Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
Halloween is now almost upon us, so it's time for my annual foray into scary elements of pop culture and Godly lessons to be drawn from them, with this one coming from my annual "Scares and Salvation" message series from St. John's United Methodist Church.
As I have often done in the past, one of the forms of spooky media I will be using is the epic Nickelodeon series 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Hey, what can I say: It's an awesome show, scary but still acceptable for kids, and often teaches good lessons.
As usual, the group of kids known as the Midnight Society meet at a clearing in the woods to tell scary stories around a campfire. This time, the storyteller is group leader Gary's younger brother Tucker. After pulling a prank on fellow Midnight Society member Frank, Tucker points out that you shouldn't mess with other people's things, ESPECIALLY things that belonged to the dead. This acts as a segue into the story he tells in this episode, "The Tale of the Water Demons."
SPOILER WARNING!
(Credit for this image goes to the user "ijustgottaburger" at the Are You Afraid of the Dark wiki at https://areyouafraidofthedark.fandom.com/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Water_Demons?file=Eplogo42b.png#Story_Cast)
In this story, juvenile delinquent Shawn is sent by his mom to spend the summer with his slightly dorky but good- natured cousin Dean and help out at the general store that Dean's father owns, in the hopes that it'll help Shawn get back on track. So far, it's not working; In just the first scene, Shawn is rude to his cousin, steals a pack of gum from the store, then when Dean insists he pay for it, he does so using money that he stole from the store's cash register.
Things take an interesting turn when Dean is asked to deliver a large bag of coffee from the store to the home of Captain Abraham Westchester, a wealthy but reclusive retired sea captain on the edge of town who made his fortune by salvaging treasures from sunken ships. Dean isn't thrilled to do this as the Captain's isolated seaside mansion scares him, but Shawn convinces him to do it AND insists on coming along on the grounds that a customer that rich is probably a good tipper.
When they arrive, Dean is content to just drop off the coffee at the pre- indicated dropoff location and get out of there, but Shawn is more interested in pranking his cousin, checking out the Captain's collection of salvaged loot, and again seeing if he can score a tip.
They accidentally run into the Captain, who is clearly on edge and paranoid about something. He tells the boys that he has gotten very little sleep for the past three years. He attributes this to the "Water Demons," risen spirits of people who died in a yacht shipwreck he had looted not too far from there, who come after him whenever he falls asleep to try and drag him into the sea with them as punishment for his disturbing their rest and taking their valuables. As the Captain puts it, "They can't rest, so they won't let ME rest."
Shawn and Dean of course think the Captain is just a crazy old man and leave, and that seems to be the end of it. A couple hours later, though, Shawn has an argument with his uncle and storms out into the night, eventually making his way back to the Captain's manor and finding an outdoor hammock to take a nap on, just as the Captain inside the manor is starting to nod off himself.
As you can probably guess, the Water Demons turn out to be VERY real; They're slimy, horrific- looking zombies that do indeed rise from their watery graves whenever the thieves of their valuables fall asleep, their arrival heralded each time by a thick fog rolling in. They quickly target Shawn, due to the fact that he secretly stole a gold pocket watch from the Captain's house that likely belonged to one of them when he and Dean had been there before.
A terrified Shawn manages to flee from them before they can grab him, and tries to hide in an equipment shed, but the Water Demons start rising up at him from under the floor.
(A few of the Water Demons, out to get Shawn. This image comes from the same user on the same wiki at https://areyouafraidofthedark.fandom.com/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Water_Demons?file=Waterdemons2.png#Story_Cast)
Dean, who had been looking for his cousin after he stormed out, hears his screams for help and rushes over in time to see Shawn grab an airhorn and blast it until the Captain wakes up from the noise, driving the Demons and their fog away temporarily. The boys head over to the Captain, who sees the mark of the Water Demons (A pair of slimy green handprints) on Shawn's shirt and realizes they're now after him too.
