Charles Schultz first introduced the unseen character of the Great Pumpkin in his popular comic strip, Peanuts, in 1959. The Great Pumpkin would continue to appear (or rather, pointedly not appear) in comic strips and television specials for many years thereafter. The Great Pumpkin existed primarily in the mind of Linus, who sat in a pumpkin patch every year, adamant in his belief that this would be surely be the year that the Great Pumpkin would finally appear. According to Linus, on Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch he deems the most “sincere,” and then flies through the air delivering toys to all the good little children in the world. Linus also believed that the Great Pumpkin would bypass anyone who doubted his existence. Despite repeated disappointments, and the ridicule of his friends and family, Linus’s faith in the Great Pumpkin never wavered. [Read more...]