Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Opening Narration

The reluctant gentleman with the sizeable mouth is Mr. Frisby. He has all the drive of a broken camshaft and the aggressive vinegar of a corpse. As you've no doubt gathered, his big stock in trade is the tall tale. Now, what he doesn't know is that the visitors out front are a very special breed, destined to change his life beyond anything even his fertile imagination could manufacture. The place is Pitchville Flats, the time is the present. But Mr. Frisby's on the first leg of a rather fanciful journey into the place we call the Twilight Zone.

Synopsis

Frisby manages a grocery store/gas station in a small town, and the townsfolk know him well for the tall tales he spins of his experiences, all of which he fabricates and which are often contradictory.

One evening, a friendly voice summons him. Creatures from another planet, disguised as humans, ask him to board their ship. They want Frisby for use as a zoo specimen--they take his exaggerated tales as reality, so why not take the perfect example? The alien tells Frisby that he seems to have the widest range of experience and highest education - they have obviously been listening to him for a long time - and want him to come with them.

Frisby tells them that he lied, but the aliens do not understand the term "to lie", and ask him to just sit quietly and wait for departure. Frisby, unable to convince them of their erroneous decision, decides to relax by playing his harmonica. He then makes the unexpected discovery that the sound is extremely painful to the aliens--He escapes from the ship, and the now frightened aliens leave. Running back to the gas station, he finds all of his friends waiting to throw him a surprise birthday party. When he tries to tell them what happened, they laugh it off as another of his stories, even though this time he tries to tell them this is true.

Closing Narration

Mr. Somerset Frisby, who might have profited by reading an Aesop fable about a boy who cried wolf. Tonight's tall tale from the timberlands--of the Twilight Zone.

Preview for Next Week's Story

We have a return visit next week from a most emminent performer, Joseph Schildkraut. And his vehicle is called, "The Trade-Ins." It's a story of a future society in which new bodies may be traded for old. It's my own personal feeling that of all the various story areas we've tackled in The Twilight Zone, this has the most import, and carries with it the most poignance. I hope you'll be able to be with us next week.

The Twilight Zone links

• The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
• Episode list
• Full video of the episode at CBS.com

References

• DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
• Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090
• Zicree, Marc Scott. The Twilight Zone Companion, Bantam Books, 1982. ISBN 0-553-01416-1

External links