Mr. Skulls and the Ghost Van Screen Play.
THE GHOST VAN
Title: THE GHOST VAN OF 213
Horror-Comedy Screenplay
FADE IN:
EXT. CASCADE HIGHWAY 213 – RAINY NIGHT – 2010
Rain lashes the dark highway.
Trees loom like wet skeletons.
Fog crawls across the asphalt.
A rusty SUBARU FORESTER barrels down the road.
Lightning cracks across the sky.
INT. SUBARU – NIGHT
Three twenty-somethings. Recording gear everywhere.
JAX (28) – cocky true-crime podcaster.
KAYLA (26) – camera operator, sarcastic.
TY (25) – nervous audio tech.
A GoPro blinks red on the dashboard.
JAX leans toward the mic.
JAX
(into mic)
What’s up Night Owls? Tonight we’re hunting Oregon’s most stubborn urban legend — the Ghost Van of Highway 213.
TY
You keep saying hunting. I feel like we’re the rabbits here.
JAX
Relax. If ghosts could drive, they’d have driver’s licenses.
KAYLA
Have you seen Oregon DMV? That checks out.
Thunder booms.
TY
Well, maybe it was issued in Minnesota.
(TY looks at them both as they roll their eyes and shake their heads)
EXT. HIGHWAY 213 – ROADSIDE PULLOUT – LATER
The Subaru idles under towering fir trees.
Rain pours. Mist drifts over the road.
Jax plants a trail cam facing the highway.
JAX
(to camera)
Legend says when it rains hard enough… a camo van shows up.
KAYLA
Let me guess. Bigfoot’s Uber.
JAX
Camo paint.
Lifted suspension.
One-ton Dodge Cargo Van.
Deer skull welded to the grill.
Human skulls on the roof rack.
TY
Please tell me the driver just delivers pizza or something.
JAX
Oh no.
(grinning)
Six-foot-seven biker dude.
Horned top hat.
Calls himself—
(beat)
Mr. Skulls.
TY
Yeah I hate this already.
Suddenly…
The trail cam dies.
The GoPro glitches.
The rain stops sounding like rain.
Instead—
A faint distorted heavy-metal guitar riff echoes through the fog.
EXT. HIGHWAY – CONTINUOUS
From the mist emerges a monstrous CAMO VAN.
Lifted suspension.
Massive tires.
A bleached DEER SKULL bolted to the grill.
Two smaller skulls hang from the roof rack like wind chimes.
Greenish fog spills from beneath it.
The van stops twenty yards away.
Engine idling like a low demonic growl.
INT. SUBARU
The crew stares.
KAYLA
Holy hell.
JAX
(excited whisper)
Night Owls… we got him!
We really got him!
Holy Sh....
The driver door creaks open.
A tall figure steps out.
MR. SKULLS.
Black trench coat.
Leather biker gear.
Horned top hat.
Eyes glowing faintly in the rain from beneath the brim.
He stares at them silently.
Then—
He sighs.
MR. SKULLS
Oh great.
"Influencers."
As he makes quote signs with his fingers.
The crew blinks.
TY
Wait… what?
MR. SKULLS
Do you know how hard it is to maintain a terrifying or at least semi-spooky reputation when every idiot with a podcast and EMF thingy keeps chasing my van?
JAX
You’re… self-aware?
MR. SKULLS
Are you?
We’ve been haunting this highway since dial-up internet.
He gestures to the van.
MR. SKULLS
This boy is a 1987 Dodge Cargo Van.
One-ton
8 cylinder engine.
Heaven or Hell-certified depending how you look at it.
The van HONKS.
MR. SKULLS
(shouting at van)
Yeah yeah, I’m doing the speech.
We need to fix your wires, you sound like an evil goose.
JAX suddenly grins.
JAX
This is perfect.
(to camera)
Night Owls — the Ghost Van talks!
MR. SKULLS freezes.
MR. SKULLS
You’re recording?
(Spins to the van)
Didn't you eat all the energy for those devices.
The van's likes dim as the horn sounds an uh oh like honk.
JAX replies
Obviously!
