“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”

• Genre: Drama; science fiction; teleplay
• Originally Aired: March 4, 1960
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 6-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 2 acts; approx. 16 pages; approx. 22 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Ordinary citizens of Maple Street, a suburban neighborhood somewhere in the US, experience an unexplained disturbance in the skies followed by a failure of all their electrical and mechanical devices. Thrown into darkness and uncertainty, further unexplained phenomena and petty grievances rachet up the tension, and neighbors must hold their fear in check or resort to mob chaos.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Gun violence; scapegoating

Rod Serling, Author

• Bio: 1924-1975; served bravely in World War II; American playwright, screenwriter, television producer, narrator; known for writing live television dramas on programs such as Kraft’s Television Theatre; created his groundbreaking television series The Twilight Zone in 1952; known as the “angry young man” of television, the political themes of his narratives were often at odds with industry executives
• Other Works: Patterns (1955); Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956); “Time Enough at Last” (1959); “To Serve Man” (1962)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Mob Psychology & Mass Hysteria
• Liberty Versus Security
• Fear of the Unknown

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will: