Cassandra Hobbs (Crystal Lowe) is the main villainess of "Headshot", episode 2.17 of The Haunting Hour (airdate January 28, 2012).
Background[]
At some point in the past, Cassandra became a world-renowned photographer for Teen Teen Publications, a fashion magazine popular because of its beautiful young models. In actuality, however, Cassandra is the Devil herself, luring young women into her grasp with promises of achieving fame and also becoming successful. She also manipulated each of her clients into resorting to villainous methods to achieve their goal: becoming a rich and famous model.
Whenever her current client finally decided to give up everything in order to become famous, Cassandra used her powers to steal their face before moving on to her next victim. It's through this method that the demonic villainess has stolen the faces of at least dozens (if not hundreds) of other girls. Additionally, she kept a collection of her "models" in the form of a wall of their framed headshots.
Events of "Headshot"[]
At the beginning of the episode, Cassandra entered an ice cream shop and approached Dixie Canyon Avenue School student Gracie Wild (a server at the shop and the episode's protagonist turned secondary villainess), offering to take her to a photo shoot as part of preparations for an upcoming contest to determine Teen Teen's next cover model, which was scheduled to take place in three weeks. Gracie reluctantly accepts Hobbs' offer after being encouraged to do so by her best friend Lexi (the episode's true protagonist). However, during said photo shoot, she soon became enamored by the chance to achieve worldwide fame and also by Cassandra's seemingly charming and supportive demeanor. This drove Gracie to think of nothing else but being a famous model, and also led to her deciding to ensure that nothing and no one got in her way. Furthermore, Gracie's original headshot became more ugly and deformed with each villainous deed she committed.
When Gracie told Cassandra that her mother wouldn't let her compete if she didn't pass her midterm math exam, she simply told her to do whatever it took to pass before taking her to a fitting. During the drive, Cassandra lovingly stroked Gracie's hand as her own hand briefly transformed into a red demonic hand, showing her true self for merely a split second; this transformation also initiated her villainous reveal. Cassandra's advice led Gracie to persuade her friend Dylan to help her cheat on the exam, leading to him being caught and suspended. When Gracie went to tell Cassandra the news, she was shocked to find her taking photos of Flynn—another friend of Gracie's—prompting the former to confront the latter, who stated that she could always use another model and made a point of complimenting Flynn's "flawless complexion." This drove Gracie to make sure that Flynn ended up drinking a smoothie containing Red Dye 3, which caused her skin to break out in boils.
Before the contest ended, Lexi tried to convince her that Cassandra had been a bad influence on her, but Gracie refused to listen. When Lexi attempted to leave, she found that the door had been locked and then witnessed the photos of Cassandra's previous "models" all turn deformed. Cassandra herself then walked in and mockingly praised Lexi for being clever enough to deduce her true nature, cementing her reveal. Lexi accused Cassandra of changing Gracie, but the latter contested that she can't change people. Furthermore, the villainess claimed that she only offered encouragement and also reveals' that Gracie had always been shallow and cutthroat, citing that she would have deleted her morphed headshot otherwise. As Cassandra turned to leave, Lexi asked her what she is, with the former stepping up to the latter and inquiring if she had "already guessed" before letting out a demonic scream. This exposed her as being the Devil, and her face morphed to match. Lexi reacted by fainting from fright, and Cassandra simply sighed before finally leaving.
As the judges tallied their scores, Cassandra visited Gracie in her dressing room, where the latter was upset and considering deleting her headshot. Cassandra then explained that she could either live her dream of being famous or delete the photo and go back to being an "anonymous face in the crowd", highlighting that the choice had always been hers. Gracie eventually decided against deleting the picture and went out, where she was announced as the winner. Lexi deleted the headshot after she regained consciousness, but since it had to be Gracie's decision, it didn't free her from Cassandra's clutches. During her crowning as the new face of Teen Teen, a photographer dropped his camera in horror. At the end of the episode, Gracie picked up a Teen Teen magazine with her face on it at a magazine stand and showed it to the shopkeeper, who flinched upon seeing her. Gracie's face was revealed to have become hideously deformed, having become the latest addition to Cassandra's "client list".
Trivia[]
- Crystal Lowe went on to portray Michelle Cantwell on Republic of Doyle, Gretchen Miller in the 2015 Hallmark film The Gourmet Detective: A Healthy Place to Die, and Sarah Albans in the 2017 film Wonder.
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