[Child's laughter]
Hey, ah, yo. Let me take that.
That's OK I got 'em.
Babe, they're way too heavy for you.
They're not.
They are!
They're not!
Will you stop trying to be such a guy all the time?
You're right.
Ah!
[Giggling]
They are too heavy for a girl.
Go, Sam.
Making a mess again, Frankie?
[Giggling]
Hey, what's that, a book?
What was your first clue?
Give me a break. Let me see.
Sorry. Hands off.
Is that book part of your story?
Sorta. My story's about stories.
Say what?
We tell all kinds of horror stories
about demons and ghosts and stuff.
But no matter what a story's about,
there's only one thing that makes it really scary.
What's that?
Your imagination.
Huh?
If you're really into a story,
you become part of it,
and you start to imagine
what horrible thing might be sneaking around the corner,
ready to pounce...
And you start to wonder
what you'd do if you were the one facing
the monster.
It's your imagination that gets you into a story,
and unless you're very careful,
you might need your imagination to get you out.
Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society,
I call this story...
The Tale of the Bookish Baby-sitter.
Belinda was everybody's favorite baby-sitter.
Her advertisement in the newspaper
said, "for kids who hate baby-sitters."
That's it. And a phone number.
Oh, Belinda.
I almost forgot.
Thursday...
7:00.
Uh, yeah. How did you...
See ya then.
Bye.
Come on.
Ha ha ha.
[Strange noises]
Ha ha ha!
Ricky, turn that down.
Thank you.
You working tonight?
I told you.
Got a young couple interested in the Talbot place.
I think they're gonna make an offer this evening.
[Doorbell rings]
That must be the sitter.
A baby-sitter?
Mom, I'm 12 years old.
Exactly. Now, this girl comes highly recommended.
Please don't be too hard on her,
not like the others.
Yeah, yeah.
Zombies.
The living dead.
[Knocks on door]
Good evening, Mrs. Winter.
I'm Belinda.
Oh, hello. Uh...
Is something wrong?
Uh...
No, no. Um...
I just wasn't expecting someone so, um...
So, um...
So what?
[Laughs]
So what is your secret?
Every parent I've talked to just raves about you.
It's simple.
I have...
imagination.
Oh.
Where's Ricky?
Oh, um...
If there's any chance
you could get him to turn off the television--
Don't worry!
I brought some books for us to read.
[Strange noises]
Good luck.
Ricky, say hi to Belinda.
We might have been caught.
Caught? By who?
Those men you spoke of?
They are not men, monsieur.
They are dead bodies.
Be good now, huh? Don't go to bed too late.
[Whining] Mom!
He's going through a phase.
Oh, I'll fix that.
Excuse me?
Nothing.
Are you leaving now?
I, uh, shouldn't be gone for very long.
If anything goes wrong, you can reach me at this number.
Nothing ever goes wrong.
All right, then.
I'll--I'll just--
Good night, Mrs. Winter.
Hey, move!
It's time...
to get to know each other.
Hey, I really like that drawing on your shirt.
What does it mean?
It's a metal band that--
Hey, I don't want to get to know you!
I don't need a baby-sitter.
Ha ha. Wow!
You must be... extraordinarily...
amazingly...
mature.
Yeah, I am. So keep outta my way.
Ha ha ha.
I'm afraid that's not why I'm here.
Gimme!
Hey!
We are going to read...
These books.
How did you do that?
I'll tell you what.
You read a book for a few minutes, and...
I'll leave you alone the rest of the night.
Deal?
How many minutes?
Oh... I don't know.
Let's say...
5.
Then I can watch TV all I want?
If that's what'll make you happy.
Man, you're the strangest.
Aloud, please.
I... like to hear them.
"It was late on a dark, moonless night
as a wild storm raged across the moors."
"The hideous witch flew closer to the lonely cottage,
swooped down, and banged on the door."
[Bang, bang, bang]
What--what was that?
Don't stop now.
This one's boring.
You only read one sentence!
I can tell. Believe me, I know boring.
Well, it's not like TV, you know.
You have to... Give yourself a chance
to get into the story.
Use your imagination.
Yeah, yeah.
Hmm. "The King's Sword."
Could be OK.
Good!
I like that one a lot.
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Start at the beginning.
Why? I'm not gonna finish it.
"The stone walls echoed with the clash of barbs
"and cries of agony.
"As battles raged,
"the courtyard ran crimson with the blood of fallen warriors.
"Yet now, all was silent. All was still,
"as if the very memory of these dreadful events
"continued to haunt the Mel...
Mel.."
Melancholy.
Yeah. That's it.
This one's lousy, too.
Why?
Too many words.
You know...
Once you start a book,
you really should finish it.
Yeah, sure.
What's this?
Nope! Not that one.
What do you mean?
I thought you wanted me to read.
You're not... ready for this one.
Yet.
All right. Forget it.
Where are you going?
I'm not reading any more of your stupid books.
I... wouldn't go out there if I were you.
Good thing you're not me.
Careful, Ricky.
[Footsteps]
Get outta my room.
Look what you made me do!
Why don't you--
Aah!
Holy--
Belinda?
Belinda!
[Moaning]
Aah!
[Moaning]
There's a--
knight in your bedroom,
and a ghost in the hall. I know.
Don't worry!
It's just your imagination.
It's no imagination. They're real!
Ha ha.
You had no idea what you were reading,
did you?
Forget the stupid books. There's a--
Don't you see? They came from books.
Now, if you help me, we can get rid of them.
We burn the books and they go away?
Exactly.
[Knock on door]
[Gasps]
[Woman] Ricky, don't listen to her.
