Spooky

> *As a ghost tied to her mansion/hospital/dollhouse/laboratory/gate to Hell, Spooky, originally, didn’t even notice that her mansion was a victim of The Cross, her and the various specimens that dwelled inside it included. That is, until, a greedy king and his puppeteered companion nearly completely demolished it to make way for their golden castle. That was when she found out she wasn’t in the ominous, thundering hill she thought the mansion resided on, she was somewhere much different, a whole other universe! Sadly, without her in her home universe, she cannot free herself to be back with her parents, and is forced to dwell in the overworld to her disdain. Similarly, the specimens within the mansion were forced to stay beside her in search of a new home, coming out at a moment's notice. Teaming up with a certain undead serial killer, Spooky, for the first time in her unlife, must trek outside the boundaries of her mansion and punish the king and puppet with a lot of haunting, spooking, and, of course, bloodshed.”'*
>
> *Spooky’s description*

***Spooky*** is a playable character in *IndieVisible*, being the sole representative of the Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion series. In *IndieVisible,* Spooky uses a few of the techniques the player character uses in the original game, as well as summoning the various specimens that attempt to kill the player from that game.

## Playstyle

Spooky is best described as a sort of stage-control character, with many of her attacks allowing her to control the space between her and the opponent and manipulate what the opponent does via various pressuring tools and spacing options. Many of her tilts and aerials are either deceptively quick or very strong, especially when considering the fact that Spooky is one of the lightest characters in the game, even more so with her great air speed, one of the best in the game, in fact. Her special attacks also allow for a lot of set-ups, versatility, and punish options, as most of them can leave the opponent vulnerable quite easily.

A good example of this is Spooky’s neutral special, Spooper, which, at first, is simply a sort of barricade for both Spooky and opponents. Initially, it can be quite useful for edgeguarding, as it can quite easily block off an opponent’s recovery move, and off stage, it can also be useful as a gimping option. It takes 10% of damage before disappearing, in which after 3 seconds, Spooky can place down another Spooper, albeit bloodier and more damaged. Every time it is killed, it loses 2% of it’s max health, meaning at this point, it would only take 8% of damage before disappearing, then 6%, to 4%, etc. After it dies at 2% of health, the next time Spooky tries to summon Spooper, it will be a monster that does heavy damage in front of her as well as stunning opponents. Although in this state, it loses its edgeguarding and shield options, it is quite useful as a kill option as at this point, the opponent is likely at a high percent of damage. Its stunning abilities can also be used for an easy KO if its attack isn’t enough. Afterwards, it will reset back to the Spooper with the max 10% of health.

When normal, Spooper, as stated above, can be useful for edgeguarding opponents, but can also be quite good as a shield of sorts. Its high initial health can also make it good for preventing cross-ups or stage control, as it somewhat limits where the opponent can attack without leaving themself vulnerable to being punished (i.e a jump into an air dodge).

Spooky’s side special, Specimen Summon, is most likely one of her most versatile attacks for the fact its essentially three attacks in one. The specimen that is summoned depends on how long the button is held before releasing, with the first being Specimen 2, then going to Specimen 4 after 2 seconds, then Specimen 11 after another two seconds, and then back to Specimen 2 after another 2 seconds with the cycle repeating. This can be quite useful for mix-ups due to the cycle, though can be punished as Spooky leaves herself vulnerable. Although all the specimens summoned have different attributes, they all chase after the closest opponent nearby, floating to damage them and eventually disappearing after a few seconds or when taking enough damage. Additionally, only one Specimen can be out at a time, and Spooky must wait around 4 seconds before summoning another one.

The first specimen summoned via Spooky’s side special is Specimen 2. It is the second slowest of the three, and deals the second most damage at around 10%. It is also the least durable specimen, taking up around 12% of damage before disappearing, and disappears automatically after 11 seconds. Compared to the others, Specimen 2 cannot travel through walls, though it can travel through thin platforms, making it quite easy to avoid on its own. Specimen 2’s main benefit, however, is that when an opponent is damaged by it, they are slowed down for around 3 seconds, reducing their ground and air speed. This can easily allow Specimen 2 to catch up and deal even more damage to them, mitigating it’s poor mobility. It can also allow Spooky to catch up to an opponent, allowing for easier combos which are harder to escape from.

Specimen 4 comes after Specimen 2, and is the fastest of the three, though not by a noticeable degree. It deals the least damage, only dealing around 4%, but has the fastest attack speed of the three. It also disappears the quickest, going away after 5 seconds. It is able to go through walls unlike Specimen 2, and although it lacks the slowing attack, it’s main benefit is that it is completely immune to any and all damage, simply phasing through attacks and projectiles. This, combined with it’s high speed and ability to travel through walls, makes it able to be quite a dangerous threat, even when taking into consideration its low attack power.

