Great Ghost Tales

Great Ghost Tales is an American horror television series that aired Live from July 6 until September 21, 1961.^[1] The program was the summer replacement for The Ford Show.^[2]

Great Ghost Tales
Genre	Horror
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Talent Associates
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	July 6 (1961-07-06) – September 21, 1961 (1961-09-21)

Premise

An anthology of scary stories. Authors whose works were presented included William Fryer Harvey.^[3]

Cast

Actors featured in the series included Judith Evelyn, M. R. Jams, Richard Thomas,^[1] Robert Duvall, Joanne Linville,^[4] Laurie Main,^[5] Lee Grant, Arthur Hill, Lois Nettleton,^[2] Salome Jens, Ruth White,^[6] Mildred Dunnock, R. G. Armstrong,^[7] Janet Ward, Edmon Ryan, David J. Stewart, Collin Wilcox,^[8] James Broderick, Vincent Gardenia, Virginia Leith, Herbert Voland,^[9] John Abbott^[10] Blanche Yurka, Clifford David, Ann Williams, Eric Berry,^[11] William Redfield, Diana Van Der Vlis,^[12] Walter Matthau,^[13] and Kevin McCarthy.^[14]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"William Wilson"	Daniel Petrie	James Lee	July 6, 1961 (1961-07-06)
The lookalike of a drifter keeps following him everywhere. (Based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe.)
2	"Lucy"	Allen Reisner	Joel Davenport	July 13, 1961 (1961-07-13)
Lucy gets her wish when she wishes that the director of her play would die.
3	"The Monkey's Paw"	Unknown	Audrey Maas	July 20, 1961 (1961-07-20)
The holder of a monkey's paw gets three wishes. (Based on the short story by W. W. Jacobs.)
4	"Bye Bye Baby"	Unknown	Elliott Baker	July 27, 1961 (1961-07-27)
A hypnotist promises Ralph that he will be a young man again if he follows his instructions.
5	"August Heat"	Ron Winston	Robert Thom	August 3, 1961 (1961-08-03)
An artist keeps sketching a face he sees in his imagination. (Based on the short story by William Fryer Harvey.)
6	"Summer Rental"	William A. Graham	Nicholas Pryor	August 10, 1961 (1961-08-10)
A villainous couple, who have recently committed a murder rent out a cottage in Devon, however strange happenings begin to occur.
7	"Mr. Arcularis"	Karl Genus	Audrey Maas	August 17, 1961 (1961-08-17)
Mr. Arcularis has nightmares about a coffin on a cruise ship. (Based on the short story by Conrad Aiken; Aiken had also adapted the story in dramatic form, though whether the teleplay is based on his play is not certain.)
8	"Sredni Vashtar"	Ronald Winston	Irving Gaynor Neiman	August 24, 1961 (1961-08-24)
A young boy uses his strange pet to get revenge on his overprotective guardians. (Based on the short story by "Saki", the pseudonym of H. H. Munro.)
9	"A Phantom of Delight"	Seymour Robbie	Douglas Taylor	August 31, 1961 (1961-08-31)
Danny Walton feels compelled to follow the sound of a young girl singing.
10	"Room 13"	Lewis Freedman	Philip H. Reisman Jr.	September 7, 1961 (1961-09-07)
A theological researcher rents a room where a 12th-century bishop made a pact with the devil. Based on the story "Number 13" by M. R. James
11	"The Wendigo"	Lewis Freedman	Gordon Russell	September 14, 1961 (1961-09-14)
Canadian hunters track a legendary monster. Based on the story by Algernon Blackwood
12	"Who's the Fairest One of All"	Unknown	Unknown	September 21, 1961 (1961-09-21)
A young schoolteacher looks into an antique mirror, but the reflection it throws back is a different version of herself.

Production

The series was broadcast in color,^[1] with each episode produced live in New York. It was on Thursday nights from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time.^[2] Directors included Daniel Petrie. Writers included James Lee.^[4] Talent Associates — Paramount Limited produced the series, and Ford sponsored it.^[15] It was replaced by Hazel.^[16]

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in The New York Times called the episode "an encouraging send-off for the new venture."^[4] The review complimented the presentation and the "skill and sensitivity" of the actors.^[4]