I happen to remember this episode very well...But not for reasons that it was so "beautiful" and all that crap, but for the reason it was so out there and lame as to be compared to any other episode of this great series..Back in the late 50s the TV western was king of the airwaves, and nobody loved them more than my Dad and I...Every night after dinner we used to settle in and watch the great westerns that for a while there were on every night...There were many favorites with my Dad and I, but The Rifleman was always #1...We looked forward to it every week and hardly ever missed it. The reason why this episode sticks out in my head so much is because of my father's reaction when it was over...He watched the whole thing without a word, but when it was over he got up and said..."Well, that stunk"...lol. I never heard him say that about any other episode...This one just disappointed him so much being unconventional that he just had to say it...Though many westerns indeed had so called "chic flic" episodes, (Like Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train,etc.,) The Rifleman hardly ever went in that direction. Most of the time it was all about Lucas taking down bad guys, trying to avoid it most of the time, and in the end always trying to do the right thing as to setting a good example for raising his son right on the American frontier..This thing with the ghostly mother and Mark encountering her just didn't sit well with either my Dad nor I...I can even remember when we were watching it years later in reruns we would always refer to it as "that crappy one"...lol. Its certainly not inferior as to its acting and even some drama at the beginning, but make no mistake about it, for the true Rifleman fan this is chic flic shmultz...Just my opinion, but there you have...Only episode of the series that I think sucked...:)