History NightmareFuel / TheTwilightZone1985

* "Button, Button" has an interesting conundrum. Press a button in a box and receive $200,000 [[note: $564,274.55 in 2023]]...but someone you don't know will die. The wife, Norma, driven by desperation, presses the button. At the end, the man who originally gave them the box pays up and takes the box...telling Norma that the box will be reprogramed and reset ''and given to someone she doesn't know''.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadowman1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Don't worry, he won't hurt you, as long as he lives under your bed.]]

* "Acts of Terror". It's one thing when a Doberman continually attacks an [[AssholeVictim abusive husband like Jack]]. But Jack ''himself'' is the true [[NothingIsScarier nightmare]] of anyone who's been battered or hurt before by a spouse.

* "Examination Day" takes AdultFear and ramps it up to 11. A young boy's parents try their best to hide their nervousness when the boy is about to take a government required intelligence test. The phone call they get from the government after the test is taken reveals the nature of their concern. The boy passed the test with flying colors, showing a very high intelligence. However, the government in charge sees people with high intelligence as a threat to the status quo, so they inform the couple that the child was duly killed in accordance with the law.

* Their version of "The After Hours" is far more chilling. In the original, after realizing she's been a mannequin pretending to be human for a month, Marsha willingly returns to her old life. Here, she decides she ''likes'' being human and tries to run...only for her limbs, one by one, to turn to plastic. Her pleas just as the others are come are chilling enough before seeing her final form, that smile clearly put on her after the rest of the transformation was done. The closing narration is the icing to the cake in that, unlike the original, these mannequins are not happy about their true nature.

* "Nightcrawlers" about a Vietnam veteran who came back from the war with the [[YourMindMakesItReal power to dream things into reality]]... so that every time he goes to sleep ''his nightmares'' comes to life. And his nightmares are about his platoon he abandoned during a firefight coming back for revenge. We get some foreshadowing when a cop shows up at the diner talking about a deadly gun fight at a hotel up the road, just before the veteran reaches the same diner during a big storm. When the cop presses the veteran for details, everyone witnesses the reality-warping powers the vet has, scaring the cop into knocking the man unconscious. ''That allows the nightmares to become real,'' and the diner gets shot up, killing the cop, as the resurrected platoon walks in and shoots the veteran dead.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Znqt2b8CKQ The damned theme tune]].

:: : You can take that line to mean several things, all of them chilling:

:: : "Those were such wonderful times... I remember them so well..."

* "Shelter Skelter": Starts from the same idea as the original series classic "The Shelter", but puts a far more horrifying twist on it. While "The Shelter" involves ordinary people panicking in the face of imminent danger, "Shelter Skelter" features someone who takes it much further: an obsessive survivalist who has made his entire life about nothing but preparing for the nuclear holocaust and everything he believes will come after, to the point where he barely seems to acknowledge the existence of his family except as it relates to his "plans". Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, ''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annihilation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, which has come to be regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.

