The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

This week, we take a gamble on a new-to-us series, Diary of Fate! “David Dexter” is the story of a grifter trying to con a recently remarried widow. But Fate has other plans for the man who calls himself David Dexter! When past crimes come back to haunt him, there are no guarantees for who will get the better of whom! Will this woman discover his true intentions before it is too late? What happened in the past that connects these two? Why is Fate so judgy? Listen for yourself and find out!

Joshua’s old college friend John suggested we listen to “The Gorilla Man” from The Shadow. So we did! Thanks, John! The story features a man who takes care of a large gorilla at the zoo. He finds himself growing to resemble the beast in his care, and the more he does, the further he retreats from the rest of humanity. But when Lamont, Margo, and Shrevvy find a corpse at this zoo, it’s up to the Shadow to uncover the truth! Is the Gorilla Man really turning into an animal? How exactly does the staffing in this zoo work? Why does Eric keep saying, "Ski-U-Mah"? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to an episode of X Minus One recommended to us by our Patreon supporter, Evan. Thanks, Evan! “The Lifeboat Mutiny” is an adaptation of the Robert Sheckley story of the same name. The plot features a crew of space travelers who get a bargain on a used lifeboat. But when the automated lifeboat decides the crew is in peril, it becomes a bizarre battle to retain control of the ship! Why does this intelligence think the crew is being threatened? Why does it do such strange things to “care” for them? What made the podcast host decide to "sing" in this discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re checking out a new-to-us series this week, The Eleventh Hour for an episode entitled “The Tomb!” Robbers take a hostage to help them break into a jewelry shop’s safe, but lives are on the line when the plan takes a turn for the worse! Will their hostage survive? Will the heist ultimately succeed? Is there anything that will make Joshua truly happy? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we pay our first visit to The Adventures of Sam Spade for an episode entitled “The Mad Scientist Caper”! The story features Dashiell Hammett’s famous detective working for an inventor who believes that that the secrets of one of his creations have been stolen. But the inventor himself may be a bit unhinged! Who exactly is a murderer and who is a madman? Will Spade end up in a mental institution? What elaborate selection process did Eric use to bring this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

As we head into August, we’re listening to the Suspense adaptation of W.F. Harvey’s story, “August Heat”! Ronald Colman stars as an illustrator who inexplicably starts drawing a man on trial. It’s a man the artist has never seen before. Caught up in a strange sense of foreboding, the artist wanders out into the oppressive heat to discover the bizarre fate that awaits him. What is the meaning of this drawing? What madness does this summer heat inspire? What hilarious TikTok content are we considering? Listen for yourself and find out!

Special guest Shanan Custer joined us at the Bryant-Lake Bowl for this live recording of the MORLS as we listened to “The Edge of the Shadow” from Dark Fantasy! The story features a farmer investigating a strange cut on his cow’s leg, which of course leads to a romantic betrayal, strange omens of the future, and an exciting eye rinse. What is the secret behind this bovine injury? Can this farmer avert inevitable disaster? Can Scott Bishop? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re paying a visit to the Hermit’s Cave to listen to “The Search for Life”! A scientific breakthrough has enabled a doctor to extend human life, but he may also be able to raise the dead! His colleague hopes to step away from the work, as a way to show his devotion to the woman he loves. But what does he really intend to do? What will be the ultimate result of reviving the dead? What would Mark McKinney do? Listen for yourself and find out!

Suspense began its run with an adaptation of John Dickson Carr’s novel, “The Burning Court” and this week, we’re tuning in to give it a listen! A man discovers an image of a notorious 17th century poisoner who looks like exactly like his wife. And as fate would have it, his friend’s uncle has just been killed by poison! Is his wife somehow the same woman as he saw in the illustration? Can the amateur detective Cross deduce some less phantasmal explanation for the crime? Do all comedians want to be blaggards? Listen for yourself and find out!

All aboard for this adaptation of an Arthur Conan Doyle mystery that does not feature Sherlock Holmes! “The Lost Special” from Escape depicts the mysterious disappearance of a train that has Scotland Yard utterly baffled. But once they eliminate what is impossible, they begin to see how the crime could have been committed! What happened to the train? How was the apparently miraculous disappearance achieved? Did the Cub Scouts help defeat the French at the Battle of Agincourt? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we’re taking our place once again in the Weird Circle! This episode, “The Old Nurse’s Story” features an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story of the same name. In this tale, a daughter’s ill-conceived marriage drives a wedge between her and her father, leading to a bitter grudge and a promise of revenge. What death will lead to a second oath? Will this family ever be reconciled? How hard would it be to use child actors borrowed from a Victorian orphanage? Listen for yourself and find out!

Special guest Laura Zabel joins us for this week’s episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Bryant-Lake Bowl! We’re listening to “A Thing of Beauty” from Suspense! Angela Lansbury stars as a reclusive woman recounting the days of her youth to two clergymen. She tells them of her time as a renowned actress and the accusation of murder that led to her marriage. What happened to take her from a life on the stage to her current reclusive state? Who did kill her rival? How can you tell if you’re less popular than your spouse? Listen for yourself and find out!

Boris Karloff stars in this week’s episode, “The Final Reckoning” from Creeps by Night! After a convict has his life sentence commuted, his long-planned path of revenge can begin. Soon the man who put him in prison finds a dead rat on his doorstep and is looking for someplace to hide! Will this quest for vengeance be fulfilled? What is the plan? Would you be willing to stay longer in prison if there were tasty snacks? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been compelled to revisit Obsession! This time for a story entitled “Shadow of Huntley House” (also known as “On the Wild Seas”), a story about a woman reuniting with her estranged twin sister, who was recently widowed. But rather than familial support, the reunion is thick with jealousy and plotting that might result in murder! How could an obsession drive someone to such an extreme? Would such a crime be truly unsolvable? Have beer salesmen always been cool and affluent? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to “Wild Jack Rhett,” an episode of Escape set in a small frontier town in the Old West! When the town’s previous sheriff dies, the citizens need to decide what kind of man they want to hire to replace him. But electing to a hire a steely-eyed killer like Wild Jack Rhett may be more than the town can bear. Will Rhett bring order to this town? How does this compare with Gunsmoke, which in part drew its inspiration from this episode? Should experienced drivers be above the law? Listen for yourself and find out!

