Monday, January 20, 2025

Reading Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine, Part 28

In which we take a closer look at each issue. For a history of the magazine, go here.

Volume 3, Number 6
(January/February, 1984)

Cover Art: Images from the films Christine and Return of the Jedi. Image from the television series The Outer Limits


TZ Publications, Inc. 

Chairman: S. Edward Orenstein
President: Milton J. Cuevas
Treasurer: Sidney Z. Gellman
Executive Publisher: S. Edward Orenstein
Publisher: Eric Protter
Associate Publisher/Consulting Editor: Carol Serling
Executive Editor: John Bensink
Editor in Chief: T.E.D. Klein
Managing Editor: Jane Bayer
Associate Editor: Robert Sabat
Books Editor: Thomas M. Disch
Contributing Editors: Gahan Wilson, James Verniere, Ron Goulart
Design Director: Michael Monte
Art Director: Pat E. McQueen
Art Production: Florence Neal, Lgilgan Randgic-Coleman, Susan Lindeman
Typesetting: Irma Landazuri
Production Director: Stephen J. Fallon
Vice President-Finance, Controller: Thomas Schiff
Assistant Controller: Chris Grossman
Ass’t to the Publisher: Judy Linden
Public Relations Manager: Jeffrey Nickora
Special Projects Mgr.: Brian Orenstein
Accounting Ass’t: Annmarie Pistilli
Office Ass’t: Linda Jarit
Circulation Mgr.: Carole A. Harley
Circulation Ass’t: Jill Obernier
Western Circ. Mgr.: Dominick LaGatta
Advertising Director: Rachel Britapaja
Adv. Production Manager: Marina Despotakis
Adv. Ass’t.:
Karen Martorano

Contents:

--In the Twilight Zone: “A Scary Christmas to All . . .” by T.E.D. Klein
--Other Dimensions: Books by Thomas M. Disch
--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson
--Other Dimensions: Nostalgia by Ron Goulart
--Other Dimensions: Screen Adaptation Quiz by William Fulwiler
--Other Dimensions: Etc.
--The Essential Writers: Isaac Bashevis Singer by Isidore Haiblum
--TZ Interview: Isaac Bashevis Singer by Isidore Haiblum
--Required Reading: “Hanka” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
--Double Vision: Two Stories by Joe Cromarty
--“Windigo Country” by Dennis Delaney
--Fantasy Films 1983
--TZ Screen Preview: Christine by James Verniere
--TZ Interview: Stephen King by Randy Lofficier
--“Harlequin” by John Carpenter
--Beyond the Zone: Cartoon by “Feggo”
--“Ghost Guessed” by Scott Bradfield
--Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome
--“In and Out of The Outer Limits” by David J. Schow
--Show-by-Show Guide: The Outer Limits, Part One by David J. Schow
--Two by Cheney (cartoons)
--TZ Classic Teleplay: “Mirror Image” by Rod Serling
--Looking Ahead: Next Issue

--In the Twilight Zone: “A Scary Christmas to All . . .” by T.E.D. Klein 

-This is the Christmas issue of the magazine, and Klein’s editorial explores the tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas. Although readers of the magazine may believe that Halloween is the traditional time for telling ghost stories, Klein explores the tradition in English literature of setting supernatural tales at Christmas. To illustrate this tradition, Klein uses examples from the works of Russell Kirk, Horace Walpole, Marjorie Bowen, Charles Dickens, M.R. James, Henry James, and Jerome K. Jerome (pictured), whose 1891 parody of Christmas ghost stories, Told After Supper, is included in the issue. I previously wrote a brief history of this tradition, including a list of Twilight Zone episodes suitable for the winter fireside along with recommended reading. You can find that post here.

-Klein also provides information about the contributors to the issue, highlighted by a profile of, interview with, and story by Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer. Klein provides brief profiles of Scott Bradfield, Dennis Delaney, Joseph Cromarty, and film director John Carpenter, who provide stories in the issue. Klein also highlights a new cartoonist, Felipe Galindo Gomez (“Feggo”), and David J. Schow’s coverage of The Outer Limits. Finally, Klein provides corrections for the previous issue.

