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The Tale of the Silent Servant
Season 4 , Episode 7
Eplogo46
Air date November 12, 1994
Written by Wendy Brotherlin
Directed by Jean-Marie Comeau
Episode guide
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The Tale of the Quiet Librarian
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The Tale of the Room for Rent

The Tale of the Silent Servant is the Seventh episode of the Fourth season of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, as well as the Forty-Sixth episode in total.

Cast[]

Midnight Society Cast[]

Story Cast[]

Intro[]

That night begins with Gary and Sam sitting down together working on the campfire poking it with sticks, while Tucker sits down reading something. Then both Frank and Kiki show up annoyed and mad. They mention that they see Betty Ann is not here and that she is too afraid to face them.

When asked why? Betty Ann comes in angry saying that she wouldn't let her friends sneak into a movie. Frank furious says they were leaving one room at the movie theater and the other room right by it was right open, and they were able to just sneak in. Then Betty Ann called to them "Hey guys, this way out". Then the usher caught Frank and Kiki and threw them all out. Betty Ann says she didn't want to do it and wanted to just do the right thing. Frank still mad tells her if she didn't want to sneak into another movie she should have left and kept quiet.

Betty Ann, seriously looks at her friends and tells them she isn't so sure about that. She really that thought that it was wrong to sneak into another movie without paying. She sits down on the Storyteller's Chair, and tells them all that should had a choice. She says should I stand up for what's right? Or stay silent? Tucker says he hopes what she is saying is about her story.

Betty Ann says it is. Silence is power. The power of the unknown, and the unspoken. Silence can be a blessing a welcoming moment of peace; or it can be evil. The trick is to know when to welcome, it or to be very afraid.

Betty Ann, 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 Silent Servant", and begins her story.

Story[]

Betty Ann, tells the story. The story first takes places inside a hayloft, a farmhand named Crazy George has fallen asleep in the hay. The farm owner, Mr. John Earlstead comes in and takes an item out of his hands. This causes George to wake up scared and tense. He tells Mr. Earlstead in a tense and scared tone, that something attacked him. Also the words "Calevactor Sellemnos" no longer work for him and runs off in a panic.

Mr. Earlstead talks into a nearby closet and says that he told it never to reveal itself and tosses in the magical object and closes the door. The thing inside the closet begins to try banging and shaking the door open. Mr. Earlstead commands is to be still. Which it does and he says he will come back for it later; after he takes care of their friend George and smiles.

The story goes ahead in time to Twenty years later.

A teenage boy around 13 or so, named Jarred Conner is spending his summer visiting his cousin Anne Peterson on her country farm home. Jarred loved to play baseball and it was his favorite sport of all and he was always playing it. Anne wasn't much of a sports person. So she wasn't very good at it. One afternoon Jarred and Anne were playing a game of catch, passing the ball back and forth to each other.

Then he asked her to go long, as he was going throw a pitch. She went all the way near her front door. Then from a distance he threw a pitch and she missed it. To both their shock. the ball smashed right through the glass window of the front door. Immediately but it was an accident. Then Anne's father (Uncle Pete to Jarred) came out holding the baseball, along with older brother Mark (Jarred's older cousin). Uncle Pete, was furious and punished them by having Mark confiscate their baseball gloves. Then he immediately had them do grueling labor to work off the payment of the new window.  Such as making deliveries and building a garden fence to keep the deer out. Only after working it off, would they get their gloves back.

Their first job was to deliver some beans to a Mr. Galloway down the road. On their way, they passed by Mr. Earlstead's old barn. Thinking the barn looked cool; Jarred wanted to check it out. On their way to the entrance of the barn they see Mr. Earlstead's gravestone. which reads: "John Earlstead, 1905-1974". Above his name are two gold dragons. A little intrigued, Anne tells Jarred that it is Mr. Earlstead's grave, and people would say he would some sort of sorcerer who had invisible servants working on his farm.

Jarred doesn't believe her and they enter the barn. Jarred is excited because all the old wooden planks inside the barn can be tore down. Then be taken to build their own baseball dugout. Anne Helps Jarred tear some boards down. Then suddenly the boards open like a wall. Then an old scarecrow falls to the ground and startles them. Anne finds a strange talisman and puts it in her pocket. Jarred thinks that the scarecrow can scare away the deer from their garden. So he and Anne carry the scarecrow back home.

