The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street Essay

The horror genre, which evolved from folklore, Greek and Roman mythology, and religion, offers thrills and chills. It has proven to be a popular genre for those who love to experience the apprehension of horror and the fight between good and evil. The existence of evil in humanity, in fact, is a common theme of the genre as shown in classics such as the movie Psycho, the television series The Twilight Zone, and the short story Tell Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe. Throughout these films, texts, and television shows, the horror genre demonstrates that evil is not always evident; it hides among and within the human species. In fact, it is the evil that lurks within us that has the greatest impact on us. We distance ourselves from characters in

these classics and delve onto our own sanity and humanity in order to justify our own actions and choices.
Premiering in 1960, Psycho faced major controversy, as it was so different from other works of the genre at the time. Previous horror films were much less realistic and much more gruesome and did not focus on the human psyche. Psycho was a groundbreaking film because it displayed a realistic scenario that involved a very troubled mind which had the effect of bringing the horror closer to home. Psycho tells the story of a young man, Norman Bates and his psychological troubles that lead him to kill people. However, it is not evident who the killer is until the end of the film. Instead, Bates is presented as an innocent motel owner until the film starts progressing and his actions become more suspect. The audience is slowly exposed to the good and evil of Norman’s split personality. The audience also becomes privy to Norman’s upbringing and a possible reason for his break from sanity: his similarly unhinged mother. This darkness had always been present, but Norman’s true colours came out when his mother, who had been widowed for many years fell in love. This made Norman very jealous so he decided to kill his mother and her new found lover. Norman is controlled by the evil of his mother while trying to fight against the evil feeling with his mildly sane beliefs. Through his actions, we are shown that Norman Bates has evil lurking within. This information is not revealed to other characters and this serves to heighten the horror experience by the audience. Evil not only lives with us, it is also may lurk within those near and dear and those who may appear to be shy, harmless, loving, and kind.
Similarly, The Twilight Zone episode The Monsters are Due on Maple Street introduces the viewer to a small neighborhood that seems to be quite charming.

However, residents of Maple Street are soon faced with a situation that begins to reveal the evil side of human nature. The residents of Maple Street are, as usual, enjoying a pleasant morning when a shadow passes overhead. No one knows what caused the strange occurrence, and then they realize that all their power has gone out. One of the neighbors, Pete, decides to walk over to the next street to see if their power is out as well. Meanwhile, the neighbors gather to discuss the situation when a small boy, Tommy, states that he read a story with a similar scenario where a family of aliens invaded a neighborhood and caused comparable problems. This causes panic to arise amongst the residents and their true natures begin to show. Neighbours begin turning on each other one by one. Maple Street residents are quickly afraid and their paranoia begins to show. These events mirror the scenario of Tommy’s story. The group is all on edge, and when a strange figure emerges from the shadows one of the neighbors shoots the figure before realizing it is Pete returning from the next street over. As the day progresses to night and strange occurrences are still happening, the group becomes hysterical and the situation evolves into a riot. The screen pans out to reveal a spaceship on the hill where aliens are controlling the lights and power in the neighborhood. They make comment on how creating small complications cause the humans to be mistrustful of, and evil to each other. All that was required for the humans to reveal their true emotions and to unlock evil was a small obstacle. Again, the horror genre reveals how terrifyingly close to evil thoughts and actions we all are, and how easily the can

manifest.
In Edgar Allen Poe's Tell Tale Heart, An older gentleman who is disfigured hires someone to help care for him. The narrator of the tale who is the caretaker of the elder gentleman, becomes fixated on the man’s disfigured eye and becomes so paranoid about the eye following his every move that he formulates a plan to kill the him to rid his life of the gory eye. The narrator claims “So you think that I am mad? A madman cannot plan. But you should have seen me. During all of that week I was as friendly to the old man as I could be, and warm, and loving.” (Poe, 2). The narrator felt what he was doing was not wrong or evil; he thought he was virtuous because he killed the evil eye. He placed the deceased body “carefully” under the floorboards, being gentle and kind with it. He thought that showing such kindness to the remains would mean the deed of killing the man was not evil, but the right thing to do. When the Policeman showed up at his door, the narrator manages to keep his evil deed hidden and is able through a controlled demeanor steer suspicion away from him. With the body, dead under the floorboards, the narrator was consumed by guilt and knowledge of his evil deed and as a result, thought could hear the sound of the old man's heart beating. The sound torments him so terribly that he finally admits to killing the old man and is taken to an an asylum. The narrator states, “you will see, you will hear how healthy my mind is.” (Poe, 1), showing that despite his evil deed, he has difficulty admitting that he has evil thoughts and an evil mind. Indeed, he believes he is sane and that his actions were justified because he disposed of the evil eye. So although the narrator appeared innocent and tried to convince himself he was justified, the was evil that lurked within him forced him to commit this misdemeanour and that he appeared able for a short time to hide his evil, at least from others.
The horror genre, shows that evil exists in humanity and that the evil in a person is not always evident. Indeed, it is possible that there is evil in us all just waiting to triggered by some “common problem”. In Psycho, we are introduced to an unassuming man, Norman Bates, who we later learn has a warped relationship with his long dead mother and is crippled by a split personality. A seemingly harmless man who is in fact responsible for more than one murder. Even that of his mother. In The Twilight Zone episode The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, the residents of the neighborhood required one small complication to turn on each other and to commit murder. In Tell Tale Heart, the narrator believed he was both sane and justified in killing the old man because his eye was deformed. Evil appears in unlikely places and people, and it is this “hidden” and unassuming evil that provides the greatest shock to the viewers and readers. If evil is so quietly hiding, and possibly lurking within our own selves, where will it show up next?