[Child's laughter]
Put it down! Gary will freak.
What is this stuff, anyway?
Hey. Don't touch the pouch.
Sorry.
What about your friend Sam?
Are we getting a new member?
Next week. Kiki's up tonight.
Hey, man. I'm dead.
Yeah, from the neck up.
Hey, you wanna be dead from the neck down?
I was helping my brother move all day.
Yeech. I hate moving.
Moving's the worst.
I love it.
Say what?
How can you like moving?
Lugging stuff around isn't any fun,
but moving into a new place
is like a mystery.
You always wonder who lived there before,
you know, what they were like, why they left.
Sounds like a pretty good story.
It is.
My story's about moving,
and about promises.
A promise is a pledge,
something to rely on.
You should never break a promise.
If you do,
it might come back to haunt you.
Submitted for the approval
of the Midnight Society,
I call this story...
Give it back, Bozo.
Submitted for the approval
of the Midnight Society,
I call this story...
Stacy Cooper was going through a rough time.
It looked like her parents were going to break up.
She and her mom had to move
into a tiny apartment
across town.
It's a lot smaller with all this stuff in here.
It's a little cramped.
Mom, a sardine can is a little cramped.
OK. It's small,
but it's all I could afford right now.
[Glass crashing]
Oh, Bugsy. Get out of there.
[Dog whimpers]
Hey!
[Gasps]
You scared me!
You don't park here.
I don't think the manager would mind. We're moving in.
I am manager.
I do mind.
You move car now.
What a mess. What a jerk.
Do you know where we packed the broom
and the dust pan?
I'll go get it.
OK.
[Door creaks]
[Knocking
[knock-knock]
[Knocking]
[Door creaks open]
[Person humming]
Mom, you scared me.
What are you doing out here?
I thought I heard something.
I don't want you wandering around at night.
Come back inside.
I wasn't doing anything wrong.
Well, I asked you not to do that.
[Door creaks shut]
What are you doing?
Uh--um, I was...
Who are you?
I'm Angela. I live in 212.
Do you know who lives here?
I didn't think anyone did.
You just moved into 213, didn't you?
How'd you know?
I've seen you around. Not many kids live here.
Would you want to hang out sometime?
Maybe.
Well, I'll see you later, then?
Yeah. Bye.
Hey, Ma!
Hey. How come you're so late?
The bus broke down.
Oh.
It's about time you came to see me.
I'm having some tea.
Will you join me?
What's your name?
Stacy.
Well, Stacy, it's going to be
a real trick to drink it from there.
Are you an art collector, or something?
In a manner of speaking.
These are all the original works of Madeline Koegel.
That's me.
You painted all of these?
A long time ago.
Who's this,
your family?
That's my nephew Frank and his family.
I never had children of my own.
Frank promised that I could always live with them,
but when his family grew,
he got tired of taking care of an old woman,
so he asked me to leave.
He broke his promise? Just like that?
That's when I moved in here,
away from the children,
away from all my friends.
I kind of lost all my friends, too.
They're all back in my old neighborhood.
Well, Stacy, we seem to have something in common.
Do you know what I think
might do both of us a world of good?
What?
Visits.
If we were to visit now and again,
maybe we wouldn't miss our old friends
quite so much.
You sure you want to be friends with a kid?
If you don't mind being friends with an old woman.
As the days went by, Stacy and Madeline
spent a ton of time together.
Stacy helped Madeline with some of
the tougher chores around the apartment.
Madeline told Stacy really cool stories about her life.
It was perfect.
Madeline wasn't lonely anymore,
and Stacy found her first new friend.
Stacy, would you mind terribly
if I asked you to drop by tomorrow?
No. What's up?
Nothing. It's just a day
on which I prefer not to be alone.
No sweat. I'll be here.
Promise?
Promise.
Wonderful.
I've got a surprise for you.
What is it?
You'll have to wait till tomorrow.
OK. I'll see you then.
Hey, 213!
Hey, Angela.
Check these out.
What are they?
Tickets to the Battle of the Bands.
I didn't know they were selling them yet.
They are.
And we're going.
You wanna come? We got an extra ticket.
Really? When?
Right now.
My mom's getting the car
and we're going to pick up some of my friends.
You can meet them.
I--I can't.
Why not?
I promised someone that I'd visit them.
Stacy, this is the Battle of the Bands.
I thought we were supposed to start hanging out together.
[Singing] Free ticket.
[Car horn honks]
You coming or not?
OK. Let me tell my mom.
Thanks, Angela. I had a great time.
Bye.
[Woman crying]
[Woman sobbing]
Madeline?
