown costume imagery from the end of H5, but distort it. Maybe she creates a mask from the scraps she finds in the junkyard.
SUMMER: It’s disturbing to see a child acting with such cold calculation. It fits the Purgatory brand perfectly.
DECISION | 21.05.27
JAMES: Greenlit for Issue #02. Thank you all for your kind comments. This will be a flagship title for the Fan Fiction sector.
I will be providing the concept art shortly.