Ghost Story (TV series)


Ghost Story is an American television horror anthology series that aired for one season on NBC from 1972 to 1973. Executive-produced by William Castle, Ghost Story featured supernatural entities such as ghosts, vampires, and witches. The show's format and tone drew comparisons to NBC's Night Gallery and ABC's The Sixth Sense.
By mid-season, low ratings led to a title change.

Plot

Ghost Story was hosted by Sebastian Cabot as Winston Essex, the owner of a mysterious hotel named Mansfield House.
Cabot's introductions were filmed in the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, California. Ghost Story dealt exclusively with ghosts, vampires, witches, and other supernatural elements. Starting with the 14th episode when the show was retitled Circle of Fear, Cabot's introduction and ending monologues are no longer featured.

Cast

Main

Casting

Guest stars included Helen Hayes, Jason Robards, Patricia Neal, William Windom, Gena Rowlands, Carolyn Jones, Melvyn Douglas, and Jodie Foster.

Writing

The episode "House of Evil" was an original teleplay by Robert Bloch.

Renaming to ''Circle of Fear''

After 13 episodes, Ghost Story was renamed Circle of Fear beginning with the January 5, 1973, episode.
The change was necessary, according to executive producer William Castle, because of low ratings. He attributed the title change to the head of the production company, Screen Gems. Additionally, Cabot was dropped as the presenter.
This reworked version lasted nine further episodes.

Episodes

Pilot (1972)

Season 1 (1972–73)

Home media

Two episodes of the series were included as bonuses in the 2009 DVD box set The William Castle Film Collection. On May 1, 2012, Sony released Ghost Story - The Complete Series on DVD through its manufacture on demand program.
NameEp #Region 1
The Complete Series22 May 1, 2012