[[caption-width-right:350: Don't worry, he won't hurt you, [[spoiler:as long as he lives under your bed.]]]]
* In "The Shadow Man" Danny Hayes learns there is a LivingShadow [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight under his bed]]. It is tall and completely cloaked in darkness (as you'd expect), and speaks only to say in a deep, raspy voice "I am the Shadow Man, and I will never harm the person under whose bed I live," before floating out the window. In the subsequent weeks, someone fitting the Shadow Man's description murders several students, and Danny, the only student still willing to go out after dark, parlays his perceived bravery into popularity, including a new girlfriend, and insists, when her ex wants to fight him, that the fight take place after dark. Within moments of their meeting, the killer appears, and Danny laughs smugly and makes mocking remarks as the other boy runs away, until shadowy hands close around his throat and begin to lift him from the ground. The final lines scared the holy hell out of legions of youngsters:
-->'''Danny''': You said you'd never hurt me!
-->'''Shadow Man''': I am the Shadow Man, and I will never harm the person under whose bed I live...
-->'''Danny''': Well... well?!?
-->'''Shadow Man''': [[spoiler:...but ''I'' am a Shadow Man ''from under'' '''''someone else's''''' ''bed''.]]
** You can take that line to mean one of two things: Either [[spoiler:that ''is'' a different Shadow Man]]... ''or'' [[spoiler:it's Danny's Shadow Man... but, because of Danny [[TookALevelInJerkass letting his popularity get to him]], it '''no longer sees Danny as ''its'' Danny''']]. Which is worse? [[spoiler:The implication that there's more than one or the implication that Danny's ''turned on him''?]]
*** [[FromBadToWorse Or]] [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption maybe it was both:]] Danny's Shadow Man became so disgusted with the dramatic [[BeYourself change in Danny's personality]] that he went out and told one of his fellow Shadow Men ''exactly'' where Danny would be that night]].
*** [[OverlyLongGag Or perhaps]] [[spoiler: it never LIVED under Danny’s bed, only hid there when he wasn’t looking, and was stringing Danny along from the beginning with ExactWords as a SecretTestOfCharacter that Danny evidently failed]]
* "Something In the Walls" is enough to fuel a thousand nightmares (and make you swear off patterned wallpapers).
* "The Toys of Caliban", where a mentally handicapped child had the ability to "summon" any object he sees in a picture. Near the end of the episode a social worker comes because she suspects abuse, but the father explains the horrific side of his son's ability: He saw a puppy on television and tried to summon it, but the resulting puppy was ''dead''. The father had buried it and dozens of other dead animals the child had "summoned." As the social worker leaves, the child sees a picture of his dead mother. He grabs it and tries to summon his mother, only for a disturbing, decomposing corpse of his mother to appear in a chair across the room. The father comforts the son, saying, "Don't worry, I'll go into the back and take care of it," as he sobs into his son's shoulder. It ends [[spoiler: with the social worker returning with police backup to take custody of the boy. The father (fearing for his son's welfare if his powers were known) takes out an encyclopedia and [[KillItWithFire has the son reduce their house to ashes by trying to "summon" a picture of a fire.]]]]
* "A Little Piece and Quiet" has a similar ending to "A Kind of a Stopwatch", except that the main character freezes time just as [[spoiler:a nuclear war breaks out]]. She walks through a frozen town and sees all the panicking townspeople still frozen in place, as well as [[spoiler:a Soviet missile suspended in mid-air]]. Her choice is stark: [[spoiler:either unfreeze time and face annihilation with the rest of the world, or spend the rest of her short life in a frozen, pre-apocalyptic landscape]]. To make things worse, if you pay very close attention to the background audio, [[spoiler:she froze time the exact ''second'' the first missile starts to explode]].
* "Dead Run": The Moral Majority runs Hell. You can be put there for something as minor as ''not taking banned books off the shelves''. Thankfully, the dead must be ferried to Hell by a mortal transporter, and HE can decide to let them go and find their way to Heaven instead. Apparently neither place is guarded.
** Made even worse when you learn that the majority of the drivers to Hell don't care about "the cargo" as the damned are called despite all the trouble going on. Just their overall [[LackOfEmpathy chilling, selfish demeanor]] makes one wonder if they sold their souls when they took the job.
* "Shelter Skelter": Starts from the same idea as the original series classic "The Shelter", but puts a far more horrifying twist on it. While "The Shelter" involves ordinary people panicking in the face of imminent danger, "Shelter Skelter" features someone who takes it much further: an obsessive survivalist who has made his entire life about nothing but preparing for the nuclear holocaust and everything he believes will come after, to the point where he barely seems to acknowledge the existence of his family except as it relates to his "plans". Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annihilation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, which has come to be regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]
-->'''Jason''': [[spoiler: Mommy, is that where Daddy is buried?]]
-->'''Sally''': [[spoiler: *smiles knowingly* Yes honey, that's where Daddy is buried...]]
* The ending shot of "Gramma". As bad as the filmed version is, the episode's writer Creator/HarlanEllison wanted to have [[spoiler: a spider crawl out of the [[GrandTheftMe newly possessed]] boy's mouth.]]

* "Examination Day" takes AdultFear and ramps it up to 11. A young boys parents try their best to hide their nervousness when the boy is about to take a government required intelligence test. The phone call they get from the government after the test is taken reveals the nature of their concern... The boy [[spoiler: passed the test with flying colors, showing a very high intelligence. However, the government in charge sees people with high intelligence as a threat to the status quo, so they inform the couple that the child was duly killed in accordance with the law.]]

