Everybody knows of the TV show known as "Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends." We grew up with it since we were little and it has always made us smile and giggle, with the wacky antics from the many strange creatures known as "Imaginary Friends" who were the creation of children's imaginations. One of the main characters whom works in the Foster's Building is Frankie, a twenty-two year old girl who is the grand daughter of the Foster's Home, Madam Foster. She is usually in most episodes whether its a major or minor role, but is otherwise an often occurring character. But, despite this story's very happy theme, there is a darker side many people don't know of...
The magical land of Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends is little more than a figment of Frankie's imagination.
Frankie Foster had autism. She grew up completely alone. She had no friends in her school and her parents barely paid her any mind. So, out of loneliness she created an imaginary friend to keep her company. His name was Mikey. Mikey looked like a large teddy bear with soft cuddly fur and big, adorable eyes. He was Frankie's only friend. While the other children played jump rope or played kickball at recess, Frankie and Mikey were in the back of the playground talking and playing.
By 1937, Frankie was around 11 years old, and she still had Mikey at her side. But, having an imaginary friend in Junior High made her only laughed at more, though Frankie paid them no mind because she loved Mikey more than anything. However, her teacher began to notice Frankie's still childish ways and talked her parents about seeing a therapist.
Frankie and family went to the therapist the next day and observed Frankie and Mikey. Frankie was terrified out of her mind, fearing what the strange people wanted with her. But Mikey continued to comfort his friend by hugging her in his big and fuzzy arms. Back in reality, Mr. and Mrs. Foster were given a vial of pills by the therapist. He had told them that once Frankie took these, her imaginary friend would be gone for good.
Once the Foster family had gotten home, Mrs Foster crushed the dosage of pills into a fine powder and mixed them into Frankie's chocolate milk for dinner, and unknowingly Frankie had consumed the dosage each and every night.
As the poor girl was given the pills, Frankie began to see less and less of Mikey. He didn't go to school with her as much, he wasn't there on the blacktop at school to giggle at her jokes every day and he wasn't there to cuddle and hug each and every night. Until one day, Mikey was gone forever.
Distraught at losing her only friend, Frankie began to go into a shell. She would not speak to anyone. She would spend hours after school standing on the blacktop to see if her friend would come back and she would get up in the middle of the night to sneak out and look for him.
One day, Frankie had seen her mother crushing the pills and putting them in her chocolate milk. Curious, when Mrs. Foster left the room, Frankie walked into the kitchen and pulled the vial of pills from the counter and very slowly read the label. "Pills for Foster, Frankie. Give two pills daily. Will stop visions within 2 weeks."
Then, after hearing a shout, Frankie turned to see her mother standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her face red with rage. Shouting words that Frankie could not understand, but hearing the hostile and scary tone in her mother's voice, Frankie's eyes began to water up and tear as her mother shouted more and more until she snatched the vial of pills from Frankie's hands before smacking her small child across the face, and then her yelling had finally stopped. A great, red welt covered the side of Frankie's face as her mother tried to soothe her, but Frankie screamed like a banshee and ran out the door.
As she ran down the road in the dimming sky, Frankie made her way to the run down section of her town. Most buildings of this section were either abandoned or so run down that many people didn't inhabit the place. Slowing down from exhaustion, Frankie was now scared. With the scary run down buildings and the slowly approaching darkness, Frankie had not a clue of what to do - until she turned around.
Before her was a gigantic house, looking almost like a great castle. Its many colored (but slightly shabby) multicolored paint that decorated the walls made it look absolutely beautiful. Smiling with a large, stupid-looking grin, Frankie ran up the front steps into the great house and opened up the broken front doors. Inside were many kinds of old furniture, covered in layers of dust, holes from moths and rats and an odor of mildew. It looked like a haunted mansion to the normal person.
But to Frankie, this was a Wonderland.
-- -- --
About two weeks later, the effect of the pills eventually wore off but despite of this, Mikey never returned to Frankie. Rather than be sad that her old friend was gone for good, Frankie decided to make new friends to keep her company her new mansion. Soon, the friends we know and love began to spring up: Bloo, Wilt, Coco, Edwardo, Mr Harriman, and many, many more.
But what about Mac and Madam Foster?
Mac was a depiction of Frankie's possible younger brother.
Around 1933, when Frankie was 7, Mrs. Foster was expecting her second child. Frankie's parents wanted to try to have another child in hopes that they could have a "normal" child. The entire Foster family was thrilled to have another child, including Frankie. But, by the time the baby was due, something went horribly wrong: during childbirth, the umbilical cord had gotten wrapped around the baby's neck like a noose and it was suffocated to death. Despite the baby dying, the family gave him a name: Mac. And because of this incident, Mac was an image on what Frankie's younger brother would have been like if he had lived.
Madam Foster was based off Frankie's actual Grandmother. She acted almost exactly like Madam Foster, sweet, funny and a bit odd. Frankie's Grandmother loved Frankie dearly, even if she was mentally handicapped. She often made cookies and sweets for Frankie, or little toys. But in 1936, when Frankie was 9, her grandmother was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She died 6 months later.
Many years passed and Frankie still lived in the great mansion, making many more imaginary friends to fill her home. Many crazy antics filled her days in the home, and she was happier than she had ever been in her life. She was truly happy.
But, all that was about to change.
In the early 1950's, the town had ordered the mansion to be demolished so a playground can be built over the large amount of real estate that covered the property. Many people objected to the demolition of the house, as it has existed for almost 200 years. But, little could be done and the house was to be torn down.
One day in 1952 while Frankie was trying to stop Bloo during one of his goofball antics, a large wrecking ball and construction crew were coming down the road. Driving up onto the large lawn, the large, iron ball was swung back and forth, back and forth. Frankie was chasing Bloo, until she stopped in front of a large window and saw the wrecking ball hurtle towards her.
That was the last thing she ever saw.
