Original subtitles

( theme music playing )

NARRATOR: Starring tonight,

David McCallum,

David Carradine,

Linda Marsh,

and the voice of Orson Welles,

Good evening,

We offer you

an evening's sojourn

amongst the wild, the woolly,

the unbelievable

sometimes made believable,

as our first painting suggests,

From this picture,

one wouldn't necessarily

conjure up the story of love,

but that's precisely

what it tells about,

The emotion as old as Man,

but the object

of the emotion,

this is not quite as familiar,

Its title,

"Phantom Farmhouse,"

offering number one

in the Night Gallery,

♪

TOM: Do we have to have

that guitar every session?

Every session, plunk, plunk,

plink, plink!

Oh, what's the hassle

if it keeps him cool?

It may be soul music to you,

but it's Chinese

water torture to me,

But Gideon needs it,

That's his way of talking,

So, let him shut up!

( soft guitar strumming )

Dr, J, can't we

eliminate this guitar?

Gideon, can we

eliminate the guitar?

TOM: Listen, you junkie!

The doctor asks kindly,

Can we eliminate the guitar?

Sure, okay, no problem,

( dogs barking )

I'd like to ask Gideon

a question,

Gideon is taking a fifth,

We were being silly

yesterday and reverting,

And I said to Gideon,

"Let's play Bean Porridge Hot,"

And he wouldn't

hold out his hand,

Now, you know you're supposed

to hold out your hands,

palms out,

BETTY: He wouldn't,

He got all uptight,

Why, Gideon?

Gideon is taking the fifth,

Why you taking

the fifth on that, Gideon?

What you hiding?

Why, don't you know?

My parents are paying

you $39,000 a year

to keep me locked up

for my own good

and you can't come up

with an answer?

Why don't you go take care

of the sheriff?

He's here again,

He wants to know why you

murdered your own patient,

Found this note this morning,

Didn't find it before

because the ground,

well, it was all ferns so,

so torn up, we missed it,

Any idea on who

could've written it?

One of my patients,

SHERIFF: Can I talk with him?

You can try,

JOEL: Did you write that?

Why?

Because Mr, May

was getting out?

Because you wanted

him to meet Mildred?

So you wrote him a little note

of introduction, hmm?

You drew him a map

how to get there?

He was in love with her,

He was a sick,

sack, sickly in love,

How could he be

in love with her?

He'd never seen her, He'd never

even been off the ground,

I've never seen her,

I'm in love with her,

Betty's never seen her,

She's in love with her,

You've never seen her,

and you're in love with her,

aren't you, Doc?

I don't hallucinate,

if that's what you mean,

Mildred is super groove,

Her father and mother

are heavy,

Big hearted, honest, sturdy,

Good old American stock,

Not like people today, all

cringing and cruel for money,

SHERIFF:

And where do they live?

Over there in the forest,

From my window, I could

just see the top of the chimney,

It's a 200-year-old house,

with a white picket fence

and an old fashioned well,

That water in the well,

fantastic,

So cold, so clear,

Err, what's her name?

Squire,

Croquet, anyone?

Err, this, uh, fellow

you wrote the note for,

uh, was he

a good friend of yours?

( Gideon chuckles )

He was just a freak

like the rest of us,

I didn't like him,

He was a big shot

in a think tank,

I hate think tankers,

Think tankers and psychiatrists

are killing this country,

Why did you want him

to meet Mildred?

( stutters )

Sh--shy,

deliriously beautiful,

She's got a face like a dream,

She wears a real funky

Gibson girl frock,

white with

palace blue trimming

and a natural straw hat

with Alice blue ribbons,

Why shouldn't I want

him to meet her?

I want everybody

to meet Mildred,

Okay, Gideon, thank you,

Croquet, anyone?

JOEL: He hallucinates,

He's always talking

about this house

and these people in the forest,

I let him go on

because its the only subject

that seems to bring

him out of himself,

SHERIFF:

Well, there's a ruins there,

Just a chimney, all alone,

But there are no people,

I know,

Not a soul,

SHERIFF: Here's a patient

you've dismissed,

First thing he does

when he's free,

he parks his car, walks along

this logging road,

to see a girl

who doesn't exist,

Next thing, we find his body,

ripped and shredded

and drained of blood,

JOEL: It's a wild coincidence,

SHERIFF:

Can Gideon get out at night?

JOEL: No, no, no,

he's got a drug problem,

We don't let him

alone for a second,

He arrived in manacles,

He's never been off the grounds,

SHERIFF: Some patients

you let off the grounds?

