No. There is only me. There is only my way. There is only the forest, and there is only surrender.
The Beast to the Woodsman
The Beast is the main antagonist of Over the Garden Wall. He is a mysterious entity that inhabits The Unknown and is feared throughout it. His goal is to beguile children such as the brothers, Wirt and Gregory, and turn them into Edelwood trees in order to fuel his lantern.
The Beast is voiced by Samuel Ramey.
Appearance[]
In silhouette[]
When in the darkness of the forest, the Beast is always shown in silhouette. He appears to have a humanoid shape with a head and cloak-covered body. He also appears to have antlers. His eyes usually glow bright white, but they can also appear with red pupils and sclera colored yellow, light yellow, and light blue.
In the light[]
His body is made out of what looks like Edelwood, with twisted faces and holes covering him entirely. His antlers resemble tree branches. His face is also revealed to have a mouth and a nose, but no ears. He has two arms with long-fingered hands.
Personality[]
The Beast is a manipulative and mysterious being. He is solely motivated by his own self-preservation and is indifferent to the pain and suffering caused by his actions. The Beast is very well-spoken and speaks matter-of-factly. These traits he uses to lull his victims into a false sense of security, accomplished by feigning concern. He is a master of deception, knowing exactly what to say to get people under his power, using reverse psychology by repeatedly asking the Woodsman to give him the lantern and grabbing at it when he wasn't looking, compelling the Woodsman to covet it deeply and seek to keep it lit with greater desperation. He typically has an even temperament, but threatening the lantern or defying him for too long can cause him to lose some composure.
The Beast has a tendency to sing. He has a song for chopping the Edelwood and another song directed to his intended victims.
History[]
The Art of Over the Garden Wall Book shows an early concept of what would become the character of the Beast in the form of Old Scratch.
He has the power to possess other creatures, such as Beatrice's dog shown in the very first episode, and "haunts" the inhabitants of The Unknown, like Adelaide who claimed to be following "the dark voices of the Beast." He is the self-proclaimed owner of the woods through which Wirt and Greg wander, as he says to Wirt that Greg is going to be "a part of [his] forest."
The Beast collided with the Woodsman's daughter. She was able to escape with a broken arm, throwing off her cloak with an axe. The Woodsman, who went to look for her, discovers the Beast standing over her things, which is why he decides that the beast killed her, and rushes at the beast with an axe, knocking the lantern out of his hands. The Beast fails to convince the Woodsman to return the lantern to him, instead he deceived the Woodsman into believing that his daughter's soul was kept alive inside the lantern, and would keep on living as long as the flame was lit. The lantern is kept lit by the oil from Edelwood Trees, a type of tree that forms when the Beast captures the souls of children led astray. For many years the Woodsman has chopped the wood and collected the oil from it without knowing how the trees were created. In the finale, "The Unknown," the Beast finally overpowers the Woodsman in their fight over the lantern. But when Wirt picks it up first, the Beast tries to persuade him into becoming the new lantern bearer instead of fighting him for the lantern, promising him that Greg's soul will live on as the burning flame of the lantern. Wirt rejects his offer and casually notes that the Beast is so obsessed with the lantern it seemed as if it was his own soul captured inside it. When he threatens to blow out the light, the Beast yells "No!", revealing Wirt's suspicions to be true. Wirt leaves the lantern to the Woodsman, who finally caught on to the deception. The Beast tries to manipulate him into killing the boys to get more oil, but the Woodsman turns to face the Beast instead, spinning fast enough to catch a glimpse of his actual form. The Beast is made up of a multitude of faces, not unlike the ones seen on the Edelwood Trees. The Woodsman contemplates for a moment before he opens the lantern and blows out the light, ending the Beast for good. After his death, the Woodsman returned to his house where his daughter was found waiting for him.
The Beast sings a song in an opera style while the Woodsman chops wood, as seen in "Songs of the Dark Lantern". Another song sung by the Beast can be heard in "Babes in the Wood" called "Come Wayward Souls".
Powers & Abilities[]
Darkness manipulation - The Beast is able to engulf an area in complete darkness.
Soul-Seeding - The Beast is able to choose a targeted soul to seed into a new Edelwood tree. He first indoctrinates the soul by manipulating and twisting it's own desires. Then he makes the soul realize that their isn't any hope for achieving said desires, making the soul become depressed and lost. Then finally when the soul is at it's weakest point, The Edelwood roots come slowly from the ground to consume the soul, to make it part of "his" forest. The oil produced from said Edelwood's is the key ingredient to keeping the Beast's soul alive. The Beast uses this ability to feed on unsuspecting souls entering his domain.
Eyes of the Beast - In moments where the Beast feels threatened, he will attempt to instill fear into the threat by changing the color/size of his eyes to become more intimidating. These same eyes were seen on Beatrice's dog in the first episode, hinting that whoever has the eyes of the beast is under his control.
Dream Catcher - It is shown that the Beast can influence the dreams of those afflicted with Soul-Seed. We see this happen to Gregory in "Babes in the Wood" where the Beast makes a deal with him disguised in his dreams as the "Queen of the Clouds". In this dream the beast also uses psychological tactics to try and make Gregory believe Wirt cannot be saved, However after Gregory trades himself in place of Wirt, (believing that to be the only way), we see Wirt get anxious about Gregory's whereabouts and easily breaks free from the Edelwood roots.
Trivia[]
- The Beast may have a connection with the pitch-black turtles seen throughout the series, as in the final episode his eyes momentarily change to reflect those of the turtle-infected dog. The Beast and the turtles are both silhouettes, unaffected by light in any way whatsoever.