"Jess-Belle"

Granny Hart (Jeanette Nolan) offers Jess-Belle (Anne Francis) a dangerous bargain

“Jess-Belle”

Season Four, Episode 109

Original Air Date: February 14, 1963

Cast:

Jess-Belle: Anne Francis

Billy-Ben: James Best

Ellwyn: Laura Devon

Granny Hart: Jeanette Nolan

Ossie Stone: Virginia Gregg

Luther Glover: George Mitchell

Mattie Glover: Helen Kleeb

Obed Miller: Jim Boles

Minister: Jon Lormer

Crew:

Writer: Earl Hamner, Jr.

Director: Buzz Kulik

Producer: Herbert Hirschman

Director of Photography: Robert Pittack

Production Manager: Ralph W. Nelson

Associate Producer: Murray Golden

Assistant to Producer: John Conwell

Art Direction: George W. Davis and Edward Carfagno

Film Editor: Edward Curtiss

Set Decoration: Henry Grace and Don Greenwood, Jr.

Assistant Director: John Bloss

Sound: Franklin Milton and Joe Edmondson

Music: Van Cleave

Mr. Serling’s Wardrobe: Eagle Clothes

Filmed at MGM Studios

And Now, Mr. Serling:

“Next week we’ll delve into the realm of American folklore and through the offices of a fine writer named Earl Hamner, Jr. we peruse a little witchcraft to bring you a story called ‘Jess-Belle.’ This exercise in terror and talisman stars Anne Francis and James Best.”

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration: 

“The Twilight Zone has existed in many lands, in many times. It has its roots in history, in something that happened long, long ago and got told about and handed down from one generation of folk to the other. In the telling, the story gets added to and embroidered on, so that what might have happened in the time of the Druids is told as if it took place yesterday in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such stories are best told by an elderly grandfather on a cold winter’s night by the fireside – in the southern hills of The Twilight Zone.” 

Summary: 

Billy-Ben (James Best)
& Jess-Belle (Anne Francis)

            During a square dance in a rural community, Billy-Ben Turner proposes marriage to Ellwyn Glover, the beautiful daughter of the town’s most prosperous farmer. Elly accepts and the dance turns into a celebration of their engagement. One member of the town not celebrating is Jess-Belle Stone, a darkly alluring young woman who makes a demonstrative exit from the dance. At Elly’s request, Billy-Ben approaches Jess-Belle to ask her to stay. It is revealed that Billy-Ben and Jess-Belle have a history together, a history of intimacy and secret meetings at night. Naturally, Jess-Belle feels scorned by Billy-Ben’s proposal to Ellwyn and vows to have Billy-Ben at whatever cost.

            The cost to Jess-Belle takes shape when she decides to consult the town witch, Granny Hart, an amoral woman who gladly takes Jess-Belle’s soul in exchange for Billy-Ben’s love. The next time Billy-Ben sets eyes on Jess-Belle he is stricken with the witch’s magic and falls head-over-heels in love, breaking away from Elly in the middle of a dance to follow Jess-Belle out into the night.

            Soon, Jess-Belle realizes to her horror that she has become a witch herself, victim of a terrible transformation into a large wildcat after the midnight hour. Jess-Belle hides this from Billy-Ben and continues to put off their wedding day. She returns to Granny Hart to beg relief from her affliction only to be told that she will never change back and the rest of her life will be spent in a witch's body.

            News of the wildcat reaches the men of the town who gather in the night to slay the animal preying on their livestock. They find the wildcat in a loft of Elly’s father’s barn. Billy-Ben fires the shot which kills the beast. It disappears and Jess-Belle is seen no more. Billy-Ben rekindles his relationship with Elly and their lives progress happily toward marriage. Their marriage night becomes a night of horrors, however, as the spirit of Jess-Belle wreaks havoc upon their home.

            Billy-Ben leaves Elly and rushes to Granny Hart’s cabin. There he demands the witch to tell him how to rid himself of Jess-Belle once and for all. After a payment of silver, Granny Hart tells Billy-Ben he must make an effigy of Jess-Belle, dress it in her clothing, and pierce it through the heart with silver. Billy-Ben receives Jess-Belle’s wedding dress and a silver stickpin from Jess-Belle’s mother. He puts the dress on a dressmaker’s dummy and sticks the pin through the heart. Billy-Ben sees a spectral vision of Jess-Belle, shock and relief showing upon her face as she is released from the witch’s curse.

            Elly, who had momentarily been bodily possessed by Jess-Belle, is revived by Billy-Ben. They look to the sky and see a falling star. Elly says: “My mama says when you see a falling star that means a witch has just died.” Billy-Ben agrees and the dark shadow of Jess-Belle is lifted from their lives. 

