History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S3E7TheGrave

In an old, dusty Western town, notorious outlaw Pinto Sykes emerges from a building in broad daylight. Unbeknownst to him, he's been set up for an ambush by the locals. The townfolk gun Pinto down in the middle of the street and take him to the jail, where he finally dies. An elderly onlooker proudly claims the whole ordeal to be over. Pinto' nemesis, hired gunman Conny Miller (Creator/LeeMarvin), arrives in town to find that his rival has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. When his courage to face Pinto is called into question, Conny accepts a $20 bet to visit the outlaw's grave on the hill. Before he died, Pinto swore revenge on Conny, and threatened to reach out and grab him if he ever came near his grave. Conny is challenged to visit the grave, despite the ominous warning. As proof of his visit, Conny is to stick a knife into the grave. Conny does it quickly and simply, only to mysteriously fall over, as if something pulled him.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': "Normally the old man would be correct. This ''would'' be the end of the story. We've had the traditional shootout on the street and the bad man will soon be dead, but some men of legend and folktale have been known to continue having their way even after death. The outlaw and killer Pinto Sykes was such a person, and shortly we'll see how he introduces a town and a man named Conny Miller in particular to the Twilight Zone."

* ScareDare: Conny is challenged to bisit the grave of his recently deceased nemesis at midnight. The one who also swore revenge from beyond the grave. When the sun comes up, he's dead.

-->'''Mothershed:''' ''Now it's full daylight, Johnny-Rob, and we can all think with a clear head. Deep down we know the dead can't really hurt nobody...''

Pinto's sister Ione steps forward and asks the townsfolk how Conny's jacket got loose enough for it to fall over Pinto's grave. They suggest that the jacket was unbuttoned and the wind blew it over the grave. Ione then asks which direction the wind was blowing last, to which they say the wind was blowing in the same direction it is now. Ione stands up in the same spot Conny was standing and challenges the onlookers to see if her cloak is blowing ''over'' the grave. It's then revealed that her cloak ''isn't'' blowing over the grave, to which Ione [[EvilLaugh laughs]] chillingly, revealing that her brother did indeed get posthumous revenge on Conny.

In an old dusty western town, notorious outlaw Pinto Sykes emerges from a building in broad daylight. Unbeknownst to him, he has been set up for an ambush by the locals. The townfolk gun Sykes down in the middle of the street and take him to the town jail, where he finally dies. An elderly onlooker proudly claims the whole ordeal to be over...

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': "Normally the old man would be correct. This would be the end of the story. We've had the traditional shootout on the street and the bad man will soon be dead, but some men of legend and folktale have been known to continue having their way even after death. The outlaw and killer Pinto Sykes was such a person, and shortly we'll see how he introduces a town and a man named Conny Miller in particular to the Twilight Zone."

Pinto Sykes' nemesis, hired gunman Conny Miller (Creator/LeeMarvin) later arrives in town to find out his rival has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. When his courage to face Sykes is called into question, Miller accepts a $20 bet to visit Pinto Sykes' grave on the hill. Sounds simple right? Well not really. Before he died, Pinto Sykes swore revenge on Miller, and threatened to reach out and kill him if he ever came near his grave. Miller is challenged to visit the grave, despite Sykes' ominous warning.

As proof of his visit, Miller is to stick a knife into the grave. Miller does it quickly and simply, only to mysteriously fall over, as if something ''pulled'' him...

The following morning, the townsfolk find that Miller hasn't returned and thought he had given up on the bet. That notion is debunked right away as they also find his horse and gear are still in front of the bar. They go up to the graveyard only to find Miller lying dead near Pinto Sykes' grave, his coattail pinned by the knife he has driven into the dirt.

The townsfolk figure that Miller had died of a heart attack. Not noticing his loose jacket in the darkness, he inadvertently stabbed his knife through it and pinned himself in place. He tried to get up, but mistook the pull from his jacket as Sykes grabbing him from the afterlife and died of fright.

Pinto's sister Ione steps forward and asks the group how Conny's jacket got loose enough for it to fall over Pinto's grave. They suggest that the jacket was unbuttoned and the wind blew it over the grave. Ione then asks which direction the wind was blowing the night before. The wind was blowing in the same direction as it is now. Ione stands up in the same spot Conny was standing and challenges the onlookers to see if her cloak is blowing ''over'' the grave.

It ''isn't''. Ione [[EvilLaugh laughs]] chillingly as the episode ends.

