Tales from the Darkside

S01E09: A Case of the Stubborns

In the backwoods, a family patriarch dies...only to come back, unaware that he's dead. The townspeople are up in arms, but the old man is too stubborn to admit he's dead, despite his rigor mortis, lack of appetite, and bad smell. His grandson Jody eventually goes to an old voodoo woman for a solution. Rather than magic, she provides him with a simple solution: pepper. Jody puts it in his grandpa's handkerchief. When the old man sneezes, his nose falls off, which finally convinces him to go lie down and give up life for good.

Overview

Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot twist. The series' episodes spanned the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and some episodes featured elements of black comedy or more lighthearted themes.

Episodes

The New Man

S01E01 The New Man

September 30, 1984 5.9 23 min
A recovering alcoholic is disturbed to find a young boy who shows up at his office claiming to be his son Jerry. The man is further angered when the boy shows up at his house....
I'll Give You a Million

S01E02 I'll Give You a Million

October 7, 1984 6.4 23 min
Two old, rich men like to wager among themselves on trivial matters for huge amounts. One of them, Williams, offers his friend a million dollars for his immortal soul. Blaine accepts but discovers that he...
Pain Killer

S01E03 Pain Killer

October 14, 1984 6.4 23 min
Harvey goes to Dr. Roebuck with back pains and Roebuck prescribes a miraculous cure. It's not until later that Harvey finds the price he must pay...
The Odds

S01E04 The Odds

October 21, 1984 6.3 23 min
Tommy Vale, a barroom bookie finds himself in a curious predicament: a man comes in who can't lose. As the story unravels, he finds out that his opponent is Lacey, a man who went broke...
Mookie and Pookie

S01E05 Mookie and Pookie

November 4, 1984 4.4 23 min
Twin siblings, Mookie and Pookie, are extremely close. But Mookie has a terminal illness. Later the scientific genius Mookie succesfully downloads his mind into the computer before he dies. But now that he's in there...
Slippage

S01E06 Slippage

November 11, 1984 4.7 23 min
A young ad-design artist begins to literally "slip" out of reality. Slowly but surely he seems to be fading out of existence: first his payroll checks disappear, then his high school not only fails to...
Inside the Closet

S01E07 Inside the Closet

November 18, 1984 7.2 23 min
A student takes a room with an abrupt, somewhat rude anthropology professor. He instructs her never to open the small door in the back of her closet. Hearing strange noises, she eventually opens the door...
The Word Processor of the Gods

S01E08 The Word Processor of the Gods

November 25, 1984 5.5 23 min
Richard Hagstrom is dismayed with the way life has treated him (a rude son, a shrewish wife). His nephew Jonathan gives him a birthday present: a homemade word processor. Hagstrom soon discovers that anything he...
A Case of the Stubborns

S01E09 A Case of the Stubborns

December 2, 1984 6.8 23 min
In the backwoods, a family patriarch dies...only to come back, unaware that he's dead. The townspeople are up in arms, but the old man is too stubborn to admit he's dead, despite his rigor mortis,...
Djinn, No Chaser

S01E10 Djinn, No Chaser

January 13, 1985 3.8 23 min
A couple inadvertently buy a magic lamp that contains a genie. Unfortunately, the genie is anything but amiably. Confined in the lamp for thousands of years and still trapped, he refuses to grant wishes and...
All a Clone by the Telephone

S01E11 All a Clone by the Telephone

January 20, 1985 3.0 23 min
Leon, a hapless TV writer, buys an answering machine that has a mind of its own - it initially helps him out by providing him with new material, but Leon soon finds that it's taking...
In the Cards

S01E12 In the Cards

January 27, 1985 5.7 23 min
A fake fortuneteller, Caterina, soon finds that every fortune she tells comes true...but she can only predict gruesome and horrific ends for her customers. She soon discovers that another cursed fortuneteller slipped her a cursed...
Anniversary Dinner

S01E13 Anniversary Dinner

February 3, 1985 6.5 23 min
A young girl fleeing her boyfriend finds herself in a small country home with a genial older couple. They take pity on her and invite her in, and even invite her to their special anniversary...
Snip, Snip

S01E14 Snip, Snip

February 10, 1985 3.0 23 min
A warlock and a witch get into a battle over a $10 million lottery ticket when each claims that the spirits gave them the winning number.
Answer Me

S01E15 Answer Me

February 17, 1985 4.0 23 min
Joan is apartment-sitting for a friend but finds herself tormented by a phone that won't stop ringing.
The Tear Collector

S01E16 The Tear Collector

February 24, 1985 4.0 23 min
Prudence is a young woman who can't stop crying, but finds a peculiar way to make a profit when she meets Ambrose Cavender, a man who collects tears.
Madness Room

S01E17 Madness Room

May 5, 1985 5.0 23 min
Cathy Osborne brings her husband up to a previously-unknown room in their house and along with her friend Michael, relates the tale of how the room is the "madness room" from which no one has...
If the Shoes Fit...

S01E18 If the Shoes Fit...

May 12, 1985 3.0 23 min
Fast-talking politician Bo Gumbs finds himself in serious trouble when he arrives for a meeting and waits at a nearby hotel.
Levitation

S01E19 Levitation

May 19, 1985 7.5 23 min
A teenager enraptured with magicians goes to a flee-bitten circus to seek out one of the greater: Kharma. However, Kharma now does cheap magic for the crowds, and none of the great illusions the teenager...
It All Comes Out in the Wash

S01E20 It All Comes Out in the Wash

May 26, 1985 7.0 23 min
Henry, a greedy developers, stumbles upon a Chinese laundry that offers a unique service - it can "wash out" guilt. Henry employs their services but soon finds there is a unpleasant price to pay.
Bigalow's Last Smoke

S01E21 Bigalow's Last Smoke

June 9, 1985 6.5 23 min
Mr. Bigalow, a lifelong cigarette smoker, wakes up to find that his windows have bars on them and his door is sealed shut. A mysterious figure appears on Bigalow's television, informing him that he will...
Grandma's Last Wish

S01E22 Grandma's Last Wish

June 16, 1985 5.5 23 min
Given one last wish to enliven her days before she is moved into the Tranquil Gardens retirement home, elderly Grandma sees to it that her self-centered family finds out what it's like to grow old.
The False Prophet

S01E23 The False Prophet

August 4, 1985 2.0 23 min
Cassie Pines is a woman travelling on her own who believes in astrology, tea leaves...everything. She comes into a diner with a most unusual mechanical fortune teller named Horace X. "Horace" is uncanny with his...

Cast

Paul Sparer
Narrator (voice)

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