Like most of the people who have commented on this series I found this programme very haunting, not scary so much as disturbing or unsettling. I was older than most of the people who have posted so far, twelve in 1972 (& strangely like one of the above was convinced this prog. was from the late 60's) & also couldn't remember the name of the series. I tracked it down a few years ago & last year discovered that all 6 episodes do still exist in some form but only one in it's original colour form. It was shown on ITV btw not BBC as someone has said. Last night I finally watched one episode for the first time in 34 years that I managed to obtain from a collector on DVD. It was very poor quality b/w but fascinating to see. It was the final episode which was good as I couldn't remember how it ended and if the boy got out of the house (but won't spoil it for anyone lucky enough to see it again). The rocks had reached right up to the house. I had forgotten the eyes! There was strange radiophonic workshop type electronic noises (rumblings and whirrings) throughout the scenes in the house which may be what provided some of the chills that people remember. In fact they even drowned out some of the dialogue but this may be just down to this DVD not how it went out on air. The acting has not held up well by today's standards or even compared to say 'Timeslip' from the same era of kids drama. There was still something imaginative and strange about the programme though that lingers.
19 Reviews
Scary if you're ten.
PlocktonTurnPointt12 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
When I was a kid in the early 1970s there were four things on TV that gave me a case of the old screaming Plockton williecobblies- Shop front mannequins with an attitude problem, Cybermen clunking their way up the stairs, David Essex attempting to sing, and Escape Into Night.
The story based on Catherine Storr's novel is about a girl confined to bed after falling from a horse. Out of boredom she doodles an imaginary house in her notepad and is then surprised to find herself transported there in her dreams. No one is in the house so when awake again she draws a boy at an upstairs window for a companion during her next dream visit. As it turns out the boy (Mark) is also in bed in the real world, unable to walk, and has now somehow been pulled into her alternative world. He also has the same home schooling teacher as Marianne, Miss Chesterfield although the two children have never met. The children don't get on too well at first and when in the real world Mark buys Miss Chesterfield a more impressive bunch of birthday roses than Marianne, she vents her annoyance by drawing in some boulders surrounding the dream house which unfortunately seem to take on board her rather negative mood. As the series continues Marianne discovers from her teacher just how sick Mark really is and so the children's relationship mellows somewhat. Marianne starts drawing objects to make Mark more comfortable at the house. The sinister one-eyed boulders outside however become increasingly threatening, and Marianne is horrified to discover that not only can they move but she is also unable to rub them out of her drawing. Together, Marianne and Mark decide they must find a way to escape from the house. The action switches back and forth between Marianne's dream existence and her bedroom where her mother, doctor and teacher are concerned by her strange behaviour, nightmares and obsession with Mark.
The whole thing was obviously filmed on a cheap budget with just five cast members and what appears to be only three locations. I'm not knocking it though, cheap can work fine if you have the right story and approach, and this does work. Sure you can pick holes in it but this is a children's program and us 70s urchins weren't too critical of plot shortfalls. The stark empty house is almost as creepy as something out of the film 'The Grudge'. The sound department needs to take a lot of credit. The loud continuous tock of the grandfather clock on the stairs gets ominously slower as the story unfolds, and the eerie disembodied voices heard as the children have to walk past it sets a gloomy aura to the place. Then there is the radio which Marianne draws to cheer them up. Instead of getting Radio Caroline the airwaves are immediately taken over by the malevolent boulders who make their threats to the children quite clear.
So, would the current generation laugh at it or hide behind the sofa? No idea. They would certainly recognise the concept of two people inhabiting an alternative reality, to them it's just like Cyberspace. The Tony Curtis poster on Marianne's bedroom wall would puzzle them. Actually it puzzles me. At the time my sister would have opted for either David Cassidy, Davy Jones, some chap in a magazine she once took a shine to advertising a hideously naff buttoned up shirt, or even the previously mentioned over optimistic warbler David Essex. Tony Curtis wouldn't even have made the list. Weird.
