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The Tale of the Jagged Sign
Season 5 , Episode 12
Eplogo54
Air date March 9, 1996
Written by Susan Kim
Directed by Will Dixon
Episode guide
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The Tale of the Night Shift
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The Tale of Badge

The Tale of the Jagged Sign is the twelfth episode of Fifth season of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, as well as the sixth-fourth episode in total.

Cast[]

Midnight Society Cast[]

Story Cast[]

Intro[]

That night as Betty Ann and Sam enter  the clearing to sit down, she can see Stig is still wearing the burlap sack bag over his head. Being a little annoyed she asks what the deal is with it? Gary in an exasperated and annoyed tone says not to ask. Tucker sitting down next to Stig, tells them that Stig is not going to remove the bag off of his head until they can all except him for the way he is. Kiki sitting across them, in a rude and annoyed tone says "Yeah a psycho!" as Sam sits down next to Gary.

Then as Betty Ann is about to sit down, she tells Stig in annoyed tone that he's not making points this way. Meaning that being antisocial and concealing himself is rude and isn't going to look good. Gary also in annoyed tone tells him he's not getting into The Midnight Society this week either because Kiki is up and asks him to take it off. Almost as if to say he's mad at him for trying to take someone else's turn. Tucker then tells them that Stig whispered to him, that he can wait. This possibly meaning that he's not going to talk or show his face until they will accept him for the way he is. Gary still annoyed asks Kiki to go on ahead with her story.

Kiki still annoyed, tells her friends that she got the idea for her story from a book on symbols. Tucker laughs making a joke of it asking like in a band?  Annoyed she says no symbols as in signs, showing how the ancient Egyptians used them to communicate. Betty Ann backs her up saying that they used pictures instead of letters. Kiki impressed with her smiles and says exactly and says that she was thinking about how much they use symbols too. Then to give an example with a stick she draws in the sand a peace symbol, a star symbol and even the symbol of a smiley face. She says that we all know what they mean, then looking to Stig she says unless you have a bag over your head..

But if you can imaging a symbol you've never seen before as Kiki draws in the sand a Jagged Sign symbol that. This symbol could mean anything. Good news, a party, friendship. Or it could be a sign of something else, such as a warning of unspeakable evil.

Kiki, throws in the campfire dust to make the fire more intense while she submits her story for approval of The Midnight Society. She calls her story. "The Tale of the Jagged Sign", and begins her story.

Story[]

Kiki tells the story. The story is about a young teenage girl named Claudia. Everyone she knew was having a fun and exciting summer vacation. However, her parents are botanists and had to go to South America for the summer. Therefore she had to spend her summer with her Aunt Yvonne. Her aunt worked at a retirement home called " Scenic Vista" in the middle of nowhere. Which wasn't exactly going to be very much fun. They still loved each other dearly, but there was nothing much for her to do. Other than play card games or bingo, and do gardening with all of the old folks. She is introduced to the elderly tenants. Then a nice old man named Duncan tells her how nice it is to see some new blood around there place.

Claudia is shown to her room, as she is asking her aunt if anyone her age lived nearby. Before she can get an answer, her aunt remembers she has to go check on the furnace repairman. So she rushed off to see him. Claudia hearing the nice sound of a music box enters a room. Now she sees it coming from a music box. It is shaped like a statue of two doves standing together on a perch. Suddenly an elderly woman caresses and strokes her hair. The elderly woman tells her she has such pretty hair.

Claudia backs away a little startled. The elderly woman tells her she once had just like hers (as if to say she is seeing a little bit of herself in Claudia). Claudia apologizes to her for coming into her room. Just as her Aunt Yvonne comes in an introduces the very elderly woman as Marjorie. She explains to her that Claudia is visiting for a couple weeks, and that they can have a chat later. On their way out she notices that Marjorie keeps pacing back and forth. She also plays her music box over and over again. She asks her aunt if she is all right. Her aunt tells her that Marjorie just gets confused once in a while.

Next we see Duncan heading on upstairs. He is complaining to another elderly tenant named Louise, that eating Brussels sprouts makes him gassy. Desperate she asks her Aunt Yvonne again if there is anyone her own age living nearby. Aunt Yvonne tells her that there is a girl named Kate lives next door. And she told her she was coming. Claudia is happy to hear this she hugs her aunt and thanks her. When she exits the front door a tomboy girl of around 7 or 8 years old holding a baseball bat and a catchers glove has arrived. She asks her if the wants to play some baseball. She reacts with disappointment and tells her that she hopes she is not Kate.

Then an older girl around her age says that the little girl is Nikki, and she is Kate. Also that her aunt said she was coming, and she is pleased to meet her. She explains to Kate the reason why she is spending her summer here. Kate thinks it's great and asks if she ever gets to travel with her parents. Claudia says sometimes. Kate makes Nikki go away, so they can have some alone time. She explains to Claudia that nothing exciting ever happens around the country. Kate mentions she sometimes helps the elderly people and she knows Duncan very well. Then she asks her if he's mentions his gas problem. Claudia mentions that he did and she is not to happy to think about it.

