| The Tale of the Frozen Ghost | |
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| Season 2 , Episode 7 | |
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| Air date | July 31, 1993 |
| Written by | Naomi Janzen |
| Directed by | Ron Oliver |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous The Tale of the Dark Dragon |
Next The Tale of the Whispering Walls |
The Tale of the Frozen Ghost is the Seventh episode of the Second season of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, as well as the Twentieth episode in total.
Cast
Midnight Society Cast
- Rachel Blanchard as Kristen
- Nathaniel Moreau as David
- Jason Alisharan as Frank
- Ross Hull as Gary
- Jodie Resther as Kiki
- Raine Pare-Coull as Betty Ann
Story Cast
- Andrew Henry as Charles
- Sandra Scott as Aunt Gretta
- Sara Lee Stadleman as Aunt Maylene
- Michael Caloz (uncredited) as The Frozen Ghost
Special Guest Star
- Melissa Joan Hart as Daphne
Intro
That evening we see Kristen quickly walking through the woods towards the campfire clearing. She impatiently turns around and calls for Betty Ann and Kiki to catch up with her. Both are out of breath. Panting for air, Betty Ann asks Kristen how she can walk so fast in the immense heat. Kiki fans herself with a tree branch and claims they're having a really hard time with it, but Kristen still has them quickly walk with her to the campfire clearing.
Before they arrive, we see Gary and David already there. Gary says that he thinks that it's not a good idea to spend the hottest night of the year sitting around a campfire. David suggests they spend the evening in his uncle's swimming pool and rename the group "The Heatwave Society" for one night.
Kristen comes in with Betty Ann and Kiki, and says to David that it's not that hot. Frank, sweating and out of breath, sits down and asks her how she could even say that. Kiki is sweating too while she sits down, and asks her how she can even wear what she is wearing. Kristen is the only one dressed in a jacket and pants and isn't sweating; David is surprised she still has her denim jacket on at all. Kristen tells him that at the end of her story, he'll be wearing his too. She tells them she has a sure way to beat the heat: a story guaranteed to give them all a massive case of the shivers.
Kristen throws the dust into the campfire and submits, for approval for the Midnight Society, her story: "The Tale of the Frozen Ghost".
Story
Kristen, tells the story. The story takes place one cold night, while a limousine was driving out in the country. The country was facing the coldest winter there had been in over one hundred year. Inside the limousine we see a young boy all bundled up. Also we see a pretty blonde teenage girl with him. The young boy is named Charles Pemberton-Shilling III who is a spoiled rich kid and the teenage girl is named Daphne. Daphne who has been his babysitter and had been putting up with him for a couple years now.
They were both being driven out into the country, to spend the weekend with Charles' aunts. We can later tell by how old they are, that they are actually his great-aunts but they're just referred to as aunts. The reason for their visit was because Charles' parents were going away for a wedding that weekend and Charles was being sent to stay with his aunts until it was over. We don't know for sure why Daphne came with him if his aunts are there. But possibly because his parents also wanted him to have someone to play with.
That night the limousine driver drove them late into the dark and cold night. They drove right up to very old house out in the woods. Daphne remarks that the house seems kind of spooky. Daphne get's out of the vehicle but Charles doesn't leave his seat. The driver doesn't move claiming it looks like no one is home. When Daphne asks a nervous Charles why he is not moving, first he tells her he doesn't think they're at the right house. She asks him how he would know? because he never met them before. When Charles gets out of the vehicle he stands still but doesn't move. Then he says to Daphne what if they don't like us? what if they get mad for waking them up late at night and they are mean to us all weekend? She encourages him that it will be okay cause they're his family not a couple of witches. Daphne is now even starting to seem to nervous when knocking on the door.