The story based on Catherine Storr's novel is about a girl confined to bed after falling from a horse. Out of boredom she doodles an imaginary house in her notepad and is then surprised to find herself transported there in her dreams. No one is in the house so when awake again she draws a boy at an upstairs window for a companion during her next dream visit. As it turns out the boy (Mark) is also in bed in the real world, unable to walk, and has now somehow been pulled into her alternative world. He also has the same home schooling teacher as Marianne, Miss Chesterfield although the two children have never met. The children don't get on too well at first and when in the real world Mark buys Miss Chesterfield a more impressive bunch of birthday roses than Marianne, she vents her annoyance by drawing in some boulders surrounding the dream house which unfortunately seem to take on board her rather negative mood. As the series continues Marianne discovers from her teacher just how sick Mark really is and so the children's relationship mellows somewhat. Marianne starts drawing objects to make Mark more comfortable at the house. The sinister one-eyed boulders outside however become increasingly threatening, and Marianne is horrified to discover that not only can they move but she is also unable to rub them out of her drawing. Together, Marianne and Mark decide they must find a way to escape from the house. The action switches back and forth between Marianne's dream existence and her bedroom where her mother, doctor and teacher are concerned by her strange behaviour, nightmares and obsession with Mark.
The whole thing was obviously filmed on a cheap budget with just five cast members and what appears to be only three locations. I'm not knocking it though, cheap can work fine if you have the right story and approach, and this does work. Sure you can pick holes in it but this is a children's program and us 70s urchins weren't too critical of plot shortfalls. The stark empty house is almost as creepy as something out of the film 'The Grudge'. The sound department needs to take a lot of credit. The loud continuous tock of the grandfather clock on the stairs gets ominously slower as the story unfolds, and the eerie disembodied voices heard as the children have to walk past it sets a gloomy aura to the place. Then there is the radio which Marianne draws to cheer them up. Instead of getting Radio Caroline the airwaves are immediately taken over by the malevolent boulders who make their threats to the children quite clear.
So, would the current generation laugh at it or hide behind the sofa? No idea. They would certainly recognise the concept of two people inhabiting an alternative reality, to them it's just like Cyberspace. The Tony Curtis poster on Marianne's bedroom wall would puzzle them. Actually it puzzles me. At the time my sister would have opted for either David Cassidy, Davy Jones, some chap in a magazine she once took a shine to advertising a hideously naff buttoned up shirt, or even the previously mentioned over optimistic warbler David Essex. Tony Curtis wouldn't even have made the list. Weird.
Just some memories of how this series affected me as a child.
LJWilde657 October 2003
I'd even forgotten the title in my search for details about this series, was it really 31 years ago?! I remember rushing home from school to see it even though it frightened this seven year old to bits. I was thrilled when Paperhouse was released but it all seemed so different, a bit more "grown-up", different illness (I think Marrianne had a broken leg in the series and not glandular fever)and missing the stones with one eye if I remember rightly. The ever-encircling stones gave me nightmares but still I watched and Marrianne was given an indelible pen at one point so she couldn't erase her drawings! I must track down the original book by Storr to see which dramatization is more faithful, I so wish the UK series was brought back as I would dearly love to see it again (I'd probably be still hiding behind a cushion)!
An additional note about the book
geffers20 August 2004
I'm glad to find this listing - I remember watching this as a child, and there were some memorable scary moments - when the voices start coming out the radio.
I'd recommend the Catherine Storr book, even for adults!
Latest: The DVD is being released by Network in May 2009.
Just as an additional comment, I tracked down the sequel (book) Marianne and Mark which is somewhat harder to find than the bestselling Marianne Dreams, from which this programme derives. Marianne and Mark is quite a curious book, because although it is clearly the same Marianne and Mark from the earlier story, the author seems to push back the early happenings as though it were make belief. Marianne, now a teenager, seems to have dismissed the events as being induced by her sickness.
I'd recommend the Catherine Storr book, even for adults!
