Tales From the Darkside Episode Guide

Original guide compiled by A. De Lisle, revision date: April 18, 1997
Updates and reformatting by Loren Heisey, revision date: January 26, 2021

Site: https://innermind.com/myguides/
Also see the Tales From the Darkside Episode List at the site.

Series notes

Show type: horror and suspense anthology
Show was syndicated

After the series ended Tales from the Darkside: The Movie was made which had three stories bookended by a fourth tale. The DVD release of the show contained two bonus episodes made by the production company which were not used in the original series.

Opening Speech: Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But--there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit--A DARKSIDE.

Closing Speech: The Darkside is always there waiting for us to enter; waiting to enter us. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

Production Credits

Creator: George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead)
Executive Producers: Richard P. Rubinstein, George A. Romero, Jerry Golod
Producers: David E. Vogel, T.J. Castronova, William Teitler, Jan Saunders, Anthony Santa Croce, Mitchell Galin, Frank Martinez, Christopher T. Welch, Erica Fox
Narrator: Paul Sparer
Title Music: Donald Rubinstein & Erica Lindsay

A Laurel Production - In Association with Jaygee Productions
Distributed by World Vision Enterprises Inc - A unit of Spelling Entertainment, Inc.

Guide notes

Air dates are as advertised in syndication on the channel where A. De Lisle lived. Episode order is the syndicated rerun cycle order. Production number if known is in parentheses following the episode title.

Original credit information came from The Library of Congress and other sources. Some information was supplied by David McConnell. Updated information is from the credits in the DVD release episodes.

Episodes

1. BIGALOW'S LAST SMOKE 6/10/85

A chronic chain-smoker must quit smoking or else suffer consequences of the damned.

2. A CASE OF THE STUBBORNS 11/26/84

Cantankerous grandpa won't believe he is dead, but comes to meals and demands service. Even the Reverend can't convince him and finally his grandson resorts to voodoo.

3. DJINN, NO CHASER 11/5/84

A newlywed couple shopping for furniture encounter an Arab shopkeeper who has set up his tent in the parking lot. They buy a lamp and acquire a frustrated genie.

4. THE FALSE PROPHET 4/29/85

A woman hears conflicting prophesies when she uses a mechanical fortune teller named Horace X.

5. GRANDMA'S LAST WISH 6/24/85

Her family offers grandma a last wish before they send her to the rest home and live to regret it.

6. IF THE SHOES FIT… 5/6/85

A politician's world is transformed while he waits in a hotel room before going to the meeting.

7. I'LL GIVE YOU A MILLION 10/1/84

A millionare makes a bet with a longtime aquaintance by offering him one million dollars for his mortal soul.

8. IN THE CARDS 1/21/85

A tarot card reader, with a reputation for telling only good fortunes, acquires malevolent cards.

9. INSIDE THE CLOSET 11/12/84

A professor rents a room to a young female student who finds that a creature inhabits her closet.

10. IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH 5/20/85

A Chinese laundry washes away guilt for greedy developers allowing them to do their worst with a clear conscience.

11. LEVITATION 2/16/85

A magician takes revenge on a heckler by hypnotizing him and causing him to rise. But will he come down?

12. MADNESS ROOM 2/21/85

A wife plots to kill rich husband in a legendary 'madness' room. She relates a tale she heard that no one has ever stayed the night in the hidden room and been alive in the morning.

13. MOOKIE AND POOKIE 10/29/84

A teen-age hacker persuades his twin sister to finish his program after his death and she does, convinced he will be resurrected by his computer.

14. THE NEW MAN 9/24/84

A boy comes to an office to walk home with his father, but the father, a recovered alcoholic, has never seen him before.

15. THE ODDS 10/15/84

A bookie accepts a dead man's wager because he 'never turns down a bet', even on his own life.

16. PAIN KILLER 10/ 8/84

The doctor prescribes a backache cure, but he doesn't disclose the price until later.

17. SLIPPAGE 12/17/84

A man discovers that he is slowly ceasing to exist.

18. SNIP, SNIP 2/4/85

A warlock is angry at losing the $10 million lottery. He insists the spirits gave him the right numbers and the winning ticket is his. The winner says her ticket won and the battle ensues.