Finally, Specimen 11 comes after Specimen 4, and is the slowest of the three. It deals the most damage at around 22%, and is the most durable, taking at least 25% of damage before disappearing automatically. It also automatically disappears after 16 seconds, making it the longest lasting specimen. It can also go through walls like Specimen 4. Specimen 11’s main attribute is that, if its target is too far away, it will teleport closer to them, allowing it to quickly close the gap between it and an opponent. The distance it will teleport and where it will show up is always consistent, being around a few feet behind the target, meaning it is quite easy to predict, allowing Spooky to take advantage of it for set-ups or combos. Specimen 11’s main attack also deals a heavy amount of knockback, being the best specimen for directly KOing opponents.

It is important to note that certain players tend to spam Spooky’s side special, constantly summoning specimens and avoiding direct combat, only really using neutral special and down special in order to stop opponents. This behavior is commonly called ‘Crystal Laking,’ named after the main setting of the ‘’Friday the 13th’ films and how this technique is often compared to camping, and is heavily frowned upon in the competitive scene. Spooky’s multiple jumps and decent speed allow her to avoid opponents quite easily, and with the specimen’s being able to fly, most of them are safe to summon off-stage. Overall, it is heavily suggested to uses side special with caution, and only utilize it with a good set-up or plan beforehand.

Spooky’s up special, Woormy Lunge, is a sort of command grab with a long range, however, unlike most command grabs, in which the player pulls the opponent towards them, Spooky and Woormy Charles lunge towards the grabbed opponent, dealing some heavy damage. Although it is slow, it can be quite a deadly move, especially near the ledge, having some deceptive KO power. Even if a player manages to mash out of the grab, it is still a decent approach option, as Spooky can shield relatively quickly after initiating the move. In the air, Woormy Charles grabs at an upwards angle while gaining a slight boost in height in order to assist in recovery. If it grabs a ledge, Spooky will tether onto it, giving her quite a reliable recovery alongside her multiple jumps and great air speed. If Woormy grabs onto an opponent, it and Spooky will lunge towards it, similarly to the grounded version, with both it and the opponent getting popped into the air, the opponent going higher up. This is quite useful for denying edgeguards from opponents, and as Spooky can act quicker out of the grab than her opponent, Spooky can easily combo it into several of her aerials.

Spooky’s down special, Spooky Surprise, acts as a sort of trap move, which activates 2 seconds after Spooky uses the special, leaving behind a small metal pole. If an opponent were to walk over this pole, they will be ‘jumpscared,’ or stunned, by a cardboard cutout. This stunning effect lasts 1 second, and can be enough time for Spooky to punish with a combo. It can also be used as a good edgeguarding tool, as it can be hard to notice. Its also quite good in conjunction with Spooky’s side special, as the stun can be long enough for some of the slower specimens, such as Specimen 11, to catch up to the opponent.

However, even with Spooky’s strengths, she has plenty of faults. Her biggest flaw is her lightweight nature. Spooky is one of, if not, the lightest character in the game, making her incredibly easy to launch. She can use her various tools to help keep her distance from her opponent, and many of her attacks are disjointed to combat this, but if her opponent can close the gap between them and Spooky, she can be taken down quite quickly.

Many of her special moves also have some notable flaws to them. In general, if an opponent can easily read through and predict Spooky’s options, then she can be at a heavy disadvantage. Spooper can be quite easily ignored, and the monster form can be shielded and predicted quite easily if the opponent pays attention to how many times Spooper was destroyed. Each of the specimens from Spooky’s side special have some noticeable and exploitable weakness to them, and as such, they can be avoided or destroyed by an opponent. Up special is predictable and very punishable, especially if it doesn’t land on them, and in the air, it can be gimped quite easily if the opponent falls on Spooky at the right time. Down special is also easy to keep track of and avoid if the opponent pays attention to where Spooky placed it, and moves with active hitboxes, such as forward dashes, can plow through the cutout without the opponent being stunned.

Overall, however, Spooky has plenty of options for mindgames and punishing, and her tools allow her to essentially control her opponent into where they go and how they deal with the various tricks and traps she can use. Spooky’s good air game and multiple jumps also allow her to further mix up her opponents, and in general, she is a very tricky opponent to take care of, even when experienced.

## Moveset

### On-screen Appearance

* Spooky phases through the stage above it.

### Taunts

* **Up Taunt** - Spooky takes out a knife and smiles at it before putting it away.
* **Side Taunt** - Spooky spins around while surrounded by Class Shadows.
* **Down Taunt** - Spooky makes a 'scary' face while raising her arms.

### Block Animation

* Spooky takes out and pets The White Cat while surrounded by a circular version of Specimen 7.

### Idle Poses

* Spooky giggles to herself.
* Spooky stretches her arms downward.

### Victory Pose

* Spooky 'jumpscares' the camera as she giggles to herself, then strikes a pose.

## Arcade Mode Route

Postal Dude's Arcade Mode route is titled ***WORST WEEK EVER***.

Like all other Arcade Mode routes for other characters, there is unique pre-fight banter before each fight.

## Trivia

* Spooky's codename is **War**, referencing how she wants to declare war on humans due to them finding ghosts like her cute. It can also be a reference to the PTSD her father had presumably from war, which ended up causing him to kill her when she was a human.