02x08 - The Tale of the Frozen Ghost

[bunniefuu]

[Muffled heartbeat]

[Child laughing]

Betty Ann! Kiki!

You guys!

What's taking
you guys so long?

I thought
I'd lost you.

How can you walk so fast
in this heat?

Yeah. We're dying.

Come on. We're
almost there.

I'm not sure sitting
by a roaring fire

is the best way to spend the
hottest night of the year.

I say we rename it
"the Heat Wave Society"

and tell the story
by my uncle's pool.

Come on.
It's not that hot.

How can you say that?

How could she say that?
How could she wear that?

You still have
your jacket on?

By the end of my story,
you'll be wearing yours, too.

'Cause I got
a sure way...

To b*at the heat...

A story that's guaranteed
to give everyone

a massive case
of the shivers.

Submitted for the approval
of the Midnight Society...

I call this story...

It all began when

Charles Pemberton Shelley III

was sent with his baby-sitter

to spend a weekend
with his aunts

so his parents could
go to a wedding out of town.

It was the coldest winter

anyone could remember
in years.

Aren't you hot
with all that stuff on?

It's degrees
in here.

I'm not allowed
to catch a cold.

[Kristen] Daphne had
been putting up with--

I mean, baby-sitting Charles
since she was ,

so she knew what she was
getting into.

Are we here?

Yep. This is it.

Whoa. Spooksville
or what?

What's
the holdup?

[Chauffeur] Doesn't
look like anyone's home.

[Charles]
Yeah.

I don't think
this is the place.

How do you know?
You've never met them.

Come on.

Now what's the problem?

What if
they're asleep?

What if they get mad
at us for waking them up

and don't like us and
they're mean all week?

They're your relatives,

not a couple of
wicked old witches.

I hope.

[Creaking]

Little Charlie?

Is that our
little Charlie?

I don't
believe it!

We haven't seen you
since you were a baby.

How you've grown!

This must be the
baby-sitter Debbie.

Daphne.

Oh. So sorry.

But you're right, so
please, do come in.

Come. Come along, Charlie.
Oh, my goodness.

Oh, Charlie.
Ha ha ha!

Come along,
dear.

Young man,

you must be exhausted
from the drive.

Why don't you let us
make you a cup of tea?

Thanks, but I'd better
be going.

Thanks for
the invitation.

Shame he had to
run off.

Well, they never do
stay long anyway.

The main thing is,

we have our little
Charlie with us.

Let us give you the grand
tour of our humble abode.

[Daphne] Let me
help you with that.

Nonsense!
You are our guests.

That's right.

We want you to be
absolutely comfortable.

[Daphne]
I'm sure we will be.

No, no. We're only
trying to be good hosts.

Maylene...

I thought we agreed
not to mention that.

Gretta, dear,
I only said hosts,

not ghosts.

Ghosts?

Silly me. My hearing isn't
what it used to be.

Ghosts?

Your aunts
are totally neat.

What?

They're
kind of... weird.

Why? Because their house isn't
new and perfect like yours?

We can't all be
Richie Rich.

Don't. You'll get it
wrinkly.

Fine. Do it yourself if
you're going to be picky.

Mom said I have to
take care of my things.

Whatever. I'll draw
your bath, sire.

[Boy's voice]
I'm cold.

Daphne, wait!

Did you hear that?

What?

A voice from outside.

The wind, Charles.
You heard the wind.

Now get a move on, or
you'll be late for supper.

[Squeaking]

[Voices whispering]

Who's there?

[Voices whispering]

[Daphne] A wood stove!
How totally great.

This old thing never quite
worked right, I'm afraid.

We're only using it

because
the electric range

doesn't work when
the power's out.

Why is the power out?

Oh, it's that old
electric company.

They get all uppity

when a person's just a wee
bit late with the payment.

Gretta, dear, it's
been three months.

Hush, Maylene.

Remember what Father
always said--

"keep your finances
to yourself."

If you're having trouble
with money, well,

won't Charles' parents
help you out?

Neither a borrower
nor a lender be.

Did Father say that,
too, Gretta?

Actually, Father would
roll over in his grave

if he heard us even
talking about borrowing money

from the Pemberton
and Shelley side of the family.

Why? It's not like
they're short on cash.

There was
this little feud.

It was
a long time ago.

There was a terrible
falling-out

between Father
and Uncle Charlie.

Uncle Charlie was
Charles' great-grandfather.

He hired a common criminal
to work on the farm.

Uncle Charlie didn't
know he was a criminal

when he hired him!

But Father thought

there was something odd
about him from the start.

Uncle Charlie
wouldn't listen.

Wow. Was he
a m*rder*r?

[Gretta]
Goodness, no.

Far as I know, he
was a bank robber.

What happened?

The police caught him
in the woods out back

and put him on the
train to prison.

End of story.

Gretta, dear, that wasn't
my understanding.

I heard he never
made it to prison.

The train crashed,

and everybody on it
was k*lled.

They never found the body
of that poor man.

Tea?

Whoops!

I thought we'd
closed that window

after we
let the smoke out.

We did, Sister.

Maybe it doesn't shut
just right.

I'm sure I felt a
distinct chill just now.

[Gretta] It's all
right, children.

We'll see about having
it fixed in the morning.