Latest: The DVD is being released by Network in May 2009.
Just as an additional comment, I tracked down the sequel (book) Marianne and Mark which is somewhat harder to find than the bestselling Marianne Dreams, from which this programme derives. Marianne and Mark is quite a curious book, because although it is clearly the same Marianne and Mark from the earlier story, the author seems to push back the early happenings as though it were make belief. Marianne, now a teenager, seems to have dismissed the events as being induced by her sickness.
The scariest 'kids' TV programme !
mazmik121218 May 2007
The somewhat fusty memories of this programme still gives me the jitters, it scared me silly, I had quite a vivid imagination as a child and everything was thrown into turmoil when i watched this chilling masterpiece, ( I didn't want to look out of my window at night), What scared me so much about Escape into night? ... THE STONES... they were seriously evil, and you can guess that many nightmares followed, A classic 'KIDS' TV programme from when they had to rely on the story and not the effects to keep the audience glued to the box. If you thought doctor who was scary, (and it was), this was 100% more creepy... having said that ... I wish it was on DVD so i could watch it again, I have recently purchased children of the stones on DVD and that was fairly creepy too. come on independent television, Cash in on an old favourite while you can. p.s. The ORIGINAL book is still available MARIANNE DREAMS by CATHERINE STORR, published by FABER & FABER, ISBN 978-0-571-20212-6
Ever been chased in a nightmare?
kohinoor_noblespirit1 January 2008
How frightening can a stone be? I watched this TV series as a child growing up in New Zealand during the 1970s. Creepy, sinister and haunting are how I'd choose to describe it, even 30-mumble years later. Having said that, I just had to watch it every week.
The story is about a young girl who is trapped in her home due to an illness that immobilizes her. She draws pictures that she eventually realizes come to life in her nightmares. She can influence her dreams by changing the drawings but the effects are not always as desired. The monsters in this story take the form of rocks about the size of arched tombstones and have two disquieting features. First is an eye that doesn't let you off the hook. And second is the way that in each dream they are bearing down on the house, getting closer and closer to carrying out some evil intent.
Remember how you felt watching Ridley Scott's "Alien" the first time? Cast that tension into a child's world and you have a sense of "Escape into Night".
The story is about a young girl who is trapped in her home due to an illness that immobilizes her. She draws pictures that she eventually realizes come to life in her nightmares. She can influence her dreams by changing the drawings but the effects are not always as desired. The monsters in this story take the form of rocks about the size of arched tombstones and have two disquieting features. First is an eye that doesn't let you off the hook. And second is the way that in each dream they are bearing down on the house, getting closer and closer to carrying out some evil intent.
Remember how you felt watching Ridley Scott's "Alien" the first time? Cast that tension into a child's world and you have a sense of "Escape into Night".
The Radio scared me to death....
dog_of_the_moon22 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I also watched the show as a child growing up in New Zealand. The Rocks were indeed very menacing and scary, but the moment that terrified me the most was when they turned on the radio and those voices came out of it. Brrrrr.
For some reason I was also alarmed when Marianne scribbled over the windows in her drawing and when she came back to the house the scribble was over the window - large size.
It's amazing what sticks with you as a child - apart from the basic plot I couldn't tell you what really happens in this show, or the resolution - and yet it's stayed with me for three decades.
For some reason I was also alarmed when Marianne scribbled over the windows in her drawing and when she came back to the house the scribble was over the window - large size.
It's amazing what sticks with you as a child - apart from the basic plot I couldn't tell you what really happens in this show, or the resolution - and yet it's stayed with me for three decades.
Marianne Dreams.
Animal170123 May 2003
At last!
cjjuk5 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I have spent years trying to work out whether I imagined this TV series or not and wondering what it was called! I remember watching it when I was about 7 or 8 and it was really scary at that time, but so gripping that I had to keep watching it. Years later I saw the film "Paperhouse" and noticed the similarities, but the moving stones with eyes weren't in it (the bit that I found the scariest as a 7 year old) and some of the plot lines had been altered and so it wasn't the same, although still a tremendously good film.
