Scary Tale of New York

Scary Tale of New York an episode of Beyond Belief, released as part of The Thrilling Adventure Hour Holiday Funaround 2016.

Audio[]

Patreon exclusive (this segment begins at approximately 55:55 in the podcast recording).

Cast[]

Workjuice Players[]

Guest Stars[]

Rod - Timothy Omundson

Plot[]

Frank and Sadie arrive home to their apartment from volunteering at a booze kitchen to find their apartment full of people. Donna Henderson greets them, and reminds them that Sadie told her that she and her husband Dave could have their holidays party in the Doyles’ apartment. Sadie says that doesn’t sound like something she would say, and Donna says Sadie told her that the only way they’d be at the party was if it was at the Doyles apartment.

Frank says that he’s okay with if the guests are, and a nearby guest says that he is. Donna introduces him to the Doyles as Reggie, the Renfield of her vampire coven. Frank asks Reggie to make them drinks, and Reggie goes off to do so. Donna says that she doesn’t particularly like Reggie, but that having him around is useful for the running of the coven.

Sadie asks if any of the guests are vampires, and Donna admits that some are, but that most are skipping the party in favor of attending a more vampire-centric holiday party the following weekend. Sadie then asks if she knows all the guests through her coven, and Donna tells them that some are, but the rest are through either her work or Dave’s work, although Dave isn’t at the party as he is at home taking care of their children.

Reggie returns with the Doyles’ drinks. The Doyles ask if Reggie would like a drink, and Reggie says that he didn’t get one for himself as the vampires usually tell him when to eat and drink. Donna gives him permission, and Reggie gets a glass of water, although Sadie won’t toast with him as it is bad luck. Sadie tells him to go and get a proper drink, and Reggie says doing so will give him a chance to talk to Mrs. Hoshioto again, as he previously has a great time playing with a Ouija board with her.

The Doyles tell Donna they will be spending the rest of the party in their bedroom, and ask that she take the Christmas tree with her after the party. Donna says that she didn’t bring any such tree with her. The Doyles say it’s not their tree, as they normally don’t remember to have one delivered until March.

Reggie says that Mrs. Hoshioto brought the tree. Frank and Sadie resign themselves to not going into the bedroom until this has been sorted out. Frank says they should probably be introduced to Mrs. Hoshioto. Reggie says he’d love to, but when he starts explaining why he can’t he begins singing a Christmas song instead.

Sadie asks if this is normal behavior for him, and Donna says that it’s not, and asks Reggie what’s wrong. Reggie tries to clarify things, but continues to interrupt himself with singing, drawing Noreen into singing as well.

Noreen asks the Doyles if they’re from church, and Donna says that Noreen must be one of Dave’s friends from work, as many of them are church-goers. Noreen tells the Doyles that it’s important to keep an open mind to things that are “not apparent to this mortal plane”. Sadie tells her that they are open to it, and Noreen says that they can’t be that open to it as their house has no Christmas decorations. She and Reggie then begin singing again.

Sadie suggests that the two of them might be possessed and Frank agrees. Reggie doesn’t agree and neither does Noreen, but Sadie ignores them, talking directly to the entity possessing them. Donna worries that this will ruin her Christmas party.

Reggie and Noreen insist that what’s possessing them isn’t malevolent, and Donna asks if there’s a chance of that. Frank says there isn’t. Donna is confident that the three of them can defeat whatever it is, but the spirit says it will take over more party goers.

Rod and Emily approach them, laughing about Emily’s novelty t-shirt company. They have just been discussing potential novelty t-shirts with Mrs. Hoshioto. As they are talking they too begin to interrupt themselves with singing, which spreads to the other party guests. Donna begs the Doyles to do something before it ruins her party.

The Doyles say that they’ll help, but that afterwards Donna’s party must move elsewhere (although Frank and Sadie do discuss if they could just move the possessed people out of their apartment as they are). The possessed party goers wish Frank, Sadie, and Donna a merry Christmas in union.

The spirit tells them that it means merry as an adjective not a verb, and Frank says that now at least they know what the spirit wants. Sadie identifies the spirit as Mrs. Hoshioto. The spirit says it is known by that name, but is more commonly known as the Spirit of Christmas.

The spirit is angry that the Doyles are not in the spirit of the season, and is also angry at Donna for saying ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’. The Doyles say that they have enough holiday spirit for every holiday, including some they have made up themselves (Trubs Day, Flutemas).

The spirit is angered by the Doyles making up their own holidays, and says that it will not be mocked. Frank says it absolutely will be mocked. Donna asks if it’s wise to keep angering the spirit in such a way, and the spirit says it’s not angry. It tells them that it has a powerful grip on all those it has possessed.

Sadie says it doesn’t seem all that powerful to her. The spirit says it’s powerful enough to enter an additional host, and possesses Donna, who begins singing. Sadie says she could stand for the spirit possessing friends-of-friends but now that it’s possessed a friend of her’s she won’t have it.

Sadie asks for Frank’s help to exorcise the spirit of Christmas from the party goers and Donna. Frank says that perhaps the spirit has a point, shocking Sadie. She asks if he even remembers the first thing about Christmas, and Frank says that he does, reciting from the bible. Sadie says she agrees, and the two tell the spirit that they’re giving up as it only a once a year occurrence after all.

Sadie asks the spirit if it would like to share a drink with them, and the spirit agrees. After ensuring that all the party goers have a drink, the Doyles make a toast, and everyone drinks.

Frank’s drink is bourbon, and Sadie’s is gin, but the possessed party goers are given water. The spirit is confused by this, until Sadie tells him the reason that they’ve been given water - and the reason she previously said it was considered unlucky to toast with water - is that it was considered to be a toast to the dead, to wish them a safe journey across the river Styx to the underworld. This toast sends the spirit to the underworld, freeing the party goers and Donna. Frank says that they would never have let her party be ruined by such a closed-minded spirit.

Sadie asks Frank what he wants for Christmas, and Frank says that as soon as the guest leave he’ll have everything he needs.

Quotes[]

Frank: As far as party greetings go ‘welcome home’ isn’t your best work.

Notes[]

Clink count: 9
For most of this segment during the live show, almost all the WorkJuice Players and guest stars were on stage in the background as Donna's party guests.
There is scattered laughter in the beginning of Frank's soliloquy. This was from the delay in the spotlights as they moved to highlight Frank.

Continuity[]

This segment is part of The Thrilling Adventure Hour Holiday Funaround 2016, which is the 236th podcasted episode of The Thrilling Adventure Hour.
The previous episode is Down in Moonshine Holler - The Final Moonshine Holler.
The previous episode in Beyond Belief canon is Snakes in a Mane (TAH #235).
The next episode is Hell to the Chief (TAH #237), which is also the next released episode of Beyond Belief.

Production[]

This episode was recorded at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on December 17, 2016 and released on December 25, 2016.

Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Director: Aaron Ginsburg
Music by Jordan Katz and the Elements of Style, featuring Jonathan Dinerstein.