--Other Dimensions: Books by Thomas M. Disch 

-Disch heaps praise upon The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, the international bestseller that has become a modern classic of mystery fiction. Disch writes that the novel “is that rarity, a novel so superlative as to be a genuine embarrassment of riches – embarrassing, that is, to the reviewer whose praise will sound hollow in his own ears.” Disch provides a summary of the novel, along with his impressions of the author’s narrative skills, and concludes by stating: “if there’s any justice at the Mystery Writers of America, Eco should get an Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel of the Year. And if they give out Super-Edgars in the year 2000 for Best of the Century, Eco will surely be a top contender.” The Name of the Rose won several international awards but the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America was not among them. The novel was nominated for Mystery Novel of the Year but lost to La Brava by Elmore Leonard.

-Disch is far less enthusiastic about Dear Mr. Capote by Gordon Lish, former fiction editor at Esquire. Lish’s novel is an epistolary story concerning a homicidal fan. This type of story, Disch points out, had previously been done more skillfully in The Fan by Bob Randall (1977; filmed 1981) and “Ottmar Balleau X 2” by George Bamber (1961). Disch takes umbrage with supportive blurbs for the book provided by James Dickey and Cynthia Ozick. Disch tells us that Lish resigned from his position as fiction editor at Esquire when the magazine refused to publish a story by Ozick that Lish favored. Disch concludes by telling Ozick: “for penance you must deliver seven week-long seminars on the subject of Gordon Lish’s horrific artistry. Now make a good act of contrition and write an essay on the morality of blurb-writing.”

-Disch next looks at The Dark Fantastic by Stanley Ellin, a novel rejected by the author’s publisher, Random House, because it was too “horrific and scandalous.” Ellin’s novel was published by Otto Penzler’s the Mysterious Press. The horrific and scandalous nature of the novel concerns a white slumlord who, suffering from a terminal cancer diagnosis, decides to blow up an African-American tenement building. Disch concludes: “The Dark Fantastic is an unfailingly entertaining thriller. Read it now before the movie comes out and gets it all wrong, and then, if you’re still hungry, check out Ellin’s collection, The Specialty of the House (also from the Mysterious Press, $15).”

-Finally, Disch reviews the novel Pilgermann by Russell Hoban, who “has made the mistake of thinking he could write a historical novel just by setting his sails, invoking Clio, Muse of History, and trusting to the winds of lyric invention.” Ultimately, Disch found the novel static and uninteresting, writing: “Let’s see some brightly colored pictures of Samson and the lion by this time next year – or risk having your novels be read nowhere but in college courses by students being trained to dig for symbols.”

--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson 

-Wilson reviews Krull, Liquid Sky, and two recent 3-D films. Wilson found the acting, directing, and plot of Krull severely lacking (“a rather overfamiliar shuffling, Star Wars-style, of Arthurian legends and intergalactic war”), but found positive things to say about the film’s art department, writing that “they ended up with a swell bunch of stills for their memory albums, a glittering, empty Art trap, but no movie. Which is a pity.”

-Wilson is more enthusiastic about the low-budget science fiction film Liquid Sky, which provides a dual gender role for actress Anne Carlisle (pictured), who, Wilson writes, “parades about in increasingly bizarre facial and body makeups and delights in wearing clothes which would stop traffic in Des Moines, as well as many parts of Brooklyn.” Wilson also profiles the film’s director, Slava Tsukerman, highlights the film’s humor, and examines the ways in which the film manipulated the audience in the theatre where Wilson viewed the film. He concludes: “Hooray for all concerned.”

-Wilson next laments the resurgence of 3-D films, finding fault with the production of the 3-D effects, examining the difficulty of wearing 3-D glasses, and decrying the low quality of recent 3-D films. Wilson briefly reviews two of these films. He describes the first, The Man Who Wasn’t There, as “the worst Invisible Man-type movie I have ever seen.” The second film, Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn, is dismissed as “awful.” 