This sci-fi themed episode of Quiet Please was recommended to us by our Patreon supporter Lance. Thanks, Lance! Appropriate to the story’s title, “The Pathetic Fallacy” is the story of a scientist who has created a machine capable of computing fantastically complex mathematical problems, but the device seems to willfully be making errors. Soon the public is more interested in the machine’s apparently human-like behavior than its computing power! Is the machine truly alive? Are the scientist and press just indulging in the pathetic fallacy? Do podcast hosts have “real” feelings? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter Simon recommended we make another Appointment with Fear for an episode entitled, “The Clock Strikes Eight”! Thanks, Simon! John Dickson Carr’s corpulent detective, Gideon Fell, is summoned to meet a woman about to be executed for murder. But this woman has lost all her memories, starting with the victim’s death! Can Fell uncover the truth before the fatal hour arrives? What caused this woman to lose her memories? Would you like to go on a vacation with Gideon Fell? Listen for yourself and find out!

The seas aren’t safe while a madman commands the crew of a submarine, sinking whatever ships it finds! But Lamont Cranston is on the case as The Shadow in this episode entitled “Death from the Deep!” But before he can stop this submarine, the Shadow will need to find it! What motivates the killer to do what he does? Will the Shadow be able to outwit his cunning opponent? Is this in any way appropriate for children? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode was recorded live at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis with special guest, Shanan Custer! We’re listening to “The Wailing Wall” from Inner Sanctum Mystery, starring Boris Karloff! The story features a murderous husband who can’t seem to escape his crimes! What is the source of the keening sound that haunts him? Is he truly being plagued by a ghost? Is that really how the police investigate unidentified corpses? Listen for yourself and find out!

A violent series of robberies have Joe Friday and the entire L.A. police force on high alert in this episode of Dragnet, “The Red Light Bandit”! According to his victims, the assailant approached them pretending to be a policeman. Even as a city-wide manhunt fails to stop him, his crimes grow more brutal by the day! How will the police track him down? Is the story you about to hear actually true? Would Dragnet be improved with more pigeon-related content? Listen for yourself and find out!

Philo Vance returns to the podcast! S.S. Van Dine’s classic detective pits his wits against a gang of robbers targeting upper class house parties in “The Cipher Murder Case.” When one of these robbers kills his own partner, a cipher is found on the dead man’s body that could unmask the mastermind behind the crimes! What key did Vance use to decrypt the cipher? Will this story adhere to Van Dine’s Twenty Rules of Mysteries? Are we doing this swingers’ party correctly? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we’re presenting one of our B Sides of the Mysterious Old Radio, an example of the sort of bonus content we make available to our supporters on Patreon! Each B Side is a companion piece to an episode presented as part of our usual podcast. In this case we’re listening to “A Night to Forget” from Quiet Please as a supplement to our previous installment, “The Coffin in Studio B,” from Lights Out! Wyllis Cooper wrote this script roughly 15 years after its predecessor on Lights Out. The story features the star of a popular radio series who suffers from surreal nightmarish experiences that he fears might lead to his own death. Where is the boundry between his reality and his dreams? How does this differ from Cooper's version of this ideas created for Lights Out? What if a version of this story were produced for The Flintstones? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s not just any episode of Lights Out this week, it’s a recreation of one of Wyllis Cooper’s scripts from the earliest days of the classic series! “The Coffin in Studio B” features the story of actors and a director struggling to get a production of Lights Out ready in time for its broadcast, but creative differences and an uninvited salesman threaten to derail the show. Can the actors and the director agree on what constitutes a menacing tone? What is the actual plot of the episode of Lights Out being depicted in this episode of Lights Out? Does Eric speak Russian? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we meet The Man Called X! Herbert Marsall starred as the title character in this series of espionage thrillers. During this episode, “Storm Over the Alps,” X’s investigation into a counterfeiting ring brings him to the Swiss Alps, specifically an area of the mountains with peculiar weather conditions. But instead of answers, he finds himself framed for murder! Will X learn which way the wind is blowing? What is the secret of the Rhinemaiden? Is it okay to watch season 5 of Fargo without having seen any earlier seasons? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re revisiting the Australian series, The Key, about which not much is known. This episode, “Showgirl Murdered,” tells the story of a man seemingly framed for the murder of his former girlfriend. As the trial proceeds, a variety of circumstances align to prevent him from proving his innocence. Will the true killer be found? Will justice prevail? Do people in Australia often forget the names of food? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to Barbara Stanwyck’s lone appearance on Suspense, “The Wages of Sin”! Stanwyck stars as a hard-boiled woman being used to help cover up a murder. But once the police become involved she comes up with a scheme to secure a sizeable payday for herself! Will she successfully get her payout? Or will she die trying? Can someone bowl so badly that isn’t funny to watch? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our mysterious listener (and Patreon supporter and artist) Tim sent us down to the Listener Library for an episode of Nightfall entitled, "Gerald"! Thanks, Tim! This story features a young boy who is drawn down a dark path by a mysterious figure, someone who can't always be seen or heard. As the child's actions grow more monstrous, the child's father desperately searches for the source of these horrors. What does this stranger want with young Gerald? What will happen when the boy's father finds out the truth? What will we be watching at 5 AM in Los Angeles? Listen for yourself and find out!

We conclude our trio of inaugural episodes from classic radio series! This time we're listening to "Milford Brooks III," the audition episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar! In this initial story, Johnny has to keep the holder of a two-million-dollar life insurance policy holder from committing suicide. Along the way he'll try to get some quality time with a beautiful lady and figure out why this policy holder suddenly changed his beneficiary! How does Dick Powell compare to other actors who have played Johnny Dollar? Are there life insurance policies that cover suicide? What does it sound like when two people have three drinks with each other? Listen for yourself and find out!

For the second of our trio of inaugural episodes from classic radio series, we present "Dead of Night," the audition episode for Escape! This story of a British ventriloquist plagued by paranoia and delusions was adapted from one section of a the classic horror anthology film of the same name. When this entertainer encounters his American counterpart, jealousy drives him to bizarre and perhaps dangerous behavior! Is the ventriloquist's dummy truly alive? How does this compare to later Escape episodes? What classic delicacy is made from noodles and disappointment? Listen for yourself and find out!

In the hopes of launching 2024 with some auspicious beginnings, we're presenting a trio of first episodes from classic radio series! Our mysterious listener Glenn starts us out by celebrating 50 years of CBS Radio Mystery Theater with the series' debut episode, “The Old Ones are Hard to Kill!” Agnes Moorehead stars as a kindly old woman whose lodger confesses to a murder on his deathbed, and tells her that the man convicted of the crime is innocent. She begins to investigate, hoping to clear the name of the wrongly convicted man, but soon discovers that sinister forces are still at work! What is the truth behind this murder? What was it that made her lodger sick in the first place? What are we throwing at thrift stores as we drive by? Listen for yourself and find out!