We're ghost hunters!
It's what we do! (Covers mic and whispers to the others, when we're not faking it).
MR. SKULLS
Oh hell no!
He jumps back in the van.
The engine SCREAMS to life.
INT. SUBARU
TY
He’s getting back in!
JAX
Good! We chase him!
KAYLA
Have you actually lost it?!
Have you seen horror movies?!
EXT. HIGHWAY
The Subaru takes off.
The Ghost Van vanishes in a fog.
Then—
The Subaru passes through the fog.
JAX, TY and KAYLA look aroun with no time to react.
The van launches forward like a missile.
INT. SUBARU
TY
He’s chasing us!
JAX
Wait that’s backwards—
KAYLA
YOU STARTED IT!
THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!
She covers here head shouting at herself "Wake up, bad Dream, WAKE UP!"
EXT. HIGHWAY 213 – CHASE
Rain pours.
The Ghost Van tailgates inches behind them.
Heavy metal blasts from its speakers.
The deer skull rattles violently.
MR. SKULLS sticks his head out the window.
MR. SKULLS
STOP FOLLOWING ME!
JAX
JAX sticks his head out the window.
YOU FOLLOWED US!
MR. SKULLS
WRONG ANSWER!
YOU STARTED IT!
The van bumps their bumper.
The Subaru fishtails.
Scene fades to black.
EXT. ABANDONED QUARRY ROAD – NIGHT
Scene slowly fades back into view as
JAX, TY and KAYLA look around,
Shaken up, realize they skid into a muddy clearing.
And a muddy dirt road with a clear dead end.
Then KAYALA points...
KAYALA
The Ghost Van! It's blocking the exit!
Fog rolls everywhere.
Faint sound of heavy metal music emanate fro it.
INT. SUBARU
Silence.
TY
We’re dead!
KAYLA
I blame podcasts!
Stupid, stupid podcast!
JAX
Calm down, we're Not Dead!
EXT. QUARRY
Mr. Skulls walks slowly toward them.
Lightning flashes.
He looks annoyed.
MR. SKULLS
Listen.
I haunt this road three nights a week.
I scare tourists.
Sometimes I give a lift to strays.
Maybe possess a Prius.
Just kidding.
No self respecting ghost will posses a Prius.
But lately—
(annoyed)
—every TikTok detective in Oregon keeps chasing me.
I HATE TIKTOK!
JAX
So… you’re not here to kill us?
MR. SKULLS
Um, No!
Your bad driving will do that.
Now. Don't you dare upload anything!
Or I will have to...
The van suddenly BLARES its horn again.
MR. SKULLS sighs.
It was live wasn't it.
The van gives a sigh like horn sound.
Then it starts honking with blares.
MR. SKULLS looks at the three
Sorry. He gets impatient.
JAX
He?
The van’s headlights blink twice like eyes.
MR. SKULLS
Yeah, in case you didn't catch on,
the van’s haunted too.
Before you ask, he came that way.
Long story.
But hey.
We’re unionized.
KAYLA completely confused now
What?
Suddenly—
The Subaru’s electronics all die.
Phones black out.
GoPro shuts down.
Fog surges around them.
MR. SKULLS
Anyway…
You came looking for a ghost.
You found a real one.
You wanted a ghost story?
You are now in one.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
The van honks indignantly!
MR. SKULLS looks at the van.
I was talking about you!
Such an attention seeker.
As he rolls his eyes.
He turn back to them.
Okay, I was talking about me,
Buttttt...
Next time try Yelp.
He snaps his fingers.
The fog engulfs everything.
INT. SUBARU – MOMENTS LATER
The fog clears.
The van is gone.
TY
Did… we survive?
KAYLA
I think so, but its really cold!
JAX checks his phone.
JAX
Yeah, we got power...
He goes to turn the heat back on.
But they all stop and look as the screen
on the phone flickers back to life.
Playback video begins automatically.
On screen—
The Ghost Van is parked directly behind them.
Inside the Subaru’s back seat…
MR. SKULLS sits smiling.
MR. SKULLS (ON VIDEO)
MR. SKULLS
See you on the next rainy night boys and ghouls!