JOEL: Oh, yes,

( guitar strumming )

( Gideon laughing )

GIDEON: Don't stop now, Doc,

you're almost there,

( crows cawing )

( crows cawing )

I must be dreaming,

Is anyone home?

( crows cawing )

Hello, Is anybody there?

( wolves growling )

( dogs moaning )

Pierre, who lives in the house

in the forest?

What house?

You go in

on the old logging road,

there's a house

with a white picket fence,

No house,

No one live there,

- There's no house there?

- No,

Oh, come on, Pierre, Wh--

What is this a gag?

Years ago, it's burned down,

Stands now only a chimney

and three graves,

You sure we're talking

about the same place?

You go in at the cross roads,

The house is right there

in the forest,

In the forest, yes,

but no house, ruins,

I see,

Okay, thanks,

Did you meet Mildred?

What?

You saw the house,

Meet Mildred?

I don't know

what you're talking about,

I've just been for a walk,

Oh, come on, Doc,

don't fight it,

You'll just lose in the end,

Give into it,

Get with it,

Oh,

Shakespeare asked me

to give this to you,

Okay, Gideon,

play your little games,

"Men of science say

miracles are past

"and give reasons

for things supernatural,

"Therefore, we dismiss

our terror

"by finding safety

in false knowledge,

"When, instead, we should submit

ourselves to an unknown fear,"

( stutters )

May I,

may I trouble you for a drink

of water from your well?

I'm a doctor

at the sanitarium, I've,,,

I've been out walking,

Surely, you may

drink from our well,

( crow cawing )

You may rest

yourself if you like,

( wolf growling )

MILDRED:

This one is mine, I tell you,

You go do your own hunting,

We're great hunters here,

you know,

The season is just in

and my father and I have

the worse quarrels

as to who's game is whose,

Mmm,

It's incredible,

It really is as cold

as a glacier,

and so light

I hardly feel I'm drinking,

Now, will you rest?

There's an extra chair for you

on the porch,

No, it's getting late,

I must be getting back,

Young man, would you like to

come up and rest on the porch?

This is my father, Mr, Squire,

And my mother,

I'm Joel Winter,

MRS, SQUIRE: Oh, I shouldn't

have shaken hands,

They're so stained,

We're putting up fox grapes,

Stain just won't wash off,

Has to wear off, you know,

Well, thank you

very much for the drink,

Maybe I could call in

some other time,

Please do,

MR, SQUIRE:

Better wait until after dark,

Oh, of course, we'd be glad

to see you anytime,

but we're so busy

these fall days,

haven't got much time

for company,

You neve-- you never

told me your name,

You seem worried

about something,

Do I make you nervous?

No, no, No, it's just,

ever since

I've been a child,

I always get

a sort of a shivery feeling,

I mean, at,

at dusk and so deep

in the forest,

and yet,

I like the feeling,

the shivery feeling,

And you,

I like everything about you,

These days,

with girls so outspoken

and rugged,

it's so wonderful

to find someone

so gentle

and shy,

My name is Mildred,

Good-bye, Mildred,

( crow cawing )

- JOEL: Hi, Tom,

- TOM: Joel,

Betty,

Gideon left these

books for you,

Books about what?

Books about lycanthropy,

Study of werewolves,

I have marked

several places for you,

Here,

The index finger is longer

than the middle finger,

and bright red nails,

TOM: Joel, are you

interested in lycanthropy?

Hmm?

Oh, no, no, no,

( stutters )

Of course, not,

I-I'm just humoring Gideon,

TOM:

It's an imbalance case,

hyperpineal type,

normally an Autumn affliction,

What? Don't tell me

you believe this stuff,

TOM: No, not really,

Look,

Pointed ears,

elongated upper cuspids,

eyes turn red at moonrise,

Come one, Gideon, It's--

It's all a put on,

Put on?

What do you think May saw

before he was torn to pieces?

Gideon,

You don't have

Cyber's book there?

It's the world's

foremost authority

on hormone created insanity--

It's a little known aberration

of a little known

ductless gland,

It appears to enable

the victim to control his shape,

Oh, here we are,

"Hyperpineals are allergic

to silver,

"also to wolfsbane,

"any alkanites,

"antispasmodic,

"produces a violence

of the seizure,"

Doctor J,

I found out why Gideon

keeps his palms closed,

He was asleep

on the croquet court

and I looked at this palms,

and in each palm

was a pentagram,

You mean, you thought

- it was pentagram?

- No,

It was clear,

There was clearly a circle

and clearly

a five pointed star

in the circle,

Oh, Betty,

You have to be hallucinating,

No,

No, I'm not,

But suppose if she did

see a pentagram,

( stutters )

what could that mean?

