Minna - 1868
Minna hides in a tree, watching as Leo Owen walks past below. She waits for the right moment and jumps down behind him, giving a roar as she does so. He turns around in shock and she laughs at the look on his face, though he denies that he was scared.Leo's siblings, Adelaide and Toby arrive and greet the two. Toby hands a mirror to Minna and dares her to look into it while saying 'Bloody Mary' three times. She reluctantly agrees to do it, not wanting to appear cowardly in front of her friends. As she stares at her reflection, she sees something suddenly move behind her and screams, dropping the mirror to the ground.
Toby taunts Minna for being afraid and she tries to rebut by claiming that the Bloody Mary will come for him as well. He calls her a fibber and a scaredy-cat in response.
That night while the rest of her family is asleep, Minna sits up in bed and tries to summon the Bloody Mary a second time. An eerie noise momentarily startles her, but she calms down when nothing happens afterwards.
Now confident that she isn't in danger, she decides to seek revenge on the Owen boys for calling her a scaredy-cat. She sneaks out of her house and makes her way to their place, where she crawls underneath the floorboards to listen to them talk. She scratches against the wood to get their attention before growling in a monstrous voice that she wants their faces. The two boys scream and run from their bedroom, thinking that a real ghost is out to get them.
The Owen children come over to Minna's house the next morning and Toby tells an exaggerated account of what he experienced the previous night. Minna feigns surprise and consults a book on the occult, coming to the conclusion that making a golem will solve the ghost problem.
Minna places their newly made golem down by the creek that afternoon and carves the word 'truth' into it's head. She pleads for the golem to help get rid of Bloody Mary before stepping back. Toby and Leo grow impatient when the golem continues to stand still and leave, calling Minna a liar.
A nervous Adelaide asks Minna if they are going to die. Minna winds up admitting the truth to other girl and makes her swear to keep it a secret.
Minna then takes Adelaide to her house to see her family's chicks, but Minna's father asks them to deliver a newspaper to Leck Wong, a Chinese immigrant who lives nearby. On the way there, Minna and Adelaide see that the golem now has a couple of leaves attached to it's head. Adelaide voices her fear, but Minna shrugs it off as simply a trick that the boys are playing.
Upon arriving at Leck's house, Minna is asked to read the newspaper aloud as Leck has never been to school. Leck grows excited at one piece of news and realizes his wife will be able to come to Australia to live with him. Minna and Adelaide are surprised by this and he begins talking about his ancestor's spirits, before showing them photos of his family.
On the way back, the two girls notice in dread that the golem has mysteriously vanished. Minna has a nightmare that evening of the golem coming to life while being surrounded by fire and abruptly wakes up.
Minna sits at the dining table in low spirits during breakfast but cheers up when she sees Adelaide at the door. She gets up to leave with her friend and her father lets them go, despite his wife's protests that she finish her breakfast first.
Adelaide takes Minna to see Leo, who tells them that Toby has disappeared and footprints have been left everywhere. Leo leads the two girls into an empty barn and points to a mirror hanging suspiciously over a pile of hay. He pushes Minna forward and begs for her to say the words in the hope that it will free Toby. She gives in and takes a few hesitant steps forward, picking up the mirror.
After saying Bloody Mary three times, Toby jumps up without warning from beneath the hay and frightens Minna. She screams and punches him in the nose instinctively. Toby runs out crying in pain as Adelaide and Leo laugh at their plan's success.
Mr Harold Owen demands to see Minna and her father as a result of the incident, and during an awkward silence between the two families, Minna apologizes to get it over and done with.
Adelaide later approaches Minna while she is up in the fig tree reading and apologizes for being so bad at keeping secrets. She tells her Minna that her brothers will be camping alone on the cow paddock that very night. Seeing a new opportunity, Minna forgives Adelaide and gives her a second chance.
They sneak into Leck's house at dusk, taking his projector and his photographic prints in order to play one final prank on the Owen boys. As a full moon lights up the sky that midnight, Minna and Adelaide huddle in the grass and project the photo of Leck's wife on to the wall of Toby and Leo's tent.
Adelaide bangs a gong to wake her brothers up and they see the large pair of eyes staring at them. They get the fright of their life and run from the tent in terror. Minna and Adelaide's laughter at the boys' reactions is interrupted by the sound of a dog barking. They run from the scene as fast as they can, but Minna drops something and bends down to find it. A man's voice causes her to panic and she stops looking so that she can get away in time.
Adelaide drags Minna from her place the next day and takes her to Leck's front yard, where he is trying unsuccessfully to convince Harold to return his photographs. Minna and Adelaide own up to being the ones responsible, but immediately feel dejected when they find out the consequences.
Minna's father attempts to negotiate with Harold, whom stubbornly tells him that she is not a suitable presence to be around his children. Minna's father proposes that she spend two weeks working for Leck as compensation. Minna's mother objects to this idea, but her husband reassures her that it is all for their daughter's own good.
Adelaide comes to see Minna while she is at work in Leck's cabbage patch and lets her know that the missing photographic plates have been found. They go to return them to Leck, while Adelaide tells a story about a hanged convict who returned as a ghost.
Tropes
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Adelaide cannot resist telling her brothers that it was Minna hiding underneath the floor pretending to be a ghost.
- Catapult Nightmare: Minna's dream about the golem.
- Dull Surprise: Harold Owen shows very little emotion and seems to stare vacantly at people for most of the episode.
- Germanic Depressives: Minna's parents, though her father does subtly display other emotions towards the end of the episode.
- Go to Your Room!: Adelaide's punishment for her part in stealing Leck's family photos.
- Impractically Fancy Outfit: Adelaide has noticeable trouble running, bending down and walking through mud due to her puffy wide skirt.
- Mirror Scare
- Nightmare Fetishist: Minna is this in spades. Adelaide is one too, but to a lesser degree.
