The alternative Hallowe'en countdown; or, it's Sunday so that means a horror story before bedtime

Update 2023: Ugh, looks like the dreaded copyright strike has stricken the YouTube video. If you're in the UK, then you might be able to find it elsewhere (the show is on continuous repeat on channels like Sky Arts and ITV3).

Ah, anthology series...they are the best of times, they are the blurst of times. Mention 'Tales of the Unexpected' to anybody under the age of 45 and they'll blurt out how terrifying it was. However, there's a reason why people tend to pick the same five or so episodes as 'the best episodes' and that's because 95% of 'Tales of the Unexpected' is absolutely shit. There, I said it. A majority of the time, the scariest thing is the opening credits, with it's warbling fairground music wafting over visuals of Bond-esque dancing girls, garish masks and glowing skulls. 

'Dance into the fire...that fatal kiss is all we neeeeed!'

Nostalgia is a cruel temptress who gives us false memories of things being awesome when, in fact, they weren't. The problem with most anthologies is that there's a lot of space to fill, and so it ends up being quantity over quality. For every good story, there's 20 that are boring, nonsensical and full of plot holes. However, when it's good, then it's very, very good.

'Tales of the Unexpected' ran for nine years between 1979 and 1988 and this is one of the early ones. And, like all British TV in the 70s and 80s, everything looks grey and bleak. Even when things were filmed in the middle of summer, the British film & TV industry somehow had a knack of making it look like the middle of January. For once, the dull and dismal vibe of 1980s England adds to the haunting atmosphere of this tale. The reason this episode is so unnerving and terrifying is because everything is so ordinary, so mundane. There is nothing here that is far-fetched, in fact if anything then it is very much relatable; I'm sure there are plenty of people who have stories of creepy encounters on public transport. What's even more unsettling is that this story could easily be transposed to modern day; replace the broken phone box with a mobile phone with no signal or battery and away you go.

One thing to note about this episode is that people will often excitedly tell you that Elizabeth Taylor wrote this story, much in the same way that they tell you that Brian May wrote the theme tune to 'Star Fleet'* (both facts are right but for the wrong reasons). It's true, Elizabeth Taylor did write this story, but it's not that Elizabeth Taylor you're thinking of. The big clue comes in the fact that Roald Dahl introduces this episode by mentioning the late Elizabeth Taylor. In 1980, Elizabeth Taylor (actress) was very much alive, unlike Elizabeth Taylor (author), who at that point had been dead for five years.

This episode was originally aired in August 1980. The Moors Murders had happened 15 years earlier and Peter Sutcliffe (a.k.a the Yorkshire Ripper) had yet to be caught, so this episode no doubt hit a little differently back then. 

*Brian May did do a version of the 'Star Fleet' theme tune, but it's not the one that appears on the TV show.