The Midnight Society each share their respective irrational fears. Tucker, however, can only think of slasher movies. Frank, carrying a mysterious wooden box, takes to the stone chair, and coolly admits his long-reputed phobia of the dark. He observes everyone to hold some sort of irrational fear: while physically harmless, some things may still overwhelm with dread. His story is about such fear. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, he calls this story "The Tale of the Dangerous Soup."
Alone in a small, dark, sterile room, Paul sits in a metal chair. In the middle of the far wall, a square panel slides down, revealing a small, misty chamber, in which sits a small statue with the body of a bear and snarling head of a bat. From inside each armrest, two metal bars fly into place across Paul's middle, pinning him in place. Through a slot in the door, Dr Vink claims the statue to know what scares Paul. Suddenly paralyzed with fear, Paul looks down at his leg - across which climbs a constrictor snake.
To the Wild Boar, hostess and part time bookkeeper Nonnie Walker welcomes a newly arrived couple. Amidst the quiet chatter resounds praise for the house speciality. Waitress Jersey offers a seated couple tonight’s specials - they’re just here for the soup. Amidst the tables, led by waiting staff, arrives restauranteur and head chef Dr Vink. With calm elation, he soaks up the applause.
One day, alone in the dining area, Nonnie takes stock. Reed Hansen arrives in enquiry of the advertised job of kitchen assistant. He asks about the curiously titled restaurenteur.
From behind him, Dr Vink declares himself to be, rather than a cook, a chef - nourisher of the soul.
In the kitchen, from a huge steaming pot of some dark green concoction, he takes a ladle, and offers Reed a taste. It’s the house speciality: the Dangerous Soup. Reed tastes, and, despite himself, is impressed. Dumbfounded to hear of the amount charged per bowl, he requests one more taste. Dr Vink, however, permits his staff only one. He warns against attempt to sneak another.
With a disdainful smile, Reed denies intimidation. Dr Vink happily gives him the job.
One day, in the kitchen, Reed sneaks another taste of Dangerous Soup - and is caught in the act by Dr Vink. Nonnie hastily claims Reed to have been cleaning the stove. Jersey then protests to Dr Vink of her recent reassignment to dishwashing.
Meanwhile, Reed follows Nonnie into the empty dining area, and offers sincere thanks. He explains his aloofness to have been honed by a life of having to do things alone.
To Jersey, Dr Vink explains her newly assigned kitchen role to be as his protege - namely, in the preparation of the house speciality. At the back of the kitchen, he leads her to a seemingly empty walk-in freezer. She sceptically saunters in, and Dr Vink shuts the door behind her.
Jersey sits in the metal chair. In the far wall before her, the square panel slides down, revealing the Statue. From each inner armrest, a metal bar springs across Jersey’s middle, pinning her in place.
Nonnie and Reed approach the kitchen.
By the freezer door, Dr Vink opens a wall-mounted cabinet. Inside, fixed beneath its roof, a small glass funnel hangs above a bulbous glass phial. Its mostly clear content, at the top, glows bright green.
In the freezer, the Statue considers Jersey. Suddenly, the seat’s backrest falls away, dropping her into a horizontal position. Mere feet above her waist, a monstrous blade swings across the room.
Into the phial, the funnel drips bright green liquid. As the blade swings gradually closer, Jersey screams in abject terror.
Reed demands the freezer door be opened. Dr Vink airily invites them to open the door. Out stumbles Jersey, who seems not to remember the recent ordeal.
Reed demands explanation. Dr Vink decides to impart the secret of the Dangerous Soup. During his travels, he happened upon a tribe of savage warriors, who, instead of bladed weaponry, used a talisman: a statue enchanted with the power to reach into the mind, and create images of peoples' most dreaded fears. While illusory, the more a victim believed in this recreation, the more real it would become. Once roused, the fear would be conjured in liquid form. The warriors, by drinking the liquid fear of their enemies, gained the resultant bodily stimulation and strength. After acquiring the statue, he now uses it to collect the liquid fear of his employees, which he uses to season his soup. The reason the soup is so delicious is because, to taste the Dangerous Soup is to literally taste fear.
Dr Vink invites Reed to visit to the freezer. Reed obliges.
Inside the freezer, he laughingly disdains the Statue. Through the peephole, Dr Vink closes his eyes, and seems to probe the Statue’s findings: he perceives the orphaned Reed to have been raised by a stern uncle, who died.
Reed's mouth falls open. Across the room, mounted before the statue, lies a coffin. Terrified yet transfixed, Reed opens the lid, to find the resting corpse of a middle-aged man. As Reed stares, his uncle’s eyes snap open in an accusing glare. He reaches to seize Reed’s shirt. Giddied with terror, Reed can only gasp.
Horrified, Nonnie rushes to open the door. Suddenly panicked, Dr Vink tries to stop her - too late. The suddenly animate statue flies like the wind out of the freezer, across the kitchen, and into the night.
