Fernkenstein's Monster

Summary
Fern's scary story is a little too scary — now the other kids are afraid of her. So she sets out to prove her skills as a writer by creating a story that is fun instead of frightening.

Plot
Arthur, Buster, Muffy, and Fern are bored in the school cafeteria one lunchtime, as it's raining outside. Fern suggests telling really scary stories. Everyone else thinks it's a brilliant idea, and that is what they do.

Each child tells their story. Muffy starts off by telling one about a girl who gets her dress dirty, Buster tells the next one about aliens (surprisingly!), and Arthur's is about a boy whose pants fall down. No one, other than the person who told the story, finds these scary! Then, it's Fern's turn.

Earlier in the episode, Fern is seen reading a report about Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. This is how she comes up with her story about "the thing". It's set in a lab, where Fern's uncle studies insects. It's a stormy night and her uncle's assistant has forgotten his umbrella so they search for one. They find an umbrella, but it turns out to be an escaped insect from one of the crates they had sent in. The 'thing' eats her uncle's assistant.

This story terrifies Arthur and his friends, and they were all scared of Fern.

The library has a book fair, and Fern donates all her 'scare your pants off' books. Buster, Arthur and Muffy turn up with garlic, and Buster calls Fern the queen of darkness. Fern is outraged and says she isn't, but just at that moment, the lights cut out. They all run off — except Fern, who helps the librarian put the power on. The librarian said that she'd cut the power off when she'd plugged in the book sale sign.

At the end, Fern says to her friends that the 'thing' didn't have to be something scary. She says it could turn into a golden dragon, who knows the way to a cave of treasures (this satisfies Muffy). Or it turns into a friendly alien (for Buster), and finally it gives you flying powers and helps rid the world of evil (for Arthur). However, D.W., who was secretly listening, says that she'd ruined the 'thing'. She and Fern then walk off together, discussing the horrible things the 'thing' could turn into.

Major

 * Fern Walters
 * Arthur Read
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Buster Baxter

Minor

 * D.W. Read
 * Paige Turner

Cameo

 * Nigel Ratburn
 * Maria Pappas
 * The Brain
 * Francine Frensky
 * George Lundgren
 * Binky Barnes
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Prunella Deegan
 * John
 * Jenna Morgan
 * Francis Haney
 * Alex

Cultural References

 * Fern references Mary Shelley multiple times.
 * When the title is read by Binky, Arthur can faintly be heard saying "Yeah!"
 * The book titles that Paige Turner mentions to Fern include Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman and Old Yeller.

Episode connections

 * "Arthur's Underwear" is mentioned again, and is said to have happened months ago. This is one of several episodes to reference that incident. However, in this one, Muffy tells Arthur to forget the incident and move on with his life, acting as a nod to how much it had been referenced.
 * Muffy tells Arthur that he split his pants months ago, similar to James splitting his pants which D.W. keeps as a secret in The Secret About Secrets.

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