Originally aired July 20, 1998
Written by Chris Black
Directed by David Grossman
Acid rain forces the Sliders to take refuge in the Chandler Hotel, where Colin claims to have seen a ghost and the timer is stolen.
Tropes present in the episode:
- All Men Are Perverts: Averted. Colin just wasn't into the Spice Channel and turned to what sounded like a western instead.
- American Accents: Alt!Maggie speaks with a distinctly Jersey-sounding accent.
- And I Must Scream: The "ghosts." No one can hear them and their attempts to make contact were misinterpreted as signs of a haunting.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Quinn, Rembrandt, and Maggie have visited countless parallel worlds and seen their fair share of unusual things, yet they refuse to believe Colin's claims that he saw a ghost. It gets particularly arbitrary when you recall Quinn's stint on the astral plane, where (as like the doubles in this episode) a sliding mishap left him invisible to all but one person.
- Big Brother Instinct: When he learns Smith knows something about Colin's disappearance, Quinn kicks open the door to his room and demands answers.
- Black and Nerdy: Rembrandt's double, complete with glasses. He actually experimented with sliding and ended up trapping himself, as well as Quinn and Maggie's doubles, on another dimensional frequency.
- Burn the Witch!: According to Colin, this did happen occasionally on the world he grew up on.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Rembrandt first mentions the Spice Channel, Colin thought it was a channel dedicated to actual spices.
- Continuity Nod: Rembrandt's double is a scientist and responsible for this situation. He says he was originally working on anti-gravity when he accidentally opened a vortex, same as Quinn way back in the first episode.
- Drowning My Sorrows: While revealing the truth about the hotel and her son, Holly helps herself to a bottle of wine.
- Fauxshadow: Quinn muses that Colin could see Matthew because they have a similar quantum signature, but that means that Quinn should've also been able to see the boy due to him and Colin being brothers. This was meant to be a subtle clue to Colin not being what he seemed, but that storyline was abruptly changed.
- Foreshadowing:
- Colin watching Frankenstein (1931), particularly the scene where the Creature is brought to life. In order to save the trapped people, the Sliders need a concentration of power for their device. When Colin tells Quinn to remember Frankenstein, Quinn realizes what he's suggesting.
- When Colin first reports seeing a ghost boy in their room, Holly looks noticeably nervous but also sad. While it's been clear she's been trying to downplay the hotel's reputation, it's later revealed that one of the supposed ghosts is her son.
- The Gadfly: The "ghosts" weren't trying to scare anyone, but Quinn "Howling Man" Mallory clearly enjoyed himself all the same.
- Hell Hotel: The Chandler Hotel this week.
- I Choose to Stay: The Sliders in the hotel, but only because they lack protective gear needed against the acid rain. Holly stays for a more personal reason: her son.
- I Warned You: When Holly explains the hotel's history of spooky occurrences, she alludes to how others saw disembodied heads in the ice box. Upon hearing this, Maggie immediately says this to Quinn.
- Insistent Terminology:Maggie: (shocked at seeing her double) You-You're a stripper?Alt!Maggie: No, hon. Exotic dancer.
- Lampshade Hanging:
- Colin asking if the group has ever lost the timer before.
- As Quinn finishes readying the equipment, Rembrandt immediately requests a condensed explanation for "the scientifically impaired."
- The lights going out just as Maggie is by herself prompts an incredulous "What is this, a bad horror movie?"
- Large Ham: Jerry O'Connell clearly had fun playing Quinn "Howling Man" Mallory.Quinn "Howling Man" Mallory: (singing) Get us the hell outta here!
- Literal-Minded: Colin thought the Spice Channel was devoted to actual spices. He quickly loses interest after seeing what it's really for.
- Missing Child: Holly's son, Matthew, disappeared two years ago.Holly: I've missed you so much.
Matthew: I know. I could see you the whole time. I tried to tell you I was okay, but you couldn't hear me. - My God, What Have I Done?: Early on, Quinn wonders if he did Colin more harm than good by taking him sliding.
- Noodle Incident:
- After Smith (in heavy coat with his face obscured) enters the hotel, Rembrandt remarks this is the second weirdest hotel he's ever stayed in.
- According to Holly, Santa Monica Bay caught fire in 1993.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Rembrandt when he sees a message in the mirror and Maggie when she sees what appears to be her severed head in the ice box.
- Colin when he passes through Rembrandt.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Maggie is nervous and edgy over being locked in a basement with rats, nearly beaming Rembrandt with a bottle out of panic. She's still pretty tweaked about the whole thing when demanding Holly fess up to what's going on.
- Other Me Annoys Me: Maggie is stunned that her double is an exotic dancer. Quinn doesn't really react to his Howling Man double, while Rembrandt seems amused his double is a scientist.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Quinn, Rembrandt, and Maggie's doubles, as well as the son of the hotel staffer. They're not actually ghosts, but a sliding accident trapped them on another plane. Barring certain circumstances, no one could hear them, but they could move objects. Colin becomes this, as well, after entering their vortex.
- Pet the Dog: Possibly. When a depressed Holly starts talking about the history of the hotel and what became of her son, one of the ghosts sends a bottle of wine right towards her.
- Pizza Boy Special Delivery: What little of the Spice Channel that Colin watched and that we hear had a preview for this (appropriately titled Pizza Man). It quickly proved unsettling for Colin, and he changed the channel.Woman: Hey, I ordered this with sausage.
Man: Extra toppings, huh? I can handle that. - Properly Paranoid: John Smith's ghost theory is that they're actually living visitors from parallel universes. Rembrandt lampshades how he's got a pretty good theory.
- Race Against the Clock:
- When starting the search for the missing timer, Maggie says they have nine hours until the slide.
- While working to save the trapped people, the group discovers that Colin's extra mass has caused the other vortex to become unstable. Smith estimates an hour at most before it collapses, which Quinn says would rip apart everyone in it.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the teaser, all of the other hotel guests clear out rather than continue dealing with the strange sights.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is a play on The Amityville Horror.
- The movie Colin watches is Frankenstein (1931).
- Stuck in the darkened room, Maggie wonders if blood from an elevator or a voodoo-related doll with a knife will be next.
- Colin says Rembrandt's name in a stammered, frightened tone a la Lou Costello in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
- Skepticism Failure: After laughing off Colin's claims, each of the remaining Sliders is subjected to this. Rembrandt sees a message written out in the mirror. Maggie sees what appears to be her head in the icebox. Quinn holds out the longest, but then a chair moves toward him.
- Stepford Smiler: Beneath Holly's overly perky exterior is a mother anguished by the disappearance of her son.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Like Quinn, Rembrandt's double was working on anti-gravity when he accidentally opened a vortex.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Smith's career was ruined by being unable to prove his theory. He wanted the vortex left alone so that he could be vindicated and head a team to study it. Though it's closed in the end, Quinn says Smith's device recorded all the vortex data, which should still vindicate him.
- Trapped on the Astral Plane: What became of the Sliders' doubles and Holly's son two years earlier, as well as Colin during the episode proper. They can see and hear everyone else, but not the other way around. They also routinely pass through objects, though they can move things with some effort. Based on Holly's observation of Matthew's appearance, they also haven't aged a day while in this situation.
- Walking the Earth: While searching with Holly, Quinn reflects on how he spends a lot of time in hotels instead of an actual home and can never get attached to those he encounters along the way.
- Wham Shot: The strange lights in the locked hotel room are being caused by a vortex.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Colin in reaction to the others thinking he's a superstitious rube just because he said the hotel is haunted.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Maggie really doesn't like rats.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Holly tries to hug Matthew and passes right through him.
