The sunshine and warmth make for the best times to go on beach trips, swim to cool off, and snatch up ice cream. But likeBananaramasang in 1983, it’s a cruel summer and for good reason. Cleaning the family swimming pool may be annoying but at least algae and dead bugs are the only worries. InBuffy,Sarah Michelle Gellar’s slayer realizes the school’s swim team is being targeted by something big, fishy, and hungry. InSupernatural, the sighting of a ghost ship isn’t for campfire stories. When one sails by unlucky victims, it’s a very bad omen. And if there’s any reason to be afraid of the ice cream truck that rolls in during a heatwave, leave it toTales From the Cryptto deliver dark secrets, colder than the frozen treat.
Fear not, everything doesn’t have to give the creeps. Some fun can be had! InCharmed, a mermaid turns up in San Francisco, getting the witchy sisters caught up in an aquatic love story. Good thing bad weather in real-life comes and goes. In the weirdo town ofEerie, Indiana, an annual tornado arrives, and this time the funnel has a grudge. Everyone loves a summer paycheck, like the horror-loving friend group inLos Espookys, who head to a beach town with tentacle prosthetics for a gig. Come for the chills, stay for the thrills.
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Friday the 13th: The Series “The Pirate’s Promise” (Season 1, Episode 22)
Once a pirate, always a pirate in this small town full of backstabbing. Micki (Louise Robey) and Ryan (John D. LeMay) travel there, to find a cursed antique from the shop Micki has inherited. The two need to find all the items sold,or else. By this late in the first season, they’re doing a decent job. The hexed object in “The Pirate’s Promise” is quite appropriate for the setting. A foghorn, that when dialed, lets out a deep call. A lone boat soon arrives, with the ghost of a vengeful pirate from the town’s past. Of course, finding the foghorn isn’t so easy for Micki and Ryan. Making the situation worse, someone in the town is using it for their own personal gain. And blood is being spilled. As the episode’s title suggests, if a violent, undead pirate makes a promise, you better hope you’re prepared for the consequences when he keeps to it.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer “Go Fish” (Season 2, Episode 20)
When the Sunnydale’s high school swim team start winning, they become popular and jerks. School politics rear its ugly head when Willow (Alyson Hannigan), taking on a substitute teacher role, can’t grade a student accurately due to their swim team status. But then, one by one, the young guys go missing. The slayer doesn’t deal with demons or vampires this time, but scaly forces of darkness. Swim coach Marin (Charles Cyphers) gets involved, showing winning might just be more important than staying alive. There’s a fish monster out on the loose but how exactly did it get created? Leave it to shady science experiments to answer that. Does Cyphers’ name ring a bell? He’s ofHalloweenfame, playing Sheriff Brackett in the franchise. Although, he’s considerable less a man of the law here.
The X-Files “Agua Mala” (Season 6, Episode 13)
FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) get a tip to investigate a possible case of a sea monster. They couldn’t have come to the Sunshine state at a worse time, right during Florida’s active hurricane season. Rain and wind are fierce. The agents find a house all boarded up from the inside, but its family nowhere to be found inside. As the storm gets worse, the roads flood. Mulder and Scully are forced to head to an apartment building with a few residents remaining. No surprise, they get trapped. The slithering creature they’re after, likes to trap its victims in a slimy cocoon and travel through the plumbing. The dark depths of the ocean can hold many secrets, and in this episode, one of them is unleashed, much to Mulder’s fascination and Scully’s disbelief.
Tales from the Crypt “People Who Live in Brass Hearses” (Season 5, Episode 5)
Hot head Billy (Bill Paxton), recently released from jail, forces his brother Virgil (Brad Dourif) into a robbery. Billy’s sticky fingers got him in trouble once for ripping off ice cream vendor Mr. Byrd (Michael Lerner), and now he’s out for revenge. Then again, Billy’s sticky fingers might not refer to his criminal record as it does to his strange butter fixation. This guy really likes butter. Butternut, buttermilk, butterscotch or a literal stick of it. BeingTales from the Crypt, the plan goes awry quite terribly. There is an icepick that meets flesh. The sun-drenched world established in the half-hour runtime, is full of some nasty characters. At the ice cream factory, Mrs. Grafungar (Lainie Kazan) could run for world’s worst boss. And Mr. Byrd has a secret of his own. Despite its sunny setting, there are no warm but harsh colors. You wouldn’t want to run into any of these characters, or at least the ones who survive.
