R.L. Stine's Favorite Twilight Zone Episode Is A Classic

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

With "The Twilight Zone" Rod Serling helped pioneer the sci-fi genre for years to come. The legendary anthology series has never really faded from pop culture relevance since it first aired back in 1959, largely thanks to the syndication deal Serling struck with CBS. The show creator sold the series rights to the network after the end of its fifth and final season in 1964. Sadly, Serling subsequently found himself recoiling every time he saw "Twilight Zone" reruns due to the amount of commercial breaks shoehorned into the episodes at the expense of certain scenes, which were cut in favor of selling more stuff to consumers. But it was this very syndication deal that simultaneously helped turn "The Twilight Zone" into the cultural powerhouse it became.

It also didn't hurt that multiple revivals sprang up in the decades after the original series went off the air. After an infamously cursed "Twilight Zone" movie arrived in 1982, three separate TV revivals debuted in 1985, 2002, and 2019, along with audio episodes which were broadcast on BBC Radio between 2002 and 2012. Even if Serling's series had only run for its initial five seasons, it would have been influential, but its immense staying power has meant that there's not a single creative in the horror/sci-fi space who hasn't been affected in some way by the show.

That's certainly true of R. L. Stine. The alarmingly prolific horror author and creator of the "Goosebumps" novels — who, like Serling, shaped an entire generation's awareness and understanding of the horror genre with his writing — has openly spoken about being influenced by "The Twilight Zone," even contributing to the short story anthology "Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary." Some have even claimed that "Goosebumps" was a straight up rip-off of the classic show, though such critiques rarely take into account the influence of EC's "Tales from the Crypt" comics, which predated "The Twilight Zone" and which Stine has similarly praised as hugely influential.

Regardless, it's clear that Stine is part of a legacy in which Serling remains a towering figure. As such, it's frankly just interesting to hear which of the original "Twilight Zone" episodes is the author's favorite.

"The Twilight Zone" really is remarkable for its endurance as one of the most influential series in history. Most prominent figures in the horror/sci-fi space — and even writers and directors in general — have a favorite episode of the show, with everyone from Jordan Peele and Stephen King to Mel Brooks extolling the show for shaping their own artistic sensibilities. Despite wincing at the mutilated episodes shown in syndication, even Rod Serling himself had favorite episodes of "The Twilight Zone," citing an installment with one of the saddest endings in TV history.

If "The Twilight Zone" remains as relevant today as it was back in the 1960s, then it was bound to have an impact on R. L. Stine, who, having been born in 1943, was primed to absorb the show upon its debut. Since becoming a hugely influential horror author in his own right, Stine has spoken about his love for Serling's series, even picking a favorite episode in the form of 1960's "A Stop at Willoughby."

The 30th episode of the series, "A Stop at Willoughby" first aired on May 6, 1960. Its story focused on Gart Williams (James Daly), an ad executive who falls asleep on his train ride home from the office only to wake up in WIlloughby, a town seemingly frozen in the year 1888 ... and a place where Williams' career and marriage struggles are a distant memory. After being ridiculed by his wife, Jane, (Patricia Donahue) for his fanciful dream, Williams continues to fall asleep on his train rides home before attempting to stay permanently in Willoughby. He eventually accomplishes his goal and is even welcomed into the small town, only for the episode to reveal that, in real life, Williams jumped from the train and perished, his body being carted away in a hearse branded with the name Willoughby & Son. In this story lie the lineaments of a solid "Goosebumps" tale, and Stine admitted as much when asked.

When asked once about his favorite "Twilight Zone" episode during a Q&A at Chicago's Music Box Theater (via MeTV), R. L. Stine responded, "The one with Willoughby. 'A Stop at Willoughby,' where he [James Daly's Gart Williams] gets off the train and he's back in the 1900s. He's an ad executive, and he's actually dead but he doesn't know it. And the conductor says 'Willoughby, anyone out for Willoughby?' That's my favorite."

Interestingly enough, Stine also seemed to acknowledge one of the more obvious influences from "The Twilight Zone" on "Goosebumps." The author added, "There's a 'Twilight Zone' where a dummy comes to life. Yeah, there's one with that," seemingly conceding that his own "Night of the Living Dummy" story, which spawned the "Goosebumps" franchise mascot Slappy the Dummy, was in large part inspired by the 1962 episode "The Dummy," which remains one of the scariest episodes of "The Twilight Zone."

"A Stop at Willoughby," however, isn't necessarily one of the most disturbing or even one of the most notable episodes of "The Twilight Zone," but that's the thing about Rod Serling's seminal series. It meant so many different things to so many people, and it continues to influence and shape culture to this day.