3.05 Bedtime Stories

Title	Bedtime Stories
Episode #	Season 3, Episode 5
First aired	November 1, 2007
Directed by	Mike Rohl
Written by	Cathryn Humphris
On IMDB	Bedtime Stories
Outline	Sam and Dean investigate a series of murders based on fairy tales.
Monster	Vengeful Spirit
Timeline	October 24-26th, 2007
Location(s)	Maple Springs, New York
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Synopsis

Now that the Colt has been restored and can kill demons, Sam argues with Dean that they should use it to kill the crossroads demon, in an effort to release Dean from his deal. Dean is in staunch opposition to the idea, as it may put Sam’s life in danger. He deflects the argument by asking Sam for details of the killings, which they suspect a werewolf may be responsible for, that they are on their way to investigate

In Maple Springs, the boys visit the survivor of an attack that killed his two brothers. Despite prompting from Sam and Dean, he describes an ordinary man as the killer – not a werewolf.

The next victim is a woman who was attacked when she and her boyfriend got lost in the woods, and were offered pie by a seemingly sweet old lady – who then proceeded to drug and attack them, viciously stabbing the woman’s boyfriend. When Sam and Dean question her, she reports seeing a young girl at the window of the house.

Sam and Dean check the old lady’s house, and find high EMF readings, indicating a spirit of some sort was present. Sam speculates that the cases resembles fairy tales – the three brothers as the Three Little Pigs, and the woman and her boyfriend as Hansel and Gretel – and that maybe a spirit is controlling the people involved in the murders.

Dean is sceptical, but they then see a pumpkin and some mice outside a house. Inside, just as in Cinderella, they find a young woman whose step-mother has suddenly chained and beaten her. Dean sees the spectre of a young girl, when he follows her she disappears, but leaves behind an apple.

The boys start trying to find a girl who may have gone missing, or been killed in the area, but to no avail. They return to the hospital to check for children there, and find that one of the staff, Dr. Garrison, has a daughter, Callie, who has been in a coma since she was eight. They find him reading fairy tales to a young woman, who looks exactly like an older version of the spirit Dean saw. They find out that she swallowed bleach which led to her condition, and speculate that she was poisoned by her step-mother, and that her spirit has become increasingly enraged, and is acting out fairy tales in an attempt to get attention.

Another victim is brought to the hospital - an old woman whose granddaughter has disappeared. Fearing another attack, Dean takes off to find her, leaving Sam to explain their suspicions to Dr. Garrison. He rejects Sam’s assertions at first, but does admit his daughter’s spirit has appeared to him.

Meanwhile Dean finds the young girl, but is attacked by the man who has kidnapped her.

Dr. Garrison is distraught by Sam’s story that his wife may have poisoned his daughter, but when Callie’s spirit appears and confirms it, he accepts the truth. At that moment, his daughter dies, and the spirit disappears, now at rest. The man attacking dean returns to his normal self, confused as to what has happened.

As Sam and Dean farewell Dr. Garrison, he regrets that he couldn’t let Callie go earlier, something Dean suggests that Sam needs to do.

That night Sam sneaks out of the motel room, and summons the crossroads demon. She taunts him, suggesting part of him will be relieved when Dean dies. He threatens her with the Colt, but she explains that killing her won’t break Dean’s deal, as the contract is held by a demon more powerful than her. Sam shoots her anyway – killing the demon and the young woman it was possessing.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Dr. Garrison
• Callie
• Crossroads Demon

Definitions

• The Colt
• Fairy Tales
• Werewolves
• Vengeful Spirits
• EMF

Music

None

Quotes

Sam: I think it's Snow White.
Dean: Snow White? I saw that movie. The porn version anyway. There was this wicked Stepmother. Woo, she was wicked.

Sam: You remember Cinderella? The pumpkin that turns into a coach and the mice that become horses?
Dean: Dude, could you be more gay? Don't answer that.

Dean: I'm gonna stop the big bad wolf. Which is the weirdest thing I've ever said.

Sam: Is that what you want me to do Dean? Just let you go?

Crossroad Demon: Aren’t you tired of cleaning up Dean’s messes? Of dealing with that broken psyche of his? Aren’t you tired of being bossed around like a snot-nosed little brother? You’re stronger than Dean. You’re better than him.

Trivia & References

The fairy tales referred to in this episode are:

• "The Three Little Pigs"
• "Hansel and Gretel"
• "Cinderella"
• "Little Red Riding Hood"
• "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves"
• "The Frog Prince" (a Frog was focused on by the camera during the scene when Dean was mocking Sam's drawing, and again before Sam notices the pumpkin)

While posing as detectives, Dean and Sam use the aliases Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, who were both members of Led Zeppelin.

The "Big Bad Wolf" in this episode has a tattoo of the Wile. E. Coyote - a Warner Brothers cartoon character who is in perpetual pursuit of the Roadrunner.

Dean: Could like Mischa Barton. The Sixth Sense, not The O.C.

In the movie The Sixth Sense, Mischa Barton plays the ghost of a young girl who was poisoned by her mother. She seeks to communicate this fact with Haley Joel Osment. In the TV series The O.C. Mischa played Marissa Cooper.

The crossroads demon is played by Jared Padalecki's girlfriend at the time, Sandra McCoy.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a psychiatric disorder wherein a person feigns, exaggerates, or induces illness in another, usually a parent to a child, to gain attention or some other benefit.

Minutiae

Dean researches in the Cumberland County Central Library.

The episode opens with a shot of a sign for a real estate development that says "Once Upon a Time." Once upon a time is somewhat of a cliche phrase in English literature, particularly in the context of fairy tales, where it is typically used to start the story.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 3.05 Bedtime Stories (transcript)

Promotion

• 6 promotional pictures for 3.05
• Episode Promo 1: 3.05 Bedtime Stories
• Episode Promo 2: 3.05 Bedtime Stories
• The CW's official description for 3.05 (includes title, writer, director, a casting spoiler, and a synopsis