When they get back home, they set up the scarecrow in their garden. They tell Mark that they think it will scare away the deer. He says they still have to build the fence with him. He asks them if Mr. Galloway gave them the scarecrow. Now they remember that the left the beans at Mr. Earlstead's barn, and they forgot to deliver them. Mark sends them off to deliver the beans. When they get back to. Mr. Earlstead's barn, they are about to take the sack of beans and leave.

Suddenly Crazy George comes out. He is mumbling and ranting incoherently about how he can't find dragons. Therefore they must be stolen. Now he asks them if they have seen his dragons. Scared and creeped out Anne says no they haven't. Jarred and Annie are just terrified and back away in shock,

He tells them that it's good then, because they bring such sorrow and misery. He used to be happy, but now he's always miserable and see's nothing but black. Referring to his old boss Mr. Earlstead he cries and whines. Full of rage, he tells them his evil was contagious, and his boss made him the way he is now. Mr. Earlstead would raise the silent servant by saying "Calevactor Sellemnos" but he was too clever for them. The power was between the two dragons. They could stop the Silent Servant. So only the master could break the spell. But he can't because he is dead! Seeing that the scarecrow is gone, George says that the servant walks again. So he tells them to be warned. Once the word is given it can't be undone, and it's always listening. Gleaming his open eyes at them he repeats himself several times, that it's always listening. Also that only the true master can control it and now it runs free. He begins laughing manically as Jarred and Anne run away.

They run back home full speed and out of breath. She explains to him that the man was Crazy George: Mr. Earlstead's old farmhand. Then when she sits down, something pokes her in the bum. Now she remembers that she put something in her pocket earlier and takes it out. It's a talisman with two smalls dragons on top of it. Jarred looks at and twists one knob out and a scroll comes out of it; He reads it out loud. As he does The scarecrow outside hears it. The scroll reads: "Ye who recites this, that which is written. Shall summon The Silent mon hither. Awaken slumbering servant. Awaken say your master. Abide by ye true master's words, and hold ye bound by this incantation. Never turn back upon thy mission. Thy power the word "Calevactor Sellemnos", as thy true master devise the dragons and sets they silent servant to rest". Then after this is finished, a thunderstorm goes on outside.

A little later, Uncle Pete comes home for supper, and asks them to take out the trash. When they do they see that the scarecrow is no longer in the garden. They turn around in a blowing and whistling fog, The Scarecrow is right in front of them and they both scream feeling terrified. They run to the front door of the house, just as Mark happens to be coming home from his baseball game. They try to explain to him what they've recently done and what's currently happening, but he doesn't believe them. When they show him where it was, the scarecrow is just lying on it's side against the house. Mark says that it was just moved around. So when they came back over it fell down. He also says he has the new glass for the window. So they'll fix it early in the morning. On the way back in, mad and annoyed Jarred rudely kicks the scarecrow. Then asks it deliver Mr. Galloway's beans and to fix the window for them.

They wake up early the next morning, to see the front door window all fixed like new. Uncle Pete also says that Mr. Galloway thanked them for the beans. Near the end of the day, Jarred, Anne and Mark have been working really hard on the garden fence. Mark prepares to go to his baseball game and gives Jarred permission to come to it. Before Jarred goes inside, he complains about working on the fence and not wanting to do it again the next day. Anne reveals that it wasn't them who delivered the beans or Mark who fixed the window. So it must have been the silent servant. To see if she is right he, approaches the scarecrow and commands it to finish the fence. Though Anne is reluctant to him commanding it. Since Crazy George warned them that it was evil.

A little later, Mark comes back home and is very pleased with them. Turns out the garden fence is all finished and looks fantastic. Mark is so pleased, that he gives them the afternoon off. Jarred, feeling satisfied now commands the silent servant to build him a dugout for their baseball field. Then a little later, Jarred and Anne come back home from a bike ride. Jarred is thrilled to see a small little baseball dugout has been built.

