‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘The Satanic Piano’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Ask any creative individual what they would surrender to be able to write, compose and create constantly, and you’ll get back a one-word answer. Anything. Simply because, despite what people think about creative individuals, specifically how so many believe that creating music or writing or painting happens with a flick of a finger or a wrist… giving life to art is supremely difficult work. The kind that takes hours upon hours of fine tuning to create that which so many will enjoy on a regular basis, and there is little that is glamorous about this process either. Since so many of the creations we adore, were created in a unique manner.
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Say… at a kitchen table on a laptop at four in the morning. Wherein that writer could finally find enough quiet inspiration to write the end of their next great novel… in their underwear no less. So yes, there is a desire amongst creatives to have a magic fix in front of them… to be saved from the more difficult moments that creation entails. But despite saying yes to the possibility of having a quick path toward completing their work, in reality… the vast majority of creatives won’t actually accept such an offer. They say it for catharsis because they know deep down, there are no shortcuts to creative success. One must suffer for their art and fight to bring it to life, and they learn that, by learning what kind of penalties come forth when one tries to take a shortcut. And oddly enough, the next episode of Tales from the Darkside puts that lesson on display.

A feat that ‘The Satanic Piano’ accomplishes by introducing us to a musician named Pete Bancroft, who is in a creative funk. Because he simply cannot get his new album to pop the way he wants it to, and his record label isn’t happy with the results either, despite his track record of major success in the industry. In fact, he’s so desperate to find the groove he needs, to get this album going, that he ignores his daughter and her burgeoning musical skills and he’s ready to turn to a total stranger that has promised to give him what he needs to find an edge again. For Wilson Farber claims to have a musical instrument that can read Pete’s mind and just create the tracks out of thought, for the price of free since art matters most to Wilson. But alas, there is indeed a price that comes with this device, a nefarious one that could cost Pete everything, if he lets it take control of the creative process and his life.

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Which is a plot that really does do a wonderful job of exploring the dangers of shortcuts. Granted, it’s handled in a wild manner, since the piano in question seems to feed on souls and lifeforce when it begins to truly pull the music out of someone. To the point where Pete almost loses his daughter. Not to mention, it seemingly has ties to another dimension, one dangerous in nature. Since it brings severe physical harm to Pete when he attempts to shatter a portal at its very center. All of which is what allows for this story to be a quality tale of terror since that is definitely some twisted stuff for a man to tangle with, and clearly Farber is an agent to something quite evil. Something that feeds on creativity and wants more of it.
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But the commentary in question is easy to spot in the horror as well. Since the piano serves as the metaphor for the shortcut, one that a hungry and desperate creative would indeed turn to. And in many ways, Farber serves as the stand in for the coldest and most concerning part of the business. Specifically, the predatory individuals that promise the world to eager creatives if they work with them. Which of course are promises that go nowhere because this so-called producer doesn’t actually get anything done. They’re just someone who wants to take an eager creative beaver for a ride and will hurt the creative along the way somehow. Whereas hard work and a honing of the craft will bring creative people, to the folks that actually want to see them succeed.

All of which makes this… a supremely unique episode for certain. Because you so rarely run into stories in any genre that speak to creativity in this manner, much less to creativity in a realistic fashion at all. Making this a fascinating cautionary tale, one that will also resonate with anyone that learned the hard way about taking shortcuts in ‘The Biz’, and kudos to this show for taking the time to offer that up, in a way that is easily disguised. For this is an episode you can easily settle into and just enjoy thanks to how subtle the commentary is here. But it is nice to know there’s a unique lesson buried within the framework of this episode, one that will definitely help anyone struggling with their creative blocks, once they’re done coming down from the scares that Wilson Farber sends their way. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.  

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