The WORST episodes of The Twilight Zone

Every episode of The Twilight Zone ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Twilight Zone!

The Twilight Zone was a popular American anthology series. The series was a collection of various tales that range from the tragic to the comedic. They may be scary or just thought-provoking. Most episodes have unexpected endings and a moral lesson. But, no matter what, it's "a journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries are that of the imagination."

Last Updated: 4/10/2026Network: CBSStatus: Ended
The Bard
star
5.21
63 votes

#1 - The Bard

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/23/1963

An untalented would-be writer's career takes off when the ghost of William Shakespeare writes his script.

Directors: David Butler
Writer: Rod Serling
Young Man's Fancy
star
5.33
33 votes

#2 - Young Man's Fancy

Season 3 - Episode 34 - Aired 5/11/1962

When a newlywed couple briefly return to the groom's childhood home, the ties of the past prove too strong to resist.

Directors: John Brahm
The Chaser
star
5.44
152 votes

#3 - The Chaser

Season 1 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/13/1960

A man, desperate to win the affection of a beautiful woman, slips her a love potion. He is overjoyed that the potion works so well...at first.

Directors: Douglas Heyes
One More Pallbearer
star
5.83
63 votes

#4 - One More Pallbearer

Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/12/1962

Paul Radin has invited three people to join him in his bomb shelter.

Directors: Lamont Johnson
Writer: Rod Serling
The Mighty Casey
star
5.97
466 votes

#5 - The Mighty Casey

Season 1 - Episode 35 - Aired 6/17/1960

A baseball manager takes his team to the championships thanks to a robot pitcher.

Writer: Rod Serling
Mr. Bevis
star
6.01
180 votes

#6 - Mr. Bevis

Season 1 - Episode 33 - Aired 6/3/1960

A man (Bevis) meets his guardian angel.

Directors: William Asher
Writer: Rod Serling
The Incredible World of Horace Ford
star
6.02
178 votes

#7 - The Incredible World of Horace Ford

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/18/1963

Toy designer Horace Ford spends most of his time reminiscing about his idyllic childhood. But when he gets a chance to go back to those years he gets a bitter taste of reality.

Directors: Abner Biberman
Miniature
star
6.18
34 votes

#8 - Miniature

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/21/1963

A lonely man falls in love with a mini museum doll, which he believes is alive.

Directors: Walter Grauman
Dead Man's Shoes
star
6.41
34 votes

#9 - Dead Man's Shoes

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/19/1962

A vagrant steps into a murdered gangster's expensive shoes and is taken over by the dead man's ghost, who vows to remain on Earth to seek revenge against his killer.

A Passage for Trumpet
star
6.41
468 votes

#10 - A Passage for Trumpet

Season 1 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/20/1960

A trumpet player who's convinced he'll never amount to anything attempts suicide and finds himself in a world where no one can hear or see him.

Directors: Don Medford
Writer: Rod Serling
Watch Now:Apple TV
From Agnes - with Love
star
6.45
130 votes

#11 - From Agnes - with Love

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/14/1964

A computer technician must deal with the queen of all femme fatales: a computer named Agnes who wreaks havoc on his love life.

Directors: Richard Donner
The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine
star
6.46
356 votes

#12 - The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/1959

An aging, former movie star lives and dreams in the past, constantly watching her old movies alone in her room.

Directors: Mitchell Leisen
Writer: Rod Serling
The Hunt
star
6.47
34 votes

#13 - The Hunt

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/26/1962

On a hunting trip, Hyder Simpson and his dog Rip dive into a lake after a raccoon. When he gets home he finds that no one can see or hear him.

Still Valley
star
6.48
240 votes

#14 - Still Valley

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/24/1961

During the Civil War, a Confederate scout enters a town to find Yankee soldiers frozen in place.

Directors: James Sheldon
Sounds and Silences
star
6.52
167 votes

#15 - Sounds and Silences

Season 5 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/3/1964

A man's wish to listen to loud noise backfires.

Directors: Richard Donner
Writer: Rod Serling
The Whole Truth
star
6.53
284 votes

#16 - The Whole Truth

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/20/1961

A peculiar Model A automobile compels a used car dealer to tell only the truth.

Directors: James Sheldon
Writer: Rod Serling
Black Leather Jackets
star
6.57
169 votes

#17 - Black Leather Jackets

Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/31/1964

Three tough-looking men on motorcycles disrupt a peaceful suburb when they move in. Yet the neighbors could never imagine just how dangerous these men really are.

Directors: Joseph M. Newman
I Dream of Genie
star
6.62
34 votes

#18 - I Dream of Genie

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/21/1963

A man considers several possibilities when offered one wish by a genie.

Directors: Robert Gist
Nightmare as a Child
star
6.62
123 votes

#19 - Nightmare as a Child

Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/29/1960

Schoolteacher Helen Foley finds a strange and very serious little girl on the stairs outside her apartment. The little girl seems to know her, and tries to jog her memory about a man she saw earlier that day. The man arrives at Helen's door.

Directors: Alvin Ganzer
Writer: Rod Serling
Watch Now:Apple TV
Mute
star
6.63
35 votes

#20 - Mute

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/31/1963

A 12-year-old girl who lost her parents in a fire doesn't speak because she has grown up in a secret telepathic community. The couple who take her in, and her teacher, are determined to help her adapt to their society, no matter the cost.

Directors: Stuart Rosenberg
The Last Night of a Jockey
star
6.64
227 votes

#21 - The Last Night of a Jockey

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/1963

A disgraced jockey is granted his wish to be "big."

Directors: Joseph M. Newman
Writer: Rod Serling
No Time Like the Past
star
6.64
197 votes

#22 - No Time Like the Past

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/7/1963

A man travels back in time to try to prevent some of history's catastrophes.

Directors: Justus Addiss
Writer: Rod Serling
Hocus Pocus and Frisby
star
6.64
208 votes

#23 - Hocus Pocus and Frisby

Season 3 - Episode 30 - Aired 4/13/1962

A loud-mouthed braggart's boasts attract the attention of some aliens.

Directors: Lamont Johnson
Four O'Clock
star
6.65
185 votes

#24 - Four O'Clock

Season 3 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/6/1962

Oliver Crangle is a bitter, prejudiced man. Through unknown means he intends to shrink every evil person in the world at four o'clock. When four o'clock comes around, it is he who shrinks.

Directors: Lamont Johnson
Spur of the Moment
star
6.69
121 votes

#25 - Spur of the Moment

Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/21/1964

After being chased on horseback by a terrifying, unidentified figure in black, Anne Henderson faces the biggest decision of her life.