* ATeamFiring: Eight townspeople ambush Pinto Sykes and each of them fires one shot at him. Only one of those shots is a hit.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: The only people in town who are sorry about Pinto Sykes' death are his sister Ione, their father and Conny Miller, [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou who wanted to kill him himself]].
* BountyHunter: The people of Pinto Sykes's hometown hire Conny Miller to track down and kill the outlaw so that he'll stop treating the town "like it was his personal property." After four months, Miller still hasn't found Sykes (some people suggest that he's too afraid to look very hard) and his clients form a VigilanteMilitia to defeat Sykes themselves.
* CreepyCemetery: The Boot Hill cemetery in the final scene is windswept and quite spooky.
* DrowningMySorrows: Ione comes into the saloon to buy a bottle shortly after her brother's death.
* DyingCurse: Pinto Sykes cursed Conny Miller and swore revenge against him on his dying breath, vowing to reach out and kill him if he ever set foot near his grave.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Ione, Pinto's sister, has dark hair and enjoys bringing up her brother's threat to kill Conny Miller from beyond the grave if he ever came near his resting place.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Despite being a ruthless outlaw, Pinto Sykes seems to have had a soft spot for his family; on his deathbed, he apologized to his father for the way he turned out and [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas requested to be buried near his mother]]. He also told Ione that he wished she would marry a good man and leave town.
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: Despite Sykes' horrible reputation, his father and sister still cared about him very much and are the lone mourners in the town after he's gunned down by a posse.
* EvilLaugh: Ione Sykes has one in the final scene.
* FriendToAllChildren: Johnny-Rob says that all children and [[FriendToAllLivingThings animals]] love him as they always follow him around.
* TheGambler: Steinhart. When he joins Johnny Robb in betting that Conny won't visit the grave, he describes gambling as his business. He seems to be good at it, as Mothershed says that the reason he can't bet either way is because Steinhart won too much of his money in a card game before Conny arrived.

** The VigilanteMilitia that kills Pinto Sykes forms after the local circuit judge gives the townspeople a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for relying on a gunman, but the judge is only mentioned and is never seen.
** Pinto's father is repeatedly mentioned, and Johnny Robb is sent to fetch him in one scene, but he's never physically seen.
* GhostStory: What the episode boils down to with its themes of vengeance from beyond the grave, superstition, and a [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane mysterious ending]] that is left up to the viewer.
* HalloweenEpisode: The episode debuted on October 27, 1961, four days before Halloween.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Was Conny Miller's death a freak accident or was there something truly supernatural at work courtesy of the ghost of Pinto Sykes? The episode doesn't say and leaves it up the viewer to decide what happened. Whatever the case may be, something strange and unexplainable really ''did'' happen...
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Conny Miller doesn't return to the Saloon, Johnny-Rob starts to worry that something happened to him, and blames himself for it. When he sees the body the next morning, he's almost inconsolable.

* NobodyCallsMeChicken: Conny Miller quickly attacks Johnny-Rob, one of the townfolks who challenges his claim that he wasn't afraid of Pinto Sykes.
* NothingIsScarier: We see Conny Miller get jerked down by ''something'' but we never actually see ''what'' did it...
* RiddleForTheAges: Aside from the MaybeMagicMaybeMundane nature of Miller's death, there's the question of whether he just had bad luck in his pursuit of Pinto Sykes or deliberately held back in the pursuit out of cowardice and/or to prolong the hunt and suck more money out of his clients. A dying Sykes claims that Miller knew he was in Albuquerque but didn't follow him there, while Miller claims that he did go to Albuquerque and Sykes had never been there. Miller could be lying to protect his reputation, but Sykes could also be lying as a BatmanGambit to make Miller visit his grave despite Sykes's DyingCurse.
* ScareDare: Visit the grave of your recently deceased nemesis at midnight? Who also swore revenge from beyond the grave? What could possibly go wrong? A lot apparently.
* SkepticismFailure: Whether it is by [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane supernatural causes or not]], ultimately Pinto Sykes made good on his threat. Conny Miller visited his grave, and now is dead.
* TakingYouWithMe: A Posthumous example. Pinto Sykes vowed to kill Conny Miller from beyond the grave, that is, if he ever set foot near it.
* TemptingFate: When Johnny-Rob is concerned that Conny hadn't returned from the cemetery. Mothershed tries to console him.

* VigilanteMilitia: The townspeople of Pinto Sykes's hometown initially send a BountyHunter after him, but ultimately decide to face him themselves. They spend a week making plans and when Sykes arrives, armed men are waiting to either kill or arrest him.
* VillainousLegacy: In life, Pinto Sykes was a ruthless outlaw who terrorized the region. Being dead doesn't stop the townspeople from fearing him. If anything, Sykes is even more feared now that there really is nothing that can stop him from getting what he wants. Mothershed warns as much to Conny before the bet...

* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: Johnny-Rob makes a bet with Conny Miller that he won't go to Pinto Sykes' grave at midnight.