Walter was
supposed to do it,

but he left
rather suddenly.

Who's Walter?

[Gretta] He was our
old maintenance man.

I'm afraid he got
rather impatient with us.

Because you
couldn't pay him?

Is that why he left?

I thought it was
because of the ghost.

Ghost?

Would you like more
macaroni and cheese?

There's a ghost here?
Is it the bank robber?

Ghost?

I don't think we should
talk about such things.

Why not?

We know how
young imaginations

can take
the simplest things

and build them up
into nightmares.

I'm not afraid of ghosts
and neither is Charles,

are you, Charles?

Ghosts?

Really, dear, it's
better we don't.

I'm going to apologize,

because every time
I talk about this,

strange things happen.

Maylene,
that is enough.

Give that back, kid.

Give that back!

Yah!

Help! Help!

I'm cold.

I'm cold.

I'm cold.

Aah! Aah!

Help!

Tell them I saw it!
I saw it!

Charles, what
are you doing?

The ghost!
I saw the ghost!

It was a boy. It was
outside. It was calling to me.

You had a bad dream. Get out
of my bed and go to sleep.

It wasn't a dream.

I was having a bad dream,
and then I woke up.

The window burst open--
crash! Like that.

Then I looked down,
and I saw him.

You've got to
believe me!

[Door slams]

[Knock knock knock]

Daphne!
Let me in.

[Sigh]

Now, now, children.

It's not nice
to argue.

Why won't you tell Auntie
Gretta what's wrong?

Charles kept me up
all night

because he thinks
he saw a ghost.

He's mad because
I don't believe him.

What's that?
What did you see?

The ghost.
I saw it.

He says
it talked to him.

It did!

Gretta, did you
hear that?

It's never
spoken to us.

You mean,
you've seen it, too?

Now, Daphne--

Debbie.

Daphne.

You mean,
there is a ghost,

and it's not
just a ghost story?

I suppose there's no
use pretending now.

It was Charlie we
were trying to protect,

and he's already
seen it.

Besides, it never
comes in the house,

so there's no
need to worry.

You guys really believe this,
don't you?

[Maylene]
Of course we do.

Cool.
Whose ghost is it?

No one knows
exactly, but--

there was
this little boy

who lived at a
neighboring farm,

and Father said
he used to

come over here
all the time,

sneak around
the house

trying to find where
mother hid the cookies.

What happened to him?

It's very tragic.
No one really knows.

They just found him one day
out in the woodshed,

all curled up like he was
trying to keep warm.

They said he froze
to death, poor thing.

How sad.

Oh! Look at that.

The fire's
gone out again.

And we have
no more wood.

Does that mean we're
going to freeze to death?

No. There's plenty
of wood around.

Tell me where to go.
I'll bring some in.

I was thinking, maybe we
should call Mom and Dad,

and they can come
and get us.

I'm sure their
wedding's over by now.

The a* isn't where
they said it would be.

a*?

How else do you
chop wood?

I don't know. I've
never chopped wood.

There's a first time
for everything. Come on.

Am I going to get dirty
chopping wood?

Filthy.

This should do the trick.

Hey, this isn't hard
at all.

In fact,
it's kind of fun.

Want to try?

Yeah!

But I'm not allowed
to play with sharp things.

I can't take it anymore.
You are a total wuss.

I am not!

You're always finding an
excuse not to do things.

When are you going
to quit being a freak?

I am not a freak!

If it weren't for me,
you'd be a couch potato,

sitting at home playing
a nice, safe video game

in your nice,
clean clothes.

What's wrong
with clean clothes?

You want to know?

I'll show you what's
wrong with clean clothes.

Uh! Oh!

Oh, look, he's still
alive! What a surprise.

He survived
a little bit of mud.

That's it! I'm telling
my mom you did that.

I'm telling
my mom and dad.

They're going to
get angry at you and--

[boy's voice]
I'm cold.

What was that?

The ghost!
The ghost!

We have to get
back to the house.

Maylene and Gretta said
it won't come inside.

I think it came
from over here.

No--Daphne!
Come back!

Daphne!

Where did you go?

[Wind blowing]

[Footsteps]

Daphne!

I'm cold.

Aah!

Daphne, help!

I'm cold.

Aah!

[Screaming]

I'm cold.

Aah!

Aah!

Aah! Aah!

Oh. The ghost!
I saw it.

It's following me!

Calm down.

I'm cold.

What does it want?

The log
from my dream.

What?

He was in the log.

The bad guy
pulled off his--

Charles!

I see something.

[Daphne]
What are you doing?

He just wanted
his coat.

We helped him.

Yeah.
We helped him.

What's this?

It must have
fallen out of the jacket.

[Maylene] Whatever
could that be?

Looks like
some kind of key.

I know!

[Gretta]
Why, of course!

It's the latch
for the stovepipe.

That's why it never
worked properly.

We couldn't get the
flue open without it.

[Rattling in stovepipe]

Maylene, Gretta,

I have a feeling your
money troubles are over.

The criminal hid the
gold in the pipe.

And the little boy
saw him

when he was looking
for cookies.

Charles' dream.

Poor kid.

He froze to death
hiding from the criminal,

and no one knew.

I told you
you'd get the shivers.

I declare this meeting

of the Heat Wave Society
closed.

Good night,
everybody.