Key Points to Remember
- “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”- Minor incidents trigger hysteria, uncovering human fear and conflict.
- “Living Doll”- A chilling doll story takes a sinister turn, resulting in fatal outcomes.
Each episode of The Twilight Zone incorporates a facet of horror, spanning psychological dread, slasher elements, or crime-thriller themes, making it challenging to highlight only a few noteworthy selections for Halloween viewing. Ultimately, it’s subjective—viewers determine their greatest fears, and the creators of this iconic series played with a wide array of elements meant to terrify and captivate audiences.
Halloween embodies more than just fear; it encompasses inquiries, age-old tales, and mystifying occurrences like time travel or extraterrestrial life. During the groundbreaking era of television, audiences discovered all these themes within The Twilight Zone. The episodes featured here stand out among the spookiest, making them ideal for the Halloween festivities.
1 The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
The Fright of Suburbia
- Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 22
- Directed By: Ronald Winston
- Featuring: Claude Akins, Barry Atwater, Jack Weston, Burt Metcalfe
- Original Air Date: Season 1, Episode 22
A few flickering lights and sudden power outages can plunge people into a spiral of paranoia, turning neighbors against one another. “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”opens in a picturesque neighborhood brimming with blooming gardens and amiable faces, illustrating how swiftly appearances can deteriorate.
The plot thickens when peculiar incidents unfold after what seems to be a meteor crosses the sky. Soon after, unexplainable blackouts surge, vehicles stall, and two inquisitive boys spread tales of eerie creatures and extraterrestrials.
The citizens of Maple Street, clueless about the events surrounding them, begin to turn on each other, culminating in turmoil and tragedy. The unexpected twist reveals that an alien craft has indeed landed nearby to observe human responses to confusion. Their strategy proves effective, leading them to consider similar strategies elsewhere to weaken humanity for an eventual takeover.
2 The After Hours
Unmatched Horror at the Mall
- Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 34
- Directed By: Douglas Heyes
- Featuring: Anne Francis, Elizabeth Allen, James Millhollin, John Conwell
- Original Air Date: June 10, 1960
Marsha White embarks on a routine mission to purchase a birthday gift for her mother, visiting an overwhelmingly ordinary department store. However, her quest for a gold thimble thrusts her into an “Alice in Wonderland” -like saga.
Upon asking the elevator operator for directions to the ninth floor, she realizes there are only eight buttons. Curiosity leads her into a darkened room that seems to hold only one solitary mannequin. Her bizarre adventure leads her back to the ninth floor, where she unearths a storage space full of mannequins—a place from which she may never escape.
3 Living Doll
The Original Chucky
- Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 6
- Directed By: Richard C. Sarafian
- Featuring: Telly Savalas, Mary La Roche, Tracy Stratford
- Original Air Date: November 1, 1963
As one of the early portrayals of the haunted doll trope in film and TV, “Living Doll”stands as a noteworthy contender among the most terrifying episodes of The Twilight Zone, bolstered by its skilled cast. Yet, the true highlight is Talky Tina.
Erich, an irate stepfather desiring a child with new wife Annabelle, struggles with envy over the attention she lavishes on her daughter, Christie. His displeasure culminates in a bitter confrontation when the doll starts speaking to him during his solitude.
When Annabelle threatens to leave him, believing he’s losing his sanity, he tries to dispose of the doll, only for tragic events to unfold after Talky Tina facilitates a deadly encounter that seals Erich’s fate.
4 The New Exhibit
A Gallery of Killers
- Episode Number: Season 4, Episode 13
- Directed By: John Brahm
- Featuring: Martin Balsam, Will Kuluva, Maggie Mahoney, William Mims
- Original Air Date: April 4, 1963
With a setting like a wax museum, the eeriness magnifies when it becomes a shrine for history’s most infamous serial killers. Martin Lombard Senescu, a kind-hearted caretaker, finds himself in charge of these shocking figures when his employer decides to sell the premises.
As Martin becomes obsessed with the figures, he loses track of his search for a new location. His wife grows increasingly frustrated with his fixation, and when she attempts to intervene, her life is cut short by murder. Martin’s fate quickly follows as another brutal killing unfolds.
The episode culminates with the wax figures relocated to a new establishment, where one more figure—a wax likeness of Martin Lombard Senescu himself—joins them, proving that appearances can be deceiving in The Twilight Zone.
5 The Howling Man
A True Demonic Encounter
- Episode Number: Season 2, Episode 5
- Directed By: Douglas Heyes
- Featuring: H.M. Wynant, John Carradine, Robin Hughes
- Original Air Date: November 4, 1960
While The Twilight Zone often delves into science fiction or psychological horror, an episode focused on the mystical realm sets it apart.
David Ellington, lost in a storm, takes refuge in a remote monastery where he uncovers the chilling tale of the Howling Man. The monks insist that the disturbed soul they confine is none other than the devil, held captive by a sacred staff. Skeptical, David releases the captive, unwittingly allowing the devil to escape.
David’s life thereafter becomes a relentless quest to recapture the dark entity he inadvertently freed, only to stumble into the same error during an encounter with a housekeeper he tells the story to.
6 It’s A Good Life
Perils of Childhood
- Episode Number: Season 3, Episode 8
- Directed By: James Sheldon
- Featuring: John Larch, Cloris Leachman, Don Keefer
- Original Air Date: November 3, 1961
Serling’s iconic introduction, laden with dread, paints a picture of a monstrous being holding the town of Peaksville captive, revealing in the end that this “monster”is merely a small boy. The message is clear: keep the child cheerful, or risk turning into a sinister force lurking amidst the shadows of The Twilight Zone.
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