"Still Valley" is episode 76 of the

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

anthology series ''

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, sup ...

''.

Opening narration

The narration continues after dialogue between Paradine and Dauger.

Plot

During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, two Confederate Army soldiers have been assigned to scout on the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

that is marching into the valley below. Sergeant Joseph Paradine hears the army approaching, but suddenly the sound stops. He decides to descend into the valley to see the cause for himself. His companion refuses to accompany him. When Paradine gets into town, he finds the army there, but all of them are motionless, frozen in time. He tries unsuccessfully to wake them. Finally he comes across an old man named Teague, the sole remaining inhabitant of the town, who is unaffected by the strange phenomenon. Teague claims to be a "witch-man" and says he used a magic spell to freeze the soldiers. Paradine does not believe him, so Teague casts the spell on Paradine, freezing him. When Teague lifts the spell on Paradine, he claims that he could stop the entire Union Army in this manner, ensuring the success of the Confederacy. Paradine asks why he doesn't, and Teague replies that he is dying and will be dead by the day's end. He gives his book of spells to Paradine, encouraging him to use it, but when Paradine looks in it, he realizes that using this magic requires one to align himself with Satan, which Teague acknowledges. Teague dies, and Paradine returns to camp to tell his superior about what happened. The superior doesn't believe him and encourages him to get some rest. When another scout returns with the same story, the superior realizes Paradine is telling the truth. Paradine relates the story about the old man, the spell book, and making a deal with the devil. The superior officer decides that the devil is the only one who can help them win the war and encourages Paradine to read from the book. Paradine discovers that using the book's magic requires that not only must he praise the name of the Devil, but he must renounce the name of God. Rather than do either, Paradine says that if the Confederacy is to die, let it be buried in hallowed ground; he throws the book into a fire.

Closing narration

Cast

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

as Sergeant Joseph Paradine *

Vaughn Taylor Vaughn Joseph Taylor (born March 9, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Taylor was raised in Augusta, Georgia, from infancy. After attending Hephzibah High Sch ...

as Teague *

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in ...

as Dauger * Mark Tapscott as Lieutenant * Jack Mannas as Mallory

Episode notes

*The episode is based on a 1939 short story, "The Valley Was Still" by

Manly Wade Wellman Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as '' Astounding Stories'', '' Startling Stories'', '' Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman ...

. *In the original story, the spell on the soldiers is broken when the book is burned.

References

*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. *Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing.

External links

* {{The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes 1961 American television episodes Television episodes written by Rod Serling The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 3) episodes Television episodes about the American Civil War Television episodes about witchcraft Television episodes about Satanism Television shows based on short fiction Fiction set in 1863