Commentary: 

            In The Twilight Zone Scripts of Earl Hamner (ed. Tony Albarella, 2003), the writer states: “I was raised on folk songs and folk stories and I suppose it was inevitable that this kind of material would work its way into my writing . . . Looking back I realize that if I made any unique contribution to the series, it was to introduce an American folklore element to it.” Although Hamner did not actually introduce American folklore to the series (this quality was anticipated by Montgomery Pittman’s “The Grave” and "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank," and by Rod Serling’s adaptation of Manly Wade Wellman’s “Still Valley”) he is a writer closely associated with tales of the rural South. His stories of the people there and the events which befall them remain some of the most compelling moments from the series, and it was this quality in his writing upon which Hamner built a successful career. Hamner’s concerns and, to a lesser degree, writing style felt almost wholly fresh yet his talent was such that he was able to make his scripts feel like a natural extension of the work of the other writers on the series, particularly that of series creator Rod Serling. 

            Hamner’s professional development largely mirrored that of Serling’s. Both came up in regional radio drama before making inroads in live television anthologies in the early days of the medium. Both men eventually went on to create some of the most enduring television in history. Hamner’s talent and professionalism were highly polished when he arrived on The Twilight Zone, making a smooth transition to Rod Serling’s world of ordinary people faced with extraordinary situations, as well as to the show’s high literary standards.  

Hamner was a writer of a characteristic duality. He was clearly interested in folk tales of the rural South, tales which illuminate the everyday magic of a pastoral existence. Hamner was also interested in the lives of the wealthy and cultured upper-middle class. Hamner neatly combined these two elements in his divisive final episode for the series, “The Bewitchin’ Pool,” in which children escape the shadow of their wealthy parents’ divorce by discovering a rural Neverland. This duality is also seen in Hamner’s two significant creative endeavors after The Twilight Zone, the long-running autobiographical series, The Waltons, and the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest, about infighting between members of a wealthy California family.

            “Jess-Belle” came to life as an emergency replacement script. Series producer Herbert Hirschman saw a proposed script fall through and needed another in place so the tight production schedule would not be affected. Hirschman called Hamner and asked the writer if he had any scripts lying around which could be sent into production. Hamner hadn’t any but assured Hirschman that he could write an hour-long play in a week’s time. Hamner wrote the opening act and an outline for the remainder of the play and sent it to Hirschman. After two days, Hirschman came back with the go-ahead to finish the script by the end of the week. Hamner wrote an act a day and turned in the completed script on time.

Hirschman requested a script with the folksy feel of Hamner's debut episode, “The Hunt,” a sentimental episode which was a rewrite of an earlier Hamner script and which remains popular with viewers. Hamner looked to the folklore of witchcraft, the deal with the devil, and the tale of human transformation to craft a decidedly darker and more complex tale liberated by the hour-long format. Hamner worked well with each producer he encountered during the final three seasons of the series. He later hired Herbert Hirschman to direct several episodes of The Waltons. Typical for the series, Hamner’s script was filmed virtually as written. Only a single notable change was required due to the demands of the production. Unable to find an amiable cougar (the wildcat called for in Hamner's script) the production settled on a docile leopard, with Hamner's approval.* 

            Tales of human transformation date to earliest antiquity but Hamner worked closely with the type of tales he heard as a boy growing up in the hills of Virginia (the setting for “Jess-Belle,” like much of Hamner’s work, is the Blue Ridge Mountains), tales of people cursed by a desperate decision and doomed to pay for that decision body and soul. In these tales witches, magical cats, and transformations are common enough motifs to recur frequently in both the oral and written tradition of the region. One volume which collects such tales, The Silver Bullet and Other American Witch Stories (ed. Hubert J. Davis, 1975) recounts the tale of the “Cat Wife,” a woman who transforms into a cat after nightfall and whose curse falls to her children. Hamner was likely familiar with such tales and paid homage by composing a traditional ballad which runs like a hymn through the episode:

           

            Fair was Elly Glover

            Dark was Jess-Belle

            Both, they loved the same man

            And both they loved him well

            By day, she knew a woman’s form

            By night, a witch’s spell

            For love of Billy Turner

            Accursed was Jess-Belle

            An awful night was spent by all

            On Eagle Rock did dwell

            Strange things were seen by moonlight’s fall

            But none saw Jess-Belle

           

            Warm was Elly Glover

            Cold dead was Jess-Belle

            And husband would be Billy-Ben

            Of the one he loved so well

            Fair was Elly Glover

            Dark was Jess-Belle

            Both, they loved the same man

            And both they loved him well

            Hamner included many traditional aspects of witchcraft in his script, from the witch’s aversion to silver to the (humorous) use of a cauldron and shawl. Hamner also nominally pulled from the story of Jezebel in the Hebrew Bible. Queen of Israel, Jezebel attempted to divert her husband's worship to underground gods. As such, Jezebel has become shorthand for a scheming or manipulative woman. 

