The Tale of the Room for Rent

The Tale of the Room for Rent
Season 4 , Episode 8
Air date	November 19, 1994
Written by	Lucy Falcone
Directed by	Will Dixon
Episode guide
Previous The Tale of the Silent Servant	Next The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner

The Tale of the Room for Rent, is the Eighth episode of the Fourth Season of Are You Afraid of the Dark ? As well as the Forty-Seventh episode in total.

Intro

That evening, Sam is sitting on seperate log busy writing something down. Kiki out of breath runs in saying that she is here and that they can get started. Tucker asks who is up tonight ? Sam still writing in her notebook says that she is and to just give her a minute. Frank impatiently, turns to her and tells her to get going. Sam, says to hold on and she is almost done. Gary, also a little impatient now reminds her that she already said that five minutes ago. Sam, finishes she explains that her grandma's birthday is coming up soon and she's put off writing her a birthday card for a couple weeks till now.

Betty Ann, asks her how come ? Sam says it's because she's been very busy. She's does volunteer work at the Library and at the Hospital and she just kind of forgot. Frank mockingly tells her that he hears her and says "Why do it today ? When you can do it tomorrow ?" She tells him it's never good to leave something undo. Because you never know if you are going to get a chance to finish it.

Sam then asks him what if there was something really important that you had to do, but something BIG kept you from doing it. Like maybe death.. ? Sam then tells everyone to always say what you have to say, and do what you have to do. Because if you don't... you might not get a second chance.

Sam, throws in the campfire dust to make the fire more intense while she submits her story for approval of The Midnight Society. She calls her story "The Tale of the Room for Rent"

Story

Sam tells the story. The story is about  a girl named Jessie she was the kind of girl who likes to keep busy she kept taking odd jobs. One of them was to take care of Miss. Sara Simpson, the town's local psychic who lived alone. She lived with her grandfather Samuel. Grandpa Samuel. For many many years, Grandpa Samuel and Sara Simpson have beem fairly close friends. Recently he has gotten a little sick and had to move downstairs so he didn't have to go upstairs so much.

Samuel had a room for rent sign made so they could make money while he recovers. He has Jessie put it up front. Just then her friend Alex shows up and they both head for the movies. After the movie they head to Sara's house to collect money from her early job.

As she and Alex were about to enter the house they see candles lit all over the house. They also see Sara asleep. As the clock struck 9:00 a spirit of a man appears next to Sara. Then the spirit walks through the wall outside then disappears, Jessie and Alex scream and ran back to Jessie's house. They tell Samuel what happens but he take it as a joke.

The next day as Jessie walks to the kitchen she see's the ghost outside who asks about the room for rent. Just then Samuel greets him and they head to the kitchen. He calls himself John Browning. Samuel asks if they met and that he looks familiar but John says no. Samuel explans the room as Jessie was trying to talk him out of it knowing that they could be in danger.

Just then Alex shows up Jessie tells her not to move and heads back to the kitchen. Samuel asks jessie to show John the room. As she leaves John in the room she saw John reaching a photo but his hands went through. Jessie rushes downstair to try and warn Samuel but he doesn't believe her. Then she went to the door to talk to Alex. They insisted they talk to Sara about last night. She tells them that she was doing a welcoming medaitation for a spirit to come from the spirit world for to complete unfinished business.

Sara tells them that the spirit has to possess someone to complete it's business She also tells then that the spirit has until the next full moon, and during this time the spirit has absolutely no physical contact and cannot touch or grab any item themself. Jessie tells her that she should come over and see him. She tells them that the spirit has to go through the same portal and that she will be waiting.

Back at the house in 3am Jessie and Alex wait for John to make his move and Alex wants to sleep. So they head downstairs for food. As they head down the stairs they see a green light behind the curtains to Samuel bedroom. As they open it they see John hovering over Samuel. Then John looks at them and they head back to Jessie's room. They push the dresser in front of the door and jump on the bed. Just then John goes through the door warning them not to interfere.

Jessie realizes that John wants Samuel and that she needs to warn him. So when they went to wake him up he didn't believe them. So they went to the room where John was staying but he wasn't there so he looks in the closet and plays a joke on them saying two can play at this game and tells them to go to bed. They thought he could be in the closet so they look and a box of photo falls so they grab them and head back to the room.

