Once, when Bradbury was a boy, he showed extreme despair after a particularly exciting Halloween party because he feared he might die before another Halloween came. His brother told him not to worry about missing Halloween because if he died, he would then be Halloween. “The Emissary” blends both Halloween and death, as this tale of death occurs on and around the holiday that has always been Bradbury’s favorite. The shock ending in which Dog provides Miss Haight with a respite from the grave is made even more horrible because it is implied rather than stated. This permits the reader to participate in the sort of fantasy that Bradbury believes is a necessity if one is to survive final reality.