The Tale of the Captured Souls

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Air Date: Saturday, September 26, 1992

The Sellman family, Doug (Don Jordan), Sally (Barbara Eve Harris), and their daughter, Danny (Maria Taylor), follow through on an ad for a peaceful retreat to a lakeside hotel they'd never forget. Upon their arrival, they are met with the bizarre Peter Kirlan III (Ethan Tobman), who checks them in and, unbeknownst to them, uses their rooms' mirrors and the cameras behind them to power a sort of "Lazarus" machine which robs the family of their years while supplying Peter with their life force so he can stay young.

If we were handing out awards for the creepiest character of Season 1, it would have to go to Peter by default. As if his look isn't bad enough with that WTF haircut and old country-style getup, he is also clearly attracted to Danny, and it comes across as overly creepy even though, in reality, Maria Taylor is older than Ethan Tobman. The real problem is finding out just who Peter is by the end of the episode, and everything you thought was off about Peter comes flooding back. This one works very well as a creepy, slimy episode, but the scares are minimal.

Final Rating: Spooked