‘The New Exhibit’: Season 4, Episode 13
Published September 25, 2026
Warning: this contains spoilers; watch the episode here.
A wax museum with a special exhibit dedicated to serial killers? Does it get any more spooky season than that? 🎃👻
At the start of the episode, the museum owner, Ernest Ferguson, gives a tour, and they approach “Murderers Row.” There, they meet the exhibit curator, Martin Senescu.
I took a moment to Google what Martin’s full name means because he is one of the main characters, and what I found gave me fascinating, relevant context for his psyche.
"The name Martin means 'dedicated to Mars' or 'war-like,' coming from the Latin Martinus and ultimately connecting to Mars, the Roman god of war."
"Senescu is most commonly a Romanian surname, though it may also relate to the Latin-rooted word senesce, meaning 'to grow old' or 'age,' or to seneschal, a historical household manager or steward."
Intentionality existed everywhere in the heart of The Twilight Zone.
One woman begins to get frightened by how realistic the wax figures look. Her boyfriend reassures her: “There’s nothing to be afraid of. They are just a ball of wax.”
Martin, being especially helpful in this moment, responds: “Perhaps not, young man. Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of the man standing next to you?” Notice how he doesn’t say women? Sorry, I couldn’t resist the urge to be cheeky there!
I won’t lie—this episode gets creepy!
So, hold my hand as we get in the Zone!
Getting Aquainted with Murderers Row
Who knows this exhibit better than Senescu? I’ll let him introduce us to everyone, in his own words:
Albert W. Hicks: “A mate on the Oyster Smack V.A. Johnson. A gentle man. Yet one day in 1860 off the Atlantic Coast, he murdered his entire crew. Killed them with an axe exactly like this one. Why did he go mad? What made him change?”
Burke & Hare: “The monsters of their time, but do they look like monsters? This is how they suffocated their victims, it was called burking. Think of the agonies they endured…all of them. Surely, it is horrible to be murdered…but to murder! To Take a life with your hands again and again, and not be able to stop oneself. Can you begin to imagine the horror of that?”
Henri Desire Landru: “One can see the agony that, he too, must of felt as he was driven to strangle the life from disappointed spinsters and lonely widows. Landru was a master of the garrote, and he used a waxed cord.”
Jack the Ripper: “Who was he, and which of all the faces that moved about London’s Whitechapel district, which one was his? Why did he feel driven to kill those pathetic drabs with one sweep of the knife you see here? I’m afraid we shall never know.
Everything seems totally normal here, right? No red flags? I want you to read the descriptions he gives, very closely, one last time and pay very close attention the language he uses.
Senescu ends his introductions with this:
Senescu: “As we look at Hicks, Burke & Hare, Landru, and Jack the Ripper, we see men, as you and me, and we can only guess what devils pushed them to their bloody fate.”
Finally, we hear from Serling:
Serling: “Martin Lombard Senescu, a gentle man, the dedicated curator of murderers' row in Ferguson's Wax Museum. He ponders the reasons why ordinary men are driven to commit mass murder. What Mr. Senescu does not know is that the groundwork has already been laid for his own special kind of madness and torment - found only in the Twilight Zone.”
A Crash Course
Have you ever heard of John and Hank Green’s series, Crash Course? A more dynamic, opinionated, critical-thinking approach to learning about a wide range of topics, this beloved series got my peers and me through some of the most difficult subjects in school. More importantly, it cemented itself in our memories using one of the most powerful tools of all: laughter.
I cannot promise to be nearly as funny as the Green brothers, but I am going to attempt to give you a crash course on the remainder of this episode. If it makes you feel better, pretend John Green or Vincent Price is narrating this section:
Ferguson informs Senescu that he is closing down the museum. Essentially, Ferguson doesn’t know what to do with the wax figures, and Senescu, without even telling his wife, volunteers to store them in his basement until they can make a plan. See, these are no ordinary wax figures. A special artist created them, and Senescu believes the works deserve to live on—for lack of a better word.
