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Are You Afraid of the Dark in 500 Words or Less Season 1 | Episode 4 The Tale of the Twisted Claw

Eric is the absolute worst. This week he calls a meeting to tell a story he hasn’t finished. Luckily David, who just went last week, has a story to share so no one’s time ends up being wasted. This episode first aired back in 1990 on Halloween night – two years before Are You Afraid of the Dark debuted.

The Tale of the Twisted Claw begins on the night before Halloween – a night referred to as Mischief Night. Kevin and Dougie, our two preteen protagonists, decide to play a prank on an old woman named Miss Clove who is rumored to be a witch. Now personally, I don’t mind a harmless prank but what these kids do to this poor old woman is awful. When she opens her door, they spray her in the face with shaving cream which causes her to knock over an expensive-looking vase and then they run off like the little shits they are.

Then these two have the nerve to actually show up to her house on Halloween night expecting her to give them candy. Miss Clove unfortunately, doesn’t have Snickers bars or Bottle Caps. What she does have is the claw of a vulture which she says will grant each both three wishes a piece.

It doesn’t take long for the boys to start wishing their asses off. The first wish ends with them nearly getting murdered by some creepy-looking hooligans and the second wish results in an innocent boy getting mauled by a dog.

Dougie, being the smarter of the two, quickly puts two and two together and realizes he and Kevin’s wishes are coming true – but not in the way they want. Kevin, being a complete and total dumbass, brushes this information off and promptly wishes for Dougie to lose his parents. Dougie freaks out after receiving a phone call from a police officer letting him know his parents have been in an accident. He yanks the phone from the wall before the officer has a chance to finish.

Dougie then wishes for his grandfather to be there which is a bit awkward considering his grandfather is dead. The creepiest part of the episode is the grandfather’s old car driving up to Dougie’s house and then we get a first-person POV of presumably his grandfather walking up to the house. Because no one wants to see Dougie’s zombie grandpa, Dougie wishes for all the wishes to be undone which calls the claw to disappear and everything to go back to normal – but not before the vase they caused Miss Clove to knock over is delivered to Dougie’s home.

The end.