Hamner was likely also familiar, at least as a casual reader, with classic and contemporary supernatural fiction, a field in which tales of transformation and witchcraft abound. Some relevant examples include Ambrose Bierce’s “The Eyes of the Panther” (1897) in which a man marries into a family of feline shape-shifters. An Academy Award-winning French short film based on Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” was broadcast on The Twilight Zone during the fifth season as equal parts showcase and cost saving measure. “Ancient Sorceries” (1908) by Algernon Blackwood (a writer later adapted for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery) concerns a traveler who spends a terrible night in a French town whose residents transform into cats after nightfall. It was loosely filmed by director Jacques Tourneur in 1942 as Cat People. The rise of fiction magazines saw such stories as Sax Rohmer’s “In the Valley of the Sorceress” (1916), which uses a witch from ancient Egypt and the familiar black cat to achieve its effects. The American pulp fiction tradition was typically represented by such tales as “The Leopard Woman” by Edith Ross (1929), tales in which females either transform into large cats or are protected by such beasts from meddling males.  

            “Jess-Belle” also leans upon such traditional tales as the deal with the devil and the tale of the wild woman. The Twilight Zone frequently approached the former type of story in such episodes as “Escape Clause,” “The Chaser,” and “The Man in the Bottle,” stories about wishes and desires which turn blackly back upon their owners. The stand-in for the devil figure may vary (genie, strange shopkeeper, witch) but the elements remain the same. The tale of the wild woman, of the woman who lives alone beyond civilization, is often tied to tales of witchcraft and transformation.** Jeanette Nolan (1911-1998), as Granny Hart, brings a strain of humanity to this role in "Jess-Belle," crafting a scene-stealing performance highlighted by a humor pleasantly at odds with the graven quality of the play. Nolan performed well in the prior Hamner episode, “The Hunt,” and would grace Rod Serling’s Night Gallery with two performances, memorably playing another witch in an adaptation of A.E. van Vogt's story, “Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay.” Nolan’s veteran presence brings a professional cohesiveness to a talented cast clearly having a lot of fun with Hamner’s script.

Jeanette Nolan as Granny Hart

            Anne Francis (1930-2011) and James Best (1926-2015) were certainly familiar with one another and their chemistry onscreen bears out this comfortable familiarity. Both continued to express fond memories of filming "Jess-Belle." They previously appeared together in Forbidden Planet (1956)*** (which has its own unique history with The Twilight Zone as the film and its props were put into service on several episodes of the series). That same year Francis and Best appeared in the film adaptation of Rod Serling’s television play, The Rack. Later, Best appeared in an episode of Honey West, a short-lived showcase for Francis. Francis and Best are also familiar to viewers of The Twilight Zone from their appearances in other episodes, Francis as the lead in Rod Serling’s “The After Hours” and Best in two episodes for writer/director Montgomery Pittman, “The Grave” and “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank.” Actress Laura Devon (1931-2007), a versatile performer who also launched professional careers in modeling and music, was a professional actress for less than a decade, beginning in 1960 and ending in 1967. “Jess-Belle” was her only appearance on The Twilight Zone but she appeared in other genre fare such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Invaders, and the 1966 film Chamber of Horrors. Another familiar face in the cast is actress Virginia Gregg (1916-1986), who appeared in a later episode also tied to an aspect of American folklore, Rod Serling’s “The Masks.” A prolific actress of television and film, Gregg appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, as well as numerous western and detective programs. Gregg appeared in the 1963 film adaptation of Hamner’s 1961 novel Spencer’s Mountain.

            The episode is aided by excellent production design which heightens the dreamlike atmosphere of the story. Director Buzz Kulik returns to the series for the first time since the third season’s “A Quality of Mercy.” Kulik was one of the most reliable directors on the series who distinguished himself as an actor’s director, bringing out some of the finest performances on the series in episodes such as "The Trouble with Templeton," "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," and "A Game of Pool." Kulik would end his run on the series with the later fourth season episode, “On Thursday We Leave for Home,” featuring an excellent Rod Serling script highlighted by an equal performance from James Whitmore. “Jess-Belle” is also graced with an original musical score from Nathan Van Cleave, whose music was used in over thirty episodes and whose contributions to the series are often overshadowed by other composers such as Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith. 

