Fright Night/Transcript

There is a thunderstorm over the Read house. Buster sits on D.W.’s bed holding a flashlight under his chin. Arthur sits next to him while Bud and D.W. sit on the floor listening to him. Buster looks enthralled while D.W. looks dismissive.

Buster: According to legend, when the full moon is out, some people undergo a mysterious transformation.

D.W.: Pfft, you don't expect us to believe that.

Buster: They grow fur and claws and fangs, and they stalk the night, looking for prey.

Bud: Aw, come on!

Buster: You scoff, but this is the story of the time I encountered...   Thunder.     …a lycanbunny! And lived to tell the tale.   

Pal: (scary howl)

Bud+D.W.: Hh!      

They realize that the howling is just Pal.

Arthur: Shh! Pal, be quiet! He's telling a story.

Thunder crashes. Pal whimpers and hides behind Arthur.

~~~

Title Card: Buster and Arthur look out at the full moon

~~~

One evening several days earlier, Bitzi Baxter puts her luggage into a taxi trunk. Buster hugs her while his uncle Bob waits.

Mrs. Baxter: Thank you so much for babysitting, Bob.

Buster: Babysitting?! But I'm almost nine!

Mrs. Baxter: Help uncle bob with the dishes, brush your teeth really well, and don't eat all the ice-cream.

Uncle Bob: Have a good time at the conference, Sis.

Buster: Bye, mom! Love you!       The taxi drives off.

Uncle Bob: So, what kind of ice cream do you have?       

Buster looks delighted.

~~~

Later, Buster jumps into bed.

Buster: That was so much fun! I've never made an ice-cream volcano before.

Uncle Bob: Best tasting lava you'll ever slurp. Hey, check out the moon. It's almost full.

Buster: Wow. I've never seen it so bright!

Uncle Bob: I have, once. A long time ago. It's really a peculiar story.     

He sits down on a chair.

Buster: Hh. What happened?

Uncle Bob: Your mom and I were just a little older than you are now.

Flashback: A cabin by a lake is shown under a full moon.

Uncle Bob (narrator): Our family had rented a cabin on a lake in the woods.

Inside the cabin, young Bitzi and Bob lie in a bunk bed.

Uncle Bob (narrator): We were awake one night, feeling restless.

Bob puts on his glasses and looks out of the window at the moon. Bitzi joins him.

Uncle Bob (narrator): Maybe because of that moon. Then we heard a terrifying sound.   

A howling is heard outside.       

Uncle Bob (narrator): It made us shiver like an icy winter wind.

Bitzi: Let's go back to bed.

Bob: Let's go look outside!  

The kids go out on the porch.

Bob: Look!       

A nearby bush is moving. Right next to the cabin are large, three-toed footprints.

Bitzi: Paw prints!

Bob+Bitzi: Hh!

They run back inside.

The next day, Ted’s General Store with a gas station outside is shown.

Uncle Bob (narrator): The next day, we went to get some ice pops at the store. We were still haunted by that eerie howling.

Bob and Bitzi look into the store’s freezer.

Bitzi: What do you think made that noise last night?

Bob: Some kind of animal. It left that giant paw print.

Store Owner: You might-a heard the lycanbunny.

The flashback ends.

Buster: The what?!

Uncle Bob: The lycanbunny is a kind of wolf-like rabbit creature. When the moon is full, some people turn into lycanbunnies. Or so they say.

The flashback continues.

Store Owner: They grow claws and fur, and sharp, pointy fangs.

Bob+Bitzi: Hh!

The cabin is shown in the moonlight again. Inside, Bitzi sits on a couch, Bob on the floor.

Uncle Bob (narrator): That night, we stayed up again, half fascinated, half terrified.

Bitzi: Maybe he was making it up just to scare us. Sometimes people just tell stories.

Uncle Bob (narrator): Then we heard something.

Scratching is heard outside and a shadow is seen under the door.

Bob+Bitzi: (scream, pant)

They run away and return with their dad.

Uncle Bob (narrator): Your grandpa opened the door, and...

The fantasy ends.

Buster: And what?!

Uncle Bob (narrator): It was a raccoon.

Buster: Aw, just a raccoon?

The flashback continues. A racoon stands on the porch. It sees the people and runs away.

Uncle Bob (narrator): But someone or something had made that raccoon so scared he was desperate to get inside.    

Bob and Bitzi’s dad finds scratch marks on the door.

The flashback ends.

Buster: I can't believe mom never told me about this. So then what happened?

Uncle Bob: Part two tomorrow. Stay tuned, kiddo.     

He turns off the desk lamp and leaves.

Buster: Aw… I have to wait?     He lies down.

