"Nightmare as a Child" is episode 29 of the American television

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

''. It originally aired on April 29, 1960 on

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Opening narration

Plot

A school teacher named Helen Foley finds a strange and very serious young girl named Markie on the stairs outside her apartment. The girl seems to know her and tries to jog her memory about a man she saw earlier that day. The man arrives at Helen's door as Markie, frightened, runs out the back way. The man is Peter Selden, who explains that he worked for Helen's mother when Helen was a child and was the first to find her murdered mother's body. Helen had witnessed the crime but blocked it out. When she mentions Markie, Selden tells her that her nickname was Markie as a child and shows her an old photo of herself. The girl in the photo is identical to the girl Helen met. When Selden leaves, Helen begins to recollect the night of the murder, and a man rushing toward her after murdering her mother, before running out of the room. Markie then reappears, and tells Helen that she is Helen herself, and that she is there to force her to confront her memory of that night. Selden suddenly returns and confesses to the murder. He tells Helen that her mother had discovered him

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at their workplace, and despite his pleas was going to report him the police. Selden also explains the he had been about to do away with her that night as well, but could not because her screams had drawn people to the apartment. He has been "keeping tabs" on her because he knew one day she would recall the murder. Helen manages to run into the hallway and, after a struggle, pushes Selden down the stairs to his death. After talking to the police and returning to her apartment, Helen hears a young girl's voice singing the same tune as Markie. To her relief, she doesn't recognize the girl. She tells the girl she has a lovely smile, and to never lose it.

Closing narration

Cast

Janice Rule Mary Janice Rule (August 15, 1931 – October 17, 2003) was an American actress and psychotherapist, earning her PhD while still acting, then acting occasionally while working in her new profession. Early life Rule was born in Norwood, Ohio, to ...

as Helen Foley *

Terry Burnham Elizabeth Teresa "Terry" Burnham (August 8, 1949 – October 7, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her performance in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode, "Nightmare as a Child." Life and career Elizabeth Teresa Burnham was born on August ...

as Markie *

Shepperd Strudwick Shepperd Strudwick (September 22, 1907 – January 15, 1983) was an American actor of film, television, and stage. He was also billed as John Shepperd for some of his films and for his acting on stage in New York. Early years Strudwick was ...

as Peter Selden * Michael Fox as Doctor * Suzanne Cupito (Morgan Brittany) as Little Girl (uncredited) *

Joseph V. Perry Joseph V. Perry (February 13, 1931 – February 23, 2000) was an American actor possibly best known for his role as Nemo in ''Everybody Loves Raymond''. Early years Perry began acting in his youth, winning the Glenn Ford Award at Santa Monica ...

as Police Lieutenant

Production notes

Helen Foley was the name of a beloved teacher of Serling's at

Binghamton High School Binghamton High School, a combined high school of the previous Binghamton North High School and Binghamton Central High School, is a large public high school located in the center of Binghamton, New York. The school is culturally diverse, with ...

, and the main performance theater at that school is named after her. The name Helen Foley is also used for the main character - also a school teacher - in the "It's a Good Life" segment of '' Twilight Zone: The Movie''.

References

External links

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Episode summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightmare As A Child 1960 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 1) episodes Television episodes written by Rod Serling