Historically, it would

mean that Gideon's a warlock

and is in league

with the werewolf,

In league?

He provides the victims,

And that's why he gave May

a note to Mildred, right?

Of course,

PIERRE:

You believe now, Doctor?

It's loup-garou,

You know what is loup-garou?

Sure,

- Werewolves,

- Exact,

Years ago in that house

lived terrible people,

The traveler, they stopped

there for the night,

but no one leave

the place once he go in,

So, all the farmer,

and Adrian and me,

we set the place on fire,

What happened?

The loup-garou

come running out,

And what happened?

We shoot them

with silver bullets,

I'm sorry, Pierre,

I just don't believe you,

( speaking French )

He say last night,

he set a trap,

This morning, it sprung,

but strange is the

fur in the trap,

and strange the footprint,

All around are footprint

like a little hand,

A little hand

with the first finger so long,

( distant goats bleating )

Pierre,

Pierre, I'll be seeing you,

No, no, no, Doctor, no,

Not in the forest,

I'm worried for you,

If you have to go,

please take with you

the crucifix,

It's silver, it's protection,

No, I'm--

I'm sorry, I'm just

not superstitious

Those sheep

were killed by dogs

or wolves,

real wolves,

( sheep bleating )

( crow cawing )

( distant sheep bleating )

( wolves growling )

♪

JOEL: Hello!

( crow cawing )

Mildred?

I've been thinking about you,

I haven't stopped

thinking about you,

I've been thinking

about you too,

Oh, you feel so nice and warm,

Hello, brown eyes,

( wolf growling )

Oh, don't do that,

( wolf growling )

You've got to go now,

Your father and mother

aren't here,

Why don't we sit on the porch?

I shouldn't,

I shouldn't,

But I want to be with you so,

Why did he have to send you?

What?

You were beautiful

in that white dress,

but you're beautiful

in blue jeans too,

and I love the way you wear

your hat with blue jeans,

You can't see me again,

Please, Joel,

For my sake,

But why?

Tell me why?

Because I love you,

PIERRE: Dr, Joel,

I'm worried for you

in the forest,

No, I wasn't in

the forest, I, uh,

I went into town,

had a few drinks,

( dogs squealing )

Have to get out of this place

once in a while, you know,

I'll be proposing myself

for membership,

( dog whining )

And Miss Betty?

What about her?

You have not seen her?

But she was with me

in the meadow,

Adrian was worried

for his sheep so we leave her,

She said she wait for you,

You left her in the meadow?

( wolf howling )

How long have you had pentagrams

on your hands, Gideon?

Who says I've got pentagrams?

Just tell me how long

you've had them,

Three months after I came,

We used to watch the top

of the chimney from our window,

Then I started

to see the people

and the farmhouse,

I got to

love the parents

and crave the girl,

GIDEON: And,

I don't know,

One morning, I had the marks,

Scared the wits out of me,

I mean, man,

I lost my cool for keeps,

Why did you send

May to Mildred?

I told you, I hated him,

I hate brains for hire,

( gentle guitar strumming )

TOM: Did you hate Betty?

She was a snoop,

She was too good,

I hate people

that are too good,

like the rest of the sinners,

Do you hate me?

No, I don't, Doc,

But you were,

you were so sure

I was hallucinating,

I thought, if I could get you

to see the people

and the farmhouse,

but I was wrong,

Now--

Now I got you into it,

I don't know how to get you out,

GIDEON: Run, Doc,

Go away, As far

and as fast as you can,

Because anybody

that's seen the farmhouse

is marked as a victim,

Betty didn't see it,

Yes, she did,

She saw it from my window,

( guitar strumming )

( wolf howling )

( crow cawing )

( wolf howling )

Mildred?

( Mildred exhales )

I begged you not to come,

Something--

Something terrible has happened,

I have to ask you,

MILDRED: No,

Mildred, I love you,

Why can't we talk?

No, Never,

Your hands are like ice,

( Mildred sobbing )

Let go of my hand

and run,

For pity's sake, run!

Don't you feel anything for me?

Of course I feel for you,

You're tearing me apart,

You're tearing me apart,

I don't know

what to believe anymore,

I don't know what's true,

I don't even know who I am,

I love you so much,

Look at me,

Why can't you look at me?

Could you love me?

I do love you,

more than my life,

Then let me hold you,

Let me ask you about

something that's happened,

Tomorrow morning

just before sunrise,

come back here

and bring a prayer book,

What do you mean?

I don't have a prayer book,

Find one,

Stand right over there,

where those three graves

are in the ferns

and read the services

for the burial of the dead,

But why?

