The Tale of the Water Demons

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Air Date: Saturday, October 15, 1994
Storyteller: Tucker (Daniel DeSanto)

Frame: Frank (Jason Alisharan) enters the campfire clearing alone (seemingly over his fear of the dark) and finds no one there, but someone seemingly left a backpack there that he decides to root through, finding a diary which he reads, assuming it belongs to Sam (Joanna Garcia). Inside, it reveals what seems to be Sam's true feelings about Frank, but it turns out to be a prank set up by Tucker, using it to prove a point: never take people's things, or you might have to suffer the consequences, especially when you steal from the dead.

Story: Shawn Mackenzie (Tony Sampson) is sent to spend the summer with his uncle (Luis de Cespedes) and cousin, Dean (Charlie Hofheimer), who works in his Dad's convenience store. One day, Dean receives a delivery order for coffee to the town character, Captain Abraham Westchester (Griffith Brewer). Excited about something finally happening, Shawn joins Dean on the delivery and meets Westchester, who claims he's haunted by "water demons" who come every time he goes to sleep, thanks to his plundering of sunken ships. At first, the cousins dismiss it, but after a fight with his uncle, Shawn learns the terrifying truth pretty quickly.

Review: Conceptually, I really like this one, but something is holding it back from being as good as it could be, and that's Shawn. Sam (Michael Barry) from 'Crimson Clown' is probably still the worst, but it's practically a coin flip between the two characters for "worst character." It's also hard to believe that Westchester didn't discover the solution to his problem for a whole three years; however, Brewer's performance here is excellent, and to the episode's credit, the "water demons" (which are more like average zombies) present a good creep-factor. The balance here is okay, but could be better if Shawn were just a bit more likable.

Final Rating: Spooked

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