Let me in!
What's that?
You'd better let me in, Ricky.
Ricky, let me in!
W-what's going on?
Whaddaya think? Ah ha ha ha!
Use your imagination!
Oh, man!
I was afraid this would happen.
Aah!
[Witch] Ha ha ha!
Let me in!
Ha ha ha ha ha!
There. That should do...
For now.
For now? Whaddaya mean for now?
Make it go away!
Sorry. Can't.
You can't?
You are into the stories now.
You have to finish them.
But, since you burned my books...
Let me in! Ha ha ha!
You're gonna have to use your imagination
if you don't wanna end up being her dinner.
What do I do?
I'd finish off the story--fast.
But the book's gone.
Well, then, make it up.
Make it up?
Sure. Go for it.
It's your story now.
OK, OK!
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Hmm. Weird stuff happened...
Then it went away,
and they lived happily ever after. The end.
[Ghost moans]
It didn't work!
Sorry. [Makes buzzer sound]
That is cheating.
You're gonna hafta do better than that.
Cheating? How can I cheat?
I don't even know what I'm doing.
Uh-oh!
I hate when this happens.
When what happens?
How did you know that was gonna happen?
You have gotten 2 stories all mixed up.
It really makes things tough.
[Witch] Ha ha ha ha!
Wah ha ha ha!
Run!
[Ricky] Hey, I can't see anything.
It's right above your head.
This is getting fun.
Now what happens?
How should I know?
'Cause it's your story, silly.
What happens?
OK, OK!
How about this?
They ran down to the basement
where he kept his uzi.
Yeah, his uzi!
In case of attacks
by knights, ghosts, and other nasty things.
'Fraid not.
Why not?
What's wrong with that? It's a good ending.
Yeah, maybe for some silly TV show,
but it doesn't make sense in this story.
The ending's in that book, isn't it?
No. There's...
Nothing in this one.
So why are you dragging it around?
Why do you keep peeking at it
when you don't think I'm lookin'?
Give it to me!
You really think you're ready for this?
Yes. Let me have it.
OK. Ha ha ha!
Have fun.
I don't get it.
What's the big deal?
Uh-oh.
"I don't get it.
What's the big deal?" He said.
Then Ricky's voice trailed off.
I just said that.
Ricky--that's me!
"He stared blankly for several seconds,
unable to believe his eyes."
"For he was no longer in the comfortable suburban house,
but in the dank crypt of an ancient castle."
The dank crypt of an ancient castle?
"The walls ascended into the darkness above,
unscalable."
I guess that means forget about climbing them.
"He wondered how the workmen who had constructed this tomb
had escaped."
[Crunch]
Oh, gross!
"For hundreds of years,
"no human footsteps had sounded in the dreadful tomb,
no living soul had drawn a breath of air."
[Clanking]
Oh, man!
The book!
Aah!
Ugh!
"Sworn to protect the sacred tomb of his beloved king,
the knight is waiting through the ages for a sign."
Aah!
The sign!
What's the sign?!
The sign!
Wow!
Cool!
"For all, whether of ghostly form
"or of flesh and bone,
"who grasp the sword
"would become its bearer
to defend to the death"?
I don't wanna defend anything to the death!
[Girl] Hey, mister.
Please help me, mister.
I'm lost.
"He wondered how she had come to be
in these ancient ruins."
Can'tcha put down that book and help me?
I don't know how to find my way home.
Hey, look, if I knew how to get outta here,
I'd tell ya.
"She seemed out of place,
as if from another time."
Out of place.
As if from another time.
Or another story!
You're not a little girl! You're the--
Put down the book!
Get away from me!
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Ah ha ha ha ha!
Aah!
[Rumbling]
"In his heart,
he knew the answer."
What do I know in my heart?
OK. OK.
Some sort of witch or something.
A knight defending a tomb.
Then that ghost!
The ghost!
"The destruction of the evil sorceress
freed the ancient king from her spell."
All right!
"And he was no longer doomed to wander the earth."
Yes!
[Belinda] "The brave lad stood, heart pounding,
"enveloped in magically golden rays...
The first light to penetrate the tomb in countless centuries."
"In a final act of homage,
"he knelt to return the enchanted sword
to its rightful bearer, the ancient king."
What happened?
The story's almost over.
"Never again would he place limits on his own imagination,
"no matter what terrors it was capable of conjuring,
"for he knew that he could no longer live
"in a world of willful ignorance.
The end."
I don't believe it.
W-we were just
reading.
Yes. That's, uh,
that's the part I don't believe.
Well, I...
guess I'd better be on my way.
Look, Ricky. This author has your name.
"The Dark Tomb, by Ricky Winter."
Did it really happen?
It's just a story, Ricky.
You know that.
Oh, Belinda. How much do I owe you?
I've already been paid, Mrs. Winter.
Good night!
Call me anytime.
What an odd girl.
Ricky searched all over the library,
but he never found another copy of the Dark Tomb
by Ricky Winter
or any other of the books that Belinda brought over...
'Cause they were all first and only editions.
The end.
Good one, bet.
I declare this meeting of the Midnight Society
closed.
Hey!
Hold on!
I still wanna see what you've got there.
No. You're way too young for this one.
Oh, yeah?
"The book that the beautiful and intelligent Betty Ann held in her hand
"was grabbed by that stupid little jerk Tucker,
and he read..."
Hey! How'd you--
Gotcha.
Man, are you predictable or what?
She set me up.
I don't believe it! She set me up!
Don't sweat it. There's always another night.
Captioned by Grant Brown