The Grave - Twilight-Tober Zone

[@ChannelAwesome]

Thoughts on "The Grave"? One of the best episodes of season 3? Watch Twilight-Tober Zone 2021 Compilation - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKOoaoWYpdd5h9E Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome

[@trinaq]

I agree, it was a tense episode, with the tensions running high throughout, and an ambiguously creepy ending.

[@melissacooper8724]

A very spooky episode! Especially at the end where it seems that Conny's death was just a freak accident until Ione suggested otherwise!

[@ThePkmnYPerson]

I thought watching it was very boring, but it has a lot of good ideas.

[@geoffreyfyfe2248]

Even if the story wasn't good (which it is), it's worth seeing just for the acting. One of the best casts of any TZ episodes. I mean, both Strother Martin and Lee Van Cleef?

[@trinaq]

I loved the ambiguously creepy ending, where it's up to the viewer to decide if Conny's death was a freak accident, or if Skyes' ghost really DID have something to do with it...

[@racheljackson4428]

i think you're right.

[@michaelmartin4874]

I agree completely. We didn't need a decisive ending spoon-fed to us. Our active imaginations are much better.

[@ramsfan0868]

What say you? How do you think it ended? Enjoy your comments

[@michaelmartin4874]

@@ramsfan0868 I like to think that Lee Van Cleef was right. For all Marvin's bravado, he was undone by his fear of Pinto.

[@amyfisher6380]

Yeah, I came here to say this. I like the ambiguity of the ending.

[@ninja1man4u]

This story is so famous its been adapted into several sci fi shows including beyond belief fact or fiction

[@lovetolovefairytales]

I remember the fact or fiction one extremely well; I grew up with that show.

[@elder-woodsilverstein7716]

It was also featured in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

[@RialVestro]

I was just about to say I saw this on Fact or Fiction. Some details were changed like we never see who the grave actually belonged to and it was set modern day with a bunch of high school kids, the grave was said to belong to a murderer, but the details about the bet and the knife though the coat were all the same.

[@sinCorazon1980]

I was going to say this as well and if anyone wants to see it, the entire show is on Peacock

[@lovetolovefairytales]

@@sinCorazon1980 it's on Tubi as well.

[@MoonlitLycan]

An urban legend tale as old as time. So many variations of the story out there and there's ones like this that keep it feeling fresh.

[@rogue7723]

Yeah, I remember the knife in the grave thing from a _Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark_ novel.

[@melissacooper8724]

Me too. The Scary Stories one had a group of teenagers daring one of the kids to visit the cemetery at midnight and plant a knife on a random grave as proof. It mostly ended as a freak accident with no sinister twist. Personally I like The Twilight Zone episode better.

[@melissacooper8724]

I loved the twist ending as to whether Conny Miller's death was a freak accident or if Pinto actually got his revenge from his grave! If it were the latter then Pinto is pretty clever to make it look like an accident!

[@Raximus3000]

What revenge? The outlaw who wants to kill the guy who was after him but never confronted him and some other people killed him for his crimes?

[@melissacooper8724]

@@Raximus3000 You're right. Revenge is the wrong word. I probably meant that Pinto had vowed to grab Miller from his grave as a way to taunt him because according to him Miller was too cowardly to confront him in life.

[@Raximus3000]

@@melissacooper8724 That sounds like bullying... How is it a good story again?

[@melissacooper8724]

@@Raximus3000 Now that I think about it it's not really that good. Mainly because I couldn't understand the whole cat and mouse game between Miller and Skypes. And why did the townsfolk hire him in the first place when they ended up taking the matter in their own hands?

[@misspriss2482]

@@melissacooper8724 From what I gathered, Miller would come to that town and bully the people there. They hired Skypes to get rid of him, but Skypes never did. When the guy came back, they had no choice but to confront him. By working together, all of them killed him. True, they could have done that from the start, but it was only when Skypes failed that they rose to the occasion.

[@ramsfan0868]

The end is so chilling.

[@oblongbox5110]

One of my top 20 Twilight Zone episodes.

[@nemanjaveljkovic9216]

Underrated episode, one of my personally favorites, i just like the creepy windy atmosphere.

[@F1989C]

This was a cool episode!!! Fun Fact: Lee Marvin along with Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin worked together again in the Man who shot Liberty Valance Film. They played the henchmen to Marvin's Liberty Valance character.

