Gideon

* Log
* Hedgehog

Cr1TiKaL

**Gideon** is one of the three main characters of *Cat Ghost* and the playable character of *Happybirthday*.

## Description

Gideon debuted as a white hedgehog with 9 spikes and a cream-colored face.

From CatGhost 9 Welcome Home, Gideon appears as a log with a face, a wooden twig nose, and a single branch with two leaves.

Little is known about Gideon's human form, as it is unconfirmed whether he has appeared as a human in *Cat Ghost*.

## Personality

Gideon is usually very grumpy and pessimistic, often being annoyed by Elon and Naarah's attitudes. He has a very bad sense of humour, and does not understand even simple knock-knock jokes. He also appears to be rather apathetic, being unfazed by most of the magical events in *Cat Ghost*.

Gideon does cheer up on occasion, however; he enjoys chopping wood, describing it as his favorite chore, and is happy to have been turned into a log.

Gideon is Christian and says that he loves going to church and believes that he is saved by the power of Jesus, who lives in his heart.

## Appearances

### In Episodes

Gideon has appeared in almost every CatGhost episode, not including Void 01 and 02.

Gideon's birthday is celebrated in CatGhost 1 Birthday. According to his birthday cake, Gideon is 48 years old, although he claims his birthday is not on that day.

In CatGhost 5 Banana it is revealed that Gideon was completely unaware that he is a hedgehog. When he realizes that he has taken on the form of a hedgehog, he first reacts panicked, but later in the episode is shown to have calmed down.

In CatGhost 6 Hole, a second Gideon, holding an egg, emerges from the mouth of a large bust in a strange sequence. This second Gideon perfectly mirrors all actions of the "original", even raising his left hand when asked to raise his right. When they accidentally touch, they both let out a scream and appear to phase out of existence.

Both GIdeons appear again in CatGhost 7 Key, literally causing the ground to shake every time they come close to touching each other. At the end of the episode, they high-five each other, which causes an apocalyptic event.

Gideon's appearance in CatGhost 8 Judgement was as a floating, disembodied version of himself, same as Elon and Naarah.

From CatGhost 9 Welcome Home onwards, Gideon appears in his new log form, with which he is very happy.

In CatGhost 10 Reunion, Bethany appears for the first time and immediately shows affection for Gideon and proclaims her love for him. Gideon, who does not seem to know her, quickly starts liking her as well.

Beth tells him that she can bring him happyness, upon which she shows him a box full of sticks and a small round ball.

Gideon only has a small part in CatGhost 11 Confrontation, where he appears in a Skinwalker-posessed form at a dinner table with a likewise posessed Beth. Both say nothing and just stare intensly at Naarah, who is at the opposite side of the table.

In CatGhost 12 Resistance, Gideon appears in a prison cell, very similar to the one from CatGhost 2, that is floating in the void. When Bethany appears, he tries to ask her for help, but she does not respond and just floats away. Gideon is left very sad and confused, and decides to take a piece of paper and write Bethany's name on it, then lets it go out into the void.

In CatGhost 13 Acceptance, he appears for a short while, where he joins Elon and Naarah in the Throne fusion.

This marks the last appearance of Gideon.

### In Games

#### *Happybirthday*

Gideon is the playable character of *Happybirthday,* in which the player directs him through the Dark Forest, interacting with various objects, including Key, the chair, and busts.

#### *Leak*

A pile of clones of Gideon's hedgehog form appear in the Clone ending of *Leak .*

## Relationships

### Elon

Gideon is frequently a victim of Elon's magic, but as such usually doesn't appear to be afraid of her. Even when faced with the prospect of being cursed, he reacts more annoyed by her than frightened. The only times he shows fear of Elon is in CatGhost 3 Window, where due to a misunderstanding, Elon blames him for a prank that was played on her and gives him a long threatening speech during which she transforms into a demonic creature. When asked how he met Elon and Naarah, Gideon says that he remembers "writing a bunch of notes, and all of a sudden there was [a] weird portal on the wall, so [he] went through, and that's how [he] was born." On another occasion, Elon simply says that they met because "he's nosy".

