Well happy very belated New Years everyone. This chapter took a little longer than I expected it by over a month at least. Yeah, that's what happens when Winter saps all of your energy and motivation. So I ended up working on this just a little bit at a time. But at least it's done and up. So please enjoy.
It was a calm night at the Bagg Farm as a gentle blew through, making the windmill spin with it's usual squeak. Quiet and calm with the full moon rising in the distance.
Inside the living room sat Eustace, Avery and Muriel watching TV with not much on currently but some schlocky 50's b-grade horror film playing. None of them minded watching a lot of the older stuff, but sometimes even the older stuff had a campiness that was hard to enjoy. At this point, none of them would have minded something new or different to make the night less dull.
Avery senses were becoming dull from the sheer boredom of the flick, but was jolted out of this by the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Even Courage was jolted as he let out a small panicked howl, prompting Avery to pat him on the head in response.
"Wonder who that could be," Muriel said.
They all looked to the front door and they could see that someone standing just on the other side of the door. There appeared to be a tall pale man standing just outside, wearing dark clothing and looking dangerously thin. As if his frightening appearance alone weren't enough, Avery swore that as her aunt and uncle approached the door, she heard what sounded like an animalistic growl emanating from the figure standing just beyond the front door.
As the front door opened, he looked just as frightening as Avery figured. He was indeed tall, pale and frighteningly thin. She even began to wonder if the man was actually made from bone itself. The few strands of red hair that adorned his head certainly didn't help matters at all. What frightened her most though was the eyes behind the lens of his glasses. One appeared to be drooping and reminded her a bit of a lazy eye. The other looked to be bulging in it's socket and looked like it was about ready to pop out at any moment. The crooked rotting teeth was the last of his facial features that chilled her to the bone. The last thing she noticed before looking away was the red scarf wrapped around his neck.
She would have felt ashamed of looking away in disgust at one's deformities... if it weren't for the bracelet already going nuts on her wrist, telling her that they didn't need this man around them.
"Hello," the man said in a tone that chilled both Avery and Courage as he waved to the family in the doorway.
"Hello," Muriel answered with a smile.
Eustace however, as usual, still scowled at the man and said, "Who the heck are you?"
The man placed a hand on his own chest and said, "I'm Benton Tarantella."
The quartet standing in the doorway looked at him, not recognizing the name. Well except for one that raised an eyebrow at him.
"Benton Tarantella?" the man repeated.
'Benton Tarantella? Where does that name sound familiar?' Avery asked herself in her mind.
"The famous independent movie director?" the man said.
'That's not it. Well at least I don't think it is,' Avery still said in her head. 'Where have I heard that? Something crime related?'
Muriel was a bit excited as she beamed and said, "Oh Eustace, Avery, he's a famous movie director."
Eustace glared at the man and said, "Never heard of him."
"I knew I saw your face before. You've been on television haven't ya?" Muriel asked.
Avery stepped forward and asked, "And have you made any crime films? I think I might have seen one of them."
He placed his hands behind his back and said, "Why yes, I have been on television before and I think I did make a crime movie or two. Though my specialty is in horror."
Avery felt a little relief at that, but the energy she was feeling from the bracelet still made her more than a little apprehensive about talking to this man.
Muriel's excitement grew though as her smile widened and said, "I knew it, I just knew it. He's famous you two."
"Big deal," Eustace said to Muriel before turning back to the man. "What do you want?"
"I'll explain," he said and then outstretched his hand. "May I?"
Avery was just about to object, but her aunt beat her to the punch.
"Oh yes, come in Mr. Tarantella, come in," Muriel beckoned him to enter.
The man entered as Eustace continued to glare but said nothing. As he walked by, both Muriel and Eustace followed him towards the kitchen. But both Avery and Courage held back for the moment as Courage glared at the passing man and Avery continued to ponder. Courage took notice and tugged on her hand to get her attention.
She pat him on the head and said, "Sorry about that Courage. It's just, I know I've heard that name, Benton Tarantella, from somewhere. But I can't remember where."
He babbled to her and pointed at the bracelet.
She knew what he was asking and said, "Yes. It doesn't like him either."