She asks Kate since there is a lot of woods around, if there are any good hiking trails. Kate excited to hear this says that there sure are. Also that it's pretty much all there is. So she leads her to some of them. They hike along through the woods. Claudia being used to climbing up higher mountains, leads them up a higher and steeper one. Kate almost loses her balance and falls. When Claudia hears sounds almost as if someone was laughing. Kate thinks their too high up. So they should head back down, when Claudia leads them a little further up.

When she stops, we can see that a little higher up on the mountain is a rock with a Jagged Sign symbol on it. Curious, she asks Kate what the symbol is. Kate tells her that people say that the place on the mountain that they're standing on is an ancient burial ground. Also years someone was murdered here. Then the sign just appeared the next day.

Claudia thinks what Kate tells her it's cool and interesting. Now she wants to know what the sign means. Kate tells her that everyone calls it the Jagged Sign: The mark of the dead man. If you stare at it for too long, you'll awaken the ghost. Then it'll possess you. Then lures you up and lets you fall to your doom. She decides to go up the top and check it out. Since she doesn't believe in ghosts. Kate however doesn't want to, because she says she is a little afraid of heights.

Then suddenly, a young man in old-fashioned clothing appears at the top. She points to him and asks her how he got up there. Kate turns around quickly and she is now terrified. So she tells Claudia that he us the ghost and to not look at him. As they run back down the to the trail, she asks Kate why she is so scared. Kate reveals she does believe in ghosts and she’s terrified. Claudia thinks it was just some local high school guy. Then suddenly in the mud on the ground The Jagged Sign begins to draw itself. Now they are both freaked out. Then suddenly the young man appears again. He has a slightly illuminating aura on his body. Now he hand signals to Claudia to come over to him. Claudia runs off scared and Kate goes after her.

On their way back to the retirement home, She tells Kate to just relax. Kate is freaked out because he came out of nowhere. Then he followed them so down so fast. She says that they should have asked him and she still doesn't believe in ghosts. Suddenly Claudia is startled by a tap on her shoulder. It's only her Aunt Yvonne and she apologizes for scaring her. She tells them she is going into town for a little while. Claudia asks her aunt if she knows anything about The Jagged Sign in the woods. Aunt Yvonne is annoyed that Kate took her up to that high cliff, and she doesn't want them going up that high. Not because she believes in ghosts. But because the steep cliff is very dangerous.

Then suddenly a horrible burning smell fills the air. So they all run into the kitchen to see what is burning. Marjorie a little disoriented is stirring inside a burning and smoking plastic bowl on top of a hot plate. Aunt Yvonne yells no and throws the bowls out of the way. What happened is Marjorie decided to cook some soup for lunch, but she made the mistake of putting a plastic bowl onto the hot plate. Then it began to melt and burn, emitting off smoke. Aunt Yvonne being very understanding tells Marjorie that it's okay and they'll clean it up. Marjorie apologizes and leaves the room crying and feeling terrible about what happened.

Aunt Yvonne that says that Marjorie is getting worse her health and memory are failing. There she will soon have to go to a nursing home. Where she can be properly treated and watched at all times. She asks them to both stay near the house. So she doesn't have to worry about them either. That night when Claudia is sleeping, she is awoken by the thumping of loud foot steps. Scared she wakes up and calls out into the hallway asking who is there. The person is just the elderly woman Louise, who says she's getting to get some milk to help her fall asleep. Then when she lies her down to sleep again, she hears a whistling sound and looks out the window. The young man can be seen outside. He is waving with his hand telling her to come over to him. Then the young man illuminates with white light and disappears. Then the glass on her window begins to frost up. Then the Jagged Sign symbol draws itself on it.

Kate comes over the next day. She informed her over the phone about what happened last night. She draws the sign on a napkin. But Kate tells her not to look at it or she'll be cursed. She tells Kate she doesn't believe in curses. Then Kate tells her that she didn't believe in ghosts, and to looks what happening now. Claudia tells Kate that she plans to go back to the cliff, and asks her to join her to do something exciting around the place. Kate doesn't want to go because she’s more afraid of how dangerous the cliff is.

Aunt Yvonne then asks to speak to the both of them. She tells them that she just spoke with Marjorie's nephew. He has agreed to have her put into a nursing home where she'll get the proper treatment and supervision. Now she asks them to help her organize through Marjorie's belongings and items that she has decided to give to a thrift shop. Bringing down a box of her items Claudia finds Marjorie's music box statue in it. Then she takes it over to Marjorie and asks her if she meant to give it away. Marjorie is just thrilled to see it again is so happy to have it back. Then there is a sound outside, and the ghost of the young man appears. The young man once again waves to ask Claudia to come to him. Marjorie is shocked and upset to see him for some reason.