[@jamesdrynan]

Talk about a unique cast! Six months after this episode aired, Marvin, Van Cleef and Strother Martin starred in John Ford's 1962 western, The Man who Shot Liberty Valance.

[@musicbrush9231]

I loved this episode when I saw it. I was captivated by the whole thing up until the ending where it's suggested his coat flowed against the wind when he stabbed the ground.

[@SSGTStryker]

I absolutely love this episode. Definitely one of my favorites. Fun fact, both Lee Van Cleef and Lee Marvin appeared together in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”

[@justanotherchannelonyoutub126]

This episode and 22 make me wonder if Twilight Zone is what inspired Scary Stories to tell in the Dark or if they both just adapted the same stories

[@melissacooper8724]

I think they both adapted the same stories.

[@JohnnyPaisan]

Room for one more

[@OtisMcNuttIII]

Yes thank you! I knew that the story of someone dying from fright after stabbing a knife into their clothing at a Grave sounded familiar. Didn't realize it was from Scary Stories to tell in the Dark.

[@julieporter7805]

I think they were old even then. Scary Stories has interesting footnotes about where the stories came from.and those two are pretty old.

[@richewilson6394]

This is my favorite episode it has two of the most badass people in it and it's also based on a urban legend that everybody's heard at least once. Also my favorite episodes of twilight zone is when Rod Serling pops out of somewhere.

[@Thecoolguy463]

One of my favorite twilight zone episodes

[@DramoolVecone]

One of my favorite TZ episodes.

[@mishawilliams4319]

I enjoy the Twilight zone series when it was on TV now you can get it on DVD 😁

[@philthomas8351]

Stellar interpretation by all actors, especially Lee Marvin and the lady.

[@Abrasax1984]

My grandmother from the island of Kos, Greece used to tell me a version of this story when I was little! In her story, it was a test of courage between some drunk men, the rest more or less the same! It is amazing how people in so many different countries can have legends and stories so similar, in times when television wasn't even science fiction and books were really hard to come by.

[@DigitalxGamer]

Oh yeah I love that original ghost story about the person stabbing their knife through their coat into the grave and dying of fright. I remember that one from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. That was one of the ones that really stuck with me as a kid~

[@custer2449]

You took the words right outta my mouth about the ending!!!!!!! It DID need that something extra, but danged if I know what it should be!! How strange that you brought it up. Also, EVERY actor in this one is legendary. Marvin, Van Cleef and Martin in the same episode was astonishing and Elen Willard was definitely spooky. Marvin, Van Cleef and Martin were the three "amigos" in Liberty Valance, so there's that.

[@legomaniac213]

I'd seen the story done before in a "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" book, so I saw the twist coming a mile away. Still, this was a well done episode.

[@wstine79]

This was a nice cowboy episode of The Twilight Zone. Several cowboy fixtures were showcased, including a non-drunk Lee Marvin.

[@jlev1028]

I find it funny how many episodes were set in the Old West. I think Rod Serling was a fan of those movies.

[@davyboy9397]

So many famous faces in one episode!

[@jamesgarrett8833]

Yeah this episode did a fantastic job combining western and horror together in a story. Something I never thought was possibly. But hey if The Exorcism of Emily Rose can combine horror and courtroom together in a movie, anything possible 🙂

[@ra15899550]

The Grave and Death Ship are two of my favorite TZ episodes. Both are eerie as hell.

[@steveflor9942]

Coolest episode ever. The ending I find completely satisfying.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

This story has been around for possibly 200 years or more in one form or other, (usually a boy is the main). An example of how fear of something can be more dangerous than the thing itself.

[@reneehurt387]

My favorite part of this episode is seeing Lee Marvin spin around in fear grabbing his gun when the door opened

[@ECO473]

And also his looking at the gun as if he remembered Mothershed telling him that his gun would be worthless out in that cemetery in the dead of night.

[@reneehurt387]

@@ECO473 I see you appreciate this episode for Halloween as well

[@ECO473]

@@reneehurt387 👍

[@JAM4077]

When I watched this episode on MeTV, my mind immediately went to a story from Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction called Grave Sitting. The premise for the story was very similar to this Twilight Zone episode, right down to the ending.

[@claytonrios1]

Thankfully this episode is not dead on arrival!

[@sucha_shocker]

This is definitely one of my favorite episodes

[@weareallbronies9031]

Glad you're finally doing my dad's favorite episode

[@benji274]

Always liked this one. Obviously the best way to watch it is on a windy night

[@philipportelli7700]

Perhaps the best of the Twilight Zone's Westerns!

