The Legacy
Dale (David Brisbin) is a horror author experiencing severe writer's block, and after struggling to gain inspiration, he decides to buy the cottage of Fulton Pierce (Kevin Cutts), a legendary actor from the earliest days of horror cinema. Pierce was said to be famous for the terrifying monsters he played onscreen, and Dale is certain that he will find his muse by living in the very place where Pierce died, disbelieving what his shrewish and utterly-bored wife Debbie (Lara Harris) has to say about his inspiration. He is thrilled when he finds an old makeup kit that Pierce used to disguise himself as his characters, and decides to put on some of the cosmetics and props to delve into Pierce's psyche. What Dale doesn't realize is that he's getting a lot more than he bargained for the more time he keeps this makeup on.
Tropes:
- Awful Wedded Life: Debbie spends the whole episode acting utterly bored with her husband, his persistent writers' block, and his nonstop prattling about Fulton Pierce, wishing that she were anywhere else and even crumpling up the paper holding the very little progress Dale already made.
- Downer Ending: Fulton's ghost takes over Dale's body through his makeup kit of evil, erasing his personality to have another shot at his acting career.
- Dull Surprise: Debbie displays it for the whole episode, even as her husband is possessed by Fulton Pierce's ghost.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Dale gets the idea to put on Fulton's old makeup by Debbie, who's frustrated with her husband's obsession with the late actor and asks him to "make up [his] mind" about choosing him or her.
- Haunted House: Fulton Pierce's cottage, haunted by the actor's ghost, which hides in his old makeup kit (which also housed evil presences) and possesses Dale through that same makeup.
- Ignored Expert: Stella tries to talk Dale out of using Fulton's accursed makeup kit to gain inspiration through the evil roles the man played, but Dale predictably doesn't listen.
- Loony Fan: Stella, who Dale takes Fulton's makeup kit to so she can judge its authenticity, was known to be one of them, having fallen for the man even though he was more than twice her age.
- Mad Artist: Fulton was one of them thanks to whatever dark power he tapped into inside his makeup kit, and that same madness gradually affects Dale the longer he delves into its workings.
- Madness Mantra: "MAKE-UP YOUR MIND", as repeated over and over on Dale's typewriter as he loses his mind.
- Mirror Monster: Fulton's ghost appears in the small mirror on the underside of the lid of his makeup kit, as well as the monsters he portrayed on camera. The end of the episode has the ghost reaching its hands through the mirror to strangle Dale as the possession takes hold.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Debbie's suggestion to Dale that he make up his mind about writing his book or devoting himself to her is the final push he needs to wear Fulton's makeup, allowing his ghost to possess him.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Fulton Pierce is modeled after Lon Chaney Jr., who similarly made a living portraying all sorts of monsters like Dracula and Quasimodo.
- Oh, Crap!: When Dale discovers that his face matches that of Quasimodo when he looks in the mirror, just as the makeup kit turns to let Fulton's ghost possess him.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Fulton Pierce's ghost is housed in the actor's old makeup kit (which was said to have allowed him to tap into something evil to gain inspiration), and he possesses Dale's body to return from the dead through the makeup the writer himself puts on. Dale notes in his recorded diary that he found the kit itself hidden inside an old closet, buried under years worth of forgotten junk, while also noting that it's as if someone put the kit in there for him to find.
- Shout-Out:
- As Debbie is introduced, Dale, in a costume, calls her "Christine, my angel" as he beckons her to come in.
- When he discusses the applications for using Fulton's house to get to the bottom of the mystery of who he really was, Dale brings up the theories of what happened to Marilyn Monroe and what caused James Dean to crash his car.
- In a scene straight out of The Shining, Debbie discovers Dale's typewriter has the phrase "MAKE-UP YOUR MIND" written on it ad nauseam.
- At the start of the second act, Dale rants about how discovering Fulton's secret means that he won't have to give any more lectures to rich kids who think A Nightmare on Elm Street is a bright film.
- The Stoic: Debbie, who spends the whole episode bored out of her mind from Dale's fanatic obsession with Fulton and his skills in writing.
- Tempting Fate:
- The beginning of the episode has Dale's recording to himself that finding Fulton's makeup kit will lead him on a journey to the source of his genius. He gets just what he asked for when Fulton's ghost, housed in the kit, takes over his body after he puts on the makeup.
- As he consoles Debbie about deciding to move into Fulton's cottage instead of her place, Dale tries to tell her that the place is brimming with inspiration for his book, asking if she can feel "his spirit" everywhere in the house.
- Debbie also dismissively calls Fulton "a phantom from the past" as she tries to talk some sense into Dale, who says after she leaves that Fulton is going to help him write it.
- These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: Dale and Ms. Montgomery theorize that Fulton tapped into this sort of thing when they debate how he could utilize magic to become his numerous characters.
- Vengeful Ghost: Fulton Pierce, whose ghost inhabits his old makeup kit, takes over Dale's body to cheat death and renew his acting career.
- The Voiceless: Fulton's ghost doesn't have any audible dialogue, given that he hails from the days of silent films.
- Writers Suck: Dale spends the episode suffering from writer's block, so he moves into Fulton's old cottage to gain inspiration for his new book.
