Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!
I unfortunately need to postpone my two remaining entries in my series on movies and shows that deal directly with faith until next month, because we're now well into October, meaning it's time for my Halloween entries!
For this first entry, I'll be again dealing with an episode of the classic 90s Nickelodeon show 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' What can I say, it's an awesome show perfect for October viewing!
The show of course is about a group of teens known as “The Midnight Society” who meet together around a campfire at a clearing in the woods to tell scary stories to each other. This Season 1 episode's story is being told by club member David, and after a campfire segment in which it becomes clear that he has a thing for fellow club member Kristen, he launches into the story du jour, which is entitled "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost."
In this episode, we meet Amanda, a shy yet kind teenage girl with a love of reading. Her scientist parents are heading out of the country on a summer research project, so she is sent to stay with her aunt Dottie and cousin Beth. We soon see that this will not be an easy time for Amanda; Beth is spoiled, obnoxious, and unbelievably rude towards her cousin. She gives Amanda her couch to sleep on (Real hospitable, huh?), but insists that each morning, Amanda must then rearrange Beth's massive stuffed animal collection in their exact positions on the couch that they were in before. Amanda surprisingly handles this in stride, agreeing to it all with a smile. When Amanda asks if she could have some opportunities to hang out with Beth and her friends over the summer, Beth initially appears disgusted at the idea, but agrees on the condition that Amanda must first be "Initiated" into the group.
As you can guess, what Beth has in mind is not pleasant; Amanda must spend the night in an abandoned house next door that Beth's realtor mother had been trying unsuccessfully to sell for years, and which is believed to be haunted. See, decades earlier, a little girl who was mute lived there. One day, the girl's parents left on a long trip, and the girl (Who was supposed to go stay with her grandmother as a surprise) was locked in her room by some bullies and, unable to call for help or contact anyone, she starved to death in there. Local legend has it that the girl's ghost remains in the house, but Amanda is so desperate to fit in, make some friends and have a good summer that she agrees to this challenge.
(Amanda's the one in the middle, Beth's the one next to her wearing a brown jacket and too much lipstick; Credit for this image goes to the user "Popprincess" at the Are You Afraid of the Dark wiki at https://areyouafraidofthedark.fandom.com/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Lonely_Ghost?file=06.jpg#Gallery)
Amanda enters the house and goes into the girl's room (The challenge was that she must go in there and leave her lit flashlight in the window overnight as proof that she did it), but soon begins hearing some scratching sounds from the wall behind her. Turning around, she sees a cryptic phrase written backwards on the wall where there had previously been nothing. As she is processing this, the Ghost abruptly appears in the bedroom's large mirror, causing a terrified Amanda to flee screaming back to her cousin's house.
(The Ghost! 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_Lonely_Ghost?file=Thelonelyghostsappears1.png#Gallery)
The next day, Amanda's aunt of course doesn't believe her, isn't happy to hear that someone wrote on the wall of that room, and sends both her and Beth back there to wash it off. The Ghost appears again, leading to Beth being trapped and Amanda making a brave and compassionate decision that sets things right and brings about a LONG- overdue reunion.
"The Tale of the Lonely Ghost" is one of the first episodes of 'Are You Afraid of the Dark' I can ever recall seeing, and one of the episodes that has stuck with me the most over the decades. It has a little of everything in it: A couple scares, some dramatic and sad moments, a twist which is admittedly rather easy to see coming but still fits well, and ultimately a VERY happy ending.
Amanda in it is one of the most likable protagonists I can recall from the entire series. Through the combination of how she is written and her actress Laura Bertram's gentle performance as her, this sweet girl will quickly win you over. Conversely, Beth is suitably nasty and easy to hate, contrasting well with Amanda, and her getting a couple well- deserved bits of comeuppance late in the episode is VERY satisfying to see.
