The Twilight Zone has many memorable and scary episodes, but there are some disturbing ones that have unfairly become forgotten. Created and hosted by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone is one of the best TV shows of all time as well as one of the most influential ones, thanks to its blend of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and drama.
As an anthology series, each episode of The Twilight Zone is a different story with a different cast, most of them with a twist and an ending with a moral. Some of the best Twilight Zone episodes are a blend of sci-fi and horror, which makes them especially unsettling.
However, there are many other scary episodes in The Twilight Zone’s five seasons that don’t get the love and recognition they deserve, and they are scary (and memorable) in different ways.
Mirror Image
Season 1, Episode 21
Written by Rod Serling, “Mirror Image” is one of the most underrated gems of The Twilight Zone’s first season. “Mirror Image” introduces the audience to Millicent Barnes (Vera Miles), a young woman in an isolated bus depot. The bus she’s waiting for is late, so she asks the ticket agent about it, who is very annoyed at her presence.
According to the ticket agent, Millicent has already asked that many times before, but this is the first time she has approached him. Millicent then sees a bag identical to hers behind the desk, with the ticket agent telling her she had already checked it in. When Millicent goes to the restroom, the cleaning lady says this is her second time there.
As the episode progresses, “Mirror Image” makes the audience question Millicent’s sanity and reality, and the idea of there being a double of yourself you’ve never seen but everyone else has is quite unsettling.
Time Enough At Last
Season 1, Episode 8
“Time Enough At Last” is one of the best Twilight Zone episodes, but it doesn’t get recognized as one of the show’s scariest stories. Based on the short story of the same name by Lynn Venable, “Time Enough At Last” follows Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith), a bank teller who loves to read, so much so that he does it even at work.
Both his boss and his wife complain about Henry’s reading, with his wife even crossing out the text on every page of the book he’s currently reading. One day, while taking his lunch break in the bank’s vault so he can read in peace, a massive explosion happens outside, destroying the city and leaving him as the sole survivor.
Henry now has all the time he wants to read and access to all the books in the library, but “Time Enough At Last” has a shocking and heartbreaking twist at the end. The consequences of that twist are what make this episode not just tragic but very scary too.
The After Hours
Season 1, Episode 34
Written by Rod Serling, “The After Hours” introduces viewers to Marsha White (Anne Francis), a young woman visiting a department store to get a gift for her mother. The elevator operator takes her to the ninth floor, an abandoned and completely empty floor, where he claims she will find what she’s looking for.
There, a saleswoman gives her what she wants, but Marsha finds her disturbing and rude. Back in the elevator, ready to leave, Marsha notices that her purchase is scratched, and she’s taken to the complaints department. Marsha is told that there’s no ninth floor, and she sees a mannequin identical to the saleswoman.
“The After Hours” appeals to the very common fear of mannequins (automatonophobia), with the added suspense of what’s truly happening in the department store and around Marsha. The twist in “The After Hours” isn’t scary, but mannequins possibly coming to life is a creepy concept.
The Obsolete Man
Season 2, Episode 29
“The Obsolete Man” is another great Twilight Zone episode written by Rod Serling and starring Burgess Meredith. Set in a future ruled by a totalitarian state, Romney Wordsworth (Burgess), a librarian, is deemed obsolete. This, along with his faith in God in an atheist state, leads to Romney being sentenced to death.
The Chancellor (Fritz Weaver) allows Romney to choose his method, time, and place of execution, which must happen in the next 48 hours. With no way out of this, Romney makes a surprising decision for his death that has a bigger impact than he, the Chancellor, and society could have ever expected.
What makes “The Obsolete Man” so scary is the totalitarian world it’s set in, the rules and limitations in it, the situation Romney is in, and the consequences of his chosen method of death, which also make this episode quite tragic.
Long Distance Call
Season 2, Episode 22
“Long Distance Call” is regarded as one of the most disturbing Twilight Zone episodes, and yet, it’s an often-overlooked episode. “Long Distance Call” follows Billy (Bill Mumy), who, on his fifth birthday, is visited by his frail grandmother (Lili Darvas). Grandma gives Billy a toy telephone, telling him he can always talk to her on it.
Grandma becomes gravely ill and delusional and passes away, and Billy’s parents worry about the young boy, as he spends all his time on the toy telephone. Billy claims to be talking to his grandmother, and begins to act erratically as someone on the phone told him to.
There’s a very shocking and disturbing moment in “Long Distance Call” that will stay with viewers long after the episode is over, and it adds realism to it as it appeals to a very real fear. Of course, the idea of a kid talking on the phone with a deceased person is also scary, and The Twilight Zone knew how to seize this.
Twenty Two
Season 2, Episode 17
“Twenty Two” takes the audience to meet Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols), who awakens in a hospital room. After knocking over a glass of water, breaking it, and following a nurse, Liz ends up in room 22, the hospital’s morgue. This turns out to be a nightmare, and Liz is an exotic dancer hospitalized for exhaustion.
However, as she has been having this recurring, vivid nightmare and insists it’s actually happening, she’s subjected to an experiment in lucid dreaming. In typical Twilight Zone style, “Twenty Two” has an unsettling twist at the end that brings everything together and completely changes Liz’s story.
“Twenty Two” brings together the best things about The Twilight Zone: sci-fi, horror, suspense, a protagonist that the audience can follow along and discover things with, and a shocking twist nobody will see coming. “Twenty Two” definitely deserves more praise as one of The Twilight Zone’s hidden gems.
Perchance to Dream
Season 1, Episode 9
“Perchance to Dream” is one of the most underrated gems of The Twilight Zone. “Perchance to Dream” follows Edward Hall (Richard Conte), a man who hasn’t slept in four days. Hall arrives at Dr. Eliot Rathmann’s (John Larch) office, a psychiatrist who might be able to help him, as he’s convinced that, if he falls asleep, he will die.
Hall explains he has a heart condition, and his overactive imagination has gotten out of control to the point where he has been dreaming in chapters. In those dreams, a carnival dancer named Maya “The Cat Girl” (Suzanne Lloyd) takes him into a funhouse and a roller coaster to frighten him. Because of this, if he falls asleep, the next chapter will be his death.
“Perchance to Dream” has one of the best twists in The Twilight Zone, so unexpected and tragic that it invites the audience to rewatch it to see if they missed any clues to it. “Perchance to Dream” is a great example of The Twilight Zone’s type of horror and sci-fi.
- Release Date
-
1959 – 1964
- Showrunner
-
Rod Serling
