Okay. Here me out.

Ronald Dorlaine creates a show based on an imaginary friend he had named Wally. Wally was the friend who was always there for him when his home stopped feeling like a safe space. So he created a world where Home was the center of a bright and loving world full of friends.

When he created the puppet version of Wally something wasn’t quite right. Wally was now becoming a louder voice, becoming sentient, becoming powerful. In order to appease Wally he created a friend for him. Sally. This kept him happy…for a while. But Wally wanted more friends and more power. So Ronald created the Welcome Home show to give Wally a bigger world to play in: more friends, his own home, and now an audience to feed his need for attention.

In 1969, Ronald brings in some employees to play a few live-hand and walk-around puppets to keep Wally happy but keep his hunger at bay. Introduce Barnaby, Howdy, Poppy, Frank and Sally. New neighbors for Wally to play with, a world to control, and an audience to love him.

Sadly, it wasn’t enough. Wally’s power grew and Ronald couldn’t keep him happy. Introduce Eddie Dear. A real person that Wally was able to trap in his world of Home. Fast forward a few years, and the show is hitting new heights of fame. When after years of capture, Eddie was able to escape.

Ronald couldn’t have Eddie go spreading the news of Wally and Home, they couldn’t. So they ended the show, deleted all the footage, memorabilia, records and toys. Eddie went into hiding and Wally was left alone.

Alone with nothing but puppets and an empty sound stage, Wally had nothing left. He began to spiral (pun intended). His home became a place similar to Ronald’s and it began to mirror the same dark energy. Home fed Wally dark energy, Wally fed Home power. Together they became a dark force to be reckoned with.

That is until Eddie made sure someone knew what happened. There is when the WHRP received their first letter in a brightly colored envelope.