19. THE TEAR COLLECTOR 2/18/85

A woman who can't stop crying finds a buyer for her tears.

20. TRICK OR TREAT 10/22/83

A miserly money lender offers any child that can find the family contract in his haunted house, to mark it paid and he finally gets his Halloween comeuppance when one does.

21. THE WORD PROCESSOR OF THE GODS 11/19/84

A writer is given an unusual word processor for his birthday, built by his now deceased nephew.

22. THE SHRINE (201) 2/8/86

A woman comes home and wages a losing battle for her mother's love.

23. THE LAST CAR (202) 2/22/86

A college girl's train trip becomes one-way when she enters the last car, which is occupied by a woman who knows her name, a quiet old man and a noisy little boy.

24. THE IMPRESSIONIST (203) 9/23/85

An impressionist is hired to talk to an alien who has been captured by the government. Try, try again and the third time is the charm.

25. LIFEBOMB (204) 9/30/85

A salesman from Vita Eterna promises his device will protect a man's life. It will operate any time it detects danger and radio for help. The insurance company will pay all fees.

26. DREAM GIRL (205) 1/13/86

A theatrical director is trapped along with her colleagues in a dreamlike world created by a stagehand.

27. THE TROUBLE WITH MARY JANE (206) 11/18/85

A couple of cheap occultists are offered $50,000 if they can rid a girl of a demon (or two).

28. THE SATANIC PIANO (207) 10/28/85

A composer, about to reject his contract, receives a magical instrument that will save his career, but the bill comes later.

29. THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM (208) 5/12/86

Dead preacher's kin gather to hear his will, but where is it? On a video tape, he says they will get a 'sign'.

30. A NEW LEASE ON LIFE (209) 1/20/86

When a man moves into a building with exceeding low rent, he is warned not to put holes in the wall and to be sure to dump his garbage, dishes and all, into the chute and he will be cared for. He disregards the rules and suffers the consequences.

31. PRINTER'S DEVIL (210) 1/27/86

A writer, who is in a 'catch 22' situation, answers an agent's ad offering success, which will come when he sacrifices animals.

32. EFFECT AND CAUSE (211) 12/7/86

A woman lives backwards. Examples: the ambulance arrives before she falls down the stairs; the groceries are delivered before she orders them.

33. THE CASAVIN CURSE (212) 7/7/86

The family has been cursed since great grandpa killed his wife and it won't be lifted until there are no more with his name.

34. A CHOICE OF DREAMS (213) 4/28/86

A dying mobster is offered the opportunity to dream forever, but it is expensive--Ten Million Dollars--to join AFTERLIFE.

35. URSA MINOR (214) 11/25/85

A little girl blames everything on her teddy bear, a gift for her 7th birthday, which seems to have a life of its own.

36. PARLOUR FLOOR FRONT (215) 10/14/85

A woman, who recently bought the house, wants her voodoo tenant to leave. He puts a curse on her and her husband.

37. MONSTERS IN MY ROOM (216) 12/16/85

A little boy insists there is a monster in his room. Of course, no adult believes him until it is too late.

38. STRANGE LOVE (217) 5/5/86

A doctor is summoned on a late night house call by a man whose wife broke her leg while dancing. When the doctor arrives he's in for a surprise.

39. COMET WATCH (218) 1/6/86

A man waiting for Halley's Comet to appear, meets a comet-riding woman who was keeping company with Halley, and Halley himself.

40. THE BITTEREST PILL (327) 10/6/86

A woman wins the lottery and is besieged by people wanting money. One has a 'total recall' pill and, while he is tossed out, his pills scatter and her son takes one.

41. DISTANT SIGNALS 11/17/85

A mystery client wants to revive a twenty year old TV detective series that was cancelled mid-season. The producers agree, but are baffled since they don't know the target audience.

42. THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (221) 11/4/85

An abusive radio host gets calls from the past.

43. HALLOWEEN CANDY (222) 10/26/85

A miser refuses to give out candy year after year, so a Halloween demon gives the miser a lesson.

44. FEAR OF FLOATING (223) 5/17/86

A man runs into an Army recruiting station demanding help and demonstrating that he can float. They agree, but then his pregnant girlfriend and her gun-toting father show up. The lies he tells cause him to float again.

