text: Warning: Contains death and descriptions of corpses. Tommy was always an ill-tempered boy. He was as stubborn and angry as a wasp swarm. It’s easy to see why. He had to fight so hard to survive. He worked like a man before he had ten years to his name. Worse yet, his nickname was his only other. He was so young when his parents died, he couldn’t remember their last name. The Master Sweep may have known, but he didn’t give Tommy the privilege. Like many young boys with impoverished parents or none at all, Tommy cleaned chimneys. Tommy sometimes wondered who was worse off, the orphans or those who had been sold by their own parents. Some of them were as young as three. Most were around six. They relied on the Master Sweep for employment, food, and clothing. Called apprentices, the Master had full control. The sold ones had papers declaring the Master their legal guardian. They couldn’t escape until adulthood, though most wouldn’t make it that far. This lead to Tommy’s anger. A child with the rage of a grown man. It had been a routine day at work. Tommy went down a chimney expecting to emerge once it was clean. Now, Tommy was small for his age. That’s how he made it as long as he did. Many boys were left to starve once they got too big. Well, starve more. That was the day he was just a bit too big. He was stuck. Like many other climbing boys, he was stuck. In the dark and soot. His was born in the dirt and never got the chance to get out. He died in there. He lost the fight. But Tommy was stubborn. Stubborn and angry as a wasp swarm. And now, just as violent. He was no longer bound by his malnourished child body. Now, he’d show everyone what his malevolent mind could do. Tommy’s Master Sweep woke up in the night to the sound of coughing. He didn’t feel alarmed right away. He’d soon have good reason to be. He smelled soot, and heard a growl. One of the last sounds he’d ever hear. He went missing for a while. But they found him. A piece or two at a time. He was stuffed up chimneys of regular customers all over the city. The wider parts, like pelvis and torso, were found in the ovens. If a grown man could fit up a chimney, this story wouldn’t have happened. The head? Grand opening. I said he was missing, but I never said they thought he was alive. His head was found outside his house, coals shoved in where the eyes would be. It’s likely he was alive during dismemberment. I can’t recall where his eyes were, but I think I’ve conveyed the violence enough. Tommy wasn’t finished. Master Sweeps all over began turning up...all over. Authorities tried to stop it somehow, following the obvious pattern, but you can’t catch a ghost. They predicted the pattern correctly, but they were powerless to do anything about it. As powerless as young Tommy had been while alive. But he was contained nearly a year after death. My boss’s predecessor realized what was going on. Many ghosts come from that time and place, but our Malevolent Orphan was especially interesting to him. There was so much raw power. He used his expertise to capture The Malevolent Orphan, and brought him here. To the Dusk Museum. None of the ghosts have free reign, though some have more than others. Tommy has many restrictions, due to his volatile nature. Also because he’s a rare free roaming ghost, moving himself where he pleases. He’s very rude, but hasn’t tried to kill anyone here in years. Nowadays, he mostly stays in his area and insults people. Still hating the world. We give him things to do, but he doesn’t always cooperate. He does enjoy describing the things he’s done to people. I find it curious, that a child could have such a hatred for the world. A malevolence typically seen in jaded adults. But that’s what we gave, here at the Dusk Museum. It’s what we live for. We take pride in our displays. Thank you for your interest.