"The Incredible Doktor Markesan" marked the 5th and final performance of Boris Karloff as both host and star (his 4th this second season), the role of Doktor Konrad Markesan truly unique in that he is neither hero (as in "The Prediction," "The Premature Burial," or "Dialogues with Death"), nor a red herring as in "The Last of the Somervilles," but a figurative monster back from the dead, one year prior to another in Mario Bava's anthology "Black Sabbath." The spiral staircase used so effectively in "Pigeons from Hell" is back in yet another dilapidated, dust covered mansion, Doktor Markesan receiving an unexpected visit from nephew Fred Bancroft (Dick York) and his bride Molly (Carolyn Kearney), down to their last $12 and in need of shelter and work. There is no response to their knock and just when they believe the decrepit place is empty, Uncle Konrad appears from behind a door, Boris walking into a magnificent closeup as he surveys the couple without expression. He shows them a desk full of money and allows them to stay in the upstairs bedroom that belonged to his late wife, with an outer lock to keep them inside all night. Forced to rough it without electricity or running water, Fred peruses some old newspapers to learn about one of his uncle's adversaries, Everett Latimore (Richard Hale), whose testimony had Markesan expelled from his position at nearby Penrose College, devising a way of resuscitating the dead through a serum derived from mold found only in graves. An unfortunate venture downstairs sees the long dead Latimore rehearsing a new speech under Markesan's direction, along with two other former colleagues also guilty of betraying his trust. It shan't be long before his nephew feels the wrath of the undead, to Fred's everlasting regret. This was the only time that Karloff was directed by Robert Florey, exactly 30 years after taking the reins on Lugosi's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," a poor crumb to ease the pain of their both losing out on "Frankenstein." Donald S. Sanford again adapts an August Derleth story, allowing Boris to essay one of his rare, actual horror roles on the small screen, so frequently spoofing his boogeyman image, while another Universal veteran was beautiful Carolyn Kearney, the sexy water witch from 1958's "The Thing That Couldn't Die." Apart from "Pigeons from Hell," that winding staircase could also be seen in Lon Chaney's "The Mummy's Tomb," and even Karloff's own "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."