A few minutes later, the five of them were seated at the kitchen table with Courage sitting in Muriel's lap. Muriel had offered to make the man some tea, but he had respectfully declined. Instead, he had insisted in getting straight to the point. In fact, he had almost sounded impatient about it.
He cleared his throat and said, "I was just driving by, scouting locations for my latest blockbuster."
He made a finger frame and observed the four of them through it, like he was trying to get a good look at them.
"Oh scouting locations, that sounds so fancy," Muriel said.
Eustace had his arms crossed as he looked back at the guy and said, "So what?"
"This is my next opus," he said and reached behind his back, pulling out a manuscript with the title of the movie written on the front. "The Return Of The Zombies From Beneath The Farm."
Avery raised an eyebrow, never even hearing of a film with a similar title to serve as the predecessor. Then again, she didn't really keep with modern horror movie trends so she probably just missed it somewhere down the line.
Muriel was wide eyed though at the sight of the script and said, "Ooh a real movie script you two."
"And?" Eustace said with his arms still crossed and scowling.
Tarantella put his script away and said, "I want to make my movie here, on YOUR farm. In THIS house."
Muriel smiled and said, "Oh my."
Avery was becoming more apprehensive as the thought of this man actually remaining in the house or anywhere near them was driving the bracelet mad.
She had a little hope when her uncle said, "We ain't interested."
She smiled a little, but her hopes were dashed when the man pulled out a contract and said, "We'll pay tons of cash."
'Hook, line and sinker,' Avery thought as her uncle looked over the contract and said that they were interested.
Tarantella stood up from his chair and said, "Excellent. Now if you three will sign down there on the X."
Avery wanted to argue, but when her uncle was suddenly invested in something it would be impossible to argue with him. So instead she focused on signing the contract with them, not even looking at Tarantella and missing something that made Courage scream.
Avery looked back at him and said, "Courage? What happened?"
Courage tugged on her hand then at the hem of Muriel's skirt, pointed at Tarantella and then morphed into the form of a walking, rotting corpse. Like one of the undead. Before Courage could get anything else out, Tarantella walked over to get a good look at Muriel. He even did the finger frame again to observe her.
"Muriel, has anyone ever told you that you should be in pictures?" Tarantella asked and then kicked Courage away.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Avery asked in fury as she went to comfort the small dog.
Tarantella shook his head and said, "Sorry about that. I just need him out of the way for now. I need to focus on my... actors."
Muriel however giggled and said with a blush, "My goodness, no."
Eustace finished signing the contract and said, "Here's your contract. When do we get paid?"
"Right after we finish shooting the movie. And we start shooting... tonight," he said ominously.
Courage gasped and the energy from the bracelet increased.
"Tonight?" Muriel asked excitedly.
"Oh yes," Tarantella said with a nod.
Muriel turned back to Eustace and said, "Isn't this exciting? Eustace, Avery, we're going to be movie stars."
Tarantella looked back to the old couple and said, "May I see your basement?"
Avery recoiled as she watched saliva begin to fall from the man's mouth. Courage let out a disgusted groan at the sight and she backed the both of them away to keep from the drool from dripping on them.
'What is wrong with this guy?' she asked herself.
Down in the basement, Tarantella walked about, trying to get a good look at the place using finger frame again. He seemed much more excited than you'd think someone would be just from touring a basement. Could have been because of his passion, but it was still unusual to see someone THIS excited by merely observing a basement.
"Yeah," he said as he walked about. "This is great."
He turned back to the family and said, "Great. We'll do the zombie resurrection scene here. This is a great angle. I love it."
He moved a little closer to them, using long strides to move about.
"We can do a tracking shot right over here and then, rack focus," he said practically growling.
The family stood in one corner and Muriel looked to her husband and niece and said, "Eustace, Avery this place is a mess. We should really straighten up for the movie."
Eustace, who had been overlooking the contract, put it away and said, "Right."
Courage walked away from the group as Muriel began wiping down the furnace and Eustace began to sweep. Avery decided to stick with Courage and walked with him as the little dog went up to Tarantella as he continued looking about the basement.