            “Jess-Belle” is an engaging piece of rural folklore with the seemingly simple yet complex design of a fairy tale. There is a lot to unpack from it if you desire but the story is also as simple as one told by a fire. It features one of the finer ensembles of the series and is given the attention to design, music, and direction to match the high quality of the writing and acting. The hour-long format ultimately benefits the episode, unlike much of the show’s fourth season. Hamner used the extra space to develop character and setting and to spin a larger story. Although Hamner wrote several memorable episodes of the series, “Jess-Belle” will stand as his crowning achievement. "Jess-Belle" simply feels like the episode Hamner was brought on board to write, and he pulls it off brilliantly.      

Grade: A

*There are conflicting reports of the type of wildcat which the production initially attempted to bring in for the episode, with some sources citing a tiger as the initial option. I have chosen to relate the story told by Earl Hamner in the interview portion of his collected Twilight Zone scripts. "I had written in a cougar. Turning into such a 'wildcat' was the price Jess-Belle had to pay for Billy-Ben's love. Cougars are indigenous to the area I was writing about I thought it would have been easy to find such a trained animal. However, Herb Hirschman, who was producing at the time, called to say that he had auditioned several cougars and that they were all bad tempered and unreliable." 

**For more see Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1996).

***Best was uncredited as a ship's crewman in the film. 

Notes: 

--Buzz Kulik directed eight additional episodes of the series: “King Nine Will Not Return,” “The Trouble with Templeton,” “Static,” “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim,” “The Mind and the Matter,” “A Game of Pool,” “A Quality of Mercy,” and “On Thursday We Leave for Home.”

--Earl Hamner, Jr. arrived on the series with the third season episode “The Hunt” and wrote seven additional episodes: “A Piano in the House,” “Jess-Belle,” “Ring-A-Ding Girl,” “You Drive,” “Black Leather Jackets,” “Stopover in a Quiet Town,” and the final broadcast episode, “The Bewitchin’ Pool.”

--Anne Francis also appeared in the first season episode, “The After Hours” and in the 1956 film version of Rod Serling’s The Rack. Stewart Stern’s screenplay for the film was an adaptation of Serling’s television script which appeared on The United States Steel Hour on April 12, 1955.

--James Best also appeared in writer/director Montgomery Pittman’s episodes “The Grave” and “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank.” Best appeared alongside Anne Francis in the aforementioned film version of The Rack.

--Jeanette Nolan also appeared in “The Hunt” and in the Night Gallery segments “The Housekeeper” and “Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay.”

--Virginia Gregg also appeared in “The Masks.”

--George Mitchell also appeared in “The Hitch-Hiker,” “Execution,” and “Ring-A-Ding Girl.”

--Jim Boles also appeared in “The Arrival” and in the Night Gallery segments “Lindemann’s Catch” and “Death on a Barge.”

--Jon Lormer also appeared in “Execution,” “Dust,” and “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank.”

--Helen Kleeb performed the role of Mamie Baldwin in Hamner’s The Waltons.

--“Jess-Belle” was adapted as a Twilight Zone Radio Drama starring Stephanie Weir.

--In a rare instance, Rod Serling recorded no closing narration for the episode.

-JP

Reading Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, Part 11

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

Volume 1, number 11 (February, 1982) 

Cover art: John Oberdorf

TZ Publications Inc.

President & Chairman: S. Edward Orenstein

Secretary/Treasurer: Sidney Z. Gellman

Executive Vice-Presidents: Leon Garry, Eric Protter

Executive Publisher: S. Edward Orenstein

Publisher: Leon Garry

Associate Publisher and Consulting Editor: Carol Serling

Editorial Director: Eric Protter

Editor: T.E.D. Klein

Managing Editor: Jane Bayer

Assistant Editors: Steven Schwartz, Robert Sabat

Contributing Editors: Gahan Wilson, Robert Sheckley

Design Director: Derek Burton

Art and Studio Production: Georg the Design Group

Production Director: Edward Ernest

Controller: Thomas Schiff

Administrative Asst.: Doreen Carrigan

Public Relations Manager: Jeffrey Nickora

Accounting Mgr.: Chris Grossman

Circulation Director: William D. Smith

Circulation Manager: Janice Graham

Eastern Circulation Manager: Hank Rosen

Western Newsstand Consultant: Harry Sommer

Advertising Manager: Rachel Britapaja

Adv. Production Manager: Marina Despotakis

Advertising Representatives: Barney O’Hara & Associates, Inc.

