16. Dark Vengeance
Written by
Peter L. Dixon
Starring Kim Darby, Martin Sheen
Also starring: Shelly Novack

A construction worker digs up an old box and brings it home. His wife starts having dreams about its contents, a toy horse. A toy horse which no longer fits in the box it was found in. Show this episode to the kids and they’ll always put their toys away... immediately. Darby is in her classic ‘why do strange, bad things happen to little innocent me’ mode. Really interesting camera work really make this toy look menacing. Sheen’s reaction during the fireplace scene is classic.

[ODD: If they were going to get rid of the toy anyway why did Sheen worry about putting a towel around it before putting it in a vice?]

Kim Darby: 70’s horror fans will remember her from Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. Everyone else will probably remember her as Miri in the original Star Trek series episode of the same name. She also had an appearance in an episode of The X-Files.

Martin Sheen: Appeared in an episode each of The Outer Limits (1963), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985), and Tales From The Crypt (1989). But most people remember him for his Janos type presidencies in The Dead Zone and The West Wing.

Shelly Novack: Appeared in an episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker and the movie The Letters.

17. Earth, Air, Fire and Water

Teleplay by
D.C. Fontana
Story by Harlan Ellison and D.C. Fontana
Starring: Frank Converse, Joan Blackman, Tim Mcintire, Tyne Daly, Brooke Bundy, Scott Marlowe
Also starring:
Oliver Clark, Dabbs Grier
Special Art Created By: Jerry Gebr and Ishtar Gate

A group of artists discover a chest full of jars. Slowly, their artwork changes to fit their moods. This is my favorite episode, and I’m not alone. Very creepy with a nightmarish ending.

Harlan Ellison: Where to begin, where to begin... Wrote three episodes of The Twilight Zone (1985) and was the series creative consultant. Wrote an episode each of The Outer Limits (1995), Tales From The Darkside, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). Most recently he’ll be knows as the creative consultant and writer for the series Babylon 5. But true science fiction fans will always remember him for his episodes “Demon With A Glass Hand” and “Soldier” from The Outer Limits (1963). Both for their quality and because both of these were inspiration from the movie The Terminator. (Something which originally went uncredited.)

Frank Converse: Appeared in an episode of Tales Of The Unexpected. Also was in an episode of The Starlost

Tim Mcintire: Played the voice of the Devil in several episodes of Soap (which featured two other Ghost Story alumnus) He also can be heard in the movie A Boy And His Dog which was written by Harlan Ellison

Tyne Daly: Most people know her from Cagney & Lacey and more recently from Judging Amy. Fans of this site migh tremember her from this episode and an episode of The Ray Bradbury Theatre. Hard to believe, but she was also in an episode of the series Swamp Thing.

Brooke Bundy: Was in an episode of Night Gallery as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Scott Marlowe: Can be seen in an episode each of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), Thriller, Freddy’s Nightmares, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. As well as two episodes of The Outer Limits (1963).

Oliver Clark: Not only was he in an episode of The Twilight Zone (1985), he was also in the movie Mystery Men.

Dabbs Greer: To his credit, he was in two episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959) and The Outer Limits (1963), an episode each of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and Kraft Suspense Theatre, and three episodes of The Adventures Of Superman. Audiences of The Green Mile might recognize him as Old Paul Edgecomb.

Jerry 'Jaroslav' Gebr: Also did artwork for Night Gallery and tons of other movie/television programs. Here’s his site with samples of his work.

18. Doorway to Death
Written by
Jimmy Sangster
Starring: Barry Nelson, Susan Dey, Henry Jones

Two kids move into a new apartment and meet the nice man living upstairs. Problem is...the landlord says the apartment is empty. Geeze, when I was growing up I was taught to be careful around strangers. Here you have kids who just wander into someone else’s apartment? I guess we should think of this episode as William Castle’s After School Special.

[Q: After Dey is visited in her sleep, they pan across her room and show a clock on the wall. Any clue what the letters mean? A-V-C-I(?)-P-L-E-O.]

[When Nelson is talking to the landlord you’ll notice a military picture on the bookcase. Could this be a stock image from Nelson’s movie Winged Victory? (Where he was credited as Corporal Barry Nelson).]

Barry Nelson: Appeared in a whopping six episodes of Suspense, three episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour, and an episode each of Twilight Zone (1959), Thriller, and Monsters. He was also the first person to ever to be seen playing James Bond.

Susan Dey: Most remember her from The Patridge Family, L.A. Law, or both.

Henry Jones: Can be seen in an episode each of Tales of Tomorrow, Supsense, Twilight Zone (1959), Way Out, Night Gallery, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Also he was in two episodes of Thriller, and six episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour. But can you also believe he’s now the third person from this series to be in the movie The Letters?

19. Legion of Demons
Written by
Anthony Lawrence
Starring: Shirley Knight Hopkins, Neva Patterson, Jon Cypher, Kathryn Hays

A secretary’s friend (who is also her roommate and coworker) dissappears. Now she’s having strange visions which leads her to believe she’s joined Satan’s stenopool. She’s a real gem when she get’s frantic and unnerved.

[GOOF: After the scene with her date, she’s shown combing her hair. Obviously it’s a different night and later her date says, “I was coming to pick you up.” Damn, either it was going to be a VERY late date or a very early one. The clock in the 315 Miller Drive house said it was 6:10. And you can tell it’s a.m. because as they drive away you can see the sky next to the right side of the house. And no, it’s not dusk because it was pitch black when she ran out of the house earlier.]

Anthony Lawrence: Also wrote for The Outer Limits (1963).

Shirley Knight Hopkins: A veteran actor with a vast amount of quality material under her belt, she also appeared in an episode of The Outer Limits (1963) and Night Visions. But one supporting actress role which sticks in my head is her Law & Order performance. In “The Wages Of Love” she plays an woman accused of killing her husband. To this day I can hear her perfectly say the line, “I’m not a used piece of furniture.” One of the few performers that never fail to hit the mark.

Neva Patterson: Appeared in an episode of Suspense. But most sci-fi fans will remember her as the duplicitous Eleanor Dupres on the V mini-series.

Jon Cypher: Most will remember him as Chief Fletcher Daniels on Hill Street Blues. But many might not know he was also the voice of Spellbinder in the animated series Batman Beyond.

Kathryn Hays: Can also be seen two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Hour and one episode of Night Gallery. But for Star Trek fans she holds a special place in their hears. Never saying a word, she gave a memorable performance as Gem in the original Star Trek series episode “The Empath”.