The Tale of the Captured Souls

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Midnight Society

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Air Date: Saturday, October 3, 1992
Storyteller: Kiki (Jodie Resther)

Frame: As the Midnight Society gathers around the campfire for their next tale of terror, Gary (Ross Hull) has fun with Eric (Jacob Tierney) by using a calculator to tell him exactly how old he is down to the last second. Jokingly asking what he's been doing all that time, he responds with "waiting for Kiki," who's late, but finally arrives, snapping mugshots of everyone, taking them by surprise, with a Polaroid camera, which lends itself to her story, as she describes old indigenous beliefs about the camera capturing one's soul.

Story: 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 get greeted by the bizarre and creepy 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. Luckily, Danny is aware enough to know something strange is going on, but her Mom and Dad seem oblivious.

Review: If we were handing out awards for the creepiest character of Season 1, it would almost 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, especially by the end of the episode when there's a reveal as to Peter's real character behind the young man. It's a slimy episode altogether, but the scares are minimal, and some parts of it, like Danny's parents not noticing the bizarre things happening to them, make no sense. For me, it's one of the weaker episodes.

Final Rating: Nervous

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