Minor lore: The Walkers in Skin¶
This page lists the smaller theories, local customs, historical references and in-world details of The Walkers in Skin; the arc's larger mysteries include Replication, the portal and Disappearances in Ballard.
Ballard school smell¶
An eye-watering stench in the Ballard high school, which Harrison describes in Walkers 04 as a problem "this semester." Students guess a sewer or a dead thing in the air conditioning, and Kurt links it to the odd-tasting water. By Walkers 08, when the team recalls the missing schoolchildren, the smell is understood as a clue to the bodies stored at the school. See Ballard High School and plastic-wrapped bodies. (Walkers 04, Walkers 08)
Doppelganger theory¶
Andrew's first explanation for Shelly Wilmarth being seen alive. He rules out a secret twin, since Shelly had only brothers, and says doppelgangers copy children, but when he hears that she died alone he puts the idea "back on the list" and delivers an infodump. (Walkers 01, Walkers 03)
Early 90s radio¶
Songs that the car radio plays during the drives of Walkers 07: "Baby Got Back" and "Under the Bridge" on the way into Ballard, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" while Huell waits in the car, and "I'm Too Sexy" as he races to the burning gym. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is also heard charting. See the show. (Walkers 07)
Friend of Bonaparte¶
A passphrase that Gardner gives the team for a 20 percent FBI discount on gas at a gas station near the Salt Lake City office: they are to say they are "a friend of Bonaparte." (Walkers 02)
Funeral potatoes¶
A Utah casserole of cheesy potatoes with a cornflake topping, recommended by Gardner along with dirty soda, Jell-O salad and Frog Eye Salad. The beehive clerk explains that the dish is brought to funerals because it is easy and tasty, and the Good Hills Diner serves it. Huell's stomach turns at yet another potato-based investigation. (Walkers 02, Walkers 04)
Howard's angels and ghosts view¶
Andrew's position that ghosts are not real, because they lack physical bodies, while angels are real but poorly understood physical beings. He says the "astral body" is really a form of telepathy. The view colors the anonymous note, which tells him "you have angels" (see the anonymous note). It echoes his catchphrase "ghosts aren't real." (Walkers 06)
Levelland case¶
A 1957 vehicle-stalling UFO case from Levelland, Texas, which Andrew cites after the dusk event, where the scorch marks in the engine recall it. He raises it again over the burned crow. He notes that witnesses at Levelland saw a vehicle rather than lights. See the dusk event. (Walkers 03, Walkers 04)
Neurological disruption warfare¶
Kurt's CIA-flavored cover explanation for the night event, based on his claimed training against Russian neurological-warfare techniques such as low-voltage current, magnets and novel hallucinogens. He offers it to Bigelow, while Andrew thinks the event was a near-abduction. See the night event. (Walkers 05)
Protocol blue¶
Bigelow's lockdown order, which he declares when Kurt reports the missing students and the sheriff's departure: he unlocks "the big cabinet," hands out SPAS-12s and M16s, and sets a ground-floor defensive perimeter. He asks the party to stay as backup. See Bigelow's research operation. (Walkers 07)
Pueblo ruins¶
Ruins bulldozed to make way for the Ballard community center. Locals protested, the protest was covered by state news, and graffiti accuses the builders of cultural genocide. The coverage of this protest is where Alberta saw her dead mother. See the community center. (Walkers 03)
Skinwalker Ranch basis¶
The arc's real-world model. The setting is an open pastiche of Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. In Walkers 02 Zack asks whether they are going to "the literal Skinwalker Ranch," and Andre answers that they are going to Sherman Ranch. In Walkers 06 Andre explains that it is set before the real ranch was renamed, so it is "only Sherman Ranch at this point in history." When the table looks up the area, Ezra notes a UFO Valley campground next to the real ranch. See Sherman Ranch. (Walkers 02, Walkers 06)
X marks¶
Sharpie Xs that the party draws on themselves in Walkers 09 to tell friend from copy. The skinwalker duplicate of Andrew bears one too, and Huell acts on that, knowing that one of the two Howards is a fake. Kurt marks his brow before the infiltration of the cavern. (Walkers 09)