[@debbieanne7962]

It's good. I rate 'Dust' and 'Mr Denton on doomsday' higher though

[@LegendStormcrow]

The Grave was probably a fairly common ghost story back then.

[@gthomer1231]

lots of famous actors in this episode

[@philthomas8351]

One of my favorite episodes. Good story. Great acting by all. Ambiguous ending.

[@shainewhite2781]

A Twilight Zone episode, but with a western horror feel to it.

[@daveroche6522]

TZ meets High Plains Drifter?

[@shainewhite2781]

@@daveroche6522 Yes.

[@trinaq]

Yep, it reminds me of "The Dust", a season 2 episode which also has a Western theme and an ambiguous ending.

[@mickey6275]

@@trinaq that one was pretty good

[@dulcineaparker4439]

These are great when you can hear the music they put in the background

[@jbcatz5]

Tomorrow’s episode is a good thing, a very good thing.

[@melissacooper8724]

@Shadow Fireclaws They did. And not only did Bill Mumy reprise his role as Anthony Freemont but his real life daughter Liliana played Anthony's daughter Audrey.

[@kathleenking47]

Albuquerque was still a territory of NM until 1912

[@Kevin-wr9um]

James Best, Strother Martin, Lee Van Cleif and LEE MARVIN! Liberty Valance preview!

[@glendasmilesalot2959]

One question that I have always had regarding this episode is, the fact that Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, and Strother Martin were part of the bad guy gang in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", I have often wondered if they participated in both productions during the same time period?

[@benji274]

@@glendasmilesalot2959 Hmmm…Liberty Valence came out the following year so it would have been close. Not sure if it had commenced filming at this point.

[@labyfan1313]

I completely agree with you on all your points about the ending. I felt the same way.

[@heidifedor]

This episode has Roscoe P Coaltrane and Chief O’Hara😂

[@benji274]

Those Sykes!

[@MsBackstager]

Wonderfully eerie.

[@PHXDOG]

This one falls into my top 10 of TZ shows. 1 The obsolete man 2 the living doll 3 The hitch hiker 4 Time Enough at Last 5 I shot an Arrow into the Air 6 The Grave 7 Game of Pool 8 20,000 feet 9 Flight 33 10 the stop watch

[@debbieanne7962]

The only episode I rate in my top 10 that you do is 'Time enough at last' actually I can't see what most people do in the episode 'The Obsolete Man' but then we're all different. My top 10 are World of difference A most unusual camera The trouble with Templeton 16mm shrine Miniature Time enough at last To Serve Man The masks On Thursday we leave for home Stopover in a quiet town

[@mleighqs]

This episode reminds me of a story from one of the episodes of the show Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.

[@grampy2014]

Great casting

[@wordstowordlessthings]

Completely agree, fell flat at the end

[@animefan25]

This reminds me of a segment from the series "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction".

[@Pumpkinshire]

I think it’s interesting that technically, all three proposed origin stories for this episode can simultaneously be true. If it is an old Russian folktale, and Pickmans father had some Russian ancestry, and the actor had heard that same folktale that could be have three different functionally the same versions of the script or a basic pitch derived from the same work! Cool!

[@AnimeWolf5193]

On the subject of what could have improved it, what if they went out, saw the knife, but there was no body? It could have become a local legend, while we the audience know _something_ happened, but we're not sure what. "Some say he left after making his peace with his rival. Some say he was dragged into the grave by the vengeful spirit. Some say that he was killed by the sister and hidden away. Whatever happened to him, nobody's had the courage to take the knife, fearing a mysterious fate."

[@AnimeWolf5193]

@Shadow Fireclaws Couldn't have written better myself.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

During virtually every shot at the cemetary, you can tell quite clearly that the sky was nothing more then just a painting and that they were filming inside of a studio.

[@CaptainRiterraSmith]

Maybe the most famous spooky graveyard story and I am here for it.

[@thunderdeed1]

This story would make a great play.

[@InKY09]

About the ending being unsatisfying, wind doesn’t blow in one direction for a whole evening. Gusts shift and bounce off elements in the landscape, so the supernatural explanation isn’t convincing. It’s also unnecessary, given that fabric flaps unexpectedly. Maybe a Rube Goldberg series of Connie hearing the dead guy whisper his name and then his cape getting caught on a branch and turning to mistake a tree limb for a dead hand coming at Connie’s face, causing him to drop the knife as the heart attack starts and trip on the edge of the cape and fall on the knife would’ve been more interesting - and the lady could’ve knowingly implied the whisper was real.

