History Recap / AreYouAfraidOfTheDarkSeason2TheTaleOfTheFrozenGhost

One night, in the coldest winter of the last hundred years, Charles Pemberton-Shilling III, while his parents attend a wedding, is driven with babysitter Daphne to stay with his aunts. The chauffeur pulls to a stop outside a semi-stately farmhouse. Into the darkened, candle-lit hallway, Gretta and Maylene welcome them all. Offered a SpotOfTea, the somewhat spooked chauffeur quickly takes his leave.

On the hottest night of the year, David suggests the Midnight Society rename itself the Heatwave Society, and relocate to his uncle's pool. Luckily, Kristen has something to cool everyone down: a chilling tale. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, she calls it "The Tale of the Frozen Ghost".

As the two aunts insist on lugging a holdall upstairs, Gretta chides Maylene's utterance of the word "hosts", having misheard it as "ghosts", a subject they'd agreed not to mention.

Downstairs, Gretta puts wood on the stove: being behind on bills, their electricity has been cut off. Daphne wonders why Charles's parents can't lend a monetary hand. Gretta and Maylene airily dismiss the suggestion; it would flout the wishes of their late father, who, years ago, had a major dispute with Charles's great grandfather, their Uncle Charlie. In defiance of their father's suspicions, Uncle Charlie unwittingly hired a bank robber as a farmhand. To Gretta's account of his apprehension, Maylene adds his death in a crash of the train on the way to prison.

During dinner, an unseen presence approaches the house. A stray gust of wind then snuffs a candle. Maylene bemusedly inspects the window, believed to have been left shut. She notes the premature departure of maintenance man Walter, which, she supposes, was because of the ghost. Conscious of Charles's unease, they hastily discourage the subject.

Late that night, as the wind howls, Charles tosses and turns. He dreams of hiding in a log from a furious man who pulls something away from him. Charles wakes with a panicked cry for help. Suddenly, the bedroom window blows open. At the window, Charles peers into the windswept night. On the edge of the lawn, amidst a soft white glow, stands the figure of a small boy, whose starkly pale frame, clad in white shirt and trousers, exudes the unearthly glow. His meek voice, carried instantaneously to the bedroom, laments the cold. He then fades from view. A panicked Charles runs to Daphne's bedroom, blurts his ethereal adventure, and is angrily dismissed.

The next day, Maylene is surprised to hear of the ghost having spoken to Charles. Gretta exasperatedly drops her front of scepticism. Maylene reassures Charles that it never enters the house. Reputedly, a small boy from a neighbouring farm used to frequently visit, often in search of cookies. One day, in the woodshed, his body was found, curled up as if striving for warmth. Just then, they notice the stove to have gone out. Daphne volunteers herself and Charles to fetch wood.

Near the woodshed, Daphne searches for the axe. Charles worries about getting dirty. Initially eager at Daphne's offer to let him have a go with the axe, he apologetically remembers having been forbidden to play with sharp things. She spitefully deplores his reticence, and smears mud onto his shirt.

They then hear the murmur of a child's voice. As Daphne pursues it, Charles calls for her return. In the distance before him, a sapling, without aid of a breeze, sways. In the mud before him appears a succession of footprints. He turns to run, and finds himself facing the ashen, faintly luminous figure of the small boy from outside his bedroom window. The boy repeats his lamentation of being cold.

Charles screams in fright. He runs through the trees, and once more comes face to face with the boy. Charles runs some more, gets stuck in a puddle, and falls. Daphne helps him up, and they both see the ashen apparition. He points at a log and fades from view.

Charles nears the log. The spectral boy continues to point. Through a crack in the side of the log, Charles searches, and pulls out a small red coat. From inside it falls a key. With a small smile, the ghostly boy reaches out a hand. His pallor suddenly gone, with only a slight luminescence, the boy, now clad in shirt and jeans, slips into his coat. With a last look, he happily fades.

* WrongGenreSavvy: The opening of the story plays a little bit

* UndeathlyPallor: The ghost, dressed in white shirt and trousers, has a chilly pallor. This fades, however, when he dons his coat.

On the hottest night of the year, David suggests the Midnight Society rename itself the Heatwave Society, and relocate to his uncle’s pool. Luckily, Kristen has something to cool everyone down: a chilling tale. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, she calls it “The Tale of the Frozen Ghost.”

One night, in the coldest winter of the last hundred years, Charles Pemberton-Shilling III, while his parents attend a wedding, is driven with babysitter Daphne to stay with his aunts. The chauffeur pulls to a stop outside a semi-stately farmhouse. Into the darkened, candle lit hallway, Gretta and Maylene welcome them all. Offered a SpotOfTea, the somewhat spooked chauffeur quickly takes his leave.

As the two aunts insist on lugging a holdall upstairs, Gretta chides Maylene’s utterance of the word “hosts,” having misheard it as “ghosts”: a subject they’d agreed not to mention.

In his allotted bedroom, while Daphne leaves to run his bath, Charles hears the distant murmur of a child’s voice. He calls back Daphne, who puts it down to the wind.

In the bath, Charles suddenly notices the bare ceiling light bulb suddenly swing back and forth, until it leans, unsupported, in his direction.

