History Recap / TalesFromTheCryptS2E18TheSecret

!!Tropes:

Theodore is a 12-year-old orphan at Gaines Orphanage who is constantly treated like dirt by the domineering director Ms. Hagstead, who wants him out the house far more than the other boys. She is unfortunately not able to easily have him removed since he's past the desirable age of most adoptable children, but one day, the home is visited by the Colberts, a wealthy and eccentric couple who take a shine to Theodore and adopt him. In his new home, Theodore is given whatever his heart desires, but his parents keep him locked in his room all day and only visit him at night. The only regular contact Theodore gets is from the Colberts' butler Tobias, who also takes a shine to him as he, too, was an orphan. Theodore eventually discovers that his new parents harbor a dark secret, but unknown to said parents, their new son just so happens to have his own secret.

* PintSizedPowerhouse: Despite being a child, Theodore is still a werewolf, and is perfectly capable of killing off two full grown vampires. One most wonder how deadly an adult werewolf must be.

** Mrs. Colbert bearing her fangs.
** Theodore revealing he's a werewolf.

* YesMan: Mr. Colbert is one to his wife, ususally repeating whatever she says like a broken record.

* RedAndBlack: The Colberts' outfits are largely red and black, hinting at their vampiric natures.

[[caption-width-right:350:Which one?]]

->'''Crypt Keeper:''' ''(reading ''Literature/OliverTwist'')'' What?! So where's the twist? And I had such ''[[Literature/GreatExpectations great expectations]]''. ''(puts the book away)'' Ah! Now ''here'' is a story you can ''sink your teeth'' into. A toothsome tale of tommyrot guaranteed to scare the ''dickens'' out of you! Lean in, fright fans. I'm going to let you in on: '''The Secret.'''

Theodore, a 12 year old orphan in a boys' home, is treated like dirt by the domineering Ms. Hagstead, who wants him removed from the house far more than the other boys. She is unfortunately not able to have him removed from the home since he is past the acceptable age of most adoptable children. One day, the home is visited by the Colberts, a wealthy and eccentric couple who take a shine to Theodore and adopt him. Theodore is given whatever his heart desires, but his new parents keep him locked in his room all day, and only visit him at night. The only regular contact Theodore gets is from the Colberts' butler Tobias, who also takes a shine to him. Theodore eventually discovers that his new parents harbor a dark secret, but unknown to said parents, their new son just so happens to have his own secret.

* AbusiveParents: The Colberts hardly ever spend time with Theodore, keep him locked away in his room, and fatten him up so his blood will be sweet when they feed on him.
* AdultsAreUseless: Ms. Hagstead wants Theodore out of the boys' home than the other kids.
** The Colberts don't take Theodore anywhere and lock him in his room. Tobias the butler is the one person Theodore has regular interaction with. Tobias also attempts to help Theodore to escape before the Colberts could reveal themselves as vampires, but he gets killed by them.
* AffablyEvil: The Colberts are this with Theodore. They give him toys and sweets to snack on. The reason they do this is because they want to fatten him up so his blood will be sweet when they feed on him.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Ms. Hagstead is quite obnoxious and forceful, until Theodore asks her about what happened to his parents.

* BullyingADragon: Theodore didn't know the truth about himself, but Ms. Hagstead clearly did. It still didn't stop her from badgering the poor boy and treating him like crap.
* CommonalityConnection: Theodore and Tobias quickly get along after Tobias tells the boy that he too was an orphan.
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Theodore, whose parents have passed on, struggles to fit in Hagstead's home for boys. He ends up becoming a hero when he discovers his secret.
* DirtyCoward: After revealing to Theodore they were vampires, the Colberts proceeded to chase him through the courtyard. When he was cornered, turned to a werewolf, and proceeded to murder his wife, Mr. Colbert turned and ran as fast as he could.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Tobias was part of the Colberts' scheme in exchange for being made a vampire and thus gaining eternal life. However, after bonding with Theodore, he can't go through it and tries to help the kid escape instead.
* EvilIsHammy: Mr. Colbert is a stoic and loud YesMan who acts like a broken record, and Mrs. Colbert is outrageously posh and eccentric.
* EvilOldFolks: All signs point to Ms. Hagstead as being one of these.
* FatteningTheVictim: The Colberts only give Theodore sweets to eat, fattening him up so his blood will be extra sweet when they feed on him.
* {{Flashback}}: Theodore thinks back to some of the fun times he had with Heather and his friends at the home.
* ForeShadowing: Ms. Hagstead tells her assistant Heather to never mention Theodore's parents. She's also incredibly eager to give Theodore up to whoever will take him.
** The Colberts have bars on their windows. They're also absent during the day and are only around at night.
** They also only give Theodore sweets to eat, hinting that they want to sweeten his blood for them to drink it.
** Heather takes Theodore to bed, and we get a transition involving the moon. In the morning, Heather says Theodore is nowhere to be found. Hagstead brushes off the concern, saying the kid always runs off every now and then for hours at a time. Sure enough, Theodore comes to the front door the next morning, disheveled and dirty.
* ForTheEvulz: Mr. and Mrs. Colbert, revealed to be vampires, are shown to have adopted Theodore purely so they could feed on him.
* FurAgainstFang: Upon realizing he's a werewolf, Theodore makes quick work of the Colberts. As the Crypt Keeper says, he had the "upper paw".
* HeelFaceTurn: Tobias was in league with the Colberts and was in on their plans for Theodore since they promised to make him a vampire. He has a change of heart and helps the boy escape, sacrificing himself in the process.
* HellHound: The Colberts have one as a pet they call Lilitu, and they sic it on Theodore when he makes a run for it. The dog isn't that bad, though, as Theodore adopts her after taking care of the Colberts.
* HenpeckedHusband: It's not very strongly shown, but Mrs. Colbert essentially calls the shots between her and her husband.
* HiredHelpAsFamily: Theodore's only friend inside the Colberts' house is Tobias, the couple's butler, who feels the same way about the kid.
* HollywoodDarkness: The climax moving to the forest in the dark of the night is presented with lowered lighting and dark blue tint.
* {{Homage}}: The episode can be seen as one of ''Film/Annie1982'', since both the film and the episode center on an orphan who is adopted by a wealthy parental figure.