The Ghost is a little scary the first time or two she appears (Her very first appearance makes for an excellent jump- scare), but it soon becomes clear that she means no harm and is a colossally sympathetic character. Her actress Jennie Levesque conveys a lot of emotions through her without saying a single word, and the ethereal, music- box- esque music that acts as sort of like the Ghost's theme fits her perfectly.
Another character to bring up is Beth's mysterious old Nanny. At first, you're not sure if she's insane as Beth claims, or just a sad, lonely old woman trying to get by. Her part of the story takes some pretty interesting turns. Her actress Sheena Larkin (Who appears many times in other episodes of the show playing different roles) gives a very good performance as her, especially in the ending.
All in all, "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost" is a wonderful episode of a classic Nick show, and other than Beth's ridiculous fashion sense, it's aged pretty well in the 32 years since it premiered. If you're in the mood for some family- friendly Halloween scares, check it out here:
https://youtu.be/kLGAayH7YmY?si=iDjItyi--8qcSNKA
I can think of a couple Scriptural messages that can be taken from "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost," mainly using the warm- hearted Amanda as a positive example of what it means to live for Christ. SPOILERS!
Due to Amanda having such a kind nature, she was able to see that Nanny wasn’t the lunatic that Beth claimed she was, and she managed to help a grieving mother reunite with her daughter. Just as the original bullies' cruelty caused the whole mess, Amanda's compassion ends up setting things right. She’s almost like a perfect depiction of what’s described in Colossians 3:12: “Therefore, as God’s chosen children, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Another, similar point deals more specifically with showing kindness and mercy even towards our enemies. In spite of how awful Beth is towards Amanda, the latter girl remains kind and patient towards her, agreeing to Beth's ridiculous demands and ultimately saving her life in the end through helping the Ghost. Even though Beth didn't deserve ANY of Amanda's help in those ways (She frankly deserved to stay trapped in the mirror forever), Amanda still helped her freely.
I’d say that’s a great depiction of what Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:43- 45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
That’s something very important to process. The secular world, and often our own experiences, teach us to show care and kindness to our friends, and to be at best noncaring towards our enemies if not openly hostile and vindictive towards them. However, Jesus in His teachings often taught His followers to go AGAINST how the secular world tries to teach us to live, including in that sense.
I know full well how hard it can be to live up to that commandment, having a good deal of experience dealing with cruel bullies all my life. But, it's what Jesus called us to do.
For a personal example of how this can look in practice, at a school I used to teach at, there were two adopted
brothers. The younger one, a then- 7th- grader, I could best
describe as being a lot like a real- life, American version of Dudley from the ‘Harry
Potter’ series, in every sense. The older of the two is a boy
who, the first day I met him, proudly bragged about having done two stints in
juvie and having been expelled from several schools before coming to that one,
with at least one expulsion being for assaulting a teacher. A couple days after
that, he in front of the entire class called me something that I honestly can’t
repeat in this setting. Both of them took any opportunity they could get to be
rude and nasty towards me. Anyways, this one day, I heard around the school that their
mother was in the hospital for some kind of operation. That afternoon, at
lunch, they came up to me, with the older of the two rudely mocking me. Rather
than getting mad, I simply asked them, “Hey, how’s your mom doing? I hope she
feels better soon, I’m praying for her a lot.” I don’t know if it really
impacted them or not, but I DO know it was the right way for me as a follower
of Jesus to react.
Sometimes, showing a little Godly compassion to those around you, even those who frankly don't deserve it, can make a big difference in their lives, and at times even help them turn things around a little. It's also a way to follow in the example of Christ, who loved and forgave even those who crucified Him, and it's how He expects us to respond to people who've generally done much less egregious things to us.
As Amanda's kindness and mercy in "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost" helped two troubled souls find peace, so our demonstrating kindness and mercy to people around us, friends and enemies alike, can do a LOT of good for the Kingdom of God.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Stay tuned, as my next Halloween- related entry will be up soon, and deal with something a little more intense in nature. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
