For 33 years, Ida Belson has resided in this faded old duplex. Her pleasures are simple and her hopes are few: to live out her remaining years with security and peace and dignity and respect. And the quiet she has always craved...'''
A cruel young couple wage a campaign of noisy terror to evict an old lady from their duplex. The old lady dies, only to return to exact retribution from her tormentors. Starring Todd Allen Dirkin, Veronika Schmidt, Michael Pantone and Carole Shoemaker. Originally aired Feb 26, 1998. — Rip Torn, opening narration of episode.
Tropes:
- Ancient Tomb: Dean and Melissa venture down into one to desecrate graves. Big mistake.
- Asshole Victim: Dean and Melissa both for hurting Ida.
- Bittersweet Ending: Ida Belson has died but her tormenters Dean and Melissa have got their comeuppance.
- Bystander Syndrome: Dean and Melissa stand by smirking as a heartbroken Ida watches pest control remove her beloved pet cats against her protests.
- Cat Scare: Several, when Dean and Melissa try hiding in a motel away from the noise, many of Ida's cats appear suddenly.
- Character Establishing Moment: Dean and Melissa's Jerkass behavior is made clear when Dean blasts his loud music against Ida's wishes and Melissa curses Ida when searching for a plunger for the sink.
- Compliment Backfire: Melissa to Ida: "You could always go to the pound and get them. Or move to another building."
- Crazy Cat Lady: Ida who resides in her duplex home and owns many cats.
- Elder Abuse: Young couple Dean and Melissa verbally abuse their elderly resident Ida. By ignoring her simple pleas and removing her beloved pet cats and not heading her wish to turn down their loud music.
- Foreshadowing: Ida to the young couple and their loud music: "Please turn it down, you're loud enough to wake the dead!"
- Hell Is That Noise: The constant noises heard throughout the haunted house Dean and Melissa reside in.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Dean and Melissa's intimate moment is interrupted by a loud noise in the house. Turns out to be Ida's ghost haunting them.
- Jump Scare:
- When Dean opens the door and sees Ida's ghost sitting up in her bed with her pet cat looking at him.
- When the skeleton hands pop through the mausoleum walls to torment Dean and Melissa.
- Karmic Death: Dean and Melissa suffer this from Ida's and many other ghosts in the mausoleum. They die suffering from the loud music and the fright of the ghosts.
- Kick the Dog: Dean and Melissa ignore Ida's many requests and have her pet cats removed, causing the old woman much heartache.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Ida who is kind to others and owns any pet cats, compared to her residents Dean and Melissa who are cruel to her.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Because Ida Belson suffered from Dean and Melissa's loud music, Dean and Melissa end up dying in the same way.
- Mugging the Monster: Dean and Melissa really shouldn't have abused Ida Belson, desecrated the mausoleum or messed with ghosts.
- Near-Villain Victory: Dean and Melissa nearly get away with their crimes for hurting Ida and selling her old house and are about to leave to build their club. Then Dean suggests they make one last stop.
Most people believe that the young hear better than the elders, but is that really true? Dean and Melissa ignored Ida Belson when she told them that they would wake the dead. And they died...wishing that God had made them better listeners.'''
— Rip Torn, ending narration of episode.
