I am not sure if this was the right show...but I seem to recall an episode staring a blonde deaf girl (Jodie Foster??) whose grandfather gave her a dollhouse....she made the dolls out of chocolate chip cookies...with patches of cloth torn from family members' clothing..and they became voodoo dolls...she threw one down the stairs in the doll house and someone in the house fell down the stairs...eventually it went up in flames. Does this sound familiar to anyone??? thanks!
I remember this episode; in fact this is the reason I searched for "Circle of Fear" on the site (...don't even remember the original "Ghost Story" title). Most memories of this series are vague, I was probably only age 6 or 7, but I have some vivid images of this ep: I recall the cookie dolls (choc chip, yes!), and I think you're right about the swatches of cloth / personal items from the family. The suspense came when the real house caught fire (candle to a drape?), but the child (boy/girl?) could not wake his/her family members; then realized that the cookies had to be 'awakened' from their beds in the dollhouse which was also threatened by the fire. Very cool plot device. (And memorable as a youngster!) Would be great to see this again with an adult perspective.
For more info., try "Filmfax" magazine, the Jan-March issue this year. Robert (Psycho") Bloch wrote the original script, but there were so many changes made by the producer (the legendary William "13 Ghosts" Castle)that he almost stopped writing for TV altogether.
I asked about a similar plot on experts.com and they referred me to this episode, but I'm not sure they gave me the correct information. Do you recall if the people kept trying to get out, but the exits were all sealed up? And when they turned on the TV, it was only a test pattern? I don't remember anything about voodoo dolls, so I don't think the guy gave me the right movie. In the one I'm thinking of, it seems as though it was set in the future.
There's a reply removed from the thread here but are you saying there's an episode w/this title in the series (or in another series) because I don't see this listed as an episode for either Circle of Fear or Ghost Story - please confirm what you are referring to. Thank you
"I'll have a steak sandwich...and a steak sandwich"
I remember that! It was a Night Gallery episode. The grandfather had telepathic powers and was able to communicate with his deaf granddaughter. He showed her how to make voodoo dolls out of chocolate chip cookies. The little girl made dolls of all her family members. One night, the house caught fire and the little girl tried to wake her family. She was unable to wake them, due to the voodoo spell. Suddenly, she heard the voice of a dead relative instructing her to grab the dolls out of the doll house. As she and her family were running down the stairs, she dropped the voodoo doll of her grandfather. The scene then shifted to the grandfathers apartment where he was shown in his kitchen lighting the stove. At that point, the whole apartment lit up in flames and that's when the grandfather met his fate! Hopefully, this was very helpful to you.
One of the best episodes from the series,memorable premise,good fire climax,and Jodie Foster believable as mute girl. The grandfather is quite a tragic man when you think about it,not really evil,but horribly misguided.
This really was one of the best episodes from "Ghost Story/Circle of Fear." And as a fun bonus, viewers will note that this was shot in the same house used for the "Bewitched" television series! (Exteriors are the same, shot on the back lot at the Warner Brothers Ranch; the interiors are partially the same, with some changes---for instance, the distinctive Bewitched staircase was altered for the episode.)