Before we dive fully into 2024, we'd like to take a moment to share a sample from our Patreon page! Last October, our patrons were treated to a Halloween Special, "Spirits and Spooks Summoned for Halloween by William Conrad," a 1973 children's spoken word album! At the end of the year, our Patreon members declared this the second best bonus content from 2023! Now we're sharing it with everyone as a little taste of all the great stuff that comes with membership. Please have a listen and consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

Happy New Year's Eve! We cannot let the year pass without another adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” Unexpectedly, we learned of a version even more contemporary than last year's, presented by Seeing Ear Theater from 1998! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. Why does he seem to be receiving some otherworldly warning? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What would this story be if Dickens collaborated with Tennessee Williams? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're spending this Christmas with Candy Matson! This episode, entitled "Jack Frost," features Candy on the case of a missing assistant to a department store Santa, Jack Frost! When the man who played Jack turns up dead, she needs to call in some festive help from her friend Rembrandt Watson! Who would want to kill Jack Frost? What important question will Detective Mallard ask Candy? Can Eric explain the sports jokes to his co-hosts? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to the Listener Library is a gift for Tim from our mysterious listener, Hank. Thanks, Hank! “The Crisis of Dirk Diamond” is an episode of Suspense featuring a cartoonist who’s going to lose his job if he doesn’t come up with a new villain to challenge his protagonist, Dirk Diamond. But when he introduces Freddy, a character that haunted his own childhood, the danger begins to spill off the page and invade reality! Can an artist truly kill his own creation? Can theater of the mind be adapted to comic strip of the mind instead? How many layers of meaning lie beneath the surface of this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

Join us in this celebratory toast to the peaks and valleys that we traveled through in 2022! Based on listener polls, the keen insights of esteemed special guests, and our own incoherent ramblings, one episode shall be declared the specialty of the house and another shall be declared a real punch to the groin. Who can outwit the chess master? Who will regret having followed a banjo act? Why does this episode feature a cat butt? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week's episode is "The Man Who Stole a Planet," from Quiet, Please! Even for this idiosyncratic, and groundbreaking series, this story is one of the stranger ones, featuring tomb raiding, the undead, and natural disasters in the Iron Range! Who is this man? What planet did he steal? Who wrote the script for the Red-Headed Stepson of Frankenstein? Listen for yourself and find out!

It's been a while since we've payed a visit to The Hall of Fantasy, so we're stopping by for an episode entitled, "The Man in Black!" The story features two men who encounter a woman terrified by a person she calls "the man in black." Once she's found dead, the men become obsessed with finding out the truth behind this dark-clad figure. Soon, the two are themselves targeted by this mysterious, unnatural being. Can they discover the identity of the man? What threat does he prove to the woman they both love? What do you call the guy who follows He Who Follows? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Thanksgiving! As always, we are most grateful for our listeners and today we're celebrating with a visit to our Listener Library! Our Mysterious Listener Dave recommended we check out "The Black Room" from CBS Radio Mysterious Theater. Thanks, Dave! The story features a man locked against his will in a light-less, window-less room. The men who subjected him to this peculiar treatment and the purpose of the room itself are mysterious, but what is certain is that he needs to find a way to survive in utter isolation and darkness. Why was this man chosen for the black room? What might he discover in there? Is it helpful to have a guide during your honeymoon? Listen for yourself and find out!

As the weather turns cold, "The Cabin" from Gunsmoke is the perfect was to prepare for the snow! In this story, Marshal Dillon and his horse get caught in a blizzard and his only hope for survival is to find shelter in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. But what he finds inside might be deadlier than the storm outside! What desperate situation awaits inside? How can Dillon escape? How long will it take Tim to Google the name of that movie he can't remember? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Halloween! We conclude our Monster on the Air series with this adaptation Sheridan Le Fanu's novella, "Carmilla," from Nightfall! We previously listened to Lucille Fletcher's adaptation for Columbia Workshop about the mysterious young girl named Carmilla who must suddenly be taken in by a kind man and his lonely daughter. As this daughter and Carmilla grow closer, strange deaths begin to plague the surrounding Black Forest of Germany. Is this new guest a threat to her host family? Can Nightfall capture the essence of the novella? Will Joshua's trivial knowledge of the text impress his co-hosts? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue with Monsters on the Air, our series of monster-themed episodes to celebrate the Halloween season! Our third installment features "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from NBC Presents: Short Story! This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's iconic novella features Victorian chemist Henry Jekyll, whose experiments transform him into a murderous new persona. Soon the compulsion to return to this dark side leads to blood in the streets and chaos in Jekyll's own home. How similar is this radio version to the original? What metaphors and themes does this adaptation choose for its focus? What popular band from the 80s will be inevitably referenced in the post-episode discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

This is our second installment in Monsters on the Air, a series of monster-themed episodes to celebrate the Halloween season! This time we're listening to "No Grave Can Hold Me" from The Mysterious Traveler! The story features The Great Randolph, a magician sentenced to the death for murder. But Randolph threatens that if he dies he will return to take his vengeance on those who convicted him! What powers will he use to enact his revenge? Are his daughter and son-in-law involved? What illustration from the 1st Edition AD&D Fiend Folio inspired Tim to choose this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we begin Monsters on the Air, a series of monster-themed episodes to celebrate the Halloween season! Our first installment, "Death Prowls at Night," from the Shadow, features Lamont and Margo taking a ski vacation in a forest that might be home to a werewolf! Is there a real lycanthrope in these woods? Why has Margo suddenly disappeared? What important Shadow-related trivia can be learned in this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're listening to that classic episode of Suspense written by Lucille Fletcher for Agnes Moorehead! No, the other classic episode. Our Mysterious Old Radio Listener and Patreon supporter Brooke recommended we pay a visit to the Listener Library for "The Diary of Sophronia Winters!" A young woman named Sophronia goes out in the world for the first time and gets caught up in a whirlwind marriage. Her new husband brings her to a hotel in Maine. What connection does Sophronia have to her new husband's sister-in-law? What danger is waiting for her in this new home? Do we actually know how to make pudding? Listen for yourself and find out!

CBS Radio Workshop adapted John Cheever's short story "The Enormous Radio" for this week's episode! It features a married couple whose old radio finally stops working. The replacement they purchase is a large and complicated model that broadcasts more than just classical music. What insights into her friends and neighbors does this new radio provide? What harm will these insights inflict upon the couple? Is Facebook the best place to go for your daily dose of anxiety and dread? Listen for yourself and find out!

