Original subtitles

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man.

It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.

It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and

superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his

knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.

It is an area which we call the twilight zone.

12 o 'clock noon, an ordinary scene in ordinary city.

Lunchtime for thousands of ordinary people.

To most of them, this hour will be a rest, a pleasant break in a day's

To most, but not all.

To Edward Hall, time is an enemy, and the hour to come is a matter of life and

death.

Hey, mister.

What's the matter?

You sick?

We've been expecting you, Mr. Hall.

Go right in.

Hello, Mr. Hall.

What's the matter? Are you ill?

No.

I was tired.

Well, you better rest.

Over here, Mr. Hall.

I thought you said you were tired.

I am.

I'm the tiredest man in the world.

You all know how many hours I've been awake?

Eighty -seven hours.

Almost four days and nights.

And you can't go to sleep, is that it?

No, doctor, not can't. I mustn't.

I mustn't go to sleep because if I do, I'll never wake up.

Do you mind if I walk around a bit? It's the only way I can stay awake.

Stand on your head if you think it'll help.

What's funny? You are.

Are you sure you're a psychiatrist?

Why do you ask?

I don't know. I guess I expected something different.

Like an old man with a white beard and a German accent?

Maybe.

I know.

That's what everybody expects and they're always disappointed.

I've often thought of wearing a disguise.

Now. Now.

Feel more comfortable?

Look, Doctor.

You can't help me.

I'm just wasting your time.

You sure of that?

Yeah. Why'd you come to me?

Well, it was Fred Jackson's idea. He's my regular doctor. I know. He called me.

What did he say?

Not much.

Your name?

Edward Hall.

Age 35, occupation draftsman, single, heart condition, no history of mental

disease. That's it.

Now you want to tell me the rest.

No, no, forget it.

Okay.

Mr. Hall.

Now, you really think running away will do you any good?

Now, don't get me wrong.

Sometimes running away is the best answer.

But I don't know that yours is that sort of problem.

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't.

Well, you do what you like.

You promise you won't put me in a straitjacket?

I don't promise anything.

Okay.

Okay, it doesn't make any difference.

Can I open this?

Quite a drop.

Now, Mr. Hall, I'll... I'll have to go.

I only wanted some air.

Well, I'll turn a conditioner up. It works best with the windows closed.

Did you think I'd jump?

You might have.

Not a chance. I want to live. That's my problem.

All right,

Mr. Hall.

Suppose you tell me...

All about it. Everything.

Start anywhere.

Okay. But I'm warning you.

You're going to think I lost my marbles.

No.

Marbles can be found, Mr. Hall.

Go on.

Did you ever look at this picture?

I mean, really look at it.

I think so. Why?

Has it ever moved?

No. Not to my knowledge, anyway.

I can make it move.

Can you?

Yes.

But not really.

When I was a kid, we had a picture like this in our house.

Not the same thing exactly, but pretty close.

A boat.

My mother used to tell me to look at it.

She said if I looked at it long enough, it would move.

All I had to do was keep looking at it.

I didn't believe her, but the idea fascinated me.

One night I spent a whole hour just staring at that silly boat.

And did it move?

Yes.

Now, you understand there's nothing strange about that. It was an optical

illusion. Yeah, I know.

Except that after a while, I couldn't control it.

Every time I looked at that boat, the sails would fill and it would begin to

dip.

I just couldn't stop it.

Imagination that's strong in a growing boy.

I realized that. I realized it even then.

But the point is, I got just as scared as if it were really happening.

The mind does everything.

If you think you've got a pain in your arm and there's no physical reason for

it, it hurts just the same, doesn't it?

Granted.

Is that how you manage to stay awake?

How else?

How many grains a day?

I don't know.

I haven't got much longer anyway.

You want to hear the rest or not?

Yes.

When I was 15, I developed a rheumatic heart.

They said I'd never really get well.

That I'd have to take it easy.

No strenuous exercise.

No long walks. No stares. No shocks.

Avoid any kind of shock, they said.

They forget about my imagination.

Three years ago, a woman was killed by a man who was hidden in the back seat of

her car.

You may have read about it. I did.

Anyway, it started me thinking.

Maybe somebody was hiding in the back seat of my car.

Maybe one night driving over Laurel Canyon, I'd look up in the rearview

and I'd see somebody or something.

coming up out of the darkness.

I had to drive to Canyon twice a day.

It's a rough road.

One slip and you're over the edge.

One night, like every other night, I was headed for home.

Suddenly I began to feel uncomfortable as if I weren't alone in the car.

It was ridiculous, but I couldn't shake the sensation.

I kept thinking there's somebody back there.

I look in the rearview mirror and I'll see his face.

Then I'll see his hands reaching up.

Here's the important thing, Doctor.

I knew intellectually that I was alone.

But I also knew that my imagination could make me see something if I thought

about it long enough.

Of course, there wasn't anyone else in the car.

It was all in my mind.

What difference did that make? I crashed anyway.

I was lucky.

The shock should have killed me.

I couldn't survive another one, the doctor said. I could be sure of that.

And has there been another one?

No.

But there will be, just as soon as I fall asleep.

The girl will be in this dream again.

And it'll be the last shock.

When I was a kid, I used to dream in sequence.