Contents:

--In the Twilight Zone: “A word or two of explanation . . .” by T.E.D. Klein

--Other Dimensions: Books by Robert Sheckley

--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson

--Other Dimensions: Music by Jack Sullivan

--“Playing the Game” by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann

--“Essence of Charlotte” by Charles L. Grant

--“Other” by Jor Jennings

--“My Old Man” by George Alec Effinger

--“The Other Train Phenomenon” by Richard Bowker

--TZ Interview: Wes Craven by Tom Seligson

--TZ Screen Preview: Swamp Thing by Jim Verniere

--The Gargoyles of Gotham by Don Hamerman and Stephen DiLauro

--“Holiday” by Richard Christian Matheson

--“Top of the Stairs” by Stephen Schlich

--“The Voices of the Dead” by Leslie Horvitz

--Show-by-Show Guide: TV’s Twilight Zone, Part Eleven by Marc Scott Zicree

--TZ Classic Teleplay: “A Stop at Willoughby” by Rod Serling

--Looking Ahead: In the March TZ

--In the Twilight Zone: “A word or two of explanation . . .”

-Along with the usual capsule biographies of the issue’s contributors is a lengthy explanation by editor T.E.D. Klein for the inclusion of George Alec Effinger’s story “My Old Man,” which Klein apparently felt was difficult or unusual enough to warrant an explanation. After reading the story I found such a measure unnecessary but nevertheless if the reader finds the tale confusing he/she can consult this editorial space for enlightenment.

--Other Dimensions: Books by Robert Sheckley

-Robert Sheckley takes over book review duties following the departure of Theodore Sturgeon. Sheckley previously appeared in the magazine with short stories in the April, 1981, October, 1981, and January, 1982 issues. Sheckley’s introduction explaining how difficult a time he had getting the column written gives good indication of his comfort level with the job. Sheckley would appear as the magazine’s book reviewer only two additional times before giving way to Thomas M. Disch. Sheckley prefers to take a deeper look at a smaller number of titles. Here is a small taste of what he had to say about the four books he reviews.

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban:

“It’s a fine book and the best science fiction novel to come along since Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange.”

Program for a Puppet by Roland Perry

“I was two hundred pages into the thing before I decided I didn’t much like it, and by then it was too late, I was hooked, so I finished it.”

Lovers Living, Lovers Dead by Richard Lortz

“Lortz puts his characters through changes increasingly strange, but believable and compelling. The tone of the book is by turns dreamlike and businesslike as you are led into mounting horror, ending at last with the big splatola.”

Bugs by Theodore Roszak

“The novel attempts to marry science fiction and the occult – an important and fruitful union, but not too convincingly handled here.”

--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson

-Wilson reviews Polyester (1981) directed by John Waters, and Strange Behavior (1981) directed by Michael Laughlin. Since both films are independent features made on very small budgets, Wilson takes a broader look at some successful independent horror films, examining what works in these films, what hampers these films, and what characteristics are shared by successful examples of the type. Wilson’s reviews of the two films are highly favorable. Typical of Wilson’s column there is a good amount of autobiography weaved into the reviews.

--Other Dimensions: Music by Jack Sullivan

-This new column provides the first part of a comprehensive look at classical music pieces which contains macabre or fantastic elements. The writer is Jack Sullivan, a freelance cultural critic well-known as the author of the 1978 volume Elegant Nightmares: The English Ghost Story from LeFanu to Blackwood. Sullivan also edited Lost Souls: A Collection of English Ghost Stories (1983) and The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural (1986). His music column runs through the August, 1982 issue with an additional column in the May/June, 1983 issue. Sullivan also provided the magazine with essays on L.P. Hartley, Shirley Jackson, and H.R. Wakefield as part of “The Essential Writers” series.

-This is simply a fantastic column and something this reader has always been searching for. It provides a detailed history of macabre classical music and then moves into specific selections from an array of composers, uncovering well-known works as well as lesser-known selections. Sullivan also provides a listing of the best recordings of the pieces he discusses. Here are the selections from this first installment:

Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz

“Requiem” by Berlioz

Todtentanz for Piano and Orchestra by Franz Liszt

“Late Piano Music” by Liszt

“Mephisto Waltz” by Liszt

“Night on Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky

Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky

“Songs and Dances of Death” by Mussorgsky

Prometheus: The Poem of Fire by Alexander Scriabin

Piano Sonatas by Scriabin

Le Sacre du Printemps by Igor Stravinsky

--“Playing the Game” by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann 

Illustrated by E.T. Steadman

“The arena was inside his skull . . . and as wide as the world”

-A young boy sets in motion a series of reality altering events by playing a game of mental concentration. Now he struggles to return his environment back to the way it was before.

-Gardner Dozois (1947-2018) began collaborating with Jack Dann (b. 1945) on dozens of science fiction and fantasy anthologies beginning with Future Power in 1976. They began writing short stories together in 1981 and “Playing the Game” was their third story collaboration. The story is a nifty speculative thriller which leads the reader from ambiguity to shocking clarity in its closing lines. It is an effective work from two legendary figures in the field of SF, both of whom are best known as editors. Dozois edited Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine from 1986-2004, winning a shelfful of awards for his editorship. Beginning in 1984 Dozois began compiling The Year’s Best Science Fiction, a series which saw its thirty-fifth volume published in 2018; sadly, this will be the last such volume with Dozois’s selections. Dozois’s fiction has garnered multiple awards and been collected across half a dozen volumes. Dann’s career has likewise been very fruitful. Along with his work as editor he has published novels, short stories, essays, reviews, and poems. Awards for his work include the Nebula, World Fantasy, Ditmar, and Shirley Jackson Awards.

