Ghost Story

1972 - 1973

The Dead We Leave Behind

15th September 1972

Episode 1

When Ranger Elliot Brent's pretty young wife Joanna complains of boredom, he buys her a television set. Unfortunately, she starts spending all of her time watching television, to the neglect of her household chores. One day, during an argument, Elliot accidentally kills Joanna. He buries her body in a shed behind his cabin. After that, he starts seeing images of Joanna being unfaithful on the television. One stormy night, a man shows up at the cabin seeking shelter, and Elliot recognizes him as the man Joanna was having an affair with. Elliot kills him, too. But will the dead stay quietly buried?

The Concrete Captain

22nd September 1972

Episode 2

While on vacation, Ed Lucas presents his wife Kate with a souvenir of "The Concrete Captain," a small chunk of concrete with a miniature harpoon sticking out of it. Kate seems to be drawn to the item, continually picking it up and looking at it. Later, she is also drawn to a seaside inn where she and her husband hear the tale of the Concrete Captain and his wife, Katherine. But when Kate becomes ill and starts acting strangely, Ed wonders if the Concrete Captain hasn't returned to try to claim Kate as his own.

At the Cradle Foot

29th September 1972

Episode 3

Paul, a recently divorced man, has a dream that his daughter Emily gets murdered as an adult. Believing it to be a premonition, he goes to the town where this will happen to see if he can prevent it. While there, he falls for Julie the owner of the boardinghouse where he is staying. It turns out that Julie is engaged to Ed, who turns out to be the man who murders Emily in Paul's vision. Chaos ensues as Paul and Ed end up fighting over Julie, and Ed ends up dead. Paul gets off by claiming the death was an accident, but Julie has one more nasty surprise waiting for Paul before he leaves town for good.

Bad Connection

6th October 1972

Episode 4

A young widow, trying to move on after her husband is shot down in Vietnam and presumed dead, begins to receive mysterious phone calls from a man who sounds like her late husband.

The Summer House

13th October 1972

Episode 5

Martha and Andrew Alcott own a vacation home where they spend their summers. Martha hates the house and, as the summer goes on, it appears she has good reason as there seems to be a malevolent force in the place that is strongest around the well in the basement. Events and scenes become ever more familiar as it becomes clear what the malevolent force is and what it intends to do with the lives of Martha and Andrew.

Alter-Ego

27th October 1972

Episode 6

Bobby is a very bright but very sickly boy with a particular fondness for chess. As he starts fifth grade he is delighted to find that his teacher is the very popular Miss Gilden, with whom he forms a close friendship. Unfortunately, early in the school year, Bobby becomes too sick to go to school. After a short period of time, an alter-ego who looks exactly like Bobby appears and tells him not to worry, he will go to school for Bobby and come home and tell him what he has learned. Unfortunately, the alter ego terrorizes Miss Gilden, ultimately disgracing her and causing her death. As the alter-ego becomes stronger, Bobby becomes weaker until the alter-ego suggests that they play a game of chess to decide who should live as Bobby. With his life as the stakes, Bobby needs to best this evil version of himself. Assistance comes from an unexpected source.

Half a Death

3rd November 1972

Episode 7

Christina is a young woman with a twin sister, Lisa, whom she has never met. She hopes to meet Lisa on a visit home but is distressed to find out that Lisa has recently died. Christina begins to hear Lisa calling her at night and then starts to have visions of Lisa in an open grave. She tells her mother about this and discovers some unpleasant family secrets about Lisa. Does Lisa want revenge...or does she simply miss the sister she never had?

House of Evil

10th November 1972

Episode 8

When Grandpa arrives for a visit, he brings two special gifts for his granddaughter, Judy, a deaf mute. One's a special doll house, an exact replica of the one Judy lives in with her family; the other is the ability to "hear" his thoughts without speaking. But Grandpa's intentions aren't as benign as they seem. Will Judy be able to save her family before Grandpa destroys it?

Cry of the Cat

24th November 1972

Episode 9

A handsome rodeo star falls in love with a seductive young woman. With growing horror, he starts to realize that she is somehow connected to a series of deadly cougar attacks on the rodeo's crew.

Elegy for a Vampire

1st December 1972

Episode 10

Co-eds are being murdered on a small university campus, all drained of their blood with two small marks on their necks. The late Professor Pendergast, who had been investigating the idea that vampirism is caused by a blood disease, has been sighted at two of the attacks.

Touch of Madness

8th December 1972

Episode 11

Janet inherits her mother's house when her mother dies in a mental institution. When she first arrives at the house, she meets her cousins Hattie and Jonathon, who welcome her warmly. She decides to stay at the house and fix it up so that it won't be condemned. However, neither the house nor Hattie and Jonathon are what they seem to be, and Janet begins to fear for her own sanity as a terrifying past merges with an equally terrifying present.