Every time I mentioned the TV series to my friends they thought I was making it up, as no one could remember it.
I believe the novel "Marianne Dreams", on which the TV series was based, is still available.
Every time I mentioned the TV series to my friends they thought I was making it up, as no one could remember it.
I believe the novel "Marianne Dreams", on which the TV series was based, is still available.
The scariest kids programme ever
mfcoder-imdb21 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Like many who have commented here, I recall this from my early childhood, and it defines 'cult' - something you watch once, and will remember for the rest of your days. I've never seen it other than when it was originally shown on itv, at 4:40 on Wednesdays I think.
My recollection is of a girl who draws a house with a boy in one of the windows. Then when she falls asleep she dreams of being in the house, but because she hasn't drawn any legs for the boy, he's in a wheelchair, or Ill in some way. Then I recall her drawing the animals; which become the rocks with eyes, that advance slowly toward the house. And her frustration about everything going wrong, and then scribbling all of the house, and those scribbles turning into iron bars covering the windows in her dream (but curled as though a scribble). I don't recall the radio, but vaguely remember something about a man/father arriving. Beyond that I'm lost - no idea how it ended.
In comparison to what is shown today this was truly terrifying, and very imaginative. I've never read the book though.
I'd love to re-watch this programme. If anyone has any episodes I'd love them to get in touch. I've watched 'Paperhouse' but just not the same.
My recollection is of a girl who draws a house with a boy in one of the windows. Then when she falls asleep she dreams of being in the house, but because she hasn't drawn any legs for the boy, he's in a wheelchair, or Ill in some way. Then I recall her drawing the animals; which become the rocks with eyes, that advance slowly toward the house. And her frustration about everything going wrong, and then scribbling all of the house, and those scribbles turning into iron bars covering the windows in her dream (but curled as though a scribble). I don't recall the radio, but vaguely remember something about a man/father arriving. Beyond that I'm lost - no idea how it ended.
In comparison to what is shown today this was truly terrifying, and very imaginative. I've never read the book though.
I'd love to re-watch this programme. If anyone has any episodes I'd love them to get in touch. I've watched 'Paperhouse' but just not the same.
Have just watched this again after 38 years
lawrencegabb17 March 2010
I was very pleased to find that Escape into Night has been released on DVD. This is certainly one of those programmes which I remember only vaguely but that had a very lasting impact. Like others, I could not remember what it was called so it took some searching to find. I originally found the film Paper House and watched that as Escape into Night had not at that point been released. The Paper House film though was not as dark or sinister as I remembered the TV series.
Watching Escape into Night again though I was not disappointed. Yes, it is obviously low budget but this is a programme which shows that you do not always need to spend a lot of money to create atmosphere and a gripping storyline. It has actually been given a 12 rating in the UK, showing how such drama would probably be considered too disturbing to be shown a teatime nowadays. As I originally watched it in black and white, it was how I remembered it. The starkness of B&W just added to the experience.
It's not just the stones that make the story so unusual, it is also the fact that it is about two children who are ill in bed and are trapped by their circumstance, finding a way of escaping through dreams. For a child, being confined to bed rest is so restrictive and feels never ending. This series captures that feeling perfectly. One of the things that children will think about when watching this is how to cope if the ability to walk is taken away, really mixing up the emotions.
I also got a surprise when I realised that it was filmed on Barr Beacon, not far from where we live. I hope that there are no stones left around here!
Watching Escape into Night again though I was not disappointed. Yes, it is obviously low budget but this is a programme which shows that you do not always need to spend a lot of money to create atmosphere and a gripping storyline. It has actually been given a 12 rating in the UK, showing how such drama would probably be considered too disturbing to be shown a teatime nowadays. As I originally watched it in black and white, it was how I remembered it. The starkness of B&W just added to the experience.