[@dmmchugh3714]

My top 5 Twilight Zone episodes: 1. Changing of the Guard 2. The Masks 3. The Monsters are Due on Maple Street 4. The Shelter 5. He's Alive This was such a brilliant series. I love how Serling always appeared in jacket / tie, even if he was coming out of a barn.

[@TheCmducks]

My all time favorite this and the obliset man

[@ericjanssen394]

Stafford Repp? Begorrah, Batman, that's Chief O'Hara!

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

There is some beautiful acting and casting(and a solid story, for TV). When I was younger this was head cannon prequel to the Spaghetti Westerns to come. Then I lived on the Great Basin of the Rockies and saw how mythic and inaccurate it was. Honestly, being in a graveyard is one of the safest and reflective spots there. Everyone knows which way the wind blows on any given day(and where your knifepoint is). What they got right is how the townsfolk took out the Bully. Ambush was(and is) more common than gunfighter on bounty hunter. Ranchers, farmers, Wildcatters, help me out here. I saw this episode when I was 9 and I'm 61 now, so time has changed my perspective.

[@HlootooThunderhammer]

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark also had a version of this story, but the Twilight Zone is the only one where I've seen this twist that makes it all the creepier. I think the juxtaposition of the explanation and the Ione's short dismantling of it works to the twist's advantage.

[@HarvestStore]

Great video.

[@charlessantee8329]

Connie Miller have nerves of steel going out to the gravesite alone at night.

[@TheCreepypro]

interesting behind the scenes

[@Mikes66442]

@ Channel Awesome - This is my all time very favorite TZ episode!! It has everything going for it, great cast, eerie setting and storyline. Who would think that Lee Marvin would be afraid of anything? His presence alone would dispute that. Having just found your channel and seeing some of your other videos I searched for The Grave. I enjoy it, as I said this is my favorite, but I have to disagree with you on the ending. It is perfect! It fits the Twilight Zone's ending twist, I wouldn't change a thing. Also what would have made your review better would be to include Ione's laugh, especially at the end. It gave me chills when I first saw this episode!

[@BraveRhythm]

I always thought this one was boring and the ending was just ok.

[@debbieanne7962]

Yes, we're all different. I rank this episode at 88 out of 156. Preferred the other westerns 'Dust ' and 'Mr Denton on doomsday'

[@aidanhever3369]

It kinda reminds me of a Freaky Stories short, especially the stabbing the ground part.

[@connorthompson8376]

That bit with the knife perfectly matches up with a short story that I read in junior high. It was about a man who is deemed a coward, and who is challenged by a Cossack to visit a grave and plant his sword. He plants the sword, but then can’t get up, and dies before morning. That might have been the story from Russia that they were talking about. But that’s the only similarity, the knife. The rest might have been one of those separate pitches. In fact, maybe the episode ended up being a combination of both pitches, and the short story inspired the very end.

[@vilmos1584]

I just stand in line, as I have heard this story (in a different setting) from my aunt, who grown up in a small village in hungary. I bet, its not a real story, but a legend, which lives in the collective unconcious.

[@renezescribe1229]

Maybe the townspeople were all in on it... Angered that they had to face Pinto alone, they could have manipulated the bounty hunter into going to a grave marked Pinto Sykes but which could have actually hidden the strongest of the townsmen, most likely the blacksmith, who would've been tasked to grab Miller's hand or, at least, raise from the tomb, to give Miller a good scare. Another clue to that supposition: when we see how Pinto's sister Ion comes to fetch "a bottle" from the saloon, pay close attention as to how she held it: she held it close to her body, in such a way that we couldn't see the label; therefore, it could have been a bottle of narcotics, maybe even her very own bottle, which she could have lent to the barkeep. Miller's drinks could have been laced with it, which would explain how easily he could have been manipulated into going to Sykes' grave. Remember that opioids and other hallucinogens were freely available as an "over-the-counter home remedy", in hose early days. Another detail: in those days, a woman of any social standing would not be seen purchasing a bottle of alcohol, especially not from a saloon. A final thought: why was Ion up at the grave site when Miller arrived? If she was there to grieve on her brother's tomb, wouldn't she have been in tears and crouched over the tombstone? She was not, she was waiting for Miller to show up, making sure the town's strongman was well hidden, despite the gusting winds, until he had to do the deed; the rest of the liquid in the bottle could have been used to dampen the top soil so it didn't blow away until Miller arrived. The final touch, the knife through the coat, could have been done after the fact, just to supply a plausible, convenient and spooky explanation for Miller's circumstantial cause of death, a reason so frightening no-one would go around asking questions... Of course, this all plays into the context that, in those days, people were very superstitious, especially about the dead... One last thing: Bravo for the great background music to the narrations, very unsettling...