"This is great, great!" Tarantella said as he turned around to face Avery and Courage.
Only for his hand to pop off and land at their feet.
Courage's eyes bugged out and he screamed at the sight of his hand coming off and Avery went wide eyed and even gagged at the gruesome sight. It didn't help that the man merely picked his hand back up and twisted it back onto the stump as Courage ran off. Avery remained wide eyed as he looked back at her, laughed and even signed for her to stay quiet.
'That was so gross,' she said in her head and left the basement to run straight for the bathroom.
Courage went over to Muriel and began tugging at her skirt to get her attention again.
Not understanding what he was saying Muriel looked back down at the little dog and asked, "Courage is something wrong?"
But Tarantella beat him to the punch and skidded over to Muriel, knocking Courage out of the way again.
Tarantella cleared his throat and said, "Muriel, in this light well you look like, you look like you HAVE to be in MY movie."
"Oh my," Muriel said with a smile and a blush.
"In this scene, you will play the victim of the zombie sacrifice," he said to her while Courage ran back over and began tugging at Muriel again.
"That's so exciting," Muriel said eagerly as Courage continued trying to get her attention.
"What's MY role?" Eustace demanded.
Tarantella walked over to Eustace, handed him a shovel and said, "YOUR role is digging the zombie's tomb."
"NOW you're talking," Eustace said with a slight smile to his face.
"Oh, what about Avery? Will she have a part," Muriel said and began looking around the basement, but seeing no sign of her niece.
Tarantella chuckled and said, "Oh I'm sure I'll find a role for her. But for now, I'd like to focus on THIS particular scene. We got plenty more movie for her."
Courage ran over and tried to take the shovel away from Eustace.
Eustace however pulled back on the shovel and said, "Get away from me! This is MY role."
After a moment, Courage lost his grip on the shovel and fell backwards. Before he could get back up, Eustace grabbed Courage by the back of the neck and carried him back up the stairs, tossing him into the dining room.
"And don't let me catch you down here again," Eustace said and then slammed the basement door shut. "Stupid scene stealing dog."
Courage whined and stood back up. He decided that if he couldn't get into the basement right now, it'd be best if he could at least get some information about it's director. So he left the dining room and proceeded up the stairs to the attic. But as he was passing the bathroom door, he heard the sound of the toilet flushing and the door knob rattle.
Avery stepped out of the bathroom, clutching her stomach and said, "Something is seriously wrong with that guy."
She saw Courage and said, "Hey boy. What's up?"
Courage babbled some more at her and even morphed into a rotted undead creature walking around again and then morphed into Tarantella holding a screaming Muriel before turning back into his normal form again.
Avery had an idea on what he was saying and said, "That's pretty far fetched boy, even for this area. But maybe we should try to find out more about this weirdo before we jump to THAT conclusion. Though I know I've heard his name before and Aunt Muriel thinks she does too. I just don't know where."
Courage nodded, jumped and said, "Yay!"
She pat him on the head and said, "To the computer!"
Up in the attic, Courage and Avery sat at the computer just typing away any information they had about Benton Tarantella, which was not a lot to go on. All they knew is that he was an independent film maker and that he was currently making a sequel film. They typed this information into the computer and waited for him to do his thing.
After a minute, the computer buzzed in and said, "Sorry, no record of Benton Tarantella in the independent film database. Or in ANY film listings."
Avery pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "Yeah, kinda suspected that part at least."
"Sorry I couldn't help with that. Hey, want to sing a song I know," the computer said with some musical chords.
Courage instead continued typing away at the computer as Avery said, "Keep checking around. I know I heard his name somewhere before and I'm sure Aunt Muriel has as well. There's gotta be something on him."
The computer sighed and said, "Alright alright, sheesh. I'll search public records."
Back down in the basement, Eustace dug away in the spot that Tarantella had pointed out to him as the director himself threw open the cellar doors, allowing the moonlight to shine down near the hole as it slowly crept it's way there. In the cellar doorway, Tarantella watched as the planet Mars drifted it's way towards the moon.
He smiled wickedly as he looked at his script and said, "Yes, this is great. This is gonna be great."