Normal people would let the wax figures remain in their crates, unbothered. Actually, normal people would probably just let Ferguson deal with the whole situation and, you know, not keep a collection of serial-killer wax figures in their basement.
His wife, Emma, recognizes this, but she tries to remain sympathetic to her husband. There have to be limits, though. Especially when Senescu keeps the figures unboxed and spends his days and nights attending to them. Martin buys an air conditioner to keep the basement at the proper temperature at all times. Days turn into weeks, then months, and
The air-conditioning bill, combined with Senescu’s lack of employment—the kind that actually pays you—eventually pushes the couple into financial trouble. Desperate to help, Emma secretly approaches her brother, Dave, and asks him for money. Naturally, Dave begins to ask questions, but without the delicacy a wellness check requires, things quickly become disastrous.
The wax figures begin to go to work as each murderer comes alive and kills Emma, Dave, and eventually Ferguson, whenever one of them threatens the figures’ comfortable existence in the basement. Throughout the murders, the ever-helpful Martin covers for his new companions by burying the bodies in the basement and covering them with cement. Again, totally normal behavior.
The final straw, though, is when Ferguson is killed. Martin finally seems to realize that something has gone terribly wrong. He approaches the figures as if he is going to destroy them—but before he can do anything, they all turn on him and gang up to do him in. Sounds like typical Twilight Zone stuff right? Just wait, one more plot twist is around the corner!
After Martin’s murder, we are taken to a new museum that features murderers row, and we are introduced to the New Exhibit. Listen to what the tour guide says of him.
Tour Guide: “We come to a man who only recently became one of the most famous of all.”
Senescu would have loved to have seen this, too bad he died.
Tour Guide: “Martin Lombard Senescu; a remarkable and certainly most versatile murderer. Who knows what thoughts went through his mind as he dug the graves for his wife Emma, whom he killed with a knife. His wife’s brother Dave, whose skull was split with an axe. Or his friend and employer of 30 years, Ernest Ferguson.”
It’s all clicking now, isn’t it? Here is a quote from Martin Senescu himself that ties it all together:
Senescu: “Somewhere in the world, now at this very moment, there is someone who can tell you about the [mental horror of being a murderer]. No one knows yet [who], but if his torment is great enough, and he kills as these poor creatures did, then future generations will know. For he’ll be here, immortalized in wax. Remembered…as you and I will never be.”
Personally, I think there are better ways to be remembered, but Martin is right about a couple of things: he will be remembered—as will the others in “Murderers Row”—just hopefully not in a way you or I ever will be.
Remember something he said earlier: you never know what evil may be lurking in the heart of the person standing next to you.
That line has stuck with me because, in a broader sense, we all have imperfections within us. Our minds and hearts wrestle with loneliness, anger, fear, grief, and a wide range of other emotions. Sometimes we need help navigating those emotions, whether that means talking to someone we trust, seeking professional support, or finding other healthy ways to care for ourselves. There is absolutely no shame in that.
In fact, I would argue that anyone who recognizes they need help and seeks it deserves to be celebrated. Taking care of yourself is not weakness. It is one of the most responsible things you can do for yourself and for the people around you.
Remember, dear friends: regardless of the circumstances, we can all make decisions that set off a domino effect with consequences we never anticipated. Seek friendship, community, and accountability. Let people into your life who will notice when something is wrong and who will be willing to tell you when you need help.
And please, if something feels unsettling in your life—or in the life of someone around you—proceed with caution and delicacy. Trust your instincts, involve people you trust, and seek professional help when it is needed.
If you or someone you know needs immediate emotional support, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. If you are concerned about the safety or well-being of an adult who may be unable to protect themselves, Adult Protective Services may also be able to help.
Whatever you do, try not to become a figure in someone’s basement collection for sick fascination.
On that note, I’'ll let Serling have the final word here:
Serling: “The new exhibit became very popular at Marchand's, but of all the figures, none was ever regarded with more dread than that of Martin Lombard Senescu. It was something about the eyes, people said. It's the look that one often gets after taking a quick walk - through the Twilight Zone.”
Watch the episode here.