Which Twilight Zone episode is an adaptation of a story by Ambrose Bierce?

The Twilight Zone episode adapted from a story by Ambrose Bierce is “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The episode follows Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate sympathizer captured during the American Civil War and prepared for execution by hanging from a railroad bridge. As he falls, he imagines escaping, swimming to safety and reaching his wife.

The source story was written by Bierce and first published in the San Francisco Examiner on July 13, 1890. It was later collected in Tales of Soldiers and Civilians in 1891. Its famous twist comes when Farquhar’s apparent escape is revealed to be an illusion experienced in the final instant before death.

The Twilight Zone version is unusual because it was not produced as a conventional American television episode. It used Robert Enrico’s 1961 French short film, which won the 1962 Cannes Best Short Subject award and the 1963 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The film aired as season 5, episode 22, on February 28, 1964, with an introduction by Rod Serling.