Tales from the Darkside

Season 1

TV-14

50%

Each episode of this TV series depicts a short, strange tale...with a twist! With eerie stories vaguely reminiscent of 'The Twilight Zone,' viewers learn to appreciate that things are often not as they seem. The usual plot formula is comprised of an initial normal, mundane situation that gradually begins to get off-kilter, with suspense building up to the final, chilling, surprise conclusion.

Where to Watch Season 1

23 Episodes

The New Man
E1
The New ManA 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. While the other family members carry on as if Jerry is a regular member of the family, the man insists that he has never seen the boy before in his life. The man's wife assumes that he has begun drinking again and is harboring delusions brought on by his inebriated state. The family, disgusted by the father's unwillingness to acknowledge Jerry as his son, ultimately leaves him. Driven back to drinking by the ordeal, the previously sober father ends up in a state of emotional ruin. In the final scene, Jerry visits another man, claiming to be HIS son, as the nightmarish pattern continues.
I'll Give You a Million
E2
I'll Give You a MillionTwo 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 is dying of cancer - frightened, he tries to buy his soul back. Williams holds out for more money, until it's too late - Blaine dies. Soulless, he comes back for his soul, shocking Williams into a heart attack...and the Devil comes to claim his due from both of them.
Pain Killer
E3
Pain KillerHarvey Turman suffers from both back pain and his nagging wife Nadine. Dr. Roebuck finds nothing physically wrong, concludes that the problem is caused by latent anger toward Nadine, & suggests uxoricide to kill ALL Harvey's pain.
The Odds
E4
The OddsTommy Vale is a gambler that never refuses a bet with his right-hand Horace Chadway supporting him. One night, the ghost of a former gambler, Bill Lacey, arrives in the bar where Tommy works and proposes a bet that Tommy will die by 8:00 AM of natural causes and Tommy accepts the bet. Who will win the bet?
Mookie and Pookie
E5
Mookie and PookieTwin 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 Pookie must convince her parents not to pull the plug.
Slippage
E6
SlippageRichard Hall is a graphic designer that works with his friend Chris Wood and is happily married with Elaine Anderson Hall. He expects to be hired by another company to a new position and raise his salary to offer a better life to his beloved wife. Out of the blue, he learns that Chris has been summoned to his aimed position and this action develops a massive inferiority complex in his personality and soon he begins to fade out.
Inside the Closet
E7
Inside the ClosetA 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 and finds the chamber beyond occupied by a small, hairless-monkey sort of a creature. It kills her and goes after the professor...only to reveal that it is his deformed daughter, which he lovingly dotes on.
The Word Processor of the Gods
E8
The Word Processor of the GodsStruggling writer Richard Hagstrom receives an upgraded computer from his computer-whiz nephew Jonathan right before Jonathan dies in an accident. Thanks to Jonathan, this word processor has the power to grant any wish that Richard desires.
A Case of the Stubborns
E9
A Case of the StubbornsDressed in black, a very subdued mother and son (Christian Slater, age 15) sit down to breakfast on a hot summer morn, after Grandpa passed away last night in his bed upstairs. But cantankerous Grandpa shows up for breakfast too, lily in the lapel of his best suit, astonished that there's no plate set up for him ! The more folks insist he play dead and dignified, the more persnickety and odoriferous he becomes.
Djinn, No Chaser
E10
Djinn, No ChaserDanny and his if wife Connie Squires are walking on the sidewalk when out of the blue, a tent appears. They enter the tent and Connie buys an old lamp. They bring the lamp home and when Connie rubs it, the voice of a genius is heard. Soon the couple learns that the grumpy genius will not help the; on the contrary, will turn their lives in hell on earth.
All a Clone by the Telephone
E11
All a Clone by the TelephoneThe failed screenwriter Leon buys an answering machine to help him to find a job. But soon he learns that something is wrong with the device, when his agent Seymour Furman comments his message. He finds that somehow the machine is from an alternate universe and creates its own messages.
In the Cards
E12