Oh, God, have pity,

My love, do it,

Please,

I'll have peace,

All right,

I'll do it,

And all the time

you're reading,

no matter what you hear,

don't look around,

Keep reading quickly,

All right,

( distant wolf howling )

( Joel screaming in horror )

( wolves howling )

( crow cawing )

( wolves barking )

( dogs fighting )

( dogs yelping )

"Lord, thou hast been our refuge

from one generation to another,

"before the mountains

were brought forth

"or ever the earth--"

( wolves growling )

"Thou turnest man

to destruction,

"Again Thou sayest,

Come again, ye children of men,"

( wolves growling )

"Thou hast set our

misdeeds before thee

"and our secret sins

in thy light of the countenance,

"For when thou art angry,

all our days are gone,

"We bring our years to an end

as it were a tale that is--

( stutters )

"is--is--is--

"Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son, and to--"

( wolf howling )

( Joel groans )

But where is the house?

What house?

There's no house,

JOEL: Mildred!

Mildred!

( screaming )

Mildred!

( sobbing )

Mildred,

Mildred,

For our last offering

in the Night Gallery,

a painting that brings to life

a literary classic

from the pen of Conrad Aiken,

Fragile, lovely, haunting,

It's titled,

"Silent Snow, Secret Snow,"

NARRATOR: Just why this thing

should have happened at all,

or why it should have

happened to him,

Paul Hasleman could not,

of course, possibly have said,

nor perhaps could it ever

have occurred to him to ask,

We gradually move

northward into--

It was really

nothing, just an idea,

but why should it

become so wonderful,

so permanent to him,

that was the mystery,

It was pleasant, possibly

foolish, but above all,

this thing was a secret

and something to be

preciously concealed,

MISS BUELL: Who wants tell us

exactly what the equator is?

Deirdre?

The equator is a line that runs

around the middle of the globe,

MISS BUELL: Oh, I see,

The earth is wearing a belt,

or a sash or somebody

drew a line around it?

( students laughing )

No, not that--

MISS BUELL: Don't you mean

that the equator

is an imaginary line?

Yes,

It was as if,

in some delightful way,

his secret gave him a fortress,

A wall behind which he could

retreat in heavenly seclusion,

All he needed to do

was to think of that morning,

the first morning,

and then of all the others,

It was only a moment or two

after he had waked up,

or perhaps at the

moment itself,

that the thing had happened,

For no good reason, suddenly,

he had thought of the postman,

Perhaps there was nothing

so odd in that,

After all, he heard

the steps of the postman

almost every morning

of his life,

( approaching footsteps )

His heavy boots

could be heard clumping

round the corner

of the little street,

drawing progressively nearer,

progressively louder,

It was the double knock

on each door,

the crossings and

recrossings of the street,

until finally the clumsy steps

came stumbling to his door,

- and the tremendous knock came

- ( knock on door )

which shook

the very house itself,

But on that particular morning,

the first morning,

this mystery had begun,

he had, for some reason,

waited for the postman,

But when at last

the steps were heard,

they were curiously different,

They were softer, had some

new secrecy about them,

besides they had not come

round the corner at all,

They were already at the

first house when he heard them,

and he had understood

the situation at once,

Of course, that was why

the postman's first footsteps

were inaudible

and the later ones faint,

Nothing could have

been simpler,

There had been

snow in the night,

such as all season

he had been hoping for,

How beautiful,

How lovely,

Even now it must be snowing,

The white ragged lines,

drifting and sifting,

whispering and hushing,

seething and getting

deeper and deeper

silenter and silenter,

( knock on door )

( birds chirping )

Queer,

the effects this extraordinary

surprise had upon him,

On the following morning,

he had kept with him a sense

as if snow falling about him,

a secret screen of new snow

between himself and the world,

If he had not dreamed

such a thing,

and how could he have

dreamed it while awake,

how else was one explain it?

He could not now remember

whether it was on the first

or second morning,

or was it even the third,

that his mother

had drawn attention

to some oddness in his manner,

Paul?

You don't seem to be listening,

MOTHER: What's come over you?

MISS BUELL: Now, does anybody

know the difference between

the North Pole

and the Magnetic Pole?

Was it on the

second or third morning,

or even the fourth or fifth?

He could not now remember

just when the delicious

progress had become clear,

All he knew was that,

at some point or another,

the presence of the snow

was a little more insistent,

the sound of the

postman's footsteps

more indistinct,

Gradually, the snow

was becoming heavier,

the footsteps more

and more muffled,

When he found, each morning,

on going to the window,

that the roofs and streets

were bare as ever,

it made no difference,

This was, after all,

only what he had expected,

It was even what pleased him,

what rewarded him,

There, outside,

were the bare streets,

and here, inside, was the snow,

Snow growing heavier each day,

muffling the world,

hiding the ugly,

and deadening increasingly

the steps of the postman,

Geography,,,

( chuckles )

That's a favorite of mine,

Hey, you know

what we gotta do some weekend?