Remember the adventure serials you used to have in the movie theaters?

It was like that.

Every dream was a chapter.

I'd always remember because when I woke up, I'd write down what happened.

It's crazy, huh?

Not necessarily.

Could simply be that the dreams conform to the notes, not the other way around.

And you don't believe it's possible to dream in episodes?

I don't say it's impossible.

It isn't, believe me.

For a long time, I didn't dream at all.

Then a week ago, it started.

I went to bed around 11 .30.

I wasn't too tired, but I needed the rest because of my heart.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but all of a sudden, I wasn't at home anymore.

I was at an amusement park.

It was the kind of place you see only in nightmares.

Everything walked and twisted out of shape.

But it was real, too.

Very real.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

This is where you get those big prizes.

Six shots for a dime.

Hit the bullseye and you get a kooky doll.

How about it? Come on. Ten cents.

Ten pennies.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Hooray, friends, the show is about to begin.

See her dance, see her wiggle. The most sensational and electrifying exhibition

since Little Egypt.

Now, friends, you're not going to be able to see anything standing out there.

You've got to get down close. That's the idea right over here, right down close.

I said, friends, I'm not too close. Let's not travel each other. Now,

you say you want flat ones, we got them. You say you want thin ones, we've got

them. Blondes, brunettes, redheads. And believe me, folks, if they ain't up

here, they ain't worth looking at.

And now to give you a little demonstration of what you're going to

inside, Maya, the cat girl.

Come on, baby.

We know you're modest, but why should the folks out there take my word for it?

I didn't know who the girl was. I'd never seen her before.

But as much as I was drawn to her, I knew I had to get away from her.

There was something about her eyes.

Something deep inside those dark cat's eyes.

Maya.

Why did you do that?

Why did I do what?

Run away.

I felt like it.

You didn't find me nice to look at?

Yeah, maybe too nice.

Aren't you supposed to be back there entertaining the customers?

I'm free for the night.

Are you alone?

Yes.

Come with me.

You want to, don't you, Edward?

How do you know my name?

Oh, I know a lot of things. I'm Maya.

Don't be afraid.

I'm not.

Then come.

You are afraid.

Only because this isn't happening.

This is a dream.

I'm not here. I'm at home asleep.

And you're part of that dream.

I know that You do?

Of course

Take me in there, Edward.

Dark inside.

Soft and cool and dark.

Please.

How can I argue with a dream?

We've been expecting you, Mr. Hall.

What?

You can kiss me now.

What if I don't want to?

Oh, you want to.

Now look whose dream is this anyway.

That's when I knew she was trying to kill me.

And you woke up then, hmm?

Yes.

My heart was beating fast.

I had a life still for an hour waiting for it to settle down.

The doctor said I almost had it.

Tell me, do you know who the girl was?

No idea.

She looked familiar, but...

I know I'd never seen her before, except maybe on the street or something.

But you're sure she wanted to kill you?

Yeah.

Go on.

The next night I put off going to sleep until one o 'clock.

But it didn't matter.

The dream was out of control.

I was back in the amusement park.

I was running.

Get away from me.

There's nothing to be afraid of, Edward. It's only a dream.

I've got a heart condition. I can't stand all this excitement.

It's silly. There isn't any excitement. You said so yourself.

You're at home, asleep in bed.

Now you can do all the things you can't do when you're awake.

That's not true.

The doctor said... Look, Edward.

I didn't want to go anywhere near that roller coaster.

But I couldn't help myself.

I had to follow her.

Even though I knew exactly what it would mean, I had to follow her.

And is that it?

Yeah, that's it.

If I go to sleep, I'll go right back to the roller coaster.

Maya will reach me.

She'll push me.

And that'll be the end of me.

On the other hand, if I stay awake any longer, the strain will be too much for

my heart, and that'll be the end of me.

Heads you win, tails I lose.

It's quite a choice, huh, Doctor?

Where are you going?

Out. Get some fresh air.

I wouldn't advise it. What do you advise, a straight jacket?

So long, Doc.

You can't do anything more for me.

It's her.

My receptionist?

I'm sorry, but her name doesn't happen to be Maya.

Thomas Thomas?

Yes, Doctor?

Would you come here, please?

I'm afraid he's dead.

But he came in just a minute ago. I know.

When he came in, I told him to sit down, and he did.

Less than two seconds, he was asleep.

Then he gave that scream you heard.

Heart attack?

Probably.

Well, I guess there are worse ways to go.

At least he died peacefully.

They say a dream takes only a second or so.

And yet in that second, a man can live a lifetime.

He can suffer and die and who's to say which is the greater reality?

The one we know or the one in dreams.

Between heaven, the sky, the earth, in the Twilight Zone.

Rod Serling, the creator of Twilight Zone, will tell you about next week's

after this word from our alternate sponsor.

And now, Mr.

Serling. Once upon a time, there was a ship sailing from Liverpool, England to

New York.

It never got there, and one man on board knew why.

Next week, we tell this man's story.

The distinguished actor Nehemiah Persoff plays the role of Carl Lancer, a

haunted man in a haunting story called Judgment Night.

This ship sails next week, and we hope you'll see it off.

Thank you, and good night.

Be sure to see the fun -filled family life of one of America's greatest

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