Downstairs, Gretta puts wood on the stove: being behind on bills, their electricity has been cut off. Daphne wonders why Charles’s parents can’t lend a monetary hand. Gretta and Maylene airily dismiss the suggestion: it would flout the wishes of their late father, who, years ago, had a major dispute with Charles’s great grandfather, their Uncle Charlie.

In defiance of their father’s suspicions, Uncle Charlie unwittingly hired a bank robber as a farmhand. To Gretta’s account of his apprehension, Maylene adds his death in a crash of the train on the way to prison.

During dinner, an unseen presence approaches the house. A stray gust of wind then snuffs a candle. Maylene bemusedly inspects the window, believed to have been left shut. She notes the premature departure of maintenance man Walter, which, she supposes, was because of the ghost. Conscious of Charles’s unease, they hastily discourage the subject.

Late that night, as the wind howls, Charles tosses and turns. He dreams of hiding in a log from a furious man who pulls something away from him. Charles wakes with a panicked cry for help. Suddenly, the bedroom window blows open.

At the window, Charles peers into the windswept night. On the edge of the lawn, amidst a soft white glow, stands the figure of a small boy, whose starkly pale frame, clad in white shirt and trousers, exudes the unearthly glow. His meek voice, carried instantaneously to the bedroom, laments the cold. He then fades from view.

A panicked Charles runs to Daphne’s bedroom, blurts his ethereal adventure, and is angrily dismissed.

The next day, Maylene is surprised to hear of the ghost having spoken to Charles. Gretta exasperatedly drops her front of scepticism. Maylene reassures Charles that it never enters the house. Reputedly, a small from a neighbouring farm used to frequently visit, often in search of cookies. One day, in the woodshed, his body was found, curled up as if striving for warmth.

Just then, they notice the stove to have gone out. Daphne volunteers herself and Charles to fetch wood.

Near the woodshed, Daphne searches for the axe. Charles worries about getting dirty. Initially eager at Daphne’s offer to let him have a go with the axe, he apologetically remembers having been forbidden to play with sharp things. She spitefully deplores his reticence, and smears mud onto his shirt.

They then hear the murmur of a child’s voice. As Daphne pursues it, Charles calls for her return. In the distance before him, a sapling, without aid of a breeze, sways. In the mud before him appear a succession of footprints. He turns to run, and finds himself facing the ashen, faintly luminous figure of the small boy from outside his bedroom window. The boy repeats his lamentation of being cold.

Charles screams in fright. He runs through the trees...and is once more face to face with the boy. Charles runs some more, gets stuck in a puddle, and falls. Daphne helps him up, and they both see the ashen apparition. He points at a log, and fades from view.

Charles presents the key to his aunts. Maylene has a sudden idea, and fits the key into the stove. With the stove dislodged, they hear a heavy rustling from within. Charles opens the grate, to reveal a shower of gold coins.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: On recovery of his coat, [[spoiler: the Frozen Ghost happily fades from this earth.]]

* FriendlyGhost: Poor kid just wants his coat. [[spoiler: Which he eventually gets, thank goodness]].
* GhostlyGoals: The Frozen Ghost simply wants to retrieve his coat. As a side effect, the key hidden within [[spoiler: unlocks the stove, in which lies the fortune stolen by the corrupt farmhand]].
* JacobMarleyApparel: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. The Ghost appears in shroud-like trousers and shirt. [[spoiler: On regaining his lost coat]], however, he reverts to the top and jeans in which he apparently died.
* MonochromeApparition: The Frozen Ghost, dressed in white shirt and trousers, has a stark pallor.

* SupernaturalLight: The Frozen Ghost exudes a soft white glow.
* UndeathlyPallor: The Ghost, dressed in white shirt and trousers, has a chilly pallor. [[spoiler: This fades, however, when he dons his coat]].

* TheBully: When Charles apologetically notes having been forbidden to use sharp objects, Daphne angrily calls him a wuss, a couch potato and a freak, and smears his shirt with mud.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: On recovery of his coat, the Frozen Ghost happily fades from this earth.]]

At the window, Charles peers into the windswept night. On the edge of the lawn, amidst a soft white glow, stands the figure of a small boy, whose small, starkly pale frame, clad in white shirt and trousers, exudes the unearthly aurora. His meek voice, carried instantaneously to the bedroom, laments the cold. He then fades from view.

Charles nears the log. The spectral boy continues to point. Through a crack in the side of the log, Charles searches, and pulls out a small red coat. From inside it falls a key. With a small smile, the ghostly boy reaches out a hand. His pallor suddenly gone, with only a slight luminescence, the boy, now clad in shirt and jeans, slips into his coat. With a last look, the boy happily fades.

* TheBully: When Charles apologetically notes having been forbidden to use sharp objects, Daphne angrily calls him a wuss, a couch potato and a freak, and smears his shirt with mud: in a situation beyond his control, obedience to his parents is punished with verbal and physical abuse.

Near the woodshed, Daphne searches for the axe. Charles worries about getting dirty. Initially eager at Daphne’s offer to let him have a go with the axe, he apologetically remembers having been forbidden to play with sharp things. She deplores his reticence, and smears mud onto his shirt.

Near the woodshed, Daphne searches for the axe. Charles worries about getting dirty. Initially eager at Daphne’s offer to let him have a go with the axe, he remembers having been forbidden to play with sharp things. She deplores his reticence, and smears mud onto his shirt.