--Other Dimensions: Nostalgia by Ron Goulart 

“Has anybody seen the Invisible Man lately?”

-Goulart turns his attention to the subject of invisibility in popular culture. What prompted this is the release of the Invisible Man film, The Man Who Wasn’t There, a film that performed so poorly at the box office that it left theaters before Goulart had a chance to see it. Goulart shares some of the bad reviews the film received before discussing films on the theme of invisibility that he remembers from childhood, including The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, Topper, Topper Takes a Trip, and Topper Returns. Goulart details the casts of these films, and profiles actors John Hall and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.

-Goulart then reviews director James Whale’s 1933 film version of H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel The Invisible Man. Goulart found the invisibility scenes interesting but found the scenes in the inn “dull.”  Goulart details the cast and crew of the film before moving on to later films, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man and Now You See Him, Now You Don’t, and various television offerings on the theme. Finally, Goulart explores the many invisible menaces encountered and battled by the pulp hero The Shadow (pictured).

--Other Dimensions: Screen Adaptation Quiz by William Fulwiler

-The quiz this month challenges readers to match the film title with the title of the work upon which the film was based. Twenty correct answers and you’re a fantasy film buff. Thirty correct answers and you’re an expert. I took the quiz and, alas, got twenty-nine correct. See the quiz and answers below.




--Other Dimensions: Etc. 

-The miscellany column this month contains: a cartoon by Peter Kuper (pictured), a humorous error in a review by the Science Fiction Chronicle (in which an author, rather than his work, is described as “short”), a message from the editor on the unhappy response from readers to a cartoon from a previous issue (which showed a postal worker destroying copies of the magazine), a request by a reader for information on a music cue from “Where Is Everybody?”, a cartoon by Jim Pinkoski, various uses of the term “twilight zone” in recent media reports, an excerpt from an article in Psychology Today concerning the “twilight zone” between waking and sleeping, a quote by Brendan Gill, from The New Yorker, on the purposelessness of mountain climbing, use of the term “twilight zone” in a story by Clark Ashton Smith, examples of paper dolls by artist Jill Bauman from Monster Paper Dolls, “Dreams,” a poem by Gabriel Setoun, from The Child World (1979), and a call for advertisements for the TZ Classifieds page.

--The Essential Writers: Isaac Bashevis Singer: Portrait of a Magician by Isidore Haiblum 

Illustration by Tomar Levine

“The Polish-born Nobel prizewinner is revered throughout the world for his vision and humanity. And he also writes good horror stories”

-Isidore Haiblum, who previously contributed to the magazine a series of essays concerning writing and publishing genre fiction, profiles the Polish writer and Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991), with commentary from Singer. Haiblum describes Singer’s writings in Yiddish and the process of translating these writings into English (Singer permanently moved to the United States in 1935). Haiblum describes Singer’s childhood in Poland, including his family life and the readings that influenced his young creative mind (Poe, Hoffmann, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Knut Hamsun). Haiblum describes Singer’s explorations of mystical Jewish texts as a young man, and how these influenced his early writings. Singer’s older brother, the novelist Israel Joshua Singer, is profiled (it was Israel who brought Isaac to America). Singer’s literary career is explored in detail, including his position early on as a translator for a Yiddish language magazine in Poland, the publications of his first short stories, his move to America, and his work as a freelance Yiddish journalist in New York before securing a position on the Yiddish periodical the Daily Forward. Haiblum concludes his profile by providing numerous quotes from authors and critics, as well as from Singer’s works, to show the variety and the skill with which Singer writes. Haiblum writes: “As he approaches his eighties, his vigor remains undiminished, and new novels, short stories, and memoirs of the highest order keep pouring out. He is a master magician who continues to bring marvels into the world.”

