Monsters March Forth on Maple Street

By Green alien vanholzer

In a March 4th, 1960 Twilight Zone episode The Monsters are due on Maple Street, what is thought to be a large meteor flies overhead. Soon after Maple Street experiences a total blackout which includes all mechanical devices. Tommy, a young avid science fiction reader says that the aliens have come. Everybody laughs at him, until Mr. Goodman’s automobile suddenly attempts to start itself with nobody near it. A few other strange occurrences happen. Then a neighbor fingers Mr. Goodman suspiciously, for he remembers Mr. Goodman was looking up at the sky a few nights before. Soon all of the neighbors began to doubt each other’s humanity.

One of the gatherings decides to go over to Floral Street to see if they have any electricity there. The panic grows worse and citizens start magnifying the smallest of differences twirling them into prejudices. A mystery figure approaches in the dark and gets shot and killed. It was only the neighbor who had gone to check on Floral Street. Neighbors then turn against each other even more than before. The aliens, who are part of a scouting party, see how easy it is to turn people against each other and realize that taking over Earth will be a slam dunk.

Rod Serling ends the show narrating: “The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, and prejudices –to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicions can destroy. And a thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own –for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.”

In a modern version of this story the word “terrorist” was substituted for alien.

The question remains, which are the real monsters ?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes & links:

Lucy “Marched Forth” away from the beat of a Cuban Bandleader and from a meteoric relationship Lucille Ball files divorce from Desi Arnaz March 4 in History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fhrsmJx8BM

Interestingly here is another lecture from March 4, 1960:http://www.imschool.com/ims/pathwork/060.pdf

This episode is being taught in class curriculums: monsters are due on maple street Glencoe Literature Course 2: Theme 5 - "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

Veterans on Maple Street: Great Plains Paralyzed Veterans of America 7612 Maple Street I Omaha

A 1999 article about Cuban deception by Robert Novak Drug issues put Cuba relations in jeopardy / The Chicago Sun-Times - Cuba News / Noticias - CubaNet News

President Bush Discusses Cuba Policy in Rose Garden Speech

MiamiHerald.com 04/26/2005 Bioweapon threat still unclear

Boise Weekly: Features: Feature: The Case against the Plutonium Space Race

Nuclear Electricity

Another silver lining: Reason

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mammoth Lake Panic, Sep 18 2004

Giant Fireball

Giant UFO over Vancouver