One of the best The Twilight Zone episodes is The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street. I am absolutely positive I read The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street as a short story, and I kind of think it was written by Ray Bradbury. (Or else it was in an anthology with stories by several authors.) You’d think that by googling ‘The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street’ and ‘Ray Bradbury’ I’d be able to find information on the short story. But I get a lot of returns saying ‘Written by Rod Serling’ and referencing the TV episode.
It was reprinted as a read-aloud play in one of those Scholastic Weekly Reader type magazines in the late 1970’s. I remember reading one of the characters in English class.
I read it in an anthology that included the one where the guy makes a deal with the devil to live forever. He gets bored quickly however so he kills his wife so he’ll be executed. And since the state has to let a guy go after a failed execution attempt (surrrrrrre) he can go free. But his lawyer gets him life in prison. it’s very chilling…
IF YOU READ IT FIRST. The actual ep is played somewhat for laughs with jaunty music. Played much better in my head for sure.
That episode was called “Escape Clause” and starred David Wayne. Rewatched it recently and was reminded of Michael McKeans performance as Chuck McGill on “Better Call Saul”.
I checked my copy of “Twilight Zone Companion” and it gives Serling sole credit as author. IT is possible that the OP might have read it in a collection of of Serling’s short stories. It was what we did before home video. A little googling and, got it.
I remember reading it in high school too (I graduated in 1973). I was under the impression it was written by Bradbury as well, but can’t say where I picked that up.
Serling was really prolific( he wrote 92 of the 156 TZ episodes an about a third of Night Gallery if wikipedia is accurate )and he loved, loved, loved “sting-in-the-tail” endings. I have no doubt that was his if he is credited.
I could have sworn it was a Bradbury story as well. Interesting that all of us read it in school. I found several school project-related webpages referencing the story as being written by Ray Bradbury.
They did the same with “Night Gallery”, filling two paperbacks. The second contained a story, “Does the Name Grimsby Mean Anything to You?” that was never actually made as an episode of NG. For years, I’d thought I’d missed one.
I recall a script for the episode (minus the last line of the closing narration, which named the show) being featured in a middle school English book. Might that be what OP is thinking of?
there used to be an anthology book for “language arts” class for junior high schools in la county in the late 80s that was nothing but twilight zone outer limits ect scripts that was anti socialist anti technology ect it might of been some of the original stories the script was based on
1 was a story where the government tested you on your birthday of certain age and killed you if you passed the test for being too intelligent
another was how to serve man the story on Jupiter where the girl gets locked in the closet fot the only sunny day for 100 years ……
my fave was the one where humans are so reliant on technology they don’t know how to read and write and this kid carries a game boy type of player that tells stories and since its a little kids toy he gets ragged on by friends for having he abuses it until it dies and right before it does gives a spiel on how the machines have slowly taken over and humanity’s in for a fall……….
so johnny might have read the same book in school…
I used to teach it for 7th grade. It was in a purple Prentice Hall Literature book. We assigned the roles and the kids read it out dramatically. Pretty fun.