--TZ Interview: “These Hidden Powers Are Everywhere” 

“Isaac Bashevis Singer discusses miracles, demons, and the afterlife with interviewer Isidore Haiblum”

-Haiblum’s interview with Singer encompass a variety of subjects related to Singer’s life and works. Of particular importance seems to be Singer’s views on metaphysical matters. The authors discuss Singer’s views on religious miracles and human extrasensory abilities. Singer discusses his rejection of the natural philosophy of Spinoza for a more open-minded acceptance of things beyond our understanding of natural laws. Singer also discusses the agents of good and evil in the world and his views on the afterlife before moving away from these subjects. Singer then discusses the differences between living and writing in Warsaw and New York, as well as his feelings on how winning the Nobel Prize in Literature has, or has not, changed his outlook on life and on his craft. Singer describes his daily writing habits and provides details for some of his upcoming works, including a story, “Why Heisherik Was Born,” for Playboy, a story first published in the Daily Forward. This prompts Singer to discuss the ways in which he revises his stories when translating them from Yiddish to English, essentially creating two distinct versions of the same story. Finally, Haiblum asks Singer what brings him joy, to which Singer responds: “My work, and taking walks – I take big walks, I walk every day, between five and six miles, sometimes a bit more – and, well, that and other things. Although I’m not a young man anymore, I also know what love is and is not. I would say – this is again the same thing – reading a good book also brings joy.”

--Required Reading: “Hanka” by Isaac Bashevis Singer 

Illustration by Bruce Waldman

“. . . In which the author embarks on a Latin American lecture tour – and finds himself journeying through the land of the dead”

-In this work of autobiographical fiction, Singer undertakes a journey from New York to Buenos Aires for a lecture tour. The strangeness of his experiences begins on the long sea journey, where Singer is unable to make any sort of personal connection to the other passengers. As a result, he secludes himself in his cabin until the ship arrives at its destination. Arrived in Buenos Aries, Singer meets his contact, Chazkel Poliva, who provides him with a schedule for his four-week stay in Argentina. Singer is also met by a mysterious woman named Hanka, who claims to be his relative. Hanka unnerves Poliva, who abruptly leaves Singer in the woman’s care. Hanka and Singer return to his hotel room, where Hanka tells Singer about his other relative living in Buenos Aires. Hanka also tells him strange stories of terror and sadness from her time in Europe as well as her time in South America. Hanka indicates more than once that she is dead.  

-Singer begins to experience strange events that interrupt his lecture tour. Telephones and other machines cease to work properly, the postal service abruptly stops, and the countryside is inundated with windstorms and flooding rains. Behind this, Singer suspects, is the mysterious Hanka. One evening, she takes him to see his cousin Jechiel, now known as Julio, who lives in a desolate part of town. Julio and his wife seem unable to remain awake and are hardly communicative when Hanka and Singer visit. When they leave, Hanka embraces Singer in the alley outside Julio’s home. The lights are extinguished in the house, rain begins to fall, and a darkness surrounds everything.

-The following day, the sun is shining and the weather has cleared. Chazel Poliva returns to Singer and tells him that he has freed himself from the evil influence of Hanka. But Singer longs to see the mysterious woman again. She does not return. Later, Singer gives a lecture to the “rich Jews” of the city. At the behest of Poliva, Singer does not mention anything metaphysical. After his lecture, however, he is eagerly questioned on metaphysical matters by the audience. He looks up and sees Hanka in the audience. She smiles and winks at him before vanishing. Hallucination or not, Singer knows that he will brood on it for the rest of his life.

-This disturbing, atmospheric story is a strong contender for the best I’ve read in the magazine to this point. It was first published in Yiddish in no. 83 (1974) of the journal Di goldene keyt, and in English in the February 4, 1974 issue of The New Yorker. The story was collected in Passions and Other Stories (1975). Peter Straub included the story in American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940s to Now (Library of America, 2009).

--“The Neighborhood Assassin” by Joseph Cromarty 

Illustration by Peter de Seve

“There was nothing wrong with murder . . . as long as it made sense”

-A man tells of his fantasy about murdering someone. He begins thinking about possible victims, beginning with the president, then moving on to a congressman, his boss, and his neighbor, finding a flaw with each of these potential victims. Finally, he decides to murder his wife, who he has been talking to. “Even if you are my wife,” he tells her, “a guy’s entitled to fulfill one of his fantasies, ain’t he?”

