Whilst the United States has a tradition of Halloween stretching back hundreds of years, the British celebration of All Hallow’s Eve, the night prior to All Hallows’ Day (also known as All Saints’ Day), has only experienced a resurgence of interest in recent years. Now know principally a secular celebration, in Christian tradition Halloween was an important liturgical tradition concerning the remembrance of the dead. The Protestant Reformation, with its rejection of Christian dogma such as purgatory, was instrumental in the diminution of the festival’s importance. With the emergence of Guy Fawkes Night on November 5 from around 1605, the celebration of Halloween, five days earlier, reduced further.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that in the Doctor Who MInd Robber’s survey of 1960s Doctor Who we could find no references whatsoever to Halloween. What we did stumble upon was Journey into Terror, also known as Episode 4 of the 1965 story The Chase. As an adult the episode appears extremely tacky, although to a five or six year old child it would undoubtedly be a source of nightmares. Journey into Terror chronicles the TARDIS crew’s adventures in a Haunted House. Although the Doctor and his companions are in a 1996 fairground attraction the Doctor believes them to be in dark recesses of the human mind. Count Dracula, Frankenstein and the Grey Lady all reside in the house and are impervious to the extermination attacks of the Daleks. Vicky goes missing and a facsimile robot of the Doctor is made by the Daleks. Join us for this photo essay of the Doctor’s journey through a world of horror. Happy Wholloween!
Title card for what has become known as Episode 4 of The Chase, Journey into Terror
The Daleks are pursuing the Doctor and his crew in their time machine. The Doctor informs his companions that the Daleks will be closer to them after the next landing
In a very trippy Sixties manner the TARDIS travels through time and space, pursued by the Daleks
The TARDIS lands in an old mansion of a house. The Doctor deduces that they are somewhere in Eastern Europe
The Crew finds themselves in a classic “Spooky Haunted House”
On disembarking from the TARDIS the crew are immediately subjected to strange phenomena. A bat swoops down on Barbara and Vicki
- Iain feels a shiver up his spine as a ghost passes through him
Count Dracula emerges
Vicki goes missing and the Grey Woman screams at Barbara
The Grey Woman screams
Ian tells Barbara that this is an ideal place to fight Daleks as they can’t climb stairs
Frankenstein is zapped by the Daleks but lives
The TARDIS Crew meet Dracula and a Dalek
Daleks don’t like stairs
Even the Daleks can’t exterminate Dracula
The others depart in the TARDIS leaving Vicki behind
Count Dracula and a Dalek
Frankenstein picks up a Dalek
The Grey Lady emerges again
The Grey Lady is zapped by the Daleks but merely laughs at it
Frankenstein has hurled the Dalek to the floor and is now hitting it
The Doctor tells Ian and Barbara that the Haunted House is not part of time or space
Unknown to the Doctor and his crew, the Haunted House is actually part of a fairground display for the 1996 Festival of Ghana. Such was the fear of China in the Sixties that this African state had been annexed by China
The Doctor and his friends are unaware that they have entered a House of Horrors display
Barbara realizes that Vicki is not in the TARDIS with them
The Daleks advise that the Doctor is to be reproduced
Vicki emerges from the shadows and sees the Dalek reproduction machine
Vicki calls to the TARDIS for help
The Doctor’s reproduced image in seen in the Dalek machine
Barbara tells the Doctor that they could repair the Ship’s time mechanism, and retrieve Vicki, if they all work together
Ian suggests that they go back for Vicki in the Daleks’ time machine
The Doctor blames himself for leaving Vicki behind
The Crew decide to capture the Daleks’ time machine
The Daleks wonder where the enemy time machine (the TARDIS) is
The robotic replica of the Doctor is produced. The Daleks clearly have bad sight as they believe that the replica is indistinguishable from the original
The robotic Doctor replica is activated
The Doctor and his companions view the TARDIS scanner. Outside there’s swampy terrain which would be difficult for the Daleks
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara decide to explore outside
The Daleks announce “paramount success” in the duplication of the Doctor
In the Daleks’ eyes the robot Doctor can’t be distinguished from the original
The screen cuts to the face of the real Doctor
As the credits begin to roll the audience are shocked to learn that the next episode is entitled “The Death of Doctor Who”
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
What great pictures. I feel black and white film adds to the Halloween spirit. It just bleeds film noir and is so beautiful to watch! Also don’t forget to come see the 1st episode of “A Seat on a Train” which released today in honor of this horrific holiday!!! Check it out at http://www.aseatonatrain.com If you love “The Twilight Zone” then come take “A Seat on a Train!”
Thanks for your comment and I’ll check out your link.