Halloween Countdown, Day 6

[eldritchhobbit]

Happy birthday to coalitiongirl! May you have a wonderful day and a fantastic year to come.


Here's a wonderful tribute to one of the most Halloween-friendly television series of all time, The Twilight Zone. Enjoy this whirlwind tour of 156 episodes in 10 minutes:

"HÄXAN (1922) [Swedish Film Institute print] FULL MOVIE" (Watch on YouTube)

Spooky Text of the Day: Today's story is the oh-so-creepy "The Interval" by Vincent O'Sullivan (1868-1940).
Excerpt:
The woman seemed timid and oppressed: she breathed heavily and kept rubbing her dingy hands, which looked moist, one over the other; she was always wetting her lips, and coughed with a little dry cough. But in her these signs of nervous exhaustion suggested overwork in a close atmosphere, bending too close over the sewing-machine. Her uninteresting hair, like a rat's pelt, was eked out with a false addition of another color. Some threads had got into her hair too.

Her harried, uneasy look caused Mrs. Wilton to ask compassionately: "Are you much worried by the police?"

"Oh, the police! Why don't they leave us alone? You never know who comes to see you. Why don't they leave me alone? I'm a good woman. I only think. What I do is no harm to any one." . . .

She continued in an uneven querulous voice, always rubbing her hands together nervously. She seemed to the visitor to be talking at random, just gabbling, like children do sometimes before they fall asleep.

"I wanted to explain—" hesitated Mrs. Wilton.

But the woman, with her head pressed close against the back of the chair, was staring beyond her at the wall. Her face had lost whatever little expression it had; it was blank and stupid. When she spoke it was very slowly and her voice was guttural.

"Can't you see him? It seems strange to me that you can't see him. He is so near you. He is passing his arm round your shoulders."

Read the complete story here.

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I love the clip, so thanks for the trip down memory lane. There were even a few I didn't remember.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome! I loved it too.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

The Twilight Zone was one of the best, creepiest shows ever written. Even those tiny clips were scary!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I agree on both counts!

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Twilight Zone vid? Very cool. Thanks for the link.

Scary that I remember nearly all of them.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome! It's funny how just hearing a quick line or seeing an image brings back the entire episode to me.

Love the icon. ;)

[mamomo.livejournal.com]

That video was the best. I don't think any scary TV series have ever come close to the creepiness Serling achieved with TZ. As Halloween-friendly as it is, I actually associate TZ with New Year's b/c that's when I always watch the SciFi SyFy marathon.

The story reminded me of The Others, I guess b/c of the soldier.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I agree - Serling achieved something unique (and spooktacular) with that series.

I see exactly what you mean about The Others!

[agentxpndble.livejournal.com]

The episode summary is a cool idea - I'd forgotten some of the *awesome* episodes and actor that had been on TZ! Wow - There was one of those that damaged me so badly I had blocked it out of my memory... The Shelter (#68) gave me nightmares for weeks - Just reading the episode summary (to verify it was the right episode) had me sobbing again. :-(

Can't wait to see the RM eps! (I'm waiting for the library copies - I can't stand watching stuff online.) Hey, how cool would it be to do up one of these video summaries for all of Artie's disguises?!?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how just a couple of seconds - a line or an image - brings back an entire episode to me. So many great shows and actors! I'm sorry about #68. *hugs you*

>Hey, how cool would it be to do up one of these video summaries for all of Artie's disguises?!?

That would be brilliant!!!

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Cool! Been a long time since I saw any of that series. And forgotten how many actors had been in it or even got their start there. Or that you would not think had been in it. Like Dick York whom I best remember as Darrin or Jonathan Harris (Dr. Zachary Smith).

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly! Or Donna Douglas (Elly May Clampett) or Ross Martin (Artemus Gordon), etc... That video is like a cultural literacy test. LOL! Glad you enjoyed it too.

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

That's a fun video! I signed up to volunteer on 10/30 for a special The Twilight Zone anniversary celebration at the Egyptian. Showing 6 episodes on the big screen, plus Carol Serling, Marc Zicree and various directors will be there. Also working this weekend at The Hollywood Show, which is having a TZ "reunion" of many actors (plus Sean Astin will be there, I guess I should mention). Our TZ cup runneth over this month.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Both of those events sound fantastic! I do hope you'll post reviews. Enjoy - October is the perfect time for TZ goodness. :)

[witchcat07.livejournal.com]

I didn't find the story very creepy, kinda sweet actually.

[thehornedgod.livejournal.com]

There's a sweetness to it, but I find it spooky too.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yes, I definitely see the sweetness as well as the spookiness.