Haeckel's Tale

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“Haeckel's Tale”

Masters of Horror episode

Episode no.

Season 1
Episode 12

Written by

Mick Garris

Directed by

John McNaughton

Guest stars

Steve Bacic
Derek Cecil
Pablo Coffey
Christopher DeLisle
Tom McBeath
Gerard Plunkett
Jon Polito
Leela Savasta

Production no.

112

Original airdate

January 27, 2006

Episode chronology
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"Pick Me Up"	"Imprint"

"Haeckel's Tale" (also known as "Clive Barker's Haeckel's Tale") is the twelfth episode of the first season of the television series Masters of Horror. It originally aired in North America on January 27, 2006. George A. Romero was originally supposed to direct the episode^[1] but was replaced by John McNaughton because of a scheduling problem.^[2]

The episode script is based on a Clive Barker short story first published in the Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre anthology.^[3]

[edit] Plot

The story of Haeckel's Tale begins with a young man, Edward Ralston (Steve Bacic), coming to an old woman Miz Carnation on the account that she is a necromancer that can revive his deceased wife. She refuses, but then decides to tell him the story of Ernst Haeckel and if he still wishes to revive his wife afterwards, she will.

The story mainly concerns Ernst Haeckel (Derek Cecil) who is trying to follow in the footsteps of Victor Frankenstein but is unsuccessful with his attempts to perform similar experiments. He learns of Montesquino, a necromancer, but believes that the man is a charlatan. Learning of his father's ill condition, he travels and encounters Walter Wolfram (Tom McBeath) and his lovely wife Elise (Leela Savasta). Haeckel is oddly drawn to Elise and vice versa. Wolfram seems undisturbed by the attraction but when unearthly shrieks echo outside, Elise is drawn to them. Haeckel also notices that Elise is caring for a baby.

Elise finally goes outside and the despondent Wolfram notes that he can't satisfy his wife, although he has sold everything he has to take care of her. Haeckel goes after Elise and follows the shrieks to a nearby necropolis. There he discovers that Elise is having sexual consort with her dead husband and the other resurrected corpses. Wolfram has paid Montesquino to raise the dead so that they can satisfy Elise. When Wolfram tries to take her home, the corpses kill him. Haeckel confronts Montesquino and demands that he make it stop. The necromancer says that he can't, and an angry Haeckel shoots him as he tries to escape. The dying Montesquino shoves Haeckel into a tombstone, knocking him out.

The next morning, Haeckel wakes up and returns to the cabin, where he finds Elise nursing the baby: a corpse-child, the son of her "true" husband. The baby rips out Haeckel's throat.

Miz Carnation concludes her chair and a disgusted Ralston looks on in horror and then flees as he realizes that she is an older Elise, as the corpses of her first husband, Wolfram, and Haeckel stagger in and she brings out the baby.