[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] Episode 2.7 "The Tale of the Whispering Walls"

RECAP

The Midnight Society arrive at the clearing to find a creepy-ass person in a hooded cloak and mask. But, of course, it’s just Betty Ann doing her creepy-ass Betty Ann thing. She then weaves a terrifying tale about the dangers of a full moon on February 29th.

Claire and Andrew are on their way back from an amusement park with their babysitter, Louise. They’re forced to take a break from bickering with each other when Louise gets lost. The three ask for directions from a pale but dapper tavern-keeper who is apparently allergic to even a mild breeze. He encourages them to take a shortcut through the woods. Their car stalls outside a gothic mansion and Louise doesn’t return after she goes inside to use the phone. Claire and Andrew head back to the tavern for help and encounter a number of ghosts, including an elderly woman who says Claire reminds her of her “dear Jane.”

They head back to the mansion and have a terrifying run-in with the tavern-keeper, a.k.a. Master Raymond, before finding Louise trapped in a secret room. Master Raymond shows up and reveals that he plans to keep Louise there forever and feed off her energy to keep himself and the house alive. He then decides to keep Claire as well. Andrew is at a loss when the elderly ghost shows up and tells Master Raymond his chosen victims are too young. She opens the door and sets the trio free, while the fresh air causes Raymond to disappear. The kids and their sitter speed away in Louise’s car just as another unsuspecting victim shows up.

Betty Ann concludes her tale by telling the Midnight Society that the house still stands and that people still disappear whenever there’s a full moon on February 29th.

REVIEW

T: This episode is the exact type of weird fun I love from Betty Ann.

E: OMG I LOVE this one! It’s got serious Haunted Mansion vibes and Master Raymond is just as appealing as he is creepy.

T: So we’ve had two Halloween episodes, one April Fool’s Day, and now one celebrating Leap Year! As Betty Ann explains, a full moon on a Leap Year means spirits can take victims away… Um, what? That’s not a thing, right?

E: I remember this episode but had completely forgotten that the full-moon-Leap-Year-thing was the premise. Maybe it’s a Canadian urban legend?

T: I’m pretty sure it’s not, mostly because of how infrequent it really happens. Betty Ann treats it like leap year full moons happen every decade, but it’s more like once a century.

E: Wow! ~~The More You Know~~

T: Apparently Kristen can’t handle it when other people cosplay, but I’m living for Betty Ann’s mask.

E: Kristen does look salty, doesn’t she? LOL. As much as I dig Kristen’s ghost-princess cosplay, Betty Ann looks flat-out terrifying in that cloak and mask. I mean, if Betty Ann started a cult, I would seriously consider joining.

T: The mask especially freaked me out because a few years back, I wrote a time trippy horror YA with full moon shenanigans and the villain wears something extremely similar, and it’s not a case of me remembering this – I specifically based it off a picture of a kid’s Halloween costume from like the ’40s or ’50s.

E: 😱

T: Got to love the shout-out to Zeebo right off the bat.

E: Yessssss. I internally squeeeed when Andrew mentioned that they’d been in Zeebo’s funhouse.

T: The parents in this series tend to be absent with little reason given, so it’s neat to have the lead duo accompanied by a young adult babysitter.

E: Such a great dynamic that’s probably underused. But it was a bit of a staple in the late-’80s and early-’90s, right? I’m thinking of Adventures in Babysitting and Goonies.

T: That decrepit Highway 9 sign is ridiculous. But at least they manage daytime horror pretty well. Come to think of it, for an episode centered around a full moon, it’s almost entirely set during the day.

E: I love the daytime creepiness here. The afternoon light in the mansion is deliciously eerie.

T: Raymond’s coat is everything. In close-up shots, it’s clearly a black coat with this old-timey, feathery white pattern. Then in mid-distance, it looks like a skeleton’s ribcage.

E: Isn’t it incredible? This is an episode full of fantastic things but Raymond’s coat might be my favorite. Props to the costume designer.

T: I actually loved everything to do with Raymond (is he named Ray, as in the sun?). When he reaches through that portal, it’s such a startling and effective visual. He even tops it by masquerading as Julie and springing snakes on Claire and Andrew.

