This is my first Nightmare Before Christmas fic and it's part of the Reviews Lounge Too Halloween collaboration. Literally, this is just for thrills and experimentation and giggles to see if I could do this, and I hope I did our favorite bug-filled burlap sack justice! Please enjoy!

Chef Oogie Boogie

There is a tale, a legend if you will

Of a Halloween Town favorite

That caused quite the thrill

Now, what could that be, you ask?

Surely, it must've gone boo

But you would be wrong, dear reader

Allow me to indulge you

With a story about something called Snake and Spider Stew…

There was a time in Halloween Town where Oogie Boogie wasn't the town outcast, nor was he the villain. After the failure of trying to establish his own holiday called Bug Day, he moved to Halloween Town and lived among the residents, partaking in the celebrations of Halloween each year with gusto. After all, it was the one holiday where he could give an excuse of overenthusiasm for maybe taking things a little too far. To Oogie, Halloween was more than a festival, more than a parade and dancing skeletons. It was his identity; after all, he was the Boogeyman! Who could compete with the terror, the nightmares, and the chills that he inspired in his victims? No one, he would say if you had asked him!

And so year after year, Oogie took the top spot in the Scare-Off in town, giving more children nightmares than most of the residents combined. Soon, however, it wasn't enough to just scare the kids; oh no not at all! Oogie wanted more attention and praise for his efforts and his genius schemes. Awards, speeches and trophies paled in comparison to what he believed was the ultimate goal: to become a Halloween Town legend.

After long nights of thinking about how best he could be remembered and go down in the history books, it finally hit him. There was a stew that his momma used to make when he was just a little burlap sack. It was a winner of a dish on its own, but it needed…something different. Something with more punch, more shock. However, Oogie hadn't a clue what that ingredient could've been and so, he was at a loss for what to do.

However, the thought stayed in the back of his mind as he went on and continued to get his thrills from scaring kids and the occasional adult, too. Each scream that he garnered was like a thrill of adrenaline that went like a current through his system, drugging him to the point of an incredible high that was difficult to come down from.

And that, he realized one chilly evening after returning from the evening's scares, was what he was missing. And why just go for the feeling when you can actually…use the source itself? And so, in the dead of night over countless weeks, he experimented with batch after batch of stew, testing so many flavor combinations that it was almost too much, but success came at last and it. Was. Perfect.

This, he thought to himself with glee, is it!

The Mayor was the first resident that Oogie tested the stew on at lunchtime the next day. The look on his face when he took that first bite made Oogie's confidence soar.

"This," the Mayor proclaimed as he grabbed his bullhorn and walked outside to the stoop of Town Hall, "is the best stew that I ever tasted!" He put the bullhorn to his lips. "Everyone!" he shouted, his voice slightly cracking. "If you're looking for a treat from our very own town, you're in luck today: Oogie's Snake and Spider Stew is exactly what you're looking for!"

From then on, Oogie's Snake and Spider Stew was a hit throughout Halloween Town! The local tavern, Spook's, was adamant about adding it to their menu after the Mayor's announcement and soon, there wasn't a creature in town that didn't know about it and praise it whenever they saw Oogie on the streets! Finally – recognition, fame, a legacy. It was all his and he made sure to make the most of the attention, almost as if he was a spooky star.

"How do you make it, Oogie?" one of the witch sisters, Helgamine, asked in a high-pitched voice one night in the tavern as he popped in for a quick visit. That question made the others around her quickly quiet down from their different conversations.

"Yes, do tell us," Zeldaborne, the other witch piped in with a cackle. "We're oh so curious to know!"

"Well," Oogie started with a chuckle, trying his hardest to hide a wicked grin. "I use a secret ingredient that involves more than just snake and spider."

The tavern rose up in a roar as different creatures tried their hand at guessing the elusive secret ingredient. After each guess ended in failure, Oogie let out a roar of triumphant laughter.

"You're all just too much!" he cried out as he held his belly. He took a stroll around the dining area. "Now, you all should know that when Oogie cooks, he does it big, oh yes I do!"

"Well, then tell us, Oogie, if you're so proud of it all," one of the Vampire brothers said levelly. "What is the ingredient that makes this stew so delicious, it's positively frightening?"

With a look around to the eager faces, Oogie took a moment to relish in the mood of suspense before letting loose the answer.

And the response was a far cry from what he thought it was going to be.

The tavern went completely silent as the shock and horror of what came out of his mouth sank in. Maybe…maybe it wasn't the best thing to actually say what it was. But before Oogie could even think twice about trying to turn it all into a joke, he was being chased by a mob toward the outskirts of town, the gate shutting with a harsh slam as the creature's cries rang out in the air:

Sick!

Twisted!

Murderer.

The last one made the bugs in his belly boil with rage. Well, if the creatures of Halloween Town couldn't understand his motivations and reasoning behind his actions, then maybe they didn't deserve him as a part of their town. Looking out toward Curly Hill in the moonlight, a very brief pang of something foreign –sadness? Guilt? Who knew?- went through him.

With a vow never to forget his sudden and cold exile, Oogie began the journey to what is today his Lair and thus, he lives and continues to make his Snake and Spider Stew. So, what was that oh so secret ingredient you may ask that had earned him such a sudden and harsh punishment? Well, if you ask the Halloween Town residents, they will tell you that the big reveal was a bluff just to get a reaction from everyone. But if you ask the Boogeyman himself, he'll make no apologies nor feel an ounce of guilt about his actions.

"After all," he would say with a cackle, "the taste of human flesh is the best flavor of them all."

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read! Please feel free to let me know how I did, I would love to hear from you :)

GeorgyannWayson