Thanks to our Mysterious Listener Emmett whose enthusiasm for Crime Classics brings us to the Listener Library for an episode entitled "The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner!" Based on the true story of the first woman to be executed in the United States, the script depicts her plot to murder her own husband. How did the man really die? Who all would suffer the consequences? Did Joshua do a whole bunch of extra research do put the story in an even darker context? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're trying something new this week, Let George Do It! In this episode, detective George Valentine is hired by a wealthy man who has been thwarted in his attempt to spend a million dollars! The railroad he hopes to buy is losing money and may be haunted. Why has a different detective been hired to follow this potential buyer? Why was one of the trains stopped in the middle of a desert at night? Would this series be better if it were about a bumbling handyman? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Mike for this visit to the Listener Library! Mike recommended we check out the episode of X Minus One entitled, "Mr. Costello, Hero." The script is an adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon’s short story about a space-faring ship's purser who encounters a passenger with a peculiar world view and a gift for manipulating others. After leaving the ship, the passenger's influence only seems to grow. What is ultimate impact of this man's machinations? How does he do it? Should Thanos have asked for a lawyer? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this week's episode, we went to some experts! Specifically we went to Murder by Experts for a story entitled "Conspiracy!" When a torrential rain threatens to wash away a city, a journalist discovers that the storm is a nearly perfect opportunity to get away with murder! Nearly, but not perfect. A witness to the crime runs off into the flood! Will the killer catch up with this witness to the crime? Will the flood hide the body? What 80s sitcom does Tim recreate with his cats? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our mysterious listener Jillion sent us to the Listener Library for an episode of The Chase entitled "Long Distance"! Thanks, Jillion! The story features Jan Miner as the distraught wife of a man about to be executed for a murder he didn't commit. Having just found evidence to exonerate him, she's racing against the clock to get someone on the phone who can stop the execution! Can she reach the judge able to save her husband? Will the operators be helpful? Does this vaguely remind anyone of another radio episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're listening to one of Arch Oboler's most Arch Oboler contributions to the famed series Lights Out, an episode entitled, "Murder in the Script Department!" The story features a pair of typists who are obliged to work late into the night to complete a particularly terrifying script for Lights Out. As the evening wears on, a series of unexplainable and terrifying events convince the two women that some malevolent supernatural force is in the office with them. Is there some rational explanation for what's happening? How will this dark presence ultimately manifest itself? Will people mind if one of us talks about the episode while the other two make references to a classic horror movie from the 80s? Listen for yourself and find out!

It's our 300th episode and we're celebrating with the second half of "Donovan's Brain," a special presentation from Suspense! Last week we listened to the first installment, recommended to us by our mysterious listener and Patreon supporter Trevor. Thanks, Trevor! The story features Orson Welles as a scientist experimenting with a brain that has been removed from its body. What sort of strange influence does this brain have over the scientist? What will it take to overcome this influence? How is this production like Mel Gibson's Hamlet? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're on the brink of our 300th episode and we're marking the event with a special visit to the Listener Library! Our mysterious listener and Patreon supporter Trevor recommended we listen to "Donovan's Brain," the first two-part installment of Suspense. Thanks, Trevor! The story features Orson Welles as a scientist convinced he can keep a brain alive even after the body has perished. But the pursuit leads him into making some dangerous and dubious decisions. What sort of existence can a brain have outside of its body? What effect will this experiment have on the doctor? Is he just mad about saffron? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Jessica for directing us to the Listener Library for this adaptation of a Dashiell Hammett's short story "Two Sharp Knives," presented by Suspense! In this episode, a small town chief of police and his assistant arrest a fugitive wanted for murder. But a lot can happen while they wait for the Philadelphia authorities. Is the man truly guilty of the crime? Who will be collecting the reward for his capture? Who is now carrying the title of "genial character actor"? Listen for yourself and find out!

BIG TOWN! We're headed to BIG TOWN for an episode entitled "Double Murder," in which a woman visits the Illustrated Press to get help finding her missing twin sister. As editor Steve Wilson digs into the disappearance, he discovers lies, bribes, and murder! Will he learn what happened to the missing sister? What are the two murders referred to in the title? Is this story avuncular enough? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're returning to the Weird Circle for an episode entitled "The Doll," an adaptation of Fitz-James O'Brien's short story, "The Wondersmith." The story begins with the creator of an ingenious doll confessing to the murder of a fortune teller. And it only gets stranger from there. What criminal plot first brought the two of them together? What arcane secret makes this doll so special? Would a reading of the original story be the perfect Christmas Eve tradition? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode of Suspense comes from the Listener Library, recommended to us by our Mysterious Listener, Pip. Thanks, Pip! "Murderous Revision" features a writer of crime stories who loses his job after clashing with his producer over the quality of his scripts. To take his revenge and prove his mastery, he plans to record a murder of his own design. Will this fatal script be any good? Can he successfully record his story? Is there a better name for a show than "Murder, Please"? Listen for yourself and find out!

This trip to the Listener Library is at the request of a whole family of Mysterious Old Radio Listeners and Patreon supporters! Our thanks to Tom, Barb, Christy, and Jeff! They've sent us to "The Black Tie Affair" from Bold Venture starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall! The iconic duo star as Slate and Sailor, Americans living abroad in Havana, having adventures, and exchanging romantic wit. In this story, Sailor wants Slate to accompany her to a formal event and has rented a suit for him. But two teachers on vacation are willing to kill to get that jacket! What is about this suit that makes it so valuable? Why won't Slate just agree to hand it over? Why are we talking about Adam Ant's "Goody Two Shoes?" Listen for yourself and find out!

This time, we are joined by one of our most generous Patreon supporters, Michael! We're listening to an episode Michael chose for us, "Dark Side of the Mind" from Nightfall! In this story, a married couple reunite with an old college friend, only to discover that he's grown more cynical and morose. Why is he so sensitive about talking about his family? Is it related to the mysterious murders in town? Is shopping for cigarettes a fun date in Canada? Listen for yourself and find out!

Eric brings us back for another visit to The Shadow, this time with a story entitled, "The Island of Ancient Death!" In this story, Margo and Lamont come to an exotic island at the request of a woman who has seen her own face painted in a horrific mural. What secrets lie hidden within the island's ancient tunnels? What sort of scientific experiment is this woman's husband pursuing? What major crimes are most conducive to falling asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we're listening to another episode of Vanishing Point, the mind-bending Canadian series from the 1980s. "Split Second" is an adaptation of a story by Daphne du Maurier about a woman who leaves her home for a short walk and returns to find the world is not as she left it. Is she the victim of an elaborate crime? Is she suffering from amnesia or hallucinating her own identity? What if Ebeneezer Scrooge were a heavier sleeper? Listen for yourself and find out!

