TLDR: Jess-Belle aired on February 14, 1963, and Earl Hamner Jr. wrote it as a witch story set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its cast included James Best, later Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, and Helen Kleeb, later Miss Mamie Baldwin on The Waltons. Checked October 23, 2026.
Ten years before The Waltons, Earl Hamner Jr. wrote a Twilight Zone episode about a mountain witch, a love potion and a leopard. Two of its actors went on to play some of television’s best known small-town characters.
Here is the story, the cast and the rushed production behind it. Jess-Belle is one of the eight episodes in our guide to Earl Hamner’s Twilight Zone episodes.
What Happens in Jess-Belle
Jess-Belle Stone loves Billy-Ben Turner, but he is engaged to Ellwyn Glover. She goes to the witch Granny Hart for a spell that makes him forget his fiancée.
The spell works, but the price is steep. From midnight to dawn Jess-Belle becomes a leopard, and she grows colder with each change.
A hunting party shoots the leopard, and Billy-Ben later marries Ellwyn. Jess-Belle returns to haunt them, and the ending hinges on a silver hairpin and a figure made from her clothing.
The Cast Beyond the Two Future Favorites
Anne Francis starred as Jess-Belle. She also appeared in the Twilight Zone episode “The After Hours,” and she is best known for Forbidden Planet.
Jeanette Nolan played Granny Hart, using a backwoods dialect she had also used in “The Hunt,” another Hamner script. Laura Devon played Ellwyn, and George Mitchell played her father, Luther Glover.
Virginia Gregg, Jim Boles and Jon Lormer filled out the cast, and Rod Serling introduced the story.
James Best Before Rosco
James Best played Billy-Ben Turner. He was born on July 26, 1926, and died on April 6, 2015, according to Wikipedia.
He appeared in two other Twilight Zone episodes, “The Grave” and “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank,” and guest-starred on The Andy Griffith Show. From 1979 to 1985 he played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, appearing in all but five episodes.
Wikipedia says the character’s voice grew out of one he used with his young children. Dukes fans can spot a second future Duke in another Hamner script, “Black Leather Jackets,” where Denver Pyle plays a worried father.
Helen Kleeb Before Miss Mamie
Helen Kleeb played Mattie Glover. She was born on January 6, 1907, in South Bend, Washington, and began acting on stage in Portland, Oregon, in the late 1920s.
Her film roles included The Manchurian Candidate in 1962, and she guest-starred on shows from I Love Lucy to The Golden Girls.
From 1972 to 1981 she played Miss Mamie Baldwin on The Waltons. ME-TV says she reprised the role in A Walton Wedding in 1995 and A Walton Easter in 1997.
Her full story, and that of her on-screen sister, is in our guide to the Baldwin sisters. Hamner wrote Jess-Belle about ten years before he created the show she became famous for.
A Script Written in a Rush
Hamner wrote Jess-Belle on short notice after another script fell through. Producer Herbert Hirschman asked for a folkloric story like “The Hunt,” according to a review of the episode.
He wrote one act per day with no time for revisions. Wikipedia says he developed it over a weekend, while the rodserling.com interview says it took about a week.
Hamner told historian Marc Zicree it was his favorite of the eight Twilight Zone episodes he wrote.
The Leopard That Kept Falling Asleep
The role of the transformed Jess-Belle was first written for a tiger, according to Wikipedia, though the rodserling.com interview says a cougar was planned. Trainers’ tigers were hard to work with, so the production switched to a leopard.
It wanted a black one to match Jess-Belle’s hair but could not find one, so a spotted leopard played the part. Director Buzz Kulik said the animal had been drugged and tended to fall asleep during filming.
The Only Episode Without a Closing Narration
Rod Serling opens the story, but unlike every other episode of the original series it has no closing narration. It ends instead with the folk song first heard at the start.
One episode review says Terrea Lea sang it and notes that the title echoes Jezebel.
For more on the writer, see our guide to Earl Hamner Jr. and the cast of The Waltons. For how the show is rated overall, see our ranked list of the best and worst Twilight Zone episodes.
Jess-Belle: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Jess-Belle air?
Jess-Belle aired on February 14, 1963, as Season 4, Episode 7.
Who from Jess-Belle later appeared on The Waltons?
Helen Kleeb, who played Miss Mamie Baldwin from 1972 to 1981.
Who from Jess-Belle later played Rosco on The Dukes of Hazzard?
James Best, who played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane from 1979 to 1985.
Is Jess-Belle the only episode without Serling’s closing narration?
Yes. Wikipedia says it is the only episode of the original series that lacks one.