Back in the attic, the duo finally got the results that they were looking for. Suffice it to say though, the results that they got were horrifying. Instead of getting any film records involving the name Benton Tarantella, they instead got crime reports and newspaper clippings detailing a series of unspeakable crimes by Benton Tarantella and his partner Errol Von Volkheim, who had been a German immigrant.
'AMATURE FILMMAKERS SLAY 12' the headline of the first article they came across said.
The article detailed the crimes that the two men had committed. That had acted as filmmakers and used the gullibility of their victims to lure them to their deaths. The two even went about the route of filming their horrific crimes. Given that their acts were committed in the late 30s and into the 40s, it wouldn't have been hard to fool people into thinking that they could be movie stars, only to meet horrible ends. Stuff like that was common in that time.
'TARANTELLA AND VOLKHEIM JAILED' read the second headline.
Apparently when they decided to kidnap a random person while out driving, their intended victim had managed to break free and screamed for help as the duo chased her. This happened right as a cop car was sitting nearby. Suffice it to say, the duo were quickly caught by the officer. After a speedy trial and conviction, both men were sent to prison. Von Volkheim was initially sentenced to twenty years after having turned over state's evidence showing Tarantella as the mastermind behind everything and claimed he had been manipulated by him due his broken English. However, Errol Von Volkheim was released after only ten years after becoming more fluent and even went about helping other prisoners in their education. After release, he had disappeared from public view until his death from Tuberculosis less than a decade after his release. His early release had caused outrage amongst the families of their victims and there was even speculation that his broken English may have even an act. The man did pose as a director and actor after all.
Tarantella hadn't been as lucky. He had been found guilty on all counts of murder and his other crimes as well. The judge and jury showed him no mercy. Tarantella was put to death in the gas chamber just two years after the duo had been apprehended. His final words talking about how his death would not bring an end to depraved taste and would actually make such things even more fascinating for those who seek it out. His remains had been buried in the prison cemetery.
That's when it all came back to Avery. Her father had been a fan of true crime documentaries and would often times turn them on when he found them playing. She recognized the names from one of the documentaries her father had watched when it came to Hollywood crimes of the golden era. She knew that Von Volkheim had been buried in a cemetery near the hospital where he died. There was speculation that when the cemetery was moved, HIS had been left behind so that history could forget that such a depraved individual would be forgotten to time. All she knew about it is that he had died in a Kansas hospital, but couldn't remember where it was.
So she typed onto the keyboard and said, "Computer, can you tell me where Von Volkheim died?"
"That's an easy one to find. He died in a hospital in the town of Nowhere, Kansas," the computer answered.
That information made Avery's blood run cold and caused her to freeze up. Seeing as she was now frozen in fright, Courage typed in the words, 'Where was he buried?"
The computer took a moment and said, "In a cemetery that once stood where this house now stands."
This information is all that they needed to know what Tarantella was planning. The man was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a ZOMBIE. A zombie of all things. And he was bringing back his old partner in crime to continue their killing spree.
Back in the basement, Eustace continued to dig into Von Volkheim's long abandoned grave as Tarantella tied Muriel down to a table that they had set up to use in the film.
As soon as he finished, he looked over his script and said, "Right, that's right. Nice and tight."
He walked back over to a side table that they had also set up in there and set his script down on top of it. He did this right as Avery came walking down the stairs and Courage came out of the pipe.
Tarantella saw her and said, "Ah, ready to join us at last?"
Avery froze in front of him and said, "Sure. What do you need me to do?"
He pointed to one side and said, "Wait right over there for now. I'll have a scene ready for you soon."
While Tarantella was distracted, Courage snuck over to the side table and grabbed the script right off of it. As Tarantella walked back over to supervise the digging of the hole, Courage rushed over to Avery and they both ducked down under the stairs to hide from view as they read the script.
Scene 1: Fool the family.
Scene 2: Dig big hole.
Scene 3: When planets align, dead partner rises from the grave.
Scene 4: Eat old lady! Possibly the young one too.
Scene 5: Silence the witnesses, including the annoying dog!