Joshua has brought another episode of Frontier Gentleman hoping that it receives a warmer reception than his first try! This episode, entitled "Powder River Kid," features the titular British journalist on a carriage ride across Montana in the company of a chatty bullwhacker and his doddering old father. But soon the party finds a trio of desperate strangers, one of whom has been shot. It leads the travelers to a series of several difficult ethical questions. What is the kind thing to do for these strangers? What choice favors justice? Which president was Popeye's father? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener and Patreon Supporter Carl for recommending this episode from the Listener Library, "Zero Hour" from Suspense! This adaptation of a story by Ray Bradbury features a strange children's game called "invasion." This game seems to have suddenly become an obsession of kids across the country, all working toward a particular deadline. Who is the mysterious Mr. Drill teaching this game to children? What will happen if children meet their deadline? Do you require a warning about the dangers of the Lindy Hop? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're listening to our first episode of Sears Radio Theater, "Milwaukee Deep," one of the show's Friday night installments, featuring tales of high adventure! The story features a coast guard officer sent undercover to investigate a string of missing ships, seemingly lost in the depths of the Milwaukee Deep. His investigation soon brings him face to face with pirates and ancient gods! Will he discover what happened to the missing ships? Will he live to share what he's learned? Do you love hearing advertisements for Sears? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're paying another visit to Inner Sanctum Mystery with an episode rebroadcast by the Armed Forces Radio Network, "The Devil's Workshop," by John Roeburt! The story features a man who has dedicated his life to the creation of sinister wax figures, sold to wax museums around the world. But within his workshop, the real and the unreal become indistinguishable and evil takes on a life of its own. Do any of these figures truly come to life? Who is the mysterious stranger with the grisly request? Would this be better as an interactive dinner show? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week is our first foray into Pete Kelly's Blues, a series featuring Jack Webb as a jazz cornet player who gets wrapped up in the seedy side of Prohibition-era Kansas City. This episode, entitled "Little Jake," features Pete receiving an unwanted envelope that leads to brutal violence and unspeakable tragedy. What will happen when he finally opens the envelope? What could be so important as to justify all this violence? Could Jack Webb punch out Lee Marvin? Listen for yourself and find out!

William Conrad stars in this episode of Dark Venture entitled "Hideout!" The story features a fugitive, wanted by both the police and criminals after a game of cards turns deadly. But the more he runs, the more it seems as if the cards are stacked against him! Can he find a way out of this predicament? Who will ultimately decide his fate? Can you feel it coming in the air tonight? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're joined this week by one of our most generous Patreon supporters, Katherine, to listen to an episode of her choosing, "The Thirteenth Sound" from Suspense! The production features Agnes Moorehead and William Johnstone in the tale of a murderer tormented by grating noises and a guilty conscience. As the story unfolds, it both draws on classic literary influences and anticipates iconic detective stories to follow. Will this killer ultimately face justice? Does the killer like modern music? Will we totally ignore Julián Carrillo? Listen for yourself and find out!

Join us as we return to The Adventures of Ellery Queen for an episode entitled, "Number 31!" Ellery Queen begins working on a case of overseas smuggling, but is interrupted by the seemingly unrelated disappearance of a butler. As Queen investigates the two cases, he finds they both significantly feature the number 31, suggesting that they are connected! If Queen can't crack the smuggling case, will it cause an international scandal? Will the guest armchair detective find the solution to the crime? What sort of pizza is Ellery Queen most like? Listen for yourself and find out!

This time we've been sent down to the Listener Library by a particularly mysterious listener, an individual known only as "S." Thanks, S! The recommendation is an episode of Price of Fear called "Come as You Are," featuring the one and only Vincent Price! This story depicts Price begrudgingly attending a costume party at a restored priory in England. He trikes up a conversation with another attendee, who also has no wish to join the festivities. As this other guest tells his story, the narrative takes a dark turn. Is there some supernatural element to this man's story? What would it take to force Vincent Price to dine in a mediocre restaurant? Will that one guy enjoy this story? Listen for yourself and find out!

We start the new year with eyes on the future! "Junkyard" is an episode of "X Minus One," in which a starship investigates a mysterious collection of junk on a supposedly uninhabited planet. But they quickly discover they cannot leave as something is stealing one of their most precious resources. Will they be able to recover in time to escape? Why would the crew risk killing one of their own with alcohol poisoning? How do space watermelons affect our brains? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy New Year! As has become our annual tradition, we are listening to yet another adaptations of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” This time, we are checking out the most contemporary version on our list, the episode of Nightfall first broadcast on December 17, 1982! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. Why does he seem to be receiving some otherworldly warning? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? Will this version be as bizarre as what we have come to expect from Nightfall? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're celebrating Christmas with this holiday-themed episode of Suspense! In "Back for Christmas," Peter Lorre stars as a hen-pecked husband who concocts a fiendish plan to start a new life apart from his spouse. Can his scheme succeed without his wife's oversight? What might bring him back home for Christmas? Do our faces match our personas? Listen for yourself and find out!

The gauntlet has been thrown! Our mysterious listener Sam claimed we were too afraid to go to the darkest corners of the Listener Library for "Tanglefoot," an episode of Quiet, Please! The time has come to prove our courage! The story features Buck, a plumber who discovers that he doesn't know as much about flies as he thought he did. Are Herbie's wild stories about flies true? Is flypaper effective? Are you brave enough to listen to this with us? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are joined by our Patreon subscriber Ryan as we continue to express our gratitude for our most generous supporters! Ryan has brought us an episode from a series we haven't listened to before, Rocky Jordon! This story, entitled "The Man from Damascus," features an ominous offer from a stranger who claims to have once been grievously wronged by Rocky, but Rocky has no memory of the man or alleged harm. Will Rocky accept this offer? Why can he not recall his history with this stranger? How long have we been pretending that we know what Rocky Jordan is about? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our gratitude to our most generous Patreon supporters continues, this time featuring our patron Mark! Mark joins us a for a discussion of an episode of his choosing, "The Shadow Challenged" from The Shadow! This unique installment in the series features Frank Readick, who played the title character back when he was simply the host of Detective Story Hour! An unknown killer threatens to frame the Shadow for a series of murders and unmask his true identity. Why would the Shadow be a suspect in the case? What is the true motivation behind the murders? Is invisible golf better than space golf? Listen for yourself and find out!

Remember 2021? That's what we're doing this Thanksgiving! Based on listener polls, the keen insights of esteemed special guests, and our own incoherent ramblings, one episode shall be declared the creme de la creme and another shall be declared the ham and bananas hollandaise. Who will win this Battle of Magicians? Who will feel the pride of a Pride of Carrots? Are any of the nominees so bad that we will consistently get its name wrong? Listen for yourself and find out!

