SCARETAKER is an original Halloween adventure made for October 31, 2026. Its town, residents and trouble are fictional. A small ghost arrives on a street of dark houses with nothing to carry, then finds a pumpkin that changes the journey. The borrowed head can be thrown and called back, left as a trap or used as a springboard. One object follows the player through the whole town. Deciding where to leave it matters as much as deciding when to jump.
The route crosses lantern streets, clockwork roofs and a witch's bridge before reaching moonlit gardens, a clock tower and an upside-down house. Moving platforms, crumbling ledges and patrolling enemies make each crossing different. The pumpkin also works on the town itself: hold down a floor switch to open a gate, interrupt a gear to stop a lift, reverse a ferry or ring a bell to change the stairs. Taking the pumpkin back can undo the help it provided. Upper routes offer discoveries while the lower paths keep the main journey moving.
Six residents wait in cages along those upper routes. Freeing them opens local shortcuts and brings faces back to the windows; rescued neighbors return for the ending. Houses can offer gifts, trouble or a separate challenge. Three hidden rooms contain rare sweets, and finding all three opens an optional midnight train. Its roofs, compartments and pursuing conductor lead to a special costume and a different ending. These detours reward exploration, but reaching the final encounter does not require finding every secret or rescuing every resident.
The final confrontation is with the Candy King, whose rushes leave brief opportunities to strike. Three hearts and checkpoints make failed attempts part of the journey, while ordinary sweets can restore health. The game uses original pixel art and music and runs as a real NES cartridge in the browser. Use the directional buttons to move, A to jump and B to throw or recall the pumpkin; hold Down with B to set it down and press Up at an entrance. The title and opening instructions introduce the controls before the first street. A downloadable cartridge is available alongside the browser game.