45. RING AROUND THE REDHEAD (224) 10/7/85

A doomed man tells a bizarre tale just before his execution in the electric chair.

46. AULD ACQUAINTANCES (313) 2/23/87

Witches vie for ownership of an amulet, which they agreed to share back in the days of Puritans.

47. BAKER'S DOZEN 11/24/86

In New Orleans, a woman sells 'magic' cookies in her bakery. An adman says he can increase her business, but she is not interested. She gives him cookies which give him power.

48. BLACK WIDOWS (330) 11/3/86

The daughter of a reclusive woman is concerned about her and learns the family secret on her wedding night.

49. THE CIRCUS (304) 9/22/86

A skeptic enters a sideshow of horrors at Dr. Nis's Exhibition of Wonder.

50. DELIVER US FROM GOODNESS (311) 10/13/86

A woman finds saintliness is more than she can bear and seeks to fall from Grace.

51. THE ENORMOUS RADIO 5/11/87

A new radio lets a couple overhear the neighbors, and makes the wife worry that the neighbors can hear them.

52. EVERYBODY NEEDS A LITTLE LOVE (305) 2/16/87

A divorced man becomes obsessed with a stolen a mannequin, or is it really alive?

53. FLORENCE BRAVO (309) 10/20/86

A feminist ghost torments the woman who buys her house.

54. THE GEEZENSTACKS (312) 10/27/86

Uncle Richard gives his little niece an old dollhouse which has four dolls, three adults and one child. The girl's father notices eerie parallels between events in the family and what his daughter does with the dolls.

55. HERETIC (301) 12/8/86

A dishonest art dealer suffers the tortures of the Inquisition when he is thrown into the scene of a recently acquired sketch.

56. I CAN'T HELP SAYING GOODBYE (326) 9/29/86

A little girl foresees the deaths of others and says "goodbye" which makes her surviving family very uncomfortable.

57. LET THE GAMES BEGIN (302) (aka Night Court) 5/4/87

An angel and a devil battle for his soul when a man has a heart attack. Will the man make the right choice?

58. THE MILKMAN COMETH (328) 1/19/87

An unseen milkman grants a man's wishes when he puts a note in the milk bottle. His greatest wish is for a daughter.

59. MISS MAY DUSA (307) 1/12/87

A mannequin is accidentally brought to life and her dark glasses knocked off. Her gaze turns the thief into a statue. She gets her glasses and flees.

60. MY GHOSTWRITER - THE VAMPIRE (333) 1/26/87

A hack horror novelist bargains for a vampire's help--he offers a place for the coffin and the vampire tells stories.

61. MY OWN PLACE (315) 2/2/87

An apartment dweller, who yearns to live alone, acquires a roommate from over-populated Calcutta.

62. RED LEADER (332) 2/9/87

The Devil recruits a crooked tycoon.

63. SEASONS OF BELIEF (317) 12/1/86

On Christmas Eve, his small children demand a 'good' bedtime story and his father tells them of a nasty beastie, Grither, much too realistically.

64. A SERPENT'S TOOTH (325) 11/17/86

A mother, concerned about her family, warns them about their wasted efforts and then her warnings suddenly come true.

65. THE SOCIAL CLIMBER (331) 3/2/87

A young apprentice shoemaker steps into other people's lives when he wears their shoes.

66. THE SWAP (306) 4/20/87

Greedy wife's murder plot backfires.

67. THE YATTERING AND JACK (340) 11/2/87

A happy-go-lucky man has his Christmas festivities with his daughter disrupted by a small horned demon who's trying to claim the man's soul.

68. THE APPRENTICE (303) 4/2/88

A coed is overjoyed to be hired by the Puritan museum until she finds out she is really back in time. Her innocent breach of the rules changes everything.

69. BARTER (335) 7/11/88

A woman craves quiet from her small drummer son, so when an alien knocks on her door and craves ammonia, she makes a deal.

70. BASHER MALONE 7/18/88

A clean cut pro wrestler, who is managed by his mother, faces a hellish opponent.

71. BEETLES 9/21/87

An Egyptologist is warned about a curse if he continues to work on a sarcophagus and ignores it.

72. THE CUTTY BLACK SOW (310) 5/2/88

On her deathbed, a woman tells her great grandson the story of a Celtic demon who will claim the soul of anyone dying this night. He does his best to protect her soul.