The next day Jessie and Alex were passed out on the front porch chairs and Samuel sneaks up on them and wakes them up thinking it was john. Jessie assk him where he was off to he tells her the same place he always goes on sunday. So the girls head back to Sara's house and tells her the whole story. As they talked about the John they see an old photo of Sara, Samuel and saw that it was John. Sara told them that that was Jacob her fiancé. She also tell them that he and Samuel was in the war together and that she fell in love with someone else but didn't get to tell him cause he died.

So Sara goes with the girls to talk with Samuel but he doesn't believe them and he and Sara have a fight and she leaves. So later that night Alex was watching a movie with Samuel while Jessie was looking through the old photos. She see's a photo of Sara and Samuel and find out that he was the man Sara was in love with. back in the living room John now Jacob was behind Samuel who was asleep. He is about to possess him as Jessie reads Samuel's Diary she finds out the turth and goes back downstairs to tell Alex.

But Samuel was gone. Just then Jessie gets a call from Sara asking why is her grandfather standing outside her house. Jessie and Alex rush to her house. As Sara let Samuel (possessed by Jacob) enters her house he claims that he missed her. The girls gets to the house Jacob says that he will have Samuel take his place going back so that he could be with Sara. Jessie beg for Samuel to be let go. Jacob says that it was his fault that he died but after when Jessie reads the Diary to them.

She reveals that when Samuel and Jacob were in their fighter plane and the cockpit caught fire and there was only one parachute left.  Samuel thought he had given the parachute to Jacob and lied and said he would follow him out the plane. Turns out Jacob, got the parachute and when he jumped out of the plane the parachute accidentally failed and he fell down to the ground to his death.

Samuel (possessed by Jacob) then reads, that Samuel, cared very much for Jacob and wasn't sure if he could properly land their damaged plane. He was planning to let Jacob jump out and save himself and try to land the plane. He was willing to give his life to let him live so he was going to lie to Jacob and say he would follow him; but Jacob's parachute failed and fell to his death. The afterwards Samuel miraculously landed the plane. After reading this Samuel (as Jacob) now seems very understanding and forgiving and sorry.

As the blue aura of gateway opens, Jessie screams at him, begging him to stop and let her grandpa go. Samuel ( Possessed by Jacob) still wants possession of Samuel's body. He tells Sara that he still loves her and that they can be together again. Sara, upsettingly tells him, that she never got the chance to tell him that after all these years the one she really loved was Samuel, and she begs him to save him as he tried once to and to let him go.

Jacob's spirit leaves Samuel body, and back in his normal body and voice he tells Sara that he always loved her and he always will and then he tells her to thank him for him and his spirit acsended to Heaven. Samuel woke up but didn't remember what happened and Sara excitingly tells him it could be a new start, meaning at long last they can begin a relationship. 

Ending

As the story ends Sam tells the viewers that Grandpa Samuel and Sara renewed their loving relationship, proving that it's never too late for true love to come back again and ends her story. Kiki tells her it was a good story. Betty Ann, says it's sad because they lost so many years. Sam tells her, they say it's nothing is ever lost, it just comes back in a different way. Gary declares their meeting closed and puts out the fire. Sam shows them her grandma's birthday card and says that she has to get it into the mail and says goodbye and leaves.

Gallery

Click here to see the Gallery.

Cast

• Alison Hildreth as Jessie.
• Melissa Altro as Alex.
• Walter Massey as Grandpa Samuel.
• Andreas Apergis as Jacob the Spirit (credited as Spirit Man).
• Sheena Larkin as Sara Simpson.

Midnight Society Cast

• Joanna Garcia asSam.
• Raine Pare-Coull as Betty Ann.
• Jodie Resther as Kiki.
• Daniel DeSanto as Tucker.
• Ross Hull as Gary.
• Jason Alisharan as Frank.

Trivia

• This was the third time Sheena Larkin who portrayed Sara Simpson reappeared. She first appeared in the series as Nanny in "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost". The second time She reappeared as Boss Hag in "The Tale of Watcher's Woods". The fourth time she reappeared as Hermoine St. Clair in the episode "The Tale of the Walking Shadow. The final time she reappeared in the three parter season 7 premiere "The Tale of the Silver Sight" as Grandma Aggie.
• Walter Massey, who portrayed Grandpa Samuel, reappeared a couple years later. He reappeared in the three parter season 7 premiere "The Tale of the Silver Sight" as Bob McGorrill.
• Jodie Resther who portrayed Kiki and Melissa Altro who portrayed Alex in the story, are famous for doing the voices of Francine Frensky and Muffy Crosswire in the children's show Arthur.
• Walter Massey, Who portrayed Grandpa Samuel was famous for doing the voice of Principal Mr. Haney on the children's show Arthur.