Pinto Sykes' nemesis, hired gunman Conny Miller (Creator/LeeMarvin) later arrives in town to find out his rival has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. When his courage to face Sykes is called into question, Miller takes accepts a $20 bet to visit Pinto Sykes' grave on the hill. Sounds simple right? Well not really. Before he died, Pinto Sykes swore revenge on Miller, and threatened to reach out and kill him if he ever came near his grave. Miller is challenged to visit the grave, despite Sykes' ominous warning.

The townsfolk that Miller had died of a heart attack. Not noticing his loose jacket in the darkness, he inadvertently stabbed his knife through it and pinned himself in place. He tried to get up, but mistook the pull from his jacket as Sykes grabbing him from the afterlife and died of fright.

Pinto Sykes' nemesis, hired gunman Conny Miller (Creator/LeeMarvin) later arrives in town to find out his rival has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. When his courage to face Sykes is called into question, Miller takes on a bet to visit Pinto Sykes' grave on the hill. Sounds simple right? Well not really. Before he died, Pinto Sykes swore revenge on Miller, and threatened to reach out and kill him if he ever came near his grave. Miller is challenged to visit the grave, despite Sykes' ominous warning.

To stake proof of his visit, Miller is to stick a knife into the grave. Miller does it quickly and simply, only to mysteriously fall over, as if something ''pulled'' him...

The following morning, the townsfolk find that Miller hasn't returned and thought he had given up on the bet. That notion is debunked right away as they also find his horse and gear are still in front of the bar. They go up to the graveyard only to find Miller laying over dead near Pinto Sykes' grave. His jacket stuck under the knife that was plunged into the grave.

The bettor deduces that Conny Miller had died of a heart attack. Not noticing his loose jacket in the darkness, he inadvertently stuck it under the knife. He tried to get up, only to feel a tug, coming from his stuck jacket. Conny was already frightened, and the thought that Pinto Sykes had actually reached out from beyond and got him finished him off.

Ione Sykes, Pinto's sister steps forward and asks the bettor how Conny's jacket got loose enough for it to get over Pinto's grave. The Bettor says the jacket was unbuttoned and the wind blew it over the grave. Ione then asks which direction the wind was blowing the night before. The wind was blowing in the same direction as it is now. Ione stands up in the same spot Conny was standing and challenges the onlookers to see if her cloak is blowing ''over'' the grave.

* VillainousLegacy: In Life, Pinto Sykes was a ruthless outlaw who terrorized the region. Being dead doesn't stop the townspeople from fearing him. If anything, Sykes is even more feared now that there really is nothing that can stop him from getting what he wants. Mothershed warns as much to Conny before the bet...
-->'''Mothershed:''' We know you can draw your gun real fast Conny. We've seen ya, but out there in that graveyard that gun ain't gonna be worth a copper cent.

* EvilLaugh: Ione Sykes has one.

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: The only people in town who are sorry about Pinto Sykes' death are his sister Ione, their father and Conny Miller, who wanted to kill him himself.

* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: Johnny Rob makes a bet with Conny Miller that he won't go to Pinto Sykes' grave at midnight.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Final Comment. You take this a grain of salt or a shovelful of earth as shadow or substance. We leave it up to you. And for any further research check under 'G' for ''ghosts'' in the Twilight Zone.

* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Pinto Sykes' sister, Ione Sykes.
--> '''Ione''': "You go on up there and see Pinto...I just came from there...''he's waiting for you''..."

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Conny Miller doesn't return to the Saloon, Johnny Rob starts to worry that something happened to him, and blames himself for it. When he sees the body the next morning, he's almost inconsolable.
-->'''Johnny Rob''': I knowed it! I got a man killed!

Pinto Sykes' nemesis, hired gunman Conny Miller later arrives in town to find out his rival has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. When his courage to face Sykes is called into question, Miller takes on a bet to visit Pinto Sykes' grave on the hill. Sounds simple right? Well not really. Before he died, Pinto Sykes swore revenge on Miller, and threatened to reach out and kill him if he ever came near his grave. Miller is challenged to visit the grave, despite Sykes' ominous warning.

* HalloweenEpisode: The episode debuted on October 27th. Four days before Halloween.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Connie Miller doesn't return to the Saloon, Johnny Rob starts to worry that something happened to him, and blames himself for it. When he sees the body the next morning, he's almost inconsolable.

-->'''Mothershed:''' ''Now it's full daylight, Johnny-Rob, and we can all think with a clear head. Deep down we know the dead can't really hurt no body...''

* SkepticismFailure: Wether it is by [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane supernatural causes or not]], ultimately Pinto Sykes made good on his threat. Conny Miller visited his grave, and now is dead.