In the dining area, a horrified Dr Vink explains the Statue to have grown stronger with each feeding - while he managed to contain it, it can now feed at will. He hurries into the night.
As Nonnie and Reed wonder what to do, the kitchen door slams shut and the lights fade. They run to the door - which flies open. Amidst a brilliant blue glow towers an enormous incarnation of the Statue.
The two flee to the kitchen. From the door behind them, a brilliant white glow blazes into the room, and pushes them along the floor. Nonnie stumbles into the open freezer, whose door slams shut.
Through the forcibly locked door, Reed urges calm. In the freezer, overhead, a dim light flashes on. On the floor, now bereft of its seat, Nonnie starts to sob with dread. The room itself scares her - claustrophobic, she clings to a side wall.
With a thunderous creak, the wall starts to shudder towards her - as does the wall opposite. She screams in tortured panic. Unable to open the door, Reed desperately urges her to deny her fear. On sudden realisation, he runs into the dining area...
...Where he finds the now erect coffin. Its lid creaks forth. With a deathly stare, arm outstretched, advances his uncle. Reed decries the spectre to be an illusion - but backs against the wall and onto the floor.
Meanwhile, with the freezer walls mere feet apart, Nonnie screams for help...
Suddenly, Reed flies at his phantasmal uncle, and throws his arms around the spectre. It fades from existence. Reed laughs in relief, and rushes to free Nonnie.
He finds her somewhat disorientated, slumped across the freezer floor, whose walls are now firmly where they belong. At the peephole appears the face of Dr Vink, who announces the Statue still to be alive. Dr Vink plans to remain in business for a while yet...
Tucker has a quibble: if a victim feared nothing, the Statue wouldn’t work. Frank lifts his mystery box, whose door has a round hole, and invites Tucker to reach into the unknown. Tucker rises to the challenge, and hesitantly reaches forth. With his hand near the hole, he withdraws. Gary wonders what’s inside. Frank overturns the box, and opens its door, revealing only empty blackness.
- Frank: Exactly what Tucker’s afraid of - nothing.
This episode provides examples of:
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Nonnie, from Dr Vink.Dr Vink - with a ver, ver, ver!
- Dark and Troubled Past: Orphaned Reed, having been raised by a fearsomely stern uncle, has grown up in solitary self-reliance.
- Defrosting Ice King: While not mean-spiritedly, Reed is rather aloof - but, with some discomfort, earnestly thanks Nonnie for her kindness.
- Does This Remind Youof Anything: Dr Vink describes Reed as being raised by an uncle who was "a cruel man who treated him very harshly". It's not explicitly stated as this is a show aimed at kids, but it's implied that Reed was raised by quite an emotionally and/or physically abusive man.
- Dramatic Thunder: When the Statue goes on the prowl, an ominous storm - quite possibly an effect induced by the Statue - soon follows.
- Emotion Eater: The Statue feeds on the fear of its victims, and secretes a liquid concentration thereof. And thereby, Dr Vink’s patrons, albeit unwittingly.
- Even Evil Has Standards: While Dr Vink isn’t outright evil, few would argue his terrorising of malcontent staff for curiosity and profit not to be immoral. However, he seems to have contained the Statue with intention to limit its threat, and is absolutely horrified when it escapes.
- Face Your Fears: Reed’s deliberate self-exposure to the fearsome phantasm of his uncle proves to be the Statue’s undoing - for now.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Nonnie is horrified to learn the implications of having opened the freezer door.
- Not So Stoic: Sternly aloof Reed is having none of Dr Vink’s nonsense. However, faced with a phantasm of his uncle’s animate corpse, he’s paralysed with terror.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The perpetually cheery, unflappable Dr. Vink completely freaks out in genuine terror when the statute escapes.
- Oh, Crap!: Dr Vink desperately tries to stop Nonnie opening the freezer door, and is near-panicked with horror when the Statue escapes.
- Renaissance Man: Having been a reclusive naturalist and a filmmaker, Dr Vink is now a chef and restaurateur - who mentions having travelled the world, seemingly in search of mystical exotica.
- Sadist: Dr Vink takes alarming amusement in the terrorising of his “subjects.”
- Supernatural Fear Inducer: The Statue reaches into the minds of its prey, and conjures phantasms to terrorise them.
- Supreme Chef: Dr Vink’s culinary skills are widely lauded.
- Tears of Fear: Threatened with being crushed, Nonnie sobs with fear.
- The Walls Are Closing In: Played for Horror,
very effectively, when the Statue affects the freezer walls to close in on Nonnie. - "What Do They Fear?" Episode: The Midnight Society share their irrational fears: for Gary, heights, for Kiki, dogs, having been bitten as a kid, for Sam, birds, for Betty Anne, being alone in the attic, for Frank, the dark, and for Tucker… seemingly, the unknown.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Increased belief in a phantasm conjured by the Statue seems to lend effect to the suggested features thereof.Dr Vink: Of course, it was only an illusion. But the more you believed in it, the more real it would become.
