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The Hitch-Hiker (The Twilight Zone)
Encyclopedia
"The Hitch-Hiker" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone
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. Unnerved, she drives away quickly. As she continues her trip, Nan sees the same hitchhiker thumbing for a ride at several other points on her journey. She becomes increasingly frightened of him, and when she is stuck on a railroad crossing and nearly hit by a train, she becomes convinced that the hitchhiker is trying to kill her. She continues to drive, becoming more and more afraid, stopping only when necessary; but every time she does, the same hitchhiker is there.
When she ends up stranded in New Mexico, she meets a sailor on his way back to San Diego from leave. Eager for protection from the hitchhiker she's been seeing, she offers to drive the sailor to San Diego herself. However, she is still paranoid about the hitchhiker, and when she sees him on the road she tries to run him over. The sailor, who can't see him, begins to fear for her sanity and leaves her. In Arizona, Nan stops to call her mother. The woman who answers the phone, Mrs. Whitney, says that Mrs. Adams is in the hospital; she had a nervous breakdown after finding out that her daughter, Nan, was killed in an auto accident in Pennsylvania six days ago, when the car she was driving blew a tire and overturned. At this point, Nan realizes the truth: the hitchhiker is not a man who wants her to die, but is rather the personification of death
, patiently and persistently waiting for her to realize that she has been dead all along.
Nan returns to the car and sees the hitchhiker sitting in the back seat through the reflection of the vanity mirror on the visor. "I believe you're going...my way?" he inquires, almost friendly. As Nan accepts her fate, Rod Serling narrates the final lines.
Serling named his character "Nan", after one of his daughters.
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
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Synopsis
The story begins with Nan Adams, whose vehicle gets a flat tire on a cross-country road trip from New York City to Los Angeles. A mechanic puts a spare tire on her car and directs her to the nearest town to fix it properly. Just before she leaves, Nan notices a strange-looking man hitchhikingHitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
. Unnerved, she drives away quickly. As she continues her trip, Nan sees the same hitchhiker thumbing for a ride at several other points on her journey. She becomes increasingly frightened of him, and when she is stuck on a railroad crossing and nearly hit by a train, she becomes convinced that the hitchhiker is trying to kill her. She continues to drive, becoming more and more afraid, stopping only when necessary; but every time she does, the same hitchhiker is there.
When she ends up stranded in New Mexico, she meets a sailor on his way back to San Diego from leave. Eager for protection from the hitchhiker she's been seeing, she offers to drive the sailor to San Diego herself. However, she is still paranoid about the hitchhiker, and when she sees him on the road she tries to run him over. The sailor, who can't see him, begins to fear for her sanity and leaves her. In Arizona, Nan stops to call her mother. The woman who answers the phone, Mrs. Whitney, says that Mrs. Adams is in the hospital; she had a nervous breakdown after finding out that her daughter, Nan, was killed in an auto accident in Pennsylvania six days ago, when the car she was driving blew a tire and overturned. At this point, Nan realizes the truth: the hitchhiker is not a man who wants her to die, but is rather the personification of death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
, patiently and persistently waiting for her to realize that she has been dead all along.
Nan returns to the car and sees the hitchhiker sitting in the back seat through the reflection of the vanity mirror on the visor. "I believe you're going...my way?" he inquires, almost friendly. As Nan accepts her fate, Rod Serling narrates the final lines.
Episode notes
In the original story by Lucille Fletcher, the character of Nan was a man named Ronald. The story had earlier been adapted for the radio programs Philip Morris Playhouse (1942), Suspense (radio program)|Suspense (1942), and Mercury Summer Theater (1946). All three radio productions starred Orson Welles as Ronald Adams.Serling named his character "Nan", after one of his daughters.