In November, we say thank you to some of our most generous Patreon supporters by inviting them to join us a for a discussion of an episode of their choosing! For this installment, our guest Jeff has selected "Action" from Escape! This adaptation of C.E. Montague's short story features a man attempting a near-impossible climb in the Alps. Those who have known the man speculate as to why he would undertake such a dangerous risk. What has driven the man to this deadly precipice? What might drive him to persevere? Why would Jeff give Eric permission to email him mean things? Listen for yourself and find out!

As the last bit of our month-long encouragement to check out our Patreon, we present this adaptation of Ray Bradbury's "The Crowd" presented by Suspense! For our Patreon supporters, it's a timely accompaniment to our next Mysterious Old Book Club, featuring an online group discussion of Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes! This adaptation features Dana Andrews as a police lieutenant hunting for a murderer who has a knack for creating a public spectacle! What compels this killer to draw so much attention to himself? Will he ever make a mistake? Do we have a weird, morbid fascination with people's weird, morbid fascination? Listen for yourself and find out!

Every once in a while during our discussions, we are inspired to explore a second episode as a response or supplement to the first. (Or sometimes we just get a random whim...) That's where our semi-regular B-Sides Bonus Episodes allow us to provide that additional material for our Patreon members! For example, at the end of the Lights Out episode, "The Author and the Thing," we were intrigued by the announcement of the series, BIG TOWN! And so we brought this episode, "Adventure in Paris," to Patreon. The story features the show's heroic reporters wrapped up in a spy adventure in Nazi-occupied Paris! If you'd like to hear more B-Sides, please consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

On June 26, 2022 we performed our own version of "Battle of the Magicians" from Lights Out on stage at Park Square Theatre! Our Patreon members have access to video recordings of all of our performances as part of their subscription, and we're sharing this audio recording as a sample of the benefits of supporting us. "Battle of the Magicians" features a mysterious occult figure known as Saladin who fights to save an airline from the mystic machinations of the villain known as Ehrlich. Would you like to hear more of our recreations of classic radio episodes? (Not to mention our own original audio dramas?) Please consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

This October is our Patreon pledge drive and we continue to try to entice you to support us via Patreon with this, the only episode of Suspense to feature Bela Lugosi, "The Doctor Prescribed Death!" (Lugosi just happens to be the topic of discussion for this month's online Happy Hour, where patrons can chat live with each other and your hosts!) In this story, Lugosi stars as a psychologist who believes that he can redirect suicidal impulses, changing them into a compulsion to commit murder! Can he prove this bizarre theory? What is the significance of the opera attended by the doctor's wife? Will Eric or Tim be able to answer Joshua's trivia questions? Listen for yourself and find out!

Today is the exciting conclusion of “The McCormick Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! All week long we’ve been releasing one installment per day as part of our Patreon drive month! The finale begins with Dollar suffering from a bullet wound, searching for the woman he now knows to be McCormick's wife! Who did steal those jewels? Who committed the murder? Will any of your hosts know what Cosmoline is? Listen for yourself and find out!

It's our Patreon drive month and part of the celebration is listening to all five parts of "The McCormick Matter" from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, one per day for the whole week! Today's episode is part 4 of the run, in which Dollar's investigation of a jewel theft has become a murder investigation! What's the difference between a coupe and a sedan? Will Gloria expose a shocking truth as she's changing clothes? Which of your hosts can smugly claim to have anticipated these plot twists? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

Today we are listening to part 3 of "The McCormick Matter"from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar as part of our Patreon drive month! In this installment, Dollar continues to dig into an unsolved jewelry theft from years ago. And as the police are close in on the main suspect, Johnny hunts for the man's ex-wife. How did such a small time crook pull off such an elaborate theft? What happened to that guy's feet? How do we connect Godzilla to Mo' Better Blues? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

Our Patreon drive month continues with part 2 of “The McCormick Matter,” from our week-long journey into Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! This is the second episode in the investigation of an unsolved jewelry theft from years ago. Based on a tip given by a dying convict, Johnny interviews both the owner of the jewels and the original investigator who looked into the matter. Will Johnny find the ex-con that he suspects committed the crime? Who was pretending to be Johnny? How much is a Johnny Dollar worth in today's Johnny Dollars? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

It's our Patreon drive month! We've got a whole bunch of special offerings to give all our listeners a taste of the extra content enjoyed by all of our Patreon supporters! For example, you can get a sample of our "Cliffhangers of Doom" bonus episodes! (And thank you to everyone who already does supports us!) We're starting out with a whole week of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! Each day, we are going to post one installment of “The McCormick Matter,” a story in which a dying convict calls insurance investigator Johnny Dollar with a tip about an unsolved jewel theft in exchange for sharing the reward with this convict's wife. Is this deathbed bargain on the level or is it a plot take revenge on Dollar? Why are drinks so expensive in this story? What's a good metaphor for describing how dangerous a pretty girl is? Listen for yourself and find out!

In February of 2020, we debuted "Cliffhangers of Doom," a new type of bonus content for our patrons which featured serialized tales from the Golden Age of Radio! We're hoping to entice our listeners to join our Patreon page by sharing this sample of "Cliffhangers of Doom," the first episode of "City of the Dead" from Adventures by Morse! A young couple have their car stolen far from anything except the City of the Dead, a disused cemetery. What follows is a twisting tale of mystery and intrigue so dense, there isn’t even room to introduce the main character yet! Like what you hear and want to find out what happens in the rest of the series? Please consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

Our thanks to Kaj for sending us down to the Listener Library for the debut episode of a show we haven't checked out yet, "The First Letter" from Box 13! The series features Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday, a writer who has posted an ad seeking adventure! In this first installment, a woman asks for help to rid herself of a blackmailer. How did this woman end up in such a dilemma? Will Holiday's judgment be better or worse than the characters he writes about? Will Mr. Deus Ex Machina suddenly arrive with a third question? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

