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The Tale of Train Magic - Season 4, Episode 13

Air date: January 21, 1995

Written by: Gerald Wexler

Directed by: D.J. MacHale

Music by: Raymond Fabi

Cast: 

Jesse Moss as Hank Williamson

Colin Fox as Ray Lawson

Ray Aranha as Cap Anderson

Susan Glover as The Parasol Lady

Terence Bowman as The Gambler

Rob Martin as The Soldier

Wayne Morning as The Conductor

Special Guest Star

Gregory Smith as Tim Williamson

Storyteller:

Frank, on top of his game.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Cue that beautiful spooky intro music, baby, it’s time for THE FIRST Approval of the Midnight Society. This tumblr is intended to be a comprehensive Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode guide and discussion forum. I submit for your approval that Are You Afraid of the Dark? was not only the very best of the 90s spooky kids’ shows, it is also among the best 90s kids’ shows in general and the best all-time horror television, FULL STOP.

I’d like to kick things off with one of my favorite episodes, Season 4′s haunting and beautiful finale story as told by Frank, The Tale of Train Magic.

But First, a Word on Storytellers

“Relax, not everyone runs on the same schedule as you.”

As you watch AYAOTD? it is crucial to consider that each and every episode contains a layered narrative. While it is an anthology horror show like Tales From the Crypt, Tales From the Darkside, or Night Gallery, it has something special that allows it to stand out, narratively speaking: the storytellers- that is, the members of the Midnight Society who gather at the top of each episode and present their stories to each other. This technique is underused in anthology programs. Traditional anthology horror shows like Goosebumps present each story sans commentary (aside from the occasional awkward episode introduction by R.L. Stein). In Tales From the Crypt, there is a storyteller; but he’s a lame, shrieking, puppet corpse. It’s not very interesting to consider the Crypt Keeper’s perspective or inspiration behind the stories- he’s just trying to scare you.

But all of these shows, of course, stand in the shadow of timeless classic (and major AYAOTD? inspiration) The Twilight Zone, where the storyteller is put in the foreground of every episode. While Rod Serling didn’t write every episode of the show, he wrote a vast majority of them. The decision to have the writer of the stories as the presenter and narrator of the stories is an interesting one that allows us to have a richer experience as we watch. You can almost hear Serling, an outspoken advocate for social justice and activist in the post-war era, pleading for sanity, thoughtfulness, and empathy in his best episodes like The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street or It’s a Good Life. His physical appearances only bookend the episodes, but the audience is encouraged to think of him- his creative style, his passions, his desires- throughout.

By taking note of this and expanding on it, Are You Afraid of the Dark? becomes more than just a collection of spooky stories. It is an exploration of the nature of storytelling itself.

AYAOTD? makes it clear that in order to fully appreciate these spooky stories, we will need to understand the characters telling the stories, their lives and desires, their relationships with each other. And yet, the storytellers receive relatively little screen time. These scenes are kept short and, while they are cleverly infused with clues, I believe that the real detective work is to be done in the campfire tales being told.

The stories are not randomly assigned. They are each curated to provide commentary and insight on the character telling the story. You will find that this is true as we do more episodes- through their stories, we are provided nuanced and subtle windows into the lives of the storytellers; we can speculate about Sam’s hopeless crushes, Kiki’s longing to connect, Tucker’s insecurities as a little brother, Gary’s compulsion for order, or Betty Ann’s unfettered sincerity, etc. etc. etc. 

Which brings us back to Frank.

Frank gives thoughtful thesis statements at the top of his stories

A ‘Dude’ of Depth

Frank is, perhaps, the most intriguing member of the Midnight Society, in that his motivations and private life are kept hidden more than any other character. We know Frank through the front he puts up- he’s a real tough guy, big man from the wrong side of the tracks, and often, a total dick.

But is that the real Frank?

AYAOTD? makes us question this by alluding, very very subtly, to a repressed side of Frank- feminine (or at least not as alpha-male as he’d apparently like you to think), enthusiastic, esoteric. The clues around the campfire are scarce- he humors Sam’s crush on him in a typically cavalier way, he’s hard on Tucker (going as far as calling him a “skidmark” after falling victim to an ill-advised Tucker prank)... I mean, his first appearance in Train Magic actually has him emerging from the woods in a do-rag and frayed denim vest with a boombox over his shoulder, for God’s sake.