Suddenly we hear Mark's angry voice asking to see them. He is furious to see that the garden fence is torn apart with various boards missing and the frame all bent. It would seem that thee silent servant made the dugout from the fence. Anne and Jarred try to tell him the truth, explaining to Mark that the scarecrow did it, and it's evil and where it came from. Mark doesn't believe them. So he grounds them for the night. Although Mark doesn't let Jarred come to his baseball game, he tries to make it up to them by giving them the bag that has baseball gloves in it.

Later that night, Jarred is furious to find out the bag doesn't have their baseball gloves in it; it has tractor parts. Anne tells him that Mark wouldn't take his glove. Now without meaning it, he madly says: "I'D LIKE TO KILL WHOEVER DID!". Anne just mentions to him that although he didn't mean to say what he said, the scarecrow heard him. Worried they look out the window. The scarecrow is no longer in the garden. Jarred tries to break the talisman but it doesn't break. Anne tries saying the incantation and breaking it in the middle to separate the dragons. But this doesn't work either.

They rush over to Mark's baseball game to warn him. Mark and his team have won the game, as they're biking over at full speed the Scarecrow is further ahead. It is walking slowly step by step through the grass. They make it to the clearing where Mark and his team are celebrating. They panic and warn him that the scarecrow is coming to kill him because he has Jarred's glove. Mark, then reveals he meant to give them their gloves back, but Uncle Pete gave him the wrong bag. So he has the gloves. Next we see Uncle Pete riding a tractor through a field, and the scarecrow is close by and is coming closer and closer. Uncle Pete stops the tractor and gets out when it breaks down. He plans to put in a spare tractor part. Then he is frustrated to see that he mistakenly took the bag with the baseball gloves in it.

Anne convinces Mark to drive them to Earlstead's barn. Since only the true master can separate the dragons: whether dead or alive. Also while Uncle Pete is waiting for help to come, he is carving a stick. Then the scarecrow walks up to him from behind and is about to close in on him from behind and kill him.

Anne and Jarred approach Mr. Earlstead's gravestone. Then she holds the talisman in both hands and says once again: "Only the true master can separate the dragons". Then she smacks down the middle of the talisman on the edge of the gravestone and it snaps in half. The scarecrow is instantly teleported to them. Anne then says to him: "Calevactor Sellemnos, go back to where you came from!". Then suddenly The Scarecrow shows a flashback of everything it's recently done. Then it collapses into nothing but an unstuffed pile of smoking scarecrow clothes. Mark can't believe his eyes, and asks what exactly has been going on. Anne says they'll tell him all about it tomorrow. After they rebuild the fence.

Then just after they get into the vehicle to drive back home, we see two hands picking up the two pieces of the dragons talisman. The person is Crazy George. He joins them back together and laughs manically as if to say it's all mine now!

Ending[]

Betty Ann ends her story, and Gary declares their meeting closed and puts out the campfire. Sam tells her it was a good story, Betty Ann thanks her. Frank and Kiki whisper about something and seem to come to an agreement. To Betty Ann's surprise they ask her to go to a movie with them tomorrow and they'll buy the tickets. She first tells them they don't have to do that. But Frank insists they have to make up to her how they treated her earlier. Betty Ann smiles, agrees and thanks them. Frank says it's no problem but he picks the movie they'll see. Betty Ann and Kiki just smile to each other as if to see "Oh boy.." Frank says "oh come on I pick good movies" and walks between them with both his arms around them and they all leave for the night, assuring them it will be a great movie he'll pick.

  • Brian Dooley who portrayed Pete Peterson, had previously appeared in the show before. He appeared in the episode "The Tale of the Phantom Cab", as Flynn.
  • John Walsh who portrayed The Silent Servant/Scarecrow, returned to the show in the series revival. He was a stunt double car driver in the episode, "The Tale of Highway 13", for The Trucker.
  • Tyler Labine is the brother of actor Kyle Labine, who appeared as Evan in the Goosebumps episode Monster Blood. Tyler would go on to notable roles in things such as "Tucker and Dale Versus Evil" and "Voltron Legendary Defender".
  • Tyler Labine would soon appear as Jimmy Farrell in the television show Breaker High. About a group of high school students attending classes on a cruise ship. He co-starred in the show alongside Jason Alisharan's brother Kyle Alisharan.
  • Sam Malkin (Crazy George) was in the Goosebumps episode The Barking Ghost as Scratch.

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