| “ | Now we're even. | „ |
| ~ Jake Skinner |
Jake Skinner is a ghost that appeared in "The Dead Body" and its sequel, "Dead Bodies," in R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour.
He was portrayed by Matt Angel.
Biography[]
Jake Skinner was born somewhere in the Midwestern USA on January 9, 1945, and he was a lonely and strange kid. He was tormented and hassled by other students, particularly jocks. Jake chose to play pranks on the jocks as retaliation. On April 7, 1961, on the night of the school dance, the jocks exacted their revenge on Jake. They encased Jake in a large cage and set fireworks off, causing the gym to catch on fire and burn to the ground. Everyone survived, expect Jake. After his death, a portrait in his memory was made and displayed next to the school's trophies, where it stayed for 50 years until being reclaimed by Jake Skinner in the Spring of 2011.
First Appearance[]
After 50 years, Jake would return, but this time with malicious intentions. Will Johnston, a victim of bullying, falls in love with Anna, a popular and pretty student in his grade. Jake decides to help Will with his bullying problem after noticing that Will is being bullied by his classmates, Travis and Chang. Will is initially hesitant, but after being embarrassed in front of his crush after Travis and Chang give him a wedgie, Jake returns again and persuades him to make a deal.
During a class field trip to a nature preserve, he pretended to be a dead body in front of Travis and Chang. They tried to force Will to touch him, but subsequently fled when Jake sat up screaming at the top of his lungs. Will says he is finally even with those jerks, but Jake dismisses this claim as nonsense, saying Will is not even with them yet. Jake intensified things when Will permits him to "kick it up a notch." Jake follows Travis and terrifies him into a nervous breakdown by pushing and pulling him around preternaturally. Travis ultimately experienced panic attacks and psychiatric hospitalization because of Jake, and Travis was removed from the school due to his panic attacks.
At the school, Will is approached by an enigmatic, creepy janitor in his mid-60s, who informs him that Jake passed away in the Spring of 1961. When Will goes to look at the school's memorial section, he realizes that Jake is indeed a ghost. Jake approaches Will from behind and tells him he can't back out because of a favor he owes him. Will demands that Jake stay away from him, but Jake instead goes to attack Chang in the school weight room, and it is implied that Chang is killed by him.
Will is sent back in time by Jake to the day of his demise, April 7th, 1961, the Night of the Spring Fling, where he witnesses Jake being physically assaulted and thrown into a cage by the jocks, who set fire to the gym with explosives. Jake cries out for help, and Will emerges from the shadows to help him. Jake smiles and winks at Will when Will successfully frees him from the cage. A burning bookcase collapses onto Will as he tries to exit the cage, killing him. Will awakens back in the present. When Jake introduces himself to Anna, she can now see him. Anna walks right through Will as he tries to stop her from dancing with Jake. Will realizes that he is now a ghost. Jake smiles at Will and tells him they are now even.
"Dead Bodies"[]
| “ | Will: You tricked me, Jake! Jake Skinner: No we made a deal. I helped you, you helped me. We're even... Will: We're not even close to even. You took my life, I want it back. Jake Skinner: So what? So you can go back to getting picked on by bullies? So you can be too much of a wuss to get the girl? No... Face it, Will. I am living your life better than you ever did. |
„ |
| ~ Jake talking with ghost Will. |
After Will's death, Jake Skinner is now a living being who has achieved the life he had always wanted. At his car garage, the grim reaper appears behind him and digs its claws into Jake's forearm and causing his flesh to slowly deteriorate.
Realizing he has little time left, Jake makes his way to Anna's house. He leads Anna to the peak of a mountain, where he starts to talk with her. While he claims to be willing to risk his life to save her, in truth, he is simply manipulating her to try and save his own life. As his face dreadfully decomposes, he tries to get his girlfriend Anna to shake his hand in an effort to rescue himself. At first, Anna is hesitant to shake Jake's hand, but when she tries to, Will steps in the way, so she shakes Will's hand instead. Will engages in a fist fight with Jake.
Jake gains the upper hand and attempts to choke Will, but Anna strikes him with a large log. The grim reaper grabs Jake's head, causing Jake's face and body to entirely decompose. Will's life is brought back as the grim reaper drags Jake to the underworld, but Jake's hand emerges from the ground to retrieve his comb, suggesting that he may not actually be gone for good.
Gallery[]
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 Villains
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