~~~

The next day, Buster stands in front of the Reads’ garage with a book while Arthur throws hoops.

Buster: It's called a lycanbunny, and they actually heard one howling! And saw its footprints!

Arthur: Buster, your uncle is just making up stories.

Buster: That's what I thought. At first. But check this out. I found it in my mom's office.   

He holds up the book.

Arthur: "The Encyclopedia of the Creatures of the Dark" by Beatrex Trobb.

Buster: There's a whole chapter on lycanbunnies. They come out when the moon is full and look for prey.      

He shows a lithograph of an upright rabbit with long claws threatening a boy.    

Buster: See? There was a sighting in 1521 in a little French village!    

Another drawing shows Japanese men with torches walking through a village while a lycanbunny stands in a doorway.    

Buster: And in Japan in 1844, they almost captured one.

Arthur: Maybe not everything in this book is true.

Buster: It's an encyclopedia, Arthur. Trust me, lycanbunnies are real.

Arthur: Did your uncle actually see one?

Buster: Part two is tonight. I'll let you know!

~~~

That night, Buster sits in bed while Bob sits on the chair.

Uncle Bob: Your mother and I wondered what happened to this creature during the day.

Flashback: Bob and Bitzi walk into the store where the store owner is pouring coffee for an angler.

Uncle Bob (narrator): Maybe it was an ordinary person just waiting for the full moon to transform.

Store Owner: Didn't sleep too well with that bright moonlight. Tossed and turned. I just wasn't myself.

Bitzi+Bob: Hh!

Store Owner: Hey, you kids wanna buy some ice pops or something?

He lays his hands on the counter and the kids notice his claw-like fingernails.

Bitzi+Bob: (scream)      

They run out of the store.

The kids hide around the corner of the building.

Bitzi+Bob: (pant)        

Bob: That's him, he's the lycanbunny!

Bitzi: And tonight it's a full moon again!    

An electric sign above them buzzes.

Bitzi+Bob: Ahh!

Bitzi: Look!       

Big, three-toed footprints are leading to the store’s basement entrance.

The flashback ends.

Uncle Bob: Tomorrow, the thrilling conclusion.

Buster: What?! I have to wait again?    

Bob pats Buster.

Uncle Bob: Stay tuned, kiddo.    

He stops at the door.   

Uncle Bob: Hey, do you have a nail clipper I can borrow?

Buster: A nail clipper?

Uncle Bob: I forgot to pack one. Oh, it's okay, I'll rummage around.    

He leaves the room. Buster stares after him.

~~~

Shortly afterwards, Bob brushes his teeth in the bathroom. Then he shaves.

Buster hears the electric shaver while lying in bed. When he hears Bob leaving the bathroom, he gets out of bed and finds the bathroom sing covered with hair.

Buster: Hh!

~~~

The next afternoon, Buster and Arthur sit in the treehouse.

Arthur: Your uncle Bob is a lycanbunny??

Buster: My theory is that he was scratched by one as a kid, and now he's become one! The encyclopedia says that can happen.    

He hands Arthur the book.

Arthur: It seems kind of unlikely.

Buster: Wait! When's the full moon? What if he turns into a lycanbunny while he's at my house?!

Arthur: Well, it says here there are ways of warding off lycanbunnies.

Buster: Like what? Whatever it is, we gotta do it!

~~~

Later, Buster and Arthur carry mulberry branches into the Baxters’ condominium.

Buster: Mulberry branches?

Arthur: The book said no lycanbunny will harm you if you sleep in a bed made from the mulberry tree.

In the kitchen, Arthur reads from the book while Buster opens the silverware drawer.

Arthur: "Silver will return a lycanbunny to its normal daytime form."

Buster: I'll just take the spoons. We need the forks and knives to eat dinner.

Arthur: And we need garlic. Lycanbunnies won't go near garlic.    

Buster grabs two cloves.