-->'''Counselor''': Where exactly did you learn to type?
-->'''Simon''': I had three years of typing at Sorworth College. It's all on the resume.
-->'''Counselor''': [[WhamLine But... Sorworth was a women-only college at that time...]] How do you explain this?
-->'''Simon''': I graduated college on June 12th, on the year shown. [[ContinuitySnarl And then I graduated college again on July 1st of the following year.]] I attended and graduated Lennox High School, also Chula Vista High School.
-->'''Counselor''': (looks up, [[OhCrap confused]]) Mr. Foster-
-->'''Simon''': That was shortly after my return from London. Did I tell you I have two children? I remember when they were born. It was such a moving time for me, being an only child. (chuckles) I remember my fifth birthday. [[ImmediateSelfContradiction My brother and my sister]] helped make the decorations-
-->'''Counselor''': (slightly more scared) Mr. Foster-
-->'''Simon''': But, of course, [[DramaticIrony the credentials are what's at issue here...]] I should also mention that my German is quite fluent. I spent most of last year in Vienna, and I worked as a translator, and a secretary, and a bus driver, and I interned at the Institute de Neurologica.
** "Those were such wonderful times... I remember them so well..."
* The ending of "The Elevator", [[spoiler: the boys are EatenAlive by a giant spider inside the Elevator.]] Even if you're not [[spoiler: arachnophobic]], that's pretty chilling to think about...
* "Shatterday" has [[spoiler: the main character slowly becoming a shadow whilst his alter ego becomes the "self". Towards the end, Peter even has an uncannily raspy ethereal voice to indicate how little of himself he has left.]]
* The ending of "Kentucky Rye", when [[spoiler: we see the original owner of the titular bar [[LaughingMad laughing maniacally]] at [[TheScrappy Bob Spindler's]] [[AlasPoorScrappy predicament]].]]
* There's something creepy about the hitchhiker from "The Burning Man" who talks about evil (generally evil) and cannibalism with a malicious, growly voice. And then, there's [[spoiler: the ending...]]
* "The Devil's Alphabet". Mysteriously, ever since their first member [[DrivenToSuicide hung himself]], the members keep dying mysteriously, until there's only one living member left.
* "The Convict's Piano" shows us the Penitentiary inmates, who showcase what's at stake for Frost: if he can't find some way to use the paino to escape the prison for good, he'll face a "State Pen Welcome" courtesy of a ''blade''...
* The climax of "The Card". [[spoiler: It's been bad enough that Linda's pets and children disappear from her life [[TheUnperson as though they never were in her life to begin with]]. But when an attempt to fix everything backfires, ''everything'' disappears! Including herself...]]
* "Dream Me a Life" has a surprising one where Roger has a recurring dream about a woman named Lorraine who begs him to help keep a door shut. Something's behind that door and, according to Lorraine, if it gets out, "She'll die"! Just the nature of "him" feels like an EldritchAbomination. [[spoiler: Fortunately, the "him" turns out to be the woman's dead husband, desperately trying to tell her to move on. She does.]]
* "Acts of Terror". It's one thing when a Doberman continually attacks an [[AssholeVictim abusive husband like Jack]]. But Jack ''himself'' is the true [[NothingIsScarier nightmare]] of anyone who's been battered or hurt before by a spouse.
* In "Room 2426", Dr. Ostroff so callously tortures Martin with [[FauxAffablyEvil a false sense of friendliness]] that's just chilling to listen to.

* "Shelter Skelter": Starts from the same idea as the original series classic "The Shelter", but puts a far more horrifying twist on it. An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annihilation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, which has come to be regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]

* "Shelter Skelter": Starts from the same idea as the original series classic "The Shelter", but puts a far more horrifying twist on it. An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annhiliation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, which has come to be regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]
--> '''Girl''': [[spoiler: Is that where Daddy is buried?]]
--> '''Woman''': [[spoiler: *smiles knowingly* Yes honey, that's where Daddy is buried...]]

* "Shatter Day" has [[spoiler: the main character slowly becoming a shadow whilst his alter ego becomes the "self". Towards the end, Peter even has an uncannily raspy ethereal voice to indicate how little of himself he has left.]]