When they knock on the door they're, greeted by two nice and friendly elderly women Aunt Gretta and Aunt Maylene. They're delighted to see Charles and say they haven't seen him since he was a baby. Then they're introduced to Daphne who Aunt Maylene mistakenly calls Debbie. Then after Aunt Gretta leads them into the house, Aunt Maylene carefully looks suspiciously at the front door and carefully closes the door behind her. The inside of the house is dark at night and Aunt Gretta walking around holding a candelabra with five lit candles. Aunt Gretta offered to make the driver a cup of tea, but he declined and seemed to want to leave in a nervous hurry. Aunt Maylene comments about how no one else ever seems to stick around that long.
When the aunts show Charles and Daphne to their rooms, Aunt Maylene mentions that they'll try to be good hosts. Aunt Gretta, who's hearing is getting poor mishears her. She think she said ghosts and remarks to her to not talk about that, because it will scare the kids. Aunt Maylene tells her she said hosts not ghosts and Aunt Gretta apologizes for the misunderstanding due to her poor hearing. However Charles seems nervous and says very seriously a couple times "Ghosts!".
Charles doesn't seem to like staying at the old house. Daphne reminds him that not everyone is rich like his parents and him are, and his aunts are nice. Then as she goes off to run him a bath, he mentions to her nervously of the blowing and wailing sound he just heard from outside. Daphne tells him it's just the wind and runs him the bath. During his bath he hears more eerie and creepy noises from outside and seems nervous. Downstairs in the kitchen it's revealed that the aunts have not paid their electric bill on time and their power is cut off. That's why they are using candles to light the rooms for the time being. Also they rely on using the wood stove for heating in these circumstances but the stove has never worked properly.
Daphne suggests they ask to borrow money from Charles' parents. But Aunt Gretta reveals that Charles' great-grandfather and their father many years ago had a family feud. Therefore the other side of the Pemberton-Shilling, family doesn't dare ask them for any money. The feud happened because many years ago Charles' great-grandfather hired a man, to work the family farm. Aunt Gretta and Aunt Maylene's father suspected something strange about the man all along, but his brother, Charles' great-grandfather didn't listen and let him work on the farm.
The farm worker, eventually turned out to be a notorious bank robber, and robbed a bank one day. The robber was caught running away in the woods and was put on the train to prison. Aunt Maylene claims she heard that the trained crashed on the way and all the passengers died, but it's unsure what really happened. That night Charles heard more creepy sounds, during his bath once again. The next night during dinner the window blows wide open. Then all the candles were blown out startling them all. Aunt Maylene mentions that they're maintenance worker left before fixing the window. Aunt Gretta claims he left because he got impatient with them not paying him on time. Aunt Maylene says he left because of the ghost. Aunt Gretta doesn't want to talk about it, worrying it will scare the kids. Daphne claims she isn't scared wants to know what Aunt Maylene means by a ghost and who's ghost it is. Charles seems very nervous and once again says a couple of times "GHOSTS!".
That evening Charles has a dream, which was more like a nightmare. In the dream he can see through a hole. There is a tall man in farming clothes. The man is rudely asking a kid to give something back to him. The man, then seems like he is climbing in closer and closer reaching for something. Then pulls and takes away something red. Charles wakes up terrified and shocked, then he hears a noise from outside and looks out his window and can someone outside in illuminating white clothing, saying an eerie voice "I'm cold!". Charles runs into Daphne's room waking her up scared out of his mind. He explains his entire dream to her, but she doesn't believe him and tells him to go back to bed.
The next morning at breakfast, Charles and Daphne are mad at each other and Charles is being pouty. Aunt Gretta asks them why they are so mad at each other. Daphne explains he kept her up all night because he says he saw a ghost and is he mad because she doesn't believe him. Aunt Maylene seems surprised when she hears what Daphne says. Charles stubbornly says he saw what he saw and that it spoke to him. Aunt Maylene with shock and surprise reveals that the ghost has never spoken to them before and not to worry because it never comes into the house. Aunt Maylene then reveals the truth that there is a ghost but they were not going to mention it because they didn't want to scare Charles. But since he has seen it they might as well tell them.