-“Playing the Game” was included in the only annual volume of the magazine, Great Stories from Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine (1982), as well as in The 1983 Annual World’s Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha. Both authors included the story in individual collections, Dozois in Slow Dancing Through Time (1990) and Dann in The Fiction Factory (2005). 

--“Essence of Charlotte” by Charles L. Grant 

Illustrated by Gregory Cannone

“One by one the townspeople died, as silently and mysteriously as petals dropping from a rose.”

-A man murders his mean-spirited, elderly aunt. Though he successfully disposes of the body he discovers that Aunt Charlotte has returned from the grave in a unique, and deadly, way.

-“Essence of Charlotte” is an enjoyable tale of revenge from beyond the grave even if it does not fully display the considerable talents of Charles L. Grant (1942-2006). The stereotypical characters and surprising amount of humor in the story give indication of Grant’s seriousness of intent (or lack thereof). Still, for those who enjoy tales of ghostly vengeance it is a breezy and satisfying tale. The story was reprinted in the first issue of Night Cry (with an illustration by D.W. Miller) but has never appeared in one of Grant’s collections. The story plays on the theme of the deadly plant, in this case roses, and would seem a logical choice to include in a thematic anthology. Grant previously appeared in the magazine with an interview of Stephen King for the first issue and a story, “Silver,” which I enjoyed, from the July, 1981 issue. 

--“Other” by Jor Jennings 

Illustrated by Randy Jones

“Return with us now to the great American census of 1980 in a modern-day fairy tale about a literal-minded census taker and a household that’s definitely . . .”

-A harried wife and mother, who works as a census taker, finds herself in the home of fairies who provide her with a different perspective on her life.

-This story falls firmly in line with the sort of urban fantasy first popularized by John W. Campbell’s Unknown magazine, in which an ordinary person accidentally crosses over into Faery (or some equivalence). As such, it may be of interest to fans of this story type but otherwise it largely falls flat. The main character is the sort of hardworking wife/mother whose horrible husband and horrible children have stolen her dreams which feels like too easy of a cliché in modern fiction. The fairies only serve as grotesques with no real differential between characters. The story is ultimately about transition, from who you are to who you wish to be, yet the reader is not shown any of the transitional effects of the main character’s encounter with the fairies. Perhaps it is because Jennings’s own life is described in the issue’s editorial as possessing “an easy-care husband (a lawyer) and a self-sufficient son (a graduate student in physics)” that the fictional opposite presented in “Other” is not successful.

-Arthur W. Saha thought enough of “Other” to include it in The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories: 9 (1983). Jennings published only four SF stories in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the last of which was “Tiger Hunt,” featured in the inaugural volume of L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future (1985). Jennings died in 2015.

--“My Old Man” by George Alec Effinger 

Illustrated by José Reyes

“Seen through the eyes of memory, love and hate have a way of being curiously interchangeable.”

-An electronic game of chess magnifies a trouble man’s unpleasant memories of his late father.

-As stated before, this story apparently struck editor T.E.D. Klein as unusual or difficult enough to warrant a lengthy explanation in the editorial column of the issue. Although the story is heavily cloaked in figurative language, I doubt it will cause any real problems for the mature reader. It is ultimately about memory and childhood trauma centered on an abusive parent. Effinger (1947-2002) uses an electronic game of chess to present a man forced to come to terms with his dead father, terms which include the fact that the man still loves his father despite his father’s abusive nature. It is a well-written and moving piece which will appeal to fans of introspective fiction.

-The story was reprinted in the Winter, 1985 issue of Night Cry with an illustration by J.K. Potter (see end of post). It was collected in Effinger’s George Alan Effinger Live! From Planet Earth (2005). 

--“The Other Train Phenomenon” by Richard Bowker 

Illustrated by Robert Ray

“In which a lone researcher stumbles upon the horrifying truth behind urban America’s version of the jelly-side-down theory”

-A subway rider on a broken-down train gets into a conversation with an eccentric fellow passenger who has formulated a theory about the systematic ruination of some people’s lives.

