"It knows what scares you..."

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Are You Afraid of the Dark in 500 Words Or Less: Season 1 | Episode 1 The Tale of the Phantom Cab

We’re immediately introduced to the Midnight Society. Gary’s the leader. Kiki’s the tomboy. Betty Ann, the quirky one. David the shy kid. Kristen is the ultimate girly girl. And then there’s our resident snot – Eric. More on him in later installments of this blog. There’s a new person seeking entrance into the Midnight Society. His name is Frank and the only way he can become one of the cool kids is to tell a spooky story they all approve of.

The Tale of the Phantom Cab introduce us to Denny and Buzz, two brothers who hate each other so much I couldn’t help but wonder why they went hiking together in the first place. Right off the bat, it’s established that Denny is the cool brother and Buzz is the smart brother. The two get lost in the woods and are directed to the house of a doctor by a stranger they happen upon. He assures them they will be able to get help.  

Buzz and Denny end up at the cottage of one Dr. Vink (Not Fink, but Vink…with a vuh-vuh-vuh). Dr. Vink proves to be a complete wackadoo yet these two, out of complete desperation, still enter his cottage in hopes of using his phone. In order to use his phone, Dr. Vink asks the two of them to solve a riddle. Because Buzz is established as being the smart brother, he is expected to solve the riddle – but he doesn’t. So, no phone for the brothers and just like that Vink sends them on their way - but not before letting them know there is a cab that runs in the woods who can take them home.

Sure enough, there is indeed a cab that shows up and the stranger Flynn they ran into earlier is the driver. Without reservation, the two boys get into the cab and they quickly learn this is a poor decision on their part. Flynn is not just a cab driver – he’s a dead cab driver. He, too, was unable to solve Dr. Vink’s riddle so his hand was chopped off instead? Oh – and then he ended up crashing his cab into a tree. He is now charged with ferrying those who are able to solve Dr. Vink’s riddle to their doom.

After way too much back and forth between the brothers, Buzz finally makes himself useful and solves the riddle just in time to keep the two of them from perishing in a fiery car wreck. The brothers are found by a park ranger and as Frank ends the story, we learn that when the authorities attempt to located Dr. Vink’s cottage, they are unable to find anything.

Are You Afraid of the Dark in 500 Words Or Less: The Tale of the Phantom Cab

We’re immediately introduced to the Midnight Society. Gary’s the leader. Kiki’s the tomboy. Betty Ann, the quirky one. David the shy kid. Kristen is the ultimate girly girl. And then there’s our resident snot – Eric. More on him in later installments of this blog. There’s a new person seeking entrance into the Midnight Society. His name is Frank and the only way he can become one of the cool kids is to tell a spooky story they all approve of.

The Tale of the Phantom Cab introduce us to Denny and Buzz, two brothers who hate each other so much I couldn’t help but wonder why they went hiking together in the first place. Right off the bat, it’s established that Denny is the cool brother and Buzz is the smart brother. The two get lost in the woods and are directed to the house of a doctor by a stranger they happen upon. He assures them they will be able to get help.  

Buzz and Denny end up at the cottage of one Dr. Vink (Not Fink, but Vink...with a vuh-vuh-vuh). Dr. Vink proves to be a complete wackadoo yet these two, out of complete desperation, still enter his cottage in hopes of using his phone. In order to use his phone, Dr. Vink asks the two of them to solve a riddle. Because Buzz is established as being the smart brother, he is expected to solve the riddle – but he doesn’t. So, no phone for the brothers and just like that Vink sends them on their way - but not before letting them know there is a cab that runs in the woods who can take them home.

Sure enough, there is indeed a cab that shows up and the stranger Flynn they ran into earlier is the driver. Without reservation, the two boys get into the cab and they quickly learn this is a poor decision on their part. Flynn is not just a cab driver – he’s a dead cab driver. He, too, was unable to solve Dr. Vink’s riddle so his hand was chopped off instead? Oh – and then he ended up crashing his cab into a tree. He is now charged with ferrying those who are able to solve Dr. Vink’s riddle to their doom. 

After way too much back and forth between the brothers, Buzz finally makes himself useful and solves the riddle just in time to keep the two of them from perishing in a fiery car wreck. The brothers are found by a park ranger and as Frank ends the story, we learn that when the authorities attempt to located Dr. Vink’s cottage, they are unable to find anything. 

I was a huge fan of Are You Afraid of the Dark back in the 90′s, especially of Dr. Vink who was a reoccurring character in the series.