[@tskmaster3837]

The problem with the ending is that it's too complicated for the kind of folk tale it's stolen from; You have to keep the knife part as well as the maybe yes/maybe no mystery of the death but... Here's a suggestion: Replace with the wind with the notion that Conny took Syke's duster... as a way to collect the bounty... and brought it up to the grave with him. "I'm not afraid of you!" he yells, brandishing the cloak before him. Then he kneels down and stabs the dagger into the grave. He gets up but as he turns around, he feels resistance on the duster. Scream, fade. The next day, we find his body, the knife and the duster on the grave... HOWEVER Double twist: He didn't stab the knife through the duster.

[@MrGabrielze]

I think that the overly explanation of the cloak and the wind is what makes it interesting. It's not a simple unexpected event of a duster suddenly getting stuck. It's a nearly scientific step-by-step explanation on what happend vs the simplist but supernatural explanation of the Sister. When you watch the sequence again, it's still unclear if the wind was in fact, going south in that moment, even when the locals tells you that it was in fact blowing to south, and you have the sequence when the sister is leaving the cemetery, it is blowing to south.

[@Sovreign071]

Tbf, all three perspectives could be true to some extent. Pittman's father told him a story that probably originated from Russia, and Pittman told the writer. Best gave several ideas including this, and the writer, hearing the same story from two people, figured he'd go with that, and brought Best on board as promised. But, that's just a theory... a Twilight-Tober Zone Twilight Zone Pre-Production Theory!

[@michelegraham1181]

I first heard this story in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and it scared me so much I cried (I was like 6).

[@juliamavroidi8601]

think all origin stories are true. This episode, just like some other Twilight Zone classics like Twenty Two, is based on folklore so it makes sense that Pittman heard it from his father as a child, that James Best was familiar with it and pitching it around before being cast in the episode (perhaps Best's Pitch even reminded Pittman of his father's ghost story?) and thst in Russia an author wrote his own adaptation before Pittman got to it. (Does anyone know what story it supposedly was? Would be interesting to compare the two) That also explains why the story got so many adaptations after the Twilight Zone episode. While the show boosted its popularity, the plot itself was technically in the public domain, so other creatives were free to take their own shot.

[@KiaraCatFurry17]

I originally heard this story through Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. It’s a terrifying ending.

[@MarvelNowProduction]

this take reminds me of a story shown in an episode of Beyond belief fact or fiction

[@wstine79]

Lee Marvin not drunk in a western setting? Only in the Twilight Zone.

[@DMeyer1]

This story is an old one that predates the Twilight Zone, but this is still an enjoyable interpretation of that story.

[@stillaboveground2470]

Marvin, Van Cleef and Martin also starred in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance" together.

[@venomsnigle44]

Yeah I always thought it was his fear that got him

[@geoffreyfyfe2248]

It's appropriate that there are multiple stories for the origin of the episode, as it's an urban legend/folklore tale we've heard many versions of. What I love best is that it's "The Girl Who Stood on a Grave"...except that the girl is Lee Marvin.

[@majinsole8554]

What if both are true tho? Pinto blasts his hand outta the grave to grab Conny, but he already accidentally scared himself to death. Pinto’s hand grasps at the air menacingly with ominous music two or three times, then awkwardly pats the ground around the grave until it shockingly discovers the already dead body, giving a one handed shrug before slowly retreating back into the grave. 🧟‍♂️ ~_~

[@elder-woodsilverstein7716]

In response to where the episode's story came from, I'd say that nobody came up with it, and it just derived from ancient folklore. The story of the grave has been around for years. Scary Stories to Tell in the dark had a similar setup. I'd say that the idea just derived from ghost stories passed from generation to generation, so it's not a case of whether anybody came up with it, its a case of who had the idea to display the story as a Twilight Zone episode.