It's not just the stones that make the story so unusual, it is also the fact that it is about two children who are ill in bed and are trapped by their circumstance, finding a way of escaping through dreams. For a child, being confined to bed rest is so restrictive and feels never ending. This series captures that feeling perfectly. One of the things that children will think about when watching this is how to cope if the ability to walk is taken away, really mixing up the emotions.
I also got a surprise when I realised that it was filmed on Barr Beacon, not far from where we live. I hope that there are no stones left around here!
The scariest TV EVER
mish-023643 August 2019
Never mind The Exorcist, just thinking of this programme today I, a grown up woman in her 50s, get wobbly knees and dread in my stomach. I seem to remember it made me cry when I watched it at age 7-ish. I really don't think I'm up to watching it again.
Superb, gripping stuff...
pagangod11 February 2007
Yes, I too saw this excellent series I was only about 11 at the time, but it stayed vividly in my memory - utterly disturbing and very scary.
In response to 'geffers' - the series was originally aired in the UK on the ITV network, produced by ATV (later to become Central TV) in 1972 - so nothing to do with the infamous BBC purge.
It is known that Thames TV (another ITV programme provider of the time) had a similar 'cull' of some of their children's TV - but this goes back to about 1970-71 - this itself shouldn't have affected the ATV-produced Escape Into Night production.
Let's hope its out there in the VT archives somewhere - maybe we'll get a DVD release one day...
Peace,
PG.
In response to 'geffers' - the series was originally aired in the UK on the ITV network, produced by ATV (later to become Central TV) in 1972 - so nothing to do with the infamous BBC purge.
It is known that Thames TV (another ITV programme provider of the time) had a similar 'cull' of some of their children's TV - but this goes back to about 1970-71 - this itself shouldn't have affected the ATV-produced Escape Into Night production.
Let's hope its out there in the VT archives somewhere - maybe we'll get a DVD release one day...
Peace,
PG.
Imaginative Children's Serial
mike-613-1611828 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this in black+white when it was originally broadcast, but being only 7 at the time, all I could really remember was the lonely house, the drawing of the boy, the scribble across the window and the stones with eyes.
Having watched the DVD (only a black+white print exists), it was still very enjoyable even 40+ years on, though some of the acting was a little clunky. Good to get closure on this, having found out what it was called, found out that it was still available, and complete! Vikki Chambers, who plays the bed-ridden Marianne, went onto to slightly greater things spending a couple of years in Coronation Street (as a journalist on the Weatherfield Reporter alongside Ken Barlow), while Patricia Maynard went on to appear in Doctor Who (Robot) amongst other things and was also married to Dennis Waterman.
Having watched the DVD (only a black+white print exists), it was still very enjoyable even 40+ years on, though some of the acting was a little clunky. Good to get closure on this, having found out what it was called, found out that it was still available, and complete! Vikki Chambers, who plays the bed-ridden Marianne, went onto to slightly greater things spending a couple of years in Coronation Street (as a journalist on the Weatherfield Reporter alongside Ken Barlow), while Patricia Maynard went on to appear in Doctor Who (Robot) amongst other things and was also married to Dennis Waterman.
I was only nine - I'm now nearly 45
Arthur-nose30 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
As far as I can recall, the basic premise of "Escape Into Night" was as follows:
A girl named Marianne is somehow ill.
As she can't go to school, she has a tutor named Miss Chesterfield.
Another one of her pupils, a boy named Mark, who we never see outside of Marianne's dreams, is also ill.
For some reason, she draws a house on a notepad, with a stick-man in an upstairs window - then starts dreaming about it; In her dream, she meets this Mark - she tries to get him to come down - but he tells her that there's no stairs.
When she wakes up the next morning, she realises that the house she had drawn was identical to the house in her dream - she draws the stairs.
Over the course of the series, she finds that everything she draws appears in the dream - unfortunately, as she isn't very good at drawing, the images in the by now recurring dream look odd - the scribbles on the window appear as curly prison bars.