He tips his hat.
And his face and hands become skeletal.
The crew slowly turns with their eyes wide.
The back seat is empty.
But in the rearview mirror—
The camo van idles behind them again.
Green fog rising.
TY
(whisper)
Drive.
JAX nods
The Subaru floors it.
The Ghost Van happily follows.
Heavy metal screaming through the rain.
Scene flashes different moments of the chase,
their faces in various stages of horror,
MR. Skulls clearly laughing.
Then the sound of wreckage
And silence.
FADE TO BLACK
TITLE CARD:
THE GHOST VAN
Based on a legend that refuses to stay off the road.
POST-CREDIT SCENE
EXT. HIGHWAY 213 – ANOTHER RAINY NIGHT
A TEENAGER films himself on his phone while driving.
TEEN
Guys they say if you drive this road in the rain—
Behind him in the mirror—
Camo paint appears.
Deer skull grinning.
Heavy metal riff.
The teen slowly lowers the phone.
TEEN…oh come on.
CUT TO BLACK
THE END
MR. SKULLS MASCOT CHARACTER
Avatar of the Founder
There are a few songs like this composed for the character and the various related themes. You are welcome to also try creating some music like we did here. This second one has Three different variations.
These songs are expressive of a mythology in some Old Gamer Scenes, both online and off, that developed around the character TalismanSkulls, no spaces between the words on purpose, that some came to call tali for short or simply Mr. Skulls. The top hat with the horns and skull design has been a feature of the character since his development as early as 2006 and got more fleshed out (no pun intended) for 20 years, and seemed to add even more height to a character already described as being 6'5 and 280 Lbs.
To understand the framing, the following is provided for greater clarity.
The Chronicle of TalismanSkulls
In the worlds of men, machines, and magic, there exists a being known as TalismanSkulls—written without spaces, though some call him “Tali,” others, “Mr. Skulls.” From the first days of his conception in 2006, he bore a top hat, horned and skull-adorned, a mark that would become his emblem through decades. Time would shape him, flesh to bone, shadow to legend, his presence echoing through Old Gamer circles both online and off.
He was a creature of colors, and his moods were writ upon them. Black and burgundy signaled mirth; inverted into white and teal-blue green, they whispered of darker thoughts. His garments were as mutable as his spirit: blue jeans, steel-toe boots, leather coats lined with spikes, sometimes black wings, sometimes skeletal. Even the nature of his attire confounded observers—biker, punker, head-banger? The truth shifted like smoke. When asked why he was confusing, he replied, “Blame it on the hat,” and no further explanation was offered.
By 2010, he entered The World of Kaneva, a virtual realm that would fall in 2016. Attempts to resurrect it splintered under ambition and greed; names were claimed, visions clashed, and many waited in vain, passing away before the dream could be realized. Yet TalismanSkulls endured, and in this endurance he reflected his creator’s own essence—humor, insight, mischief, and defiance.
His domain grew.
The horned top hat became structure—a club, a home, later a castle crowned by a skull wearing that hat. Within its twisting corridors, he captured evil spirits, sealing them in bottles transformed into lamps whose bluish-green glow lit the maze. Punishments burned in these lights for the uninvited; friends alone could navigate safely.
His desires and codes are clear.
He is a wholly heterosexual, a magnet for daring women. His rules were few and immutable: “No other men,” honesty above all, and no theft. Lovers must speak their hearts before action, never after. The unspoken message was simple: betrayal would not be endured, but loyalty would be treasured.
He wielded powers far beyond mortal reckoning.
He could summon the dead who sought rest and joy in his realm, and he did so in a great war among realms of deities; mortals, immortals, cosmic, multidimensional and some called beyonders who borderline the realms of true infinity among the many and diverse kinds within the offline game.
Though having exceeded the nature of his once very worldly and human origins, he came to be counted among them by them, and like the barbarian gods that welcomed him, he refused worship, as tended to also be the natural perspective of the barbarian deities ready to have fun or battle without hesitation, and sometimes the fun was the battles themselves, even if it would mean total oblivion, for they had the view of "better to be destroyed in freedom then shackled to conformity, and nothing can evolve if stuck in stagnation, for it is then when destruction is truly necessary."