Creature of the Canyon

15th December 1972

Episode 12

A widow is stalked by a vicious dog that once belonged to her late husband, but which now lives with a sinister neighbor. Even after the dog turns up poisoned, she believes it is still stalking her.

Time of Terror

22nd December 1972

Episode 13

Terror ensues when Ellen Alexander wakes up alone in a hotel room, with no sign of her husband, Harry. Inquiries at the front desk yield the answer that he has checked out without her, and eventually lead her to Brett, who helps her find the answers she is seeking.

Death's Head

5th January 1973

Episode 14

Carol, a woman who hates insects, is unhappily married to Steve, an amateur entomologist. She secretly loves Steve's business partner, Larry, and would like to make their affair a permanent arrangement. One day while shopping, she encounters a gypsy who sells her something that will help her achieve her goal without leaving any traces. However, when Janet carries out her plan, she begins to be terrorized by a Death's Head moth, and discovers that things are seldom as simple as they seem, and that every action has its consequences. The series was retitled "Circle of Fear" beginning with this episode and no longer utilized the opening and closing segments featuring Sebastian Cabot as the host.

Dark Vengeance

12th January 1973

Episode 15

While working at a construction site, Frank unearths a curious box which has no latch for opening. He takes it home and finally opens it, only to discover a broken mirror and a toy horse. However, once the box is open, his wife Cindy begins to have nightmares about the horse. Delving into her own past, Cindy discovers that the toy horse is cursed. Can she and Frank break the curse before they become its next victims?

Earth, Air, Fire and Water

19th January 1973

Episode 16

Six artists move into an abandoned storefront where they find a trunk containing six colorful glass containers filled with powerful black magic. Their artworks begin to take on a whole new meaning until, one by one, the artists vanish.

Doorway to Death

26th January 1973

Episode 17

When a family moves into a new apartment in San Francisco, young Robert starts exploring and discovers the empty apartment upstairs. He opens a door and sees a cabin in the woods, with a man chopping wood who beckons to him. Robert brings his younger sister, Jane, to meet "the man upstairs," who expresses an interest in meeting their older sister, Peggy. When Peggy goes upstairs and opens the same door Robert had opened, she only finds a closet. However, strange noises emanating from the empty apartment, and wet footprints in her own bedroom, cause Peggy to visit the apartment again, and this time, she finds a terrifying surprise waiting for her.

Legion of Demons

2nd February 1973

Episode 18

Beth is a shy young woman who has come to the city to share an apartment with her friend, Janet. Janet gets Beth a job at the company she works for and tries to encourage Beth to come out and socialize with their coworkers. Beth declines. But when Janet turns up missing and Beth fills in at Janet's job, she meets Janet's friends and all is not as it seems. Beth must find out what happened to Janet and see if she can prevent the same thing from happening to her.

The Graveyard Shift

16th February 1973

Episode 19

Fred Colby is a former actor, who now works as a security guard at the studio where he used to film movies. He and his wife, Linda, are expecting their first child together. The studio is closing in a few weeks, and is plagued by a neighborhood gang, who sneak in after hours. While chasing the gang, Fred discovers that something else is roaming the deserted studio, something that threatens not only him, but his wife, and his unborn child, and he must find a way to prevent harm from coming to all of them.

Spare Parts

23rd February 1973

Episode 20

A doctor has donated his eyes, vocal chords and hands for transplant with three individuals. The ghost of the doctor then begins to act out through these patients while they are in the hospital to seek vengeance on his widow who he believes murdered him.

The Ghost of Potter's Field

23rd March 1973

Episode 21

While at Potter's Field cemetery doing research for a story, reporter Bob Herrick sees a ghost that resembles him. He shakes the matter off, assuming that he's seeing things because he's overtired. But when he encounters the same ghost in his office, and at his apartment, he begins to worry. While his friends John Walsh and Mark Riceman scoff, his girlfriend Nisa King realizes that this is a doppelgänger who is trying to take over Bob's life by isolating him from his friends. As the doppelgänger grows stronger, presenting great danger to Bob and his friends, Bob tries to find out whose spirit the doppelgänger is in order to prevent it from taking over.

The Phantom of Herald Square

30th March 1973

Episode 22

Art student Holly Brown is sketching in Central Park one day when James Barlow introduces himself to her. He offers to take her to lunch and, intrigued, she accepts. Holly is charmed by James and begins seeing him, but as soon as she does, she finds herself terrorized by an old man. As her relationship with James grows, she is surprised to discover the connection between James and the old man. But even bigger surprises are awaiting her when she discovers the truth about James.

Top Cast

Ghost Story is an American television anthology series that aired for one season on NBC from 1972 to 1973. Executive-produced by William Castle, it initially featured supernatural entities such as ghosts, vampires, and witches. By mid-season, low ratings led to a shift -- for the most part -- away from paranormal themes and a title change to Circle of Fear.

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