In the CardsA 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 pack of cards, and Caterina can only get rid of them by giving them to another fake. She does so by slipping into another fortuneteller's parlor, asking for a fortune, and slipping her the cursed deck. Unfortunately the first fortune the new cursee reads is of Caterina's death...which rapidly comes true.
Anniversary Dinner
E13
Anniversary DinnerA 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 dinner. After getting her set up in the hot tub with plenty of wine, they start pouring vegetables in. As she passes out, the girl realizes exactly how the couple will be having her for dinner.
Snip, Snip
E14
Snip, SnipThe school teacher Abe North summons the spirits to win a high prize in the lottery with the ticket 666.666. A couple of minutes before the prize draw, Abe calls the dean and offends him, expecting to win the lottery. However, he loses and the winner is the number 666.667, owned by the hairdresser Anne MacColl. He decides to steal her ticket and learns why Anne has won the prize.
Answer Me
E15
Answer MeJoan is apartment-sitting for a friend but finds herself tormented by a phone that won't stop ringing.
The Tear Collector
E16
The Tear CollectorPrudence is a woman that cannot stop crying and has only one friend, Gretchen, who lives with her. She has also difficulties to relate with other people. One day, Prudence stumbles upon a man named Ambrose Cavender, and he invites her to visit him. Soon Prudence learns that he is a tear collector and she has an unrequited crush on him.
Madness Room
E17
Madness RoomThe wealthy Edward Osborne and his young wife Cathy live in a huge house. When his employee Michael Fox comes to his home to close some business, Cathy invites him to stay and play with her in an Ouija Board and the reluctant Michael agrees. They contact a spirit called Ben that helps them to find a hidden Madness Room in the house. They find the room and enter inside, where they find hidden secrets.
If the Shoes Fit...
E18
If the Shoes Fit...The politician Bo Gumbs is promoted by his friend Louie Farnum and checks in a hotel to speech to the audiences and win votes. While drinking whiskey in his room, Bo dances with the maid Mimi and says to the bell boy Peter that politics is the art of entertaining the audiences. When he gives his clothes and shoes to Peter to take to the laundry, he goes to a shower. Soon he receives his clean clothes and shoes and has a surprise.
Levitation
E19
LevitationA 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 believes him capable of. When Kharma refuses to do them, the kid heckles him until Kharma relents and uses the boy as a subject for his greatest feat of levitation. However, Kharma dies of a heart attack, and the boy simply keeps on levitating...up into the sky and out of sight.
It All Comes Out in the Wash
E20
It All Comes Out in the WashThe unscrupulous Henry Gropper learns from his drunken friend Sam Larchmont that the laundry owned by the Chinese Chow Ting has expensive special services to wash away sins. Henry meets Chow and is warned to neither call nor visit Chow again. But he contacts the laundry again.
Bigalow's Last Smoke
E21
Bigalow's Last SmokeMr. 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 quit smoking. Bigalow scoffs at this notion and reaches for a morning cigarette. As soon as he lights up, a deafening alarm sounds, demanding that he extinguish the cigarette immediately. Bigalow is subjected to various endurance tests and is further tempted to smoke when thousands of cigarettes materialize in the room, only to disappear. After being driven to the edge of sanity, he wakes up to find that he no longer has a desire to smoke. Believing that the whole ordeal was a dream, Bigalow reaches for a cup of coffee, at which time the mysterious figure reappears on the television screen, insisting that Bigalow now work on his caffeine addiction.
Grandma's Last Wish
E22
Grandma's Last WishThe dysfunctional Rollins family have no patience with the deaf grandma, who needs a walker to move. They decide to send her to a retirement home, and ask grandma to give a wish that Frank, May and their daughter Greta would grant in her last days at their home. Grandma does not disclose, but soon they learn the meaning of getting old.
The False Prophet
E23
The False ProphetCassie 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 predictions but Cassie soon finds that Horace is demanding and possessive - despite her misgivings she enters the booth one more time...and disappears.