An exhausted Frank recalls having spent the day helping his brother move. Kiki, to general surprise, loves moving: the mystery of who lived there before, and why they left. Her story is about moving, and about promises. She warns of the need to keep a promise - lest it come back to haunt you. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, she calls this story - hey, where’s the Midnight Dust? Tucker grins.
- Gary: Give it back, bozo!
Bonnie Cooper, in the midst of a potential break-up, moves with daughter Stacy and dog Bugsy to a tiny apartment.
That evening, whilst reading on the balcony, Stacy hears a strange knocking. Outside, the corridor is empty. However, the door of 214 once more creaks open. A woman's voice faintly hums.
Next morning, on her way to school, Stacy lowers an ear to the door of 214. From behind, a girl of around Stacy’s age introduces herself as Angela, of apartment 212. Stacy wonders who lives in 214. Angela understands it to be empty.
That afternoon, Stacy visits the door of 214, and knocks. With no answer, she starts to walk away, but then the door creaks open. Stacy peaks hesitantly inside. From a door opposite emerges an elderly woman, who happily invites Stacy to join her for tea.
Inside 214, Stacy asks about the paintings framed on the wall. The woman explains them all to be the original works of herself, Madeline Koegel. One shows her nephew Frank and his family. Never having raised her own family, Madeline was promised accommodation with her nephew, but when his family grew, he asked her to leave, so she moved to this apartment, away from family and friends. Having moved away from her own friends, Stacy sympathizes. Madeline suggests they ease their mutual loneliness with visits.
Henceforth, Stacy visits regularly. The two become firm friends. One day, Madeline delicately cites tomorrow as a day on which she prefers not to be alone, and asks Stacy to promise to drop by. She happily complies. For tomorrow, Madeline has a surprise in store.
Next day, Stacy passes Angela, who is going with friends to the Battle of the Bands - and has a spare ticket. Stacy meekly cites her expectation elsewhere. Angela notes their earlier pledge to socialise. Swayed, and dazzled by the opportunity, Stacy accepts.
On the driveway, Stacy happily boards the back seat, and they drive off. Meanwhile, from her window, Madeline looks forlornly on...
That evening, in the corridor, Stacy and Angela say goodnight. Stacy prepares a belated visit to 214, and, in the corridor, is disturbed to hear sobs. She gingerly enters Madeline’s darkened apartment.
Silhouetted before the storm-blown curtains, Madeline sobs wretchedly. Stacy slowly approaches. With a clap of thunder, a blaze of lightning reveals Madeline’s face to be twisted with rage.
In fright, Stacy backs away, and presses the light switch. She looks around in astonishment: Madeline has vanished. The room, suddenly bare of furniture or decoration, shows no sign of habitation. Behind Stacy, the door creaks shut, and refuses to open. Stacy pounds on it desperately, and cries for help. It's opened by a surprised Mr Horstrum.
Next day,Bonnie and Stacy ask Mr Horstrum if the resident of 214 recently moved. Baffled, he gruffly reports no one to have lived there for years.
One night, Bonnie prepares to head out to dinner with Stacy’s absent father, and tells her to lock the door. As Bonnie sets off, Stacy sends love to her dad.
Stacy reclines with a book, and strokes Bugsy. There comes a knock at the door. Through the peephole, Stacy sees the staring face of Madeline. Frantically concerned for her friend, Stacy opens the door - to find the darkened corridor empty.
Stacy slowly approaches 214, knocks, enters, and switches on the light. On the floor, face down, is a canvas. Stacy lifts it, and sees a painting of herself and Madeline on the sofa, enjoying tea. Stacy peers at it, and lowers it to see the room to have instantaneously regained its old furnishings.
Stacy re-examines the painting, lowers it - and finds herself face to face with Madeline. In fury, with a faint echo to her voice, Madeline rails at Stacy having abandoned her on a day of loneliness like no other - the anniversary of the day she died.
Stacy drops the painting, runs home, and locks the door. She backs to the window, and turns to face it. A flash of lightning reveals, outside in the storm, Madeline. Stacy screams and runs.
In the corridor, she pounds on the door of 212, and calls for Angela. As thunder rumbles, the corridor falls into darkness, and emergency lights ignite. Across the corridor approaches a silhouette. Stacy screams - but it’s only Mr Horstrum. He sternly orders her home.
Across the floor, Bugsy pads towards 214. Despairing, Stacy calls her dog to no avail. As the lights come back on, she reluctantly enters the haunted apartment. In a fearful hush, Stacy searches for her dog. Unseen by her, reflected in a mirror, stands Madeline.
Stacy opens a cupboard door, and in relief, greets her dog. Behind her, Madeline once more accuses Stacy of abandoning her. In terror, Stacy apologises - she meant no harm; was only trying to make a new friend, and came over later - but it was too late.
At this, Madeline calms; acknowledges the importance of making friends, and agrees not to bother Stacy any more.
Bemused, Stacy asks if Madeline is really dead. Madeline gently affirms. Isn’t she supposed to move on? Madeline admits to being too set in her ways to go anywhere, and won’t abide the intrusion of new residents. Afraid of the world beyond her home, she weeps in despair. On her arm, Stacy lays a hand, and suggests an idea...
Some time later, Bonnie, having moved with Stacy and Bugsy into the larger 214, still can’t see why it’s cheaper than 213. Sharing with a ghost, chuckles Mr Horstrum, earns a discount. Meanwhile, Madeline, in the redecorated apartment, happily welcomes Stacy home.
Kiki confirms the Coopers' having moved into apartment 214 to have brought an end to Madeline’s loneliness. Gary suddenly seems to have lost the pouch - which Tucker hands to him. Next week, he says, will see the initiation of Betty Anne’s friend Sam. As the others set off, he prepares to douse the fire. Only…
- Gary: Hey! Where’d the bucket go? Tucker…! Where’s the bucket?!
This episode provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Betty Anne can’t resist a grin at Tucker’s antics.
- Barred from the Afterlife: Seemingly through force of habit, Madeline lingers in her earthly home.
- Be Careful What You Say: Gently pressured by Madeline into a promise to visit tomorrow, Stacy agrees, but is distracted by a chance to make new friends. Unaware of the extent of Madeline's dependency on her visit, she arrives too late.
- Bizarrchitecture: On Stacy's late visit, she finds the furniture of apartment 214 to have instantaneously vanished.
- Came Back Wrong: Having failed to visit on time, Stacy finds her softly-spoken elderly friend to have withdrawn behind a wall of despairing rage, in which she later manifests instantaneously throughout the building.
- Dead All Along: Madeline initially gives no indication of being a ghost, until Stacy fails to visit on time, whereupon Madeline instantaneously vanishes and reappears.
- Defrosting Ice King: Brusque manager Mr Holstrom, when Bonnie and Stacy move into apartment 214, becomes more genial.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Once Madeline understands Stacy's motive for failing to visit on time, she confesses her lonely fear of moving on. Stacy moves in with her, and the lonely spirit finds happiness.
- Forgiveness: On hearing of her aim to make friends, Madeline is gently understanding of Stacy's failure to visit on time.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Both Stacy and Madeline seize the chance of company, and become firm friends.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Elderly Madeline and teenage Stacy.
- Mirror Scare: Having followed Bugsy into the apparently deserted apartment 214, Stacy passes a mirror which reflects Madeline's otherwise unseen face.
- Spooky Painting: Inverted. While Stacy finds it face-down in an instantaneously deserted room, Madeline's painting depicts a jolly scene of the two friends enjoying tea.
- Vengeful Ghost: While Madeline threatens no violence, her demented, relentless rage is terrifying.
