1961 ‘The Twilight Zone' Episode Ranked the 'Most Disturbing' Was Used for the Tower of Terror Ride

The Twilight Zone has dozens of creepy episodes that can keep viewers up at night. If you're searching for one that will leave you feeling unsettled, Looper recently ranked the most disturbing episodes. "It's a Good Life" came in at number one.

This 1961 episode took place during season three and followed a young boy with psychic powers. The six-year-old, who could make things happen simply by thinking about them, ruled the town. He could read other people's minds and could wish anyone who upset him away "to the cornfield." Everyone around him lived in terror of him.

This disturbing episode, which was based on a short story by Jerome Bixby, was written by the showrunner, Rod Serling. It went on to become one of the most popular episodes in the series and helped inspire Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Since the episode starred an underage actor, played by Bill Mumy, there were rules about how long he could be on set each day. The director, James Sheldon, admitted that he could have gotten MGM in big trouble when he wanted one more shot of the child after the cutoff time had passed.

Related: 1963 ‘The Twilight Zone' Episode Ranked as Having the ‘Best Acting' Starred a ‘Star Trek' Legend

In Dimensions Behind the Twilight Zone: A Backstage Tribute to Television's Groundbreaking Series, Sheldon admitted, "Illegally, I went to his mother, who was a lovely lady, and I said, 'Could I just get one more shot?' I did, and it worked fine. But the next day the producers and the studio executive and everybody were on my back because if anybody had found out about that, I would have been in trouble. so I never did that again."

He continued, "I can remember I was always like, 'Oh, who cares?' I don't mean overwork the poor kid, but if you've got a shot to get and you need an extra ten minutes, it's not the end of the world."

Of course, "It's a Good Life" is iconic for another reason. The introduction that was used at the beginning of this episode was digitally edited for the preshow of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a classic attraction at the Disney parks. In the attraction, a voice actor named Mark Silverman provides Serling's voice while real footage of him plays.

Related: 1960 ‘The Twilight Zone' Episode Ranked Among ‘Best Endings Ever Written' Was the Hardest To Film

In an interview with SYFY Wire, Silverman spoke about portraying the iconic star. He said, "There's no voice like his. I've never heard anybody pronounce words like that. Why does he say ‘ro-bit' instead of 'ro-bot'? His distinct way of phrasing things and pronouncing words isn't like anything I've ever heard anybody else do."

He continued, "To become a voice of a Disney ride, a ride based on my favorite TV show, it was like a weird fantasy. It actually was like a Twilight Zone [episode]. It was just so crazy, it didn't make sense."

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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 7:25 AM.