Chippy

Past Experiences: June 18, 2014
Does anyone else like puppets? I know I did. I've gotten a lot older now, so puppets don't really entertain me anymore. However, I distinctly remember a puppet back when I was just a little kid. I remembered after I found a picture of me back when I was in the first grade. It was a picture of me with a ventriloquist known as Mr. Smith. I remember Mr. Smith was an old man who had an undying desire for puppets. He loved them. Every year, he would come to my elementary school and perform a puppet show. He had several puppets. I remember Blu the blue fox, Chester the mouse, and Captain Claw the lobster pirate. They were all great. I also remember...Chippy.

Chippy was...different. While all of Mr. Smith's puppets were animals and bizarre creatures, Chippy was suppose to represent a human. I could only assume that Mr. Smith took his characters very seriously. I remember the first time I saw Chippy. He was the closing act. Chippy's jokes were a little...on the nose. Most of us never understood the jokes, but I would occasionally hear the teachers chuckle as they understood the crude humor. Chippy's main gimmick was that he desired to be a real boy. It was ironic considering he was completely made of wood.

Like every class, there was always that one bad kid. He would sometimes boo or insult Mr. Smith while he was on stage. Most of Mr. Smith's characters would just ignore the kid's behavior, but Chippy acknowledged it. When a child made an insult at Chippy, he would make one right back. I still remember. There was this one kid in my class who was known for bad behavior. He made a rude comment at Chippy. He told him he was "stupid" and "not funny". Chippy's response shocked all of us.

"Yeah, but do you know what is funny? The fact that your mother is buried in a six-foot hole."

Chippy proceeded to laugh maniacally afterward. No one was expecting that. It was true. His mother had died a few months ago, but how could he have known that? Even Mr. Smith's face was surprised. Why would he be surprised? Wasn't he the one making the jokes?

Each year, something seemed different about Chippy. He looked more and more realistic. Mr. Smith's appearance also changed. He looked sickly and pale. It looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. The last time I saw Mr. Smith was at his final show. At this point, I was in the fifth grade. Therefore, I assumed that those four years leading up to now had not been kind. This show didn't seem as bright and pep as his previous shows. Mr. Smith, Blu, Chester, and Captain Claw didn't sound happy. They sounded scared. They're jokes were funny, but they didn't make us feel as comfortable. We could hear the quivering in their voices.

However, Chippy sounded as happy as ever. He seemed so bright. His jokes were the worst they had ever been. His jokes were offensive, ugly, and morbid. At this point, some of the other students had starting crying because they felt so unsettled and disturbed. I'll admit, it bothered me just a little bit too. At the end of the show, Chippy had some final words to say.

"These years have been great, but now all good things must come to an end. Eat your veggies, kids. You need to be big and strong when your souls are cast into Hell."

With that being said, the show was over. No one could come to terms to what he meant. We were all just glad it was over, and we would never have to watch this again. It's been years since I last heard of Mr. Smith and his crew of puppets. Honestly, I'm glad it's over.

Update: September 27, 2017
Today, I turned on my TV to see a breaking news alert. The body of James Smith was found in his home. James Smith, also known as Mr. Smith, was found dead and mutilated. According to forensics, over 75% of his skin was gone. His eyes and teeth were also missing. He had also been scalped of his hair. Detectives also found the Blu, Chester, and Captain Claw. There was cotton all over the floor. It appeared that they had been torn apart and their cotton was scattered across the house. Police don't know what fully happened, but they are still examining.

I still can't fully understand what happened, but I know two things. Police found writing in blood on the wall.

"A REAL BOY AT LAST!"

The second thing is that...Chippy is gone. Everyone was found at the house except for Chippy. I don't know what to make of this situation, but I think there was more to Chippy that we ever thought. Chippy is out there...and he could be walking among us...as a "real boy". He finally got what he wanted.