### Naarah

Just as with Elon, Gideon seems to be annoyed by Naarah, as she also commonly threatens and torments him. In CatGhost 4 Circle, he at first feels frightened and shocked when Naarah becomes possessed and starts rubbing against him, but then takes a liking to her new personality, before quickly going back to being disgusted. All of this seems to bother him more than the fact that Naarah could permanently lose her personality and get possessed forever, showing that he actually cares little about her.

### Bethany

Gideon says in CatGhost 8 that he does not remember Bethany, and isn't sure whether he is supposed to. When Bethany appears in CatGhost 10 Reunion in serpent form, Gideon can understand her voicebeeps and immediately takes a liking to her, despite apparently not recognizing her. In CatGhost 12, he asks Bethany for help escaping from his cell, but she does not respond and floats away, leaving Gideon very sad. His last action in the main series is writing Bethany's name on a note and letting it float off into the void.

### The Council

Gideon mentions in CatGhost 8 that the Council were "really nice guys" and that they "used to go fishing a lot", but it was a "really long time ago" so he doesn't really remember much about it.

## Fate

A purple jar in *Banana* gives Gideon's birth and death dates as 1623 and 1672 respectively, meaning that he died at the age of 48 or 49, depending on whether he died before or after his birthday that year.

According to Key, Gideon died, but is not dead, and is sleeping, but not dreaming. Like with Elon and Naarah, Key will say that Gideon "vanished". When asked for a date, it will say that he died in 1672 because "it was time". When asked where Gideon is, Key will answer that he is in "a dark place" because he is "not allowed to pass" and got there because of the "Temptress", Elon. To escape, he needs "resolution", to which Naarah is said to be the key.

During a Live Session, Key says that Gideon must judge his burden, and that he cannot pass until he discovers what that burden is.

It was said during another Live Session that there are many fakes of Gideon, which may be connected to his voice acting credit being "Clone #221". Key also says that Gideon 'has to be killed by them'. The icon for the *Cat Ghost* Youtube Channel at one point featured a large crowd of Gideons, some of which looked like very low-quality copies. A pile of Gideon clones also appears in one of the possible endings for *Leak*.

## Trivia

* Gideon's last name is revealed to be Philips in CatGhost 2 Knock, though the spelling is unknown.
* Gideon was voiced by show creator Kris Patrick until CatGhost 8, with exception of the other Gideon introduced in CatGhost 6, who was voiced by Cr1TiKaL. In Season 2, starting with the Portal Saga, Gideon is voiced by Cr1TiKaL.
* In CatGhost 1 during the *Happybirthday* segment, Gideon's "voicebeeps" were the same as the busts. In an update to the actual game *Happybirthday* in 2019, he was given his own voicebeeps.
* In CatGhost 5, when Naarah insults his appearance, Gideon says "[he has] to eat a lot of meat and veggies to keep this look." In CatGhost 7, both Gideons are seen eating a plate of meat and veggies.
* When asked about the world ending, Gideon says that he remembers an explosion but was nowhere near it.
* Gideon claims in CatGhost 9 that he is unable to feel fear, and suspects that it is a genetic disorder.

## Gallery

### Hedgehog Form

Gideon in his usual bad mood in CatGhost 1 Birthday.The pixelated version of Gideon in *Happybirthday*.Gideon writes with a stick in CatGhost 2 Knock.Gideon with visible stubble after being stuck in a cell for 2 years in CatGhost 2.Gideon being hypnotized by the Horrible Beast in CatGhost 2.Gideon is alarmed to discover that he is a hedgehog in CatGhost 5 Banana.Gideon's diet as seen in CatGhost 7 Key.An unusually happy Gideon doing his favorite chore in CatGhost 3 Window.Gideon trembling after Elon's threat in CatGhost 3.A possessed Naarah disrespecting Gideon's personal space in CatGhost 4 Circle.Gideon's paw in CatGhost 2.Two Gideons high five in CatGhost 7.Gideon as he appears in CatGhost 8 Judgement.Gideon enjoying his cake in the same episode.Gideon as a statue (second from the left) at the end of CatGhost 8.Gideon in his cell in CatGhost 12 Resistance.Ditto.Gideon's last appearance in the same episode.A loop of Gideon walking (edited from CatGhost 5).The fourth Cat Ghost YouTube Channel icon, featuring several Gideon clones.Gideon clones in *Leak*.
### Log Form