Then Claudia goes running after him, accidentally tripping Duncan on the stairs on her way down. When she gets outside the young man is gone. She looks around and runs over to the cliff to find him. Then back in the house, Kate is organizing through another box of Marjorie's items. Now Kate find an old cut off lock of hair in the same shade as Claudia's. Aunt Yvonne reveals it's a love knot and that ladies used to give them to their boyfriends as a sign of undying love. Also when Marjorie was young she coincidentally like Claudia does now. So she shows Kate an old black and white picture of Marjorie. In the picture beside Marjorie is ghost of the young man who’s after Claudia.  Meanwhile Claudia is getting closer and closer to meeting the young man on the top of the mountain. So she keeps calling out for him to wait.

Kate asks Marjorie who the young man is the picture is. Then with a lot of emotion Marjorie says that his name was Joshua. And they were madly in love and they wanted to get married. But since they were so young at the time their parents wouldn't allow it. Therefore they planned to meet in their secret spot in the woods. Which was at the cliff and then they’d run off together and get married. Except somehow her parents found out her plan. So they stopped her from going. Joshua was hurt. believing that she chose not to come. So he wanted everyone to know how much he loved her. So he climbed up to the ledge of the cliff. There he began to draw the symbol of their love for everyone to see. The cliff was too steep and dangerous. So before he could finish drawing the symbol, he fell down and died. Marjorie is almost in tears now and she reveals that she never loved anyone else, and never got married. Also he died thinking she chose not to come and rejected him.

Kate now figured out why Joshua is after Claudia: He thinks she is Marjorie. She asks to borrow the doves statue music box and heads over to the cliff to stop him. Claudia has almost made it to the top. Then she slips and almost falls. Now she is screaming and holding onto a vine branch for her dear life. Kate can hear her screaming and overcomes her fear and climbs up to the top of the cliff and helps her up. Then after saving Claudia and pulling her up, Joshua appears. Claudia asks him who is he and what he wants. Joshua finally speaks and addresses her as Marjorie. He tells her that he waited for her and asks her why she took so long to come. Also whether or not she loves him. Claudia is utterly confused and doesn't know what is going on.

Kate explains to him that she isn't Marjorie, Marjorie couldn't come because her parents stopped her. Kate then shows Joshua the doves music box. She tells him that Marjorie has kept it for all these years as a sign of her love for him. Just like the sign he never finished. Joshua is touched and smiles and asks her is she still loves him. Kate tells him yes and he should go to her. Joshua's body illuminates with white light. Then he vanishes. Then suddenly the jagged sign painting has completed itself to what appears to be a dove. They’re both amazed and shocked to see this. Kate explains that since he reunited with her, he finally finished what he started a long time ago. Then Joshua appears with the ghost of Marjorie's youthful self. Being reunited at long last. They both turn around to wave goodbye to them. Then they both vanish off in the distance.

Ending[]

Then as the story ends, Joshua and Marjorie illuminate with a flash of light and disappear to the afterlife, Marjorie's old statue transforms into a pair of real doves. Claudia and Kate are just shocked with amazement.  Kate gently tosses them up into the air and they fly away. Since doves are a symbol of peace, it can be assumed that this happened as a sign to show them that both Joshua and Marjorie are finally at peace now.

That very afternoon Marjorie passed away, everyone mentioned how peaceful and happy she looked at the time. The grown ups all thought it was because she was going to a better place, but only Claudia and Kate knew just how true that was.

Then it goes back to The Midnight Society clearing, Kiki finishes the Jagged Sign Symbol, and it resembles a dove like angel just like in her story. Then she ends her story saying the end. Tuck impressed tells her it was a good story. Betty Ann asks Stig what he thought of it. Tucker tells them that he just whispered to him that he can't breathe. Tucker worried, pulls the bag of Stig's head. Stig catching his breath is annoyed. He tells them that he's telling the story next time, because he can't stand to wear the bag over his head anymore. Gary announces that Stig is up next and they will all take their final vote on whether he gets in or not. 

Then Sam walks over to Stig and ties her blue bandanna over his eyes so he won't see the way back when he gets back into town. She tells him "Sorry, you're not in yet", then she looks back a little grossed out and disgusted and tells him to keep the bandana and leaves with Kiki, followed by Tucker leading Stig back. Gary puts out the campfire and leaves with Betty Ann.

  • Daniel Brochu, did the voice of Buster Baxter in the children's program Arthur, along side Jodie Resther who voiced Francine Frensky for the entire duration.
  • Terrence Labrosse who portrayed Duncan, previously appeared in the series before. He first appeared in the previous season in the episode "The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner" as Mr. Wrightson.
  • This was the first story told by Kiki that has a lead protagonist that was white/Caucasian.
  • This was originally produced as the second episode of the Fifth season. Instead it was chosen to be aired as the twelfth episode of the Fifth season. It's obvious it was intended to be the 2nd episode because Stig isn't in the Midnight Society yet and they say he's going next time.
  • Kay Tremblay (Majorie) was in the Goosebumps episode An Old Story as Mimi.

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