The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

What do you think of when you hear the word “monsters”? What kinds of monsters are popular in current books, films, and television shows? What underlying fears or anxieties might these monsters tap into for readers or viewers?

Teaching Suggestion: This question prepares students for the tone of pervasive fear that characterizes this teleplay from the first moments of the action. It also prompts them to investigate how certain monsters, such as zombies, are more prevalent in the culture today than others, such as vampires or ghosts, and reveal anxieties about the culture that creates them.

• This article from USC Today investigates humanity’s fascination with monsters and investigates the current prevalence of zombies and the undead in popular culture.

Short Activity

With The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling created what is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. As early as 1961, the show was singled out as a shining exception to the substandard entertainment on television described in FCC Chairman Newton Minow’s famous “Vast Wasteland” speech.