Rod Serling has long been acknowledged as one of the true geniuses of television. The Twilight Zone wasn’t just a work of sci-fi art; it was a socially conscious, fiercely moral show, that tried to nudge its viewers into new ways of thinking as it entertained them. It was also a decent hit. Unfortunately Serling’s follow up, Night Gallery, was only allowed three seasons before higher ups started interfering, so it was never able to attain The Twilight Zone’s heights. However it does have one extra last, one lasting, wonderfully creepy, legacy.
For those who don’t know the show, the premise was that Serling was the curator of a museum filled with horrifying paintings, and as he introduced each one, the viewer would be dropped into the painting’s story. The show’s hour-long format allowed Serling to tell lots of macabre tales by people including August Derleth, Robert Heinlein, and even old H.P. Lovecraft himself. Even better, he got to expose his viewers to the work of two painters: Jaroslav Gebr, whose work was seen in the pilot, and Tom Wright, who went on to become a television director. Now, thanks to the Night Gallery site, you can see all the paintings from the show! Here’s a sampling of terror:
Those are a few of our favorites, but we encourage you to go look through the show’s galleries—there’s one for each season. Just make sure you know the way back out…