10 Star Trek Episodes Based On Real-Life Events
6. Wolf In The Fold
Wolf In The Fold is one of the darkest episodes of Star Trek's Original Series, depicting a series of brutal murders that are seemingly committed by none other than Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. The episode opens with a captain's log, wherein Kirk says he is bringing Scotty on shore leave to allow him R&R. This is following an accident aboard ship, caused by a female crewmember.
The episode was written by Robert Bloch, most famous for authoring Psycho. In another tale of grizzly murders, Bloch draws on the story of Jack the Ripper for this episode. In 19th century London, five women were murdered by a killer whose identity remains unknown to this day. The slayings were brutal and frenzied, suggesting a person with a deep hatred toward women.
This episode plays into that theory, with Kirk's initial worry that Scotty carries resentment toward all women because of the accident, then after the engineer's frequent blackouts, no one is able to confirm his innocence. The killer is however revealed as an alien entity who has been possessing men for hundreds of years, moving from planet to planet. This chilling ending was designed to show that behind any smiling face, a killer could lurk, sometimes even without the person's own knowledge.