In 1934, Conrad Aiken wrote his most famous short story, "Silent Snow, Secret Snow." It went on to become one of the most widely read American short stories of the 20th-century. 37 years later in 1971, Rod Serling's Night Gallery would adapt this short tale as part of its weekly anthology series. With a teleplay and direction by Emmy Award-nominated Gene R. Kearney, the episode remains one of the finest half-hours from 1970s television. "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" tells the story of young Paul Hasleman and his slow decent into madness. When Paul awakens one morning to the sound of the postman's muffled footsteps on the street below, his belief that it has snowed the night before is shattered when he discovers the sun-draped lawn outside his window. Paul's discovery of a "secret snow" begins his slow detachment from the real world around him. Night Gallery is probably best known for it's weekly horror stories and strange tales book ended with introductions by it's host, writer Rod Serling. Serling worked more often as a host than writer on the program, unlike his more famous Twilight Zone series of the 1950s-60s. For Twilight Zone, Serling took a more active role in weekly production, and it shows. Night Gallery only ran for 3 seasons, and only a handful of episodes remain memorable in viewers minds. But the ones that do were strong, and often were based on famous and some not-so-famous short stories. Contemporary writers like Richard Matheson, and Serling provided among the best of the series along with adaptations by classic authors like Aiken and Edgar Allen Poe.
