The barbershop owner's real name is Gomez, but he's been known as "the Ghost" since long before he ended up in prison.
Gomez the Ghost was originally a "special tamer" for a traveling circus. But this circus was nothing at all like the one Selina always talks about. It was known far and wide for its notorious freak show. Bats as large as Gomez are not common in the Animal Federation, and every night, a who's who of Boulderton high society would visit the elaborately decorated "castle" on the outskirts of the city to satisfy their morbid curiosity.
Gomez's show was called "Ferocious Jaws" and was the spectacular finale that rounded off the night's proceedings. His on-stage partner was just like him: a bloodthirsty monster that sends chills down the spine. Before the terrifying duo took to the stage, the audience were treated to the "Ghost Dance" to prepare them for the madness that was about to ensue. However, one fateful night, things went too far.
"I think his name was... Sean. Maybe, I can't remember. Whatever his name was, he was an asshole, but he didn't deserve what happened."
Gomez said that Sean had been sitting in the front row, but looked very nervous throughout the show, and that when he saw the "ghosts" go down and interact with Sean, he was so nervous that he couldn't even raise his head. Gomez assumed that he was probably just a good kid who had been dragged to the show by his rich friends.
It was likely his reserved nature that made him an object of ridicule to his so-called friends.
<em>"Hey, bro, why so uneasy? Is the show too scary for you?"</em>
<em>"Hey, maybe he's pissed his pants! Hahaha!"</em>
<em>"No wonder he wouldn't let that hot babe sit on his lap. He didn't want her to get her ass wet!"</em>
<em>"Quit it, guys. I've just had a little too much to drink."</em>
<em>"Ha! Louis, I told you we shouldn't have brought him out tonight. Little Seany needs to listen to his mommy and go to bed early!"</em>
<em>"Hahahaha! But don't forget, all work and no play makes Seany one boring-ass son of a bitch!"</em>
As the audience cheered, Gomez's beast taming performance approached its thrilling climax: the "Blood Sacrifice". The performance required an audience member to come up on stage and make a sacrifice by pouring fake blood on himself to "summon the Devil" from the pool of blood.
Gomez wanted to get the bully Louis on stage and give him the fright of his life, but was most surprised when Sean volunteered, his fists clenched and his body trembling. Gomez initially thought he was scared, but soon realized that he was actually trembling with excitement.
Gomez handed Sean the bone goblet containing the fake blood and gave him the signal to start the ritual, but Sean did not move a muscle. Of course, Louis and the others could not pass up this opportunity to ridicule him further.
<em>"Hey, what's the hold-up?! Waiting for us to come up and save your ass?!"</em>
<em>"I've heard of being scared stiff, but this is ridiculous! Wait till everyone at school hears about Sean the chickenshit! Hahaha!"</em>
<em>"Give him a break, Rick. I can't believe he's made it this long without running off, crying! Come on, Seany!"</em>
<em>"Hey, Sean! That's not real blood. I went up on stage before. It's just cherry juice. Give it a try!"</em>
<em>"Good thing it's cherry juice! I heard Sean gets queasy at the sight of blood! Hahaha!"</em>
As the kids he came with laughed and ridiculed him, Sean's fists clenched ever tighter. Then suddenly he slammed the goblet down on the stage and shouted out.
<em>"Louis, Rick! I've had enough of you calling me a chicken! I'm not! You think I'm scared?! Just you watch!"</em>
Gomez sensed that there would be trouble, but by the time his boss nodded to signal him to stop the performance, it was already too late. Sean smashed the whiskey bottle he had brought up to the stage and used the broken glass to slice open the palm of his hand. Blood immediately rushed from the gaping wound.
<em>"Think I'm scared of blood, huh? Now you'll see! I'll show you all just who the real badass is! And that you're all just a bunch of pussies!"</em>
Just then, Louis, Rick, and the rest of the audience screamed in fright! Sean thought that his shocking performance had been a success. However, little did he know that it was not him that made the audience scream, but the ferocious jaws that had opened up behind him!
"His head was bitten clean off. When the coroner came, he had to collect a headless corpse. The head had been eaten."
Gomez told you that it was all just a tragic accident, and that his partner, the Devil, did not intend to harm anyone. He simply mistook the smell of Sean's blood for the signal to feed, because Gomez used to feed him freshly killed fish at night.
However, Sean's family could not accept this explanation, and they continued to put pressure on the police to destroy the dangerous beast that killed their son. In order to save the life of the Devil, Gomez changed his testimony and confessed that he had drunk too much before the show, causing him to give the wrong command to the Devil, which resulted in the tragic incident.
Following his conviction for negligent homicide, Gomez became the only bat prisoner in Boulderton Prison history, and his partner, the Devil, avoided mandatory euthanization.
"I lost my freedom, the Devil lost his master, and worst of all, that Sean kid lost his head. But those two pricks Louis and Rick... I guess all they lost was their pride."
