Tales from the Darkside (1984)
Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot twist. The series' episodes spanned the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and some episodes featured elements of black comedy or more lighthearted themes.
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Episode 1 - The Circus
Release Date: 1986-09-28A skeptical journalist travels on assignment to a sideshow. Seated in a small theatre, he is greeted by a perverse caretaker/M.C. who promises (in seemingly generic fashion) to unearth strange, horrible, and presumably fake creatures. The journalist nevertheless feels disgusted when he sees a demonic vampire devour an actual lamb. He chastizes the caretaker for endorsing such horrific ""entertainment"". However, when fully realizing that these are actual CREATURES, the startled journalist attempts to flee the circus and unknowingly retreats into the arms of the vampire. The caretaker subsequently transforms him into a new exhibit, currently on display for the faithful flock of sideshow attendants who DELIGHT in being frightened.
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Episode 2 - I Can't Help Saying Goodbye
Release Date: 1986-10-05A young girl develops a talent for seeing the fate of those about to die and develops the habit of saying ""Goodbye"" to them when she does, and her family grows increasingly upset as a result.
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Episode 3 - The Bitterest Pill
Release Date: 1986-10-12A boy treated poorly by his parents gets the upper hand when an eccentric uncle shows up and tries to convince the parents to finance him to develop his newest invention - a pill that increases brain power and memory. He has a stroke and dies but not before the boy swallows the one and only prototype, and soon puts his parents into the same position he was before.
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Episode 4 - Florence Bravo
Release Date: 1986-10-19The ghost of a feminist torments the woman who buys her home.
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Episode 5 - The Geezenstacks
Release Date: 1986-10-26A little girl, Audrey, discovers she can control her family by manipulating her doll family, the Geezenstacks, within her dollhouse.
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Episode 6 - Black Widows
Release Date: 1986-11-02Audrey Webster is concerned about her reclusive mother, but when she pursues the matter discovers exactly why her mother stays away from others, and what awaits Audrey on her own upcoming wedding night.
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Episode 7 - Heretic
Release Date: 1986-11-09A rich art collector buys a stolen painting from a thief. The painting portrays a man before the Spanish Inquisition. The collector, Harte, is soon visited by a mysterious man who begs him to repent of his sins and give up the wrongfully-gained picture. Harte ignores the warnings and finds himself sucked into the painting where he is to be tortured as a sinner and heretic. He recants to the Inquisitor, who lets him go. Once out of the painting, Harte refuses to give it up, and receives a personal visit from the Inquisitor in the real world. The thief returns to take the picture, and Harte is nowhere to be found...in this world.
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Episode 8 - A Serpent's Tooth
Release Date: 1986-11-16A kibbitzing mother, Pearl, warns her unlistening family but her warnings start to come true.
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Episode 9 - Baker's Dozen
Release Date: 1986-11-23Ruby Cuzzins, a New Orleans baker, sells ""magic"" cookies and gives unscrupulous Henry adman a sample of her wares. Convinced, Henry tries to get her to go into business with him but gets his comeuppance when she refuses.
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Episode 10 - Deliver Us from Goodness
Release Date: 1986-11-30Valeria is a saint - literally - and finds it more then she can bear. She seeks out a way to fall from Grace but is unable to do so no matter how hard she tries.
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Episode 11 - Seasons of Belief
Release Date: 1986-12-29On Christmas Eve, a couple decide to preoccupy their restless children by telling them a fable concerning a massive, winged creature called ""The Grither"". The children initially balk at the story, which describes the creature as a proud, hateful beast who becomes enraged when it hears its name being spoken aloud. Although it lives at the North Pole, its humongous ears allow it to hear its name being spoken from anywhere in the world, and the parents assure the children that The Grither is well on its way to their house to kill them. The children become progressively more frightened as the story continues, eventually to the point of utter hysteria. Finally, in an effort to calm their children, the parents reveal that the story is make believe. At that moment, the huge arms of The Grither smash through the windows of the house and break the necks of the parents as the children look on in horror.
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Episode 12 - Miss May Dusa
Release Date: 1987-01-18A robber accidentally brings a mannequin to life - its gaze turns him into a statue. The now-living mannequin flees into the night, unaware of her powers or the harm she can bring.
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Episode 13 - The Milkman Cometh
Release Date: 1987-01-25A man, Garry, hears from his neighbor a bizarre tale of how the unseen neighborhood milkman grants wishes to anyone who leaves their request in the empty bottles to be picked up. Garry tries it for himself and soon finds his every wish granted. His final wish is for a daughter, and his curiosity is too great and he tries to confront the milkman. Garry gets a glimpse of a deformed mutant creature before it disapepars and then realizes exactly how the ""milkman"" will fulfill his wish - by impregnating his wife.
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Episode 14 - My Ghostwriter: The Vampire
Release Date: 1987-02-01Hack writer Peter, writing worse and worse vampire stories, buys a coffin for inspiration and finds it occupied by Count Draco. Peter manages to protect himself, and the two strike a deal: Draco will supply new inspiration based on his life experiences, and Peter will write the books. Peter becomes wealthy, but refuses to share the proceeds. With the aid of Peter's secretary, Draco manages to get the drop on the writer and kill him, and the vampire and secretary strike up a new arrangement.
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Episode 15 - My Own Place
Release Date: 1987-02-08Laura, a desperate woman, tries to get an apartment by herself but is forced to take in Ram, an immigrant from Calcutta. When Ram dies partly due to her involvement, Laura finds that she has inherited an entire family of ghostly Hindus.
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Episode 16 - Red Leader
Release Date: 1987-02-15A crooked tycoon makes a deal with the Devil in return for power and wealth.
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Episode 17 - Everybody Needs a Little Love
Release Date: 1987-02-22Robert, a lonely divorced man, fixated on a mannequin, but the question soon becomes - is the mannequin alive?
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Episode 18 - Auld Acquaintances
Release Date: 1987-03-01Two long-lived witches, Elizabeth and Mary, vie once more over an amulet in the modern day that they agreed to share hundreds of years ago.
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Episode 19 - The Social Climber
Release Date: 1987-03-08A shoemaker's apprentice discovers a strange power when he finds he can step into other peoples' lives simply by putting on their shoes.
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Episode 20 - The Swap
Release Date: 1987-05-03Anna Belle's plot to murder her husband to gain his money backfires with unpleasant results.
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Episode 21 - Let the Games Begin
Release Date: 1987-05-10When Harry Carson has a heart attack, an angel and a devil fight for who will get his soul and it's up to Harry to make the right choice.
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Episode 22 - The Enormous Radio
Release Date: 1987-05-17Irene and Jim discover that a new radio they buy lets them overhear the neighbors, but Irene soon turns paranoid as she wonders whether they can hear her.