One Step Beyond | Season 1 | Episode 11 | Devil’s Laughter | John Newland | Robert Douglas

John Marriott boasted to his jailers, the executioner and anyone else who would listen that before the first attempted execution he was frightened out of his wits. But when the hood was put over his head, he saw how he would die, and it would not be on the gallows.

Produced at the same time as the more well-known The Twilight Zone (1959), this series was an extension of the tradition of radio horror and supernatural dramas such as Light’s Out, The Mysterious Traveler and The Witches Tale. As with the Twilight Zone and the radio programs each tale was book-ended by an introduction and conclusion by a host. However, rather than creating fictional stories with supernatural twists and turns, this program sought out “real” stories of the supernatural, including ghosts, disappearances, monsters and the like, re-creating them for each episode. No solutions to these mysteries were ever found, and viewers could only scratch their heads and wonder, “what if it’s real?”

Directed by Merwin Gerard
Starring John Newland, Robert Douglas, Olan Soule

Cast
John Newland as Self – Host
Robert Douglas as Gen. George Washington
Olan Soule as Conductor
Will J. White as Corporal