* {{Irony}}: Theodore discovers that the Colberts aren't the only ones with a secret.
* KubrickStare: Theodore gives one to Ms. Hagstead in the ending when he comes back stating that things are gonna change.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Mr. & Mrs. Colbert, who have revealed themselves to be vampires, end up being killed by Theodore, who is himself revealed to be a werewolf with "an appetite for vampire".
** Ms. Hagstead, who treated Theodore like shit nearly all his time in the boys' home and was all too eager to give him to the Colberts (even hinting that she knew their true plans for him), discovers that Theodore has returned to the place. Upon hearing that he knows his secret, she is told by the boy that there are going to be some "changes" around the home. It's very strongly implied that she becomes his next meal.
* LighterAndSofter: While there's still a good amount of horror and gore to be thrown around, the episode's plot, concerning an orphan who is adopted by eccentric (and evil) parents, make it one of the more light-hearted episodes in the series.

** The look on Mr. & Mrs. Colbert's faces when Theodore reveals to them he's a werewolf.
** Ms. Hagstead when Theodore returns to the boys' home after she eagerly had him sent away to a pair of vampires... along with the fact that he now knows about his parents and knows his secret.
* ParentalAbandonment: Theodore ask about his parents, but Ms. Hagstead, the director of the home, simply tells him that they've died and to never ask again. This hints that she knows who Theodore really is.
* ParentalSubstitute: Heather is one to Theodore. She's one of the reasons he's disappointed about leaving the orphanage. When he returns home, she's actually happy to see him.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: Despite being a werewolf child, Theodore is perfectly capable of killing off two full grown vampires. One most wonder how deadly adult werewolves gotta be.
* PreMortemOneLiner: "I'm a werewolf! And I have an appetite for vampire!"
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Mr. Colbert kills Tobias. After finishing Mrs. Colbert, Theodore hunts him down and goes for the kill.
* ScreamDiscretionShot: When Theodore catches up to Mr. Colbert, it cuts to black amid the kid's howl and the vampire's scream.
* SecretIdentity: The Colberts are vampires and Theodore himself is a werewolf.
* ShoutOut: Theodore is an orphan with red hair and a wisecracking attitude who is adopted by someone ludicrously wealthy, much like [[Film/Annie1982 another well-known orphan]]. And just like said orphan, he even quips "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

-->'''Theodore:''' I have a secret, too, Mrs. Colbert.
-->'''Mrs. Colbert:''' ''[indifferently]'' I'm sure you have, dear--
-->'''Theodore:''' And mine is better than yours! ''[turns to reveal he's a werewolf]''
* SurpriseParty: Mr. and Mrs. Colbert spring a birthday surprise on Theodore one night. When Theodore tells them that it's not his birthday, Mrs. Colbert tells him that it wouldn't be a surprise if it was.

** After catching up with Theodore under a full moon, an amused Mrs. Colbert quips that the boy will be the death of them. She had no idea how right she was.
** After switching sides, Tobias scoffs at becoming immortal by saying it'd be tedious and boring. Mr. Colbert kills him immediately afterwards.

* TheUnreveal: The nature of Theodore's parents, despite them clearly having either been werewolves or been killed by a werewolf, is left vague.

* YesMan: Mr. Colbert to his wife.

->'''Crypt Keeper:''' ''(wearing Theodore's coonskin cap)'' Finally, the kid gets the upper hand! Or should I say, the upper ''paw''. Just when Mom and Pop were about to satisfy their sweet tooth, Theodore decides to ''wolf down'' something besides sweets! ''(cackles)'' Well, that's all for now, kiddies. As one cow said to the other as they headed off to slaughter: "'Til next we ''meat!''". ''(cackles)''

* PintSizedPowerhouse: Despite being a werewolf child, Theodore is perfectly capable of killing off two full grown vampires.