The aunts don't know who the ghost exactly is. Aunt Maylene explains that many years ago, there was a young boy from a neighboring nearby farm. Aunt Greta and Aunt Maylene's father told them, that this boy was always sneaking around their house to find out where their mother had hidden the cookies. Then one day he was found out in their wood shed all curled up. Almost like he was trying to stay warm but froze to death and died.
Then when the wood stove burns out. Daphne and Charles go outside to chop some more firewood to use in the wood stove. Charles is being a pain in the neck and doesn't want to try woodcutting. Daphne however is having a great time enjoying the outdoors. She tries to encourage him to try something different with his life and to get out and do more things. Then when he complains that he will get dirty, she lectures him for being such a wimp and a wuss and for always wimping out and finding excuses to not do things. Then they have an argument and she rubs mud all over his clothes to show him it's not a big deal to get dirty.
Then they are both stopped in their tracks, hearing an eerie and spooky sound. They see nothing but Charles insists that it's the ghost and they need to head back to house right away. Daphne is curious and wants to go check it out herself. Then when she is gone, suddenly invisible foot prints in the mud appear. Charles backs away scared. Then turns around to run and right up in person is the ghost. The ghost of the little boy who seems to have froze to death from hypothermia, he wears shimmering white clothes and his skin looks frozen. He tells Charles in a spooky eerie voice "I'm cold!".
Charles runs away terrified, he runs at full speed screaming at the top of his lungs but keeps bumping into the frozen ghost who keep telling him "I'm cold!" Charles runs around screaming so much, until he falls face first into a big mud puddle. Daphne finds him at last and helps out of the mud puddle. He explains to her that the ghost is here and it keeps following him. Then Daphne and Charles both look in shock and in fright when they both see the frozen ghost standing nearby a toppled over tree log.
Charles tells her it's from his dream, in his dream the robber pulled a jacket from the hole. Then he goes to dig through the hole in the log, and finds an old red jacket. Also some old long antique keys falls out from the jacket's pocket. Charles gives the red jacket to the ghost, and the ghost puts it on. Suddenly the ghost transforms into a normal healthy looking young boy in blue jeans and a red jacket and then vanishes. They are relieved to find out that all the ghost wanted was his jacket because he was cold.
Then back at the house, Charles shows his aunts the antique key they found. Aunt Gretta at first can't make heads or tails of what it's for. Then suddenly Aunt Maylene remembers, it's a latch for the stove pipe and she places it into the long stove and turns it open. Turns out the wood stove never worked properly because the flue trap inside was never completely open. Suddenly after it was opened a crashing jingling sound is hear, Then when Charles opens the door on the wood stove, out comes many many old dusty valuable golden coins. They all look in amazement and shock as Charles picks up a handful and Daphne tells Aunt Gretta and Aunt Maylene their money troubles are now over.
Ending
As the story ends Kristen's friends seem amazed by the great story. Frank says that the robber hid the gold in the pipe. Kiki says that the little boy saw him when he was looking for cookies. David mentions this was from Charles' dream but it was all true. Betty Ann, feeling a little bad says he froze to death, scared hiding from the robber and no one knew he was there. Kristen tells her friends that she told them her story would give them the shivers! they all smile and nod to her. Gary then get's up and declares the meeting of the "Heatwave Society" closed and puts out the fire with the red water bucket.
- Kristen's last story.
- This was the second episode where the portrayals didn't appear in any more episodes. The first one was "The Tale of Locker 22", the third episode was "The Tale of Apartment 214", the fourth one was "The Tale of the Bookish Babysitter" and the fifth one was "The Tale of the Virtual Pets".
- Soon after this, Melissa Joan Hart, who was still on Clarissa Explains It All at that time would become very famous for playing Sabrina Spellman in the show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
- Michael Caloz is well known for being the first person to do the voice of D.W. Read in the children's show Arthur. He co-starred in the show with Jodie Resther who still currently does the voice of Francine Frensky.