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Based on the novels by Frances Crane, The Adventures of the Abbotts featured the mystery-solving husband and wife team, Pat and Jean Abbott! This particular episode, "The Clicking Silver," tells the story of a visit to a steel factory that results in murder and a reunion with an old flame! (Fair warning, the story includes a reference to a husband "spanking the daylights" out of his wife, ostensibly not "fun" spanking.) What is the clicking silver? Why does Pat treat his suspects so differently than any other detective would? Can we actually lose sponsors if we don't have any? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're going deep, deep into the Listener Library for this episode of Suspense, "Deep Deep is My Love," recommended to us by our mysterious listener Elena! Thanks, Elena! This production features Lloyd Bridges as a diver whose compulsion for solitude has driven him to an undersea grotto where he may have seen a miraculous vision. Or, he may have simply suffered hallucinations as he approached death. What calls to him to return to this dangerous depth? Can his friend or his wife do anything to break the hold this mystery has upon him? What new option are we considering for our end-of-show voting? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're not too old to pay a visit to "The Playground," an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story from Vanishing Point! The story features Charlie, a young father who wrestles with his own troubled childhood as his own son wants to go play with other children. When Charlie visits the neighborhood playground, it looks sinister and unsafe, but he can't tell if the danger is real or a product of his anxieties. Is he being over-protective or are his fears well-founded? Why does one of the kids at the playground address Charlie by name? How do playgrounds work in Canada? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Mysterious Listener Waymon really wanted us to listen to another episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar! So we are paying another visit to the Listener Library for this standalone installment of the iconic series, “The Sidewinder Matter!” This story features Johnny and his action-packed expense account investigating a bitter feud over poisoned cattle. Along the way, he'll have to contend with gunshots, strange weather phenomena, and an unlikely menagerie of animals. Would this mean-spirited rancher shoot his own son to gratify his spite? What's in the bag? Where would Columbo fit in this story? Listen for yourself and find out!

We return to Escape for "Conqueror's Isle," an adaptation of the short story by Nelson Bond! The story features a Navy pilot who, after a three year absence, returns with a strange tale of landing on an island inhabited by a group that seems superior to humanity in almost every way. What ultimate goal is this group of superior beings pursuing? What does the pilot believe to be their one weakness? Will Tim get both a comic book reference and a Lovecraft reference in the post-show discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode of Lights Out comes from our Listener Library based on a recommendation from our mysterious listener, Zachary! Thanks, Zachary! This particular story, entitled "Death Robbery," is one of the few surviving episodes to feature a script written by the creator Wyllis Cooper, and even these extant recordings are all revivals of Cooper's writing broadcast after he left the show. The tale features Boris Karloff as an ambitious scientist who believes he has perfected the means to bring the dead back to life. Who will be the first human subject of this unorthodox procedure? Does the experiment take absolutely everything into account? What could sponsors possibly object to in this script? Listen for yourself and find out!

This is the second of two episodes recorded live in front of an audience at Open Eye Theatre, featuring special guest, Shanan Custer! Our audience joined us listening to "If a Body Need a Body Just Call Burke and Hare" from Crime Classics! In the poorest parts of mid-19th century Edinburgh, William Burke and William Hare find a path to quick money by providing medical schools with fresh cadavers. Based on true events, this story details the exploits of two characters who have a special place in the secret origin of the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society! How do two unassuming men become such notorious villains? Is free shoe cobbling worth the risk? Would this story be more terrifying if they were floating next to a large ship? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode is the first of two recorded live in front of an audience at Open Eye Theatre, featuring special guest, Shanan Custer! We started the evening with the legendary Ethel Merman starring in "Never Follow a Banjo Act" from Suspense! In this story, Merman plays an "mature" singer hired to share the stage with a young heartthrob whose last co-star suffered an unfortunate accident. Will she meet the same fate as her predecessor? What will come of her torrid romance with a cowboy played by Paul Frees? Is this what show business is really like? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're late, but that won't stop us from celebrating Father's Day! To mark the occasion, we're heading down to the Listener Library for a dad-themed episode of Night Beat entitled "Expectant Father." Our thanks to Diana for recommending the story! Your usual hosts are joined this time by our summer intern (and Joshua's son) Aaron! We're listening to the story of journalist Randy Stone and the night he spent with a panicked man on the brink of fatherhood. Will his booze-soaked reminiscing end in a happy family? Is Stone helping the situation or making it worse? Will Godzilla appear at any point during this story? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're headed back to the Old West, this time listening to an episode of Frontier Gentleman, entitled "The Honky Tonkers!" In this story, the titular British journalist finds himself passing the night in a rough-and-tumble saloon where a drunken argument breaks out. Guns are drawn, blood is spilled, and the true natures of the assembled crowd are revealed. How will these lawless souls handle the consequences of violence? What value do they place on life? Were we referring to the cartoon characters, the exotic dancers, or the furniture? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our mysterious listener Joe, whose extraordinary effort convinced us to visit a corner of the Listener Library we've been known to avoid, the CBS Radio Mystery Theater section! Based on Joe's recommendation, we're listening to an episode entitled, "The Chess Master," featuring a performance by Fred Gwynn! The story features a man who has recently lost his job sitting down for a game of chess with a stranger. Although the stakes seem innocuous at first, it soon becomes apparent that a much deeper game is being played! Can this man out-maneuver his opponent? Where's E.G. Marshall and who is this Tammy Grimes person? How much does the Muzio Gambit have to do with the drunk horsies? Listen for yourself and find out!

What's on the other side of the world's squeakiest door? Another episode of Inner Sanctum Mystery of course! This installment, entitled "The Voice on the Wire," features a young widow who is being apparently haunted by the ghosts of her late husband and their dog. She hears his voice on the phone threatening her imminent death! Is it possible that one of the visitors she is entertaining is really to blame? What caused the death of her husband (and their dog)? What grocery store item is the perfect metaphor for this story? Listen for yourself and find out!

Who's that singing in the Listener Library? Richard Diamond Private Detective, of course! Our thanks to our mysterious listener Matt for recommending "The House of Mystery Case!" A client has called on our musical protagonist to help her uncover the secrets behind her supposedly haunted house. If she doesn't have the nerve to remain, she will lose her inheritance, but staying put could prove fatal! Is something truly supernatural happening? If not, who would want to drive her from the house? Will your hosts enjoy this episode and, if so, will they enjoy it the right way? Listen for yourself and find out!

It's been more than five years since the last time we checked out an episode of Macabre. This week, we return for a story titled “Final Resting Place!” This installment of the series recorded by members of the Far East Network features a pair of young newlyweds who take up a bizarre challenge at a small-town carnival that could potentially prove fatal! Can hypnotism sustain life for a week? Does this stunt have anything to do with the escaped lunatic in the area? Why might you want to bring a Mountain Dew bottle to South Dakota? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Mysterious Listener Anna has sent us to the Listener Library for "Clarissa," an episode of Quiet Please! Thanks, Anna! This story features a young mathematician who befriends the elderly man who rents a room to him. Soon, the younger man begins to hear the singing of an unseen child. The landlord claims that it is his daughter, but he prefer to keep her out of sight. Why does he insist on this seclusion? Is this house haunted? Where do your hosts stand on the issue of goats versus sheep? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week features Appointment with Fear’s adaptation of a classic tale of torment and despair by Edgar Allen Poe! “The Pit and the Pendulum” tells the story of a soldier in Napoleon's army who is captured and then sentenced by the Spanish Inquisition to a horrific fate. What torture awaits him in this diabolical prison? Does he have any hope of survival or rescue? What series did Eric start exploring that eventually led him to Appointment with Fear? Listen for yourself and find out!