73. THE DEAL (339) 2/22/87

Screenwriter unknowingly makes a deal with Satan and finds the only way he can break it is to deliver a new victim.

74. DO NOT OPEN THIS BOX (308) 5/9/88

The postman delivers a box to the wrong address and then asks for its return 'unopened'. The woman recipient negotiates a deal, but does not disclose that she opened it.

75. FAMILY REUNION 5/16/88

A young mother swears that her estranged husband has kidnapped and run away with their son, whom she has not seen for six months. She gets the help of a social worker to get him back.

76. GOING NATIVE (341) 5/23/88

An alien visitor studies human nature by joining an 'anger' therapy group and studying photographs.

77. THE GRAVE ROBBER (320) 10/26/87

Two archaeologists ignore the curse warning and invade a tomb. The mummy revives and to save her life, the woman challenges him to a game of strip poker.

78. HUSH (319) 7/4/88

A boy has invented a noise-eating machine similar to a vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, it is too successful and he and his baby sitter must fight for their lives.

79. LOVE HUNGRY (336) 2/15/87

An overweight woman receives a package containing an ear piece that will help her diet. An old school chum invites her to dinner which is a disaster. A second package contains a pair of glasses which allow her to 'see' as well as 'hear' her food.

80. MARY, MARY 9/28/87

A woman lives with mannequins which she treats as real people and cannot relate to live people.

81. THE MOTH 10/12/87

A young woman, about to die, believes her soul will reside in a moth and she can be restored as long as the moth is alive. She implores her mother to catch it and put it in a jar.

82. NO STRINGS 10/19/87

A mobster forces the World's Greatest Puppeteer to string up the body of a dead enemy and make it dance.

83. PAYMENT OVERDUE (314) 2/8/87

A young callous collection agent is about to find out that she should have explained the rules to one debtor.

84. SEYMOURLAMA (318) 11/9/87

A spoiled boy is named High Lama, assuming his parents agree, which they do. His behavior leaves a lot to be desired.

85. THE SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHER 10/5/87

A middle-aged man, Algie, tries to attract spirits with his invention and his old friend, Harry, scoffs.

86. SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER (337) 11/16/87

A woman receives a disturbing call and years later discovers its meaning.

87. ALL A CLONE BY THE TELEPHONE 1/1/85

A jobless TV writer buys an answering machine that has a will of its own and gradually takes over his life.

88. ANNIVERSARY DINNER 2/28/85

An older couple plans their 25th anniversary dinner, with a very special menu.

89. ANSWER ME 2/11/85

An actress living alone in a friend's apartment is constantly annoyed by a ringing telephone in the apartment next door. Unable to get any rest she starts to loose it.

90. THE OLD SOFT SHOE 2/10/86

A salesman checks into a motel and makes a pass at a fellow guest who refuses, then a gorgeous, but jealous, woman appears.

Bonus Episodes

The two bonus episodes on the DVD release had different opening images and music. Neither had opening or closing speeches.

Executive Producer: Richard P. Rubinstein
Producers: Jan Saunders, William Teitler
A Laurel Production - Laurel-FRS, Inc.

1. AKHBAR'S DAUGHTER

A businessman falls for a client's beautiful daughter who seems icy by day, and passionate by night.

2. ATTIC SUITE

A couple take care of the woman's demanding aunt who is living in the attic. They are having financial difficulties and consider taking drastic measures to remedy the situation.

DVD releases

All of the episodes have been released on DVD in the U.S. by CBS Home Entertainment and distributed by Paramount. They were also released in the U.K. region 2 format by Revelation Films between 2011 and 2013.

The DVD release special features included two bonus episodes Akhbar's Daughter and Attic Suite with the season 4 episodes. There was also an audio commentary by producer George Romero for the episode Trick or Treat with the season 1 episodes and an On Air with George Romero featurette with the season 2 episodes.

The Complete Series was re-released on September 6, 2016 and again on August 11, 2020. The package states some episodes may be edited from their original network versions, and music has been changed for this home entertainment version. Seasons 1-3 have English closed captions and season 4 has English SDH subtitles.

This guide is for personal use only and may be distributed freely. No charge may be made for this document beyond the costs of printing and distribution.

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