Avery gasped after reading the last lines and Courage howled with her. They hopped out of their hiding spot and ran over to Muriel to try to rescue her, only for Tarantella to suddenly appear and snag the script from Courage's hand and grabbed hold of Avery's wrist with his free one. Her skin crawled at the cold feeling of his rotted flesh on the wrist not adorned by her bracelet.
He blocked Courage's path and said, "Perfect, you're just in time doggy. I have a great role for you. You'll play the dog locked up in the trunk. Eustace?"
Eustace growled, walked over and grabbed Courage, carrying him over to the trunk before throwing him in and locking it.
"Uncle Eustace do-," Avery started, but was quieted when Tarantella's other hand covered her mouth which thankfully was fully bone, making her feel a little less sick.
"And as for you my dear, I have a special role for you. It's called, dessert," he said with a laugh and began to drool.
Avery could only wince in disgust.
A few minutes later, Avery lied on the floor near the side table with her hands tied up behind her and rag tied over her mouth. She squirmed on the floor, screaming into the gag as Courage screamed and scratched from the inside of the trunk. Avery tried to tell her aunt, what was going on but thanks to the gag it sounded like she was merely putting on an act.
"That's very good acting you two. We'll make a fantastic film yet," Muriel complimented her niece and Courage.
Tarantella stood in the door leading outside and continued to watch the planet Mars drift in front of the moon.
He rubbed his hands together and said, "The light is perfect. And we have TWO meals tonight. This couldn't be better."
He stepped down the stairs as Eustace approached him and asked, "Now what do I do?"
Tarantella placed a hand on Eustace's back and said, "Why you're the cameraman, all you do is run the camera."
He laughed and Eustace asked, "Do I get paid extra?"
"Sure," Tarantella said as they walked back towards the camera.
Eustace took his spot behind the camera as Tarantella looked over his script once more.
"Excellent, let's roll camera," he said and turned to the hole in the ground as he slammed the script back onto the side table.
Avery could feel her sweat begin to run cold, but then looked over to the chest that held Courage. To her surprise, she could see his back legs sticking out from the bottom of the chest and he walked the chest over to the side table where the script was lying.
Meanwhile, Eustace got the camera running and said, "Rolling!"
As he started filming, Mars drifted in front of the moon as the light from the conjunction of the two began to shine down on the hole. Tarantella had his back to the table and his eagerness was growing. What he didn't notice was Courage reaching up through the keyhole and pulling the script into the chest.
Avery chuckled into the rag and thought, 'That dog amazes me.'
"Great! This is gonna be great," Tarantella chuckled as a bony hand reached up from the depths of the hole, followed by another. With a shriek, the heavily decayed corpse of Errol Von Volkheim rose up from the grave, looking far worse than Tarantella with a head that was nothing but a skull with stringy hair and a single eyeball bugging out of it's socket.
Eustace was scratching his chin at the sight, but smiled and said, "Great effects."
Avery merely rolled her eyes at his simplicity. Meanwhile inside the chest, Courage was making some changes to the script as fast as his little hands would allow.
The two zombies approached one another and greeted each other warmly before Tarantella pointed over at Muriel and said, "Let's set up for the NEXT shot."
"Ja! I'm starving," Errol responded as Tarantella waved Eustace over.
Eustace walked over and Tarantella said, "Eustace, this next scene features Mr. Von Volkheim and myself as newly risen zombies about to devour Muriel and Avery. I'm going to promote you to director."
"What's the pay?" Eustace demanded.
"Tons," Tarantella answered.
Eustace smiled and said, "Deal!"
At this, the two walking corpses walked over to the table Muriel was tied to as Avery lie helplessly under it. She looked back at the chest and hoped Courage was finishing up whatever he was doing while the zombies loomed over her and her aunt, drooling and growling in anticipation for their feast. All the while, Eustace was trying to find the right angle for the shoot leading to Tarantella tapping his foot impatiently.
Eustace got behind the camera and asked, "Okay, is everyone ready?"
Tarantella nodded impatiently and said, "Yes yes. We know what to do."
"Let's roll it," Von Volkheim said.
Eustace was just about to start rolling when he said, "Wait wait!"
"What?" both zombies demanded impatiently.
"Move over! I can't see Muriel's face," Eustace said to Tarantella.
