Night Gallery: Brenda by Margaret St. Clair

Since Hulu has every episode of Night Gallery, I've been watching a ton of episodes. When I was a kid in the 70s my brothers and I would watch this show any time we saw that it was on. The stories run the gamut through horror, fantasy, sci-fi and weird fiction. Some of them are even campy and funny (on purpose).
I've enjoyed every episode but there are some that stand out above the rest. The episode that I watched last night was one of my favorites so far. It was made up of more than one story but the one I really liked was called "Brenda" and was based on a story by Margaret St. Clair. I haven't read any of her stories but after watching this episode and "The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes", another story of hers, I've decided I will pick up some of her books.
"Brenda" is the story of bratty kid that nobody really likes. Her family is vacationing on an island and Brenda doesn't have any friends because she is such a complete jerk. Her one potential friend on the island doesn't like her because she does things like stomp on her sand castle. Even her own mother and father seem to really dislike her.
One day while exploring the island, Brenda comes across a strange creature. This creature is bipedal and is shaped more or less like a human but is made up of what looks like moss and seaweed. The creature follows Brenda and she ends up tricking it into falling into a huge pit. Once it's in there she taunts it a bit and leaves. The next day she comes back and taunts it some more. Afterward, she begins to feel sorry for it and lowers a tree branch so the creature can climb out. As the creature gets close to her it makes a gurgling noise and swats at her so she runs home.
That night, as her parents are asleep, Brenda goes downstairs, unlocks the front door and leaves it ajar. After this she goes back up to her room and falls asleep. Later that night she is awakened by the sound of her father yelling at her mother to call the neighbor quickly. As Brenda opens her door, she sees her father fending off the creature with a flashlight in her living room. A neighbor rushes over with torches and they are able to get it out of the house and chase it off into the woods. Brenda's father and the neighbor don't come back until the morning.
The men were able to get the creature back into the pit and cover it completely with big, heavy rocks so it couldn't leave. This of course upsets Brenda and she goes to visit. Her father finds her and tells her they are going back home that day and also warns her to stay away from the rocks in the pit.
The following year, Brenda and her family come back to the island. Brenda goes to the pit and finds that the rocks are still there. She talks to them and listens and hears the gurgling noises of the creature. The episode ends with Brenda telling the creature that she will always love him.