--“Words, Words, Words” by Joseph Cromarty 

Illustration by Peter de Seve

“They made no sense to anyone . . . or almost anyone”

-Thomas, a young boy, begins misspelling words on his papers at school, to the consternation of his teacher. The problem rapidly worsens until, in an attempt to punish the boy, the teacher makes him read his paper aloud to the class. As the boy reads the strange language created by his misspellings, the atmosphere in the classroom deteriorates and a demon appears. “You called?”

--“Windigo Country” by Dennis Delany 

Illustration by Harry Pincus

“Maybe it was hell, this land where madness crept into the bones – or maybe it was just . . .”

-Kate and her husband Danny run a small motel in a desolate town. Kate notices that many of the locals behave strangely, aggressively. She desperately wants to leave town but Danny is determined to stay. Danny’s behavior begins to change, as well. He becomes more aggressive, short-tempered, obsessed with shooting the dogs that dig through the motel’s trash. Mr. Newal, a stranger, comes to town one day and checks in at the motel. An older travelling salesman, Mr. Newal befriends Kate and explains to her over a cup of coffee his theory of the Windigo, a spirit believed by Native Americans to turn one’s heart to ice. Kate begins to believe that Danny is possessed by the Windigo. When Danny begins acting erratically, Kate runs to Mr. Newal’s room for help. She finds that Mr. Newal has lured a local boy to his room and murdered him. Panicked, she rushes back to Danny. The police arrive and take Mr. Newal away. Kate reflects that Mr. Newal knew the whole time that he was possessed by the Windigo.

-“Windigo Country” was reprinted in TZ Special #1: Night Cry (1984), and in the June, 2001 issue of Night Terrors, edited by D.E. Davidson.

--Fantasy Films 1983: The Year of Living Languorously

“It’s been a dismal year for genre films (though you’d never know it at the box office). TZ charts the occasional high points and the all-too-common lows”

-This is a series of short reviews of the fantasy films of 1983. Each film is examined in two columns based on what worked and what didn’t work in the film. The films reviewed are:

Brainstorm, Cujo, The Dark Crystal, The Entity, The Dead Zone, The Evil Dead, Fanny and Alexander, The Hunger, Jaw 3-D, Krull, Liquid Sky, The Man Who Wasn't There, Octopussy, Psycho II, Return of the Jedi, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Still of the Night, Strange Invaders, Superman III, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Videodrome, WarGames, Xtro, Zelig

--TZ Screen Preview: Christine by James Verniere 

“Horror’s two heavy hitters, John Carpenter and Stephen King, team up in a story about ‘teenagers, rock music, and America’s love affair with the automobile.’ James Verniere reports”

-The screen preview this issue is for the third Stephen King film released in a six-month period, with a seventh (Firestarter) on the horizon. This is Christine, the killer car film adapted by director John Carpenter from King’s 1983 novel. The wheels to adapt King’s novel began to turn before the novel was published, as King sent producer Richard Kobritz the novel in pre-publication state. Kobritz won the film rights to the novel and screenwriter Bill Phillips began adapting the novel for the screen before it hit bookstores. The article profiles director John Carpenter and describes the financial failure of Carpenter’s film The Thing as something that nearly derailed his career. Carpenter’s relationship with producer Kobritz is detailed, as is Kobritz’s relationship with Stephen King. Kobritz previously produced the television film of King’s ‘Salem’s Lot. The story of Christine is summarized and the article explores the small subgenre of killer car films, including Rod Serling’s “A Thing About Machines.” The cast members of the film are profiled and a significant portion of the article describes the technical challenges faced by the production, including finding several (as many as fourteen) 1958 Plymouth Fury automobiles, and creating the special effects that make the car seem to be alive.