Have a field trip,

look for fossils,

What do you think?

I'd like to go

to the North Pole,

The North Pole?

Why the North Pole?

How was one to explain?

Would it be safe to explain?

Would it merely mean that

he would get in some obscure

kind of trouble?

And how could he

explain his new world?

Its beauty was beyond anything,

beyond speech, beyond thought,

utterly incommunicable,

It was irresistible,

It was miraculous,

Paul?

( softly )

Paul,

If this goes on,

we have to see the doctor,

NARRATOR: At times,

he positively ached

to tell everyone about it,

only to be checked

by the mysterious power

of his secrecy,

We can't have our boy

living in another world,

so far away,

No, it must

be kept secret,

That, more and more

became clear,

At whatever cost to himself,

( students giggling )

Whatever pain to others,

Perhaps you can come out

of your daydream long enough

to answer the question, Paul,

Paul?

It was now

what we call the Hudson River,

He thought it was

the Northwest Passage,

He was disappointed,

MISS BUELL: Thank you,

( children shouting )

On the walk homeward,

which was timeless,

it pleased him to see through

the accompaniment,

or counterpoint, of snow,

the items of mere

externality on his way,

Further on,

there was something further on

that was calling him now,

something that was

assuming a sharper importance,

something which teased

at the corners of his eyes,

teasing also

at the corners of his mind,

Something unnamable,

something deliciously

terrifying,

He knew what he was

going to look at next

was his own house,

his own little street,

his silent,

his secret snow,

This morning,

could he be mistaken?

It was just above

the seventh house,

that he had first heard

the postman's footsteps,

The seventh house,

his house,

The only knock

he had heard that morning

had been the knock on his door,

Did that mean he might

never hear the postman again?

The realization

gave him abruptly,

and, a little frighteningly,

a sense of hurry,

He was being hurried,

he was being rushed,

Was it all

going to happen again?

So suddenly,

Or indeed,

had it already ended?

( water dripping )

Ah-h-h-h-h-h,,,

Good,

I'll just pop this

onto your tongue,

After supper,

the inquisition began,

Could you get me a book?

Any book will do,

How silly this all was,

as if it had anything

to do with his throat

or his heart or eyes,

Here, Paul, just read,

( chuckles )

"I was a king

and the son of a king

"and when my father died,

"I succeeded to this throne

"and govern my subjects

with justice and beneficence,"

Good,

We could have his eyes

looked into,

This was all

such a nuisance,

It would serve them right if he

were merely to bark or growl,

I can't think of anything

we've done or forgotten to do,

no more than anybody else,

I'm not a shrink, Frank,

I really don't know,

Some things

just happen,

NARRATOR: Even here,

even amongst these

hostile presences,

the snow was waiting

out of sight

with a voice

that said, "Wait, Paul,

"just wait 'till

we are alone together,

"I will tell you something new,

"something cold,

something sleepy,

"something of cease, and peace,

"and the long bright

curve of space,

"Banish them, Refuse to speak,

"Go upstairs to your room,

"I will be waiting for you,

"I will tell you a story

better than The Snow Ghost,

"I will surround your bed,

"pile a deep drift

against the door,

"so that none will

ever again be able to enter,"

Say, Paul,

is there any particular thing

that might be

worrying you, my boy?

Speak to them,

No,

I don't think so,

Give yourself a minute,

Don't answer so fast,

( chuckles )

Paul, you're making this

very difficult for your mother,

Now what is this all about?

I'm,

I'm just thinking,

About what, my boy?

About what?

Yes, Paul, About what?

About,

about the snow,

What snow?

Just snow,

I like to think about it,

You know what snow is,

Can I please go to bed?

No, We're going into this now,

Hurry Paul, hurry,

These last few precious hours,

No!

Look, I've had enough of this,

Listen to us, Paul, Listen,

We have come to tell you

the story we told you about,

Remember?

In this white darkness,

we will take

the place of everything,

( door slams )

( door creaks open )

Paul?

Paul, dear,

Paul?

Mother, go away

Paul, please,

I hate you!

And with that final effort,

everything was solved,

The seamless hiss

advanced once more,

"Listen!" it said,

"We'll tell you the last,

"most beautiful

and secret story,

"A story that gets

smaller and smaller,

"That comes inward

"instead of opening

like a flower,

"It is a flower

that becomes a seed,

"a little cold seed,

"Do you hear?

"We are leaning