[@paradoxguy9226]

Maybe the twist should of been they find the grave dug up with a knife in the chest of the dried up corpse which turns out to be Millers body that maybe only the sister notice’s implying the had a fight to see who would of died

[@jeffreyberkin-ez3uh]

That would probably have been the ending if it had been done on Tales From The Crypt .😮

[@ECO473]

The fact that Miller went to the grave and knelt beside it as he stuck the knife proved his manhood beyond all doubt. Now as to what really happened afterward...?

[@monstermash1571]

There was a very old Horror book I remember having own my distant memory, named "BEWARE" It was a series of short horror stories. One of them was very, very simialir to this one. Esentailly, a young girl is in the place of the bounty hunter and she is dared to through a knife into her grave. Similairly, she sticks her dress and dies of fright. Curious where the origins of this story truly come from.

[@BladedEdge123]

I must have seen some other version of this story at some point because I was absolutely sure I remembered the twist from last year when this series was running I went to Wikipedia and read the post synopsis for a bunch of episodes. In my memory the man who gets shot down isn't the famous Gunslinger but the Bounty Hunter who along with the townsfolk are aware that the Gunslinger is pretending to be said Bounty Hunter. So since they know the Gunslinger is laying low they stage the death of the Bounty Hunter pretending to be the Gunslinger and the reason they call him into the jail is to fully pull off the illusion, else why not just leave them in the street. So the whole bar scene is the town convincing the Gunslinger pretending to be the Bounty Hunter to go up to the hill at the false grave and essentially confess at which point he either gets shot down by the real bounty hunter or captured and brought in. Thinking it over it couldn't have been this episode since the sister play such a big role, and obviously if the Gunslinger was pretending to be the Bounty Hunter he would know who is on sister was. I've got no idea where I heard that version of the story but I'm pretty sure I didn't just make it up!

[@karlamckinney8947]

Look at the three actors around the table in the first part of this video. Then look up all the absolutely great film moments involving these three. Then add on Lee Marvin. 'Nuff said.

[@antonanderson1965]

I do believe that I have heard a similar story to this one from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. However, in that story, it was a dare by schoolchildren, and it was a girl who stabbed the knife into her own dress, dying from fright. I definitely see the similarities, and why there is speculation that the story for this episode was based on another scary campfire story (probably the one I just mentioned, in fact).

[@Reshme77]

Scary stories to tell in the dark had a similar story

[@Independentfellow]

I like the spooky west.

[@iplaywhatiwant3738]

This is even in Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. It's ancient folklore. Every culture has its version and nobody owns it.

[@gingergoddess8953]

Well, if the order is correct you WILL be covering a "Best in Series" contender tomorrow...

[@kurtb8474]

"Best of the season status'' is based on your opinion. I think the ending was perfect and very "Twilight Zone." The show often ended with incomplete information for the viewer and that left us thinking about it and coming to our own conclusions. That is what makes the Twilight Zone such a gem at storytelling.

[@julieporter7805]

What cracks me up is that most versions of this story have the protagonist be a teenage girl. So, Connie, a grown man fell for a story that usually young teenage girls fall for! 🙄 Obviously not my favorite episode. This story is told way too many times except for changing the age and gender of the lead character doesn't do anything new with it except the final scene with Ione. (She is the stand out in this episode.) 22 is also a familiar story but the performances particularly Arlene Martel make up for it. Again, I'm not a big Western fan and I think you have to be to enjoy it. Though like The Mirror, it has another funny Rod intro that I love to riff. Rod comes from behind the barn door and I often say in Serling voice, "Sorry I'm late. I had to use the little narrator's room."

[@wizzleteets6829]

Its interesting this is based on old folklore. I recall an old Swedish version from a 1980's children book by Astrid Lindrgren called "Ghost of Skinny Jack" where a trickster snuck into a church to scare a pastor in the night, but his cloak was caught in the door and he thought it was a ghost or the hand of God trapping him as he escaped, and he died a similar way from fright.

[@jinchuriki7022]

Id have risked fighting Pinto to get with his sister.

[@FestArc]

There is a short story I read once that this reminds me of. It has a similar ending but the circumstances are different. A man has to stay in the morgue with a dead body until the following morning. His imagination gets the better of him and he ends up dying of fright after he feels the touch of what he thinks is a cold dead hand trying to grab him. But it is revealed that he had backed into a glove that was left behind.