The article identifies “The Obsolete Man” as one of The Twilight Zone’s creepiest episodes because its dystopian premise feels disturbingly plausible. Set in a future totalitarian state, it follows librarian Romney Wordsworth, sentenced to death simply because books have been abolished and his profession is considered obsolete.

Wordsworth chooses a televised execution and traps the regime’s Chancellor in his room, revealing that a bomb will kill them both. As midnight approaches, the supposedly atheist Chancellor panics and begs for mercy in the name of God, exposing the hypocrisy and vulnerability of the authoritarian system before escaping moments before the explosion.