Nightmare Classics – Nostalgia Central

1 9 8 9 (USA)
4 x 90 minute episodes

This anthology series, created and produced by Shelley Duvall, adapted classic horror stories, including works by Sheridan Le Fanu and Robert Louis Stevenson.

While Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre and Tall Tales & Legends had been aimed at young children, Nightmare Classics was created with an older audience in mind.

The series was initially intended to last six episodes, but ultimately ended up lasting only four, adapting “The Turn of the Screw,” “Carmilla,” “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “The Eyes of the Panther.”

Actors appearing in the series included Roddy McDowall, Anthony Andrews, David Hemmings, Rue McClanahan, Amy Irving, Laura Dern and Meg Tilly.

Linda Hunt narrated the opening sequence, saying, “All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream” – a nod to the work of Edgar Allan Poe.

At times, the show took liberties with the stories. “Carmilla,” for example, transplanted the original European setting to a Southern plantation during the pre-Civil War era, while also downplaying the sensual elements of the story.

Like many adaptations, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” introduced a love interest, Rebecca, whereas the original story did not feature any named female characters.

Episodes

The Turn of the Screw | Carmilla | The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | The Eyes of the Panther

Video