Los Espookys “El monstruo marino” – Season 1, Ep. 3
In this Spanish and English language show, Renaldo (Bernado Velasco) uses the love of horror his friends and himself share, for a bigger purpose than watching movies. With a bit of magical realism, the group work on elaborate experiences that defy logic. Everyone is still new to the job as Renaldo drives them to a seaside town for the next gig. Tourism helps the town prosper, but they can’t rely on everyone’s favorite mascot anymore, an owl with a little wig. Armed with tentacle prosthetics and a voice recording, the friends display an aquatic monster to lure in tourism. So close to the ocean, Andrés (Julian Torres) with his bright blue hair, feels a connection to its past. Úrsula (Cassandra Ciangherotti), the tough one of the friends, steps in when the town’s mayor tries to pay them with food coupons rather than hard cash. And Tati (Ana Fabrega) remains aloof, the type to make a date after seeing a cartoon profile picture of a prince. But hey, Prince Charming has a reputation. The soundtrack full of electronic needle drops is a constant element to the show, with band Pol del Sur getting their chance to shine here.
Charmed “A Witch’s Tail” (Season 5, Episodes 1 & 2)
The Charmed Ones get in over their heads when a mermaid seeks their help. Thanks to a sea hag, Mylie (Jaime Pressly) has legs to help her find true love, but she will suffer a great cost if she doesn’t do so in time. The two-parter does everything to avoid proclaiming its clear inspirations fromThe Little Mermaid. Mylie is a blondie, not a red head and the sea hag is not named Ursula. But we see what you’re doingCharmed. The familiarity of the trio of sisters help strengthen the episode’s plot. Piper (Holly Marie Combs) wants nothing to do with the mermaid, the past haunting her. Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) has problems in her love life leading to a mishap with herself. Which leaves Paige (Rose McGowan) to not only try and save Mylie, but to also attempt in keeping her job. Poor unfortunate souls, indeed.
Supernatural “Red Sky at Morning” (Season 3, Episode 6)
A young woman spots a ghost ship, leading to her death by drowning. That her body hasn’t been submerged in water, catches the attention of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles). But what’s one murderous water spirit to cause conflict? So the episode throws in the additional conflict of Bela (Lauren Cohan), a con-artist trying to sell the cursed item that is causing the drownings. There’s no better way to enjoy some ghost stories of the summer than the appearance of a ghost ship. This may not be the Flying Dutchman, but with what happens when a victim sees it, holds its own nasty surprises. Water gushing out of someone’s mouth has definitely got to be a terrible way to go. The episode’s title takes the old saying, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s take warning,” and makes the threat very real. This isn’t retread ofThe Fogand its undead sailors. Instead, thewhyto this ghostly happening ties in to the brothers’ relationship.
The Twilight Zone “The Thirty-Fathom Grave” (Season 4, Episode 2)
This is the season that tried to change up the half-hour runtime, turning it into an hour. Pushing some to the extended length, didn’t help make better stories. But in “The Thirty-Fathom Grave,” the longer time audiences spend, feels like they’re stuck out on sea like the episode’s characters. On a Naval destroyer, the crew pick up a sonar signal. It sounds like pounding on metal, coming from below the surface. One of the high-ranking officers becomes heavily affected by the experience. To some he may be losing his mind. To him, he’s seeing things that are horrifying. As Rod Sterling might say, he’s entered intoThe Twilight Zone, and he may not escape. Taking place in the South Pacific Ocean, water is in every direction. The crew are so isolated, as they stay put and try to figure out just what the hell is going on, the dread builds.
Eerie, Indiana “Tornado Days” (Season 1, Episode 12)
Marshall Teller (Omri Katz) moves with his family to, you guessed this, Eerie. Hawkins may have a Demogorgon problem, but in this small Indiana town, there are more than subtle references to the surrealism ofTwin Peaks. The show not only castHarry Goazas Sgt. Knight but calls the approaching tornado, Old Bob. Think of this as more kid-friendly material. All the town residents gather together for an annual celebration of Old Bob, and Marshall is the smart one of his family. He decides to stay behind. However, Old Bob doesn’t take kindly to the boy’s boycott. Instead of avoiding the day’s visitor, Marshall gets a head-on encounter. When a meteorologist arrives in a hunk of metal he calls a tornado-rider, the weather isn’t the only thing to cause chaos. Airing for only one season, this showgot canceled way too soon.