He tells them more about the Water Demons, and we learn that he tried throwing back into the sea what he took from the wreck, but it didn't seem to appease the vengeful ghouls as they kept coming. The Captain then eventually admits that he didn't throw ALL of it back, as there were a few pieces of gold from it which he sold or traded away in order to acquire some items for his collection of seafaring souvenirs, and that attempts to trace the gold afterwards were fruitless. Dean gets the idea that throwing back the items in his collection which he bought with that gold might be enough to satisfy the Water Demons, and with no other options, the Captain agrees to this and recruits Shawn and Dean to help him load a dinghy that night in preparation.
At the dock, an act of clumsiness on Shawn's part leads to the Captain being knocked out AND Dean's glasses getting knocked into the water (Smooth move, genius), so Shawn must go out on the dinghy to the wreck site by himself to throw the items back while Dean stays with the semiconscious Captain to try and keep him awake as best he can. It leads to a genuinely heart- pounding climax with Shawn trying to do the right thing for once in his life and save all three of them from ending up in a watery grave.
"The Tale of the Water Demons" would almost certainly come in my top 10 favorite episodes of 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' It's also quite possibly the single best story that Tucker ever told on the show. It's genuinely scary, well- written, pretty well- acted, and as you shall soon see, teaches some good lessons. It comes as no surprise to me to learn that the show's creator D.J. McHale has said that this episode was one of his favorites, too.
Time for the character run- down:
Shawn makes for a pretty good protagonist, under the circumstances. He's mean and rotten at the start of the episode, but it comes across as a rather understandable teenage- rebellion sort of thing coupled with him clearly not wanting to have been made to spend the summer in this town with his cousin in the first place, plus he can be funny at times with some of his lines. In my years of experience working with teens in school and church settings, I've known quite a few like him. His growth and change of heart by the end of the episode feel genuine, too; While it's not the first or last time that a "Bad" character on the show seems to have seen the error of their ways and turned over a new leaf, with Shawn you get the feeling that he truly has changed by the end of the story and become a better, more empathetic person. His actor Tony Sampson (Who would rather fittingly go on to star on the classic Cartoon Network show 'Ed, Edd n Eddy' as the voice of Eddy, another character whose greed often leads to trouble) gives a performance that nails all of these perfectly; His petulant brooding at the start of the episode, his terror and desperation when the Water Demons are after him, and the newfound peace and contentment he gains in the end.
Dean is an okay supporting character. He's clever, sympathetic enough, a nice kid, and acts as a good voice of morality for Shawn. A funny exchange between the two occurs early on when Shawn attempts to encourage Dean to hurry in delivering the coffee to the Captain's house by saying "Every second we waste, our tip shrinks," to which Dean retorts out of earshot "Every second I'm with you, my brain shrinks!"
Captain Westchester is another memorable supporting character. His actor, the late Griffith Brewer, appeared in a few different episodes of "Are You Afraid of the Dark" in various roles, but the Captain is easily the most memorable of them in my opinion. He suitably conveys fear, paranoia, and the feeling of hanging onto sanity by a thread. The Captain may have been wrong to plunder that shipwreck, but his then being able to barely get a wink of sleep for three years out of fear of the Water Demons getting him was punishment enough for it and he clearly regrets what he did, you'll find yourself wanting to see this poor old man be freed from their curse. Then, in the end, when he learns the Demons have at last been appeased and says "Thank you boys; Finally I can sleep with a clear conscience," you'll find yourself feeling happy and relieved along with him.
The Water Demons are suitably scary, with their rotted, waterlogged appearances and the green slime that drips off them. I like their costumes too (What you can see of them), as you can tell that in life they were wealthy people from some time in the past, but you can't quite put your finger on which era. They're not very talkative, though, other than one who keeps saying calling Shawn "Grave- robber." Their theme music is also extremely ominous and terrifying, it definitely evokes the image of something supernatural and water- based that's out to get you.
This episode was clearly based off of the classic horror film 'The Fog,' which similarly involved the spirits of people who died in a shipwreck coming back for revenge with their arrival heralded by a thick fog rolling in. Much of it gives off as much of a feeling of dread as that movie did, though it thankfully has a happier ending than that movie did.