In the hidden "can you keep a secret" video.Gideon, after realising that he has turned into a log in CatGhost 9.Being picked up and carried around by Naarah in the same episode.Gideon and Bethany reunite in CatGhost 10 Reunion.Both snuggling in th same episode."Sitting" at a table with Naarah and Beth in CatGhost 11 Confrontation.
## Behind the Scenes

### Names

Other names that were first considered for Gideon were "Bartholomew" and "Phillip". The name "Phillip" was later re-used as his last name.

### Voice acting

In the credits of all episodes before CatGhost 6 Hole, Gideon's voice actor credit was "Clone #221", although in that episode, the second Gideon was voiced by Cr1TiKaL. CatGhost 7 Key revealed that Clone #221 was voiced by the creator of the show, Kris Patrick. Cr1TiKaL voices Gideon in all Season 2 episodes.

Kris Patrick has revealed that for all of Gideons lines, Kris first records himself saying the line, then sends it to Cr1TiKaL, to give him an impression of what the line should sound like.

### T-Shirts

A black T-Shirt with an image of Gideon sleeping in a coffin was a reward for 25$-tier Patrons of the *Cat Ghost* Patreon.

Close-up of the shirt.
### "canyou/keepasecret.mp4"

The first appearance of Gideon in his Season 2 log-form was in a secret video on the *Cat Ghost* Website, a link to which a community member received through Key.

Screenshot from the video.
### Trivia

* Gideon is a Hebrew name meaning "destroyer", "hewer", or "one who has a stump for a hand".
	+ A "hewer" is "one who cuts wood, stone or other materials" or "a miner who cuts coal from a seam."
* In the Bible, Gideon was a judge, a military leader and prophet.
* Gideon is also the Rastafarian term for Armageddon.
* There is some confusion about whether his animal form is a hedgehog or a porcupine, as he was identified as a hedgehog by Naarah (and himself) in CatGhost 5 Banana, but was called a porcupine by the show's creator Kris Patrick in another (now unavailable) video.
* Another idea for Gideon's new design after CatGhost 8 Judgement was a wooden mallet.

### Gallery

The original drawpile for the *Cat Ghost* characters. Gideon can be seen at number 13.Early concept sketches of Gideon.Suggested designs for the characters in their new forms, with Gideon as a mallet, and his final log form.
## References

1. ↑ CatGhost 2 Knock
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 CatGhost 1 Birthday
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 CatGhost 5 Banana
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 CatGhost 8 Judgement
5. ↑ Banana/Jar messages
6. ↑ Key/Questions and Responses
7. ↑ Key/Live\_Session\_Responses#Kane12321
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Key/Live Session Responses#Shikuro
9. ↑ *Gideon*, Nameberry
10. ↑ *Gideon*, SheKnows
11. ↑ *Hewer*, Oxford Living Dictionaries
12. ↑ *Gideon*, Wikipedia
13. ↑ *Iyaric*, Wikipedia
14. ↑ Bedfellows Channel. What Now?, YouTube (now unavailable)

1. ↑ CatGhost 2 Knock
2. ↑ CatGhost 3 Window
3. ↑ CatGhost 9 Welcome Home
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 CatGhost 8 Judgement
5. ↑ If Gideon died before his birthday in 1672, this would be his age at death.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 CatGhost 1 Birthday
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 CatGhost 5 Banana
8. ↑ Banana/Jar messages
9. ↑ Key/Questions and Responses
10. ↑ Key/Live\_Session\_Responses#Kane12321
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Key/Live Session Responses#Shikuro
12. ↑ Leak/Endings#Clone