Welcome to October! In celebration of fall and what would have been Michael Landon's 90th birthday this Halloween, let's talk about the few Little House on the Prairie episodes that aired around Halloween and displayed Landon's sense of humor. Warning: There are spoilers if you haven't seen these episodes.
"The Monster of Walnut Grove" - Season 3, Episode 5
Photo credit: IMDB
Laura insists she saw Mr. Oleson chop off Mrs. Oleson’s head while peeking through their window, but no one believes her. Even Carl Edwards dismisses the story until they don't see Mrs. Oleson in town for days. Haunted by nightmares, Laura’s imagination runs wild, creating the perfect opening for Nellie and Willie to stir up trouble.
My thoughts: I forgot many moments from this episode because I don't usually watch it. We have cute Carrie moments at the beginning, as Laura is reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to her. This is how you can tell you are watching 1970s television, not 2017 television, because we would not read that book to a young child these days. Keep in mind, my nursery rhymes were about ladybugs flying home to keep their children from burning. And we wonder why Gen-Xers have trauma. But I digress...
Highlights from this episode include:
- Nels finding Laura on his porch and speaking in such a way that Laura totally believes he whacked off Harriet's head
- Laura's nightmare where Nels serves Harriet's head on a platter to Laura and Carl
- Nellie dressing up as a ghost
- The mannequin's head rolling down the root cellar stairs
- Harriet being knocked out by the headless mannequin upon her return
Another neat thing is that we see more of the Olesons' house than usual. They have a root cellar in the basement and a pantry full of food on the main floor.
"Halloween Dream" - Season 6, Episode 7
Photo credit: IMDB
My thoughts: I never watch this episode because I think it's silly. Native Americans are set up as hostiles and made fun of. Commander Kasier, played by Philip Carey, is portrayed as an incompetent leader, and somehow we are led to believe that the other chiefs think "Ugh," is how Son of Running Bull talks. Ma, Carrie, and Grace disappear once the Ingalls family is taken to Stony Pass, an abandoned town on the outskirts of Walnut Grove where the Army has corralled all the local families for their safety. We see none of them except Charles and Jonathan Garvey throughout the rest of the episode. This episode is considered controversial for its depiction of Native Americans.
While not a Halloween episode, in Season 6, episode 14 titled "The Werewolf of Walnut Grove," Albert attempts to scare Bart Slater into behaving by pretending he turns into a werewolf. Carrie foils that plan spectacularly, but it is a fun episode. Sandy Ward, who played bully Bart Slater, continued acting until two years before his passing in 2005. This is another episode where I feel Landon's humor shines through. The other connection to Landon is his portrayal of a werewolf in the 1957 movie, I Was a Teenage Werewolf."
Photo credit: IMDB
Are there other creepy episodes of Little House on the Prairie that make you think of Halloween? What are some episodes where Landon blends drama and humor?
