# saw this hella weird episode of the waltons today **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586 "2014-03-13T01:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/1 "2014-03-13T01:45:26Z")
the youngest girl (I think her name is Elizabeth) started seeing strange things happening. Like she saw stones floating around, saw a chair moving by itself and floating in the air. And she told her family about it and no one believed it then they were talking about it more and someone suggested it was a poltergeist. And because the girl was entering puberty and was scared about growing up. In the finale it was how she was afraid of growing up but she eventually accepted it and then her angst stopped manifesting as making things move about on their own That was the strangest episode of The Waltons I had ever seen. Seriously what the heck was going on with that? Has any other episode literally portrayed supernatural events like that? I thought it was very out of place with the other episodes ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/2 "2014-03-13T01:50:59Z")
The Changeling! That episode scared me so much when I was a kid. They had spooky ones, like the Ouija board one. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/3 "2014-03-13T02:37:17Z")
I don’t remember that or the ouija board one. The scariest Waltons I remember is when the one woman lost her baby and went crazy and tried to kidnap Mary Ellen’s baby ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/4 "2014-03-13T02:44:24Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I don’t remember that or the ouija board one. The scariest Waltons I remember is when the one woman lost her baby and went crazy and tried to kidnap Mary Ellen’s baby The Ouija board one was great! They had a little boy visiting who was the daughter of Olivia’s oldest friend, who had died. He was supposed to take the train to travel to his dad, who set up housekeeping in a new town. The children got hold of a Ouija board and kept getting strange answers suggesting the little boy shouldn’t take the train. Weird things happened around the house, like his train ticket going missing. I won’t spoil the ending! ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/5 "2014-03-13T05:51:42Z")
Wait, was she really moving things around like Carrie, or was she hallucinating it? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/6 "2014-03-13T06:33:00Z")
This may have been the same episode as the OP, but maybe not. It also involved Elizabeth, and it had something to do with her falling out of a fast ferris wheel. She’s also sleep-walking and having flashbacks about someone getting killed on a ferris wheel when she was younger, and some jewelry that had been stolen. So Elizabeth sleep-walks to the ferris wheel and climbs into the top car. Then she remembers the guy who’d been killed, hiding the jewels in a nearby cave. A really creepy episode. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/7 "2014-03-13T10:25:55Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > This may have been the same episode as the OP, but maybe not. It also involved Elizabeth, and it had something to do with her falling out of a fast ferris wheel. She’s also sleep-walking and having flashbacks about someone getting killed on a ferris wheel when she was younger, and some jewelry that had been stolen. So Elizabeth sleep-walks to the ferris wheel and climbs into the top car. Then she remembers the guy who’d been killed, hiding the jewels in a nearby cave. > > A really creepy episode. That was a different episode. Elizabeth was really little in that one, but you’re totally right. That was also a spooky one! ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/8 "2014-03-13T11:06:45Z")
People forget how weird the program really was. It was as if the producers were slipping in all kinds of occult and sci fi themes into what supposed to be “family friendly” television. The two sister and their “Recipe machine” ( aka moonshine still ) was another strange element of the program. Very odd show. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/9 "2014-03-13T11:21:35Z")
Remember, it was the early 1970s. We lucky they were all naked. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/10 "2014-03-13T11:33:50Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > People forget how weird the program really was. I’ll say. I thought the OP was nuts initially. All I recall is “goodnight JohnBoy”. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/11 "2014-03-13T11:38:36Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Remember, it was the early 1970s. We lucky they were all naked. Sorry, what? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/12 "2014-03-13T11:45:06Z")
You’re sure you’re all talking about the Waltons? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/13 "2014-03-13T13:49:59Z")
[The Walton’s Wiki](http://thewaltons.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page), for anyone who wants to look up plot summaries or other information. ---
**Author:** ![rucciface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@rucciface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rucciface)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/14 "2014-03-13T13:50:59Z")
The OP’s is the only episode I remember of the series. Even as an eight year old watching it, I was all WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/15 "2014-03-13T16:02:00Z")
Anyone else remember that weird episode of _The Night Stalker_ where Kolchak and the other employees at the news office got together on a weekend and built a barn? What was that about? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/16 "2014-03-13T16:53:28Z")
That would have been the greatest cross-over in TV history. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/17 "2014-03-13T19:10:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Anyone else remember that weird episode of _The Night Stalker_ where Kolchak and the other employees at the news office got together on a weekend and built a barn? What was that about? Did they paint “Kolchak’s Diary” on the side? Do cows keep books? (or was that not a Walton’s episode? I forget) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/18 "2014-03-13T19:56:48Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > People forget how weird the program really was. It was as if the producers were slipping in all kinds of occult and sci fi themes into what supposed to be “family friendly” television. The two sister and their “Recipe machine” ( aka moonshine still ) was another strange element of the program. > > Very odd show. My sister used to make us watch it, knowing we boys (her little brothers) couldn’t stand it. I remember the Ouija board episode and the one where John Boy is covering the _Hindenburg_ disaster, but not the OP’s. But the two old women - weren’t they just spinster sisters who inherited half the county and had their own still? They used to have entire episodes based around them and it would drive me crazy. Nowadays my backstory is that, as spinsters, they had sexual frustrations that only got relieved in that special Appalachian way… with the resulting guilt driving them to drink. “I can’t make it on a coupla high-altitude f\*\*\*s once or twice a year! You are too much for me Miss Mamie Baldwin, you sonofawhoreson bitch! I wish I knew how to quit you.” It would’ve been a very special episode: _Brokeback Walton’s Mountain_. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/19 "2014-03-13T20:37:15Z")
Much of the Waltons is based on Earl Hamner’s memories of his family and neighbors from his hometown of Schuyler, Virginia. I vaguely remember reading or hearing that the poltergeist episode was something that happened to a sister or friend of Earl’s. I wish I could remember where I read it. Possibly it was in _Goodnight, John-Boy_, a book Hamner wrote about the series a few years ago. “Poltergeist” activity is not all that rare. But there is no need to blame supernatural forces as the TV episode seemed to do. It’s usually a form of attention-seeking in adolescent girls or more rarely boys who throw and break things when other people are present or nearby but not looking directly at the perpetrator. Credulous adults then blame the supernatural. The activity stops when the perp gets caught red-handed or when she matures enough to stop enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586/20 "2014-03-13T22:20:13Z")
I wasn’t a regular (or even occasional, really) watcher, but the moment that stayed with me was the elderly cat, Calico, dying in labour. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-this-hella-weird-episode-of-the-waltons-today/683586.md?page=2)