Mildred

**Mildred** was a witch in *Midnight, Texas* and Fiji Cavanaugh's maternal aunt and caretaker of Mr. Snuggly. Prior to her death, she instructed her niece in the ways of witchcraft.

## Backstory

Much of Mildred's past is unknown though she had spent some of that time with her young niece, Fiji. Eventually, they grew apart and Fiji stopped visiting with her, though she and Fiji's mother would keep in contact.

Ten years prior to current events, Mildred welcomed her niece's, Fiji Cavanaugh, arrival back to Midnight and to her door-step. Mildred is astonished to see that the little girl that used to visit had grown up into a young woman. She also reintroduces Mr. Snuggly to her, though he hissed at her. Mildred berates him to be nicer to Fiji. She bids her welcome and brought her into her home and business, the Inquiring Mind; they sit down on the couch and catch up. Mildred, having spoken with Fiji's mom, mentioned several strange incidents, such as setting fire to her hospital room and breaking her windows in college. Fiji doesn't really remember what happened and attributed them to her "rage blackout" as that's what her therapist called them. Mildred had another perspective, she believed Fiji to be like her; not some "crazy" cat lady but a witch with extraordinary abilities. Fiji accepted the news rather well and soon Mildred begins to train her niece in the ways of witchcraft.

Sometime later, Fiji checked out her aunt's shop and came across a rather large chest; curiosity took the better of her and she opened it to reveal a rather large, cylindrical container with glyphs and runes atop the lid. Before she was able to peer further into the chest, Mildred stops her. She indicated that what lies within, Dark Magic, she's not ready for, at least not yet. She commands her niece that she's only to use it when she knows what she's doing, of which she's still untrained. Mildred goes on to give Fiji her first lesson in witchcraft. She instructed Fiji that bulbs are dormant in the winter, that being "natural", but as a witch, they can change the natural. She concentrates, raising her hands over the pot in front of her and a tulip sprouted and grew before Fiji's eyes until it bloomed. Fiji is astonished at what she just witnessed, asking her how she did it. Mildred explained that their power comes from their emotions, to make your feelings into intentions. Fiji, jokingly, recalls back in college how she broke the windows, though Mildred suggested something more "productive" instead of "destructive".

She handed Fiji her own pot and told her to give the bulb a little nudge and to think "Spring" and "Rebirth". Fiji struggled and began to say aloud random, yet related, words to spring such as hay fever and mowed lawns. She gave Fiji more guidance, that she has to *feel* something rather than just saying and focusing on the words. Fiji sees the boy she saw from when she moved to Midnight and *feels* something; Fiji attempts a second time as Mildred watches, proudly. A tulip bulb sprung to life and Mildred smiled at her progress, though Fiji proceeded and numerous other shrubbery began to grow from the surrounding pots, uncontrollably. Their growth is quick and rather large, sprouting out through the roof of the greenhouse and Mildred snaps Fiji out of her concentration, telling her to "stop!" Fiji's confused and asked if she did something wrong. Mildred tells her that she needs to be careful, that she needs to control her emotions, otherwise, her magic can become unstable, as evidence of the plant growth.

Late at night, Mildred watches over Fiji, as she's noticed that she's developed a serious and romantic relationship with the local boy, Jeremy. The next day, after giving Mr. Snuggly some milk, she warned her niece again about her magic and the boy, wanting to protect her from her own dangers. Fiji doesn't see the problem, but Mildred elaborated. She knew that Fiji was a powerful witch and advised her that she needed to guard her emotions. Having lived in Midnight, she admitted that she doesn't know the boy very well, and by that standard, Fiji didn't know him at all. She pleads with Fiji to protect her heart.

Despite her warning, around three months after Fiji began her relationship with Jeremy, Mildred entered her home to find her niece distraught, sitting over a covered body. She rushes over to her, asking what happened. She removed the blanket that Fiji had laid over Jeremy to find that he was covered in black scorch marks and boils; Jeremy was dead. Fiji was horrified at what had happened and filled with grief; she began to cry into her aunt's arms begging and asking her aunt what she had done. Mildred cradled her niece, attempting to comfort her to no avail.

## Throughout Midnight, Texas

### Season One

In *Riders On The Storm*, present-day, Mr. Snuggly offers himself as a sacrifice for a ritual Fiji developed in order to obtain answers to close the veil and protect Midnight. He elaborates that he wants to see Mildred again and that he spent the last seven years without her, indicating that Fiji had only lived with her aunt for three years before her death. Before Fiji performed the spell, she asks Mr. Snuggly to give her aunt a kiss for her when he saw her. However, the spell didn't work quite as intended and he was spared as the sacrifice, preventing him from seeing Mildred.

### Season Two

In *To Witch Hell and Back*, Manfred and Fiji perform a ritual to open the gates to Hexennacht, to Witch Hell. Fiji needed to speak to her aunt, hoping that she had the answers to why bad things were happening to Bobo. As Fiji and Manfred performed the spell in Home Cookin', blue flames signaled the spell's completion. In order for Mildred, a ghost, to be able to speak with Fiji, Manfred had to take her place in Hexennacht. As Manfred approaches, the gates to Hexennacht open and Mildred greets him, thanking him for being a good friend. Before he steps through, she gives him a warning; "don't let them touch you", otherwise, he'd be trapped in Witch Hell. Mildred and Manfred switch places and the gates close behind them. Fiji immediately embraces Mildred in a tight hug, asking her why she's in Hexennacht. Mildred informs her that they don't have much time, that bad things keep happening to Bobo because their family is cursed by Dark Witches. Fiji's confused as this is new information to her, wondering why this has been happening for generations and what did their ancestors do to piss off dark witches. Mildred doesn't know. She tells Fiji that it happened 800 years ago. She expresses that she would finally break the curse, that there was a way to do so, or at least so she thought. She turned to black magic, the kind she had warned Fiji about before, and it took her down a very dark path, a path that resulted in her death. Despite their power, she's adamant that the curse *will* kill Bobo. With time running out for Manfred in Hexennacht, Fiji pleads with Mildred for a way to save Bobo. She tells her niece that the only way to save the man she loved, Jedediah, from the curse was for her to turn him into a cat - Mr. Snuggly. Fiji doesn't want to accept that as the answer, that all she'd have to do is stop having sex but Mildred explains that the curse has nothing to do with sex, it's deeper than that. As Manfred screams for Fiji, her and Fiji's reunion comes to a quick end and Fiji pulls Manfred back from Hexennacht. The curse, she tells Manfred, is because Bobo truly loves Fiji and as long as he loves her, he will die.

## Personality

Much of her personality is unknown though Mildred seemed to be a kind woman who greatly loved Fiji. This is evident as she had taken in her niece after she was released from the hospital due to her budding magic. Seemingly, she also had a dark side, having in her possession a book of dark magic.

## Skills

Mildred possessed all the skills of a witch in *Midnight, Texas* that ranged from spell casting to manipulating objects, via telekinesis, to supplying potions. She was knowledgeable in many arcane ways, including Dark Magic.

## Trivia

* In *Midnight Crossroad*, Mildred's last name was revealed to be "Loeffler" and was Fiji's Great-Aunt.

## Gallery

* Season One
* Season Two

## References

1. ↑ Al Septien & Turi Meyer (Writers) and Greg Beeman (Director) (September 13th, 2017). *Riders On The Storm*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season One. Episode Nine. NBC.