--TZ Interview: Stephen King Talks About Christine by Randy Lofficier 

“It’s a pretty lively car”

-This interview with King focuses on his novel rather than the film, since King had not yet seen the film at the time of the interview. King discusses setting his novel outside his usual settings (Maine or Colorado), why he chose the Plymouth Fury for the car, whether Christine is evil or if the evil came from her first owner (a villain named Roland Le Bay), his memories of growing up in the 1950s, his aversion to hidden symbols in works of fiction, and the difficulties of writing the book in two narrative styles.

--“Harlequin” by John Carpenter 

Illustration by Jim Harter

“An early excursion into the surreal world of masks and transformations, from the man who brought you Halloween and The Thing”

-A man drives down to the ocean after midnight. He gets out of his car and walks close to the shore. After ten years, he says aloud, he is going back. He removes his human face and skin to reveal a fish body beneath. A clown has been watching him from a distance. The clown tells him that he is not a fish but rather a clown. The fish removes its scales to reveal a clown’s face with a painted smile.

-In his introduction to the issue, T.E.D. Klein tells us that Carpenter’s story originally appeared in 1969 in the Bowling Green, Kentucky college magazine, The Continent. The story was later reprinted in the July, 1981 issue (#15) of The Science Fiction Collector, where Klein read it. The story was later reprinted in Ghost Movies: Famous Supernatural Films, edited by Peter Haining (1995), and in the first issue of Allen K’s Inhuman Magazine, edited by Allen Koszowski (2004).

--Beyond the Zone: The Way-Out World of Feggo

 


--“Ghost Guessed” by Scott Bradfield 

Illustration by Carrol O’Connell

“For a man who lived by himself, he had an awful lot of trouble with his roommate”

-Kenneth Millar is a shy, virginal, middle-aged man who lives quietly in the house his mother left him after her death. Another Kenneth Millar also lives in the house. This Kenneth is a sort of ghost. He is profane, sloppy, and sexually active, and he constantly berates the other Kenneth for the cowardly life he lives. Slowly, inexorably, Kenneth the ghost takes over the life of the other Kenneth, who suddenly finds himself a ghost in his own home.

-“Ghost Guessed,” the title is taken from a line in the poem “Spring and Fall” by Gerard Manly Hopkins, was reprinted in the author’s collections The Secret Life of Houses (1988), Dream of the Wolf (1990), and Greetings from Earth: New and Collected Stories (1993). Kenneth Millar is the name of the detective story novelist who wrote as Ross MacDonald. Scott Bradfield currently hosts an entertaining and bookish YouTube channel that can be found here.

--Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome 

Illustrations by Charles Dougherty

“Pull up a chair by the fireside, pour yourself a glass or two of punch, light up your long clay pipe, and return with us to a happier age for this little-known masterpiece of Victorian humor”

-In the prologue to his book of humorous Christmas ghost stories, Jerome describes the English tradition of telling ghost stories, and provides a number of the most common types of ghost stories told by English speaking people when gathered around the fire on Christmas Eve.

HOW THE STORIES CAME TO BE TOLD 

-It is Christmas Eve, and, after supper, Jerome’s Uncle John prepares whiskey punch. The two men are joined by the local curate, Dr. Scrubbles, Mr. Coombes, a member of the City Council, and Teddy Biffles. Uncle John tells a funny story. Jerome attempts to tell a funny story but forgets to tell it aloud. Then the curate attempts to fool the other men with the three-card trick and fails miserably. “And then,” Jerome writes, “somehow or other, we must have got on to ghosts: because the next recollection I have is that we were telling ghost stories to each other.” The punch flows copiously and the men begin their version of the old tradition.

TEDDY BIFFLE’S STORY 

-This story is about a man who fell in love with a woman and went off to Australia to make his fortune in order to marry her. The making of this fortune took many years. By the time the man returned to the home of the woman he loved, she was gone, he knew not where. He moves into the house and dies there, creating a mournful, wailing ghost that troubles Teddy and his family, who move in years later. They have the idea that if they can show the ghost the grave of the woman he loved, he would cease haunting the house. Try as they might, they cannot discover the woman’s final resting place. Then the idea occurs to them that they could fake her grave. This done, they lure the ghost out of the house to discover the grave. The ghost then attaches itself to this spot, where it cries every night, leaving the house in peace. Teddy concludes his story: “I’ll take you fellows down and show you it next time you come to our place – 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. are its general hours, 10 to 2 on Saturdays.”

