Fred the Ghost

I've been posting this character named Fred the Ghost for quite a few years now. It started out with just some character illustrations, but then I started doing more storytelling. A few years ago, I did a little collaboration with a shop in Portland. Leading up to the collaboration announcement, I created this origin story about Fred. This was all posted on Instagram and at this point, the story is buried in that grid. So, I wanted to give the story an official place to live and be discovered. Here's how Fred the Ghost found me.

 CHAPTER 1: Into the Unknown

This is Fred. He’s been hanging out at an old broken down house for as long as he could remember. People used to come visit all the time back in the good old days, but it’s been so many years since his last visitor. You see, Fred has always had an interest in adventure. He’s always been attracted to the unknown. That’s why he really loved trying to communicate with people who came to visit his house, but after so many years of hanging out by himself, he became bored and lonely. One day, he decided it was time to go see the rest of the world. It was time for an adventure into the unknown. So he left his house. 

After Fred left his house, he roamed the backroads for quite a long time. There was so much to see. The world became much bigger once he left the confines of his house. While wandering down a gravel road, Fred happened upon an old gas station. 

This seemed like a good place to take a break from his wanderings. He climbed to the top of the roof and stared off into the night sky. 

It wasnt long before Fred eagerly got back to his wanderings, following that gravel road to the mountains in the far distance. 

Chapter 2: Into the forest

After a long time wandering through the dry grasslands and rolling hills, Fred discovered a path leading into the forest and up into the mountains. He followed it, taking his time making sure to explore all the parts of the forest that looked interesting. Sometimes he'd stop to investigate weird looking roots sticking out of the ground. The forest had so many interesting things to look at.

Eventually, the forest path lead to an amazing viewpoint overlooking a very big mountain. Naturally, Fred had to stop and take in the view. Fred the ghost was a true tourist of the world.

As Fred made his way through the mountains he found yet another path to follow. This path was a bit different. It was made of hard rock and seemed to wind it's way down through the mountains. At one point, the forest opened up to let the moonlight shine through. Fred stopped to take it all in.

The path he was following kept going downhill and eventually led him to a river. This was quite the sight. The river felt familiar, but he couldn’t remember when the last time he was by a river.

 

He followed the water and found a house by the river's edge. This looked like a good place for a short stay. The house looked abandoned, but he could see the water from the window.

Chapter 3: Into the city

After staying in the house by the water for a little while, Fred was ready to continue his wanderings... he just wasnt sure which direction to go. He wandered through the forest behind the house and up a hill. At the top of the hill, Fred could hear noises in the distance. Clearly, this was the direction he needed to go. He made his way down the hill and quickly found civilization.

There were all sorts of roads leading this way and that.

It was so easy to lose his direction, but he was ok with that.

There were plenty of sights to see so he just let his curiosity lead the way.

 Chapter 4: into the light

Fred discovered all sorts of cool things in the city. There was this weird metal stick contraption thingy that was just standing alone on the sidewalk. Fred wasn't sure what that thing was or if it belonged to someone, so he just moved on.

He befriended a fire hydrant even though he didnt know what that was. He thought it was a type of hibernating troll that he'd never seen before, so he tried to tell it a joke... he only made himself laugh, but it was still a good joke.

He also found a really old looking truck. This looked familiar. Maybe in his past life, he used to drive one of these around by that old house he woke up in...

Fred continued to wander the streets letting his curiosity lead the way. He came across a bush filled with flowers. They were pretty to look at, so many different shapes... and all the flowers, hanging out together. He started to get a little sad because he hadnt run into anyone yet. He was hoping to find someone that might be interested in talking to a ghost.

Just then, he heard the sound of someone walking nearby. He quickly floated toward a paved footpath leading to a grassy area. It was there he found the person he heard, walking a dog. Fred thought maybe this person was friendly. Maybe this person would be interested in talking to a ghost. Fred decided to follow the person walking their dog back to their home.