The Skin-Taker

> Come, my darling, soon you'll find
> The shoelace you'll follow behind
> Fall in the water
> Neglected daughter
> And find you some peace of mind. [laughs]
>
> Skin-Taker's voice, as Janice is about to fall in the river, "Welcome to Our Happy Ship!"

The Skin-Taker is the main antagonist of Candle Cove. A skeleton wearing a top hat and cape made of the skin of his victims. Skin-Taker first appears in "The Omen!" where every character who knows about him is terrified by the prospect of his return. He holds the title of the scariest villain in the show.

## Appearance

The Skin-Taker is a tall skeleton puppet that is almost as tall as Janice. His eyes are made of glass and are too large for his skull with cold, blue pupils. The top hat and cape he wears are crafted from human skin of various shades. On his neck, holding his cape together, is a golden skull brooch with ruby eyes. His jaw slides from side to side. When questioned why, he states it's "To grind your skin".

## Personality

> To me, your life matters not
> I won't even entertain the thought
> To be your friend?
> *[scoffs]*
> Will your folly ever end?
> Or have you your place simply forgot?
>
>

The Skin-Taker starts off as someone who cares only for himself and his revenge. Despite his violent nature, he is known for being a gentleman and exhibiting polite behavior. He rarely shouts, often talking in a smooth, entrancing voice and usually speaks in limericks. As the story progresses, he shows a soft spot for Horace, and later, the rest of the Rubberfishes Crew. Which hints at a potential redemption arc for the unaired season 3.

It's revealed that after a very traumatic event, he removed his heart from his chest and hid it away, leaving with it his painful memories. Destroying his heart, however, is the only way he can be killed, and his heart is rumored to be made of a precious stone that many people would want to steal for profit, so Horace sets out to find it. The Skin-Taker says he doesn't want his heart back in his chest as he doesn't want to become his old self, so Horace promises to guard it himself. It turns out his heart is made of angel aura quartz and is thus not very valuable, but Horace claims the journey to find it was worth it.

In season 2, after being in close vicinity to his heart for a while, he's much milder to his crew and Horace and is often seen having tea parties with Horace and baking/cooking for everyone. By the latter half of season 2, he and Horace are married and wear matching rings made of rainbow obsidian.

## Relationships

### Pirate Percy

The Skin-Taker can barely stand to look at Percy, as he reminds him of someone he knew in the past.

### Poppy

The Skin-Taker holds a deep grudge against Poppy and has made it his goal to end his life. Poppy later uncovered that he had skinned him and banished him back to the Abyssal kingdom to avenge the victims.

### Sariah

Sariah's kindness reminds him of someone he knew, so he grows fond of her. He blames Milo when she leaves, which contributes to him killing him later.

### Milo

Skin-Taker is annoyed by Milo's treacherous nature, but he eases up on him as Horace trusts him. He is furious to find out Milo betrayed Horace to take his place as captain of the Rubberfishes, and as a result, he kills him and turns him into a pair of gloves.

### Janice

Nobody really knows what Skin-Taker is planning to do with Janice once he's captured her or why he's so fixated on her. Most think he wants to skin her, but he's had plenty opportunities to do so and he hasn't hurt her in any way.

### Horace Horrible

When first summoned, the Skin-Taker sees Horace as a means to an end and treats him with indifference. For Horace, the Skin-Taker is a figure of reverence because of his exceptional power. As time goes by, their relationship dynamic shifts. By the end of season 1, the Skin-Taker respects Horace, and Horace no longer idolizes him. This makes them equal, not master and servant, enabling them to behave like a married couple, not a villain/henchman. They even have matching rings by the start of Season 2.

In the episode "It's an Ambush!", Milo deceives the Skin-Taker into believing Horace fell in battle, causing him to become despondent. Because of the Skin-Taker's grief, Milo briefly takes over as the main villain until the Skin-Taker finds out about his betrayal and kills him in a fit of rage. Once Horace returns to him alive and well, the Skin-Taker drops his cool and collected look and embraces Horace, kissing him all over his face. (This is censored in the official re-runs, but not in the Hijackings).

### The Rubberfishes

He views everyone with contempt at first, but he slowly warms up to them later, to the point he views them as his children as much as Horace does.

## Trivia

* Jodie Silver was not afraid of the Skin-Taker puppet. In fact, she had to hold back laughter every time he was on set because she found his big eyes goofy
* He sometimes wears a veil whenever he wants to pass through a crowd of people undetected
* Every now and then, crew members of the Candle Cove show would leave the Skin-Taker puppet in random places, just to freak out the others
* Emerson Grimes once had a very vivid nightmare about the Skin-Taker staring at him while grinding his teeth