Avery looked over to the chest and could tell Courage hadn't finished what he was doing and Avery's heart began to pound, thinking he might not finish in time.
"Can we start now?" Tarantella asked bitterly.
Eustace scratched his head and said, "How should I know?"
"Check the script," Tarantella said still impatiently.
This was just in time as Courage slammed the script back down onto the side table just outside the chest. Eustace didn't notice however as he picked up the script and began to read it aloud.
"Let's see. Here's the scene. The big zombie let's the dog out of the box and unties the girl," Eustace said as he read.
"What?" Tarantella said in surprise and walked over to them.
"That's what it says," Eustace said with a shrug.
"Let me see that," Tarantella said and took the script from Eustace's hands and took a quick look. "I don't remember... well if it's in the script... ok."
He hands the script back to Eustace and opens the chest, freeing Courage from captivity and then walked over to Avery and undid the ropes holding her. Her skin still crawled at the cold feeling of his dead flesh on her wrists, but it quickly subsided as her hands were of their bindings and then she untied the rag over her mouth.
"Now what?" Tarantella asked.
"It says that the zombies go back into the hole and the dog buries them," Eustace continued reading from the script.
"WHAT?!" Tarantella snarled and then took the script again. "This is not my work. THIS IS NOT MY WORK!"
Von Volkheim shook his head and said, "I can't believe it. You are such a lousy writer. You have always been a lousy writer."
"It's not my work," Tarantella argued one more time, but Von Volkheim was having none of it.
The second zombie walked back to the hole complaining all the while.
"I come all this way, just for you to write me back into the grave?" he said as he climbed back down into the hole followed by Tarantella. "That's it! Our partnership is caput! Once and for all. I never want to work with you again."
"Ah who wants to work with a hack like you anyway?" Tarantella said as Courage and Avery walked over to the hole.
"Oh shut up," Von Volkheim responded.
Courage scooped up the dirt onto the shovel, but Avery had him stop for a second as she looked down at the two in the hole.
"Have fun down there gentlemen. Oh and by the way Tarantella," Avery said and the two men looked up at her. "Von Volkheim got out of jail because he turned in evidence against you while you went to the gas chamber. Thought you should know that."
Tarantella snarled, looked back at Von Volkheim and said, "Why you two timing, backstabbing, little worm."
With that, the zombified duo began to tussle right as Courage dumped the dirt right into the hole and pat it down with his foot.
"I never saw that ending coming," Eustace said in surprise while Avery went to untie her aunt's wrists.
"Isn't this exciting Avery?" Muriel said happily.
Avery smiled, hugged her aunt and said, "It sure is."
Meanwhile in the sky outside, the Moon and Mars parted ways.
Later that night, the family watched the footage that they had managed to record while Eustace was looking over the contract they had signed.
"When am I getting paid?" Eustace said angrily and Avery rolled her eyes at him once more.
Muriel was in her rocking chair with Courage in her lap and said with a laugh, "Courage dear, you stole the whole movie."
Avery stood up from her spot on the floor and said, "I think I left something downstairs. I'll be right back."
"Don't take too long dear. It's almost time for bed," Muriel said as Avery went to the basement door.
Avery walked down the stairs and over to the covered up hole that the zombies had been buried under. Making sure that she was alone, Avery pressed the bracelet against the top of the hole and let it glow. She pulled her wrist back and watched the top glow for a moment before the light faded. She tapped the top of the hole with her finger and it felt rock solid.
She nodded in approval and said, "Good. Enjoy your stay guys. Now you're stuck there for good."
She then turned and left the basement.
So yeah, I kinda had the idea of having Tarantella dying in the gas chamber to explain his much raspier voice while walking around as the undead. Mainly because when I see the photo of him midway through the episode I imagine someone with a more suave voice. So that's why I chose to have him die in the gas chamber. I just really liked these two as villains that I wanted to expand their backgrounds just a little more, including why a convicted murderer like Von Volkheim would actually be released from prison for good behavior.
So that's all for now. Next episode we will cover The Snowman Cometh. The episode that I believe introduces us to the show's most sympathetic villain.