-“What are the odds?” is the question this story humorously, and darkly, attempts to answer. It seeks to find a solution to the reason why the misfortune heaped upon some people defies the odds of probability. The story ultimately applies a light touch with a humorous final scene in which the Men in Black come to remove the man who knows too much. The story was reprinted in 100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories (1984), edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Terry Carr, and Isaac Asimov. Richard Bowker (b. 1950) is best-known for his The Last P.I. series of novels, the first of which, Dover Beach (1987), was nominated for the Locus and Philip K. Dick Awards. After a lengthy break from writing SF, Bowker returned in 2012 using e-publishing platforms to create new works.  

--TZ Interview: Wes Craven by Tom Seligson 

“Who’s made nightmares come true.”

-Despite the subtitle of this interview with the well-known horror film director, it was conducted before the film generally regarded as Craven’s masterwork, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Even so, Craven speaks at length on the ways in which dreams and nightmares inform his early films. These early films, The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and Deadly Blessing, are discussed in detail as Craven reveals the genesis, inspiration, and challenges in bringing each work to the screen. Craven gives a detailed account of his improbable rise to the director’s chair in the early portion of the interview. He discusses his repressive upbringing in a staunchly religious household, his years as a teacher, and his slow ascent up the filmmaking ranks performing technical jobs on independent features. The final portion of the interview is dedicated to Craven’s then-current production, Swamp Thing (1982), a feature adaptation of the DC Comics character.

-Craven's direct connection with The Twilight Zone is as a director of some of the best episodes of the Twilight Zone revival television series. Craven directed the premier episode, "Shatterday," based on the story by Harlan Ellison and starring Bruce Willis, as well as such well-regarded segments as Alan Brennert's "Her Pilgrim Soul" and George R.R. Martin's "The Road Less Travelled." Craven also directed the segments "Chameleon," "Word Play," and "Dealer's Choice." 

-I have been very impressed with the quality of the interviews featured in these early issues. They benefit from being conducted by knowledgeable writers and critics who are clearly genre fans. This interview with Craven is no exception. It contains a wealth of information and inspiration for film fans and aspiring filmmakers. Craven went on to direct such horror films as The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The People Under the Stairs (1991), and Scream (1996). He died in 2015 at the age of 76. 

--TZ Screen Preview: Swamp Thing by Jim Verniere 

-The magazine’s customary full-color film preview section is dedicated to looking at the 1982 film Swamp Thing, written and directed by Wes Craven and released by Embassy Pictures. It is an adaptation of the DC Comics character created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson which first appeared in the July, 1971 issue of DC’s horror anthology comic, The House of Secrets, before getting its own series for a short run in the early 1970s. Craven’s film adaptation stars Adrienne Barbeau, Louis Jourdan, and Ray Wise. Jim Verniere’s article gives a full account of the making of the film, including perspectives from the director, producers, principal performers, and technicians. The article takes a particular look at the difficulties of filming on location in a South Carolina swamp and the challenges endured by the crew, including special makeup artist Bill Munn, who created the film’s practical effects.

-Although Swamp Thing is not considered among Craven’s finest efforts, it continues to possess the charming feel of a comic book come to life, with campy special effects, extreme lighting, and over-the-top performances. The film was only a moderate financial success but still managed to spawn a sequel, The Return of the Swamp Thing (1989), directed by Jim Wynorski, which eschewed the serious tone of Craven’s film. A more notable byproduct of Craven’s film is The Saga of the Swamp Thing, DC’s second attempt at a Swamp Thing title. This second volume of the story included a celebrated run by British writer Alan Moore and American artists Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben. This series, edited by Karen Berger, is widely regarded as the beginning of DC’s celebrated Vertigo line of mature comics. 

--The Gargoyles of Gotham by Stephen DiLauro (text) and Don Hamerman (photography) 

“Hidden like endangered species amid the steel-and-glass skyline, a menagerie of grand and grotesque creatures stare inscrutably at modern-day New York”

-This interesting photography feature, the magazine’s first, takes the reader on a tour of New York City from the perspective of the jutting gargoyles which adorn the city’s most renowned buildings. Stephen DiLauro approaches theories of the origin of the gargoyle, their installation in the New World, and their relevance to modern-day culture. The photography is the real draw here, of course, and the grotesque gargoyles are a marvel to behold despite the limitations of a black-and-white magazine. 

--“Holiday” by Richard Christian Matheson

Illustrated by Anna Rich

“One of the nicest things about vacationing alone is that you meet the most unexpected people!”

-A man vacationing alone meets an eccentric older gentlemen who turns out to be Santa Claus.

-This is on the lighter end of Matheson’s (b. 1953) fictional output. The son of Twilight Zone writer Richard Matheson, and a highly successful television writer in his own right, Matheson’s prose fiction tends toward the concision of the short-short: dark, shocking, often experimental, tales written in terse, forceful language. Although “Holiday” was collected in Matheson’s 1987 volume Scars, it differs markedly from the other stories in that collection. It is a rather straight forward, humorous piece about a man who meets Santa Claus on vacation. It has been reprinted in such themed anthologies as The Magic of Christmas (1992) and A Yuletide Universe (2003). 

