Candle Cove

[FORUM: Nostalgia TV - Forgotten Shows]

THREAD: Does anyone else remember 'Candle Cove'?

Skyshale33: Hi everyone. I know this sounds weird, but… does anyone else remember a children's show called Candle Cove? I watched it when I was about 6 or 7 years old, in the early 70s. I’ve tried to find information about it, but there’s nothing on the internet. I’m starting to think I imagined it. Does anyone else remember it?

Pixel_Freak: I don’t recall it. Was it animated or live-action?

Mike_Painter65: God, Candle Cove… that brings back memories. I was 9 in '72 and lived near Ashland. Yes, I remember it. Was it about pirates? I recall a pirate puppet at the entrance of a cave, talking to a girl.

RetroTVFanatic: I’ve never heard of it, but now I’m curious. What was it about exactly?

Skyshale33: It was about a girl who imagined adventures with pirates. The ship was called Laughingstock, and the captain was Percy the Pirate. But he wasn’t a good pirate, he was always scared of everything. His design was weird, like they used parts from other puppets. His head looked like porcelain, but poorly painted, with empty eyes.

VHS_Ghost: I like old TV material, and I’ve never heard of this show. Are you sure it was real? I can’t find any records of something called Candle Cove.

Jaren_2005: Yes, it existed. I think it only aired for a couple of months in 1971, on a local channel. I watched it with my brother on channel 58, after the news. It didn’t last long, but it left a mark on us. I assure you, it existed.

Pixel_Freak: What do you mean, 'it left a mark on us'? Was it scary?

Skyshale33: It wasn’t supposed to be scary, it was a children’s show… but it was terrifying. There was something unsettling about how it looked. And when the bow of the Laughingstock ship talked… God. It looked alive, but empty. And when Percy had to enter a cave, the camera slowly zoomed in on his face and he said: ‘YOU HAVE TO… GO… INSIDE.’ I don’t know why it terrified me so much.

Kevin_Hart_72: Damn, I remember. But the worst part wasn’t the ship. It was… The Skin-Taker.

Skyshale33: God… yesss The Skin-Taker!!! Little by little, more memories are coming back to me… it’s like I had completely forgotten it and now it’s resurfacing.

RetroTVFanatic: Who’s The Skin-Taker?

Jaren_2005: The villain. A skeletal puppet with a brown top hat and a cape made of patches of skin. His jaw didn’t open and close, it just moved side to side, like his teeth were grinding. In one episode, the girl asked him: ‘Why does your mouth move like that?’ And he slowly turned his head toward the camera and said: ‘TO TAKE YOUR SKIN.’ I didn’t sleep for weeks.

Pixel_Freak: This doesn’t sound like a children’s show anymore.

Lost_in_VHS: I know… It wasn’t normal. There was an episode where Percy appeared with an axe. But the weird thing was that the axe had blood on it. And it didn’t look like paint. It looked very realistic. He just stood there, staring at us. Then he laughed. But his mouth didn’t move, only his eyes. I turned off the TV. I didn’t sleep for a month.

Skyshale33: God. I remember that episode! It also left a mark on me.

Skyshale33: And then there was the episode where everyone screamed. Do you remember???

Mike_Painter65: No, I don’t want to remember it.

Jaren_2005: Yes, I do.... The screen went black after the intro. Then… all the characters were on stage, silent. The camera cut from one to another. Percy. Horrible Horace. Laughingstock. The Skin-Taker. And then they started screaming. It wasn’t a normal scream. It was real suffering. Like the puppets were in pain. Their bodies shook violently. The girl cried. Sobbed. There was no story. No dialogue. Just screams. I remember turning off the TV and running away.

VHS_Ghost: This can’t be real. There’s no way something like that aired on children’s TV. Are you sure you’re not mixing it up with a nightmare or an old movie?

Kevin_Hart_72: Not exactly as I remember it… keep in mind that this was over 40 years ago… TV shows, restrictions, everything was very different back then… they didn’t protect children like they do now…

VHS_Ghost: But that’s barbaric… what surprises me is that your parents let you watch that stuff…

Pixel_Freak: What I don’t get is how you all didn’t end up traumatized by that… I would definitely be scarred if I turned on the TV expecting something fun and for kids and saw that.