Theatre Macabre (Season 1)

First Love (Episode 1) 5.0

Air date: 1971-10-01

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: Vladimir, the teenage son of a local rich man, falls madly in love with his new neighbor's daughter Zina competing for her affections along with a host of her other suitors.

The Man Who Demoralized Hadleyburg (Episode 2) 7.0

Air date: 1971-10-08

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A stranger comes to town with a bag full of gold and a test for everyone.

The Tortures of Hope (Episode 3) 4.0

Air date: 1971-10-15

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A man is about to be executed by the Inquisition. Is hope enough to save him?

Mateo Falcone (Episode 4) 2.0

Air date: 1971-10-22

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A young Corsican boy defies local customs and dishonors his family when he turns in a bandit to police.

The Vampire (Episode 5) 6.0

Air date: 1971-10-29

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: Intertwines multiple stories, including a framing device about a young man named Runevsky, and explores themes of obsession, the supernatural, and the line between reality and imagination.

The Swashbuckler (Episode 6) 3.0

Air date: 1971-11-05

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A psychological character study revolving around Luchkov, an aggressive, manipulative former military officer who lives for duels and social domination.

The Actress (Episode 7) 4.0

Air date: 1971-11-12

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A failed actress wants to go back to her husband, who has fallen into alcoholism.

The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether (Episode 8) 8.0

Air date: 1971-11-19

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A narrator visits a French mental asylum where the 'soothing system' of patient-led care has been overthrown by a new, more severe method, only for the narrator to discover the 'doctors' are actually the patients, and the 'keepers' are those locked away, tarred and feathered.

The Rajah's Diamond (Episode 9) 8.0

Air date: 1971-11-26

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: Follows the journey of a cursed, valuable diamond as it passes through the hands of various characters, revealing their greed, folly, and the dark allure of wealth. The narrative links these tales through the diamond's movement from London to Paris, exploring themes of crime, deception, and morality.

The Nose (Episode 10) 3.0

Air date: 1971-12-03

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A government official's nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own.

Tell-Tale Hearts (Episode 11) 9.0

Air date: 1971-12-10

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A nameless man insists on his sanity while confessing to murdering an old man because of his 'vulture-like' eye.

Markheim (Episode 12) 7.0

Air date: 1971-12-17

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A man murders an antique dealer on Christmas Day to steal from him, only to be tormented by his own conscience, personified by a mysterious visitor who may be the Devil, forcing him to confront his evil and ultimately choose confession over further sin.

The Barrel Organ (Episode 13) 7.0

Air date: 1971-12-24

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: Reclusive, cultured lawyer Mr Tomasz's solitary life is transformed by a blind orphan girl who moves in next door and her barrel organ, which he initially despises but comes to cherish as a source of joy and connection, ultimately leading him to help her.

The Canterville Ghost (Episode 14) 6.0

Air date: 1971-12-31

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: A young American couple inherits an English castle, only to find that it is haunted by the spirit of a disgraced ancestor, doomed to stay on the estate because of his cowardice. The only way he can escape is if one of his descendants performs an heroic act, something he intends to get the husband to do.

Decameron (Episode 15) 1.0

Air date: 1972-01-07

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Giovanni Boccaccio's 'The Decameron No. 40.'

A Matter of Conscience (Episode 16) 6.0

Air date: 1972-01-14

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Ambrose Bierce's 'A Matter of Conscience.'

The Husband Under the Bed (Episode 17) 6.0

Air date: 1972-01-21

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Fyodor Dostoevsky's 'Another Man's Wife and a Husband Under the Bed.'

Pavoncello (Episode 18) 4.0

Writer: Stefan Żeromski

Air date: 1972-01-28

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Stefan Zeromski's 'Pavoncello.'

The Song of Triumphant Love (Episode 19) 2.0

Air date: 1972-02-04

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Ivan Turgenev's 'The Song of Triumphant Love.'

The Postmaster (Episode 20) 4.0

Air date: 1972-02-11

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Alexander Pushkin's 'The Postmaster.'

A Terribly Strange Bed (Episode 21) 6.0

Air date: 1972-02-18

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From William Wilkie Collins' 'A Terribly Strange Bed.'

The Fatalist (Episode 22) 3.0

Air date: 1972-02-25

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Mikhail Lermontov's 'The Fatalist.'

Resurrection of the Offland (Episode 23) 5.0

Air date: 1972-03-03

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Alexandre Dumas 'The Resurrection of the Offland.'

Boarded Window (Episode 24) 3.0

Air date: 1972-03-10

Runtime: 25 min

Overview: From Ambrose Bierce's 'The Boarded Window.'