--“Top of the Stairs” by Stephen Schlich 

Illustrated by Frances Jetter

“It was just an old wooden staircase, twenty-eight steps high – but it led to the upper reaches of Hell.”

-A newly-disabled man is forced to reckon with a crime for which he was never punished, until that punishment comes from beyond the grave.

-This enjoyable horror story is thematically related to such better-known tales of the type as Henry Slesar’s “The Jam” (1958) and William F. Nolan’s “The Party” (1967). These stories center on a character who has hidden some essential knowledge away from themselves only to discover too late the dire straits they find themselves in. The final sequence of the story is effectively unnerving, if a bit predictable. The story has not been reprinted since its appearance in this issue.

-Stephen Schlich published the occasional horror story in the genre magazines and anthologies of the 1980s and 1990s. “Top of the Stairs” was the first of these stories. The most recent, “Inside the Iron Maiden,” appeared in 2006 in editor Christopher Conlon’s Poe’s Lighthouse: New Collaborations with Edgar Allan Poe. The issue’s editorial column indicates that Schlich also published mystery stories and worked for a time as a newspaper journalist.  

--“The Voices of the Dead” by Leslie Horvitz 

Illustrated by Earl Killeen

“How could she have known, on that night in the cemetery, that a message from beyond the grave would bring so strange an answer from the living?”

-A young actress becomes enamored with attempting to record the voices of the dead until she learns the lengths to which the living were willing to go to connect with a dead loved one.

-The longest story in the issue, “The Voices of the Dead” is a character piece, with the supernatural angle of the tale used as a tool to examine the interpersonal relationships between the main character, the aloof and complicated man she loves, and the dead woman who comes between them. It is a well-written story with excellent characterization and a pleasantly creepy ending. Horvitz placed a handful of stories in Charles L. Grant’s horror anthologies of the 1980s, most notably in the Shadows series. He also published two horror novels, The Dying and Blood Moon (both 1987), at the height of the horror boom in paperback publishing.

--Show-by-Show Guide: TV’s Twilight Zone: Part Eleven by Marc Scott Zicree

-Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion (now in its 3^rd edition), continues his early examination of the series by providing the credits, narrations, and summaries of these third season episodes: “The Little People,” “Four O’Clock,” “The Trade-Ins,” “Hocus-Pocus and Frisby,” “The Dummy,” “The Changing of the Guard,” “Young Man’s Fancy,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and “Cavender Is Coming.” We have reviewed these episodes as part of our third season coverage and you can find our reviews under the episode titles in the sidebar section titled Directory. 

--TZ Classic Teleplay: “A Stop at Willoughby” by Rod Serling 

-The complete shooting script of this fan-favorite episode is presented here accompanied by production stills. “A Stop at Willoughby” was a first season episode written by Rod Serling and directed by Robert Parrish. It starred James Daly as a stressed-out advertising agent who longs to escape to the idealized town of Willoughby. It originally aired on May 6, 1960. As frequent readers of the blog may already be aware, our opinion of this episode diverges from the prevailing opinion among viewers. Many TZ fans put this one near the top of the series. We put it closer to the middle. If you are interested in our take on the episode, you can find it here.

--Looking Ahead: In March’s TZ

-Next month looks like a great issue. Robert Sheckley reviews books by Peter Straub, Cornell Woolrich, and Gahan Wilson, the latter of whom reviews the movie Time Bandits. Jack Sullivan returns to continue his music column about macabre and fantastic classical music. SF legend Fritz Leiber, one of this writer’s personal favorites, is interviewed and Leiber’s 1947 tale, “The Man Who Never Grew Young,” is reprinted with a new illustration by José Reyes. We have a story by Barbara Owens, “The New Man,” which was later adapted for Tales from the Darkside. We also look at stories by Kevin Cook, Ron Goulart, Elizabeth Morton, Robert E. Vardeman, Larry Tritten, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Richard Stooker. On the film front we have Ed Naha’s set visit to John Carpenter’s The Thing and a full-color preview of a Jack-the-Ripper thriller, Still of the Night. Finally, Marc Scott Zicree jumps into the fourth season of his episode guide and Rod Serling’s teleplay for his moving first season episode, “A Passage for Trumpet,” is presented. We will get to all of that in our next installment. See you then!

-JP 

J.K. Potter's illustration for George Alec Effinger's "My Old Man"
from Night Cry, Winter, 1985

D.W. Miller's illustration for Charles L. Grant's "Essence of Charlotte"
TZ Magazine Special: Night Cry (1984)