Alone in the darkened woods, Kristen is surprised by David, who hands her a birthday present for next week. By the campfire, Eric throws pieces of popcorn and catches them in his mouth. He gets a nasty fright when Frank sneakily pours in some water. Tonight, David has a story of two kids who don't get along - and a love that transcends the grave. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, he calls this story "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost."
One summer, Amanda, whose scientist parents are away studying rock carvings, arrives to stay with estate agent Aunt Dotty and cousin Beth. Displeased to have to share her room, Beth invites Amanda to join her friends; provided Amanda regularly tidies the room, doesn't snitch to Nanny - and pay a nightly visit to the empty house next door.
That night on the landing, Amanda runs into Beth's lifelong Nanny, known only as Nanny. She hesitantly proffers a hand. Amanda approaches to shake it. Beth opens the bedroom door, and angrily forbids such interaction. Nanny gives Amanda a weary, understanding look, and retreats downstairs.
Next morning, whilst bringing down Beth’s laundry, Amanda passes Nanny, who drops a small, locket-framed photograph. Amanda hands it to Nanny, who wearily thanks her, and discreetly takes the laundry. From the kitchen, they both hear Beth lament Nanny’s continued employment. Nanny sadly hurries off.
That night, Amanda meets Beth and friends outside the reputedly haunted house next door. During the war, it was lived in by a young girl, who was bullied for being unable to speak. One day, her father, stationed abroad, fell ill. While her mother went to look after him, the young girl went to stay with her grandmother. She ran into some bullies, who chased her back to, and locked her in, her bedroom. Unable to call for help, she was later found dead. Amanda must now visit the haunted bedroom. Beth hands her the keys.
Through the dark, silent house, Amanda approaches the stairs. In a darkened, faded bedroom, Amanda hears an urgent knocking from inside the mirrored wardrobe. She composes herself, and hears, on the wall behind her, a curious scraping sound. She turns, and sees on the wall, written in charcoal, a backwards engraving of the message "HELP ME". In the mirrored door of the wardrobe opposite, she reads aloud the scrawled plea. The glass of the mirror then shimmers and glows white. The glow fades to reveal, instead of the reflected room, a black void, in which stands the small, deathly pale figure of a young girl. Amanda screams and runs all the way back to Beth’s bedroom.
Next day, displeased to hear of the graffiti, Aunt Dotty leaves two buckets of soapy water at the feet of her daughter and niece. The cousins enter the now-daylight, if deathly silent, hallway. In the bedroom, they find the walls to be covered with huge, backward scrawls of the message "HELP ME". Amanda looks at the wardrobe mirror. Beth follows her gaze. The reflection once more shimmers, and is obscured by a white glow. This fades to reveal a reflection of what is recognisably the same room, but well lit, brightly decorated, and bedecked with a display of dolls and plush animals. Entranced, Beth approaches the mirror, and steps seamlessly through its glass, into the phantom reflection. Just as Beth is swallowed by the glass, out steps the ashen figure of the spectral young girl.
Amanda screams in terror, and wrestles with the bedroom door, which is now jammed. Panicked with fright, she sinks to the floor and buries her face in her knees. The apparition slowly approaches, carrying a locket-framed small photograph. Amanda realises the face in the photograph to be that of Nanny. The ghost girl nods eagerly. The ghost turns to the wall near the door, and writes another message: "HELP ME," this time spelt forwards. Amanda, rising above her fear, offers to help. She hurries out. In the mirror, from the other side if the phantom reflection, Beth's faded image bangs desperately on the glass...
Amanda pelts back to Aunt Dotty’s, and frantically searches the empty house. From Beth’s bedroom window, she sees Nanny hand luggage to a taxi driver. On the driveway, Amanda catches Nanny just in time. Hung from Nanny's lapel is a locket-framed photo of a young girl. To this, Amanda holds the ghost's similar locket-framed photo of the young Nanny.
...
By the hand, Amanda leads her into the abandoned house's hallway. With hushed words of encouragement, Amanda leads her into the bedroom. Stunned, Nanny beholds the small figure stood in the corner. The ashen-faced child smiles, spreads her arms, and approaches. Overcome, the two embrace. The child gestures to the wardrobe mirror. In its phantom reflection, the transparent image of Beth flees aside. Nanny follows her child into the mirror. On the other side, the two, dressed respectively in the apparel of another decade, laugh and exit through the phantom reflection’s door.
