The Tale of Apartment 214

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Midnight Society

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Air Date: Saturday, January 15, 1994
Storyteller: Kiki (Jodie Resther)

Frame: As the Midnight Society gathers around the campfire, Tucker (Daniel DeSanto) is caught messing around with the "midnight dust," much to Gary's (Ross Hull) dismay. Meanwhile, Frank (Jason Alisharan) walks in, aching from helping his brother move all day, which prompts a discussion on how much moving sucks. Everyone agrees except for Kiki, who argues that she loves it and ends up using the concept to introduce her story, but not without Tucker playing a prank on her first by stealing the midnight dust away again.

Story: Stacy Cooper (Lea-Helen Weir) and her mom Bonnie (Denise McLeod) move into a new apartment complex, complete with a strict and grouchy landlord (Paul Mackan), and a lonely older woman who resides across the hall named Madeline Koegel (Beth Amos). Soon, Stacy meets Madeline, and they agree to become friends, visiting each other regularly. But when Stacy's new friend, Angela (Marie-Chantal Savard), gets them tickets to a Battle of the Bands, upon her return to apologize for missing their visit on an important day, Madeline shows Stacy just how much that visit meant to her by turning a friendship into a haunting.

Review: I can give this one some credit for being genuinely creepy for young audiences at the time, but it takes a little while for things to pick up. At this point, much of it is amusing, but I enjoy Beth Amos' performance here, playing both sides of the coin between a sweet, friendly lady and a crazy, lonesome crone. Despite a few accidental laughs that come mainly from the episode's landlord (Tibold Holstrom) and a slightly slow pace, it's still a decent episode if you like a simple haunting ghost story. It's an example of an episode I might use to introduce someone to the show's concept, if only because it's pretty basic.

Final Rating: Spooked

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