The Tale of the Hungry Hounds

Description: Season 1, Episode 5

Storyteller: Kristen

Plot Summary: Two cousins spending the summer together experience ghostly shenanigans.

Review: The hot streak AYAOTD had going is promptly put to an end with "The Hungry Hounds." Not only does this episode suck, but I'd probably rank it among the worst in the series. I hated this episode even as a kid, and it has aged like milk. The story is simply stupid and nonsensical on all levels. It wants to be a serious ghost tale, yet, it's too incoherent and casual with its idiocy to succeed. I get why it was placed toward the center of the season since it's an obvious dud. It's nigh impossible to create an anthology series with all hits so this is to be expected.

At first, the premise isn't too bad with cousins having a boring summer together and looking for something to do. We get some backstory about a dead aunt and antics with a ouija board that establish, admittedly, a decent setup. Unfortunately, the momentum is quickly destroyed by a goofy possession story line with the most nonchalant reaction to the supernatural. I mean, one minute the cousins are in their attic during the day and then a gateway to, I'm guessing, Kayako-land opens up and the cousin just rolls with it. And what is even the point to this possession? So that the dead aunt can feed ghost doggies or something. Whaaaat? I mean, this is the point in a good story where we should learn some crazy revelation about the aunt's death or something. But there is no payoff whatsoever. The family in the past was planning a foxhunt, but the aunt let the fox out. When running after the fox, the aunt died moronically. This then led to the dogs starving to death...I guess...and some groundskeeper to have a heart attack. Well, okaaay, thanks for letting us know. It's not like this shit was kept secret or at least that's not the way the story presents the material. Finally, the ghost hounds are fed their damn food but chase after the ghost fox instead. And then that's it--the girls go back to normal and leave Kayako-land. Even the Midnight Society members kind of look around at each other like "what the fuck was that, Kristen?!"

Dude, what was happening here? I've met people who claim to like this episode, and I give them a funny look. Look, this story is stupid no matter how you spin it. The stakes are beyond low, the backstory is more interesting than the actual main plot, there is zero payoff, and the way these characters died in the past was cartoonish. Maybe this isn't the worst episode in the series since my recollection of the first reboot series is hazy, HOWEVER, I can say, with certainty, this is the worst episode of season 1!