This is an update on
my earlier investigation.With
help from Vision, we've been able to identify the man who opened Spooktacular. His name is Ethan Rome, and he rented the storefront for two months, but didn't begin moving costumes into the space until the middle of September. The employees he hired say he was odd, but not unkind, and paid well for the part-time work at his shop. We do not have any clear photos of him, but he's described as having blond hair, 5'5' and being 35 years of age. It's clear that the name is an alias - the identification he provided to rent the store are forgeries and don't trace back to anything, and his digital footprint is practically non-existent. I wouldn't be surprised if his appearance was also a disguise, given the man was obviously a skilled sorcerer - somebody of his caliber wouldn't have a problem altering his bodily features. In any case, Ethan has effectively appeared and disappeared without a trace - the last time he was seen was on the day before the Come As You Aren't party.
After conferring with my fellow magic-users in town, we've determined that the only costumes that caused the transformations came from Spooktacular. As many of you might have already surmised, the transformations are not permanent, and once the transformation has ended, the costume becomes entirely mundane. However, the costumes that remain in Spooktacular are still cursed. So to prevent any more chaos, we have closed the shop and sealed it with a variety of magical wards to keep the magic contained until we are able to dispel the curses. All other costumes, not bought at Spooktacular, are safe to wear.
If you would like to return the costume that was bought at Spooktacular, we will accept them, and store them safely within the shop.
I, myself, am purchasing my Halloween costume online, and having it shipped.
[Private to Magic-Users]The nature of the magic used for the curses are not malevolent, and it occurs to me as I was writing this, that this is more the work of a Trickster. Thor suggested to me that this seemed to be something Loki would do, but this was before Loki appeared. But I also considered this work could be Prankish in nature, along the lines of Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
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