At one point, she tries to draw some ponies - but, in the dream, they manifest themselves as the boulders with eyes.
A girl named Marianne is somehow ill.
As she can't go to school, she has a tutor named Miss Chesterfield.
Another one of her pupils, a boy named Mark, who we never see outside of Marianne's dreams, is also ill.
For some reason, she draws a house on a notepad, with a stick-man in an upstairs window - then starts dreaming about it; In her dream, she meets this Mark - she tries to get him to come down - but he tells her that there's no stairs.
When she wakes up the next morning, she realises that the house she had drawn was identical to the house in her dream - she draws the stairs.
Over the course of the series, she finds that everything she draws appears in the dream - unfortunately, as she isn't very good at drawing, the images in the by now recurring dream look odd - the scribbles on the window appear as curly prison bars.
At one point, she tries to draw some ponies - but, in the dream, they manifest themselves as the boulders with eyes.
Subtle, but has staying power
imdb-367015 May 2004
My wife and I were talking about what made things scary for kids, and how we had both been particularly disturbed (insert joke here) by movies where there seemed to be no rules and anything could happen. That led me inevitably to this movie, which I must have seen on TV when I was about seven while living in New Zealand and which has stuck in my mind for 30+ years since. It's an interesting contrast to what people usually think of as scary movies but often forget within weeks or months. There's no gore, really very little action of any kind, but it puts those subtle hints in the back of your mind that ultimately leave you looking over your shoulder or come back to you in dreams for a long time. If you can imagine the idea of a psychological thriller for kids, this is it.
Excellent serial drama..
bonearrowgroup19 February 2004
After searching for many years I finally found out what this brilliant series was called!
Like others I was scared to death of this programme but would rush home from school to watch it. The thing I remember most about it is the rocks with eyes that used to stand guard round the house. Many's the night I would wake up in the middle of the night and stare into the darkness of my bedroom and not dare to look out of the window in case those rocks were out there..I would love to see the programme again but I read that some of the episodes are missing from the archives...
Like others I was scared to death of this programme but would rush home from school to watch it. The thing I remember most about it is the rocks with eyes that used to stand guard round the house. Many's the night I would wake up in the middle of the night and stare into the darkness of my bedroom and not dare to look out of the window in case those rocks were out there..I would love to see the programme again but I read that some of the episodes are missing from the archives...
Is this the show? Trying to find out more.
student-323 April 2006
I remember a show like this from my childhood, but thought it was earlier than 1972 (somewhere between 1968 and 1971). It featured a girl and boy walking through a dark, scary dream world in their pyjamas/gowns where the scenery was all theatre-like painted backdrops. ESCAPE INTO NIGHT sounds so like this show but the timing isn't quite right and the atmospheric painted scenery isn't featured. Does anyone else remember a television show around 6 or 7pm at night with 2D drawn/painted scenery, for example the trees in the forest, in the late 60's early 70's?
I remember the girl had long dark hair.
I think it may have also featured a house, but I particularly remember the flat 2d painted trees in the dream woods.
Anything anyone can tell us about this show would be much appreciated.
Was there another dramatized version of Marianne Dreams around the end of the 1960s?
I remember the girl had long dark hair.
I think it may have also featured a house, but I particularly remember the flat 2d painted trees in the dream woods.
Anything anyone can tell us about this show would be much appreciated.
Was there another dramatized version of Marianne Dreams around the end of the 1960s?
Trying to remember this programme
oscaig27 November 2008
Like many others, I remembered this programme but had no recollection of what it was called. I do remember being scared but engrossed and never missing the show. I don't remember the radio but will never forget those boulders! I do admit to drawing pictured myself in the hope that it would take me into an alternate universe but not scary like that but full of ponies, princes & princesses. Amazing how this programme affected so many of us where we remember it and still get goose bumps! Dr Who was one of the others I remember watching as a young child (yes, still watch it) and combined with this programme, made for a memorable childhood! Does anyone know the exact year this was aired?
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