E: For reals, that snake scene might be the scariest thing we’ve seen yet while doing these recaps. *shivers*

T: The main takeaway from this episode: if a door opens on its own, you just don’t enter!

E: A lesson that’s right up there with never saying you’ll be right back.

T: The lost in time crew are awesome, and I wish we spent more time with them. “Want to buy a brush?” is such a simple joke that really cracked me up.

E: They are so intriguing -- in addition to Old Lady Violet, who saves the protagonists’ asses at the end, there’s Smug Dancing Couple, Blonde Jukebox Guy (who kinda looks like Cary Elwes), and Punch-Guzzling Brush Salesman. I want their stories! This episode easily could’ve been stretched out to a feature-length film or a mini-series, which makes me wonder why AYAOTD? didn’t do more multi-part episodes.

T: Maybe we’ll have some in seasons four and seven…

E: Oooooohhhh! *twirls with glee*

T: I didn’t really feel connected to the twins (Are they twins? Usually siblings are clearly older/younger, but I can’t tell with them). I was more invested in Louise, but then she disappeared from the narrative and I felt less interested in them.

E: I totally assumed Claire was older and treating Andrew like an annoying kid brother. And I would’ve liked more Louise, but she’s a bit old for the core audience of this show.

T: I will say the actors were fine. They tried to instill some character work later in the episode, but it came too late for me. Just imagine how fantastic this episode could have been if the leads were more memorable, like Denny/Buzz, Amy/Beth, or Dany.

E: I actually liked these two and the scene where Claire confesses that she needs Andrew because he thinks of things she doesn’t gave me some genuine feels. But I see your point. They went for subtlety here instead of color.

T: Does it bother you at all that nothing’s really explained? I feel like it should, but somehow the ambiguity all works. The story works on a visceral level that doesn’t need backstory exposition.

E: Okay, I’ll admit I was slightly disappointed that the “explanation” is that Raymond needs to feed off the energy of living humans to survive, because that basically makes him a Haunted Mansion version of Creepy Pete from Tale of the Captured Souls, but I think you’re right. There are so many incredibly creepy scenes in this one that it doesn’t really need to be bogged down with backstory and/or extensive world building. In addition to the snake scene we discussed above, I adore the scene in the hallway where all the ghosts make appearances in mirrors.

T: I guess the similarities between Master Raymond and Peter didn’t really bother me because one’s magic and the other’s science. I guess any vampiric entity could be connected. And I think there’s different ways to read Raymond. Like, maybe he’s just an extension of the house itself?

E: I like that theory. Again, so much potential to expand this particular story.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Raymond, and the episode as a whole, has a great camp feel, but nothing leapt out at me as queer. Erin?

E: Oh, am I the only one who crafted a queer love story in my mind between Raymond and Blonde Jukebox Guy? *shrugs*

T: Write that fanfic!

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: The lost in time crew listens to an old timey remix of the AYAOTD? theme song. Nice touch.

 E: OMG, nice catch! Again, I just adore the attention to detail.

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: It’s timeless. Kids get lost on the highway and find a spooky old house.

E: Mostly yes, but everyone nowadays has navigation apps on their phones, so there’d need to be some explanation involving no cell signal or low battery or whatever. Also, let’s talk about the fashion for a sec. Louise has on an ankle-length skirt. How, for the love of god, did this ever become a thing? I’m of the opinion that it’s flattering on exactly no one. Claire, on the other hand, is in peak early-’90s fashion with her bold leggings and baggy sweatshirt. And the ’90s are so in right now that she could wear this exact same outfit in a modernized episode and not look out of place.

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: I love this episode to death. The weird factor is creepy, and the creep factor is high. But some bits don’t really gel, like the forced full moon aspect. And I have to dock this for the bland leads. 9.1 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

E: I *like* the leads, so my only complaint is the somewhat weak explanation for Master Raymond’s shenanigans. But everything else is so much fun and legitimately creepy that it almost doesn’t matter. Almost. 9.5 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.