Is that you?
[Crying]
Why did you break your promise?
[Thunder]
Somebody open this door!
Please open this door!
Open it!
Somebody open this door! Please let me out!
What were you doing in here?
Mom! Mom!
What's wrong?
What happened?
Madeline! Madeline's apartment is empty!
What are you talking about?
Everything is gone.
I promised to go visit her, and I didn't.
When I went to go say I was sorry, she was gone!
Honey, she must have moved out.
No! She was standing in the dark,
and when I turned on the light, she was gone!
She couldn't be there one second and not the next.
If it is about plumbing,
I have already got complaint.
Mr. Horstrom, did the lady in 214 move out?
Horstrom: What lady?
There's no one living there.
But Madeline lives there.
Who?
Madeline Koegel? The artist.
Mom, I swear she lives there.
Horstrom: No one live in 214.
No one live there for years.
It just didn't make sense.
All Stacy knew for sure was that Madeline left
and she would have to live with the guilt
of a broken promise.
As time went on, she realized that Madeline wasn't coming back
and she would never get the chance to apologize.
[Thunder]
Stacy?
Stacy, where are you?
OK. Here's the number of the restaurant.
Are you sure you'll be OK by yourself?
Mom, if you don't get going,
Dad's going to think you're not coming.
Stacy, just because we're talking
doesn't mean we're definitely getting back together.
Understand?
I know. Tell Dad I love him.
I will.
OK, you.
Stay inside, and lock this
as soon as I'm gone.
Bye, Mom.
Bye, sweetie.
[Knock on door]
Who is it?
[Knocking]
[Thunder]
Madeline! What happened to you?
I was scared when you weren't--
[door creaks]
[Knocking]
Madeline?
Madeline, are you in here?
Madeline!
What's going on?
You promised to visit me.
I didn't want to be alone on that day.
That day is the worst day,
and you didn't come!
It was a very lonely day for me, Stacy,
and do you know why?
It was my anniversary.
10 years ago, on that day,
is the day I died!
[Thunder]
[Screams]
Angela! Angela!
Open the door!
Please, Angela!
[Door slams]
[Screams]
What for you scream?
You go back your apartment.
I can't. Madeline's in there.
Who?
The old lady who lives in apartment 214.
I'm telling you is no one there.
I can't rent.
Every time I show apartment,
something happen.
People get scared. Go away.
You go home now.
Where are you going?
I go fix fuse.
Got to make lights come back on.
I'll come with you.
Nyet!
You go home now.
Bugsy, no.
Bugsy, come.
Bugsy, please. Bugsy, come.
Come, Bugsy.
[Thunder]
[Whispering] Bugsy.
Bugsy, come on.
Bugsy!
[Click]
Bugsy.
Where are you?
Bugsy?
Come on, Bugs.
[Jiggling noise]
Bugsy! Oh, Bugsy.
You broke your promise.
You're just like my nephew.
Please don't hurt me.
I waited for you
all day.
You didn't come.
I'm sorry!
How could you do this to me?
I wasn't trying to be mean.
I just wanted to make a new friend.
And did you make a new friend, Stacy?
I didn't mean to break my promise.
I came over after, but it was too late.
You were already gone.
It's very important to make friends, Stacy.
You shouldn't have to be alone.
I won't bother you anymore.
Madeline, are you really dead?
I'm afraid so.
Aren't you supposed to move on, or something?
I'm much too old and set in my ways
to move anywhere.
This is my home. This is where I'm going to stay.
Is that why you scare off anyone
who comes to look at the apartment?
Strangers traipsing through my home.
How dare they?
Sooner or later, they're gonna rent it.
You'll have to leave.
I've got nowhere to go.
Nobody wants me.
I'm not welcome anywhere.
I don't want to leave.
[Sniffling]
Maybe you won't have to.
Hello.
Ah. How you like new apartment?
It's great. We have so much room.
I still don't understand why it's cheaper than 213.
Heh heh heh. You get a discount.
Living with ghost.
You watch too much TV.
There's no such thing as ghosts.
Heh heh heh.
Welcome home, Stacy.
When Stacy and her mom moved into apartment 214,
she made up for her broken promise...
Because Madeline wasn't going to be alone anymore.
The end.
Good story.
Where's the pouch?
The what?
The pouch, with--
it was right here before we started.
You're getting on my nerves.
I declare this meeting
of the Midnight Society closed.
Next week, Betty Ann's friend is up for initiation.
Don't miss it.
Hey! Where'd the bucket go?
Tucker, where's the bucket?
Captioned by Grant Brown