In English Literature, aspiring author Sean Hackett, in his notebook, secretly works on one of his stories, many of which are about classmate Jennifer Johnson, whom, to his dismay, only considers him a friend. For homework, Mrs Dodds assigns everyone to write a short story, at least two pages long.
Sean and his friend Billy adjourn to the newly bought, somewhat dilapidated house of Sean's parents. On the way to Sean's attic bedroom, Billy steps through a rotted stair, and finds a small room hidden beneath. The walls hold numerous monochrome photographs and newspaper cuttings.
A headline from the thirteenth of October, 1932, notes the former occupant, mystery author James Ellington, to have disappeared in 1931, and then to have been found, one year later, murdered. In a lidded case, Sean finds an ancient typewriter. Billy, underwhelmed by the discovery, heads home. Sean, enamoured by the vintage contraption, types up one of his stories: The Halloween Dance.
As he types, Jennifer, asleep in bed, starts to dream. In Sean's story, and in Jennifer's dream, organ dance music blares through the school gym, in which costumed students dance. With a flash of artificial lightning, Sean, garbed in evening wear and cape, sweeps into the room and approaches Jennifer. In an Eastern European accent, he requests her hand for a dance. At a snap of his fingers starts a more sensuous tune.
Smiling in her sleep, Jennifer turns over. As Sean narrates their dance, the two reach a darkened corner. Count Sean then bears a ferocious set of fangs, and leans in to bite his beloved on the neck. With a scream, Jennifer wakes.
Sean finishes typing, and calls it a night. The next day, Jennifer mentions to Sean her strange dream.
That evening, in his attic bedroom, Sean is uneasy. Billy dismisses his fears. While Sean prepares to type his homework short story, Billy, reclined on Sean's bed with a comic, dozes off.
Sean’s story, Trapped, sees Billy, one night, sneak into a graveyard. On finding the grave of Blind Paul, an unseen presence stalks Billy to the edge of an open grave. He turns around to see a black-robed, hooded figure. In fright, Billy backs away, and falls into the open grave. On top of him, the coffin lid slams shut. Soil rains on its closed lid. In abject terror, Billy pounds on the lid and screams...
As Sean finishes typing, Billy wakes with a yell. The two realise the power of the typewriter to invade the dreams of others. While Billy is excited, Sean remains uneasy.
That night, as Sean types another story, Jennifer starts to dream. In the story, and in her dream, the disembodied voice of Sean invites Jennifer to a dreamscape of blue sky and white clouds. A suited Sean then arrives to explain and gently demonstrate the power of the Dream Machine. He asks her to confirm her memory of this on waking.
After handing in their short stories, Sean, Billy and Jennifer adjourn to Sean's bedroom. As Billy reads aloud The Halloween Dance, Jennifer and Sean see the typewriter exude a green glow. As Billy reads, the other two fade into thin air. They find themselves immersed in a solid manifestation of events depicted in the story, which they involuntarily re-enact. While they resist some of it, they’re powerless to resist its general course.
As Count Sean once more bears his fangs, Billy looks up from reading, and sees his friends to have vanished. With a puff of fog, they reappear. Stunned, they all realise: when read aloud, a story typed on this typewriter becomes solid reality. Which means... Billy is in serious trouble.
Back at school, Mrs Dodds prepares to read Trapped. In the empty classroom, Sean, Billy and Jennifer, with the typewriter, visit her empty classroom for the story. In the canteen, as Mrs Dodds starts to read, the typewriter glows, and Billy fades from view. He finds himself in a solid manifestation of the haunted graveyard. He calls for help, and once more stumbles on the grave of Blind Paul.
As Sean and Jennifer frantically search for Mrs Dodds, Billy is once more confronted by Blind Paul, who backs him into the grave. Desperate, Sean suddenly realises: before it’s too late, he needs to type another story.
Astride an exercise bike in the school gym, Mrs Dodds reaches the story's horrific climax. In the coffin, Billy cries desperately for help. While the teacher reads, Sean types like the wind, and hands the finished page to Jennifer, who reads aloud: the typewriter stopped glowing, and all the stories written on it never came true. The Dream Machine glows once more, and with a swirl of fog, Billy reappears, shouting frantically, on the floor. Realising the nightmare to be over, he and Sean hug with relief. Mrs Dodds passes the open door, and sternly wonders what they want. The three nervously grin.
As Gary closes, the others notice Kiki to have vanished. In her place on the stone chair is a typewriter and a piece of paper, on which a single-sentence story narrates pursuit of the Midnight Society by a headless warrior. Gary douses the fire, and they calmly and quickly depart.
This episode provides examples of:
- Buried Alive: In a short story written by Sean, and consequently in a dream and then in actuality, this happens to Billy.
- Deadpan Snarker: Mrs Dodds.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Sean secretly pines for Jennifer, who considers him a friend.
- Dream Weaver: Any story written on the typewriter manifests first as a dream had by whoever the story is about.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Sean realises how to use the typewriter’s power to save Billy.
- The Grim Reaper: Invoked by Blind Paul, a hooded, black-cloaked spectre who aims, quite literally, to induct Billy into the grave.
- Imagine Spot: By the power of the typewriter, dreamed imaginings solidify.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Proximity to Jennifer rather disorientates Sean.
- Mood Whiplash: At the dreamed Halloween Dance, a tender moment between Jennifer and Count Sean is disrupted by the latter baring his vampiric fangs.
- Mr. Imagination: Sean loves to make up stories.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Sean has a flair for the macabre.
- Oh, Crap!: Sean suddenly realises that by reading his homework, Mrs Dodds is about to instigate Billy’s live burial.
- Reality Warper: When read aloud, the stories manifest to their subjects as solid reality.
- Rise from Your Grave: This seems to be the case with Blind Paul, who, having vacated his own grave, aims to leave it with a replacement occupant.