MR. COOMBES’ STORY 

“The Haunted Mill or The Ruined House”

-Mr. Coombes’ brother-in-law, Mr. Parkins, moves into a house that once belonged to an infamous old miser. It is believed that when the old man died he left a stash of money hidden in the house. Soon, the ghost of the old miser appears to Mr. Parkins. Silently, night after night, the ghost leads Mr. Parkins to various parts of the house, indicating a floor here, a ceiling there, a cupboard here, a wall there. Believing the ghost is trying to reveal the hiding place of his money, Mr. Parkins tears up the floor, tears down the ceiling, removes the cupboard and the walls. He does not find any money. Eventually, Mr. Parkins tears down the entire house but still finds no money.

MY UNCLE’S STORY 

“The Ghost of the Blue Chamber”

-Jerome’s Uncle tells the story of a vicious man who previously lived in the very house they were sitting in, and who murdered a Christmas caroler, poisoned a German band, and attempted to harm anyone who made excessive noise. The man died and now haunts the Blue Chamber upstairs every Christmas Eve where he battles the ghosts of those he murdered.

MY OWN STORY 

-Jerome takes up the challenge to sleep in the Blue Chamber that Christmas Eve. He meets the murderous ghost, who is not frightening but who claims a lost list of crimes committed against music and noise makers. He tells Jerome that he has vanquished for good and all the ghosts he typically battles on Christmas Eve. As such, he has no reason to continue to visit the Blue Chamber unless Jerome would like his company. A rooster crows outside and the ghost becomes irritated. Jerome accompanies the ghost outside into the freezing cold but is intercepted by a servant. The ghost has disappeared and Jerome is led back to the safety of the house.

--In and Out of The Outer Limits: The First Season by David J. Schow 

“TV’s most memorable monster show opened to stormy reviews, censorship problems, and a verdict on one of its aliens: ‘Disturbing to young minds’.”

-Schow’s history of the series begins with a detailed examination of the production of episodes before the series began its broadcast. He profiles director Gerd Oswald and examines the episodes he directed, profiles the early work of writer Joseph Stefano on the series, offers a sampling of early reviews of the series, and examines the trepidation felt by ABC over the costs and contents of the series.

--Show-by-Show Guide: The Outer Limits, Part One by David J. Schow 

“Beginning David J. Schow’s seven-part survey of the series, complete with the words of the celebrated control voice”

-Schow provides detailed information about the episodes in broadcast order, including broadcast date, cast and crew listings, the narrations of the Control Voice, and narrative summaries. The episodes covered in this issue are: “The Galaxy Being,” “The Hundred Days of the Dragon,” “The Architects of Fear,” “The Man with the Power,” “The Sixth Finger,” “The Man Who Was Never Born,” and “O.B.I.T.”

--Two by “Cheney”

 




--TZ Classic Teleplay: “Mirror Image” by Rod Serling 

“The original television script first aired on CBS-TV February 26, 1960”

-The teleplay this issue is for Rod Serling’s creepy first season episode, “Mirror Image,” starring Vera Miles as a woman in a bus station confronted with her doppelganger, and Martin Milner as a fellow traveler who attempts to help her. The episode was moodily directed by the great John Brahm. You can revisit my review of the episode here.

--1984 TZ Calendar 

-Here's a bonus for those who have read this far. This pull-out 1984 calendar, with illustrations from the magazine, was included in this issue. 















Acknowledgements: The Internet Archive (archive.org) provided the scan of the magazine. Images of the calendar are from Ebay. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (isfdb.org) provided bibliographic details. 

Next in the Vortex: A return to our episode guide with a review of “Ninety Years Without Slumbering.” Thanks for reading!

JP

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