This 'Twilight Zone' Episode Is the Franchise's Greatest Horror Nightmare

When “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” from The Twilight Zone aired in March 1960, it presented an unsettling proposition that was more than just an alien or supernatural hoax. Written by Rod Serling, the episode set a quiet suburban neighborhood, or, more accurately, a parade of angry and suspicious neighbors, into a battleground of paranoia. A power outage signals the start of the episode that soon spirals into finger-pointing, suspicion, and mob violence. By the episode’s end, a once-idyllic street has collapsed into chaos, proving the only monsters needed are human ones.