Buster: Great, now we set our trap.

~~~

Later, the boys are in Buster’s room in their pajamas. Buster puts a piece of cardboard under the floor, under a waste paper basket hanging from the ceiling.

Buster: I coated this cardboard with slime. If the lycanbunny comes in, he'll slip and fall down. Then we pull this rope, trapping him underneath this basket. And then we rub him with the silver spoons to turn him back.

Arthur: Perfect, now let's put out the garlic and the mulberry wood.

Arthur puts the garlic on the window sill. Then they put mulberry branches on both beds.

Buster: I hope these branches aren't too uncomfortable to sleep on.

Arthur: Better safe than sorry!

Buster: Okay, let's go hear the ending of the story before the full moon comes out.

Arthur: Careful, don't step in the slime!

~~~

Arthur and Buster sit on the living room floor while Bob sits on the couch.

Buster: Thanks for letting Arthur sleep over, Uncle Bob!

Uncle Bob: Of course, now he can hear the end of the lycanbunny story, too.

Buster: Did it attack you?

Uncle Bob: You gotta hear the story, Buster. Now your mom and I were hot on the creature's trail.

Flashback: Bob and Bitzi walk outside the cabin in their pajamas at night.

Uncle Bob (narrator): We were scared, but we were determined to find out the truth. Was there really such a thing as a lycanbunny, or was it just an old legend?

Howling is heard and a bush shakes.

Bitzi: Look!     

A growling creature runs out of the bush and disappears in the woods.

Uncle Bob: It was time to discover the truth. We'd heard it howl, we'd seen its footprints, the moon was shining bright and full. Just like it is right now.

The flashback ends.

Buster: Wait! The moon is full now?!   

Arthur and Buster run to the window and see the full moon.     

Buster: Hh! Full moon! Full moon!

Arthur: Run away!      

They run out of the room and up the stairs.

Uncle Bob: Hey, slow down, kiddo!

Arthur and Buster run into Buster’s room. They slip on the cardboard and the basket falls on Buster.

Arthur: Augh!

Buster: Hh!  Let me out! The lycanbunny is gonna get me!

Uncle Bob: What's gotten into you guys tonight?    

He turns on the light. Arthur pulls the basket off Buster.

Buster: You're... not a lycanbunny?

Uncle Bob: Me, a lycanbunny? What are all these sticks and vegetables doing here?

Arthur: Er… that's mulberry wood and garlic to ward off the, um… lycanbunny.

Uncle Bob: Ah, I see you've been consulting the ‘Encyclopedia of Creatures of the Dark’.   

He picks up the book.

Buster: You know about this book?

Uncle Bob: Know about it? I wrote it. Rearrange the letters of Beatrex Trobb and you get...

Arthur: Robert Baxter!

Buster: You're a writer? I thought you worked for an engineering company!

Uncle Bob: I moonlight.

Buster: Huh? Moonlight?

Uncle Bob: It means work a second job. For my second job, I write scary stories.

Arthur: So you made up the lycanbunny?

Buster: What about the summer at the lake then? Did you make all that up too?

Uncle Bob: When you tell stories, you draw on real life. That makes a story feel real. So yes, your mom and I really spent a summer by a lake.

Buster: I knew it!       

They sit down on the mulberry branches on the bed.

Arthur+Buster: Ahh!

Uncle Bob: But you also use your imagination to make the stories more exciting. It's a combination.

Buster: So what really happened then? Was there a lycanbunny or not? We have to know the truth!

Arthur: Yeah, you have to finish the story!

Uncle Bob: All right, kiddos. Here's the truth. So it was finally time to find out once and for all about the lycanbunny.

~~~

Buster is continuing his story in D.W.’s room, like in the introduction.

Buster: It turned out it wasn't a lycanbunny at all.

D.W.: It wasn't?

Buster: It was a space alien! A shape-shifting space alien with giant claws. The moonlight was really the lights of its ship and the howl was the sound of its engine.

Bud+D.W.: Hh!

Arthur: Buster, that's not what your uncle said at all! You're making stuff up!

Buster: Just doing what Uncle Bob taught me about telling a good story.

D.W.: Tell us what really happened!

Buster: Part two tomorrow. Stay tuned, kiddos!

The episode finishes with a picture of Uncle Bob and the caption: “Special appearance by R.L. Stine”.