[The intrigued look gets an unseen smile from Victor -- his hunch was right on the money.]

Well, it's the afterlife where I come from. Or part of it, anyway. . . I was engaged to be married to a young lady -- Victoria -- and during the wedding rehearsal, I was so nervous I couldn't remember my vows. I was sent away to practice them, and I wandered into the woods to get some privacy. I finally got them right while using bits of the forest as props, and I slipped the ring onto what I thought was just a bunch of hand-like twigs.

It turned out to be the skeletal hand of a murdered bride, who rose and accepted what she thought was a proposal and took me Downstairs to live with her.