The Cemetery story
After murdering his uncle, a man (Roddy McDowall) is haunted by a family painting that keeps changing. Directed by: Boris Sagal. Story by: Rod Serling.
11 total · 7 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| black sheep | major | Evans described himself as the family black sheep. |
| coping with an obnoxious jerk | major | Portifoy with Jeremy Evans. |
| descent into madness | major | Jeremy Evans went mad watching a painting of the family graveyard inexplicably change over time. |
| fear | major | William Hendricks apparently haunted his selfish nephew Jeremy Evans from beyond the grave. But in the end it was revealed that it was all an elaborate scheme perpetrated by the butler to get his hands on William Hendricks' fortune. The story concluded with Osmond Portifoy being stricken in a state of terror. |
| ghost | major | William Hendricks' ghost (or perhaps zombie) came back to haunt Osmond Portifoy. |
| greedy heir | major | Jeremy Evans was a selfish scoundrel who murdered his elderly uncle and took over his estate. Osmond Portifoy hatched an elaborate plot to get his hands on William Hendricks' fortune. |
| uncle and nephew | major | Jeremy Evans and his wealthy uncle William Hendricks. |
| coping with aging | minor | William Hendricks was a dying invalid and had had a stroke. |
| loyalty | minor | Butler Osmond Portifoy waited hand and foot on his master William Hendricks for 30 years. William Hendricks returned the favor by bequeathing Portifoy with a miserly $80 per month for the rest of his days in Hendricks will. |
| master and servant | minor | Osmond Portifoy was butler to first William Hendricks and then Jeremy Evans. |