Beth, still trapped in the phantom reflection, wanders back into view. The phantom reflection fades, taking Beth with it. Amanda approaches the mirror, which once more reflects the room’s disused state. Now from inside the wardrobe, Beth calls for help. On Beth's agreement not to boss around Amanda or Beth's friends, Amanda lets her out.
After the others disperse, Kristen opens her present from David - a locket, like in the story. Delighted, she kisses him on the cheek, and they run to catch up with the others.
This episode provides examples of:
- Alpha Bitch: Beth is spiteful and vindictive to anyone who’ll put up with it.
- And I Must Scream: Confined to the mirror of her wardrobe, the Lonely Ghost is able to call for help only through backwards writing.
- Bully Brutality: "Some mean kids" chased the mute child home, locked her in her bedroom, and left her there. Unable to call for help, she died.
- Dark Is Not Evil: While the sudden appearance of the Ghost is scary, she simply wants reunion with her still living mother.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Eric is furious when Frank pours water into his tilted mouth.
- Earn Your Happy Ending:
- Nanny lived the better part of her life with regret that her daughter died with no one to call help for, and she had to put up with her nasty charge Beth. But after Amanda reunites her with her ghost daughter, the two go on to the afterlife where they can be together as mother and daughter once more.
- Likewise, Amanda gains new friends from the experience, and her cousin Beth is no longer top dog of the group. After putting up with her cousin's cruelty, Amanda gets to spend the best summer of her life.
- Elder Abuse: Beth is ceaselessly spiteful to Nanny, verbally abusing her and treating her like a leper.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Nanny is only ever known by that name.
- Genki Girl: Aunt Dotty is quite spritely.
- Hate Sink: Beth apparently wasn't made to be well-liked. She practically makes Amanda her slave to keep her room clean and do her chores, and she verbally abuses Nanny, even though the woman practically raised her. Her own friends only go along with what she says because they're afraid of Beth.
- Haunted House: Estate agent Dotty just can’t seem to sell the house next door...
- Kick the Dog: When Amanda is about to shake Nanny's hand, Beth comes bursting out of her room and forbids her cousin to touch Nanny's hand, lest she never be allowed to so much as touch Beth's belongings or bed. Nanny is deeply hurt by the remark and sadly rescinds the handshake.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For her nasty attitude towards everyone who puts up with her, Beth receives her just desserts in perfect Humiliation Conga fashion. First, the ghost has Beth lured and trapped in the mirror. Later, she's back in the real world but now stuck in the closet, leaving her at Amanda's mercy. Finally, Amanda joins with Beth's bullied friends to make her promise to stop bullying them all. It's implied that Beth's friends are now Amanda's friends, and they only let Beth hang out on a whim.
- Mirror Monster: While far from monstrous, the sudden appearance of the Ghost in the wardrobe mirror is initially frightening.
- Mirror Universe: Writing on the reflected walls in the mirror appears in reverse on the solid walls.
- Never My Fault: When Aunt Dotty has her daughter and niece clean up the ghost room of its mysterious vandalism (by the Ghost), Beth wastes no time blaming Amanda for the mess they're in. It wasn't Amanda's idea to put her up to go into the Ghost's room in the first place, that was Beth, and although the vandalism wasn't Beth's mess so much as it is the Ghost's doing, it's unfair of Beth to dump the blame on Amanda.
- Nice Girl: Amanda just wants to be liked, is kind to put-upon Nanny, and, despite her fear, tries to help the Ghost.
- Nice to the Waiter: Whilst Amanda does Beth's laundry, Nanny offers to do it in her stead and even promises to keep it a secret, knowing full well Beth forbade their interaction.
- No Name Given: We never learn the Ghost’s name.
- Scare Dare: For Amanda, to visit the haunted bedroom.
- The Speechless: In life, the Ghost was a mute.
- Together in Death: It's strongly implied that Nanny joined her late daughter in the afterlife.
