Josh (AYAOTD)

Josh

Background

Josh is classmates with Weegee.

= During the events of Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Season 1 Episode 2 The Tale of Laughing in the Dark played by Christian Tessier

During a Friday night, Josh, Weegee and Kathy are walking through Playland. They come to Laughing in the Dark and Josh wants to go inside, but Weegee and Kathy are too afraid as they heard it was haunted. Josh makes fun of them and stumbles into a Carney who introduces himself. He tells them that if they pick the right door, they will go free, but if they pick the wrong door, Zeebo will be waiting for them. While he is talking, Weegee and Kathy sneak away, leaving Josh, who is invited to enter Laughing in the Dark by the Carney, but he declines the offer.

Later, Weegee shows Kathy and Josh a news article he found about a spook house also called Laughing in the Dark that was located in the same location as the current one, but during the 1920's. At one point the circus came to town and a clown named Zeebo stole the entirety of the circus' payroll. He escaped into the spook house, but the cigar he was smoking started a fire in the spook house and it burned to the ground. Shortly after they built a new Laughing in the Dark and added a statue of Zeebo at the end of it. The legend is that Zeebo is still trapped inside Laughing in the Dark. Josh makes fun of Weegee and Kathy for believing in the legend and Weegee dares Josh to go inside Laughing in the Dark. They go back to Playland that night and to prove that he makes it all the way through, Josh says that he will steal Zeebo's nose, but Weegee will have to wear it for a week at school. As Josh enters the spook house, the Carney tells him "It's the most fun in the park, when you're laughing in the dark". While walking through the spook house Josh sees an image of Zeebo in the mirror room who mimics what Josh had just said. Josh comes to the room with the numbered doors and eventually picks the right door to leave. Before leaving, he purposefully opens the door where Zeebo is and steals its nose. Before he leaves, Josh taunts Zeebo.

The next day, Josh gives Weegee Zeebo's nose to wear and says he is going to mount it with an engraving which has the kid who beat Zeebo written on it. Josh taunts Weegee who angrily throws the nose away. While Josh is looking for the nose, he smells cigar smoke. Josh finds the nose and goes home and finds a note from his mom telling him that she and his dad went to a play. When Josh is eating pudding, he hears a noise and drops the pudding container. The phone rings and Weegee apologizes for being a poor sport and Josh apologizes for giving him a hard time and says that Weegee will only have to wear the nose for one day instead of a week. Weegee asks if Josh will let him not wear the nose, but Josh refuses. The phone rings again, and the voice on the other line tells Josh to give it back the nose. Josh opens the container of spaghetti, and it is full of cigars. He runs to his bedroom and calls Weegee and asks him if he called and tried to scare Josh by sounding like Zeebo. Someone else picks up a phone in Josh's house and says if he doesn't give the nose back, it will come and get it. Someone tries to open Josh's door and then leaves a balloon behind that has give it back written on it. Josh climbs out his bedroom window and goes back to Laughing in the Dark with the nose. He walks to the room with the numbered doors and the door with Zeebo behind it opens on its own. Josh leaves Zeebo's nose behind along with a box of cigars. The exit door opens, and Josh runs out of Laughing in the Dark.