Article from the Amity Park Gazette
Phantom Walks Among Us
DANNY PHANTOM HAS BEEN sighted in Amity Park for over 2 years. His first appearance was at Casper High School, where he was seen fighting a ghost known as the Lunch Lady. He was known for appearing out of nowhere, and for disappearing just as quickly. It is only recently that we have indisputable evidence of where he goes when he isn’t fighting ghosts.
This evidence was provided by local Casper High School student, Wes Weston (16). Weston captured video of fellow high school student Daniel James Fenton (16) transforming into the elusive Phantom.
“So these bright rings of light appear around his middle, and then they split apart, turning him from Phantom to Fenton or the other way around,” Weston says. “He does this all the time. He even has a battle cry! And Danny Fenton? Danny Phantom? Just how oblivious are people these days?”
Weston went on to explain that he had been trying to collect evidence for over a year, but Phantom had always managed to destroy it. “But not this time. Now the whole world will know that I’m not crazy, and that Phantom walks among us as Danny Fenton.”
Danny Fenton’s parents are reknown ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton. They have previously spoken with the Gazette to warn of the dangers of ghosts. “You can’t trust them,” Maddie Fenton said in an interview with the Gazette’s own Bina Bai. “They are insidious beings. They can and will prey on your emotions to get you to lower your guard. Then, when you’re vulnerable to them, they’ll strike.”
Maddie Fenton has also spoken at length about Phantom himself. “That Phantom character is wholly untrustworthy. His is a classic case of ghostly manipulation, but on a large scale. He’s playing at being a hero now to gain the trust of Amity Park citizens. We don’t know what he’s planning to do with that trust, but when we do, we intend to shut him down.”
“And that’s when we’ll strike!” Jack Fenton added in the same interview. “We’ll catch that Phantom, and then we’ll make sure he never hurts anyone!”
Jack and Maddie Fenton are currently unavailable for comment. Danny Fenton is also unavailable for comment, and Phantom remains as elusive as ever.
While Weston’s video does answer the question of where Phantom goes when he isn’t hunting ghosts, it raises more questions than it answers. What exactly is Phantom? A ghost pretending to be a human child? A specter hiding in the body of a high schooler? Some ghost/human hybrid the likes of which the world has never seen before? And if Phantom can pass so easily as human, how many other ghosts can do the same? Are there other phantoms walking among us?
GIW press secretary Jessica McCarthy does not have answers to these questions. “This situation is highly unprecendented,” she says. “However, our teams are working to understand exactly what threat Phantom poses to our nation, as well as how to neutralize that threat.”
The Gazette’s most recent poll gives Phantom a 45% approval rating. When asked what they thought of Phantom, Amity Park citizens had much to say.
“He’s a menace,” Jonathan Trudeau (47) says. “He causes property damage with his illegal fights, and he kidnapped the mayor. People always forget that little tidbit, but I remember! He needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible.”
“He’s better than the other ghosts,” Gene Vernon (25) says. “He only shows up when the other ghosts are already doing harm, and he takes the fight away from us most the time. I don’t know what was up with him stealing jewelry, though. That wasn’t cool.”
Henrietta White (79) says what we’re all thinking, though: “He does good, and he does bad. But the thing is, he has the power to make everything he does impact all of us. And I’m not sure I like seeing that power in the hands of a ghost.”
With the power to not only influence our lives, but to pass unseen in the guise of one of our children, what else can Phantom do to our town and our citizens?
By Janette Smith
Additional links: tumblr (original version with additional unexpanded excerpts)