“But by God, Eliot, it was a mask from life!”

Lovecraft is famously – and perhaps apocryphally – difficult to adapt into other mediums, which hasn’t stopped literally hundreds of people from trying over the years. As his stories go, I have always been of the opinion that “Pickman’s Model” made the transition with more ease than many, and my favorite adaptation of it has always been the Night Gallery episode, which originally aired on December 1, 1971 – though, of course, I didn’t see it until several decades later.

It’s a love that I immortalized in my story “Dream House,” which originally appeared in Gothic Lovecraft back in 2016 and can now be read in my collection Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales. In the story, Nick (Gucker, my frequent cover artist) brings up the episode. “I told him it was my favorite adaptation of the story, and someone else – probably Ross – agreed.” That would be Ross Lockhart, owner of Word Horde and my most frequent publisher.

These days, it’s probably still my favorite take on the story – and one of my favorite Lovecraft adaptations overall – and a big part of the reason is the episode’s ghoul, which was reputedly pieced together from costumes of other monsters, notably re-using molds from the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

As a result, the Night Gallery ghoul is quite unlike any other take on Pickman’s eponymous model. And if it is no longer my favorite, possibly usurped by the amazing rod puppet from the “Pickman’s Model” episode of GDT’s Cabinet of Curiosities, then it is still a favorite, and I appreciate both its idiosyncratic nature and its allegiance to the classic rubber suit approach.

Perhaps more to the point here, it was also one of my first favorite Lovecraft adaptations. When I finally saw the “Pickman’s Model” episode of Night Gallery, I saw what I had often wanted Lovecraft adaptations to pursue, and what many had eschewed in favor of other approaches. As such, the episode – and especially its monster – has always held a special place in my heart.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I was sent a link to an online auction. The ostensible reason for my interest was a handful of Ray Harryhausen resin figures, but what caught my eye was a lot simply titled “sci-fi mask.” Though there was no other information, I recognized that mask. Even flattened and not fitted around a human head, it was unmistakably the ghoul from Night Gallery.

At the time, I was unaware that anyone had ever even made a mask of that specific creature, one both obscure enough that such a find seemed unlikely, and near enough to my heart that it seemed like providence (no pun intended).

Even some preliminary internet sleuthing didn’t turn up much information, and certainly not any other instances of the mask for sale. So, I put in a bid and, a few weeks later, a box arrived in the mail containing an actual mask of the ghoul from Night Gallery.

It turns out it was made by a company called Distortions Unlimited and sold around 1982 or 1983. The back of the mask itself seems to confirm all of this, as it is stamped with text reading: “Pickman’s Model / Night Gallery / Copyright 1982 Universal City Studios Inc. / Trademarks of and Licenced by Universal City Studios Inc.”

Not honestly sure what I’m gonna do with it (besides get a mannequin head to mount it on and, I dunno, bring it with me to conventions or something), but it sure is a treat to have.