Anthony Fremont



"Oh yes, I did forget something, didn't I? I forgot to introduce you to the monster. This is the monster. His name is Anthony Fremont. He's six years old, with a cute little-boy face and blue, guileless eyes. But when those eyes look at you, you'd better start thinking happy thoughts, because the mind behind them is absolutely in charge. This is the Twilight Zone." - Anthony's presentation during the introduction speech.

Anthony Fremont is the main villain of the short story It's a Good Life, which was adapted in an episode of television series'' The Twilight Zone. ''He is a three years old (six years old in the TV adaptation) child who is born human but who is in fact a "monster" with limitless powers, which he uses to dictate his law to his entire village. It is stated in the short story that he has an "odd shadow" and a "bright, wet purple gaze," hinting an unnatural, and possibly demonic origin. The short story also states that the obstetrician who helped his mother to give birth, screamed and tried to kill him, only to meet his demise.

Anthony was born in the little town of Peaksville, Ohio in the USA. He soon displayed unexplained god-like powers and from then on, the life of everyone in Peaksville became a living nightmare. First, he isolated the entire village and its immediate surroundings in another dimension. (No one knows if the town was removed or if the entire world around disappeared.) Then he banished the automobiles, the machines and electricity itself, simply because he didn't liked them, forcing the townsfolks to work and to live in a Middle Age fashion. The radios and tv sets still exist but they work only when he wants them to and broadcast only what he wants them to, unleashing his wrath on anyone who doesn't follow the broadcast with the utmost attention. He controls of the weather, he decides everyday what good will be available in the town's grocery. Anything and anyone who displeases or annoys him is wished away "to the cornfield," which can mean that they find there a very painful demise, or more likely that he merely erases them from existence. Even worse, he automatically knows what anyone around him has in mind, forcing anyone who approaches him to think positive and to compliment him, as he HATES bad thoughts and contradiction. To put it simply, he controls everyone, he decides everything, and those who disagree with him can make their prayers. (If he leaves them enough time.)

The short story precises that Anthony enjoys playing with other children but he often wishes them "to the cornfield" when he is done playing. He also entertains himself by creating strange creatures (like a three-headed gopher) or more often by transforming existing creatures to make them more interresting. (according to him.)

Anthony