Creepy Short Stories

Candle Cove Experiences: Tales of the Laughingstock

I knew about this and moved onto her designs of the show. She explained that it was a damned kiddie show that turned into a "puppet show from hell" overnight. She wanted to end the conversation but not before I asked about any surviving members or crew...

"There are a few of them still around but you'll have to find them on your own..."

(DAY 3)

I did, however, manage to find Jodie Silver, who played Janice on the show, now an adult of 45. She resides with her husband, Damon Louis and her two kids. If you see her now, she has lost all of that childhood spunk that she had on the show. She works as a writer of Pirate stories and haunted mysteries. I managed to record, on tape, an interview with her...

"Um, are you Ms. Jodie Silver?"

"Why, I haven't been called that in years. Yes, I am Jodie Silver, but people call me Jodie Louis nowadays."

"Oh, I'm sorry about the mixup, I'm (censored) and I am writing a book on an old kiddie show you used to be on."

"Jesus Christ. Please tell me you are joking!"

It was here that I noticed she seemed agitated at the sound of a book being written on something she was trying so hard to put behind her.

"It's no joke Mrs. Louis."

"Well I won't warn you that you are a total nutcase for doing it. That show has given me bad dreams, ruined my childhood and I have even had therapy because of it. I don't wish to speak about..."

"Please Jodie, just one interview, that's all I'm asking for. Just one. Hell, if you have to go through therapy again for it, I'll personally pay out of pocket."

It was here she stood long and hard.
"Christ! Fine fine, meet me here for an interview."

With that, she handed me a card with her address on it. I promised she wouldn't regret this, but I had a feeling that she already was...

(DAY 4)

"Hello there Mrs. Louis."

"Well, hi there. Come on in."

Her house wasn't big, but not small either. I could tell she had little ones running about from the sounds of kiddie shows floating faintly from the television set and many toys scattered about. It was like trying to walk through a forest of mousetraps without setting one off. Eventually we got to the small dining area of the home, with a good outlook over the water. A place to dream dreams.

Okay, now about the show. "Well (censored) it started out as a dream come true. I was a huge fan of shows like Jumbo's Circus, Sunshine City and Fisherman Fred, and I really wanted to be on a kiddie show. I got my wish when I heard the studio was looking for a young girl to play the role of 'Janice' for their new show. And sure there were many little girls who wanted the role so badly, so i did my best to win the studio over, which happened. I loved the idea of the show. I did my very best to do everything right. Turned out you should be careful of what you wish for."

"Why is that now?"

"I really don't want to tell you but I must...You see, on set, some changes started happening. Grimes would change scripts, things seemed to be a bit scary. And for the first episode to seem so mean and such was odd for a kid's show. And then that horrible last episode..."

"What episode, the last episode of the first season?"

"Wow (censored), you REALLY need to brush up on your history of this. There were two seasons of the show. The final episode of the second season was the worst ever."