Jeff Myrtlebank

Jeff Myrtlebank is the titular main protagonist of "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank", the 23rd episode of the 3rd season of The Twilight Zone, the episode airing in 1962. He is a farmhand who came back to life at his own funeral, and was accused of being a demon by the townsfolk.
Jeff Myrtlebank was portrayed by the late James Best.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Jeff Myrtlebank was born in the early 1900s, in the southernmost section of the American Midwest. Since he was three years old, Jeff was at odds with Orgram Gatewood, a kid from his town, the two commonly fighting on the way to and from school. As they grew older, Orgram got much stronger than Jeff and would commonly beat him, although Jeff later fell in love with Orgram's younger sister, Comfort. Jeff's father noted that he never seemed interested in work growing up, and Jeff's parents eventually bore him a younger sister, Liz. Jeff and Comfort began dating when they reached adulthood in the mid-1920s, but then, Jeff got sick with an incredibly severe case of flu, dying after days of being sick.
===The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank===
Two days after his death, Jeff's funeral was held in the local church, attended by his family, the Gatewoods, and Doc Bolton, the doctor who pronounced Jeff dead. However, as the priest, Rev. Siddons, was giving a prayer for Jeff, Jeff abruptly came back to life and opened his coffin, sitting up and scaring off everyone present, except for Siddons. Jeff then exited the church with Siddons, seeing the mourners gathered by their cars, and demanded to know who put him in the coffin, Siddons insisting that the people not panic. Jeff asked him what was going on, and Siddons told him that they were about to bury him, although Jeff was unable to remember his death, despite Bolton telling him how his heart stopped beating two days prior. Bolton tried to insist that his verdict was correct, but Jeff pointed out that he was alive and well, saying that he felt quite good, if a little weak and hungry.
Jeff then saw his parents standing by their car, excitedly going over to them and asking for supper, but saw that they still appeared frightened of him, shocking him. He then tried to turn to Comfort, but she didn't respond and was pulled away by Orgram. Further distraught, Jeff saw Liz nearby and asked if she too was scared, and Liz responded by hugging him and assuming the funeral was a prank. Jeff decided to go along with it, and seeing that Liz still recognized him, Jeff's parents also embraced him, now overjoyed that their son was alive. Bolton then called out that Jeff had a rare medical condition that resembled death, seemingly an attempt to save face, but still ordered that Jeff get some good food. As Jeff sat by his car, Comfort went over to him and apologized for being frightened, saying it was nice to have him back. Jeff thanked her, but said that he technically never left.
For the next two weeks, Jeff took on a quite enthusiastic attitude, and to the surprise of his father, eagerly hopped right to work, fixing fences and tending to tasks around the family farm, working very hard while fiddling with other objects all day and night, with his mother noticing Jeff's general appetite change. Some of the townsfolk also noticed Jeff's change in behavior and became suspicious of him, starting to believe that Jeff's body was possessed by some sort of entity. Jeff eventually went to see Comfort again, picking a bouquet of roses from his mother's flower patch. Entering, Jeff gave Comfort the flowers, but the two were shocked to see that the flowers had wilted and died, despite Jeff only picking them just before driving over. Jeff decided to brush it aside as Comfort grew nervous, putting on some music, but when Jeff tried to hug her, Comfort abruptly pulled herself away, believing that Jeff's hands were poisoned. Jeff, who had noticed people looking at him differently everywhere he went, treating him like some kind of monster, started to get upset as he asked if Comfort still loved him, trying to bring her in for a kiss. When Comfort backed away again, Jeff, dejected, left the house and started up his car again.
Orgram, thinking that Jeff did something to Comfort, left to beat Jeff despite Comfort's protests, mockingly telling Jeff that he always won their fights. Jeff then pointed out that Orgram hadn't fought him for a long time, and asked him to get out of his way, for he felt quite upset, but Orgram refused. When Orgram instead told Jeff to make him move, rolling up his sleeves to fight, Jeff quickly struck Orgram in the stomach and across the face, and then forced him to a nearby tree, swiftly defeating Orgram with much more strength and skill than he ever displayed before driving off. That night, the townsfolk now believed that Jeff was a demon, and assembled to force him out of the county, but Comfort, finding out, rushed to tell Jeff about their plan, finding him smoking a pipe by the gates to his property. When Comfort said that the townsfolk wanted to evict him, Jeff asked how she felt, and Comfort admitted that she still loved him despite what she's seen and heard. Jeff admitted that he still loved her as well, and asked her to marry him, but was then interrupted by the men of the town driving in.
The men confronted Jeff and called him a haint, saying that Jeff was dead, demanding that he leave. Jeff then asked Comfort to answer his proposal, and Comfort replied that she accepted. With that, Jeff had Comfort stand behind him for protection, and told the townsfolk that he planned to stay and raise a family in the county, telling them that if they were wrong about him, then they had nothing to fear. However, he also slyly mentioned that if they were right, then they still shouldn't bother him, for if he truly was a demon, he could destroy their lands and livestock with a gesture, concluding by asking the men to treat him and Comfort better. The townsfolk nervously said that they would do so, if only for Comfort's sake, offering to attend their wedding and driving off. After they were gone, Comfort asked Jeff if he could really destroy the town, and Jeff claimed he merely lied to get rid of them, but then lit his pipe with a pyrokinetic ability. While Comfort was surprised by that, Jeff, seemingly not realizing what happened, jokingly told her that she shouldn't imagine things, the two walking off as the gate closed itself behind them.
The two soon married, and lived to the 1960s, bearing a single child, a son who became an especially shrewd United States senator.
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