* "Dream me a Life" has a surprising one where Roger has a recurring dream about a woman named Lorraine who begs him to help keep a door shut. Something's behind that door and, according to Lorraine, if it gets out, "She'll die"! Just the nature of "him" feels like an EldritchAbomination. [[spoiler: Fortunately, the "him" turns out to be the woman's dead husband, desperately trying to tell her to move on. She does.]]

* "Shelter Skelter": Starts from the same idea as the original series classic "The Shelter", but takes a far more horrifying twist on it. An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annhiliation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, which has come to be regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]

* "Shelter Skelter": It's similar to the original series classic "The Shelter". An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annhiliation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, which has come to be regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]

* "Shelter Skelter": It's similar to the original series classic "The Shelter". An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annhiliation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete radiation-proof dome, widely regarded as a monument, has been constructed on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]

* "Shelter Skelter": It's similar to the original series classic "The Shelter". An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends [[TimeSkip a year later]] after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annhiliation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete dome has been constructed as a monument on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]

*** [[FromBadToWorse Or]] [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption maybe it was both:]] Danny's Shadow Man became so disgusted with the change in Danny's personality that he went out and told one of his fellow Shadow Men exactly where Danny would be that night]].

* "Shelter Skelter": It's similar to the original series classic "The Shelter". An obsessive survivalist has constructed a nuclear shelter in the basement of his suburban home, which he forbids his family from telling ANYONE about, and is both overbearing and borderline abusive to them. Mounting tensions seem to lead to a nuclear attack while his family is away, leading to him locking himself, and a friend inside the shelter for several months, with the radiation not subsiding outside. The friend eventually goes insane from cabin fever and leaves, only to return, fatally poisoned, and report back that there is no daylight, and the entire city is now just a giant garbage-heap. The episode ends a year later, after the attack, with the man sitting in his now rapidly deteriorating shelter, still waiting... And, as it happens, [[spoiler:''there was no nuclear attack''; there was just an incident at a nearby Air Force base where a missile detonated inside a grounded plane, destroying most of the town. Confronted with the reality of nuclear annhiliation, the world powers stood down, which finally led to world peace, and a large concrete dome has been constructed as a monument on top of the rubble of the town... and the shelter. It's also implied that the man's wife, who survived, knows he is (most likely) still alive down there, but isn't telling anyone else.]]

* "Examination Day" takes AdultFear and ramps it up to 11. A young boys parents try their best to hide their nervousness when the boy is about to take a government required intelligence test. The phone call they get from the government after the test is taken reveals the nature of their concern. The boy [[spoiler: passed the test with flying colors, showing a very high intelligence. However, the government in charge sees people with high intelligence as a threat to the status quo, so they inform the couple that the child was duly killed in accordance with the law.]]
* [[DissonantSerenity In a matter of speaking]], the ending of "The Mind of Simon Foster": after selling off enough of his memories that it makes trying to find a job with the unemployment office borderline impossible, Simon returns to the pawn shop and demands from the broker his memories back. After telling him that it's too late, they have been bought, the broker offers Simon an alternative "[that's] not perfect". And so, the episode ends with Simon back at the unemployment office, talking to the counselor about his job qualifications... and, in a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything borderline schizophrenic dialogue]], Simon explains his new, contradictory backstory, [[StepfordSmiler all with a smile on his face]]:

* The ending of "The Elevator", [[spoiler: the boys are EatenAlive by a giant spider.]] Even if you're not [[spoiler: arachnophobic]], that's pretty chilling to think about.

* "Acts of Terror". It's one thing when a Doberman continually attacks an [[AssholeVictim abusive husband like Jack]]. But Jack himself is the nightmare of anyone who's been battered or hurt before by a spouse.

* The ending shot of "Gramma". As bad as the filmed version is, the episode's writer Creator/HarlanEllison wanted to have [[spoiler: a spider crawl out of the [[GrandTheftMe newly-possessed]] boy's mouth.]]

* "Dream me a Life" has a surprising one where Roger has a recurring dream about a woman named Lorraine who begs him to help keep a door shut. Something's behind that door and, according to Lorraine, if it gets out, "[She'll] die"! Just the nature of "him" feels like an EldritchAbomination.