Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Season 2 Episode 4 The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor
Betty Ann tells a tale about a pair of siblings, but everyone is not what they appear.
Series Index
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990-2000)
Characters/Groups
The Midnight Society
Character thumbnails with links to profiles
Detailed Synopsis
Frank hears a noise and asks Kiki if she ever gets the feeling like she is being watched. Kristen, David and Betty Ann walk up flashing their flashlights in the faces of Frank, Kiki and Gary. Kiki tells them to turn off the flashlights and Gary tells them they know who they are. Betty Ann then questions if Gary really knows who they are. Betty Ann says they see them every week, but do they really know them? David asks if you really know anyone, and Betty Ann asks if people even know themselves. Betty then says if you stare long enough you might see a stranger. Betty Ann says her story is about strangers among us. She says that the scariest strangers might be the ones inside of ourselves. Betty Ann then starts her tale.
No one lived on the top floor, the thirteenth floor of the old, renovated building. The last tenants had disappeared years ago. Gus takes siblings Karin and Billy up to the thirteenth floor in the elevator and tells them to be careful. He tells them that he doesn't like them playing on the thirteenth floor by themselves.
Betty Ann says that Karin and Billy lived on the twelfth floor and used the thirteenth floor as their own private space. Betty Ann says that no one ever went on the thirteenth floor, so they always had the floor to themselves, but that was soon going to change.
As Karin and Billy are playing floor hockey, Karin misses an easy shot and tells Billy that her biological parents must have had klutz genes. They see a large flash and decide to go back downstairs. They click on the elevator button as the roof shakes and when the door opens, Leonid is staring back at them. Leonid asks them if they are going down and tells them Gus was called away. He then introduces himself and says he is the new elevator operator. Karin starts to walk towards the elevator, but Billy tells Leonid that they will take the stairs. That night, Karin's television turns on and Raymond comes on the screen and tells her that he and others have come for a visit and then the television turns off. The next day, Karin and Billy go to take the stairs, but the door is locked. They push the elevator call button and ask Leonid to go to the thirteenth floor, but Leonid tells them the new tenants are fumigating the floor. As Karin is telling Billy about her reoccurring dream, Billy checks the mail, and Karin receives an invitation to The Toy Factory on the thirteenth floor to test out some of their new sports equipment. Karin again has the dream with Raymond in it, but this time Raymond asks her to come to The Toy Factory.
The next day Karin brings along Billy to The Toy Factory. They are greeted by Olga who thanks Billy for bringing Karin and then tells Karin they will only need one test subject. Billy insists he come, and Olga agrees to bring them both. Olga brings them into a large room and introduces them to Raymond who she says will explain everything to them. Raymond shows them the first game which has a table with lights that emit noise. He says that he will play a sequence of notes, and they must repeat the same sequence of notes. Billy wins the first round against Karin but loses after Raymond turns the hatch wheel on a machine behind him. Raymond tells Billy to keep practicing until he gets it right and tells Karin that she can move on to the next game. Leonid walks out of the elevator and asks Olga if Karin will be ready, and Olga tells him Billy came with Karin. Leonid then says they don't have much time, and they must leave by six. In the next game, Raymond tells Karin to focus on moving a yellow ball with her mind. She succeeds, but notices something is wrong with Billy. Raymond tells Karin that they are going on a trip and then turns the hatch wheel some more. Karin tells him to stop when she notices Billy appearing more ill and Raymond tells her that by turning the hatch wheel, he is simulating the atmosphere on his planet and wants to make sure Karin will survive.
Raymond removes his mask, revealing his face to be featureless. Karin starts to scream, and Raymond opens a hatch in the ceiling as the seat Karin is sitting on rises to the ceiling. Karin uses her telepathic powers to close the ceiling hatch and turn off the machine. She kicks Raymond who malfunctions and stands in one place and then runs to wake up Billy but can't. Karin goes to hide when she hears Olga walking towards the room and Olga repairs Raymond who says Karin will survive, but Billy will die in their native atmosphere. Raymond figures out where Karin is hiding, and Karin runs away. Raymond tracks her down, but Karin uses her powers to make the ceiling decorations collapse onto Raymond. Karin grabs the controller used to control Raymond and turns him off and turns the hatch wheel to return the room to normal atmosphere but has to run away again when Olga comes back into the room and turns Raymond back on. Karin runs to the elevator and presses the call button. When the door opens Leonid is in the elevator. Karin uses the controller she used on Raymond, but Leonid tells her that they are not all robots. He tells her to join them to find happiness and her destiny, but Karin runs away when she sees Leonid's alien hands. Karin starts running around her apartment banging on doors, but no one answers their door. She runs back to the thirteenth floor and manages to lift up Billy and then uses the controller to make Raymond grab Olga. Karin carries Billy to the exit of The Toy Factory but is stopped by Leonid. Leonid tries again to convince Karin to go with him, but she refuses to go with him and gets onto the elevator with Billy. Karin and Billy get back to their apartment and watch as the spaceship carrying Leonid and the other Featureless Aliens takes off. The television comes on and Olga explains to Karin that Karin was left behind ten years ago and it will be another ten years before they can come back to try and rescue Karin again. Billy thinks it is a joke but screams when he turns to look at a now featureless Karin.
Betty Ann finishes her tale and tells the others that you always think you know someone, but to look a little closer.