Instead, he left that to the truly highest beings beyond the beyonders where the infinitesimally large and small contain all dimensions and realities well beyond the normal human range of perception. It is they the nameless ones with innumerable names whom he regarded as beyond such demands of devotion like unto any mere mortal insecurities and arrogance.
Aligning with those called the barbarian gods and goddesses, he emerged victorious with them. That war cost him his fleshy form, leaving a living but immortal skeleton; though he may briefly grow skin again, it requires labor and vigilance, especially to protect innocents from fear of looking upon him. Others suffered far worse than he.
His mounts and machines were as legendary as his deeds. From a camo-colored, lifted cargo van with a deer skull grill, to a skeletal, monstrous horse, and finally to a UFO purloined from a distracted alien, he traversed realms with flair befitting a warlock who defied death itself.
Through all transformations, TalismanSkulls remained a paradox:
A trickster, guardian, philosopher, and mischief incarnate. He evolved, yet endured; he challenged, yet protected. He was reflected in laughter, in terror, in the stories whispered in dimly lit halls.
And so his legend persists.
His lamps burn still in the twisting corridors of his castle. His rule is observed, his mischief continues, and his name carries in the whispers of mortals and spirits alike. To those who seek him with respect, guidance and marvel await. To the trespassers, confusion and punishment. He is alive in the mythos of worlds both real and imagined, a being who defies simple definition.
And for those who ask, even now, who or what TalismanSkulls truly is, the answer remains eternal:
“To some, I am.”
Simply put, it's up to you to determine that for yourself, because regardless your conclusion he, like everyone else, has his own will and sense of self that isn't contingent on others validations or justifications.
Also, on a closing note, my ex and mother of my kids did everything to keep my kids from ever being able to find me and I knew she would do something like that. So I made sure my daughter knew the character and the name so when she turned 18 she was able to find me online where I left a lot of breadcrumbs on purpose. I tried to do the same for my son, but unfortunately that never succeeded. They will always be my kids. I will always hope for the best out of their lives as they struggle like we all must, but in that, for me at least, that just ads another layer to what makes this persona all the more special in my opinion.
PS: To those who want to try and force me to eat bugs and plants.
Potential Upcoming Song:
PATRIOTIC WARLOCK
(Gothic Dark Country Anthem)
Verse 1
In the shadows of freedom, thunder splits the sky,
A warlock rises up with a rebel cry.
Born of blood and banner, carved from sacred flame,
He walks through fire whisperin’ liberty’s name.
Pitchfork like a rifle, steel in his hand,
Judgment rides beside him across this broken land.
Chorus
Patriotic warlock, ridin’ through the fray,
From sea to shining fury, he makes the wicked pay.
Lightning in his veins, eagle in his sight,
Guarding the republic in the dead of night.
Stars and stripes are burnin’ in his battle rite
—American warlock owns the endless night.
Verse 2
Through the smoke of treason and the traitor’s grin,
He turns their whispered curses back on them again.
From revolution’s musket to the frontier grave,
He walks with the ghosts of the brave.
Broomstick like a missile over canyon gloom,
He seals their fate with thunder in the witching boom.
Bridge (slow, stripped-down, almost spoken)
When liberty’s hammer strikes the iron chain,
He calls the fallen warriors by name.
No beast nor tyrant can smother that spark
—The warlock’s fire burns in the dark.
(Drums kick back in heavy)
Final Chorus (bigger, louder)
Patriotic warlock, stormin’ through the blaze,
Red, white, and wrath in a righteous haze.
Lightning in his veins, talons in the fight,
Defending the republic with unholy might.
Stars and stripes forever in the firelight
—American warlock rules the endless night.
Outro (half-time, heavy stomp)
Raise your oath high, let the sorcery ignite,
In the land of the bold who were born to fight.
The patriotic warlock stands unbent, unbound
—Where freedom casts its spell, he’s always found.
Animations Created By Karyna Alexandar Tijero Celiz
