Emerson Grimes (1912-1972) was the director of Candle Cove, and uncle to Adrian.
Biography
Many crew members who worked with him believed that he went insane during production, constantly changing the scripts and making the episodes' tones darker and darker. In the second season, he had plans to incorporate an episode where Janice would be cannibalized by the Skin-Taker in a dream, and another where Nathan was kidnapped and turned into a part of the Skin-Taker's cape. He also wanted to have Janice killed and skinned alive, all on camera. As the crew members noticed Grimes' descent into madness, they continuously shot down these ideas to prevent them from ever coming to fruition. This angered him, causing him to create the "Screaming Episode".
Screaming Episode
During the filming of the "Screaming Episode", an anonymous set designer noticed that Grimes' eyes were darker, hollower and slightly bloodshot, his skin was much paler and his hair seemed to be falling out. As he handed out the scripts to the crew, he could be heard whispering "don't you worry" to himself. The script only had one word: SCREAM. He forced the actors to scream loudly as he destroyed the sets. The Skin-Taker's actor Michael Colon screamed to the point where his throat started bleeding and he choked on his own blood, causing Janice's actress Jodie Silver to start crying uncontrollably.
After the recording was finished, Grimes took the recorded audio and locked himself in the editing room. Although everyone else left the studio, a stagehand named Walter Shay walked back in. He witnessed Grimes, alone, pleading to the set pieces as if they were all alive, insisting that he did his job right. He started screaming and ripping his hair and teeth out, as if he were trying to get away from something only he could see. Suddenly he fell backwards and hung himself on a cord, dying instantly as his neck snapped. Walter then took Grimes' corpse and buried it in the woods behind the studio, leading those in the crew to believe he just suddenly disappeared.
Trivia
- Grimes is believed to have played the ManBearPig.