Halloween: Tales from the Darkside: Trick or Treat

Halloween 

      We are doing something different this time, a look at the 1980's series Anthology series "Tales from the Darkside "   The idea for this series came from the 1982 movie  "Creepshow" but things happened and they made this.  There was a pilot in 1983 and the series started in 1984 and ran on local stations around the country, including Tribune owned stations, (which as of this post, sadly no longer exists). The series being an anthology has different stories featured  some being dark, others being light, different genres  but mostly focused on horror.


   I'm going to be writing about the pilot because it's the  perfect name for Halloween features. "Trick or Trick". From 1983.

        There's an old man named Gideon Hackles who seems like Scrooge but for Halloween he's kind of grumpy and miserly.( This episode has Max Wright, the guy who played the father on Alf, woah nice.)  Mr. Hackles likes to make sure all debts that he's owed comes back to him. He also loves pennies.  He has collected alot of IOU's from alot of people from the town.  Hackles has no trust in anyone including a bank.    He loves Halloween so, guess he won't be visited by three ghosts to learn about Halloween.

This was a bad penny, so I put in a prison/ Copyright CBS Television 

                     The next day, a man named Mr. Kimbel and his son show up to his shop and Mr. Kimbel owes some debt because a bad farming season. Kimbel doesn't want his son to go to Hackels' house to trick or treat because he plays a fun where the kids can go inside and find IOU slips to help their parents' debts be gone. (Sounds fun)   Billy, the boy, wants to go when he hears that but still Kimbel worries about the children because something happens at the house those nights. (Whoa)
                         

No, you can't have my son/ Copyright CBS Television 

                    Another father says that his son will be able to find the IOU's and will help the debts be gone.  Hackles prepares for the night and the children start to show up.  First a little girl dressed like a witch name Bessie enters the house with her mother hoping she can find an IOU.  The episode shows that Hackels likes inventing things and animatronics are one of his things.   He scares Bessie away.
         

That's a fake bat/ Copyright CBS Television 

            Meanwhile, at the Kimbels, Billy runs off because he feels he can do it , he get the IOU. First, Timothy shows up , that's the other boy with the man who seems like he might be 2 steps from a serial killer.  This boy seems nervous but lasts longer than the others have so far.   A bear's head scares him.
                             

perfume commercial feelings / Copyright CBS Television 

       Hackles also keeps mention people in the area have it backwards, I think it might be important since he says it alot. ( I might be wrong)  Anyway some strange happens after Timothy leaves.  A weird lady shows up at the door, I think she might be a real witch.   She laughs a little too much  and makes his papers and money fly all over the place. I think his house has a demon problem too.   The demons like to play a game with him. (Either that or this is anti drug PSA)

Don't do drugs kids/ Copyright CBS Television

      Billy walks to Hackles' house not knowing of the demon problem. and is greeted by that annoying witch. The witch gives Billy money  and jewels.  I won't give away the ending shot.

                 I really enjoyed this, the tenseness of this episode was really well done, I was wondering what was going to happen next the whole episode.  It really does have a an allegory to the Scrooge story with the bitter old man though, they don't try to redeem him at all.  Do check out this and the series. We may dip into more in the future.