Air date: October 27, 1961
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 townsfolk 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 (Lee Marvin), 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.
The following morning, the townsfolk find that Conny hasn't returned, thinking he had given up on the bet. That notion is debunked as they find his horse and gear still in front of the bar. They go up to the graveyard, only to find Conny lying dead near Pinto's grave, his coattail pinned by the knife he drove into the dirt. The townsfolk figure that Conny 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 Pinto grabbing him from beyond the grave and died of fright.
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 laughs chillingly, revealing that whatever the case may be, her brother did indeed get posthumous revenge on Conny.
Spooky Tropes:
- A-Team Firing: Eight townspeople ambush Pinto and each of them fires one shot at him. Only one of those shots is a hit.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: The only people in town who feel sorry about Pinto's death are his sister Ione, their father, and Conny, who wanted to kill him himself.
- Bounty Hunter: The people of Pinto's hometown hire Conny to track down and kill the outlaw so that he'll stop treating the town "like it was his personal property." After four months, Conny still hasn't found Pinto (some people suggest that he's too afraid to look hard enough) and his clients form a Vigilante Militia to defeat the outlaw themselves.
- Creepy Cemetery: The Boot Hill cemetery, which is windswept and quite spooky.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Ione comes into the saloon to buy and down a bottle shortly after her brother's death.
- Dying Curse: Pinto swore revenge against Conny with his dying breath, vowing to reach out and kill him if he ever set foot near his grave.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Ione, Pinto's sister, has dark hair and enjoys bringing up her brother's threat to kill Conny from beyond the grave if he ever came near his final resting place.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite being a ruthless outlaw, Pinto had a soft spot for his family; on his deathbed, he apologized to his father for the way he turned out and requested to be buried near his mother. He also told Ione that he wished she would marry a good man and leave town so she could avoid walking his path.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: Despite Pinto's horrible reputation, his father and sister still cared about him very much, and they are the lone mourners after he's gunned down by a posse.
- Evil Laugh: Ione lets one out in the final scene, where it's seemingly proven that her brother did indeed get ghostly revenge.
- Evil Wears Black: Pinto Sykes in his brief appearance in the beginning of the episode, is seen wearing dark clothing.
- Friend to All Children: Johnny-Rob says that children and animals love him, as they always follow him around.
- The Gambler: Steinhart. When he joins Johnny-Rob in betting that Conny won't visit Pinto's 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 Ghost:
- The Vigilante Militia that kills Pinto forms after the local circuit judge gives the townspeople a scathing rebuttal for relying on a gunman to do their work for them, but this judge is only mentioned and is never seen.
- Pinto's father is repeatedly mentioned, and Johnny-Rob is sent to fetch him in one scene, but he's never physically seen.
- Ghost Story: The episode boils down to this, with its themes of vengeance from beyond the grave, superstition, and a mysterious ending that is left up to the viewer.
- Halloween Episode: The episode aired on October 27, 1961, four days before Halloween.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Was Conny's death a freak accident? Or was there something truly supernatural at work courtesy of the ghost of Pinto? The episode doesn't say which is the truth, and leaves it up the viewer to decide what happened. Whatever the case may be, something strange and unexplainable really did happen...
- My God, What Have I Done?: When Conny 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 next morning, he's almost inconsolable.Johnny-Rob: I knowed it! I got a man killed!
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Conny quickly attacks Johnny-Rob, one of the townfolk who challenges his claim that he wasn't afraid of Pinto.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We see Conny get jerked down by something, but we never actually see what did it.
- Riddle for the Ages: Aside from the Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane nature of Conny's death, there's the question of whether he just had a run of bad luck in his pursuit of Pinto, or he 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 Pinto claims that Conny knew he was in Albuquerque but didn't follow him there, while Conny claims that he did go to Albuquerque and Pinto had never been there. Conny could be lying to protect his reputation, but Pinto could also be lying as a Batman Gambit to make him visit his grave despite his Dying Curse.
- Scare Dare: Conny is challenged to visit 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.
- Skepticism Failure: Whether it was by supernatural causes or not, Pinto ultimately made good on his threat. Conny visited his grave, and now is dead.
- Taking You with Me: A posthumous example. Pinto vowed to kill Conny from beyond the grave, that is, if he ever set foot near it. When Conny dies the next morning under supposedly supernatural means, Ione seems certain that her later brother made good on his threat.
- Tempting Fate: When Johnny-Rob is concerned that Conny hasn't returned from the cemetery, Mothershed tries to console him.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...
- Vigilante Militia: The townspeople of Pinto's hometown initially sent Bounty Hunter Conny Miller after him, but they ultimately decided to face him themselves. They spent a week making plans and when Pinto arrived, armed men were waiting to either kill or arrest him.
- Villainous Legacy: In life, Pinto was a ruthless outlaw who terrorized the region, and being dead doesn't stop the townspeople from fearing him. If anything, he's 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.
- The Voiceless: Pinto doesn't utter a single word in his brief appearance in the episode, but we do hear what he said from others later on.
- When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Johnny-Rob makes bets that Conny won't go to Pinto's grave at midnight.
