Saturday night at the local tavern. Spirits are working their magic, offering the intoxicating promise of a need fulfilled. The need for human companionship. Eric Duke is needier than most. It's been one month since his wife divorced him. One month of painful solitude. Tonight he's decided to put the past behind and start looking for companionship. But darker spirits still lurk within Eric, spirits of seething anger. Pent up rage waiting to explode...
— Rip Torn, opening narration of episode.
A misogynistic refrigerator-repair man gives a young girl a ride through the woods, but they argue and she jumps out of the car. Enraged he runs her over, and tries to dump the body in the river, but she returns to seek her revenge. Original air date October 20th 1997.
Tropes:
- The Alcoholic: Protagonist Eric Duke is always drinking as a means to deal with his anger towards his divorce. So much an alcoholic that the only thing inside his refrigerator is plenty of beer bottles and some sort of meat on a plate.
- And I Must Scream: Lena's death as she gets knocked out and then stuffed inside a broken refrigerator screaming for help while drifting into a river. Luckily, her killer Eric Duke suffers the same fate.
- Attempted Rape: Eric tries to force himself on college student Lena Gibson after she rejects him, but she manages to get out of his car. After which, he runs her down and stashes her body in a fridge.
- Asshole Victim: Eric Duke, big time. After harassing one woman twice at the bar, attempting to rape another and then killing her and stuffing her inside a fridge, he gets what's coming to him.
- Back from the Dead: Lena Gibson after being killed, continues to haunt Eric from the grave thought his refrigerators. Then she disguises herself as a different woman to lure him into a watery grave.
- Bittersweet Ending: A young college student, Lena Gibson is dead but she manages to return from the grave and take her killer Eric with her, resulting in his equally cruel death.
- But Liquor Is Quicker: During the drive home, Eric takes a "more scenic route" and tries to subdue Lena with alcohol but she refuses.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Lena Gibson and then Eric Duke — all inside a broken refrigerator.
- Dont Touch Me: Lena says this after Eric tries his advances on her during a drive home. Her rejection is what sets him off.
- Femme Fatale: The mysterious woman in the rain who shows up to greet Eric.
- Foreshadowing: "Refrigerators are my life."
- "Colder than a refrigerator, perhaps?"
- "It's a scenic route."
- "No woman ever loved a man this good before, no woman ever will!"
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Eric is not good with anger, as he quick to being violent and throwing fits, even murdering someone.
- Hearing Voices: After killing the college woman for rejecting him, Eric begins hearing voices — her cries of help from beyond the grave haunting him from all the broken refrigerators he repairs.
- If I Can't Have You…: After being rejected by a woman, Eric snaps and kills her instead.
- Invisible to Normals: Everybody but Eric cannot see that Lena's ghost is haunting him through the broken refrigerators and freezers he repairs nor can they hear her cries of help from beyond the grave like he can.
- Ironic Echo: "Refrigerators are my life."
- "No woman ever loved you this good. No woman ever will."
- "Colder than the coldest refrigerator."
- "It's a scenic route."
- Jump Scare: When Eric goes to the fridge to get a beer — and is greeted by Lena's bloody corpse hand reaching out for him.
- When Eric fixes a woman's refrigerator and she opens the door, revealing Lena's bloody corpse inside staring back at him.
- When Eric attempts to go inside the diner's freezer and Lena's corpse pops up, frightening him.
- Karmic Death: Eric Duke gets what's coming to him for what he did to that college girl.
- Last Grasp at Life: As Eric tries to get rid of the body, Lena's hand pops out of the refrigerator she's trapped in, revealing she wasn't quite dead yet. But Eric pushes her hand back in and pushes the broken refrigerator into the water, sealing her fate.
- Madness Mantra: Lena's cries of help continue to disturb Eric to the point where trying the drown out her cries with loud music doesn't work and her cries only get louder.Lena: Let me out of here! Please let me out of here! Please, PLEASE! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE! LET ME OUT! PLEASE LET ME OUT! PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE!! PLEASE LET ME OUT!!!
- Mirror Scare: As Eric reluctantly goes to fix the diner's refrigerator, Lena's ghost suddenly pops up looking at him through the door's window, frozen and covered in blood. This frightened Eric enough that he leaves without fixing the freezer.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Eric thinks this after returning to his house from murdering Lena. It doesn't last long.
- Never My Fault: After the murder, Eric refuses to believe he even murdered her, blaming it all on his ex-wife Margie by talking to her photo and then smashing the glass with a punch.
- Not Quite Dead: Lena is knocked out with Eric's vehicle, then stuffed inside a broken refrigerator while still alive and screaming for help.
- Oh, Crap!: Eric's reaction when the mysterious woman he met in the rain reveals herself to being truly Lena coming back to haunt and kill him.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Somehow Eric's truck ended up submerged underwater and him inside the broken refrigerator alongside the girl he murdered. Given that the woman who did this to him is a ghost, this is not impossible.
- Psychotic Smirk: After Eric passes out at the wheel, the woman in the rain turns to the camera and gives a smirk, revealing her true nature.
- Sassy Black Woman: Lil' the diner's waitress.
- Taking You with Me: Lena's corpse says this word for word after subduing and trapping Eric inside the broken refrigerator with her.Lena: (evil laughter) I'm taking you home with me, Eric! To give the love and tenderness you have always craved! No woman ever treated you half this good! No woman ever will!
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Eric says one to college student Lena Gibson before attempts to rape and kill her. Lena also says one to Eric after successfully trapping him with her inside the broken refrigerator.Eric: Damn it, I knew it. First time I saw you sasshaying around the bar. Just like my ex-wife Margie. Nice woman. Colder than the coldest refrigerator. A sweet little college girl like you could learn a lot from a fridge. Low-maintenance, dependable, serves ice cold beer night and day, lets you take what you want with no complaints. No woman ever treated a man half this good. No woman ever will.
- Title Drop: Delivered in the episode's ending narration.Narrator: It is often said that a guilt-ridden conscience cries out for punishment, unleashing demons of the mind to pay for its sins. It is also said that those who die unjustly do not go gentle into the endless night...that their souls can only be stilled by exacting retribution. From beyond the grave, vengeance is a dish served cold...
- Vengeful Ghost: Lena Gibson, after she is murdered by Eric and continues to haunt him from his broken refrigerators.