The whole episode is on Youtube, it's well worth a watch.
Now, for the theological meat of the matter in this tale of aquatic terror. As you can probably guess, a major faith- based lesson to be taken from "The Tale of the Water Demons" is on resisting greed and the urge to take what isn't yours. Tucker spells that out right in the beginning when introducing his story, and the rest of the plot drives it home.
Just like with Shawn, when we take what isn’t ours, we hurt
others, but we also create trouble for ourselves. The Water Demons were a scary
reminder that wrong choices can come back to haunt us. We may not end up
getting dragged to a watery grave, but the guilt from our bad actions can weigh
heavily on us and it can hinder our relationship with the Lord God. It can also
cause unintended problems for other people, like how Shawn stealing that gold
watch from the Captain’s study nearly got Dean killed in the end when he had
done nothing wrong. For a real life example of this, just a couple weeks ago, a student
of mine stole something from the para I work with, and the end results of that
theft caused problems not just for the student, but also for myself, the para,
and a bunch of other people.
The Bible has a LOT to say about this. Of course, one of the Ten Commandments
is, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Also, 1 Corinthians 6:8 points out
that, among other things, “No thief will inherit the Kingdom of God.” Lastly, Ephesians
4:28 says “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,
doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to
share with those in need.” I’d say that verse pretty much perfectly sums up
Shawn’s change of heart that he undergoes. By the end, not only has he given up
theft, he’s even more actively helping out around the store.
Another equally important Biblical lesson that can be taken from "The Tale of the Water Demons" is on just generally carrying yourself with integrity and righteousness.
Integrity means both being honest, and also having strong morals
that you live by. Dean in the episode has that; His insisting that Shawn pay
for the gum in the beginning is an example of that, because his morals are
strong enough that just knowing Shawn stole it and he did nothing would weigh
too heavily on him. Eventually, Shawn gains it, too. Giving up the gold watch
in the end had to have been hard for him, but he knew it was the right thing
and that losing Dean would have been a billion times worse, so he admitted he
was wrong to take it and threw it back.
God wants us to respect what belongs to others and choose
honesty, even when it’s hard or when we think no one is watching. Proverbs 10:9
teaches, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked
paths will be found out.” By the end of the episode, you can tell that Shawn
has learned to “Walk in integrity,” as shown in the final scene when he sends Dean’s
dad’s store an anonymous letter with enough money to pay for the gum and everything else he had stolen from the store up to that point. He had learned how important it is to do what’s right and make up for
his past actions, so he knew that paying for all that candy was simply the
right thing to do.
Integrity is very important to God; He sees and cares about all of our choices,
even the ones that nobody else knows about. The Lord wants us to be people who
can be trusted and who do good in the world. He can also further protect and
strengthen those who show integrity. Psalm 25:21 says “May integrity and
uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.” Also, Proverbs 2:8
says that God “holds success in store for the upright, He is a shield to those
whose walk is blameless.” Being true to others, holding to what’s right, and
following what God says please Him, and He will always be there to guide and
protect us if we do that.
Now, for a few everyday ways that you can show integrity in your lives: Always ask yourself “Is this the right thing to do?” before making choices. Not just “Can it help me?”, but if it’s actually the RIGHT thing to do. Pray about it and ask God to guide you if you’re really having a hard time figuring it out. If you find or are given something that isn’t yours, make as much of an effort to return it as you possibly can. Tell the truth to people, even when it’s hard. Lastly, encourage your friends and family to always do what’s right, too! That can be a way to act as a Godly witness to them!
So ends my look at this great episode of that great show. Remember the lessons that Shawn and Dean learned in it: Taking what isn’t yours can lead to trouble—but acting with integrity brings peace and blessings. The next time you’re tempted to take something that doesn’t belong to you or generally act in a way that you know is dishonest or not right, remember “The Tale of the Water Demons” and choose to do what’s right. God loves honest hearts and promises to walk with us as we live with integrity.
That sums up this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I'll hopefully have one more Halloween- related entry out soon. Until then, take care, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
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