We've had many requests for this particular installment from the Listener Library, "Specialty of the House" from The Price of Fear! As was always the case with the series, Vincent Price stars as a fictionalized version of himself, relating diabolical tales from his adventures as a globe-trotting gourmand. This particular script is actually an adaptation of a short story by Stanley Ellin about a small obscure restaurant that caters to a limited but devoted clientele. Yet behind the delicious cuisine and eccentric quirks, something sinister seems to be happening in the kitchen. How long will it be before the restaurant has its famed house special back? Is there any amount of sinister subtext that will get Vincent Price to abandon a good meal? Does this soup taste a little bland to you? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we go way back for an episode of The Witch's Tale, “The Statue of Thor”! The story features a hedonistic sculptor who constantly ridicules the brawny model posing for him. As the artist grows more cruel and self-indulgent, he may incur the wrath of the gods! Will the the model catch on to the artist's true intentions? What will the statue look like when it is complete? Can we remember the details of any of our past episodes? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our mysterious listener Jessica for sending us back to our Listener Library for "Never Pester Chester" from Gunsmoke! This episode features Marshal Dillon on the trail of two cruel men who made the mistake of attacking his friend Chester. But given Dillon's anger and sense of responsibility, it isn't clear if he intends to deliver justice or revenge! How will he track these men down? Will his feelings overpower his obligations as a lawman? Would our discussion afterward be better if we had beers and steak? Listen for yourself and find out!

For our 250th episode we listen to an adaptation of a landmark detective story, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Final Problem," presented by The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes! In this broadcast, Sir John Gielgud's Sherlock Holmes attempts to once and for all put an end to the criminal machinations of Orson Welles' James Moriarty! Will the World's Greatest Detective be able to outsmart the Napoleon of Crime? How far will Holmes go to succeed? Which of your hosts didn't know how this story would end the first time he encountered it? Listen for yourself and find out!

Join us this week for an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story, "Kaleidoscope," presented by Suspense! A group of astronauts suddenly find themselves in a hopeless situation, one that forces them to confront how they've lived their lives. Some are content, others bitter. But does any of that matter when facing death? Are we all just floating through life, isolated and scared? Are we going to listen to every different adaptation of this story ever recorded? Listen for yourself and find out!

It's been almost 250 episodes and we are still discovering shows we've never listened to before! This week, we check out Up for Parole! Based on real cases, the show presents stories as told by convicts addressing a parole board. This installment, "The Case of Clarence Hogan," features a ranch hand whose hard life led him to being jailed as a cattle rustler and an accessory to murder. What path can lead a man to commit such an unusual crime? Will the parole board grant him his freedom? What's the famous Billy Martin "Cow Story"? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re paying another visit to our Listener Library for an episode of Suspense recommended to us by our Patreon supporter, Marc. Thanks, Marc! This production adapts A.M. Burrage’s story, “The Waxwork,” and features a one-man performance by William Conrad! In this story, a journalist in need of cash bargains to pass the night in a room inside a wax museum. In this hall, each figure depicts a notorious killer, and as the hours pass, a creeping terror begins to invade the journalist's thoughts. Is this fear a product of his own imagination or is something more going on? Is William Conrad up to the task of a solo performance? Why does our discussion include Doctor Who and puppet blood? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter James suggested that we listen to “The Blind Beggar Dies” from The Shadow! In this story, the enigmatic vigilante seeks justice for the murder of a blind man and fights to protect the city's poor. But even the power to cloud men's minds may not be enough to save him if the enemy knows his plan! How will the Shadow bring these vicious killers to justice? What requirements must a person meet to stand on the corner and ask for money? If fighting crime doesn't work out, does the Shadow have any skills that would allow him to succeed as a live entertainer? Listen for yourself and find out!

Many thanks to our Patreon supporter Chris for suggesting we take up the challenge of this Theatre 10:30 episode, "Trespassers Will Be Experimented Upon!" written by Anthony Lee Flanders. This strange narrative features a brilliant scientist and his acclaimed sex-symbol wife racing through a storm to a castle in Saskatchewan. There, they will come face to face with...the Baron! Their battle of wits will not only determine who possesses the superior mind, but also reveal the source of the scientist's genius. Where do the loyalties of the Baron's split-tongued servant lie? How dark and/or bizarre can this story get? How should one translate, "Glllyggh...Uhlyygg"? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Patreon supporter Jules for suggesting this episode of Lights Out, "Subbasement!" The story features a husband grudgingly granting his wife a tour of his subterranean workplace. Beneath the city's department stores, the buildings are connected by a dark tunnel that seems to be abandoned as the couple make their way through the darkness. Why has chosen this evening to provide his wife with this tour? What unexpected surprise does Arch Oboler have waiting for them? Will Eric be forced to pay Tim & Joshua $100? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re beginning 2022 with a little enticement to join our Patreon page! When our patrons checked out their monthly bonus content in August of last year, they got an installment of the members-only series, Secrets of the Mysterious Old Radio, which featured “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” from Escape! And as it happens, they voted to declare this episode the second best from 2021! Now we’re sharing it with everyone as a little taste of all the great stuff that comes with membership. Please have a listen and consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

Happy New Year! We are celebrating every last drop of the holiday season, ending the year with our traditional presentation of different adaptations of Charles Dickens' other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” The first time we did this, we listened to the 1956 Suspense version featuring Sarah Churchill. This time around, we return to Suspense in 1959 featuring Ellen Drew. As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. Why does he seem to be receiving some otherworldly warning? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What would have happened if we had listened to this version first instead of the 1956 production? Listen for yourself and find out!

Merry Christmas! It's time for another visit from our favorite fat man, Nero Wolfe! Legendary actor Sydney Greenstreet brought Rex Stout's famous detective to life throughout The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe! In this episode, "The Case of the Slaughtered Santas," Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin are called upon to solve a series of murders in which all the victims share a distinctive occupation! Why would someone want to kill a series of Saint Nicks? Is this the work of a madman or is it laying the groundwork for a bank robbery? How can you tell if a person is a "theatrical"? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our holiday celebration continues! Tim is again offering a gift episode to his co-hosts! This time, his selection is a present for Joshua, "Murder on the Train" from The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall! The series is based on a run of detective novels by Alice Tilton, a pen name used by Phoebe Atwood Taylor! The episode features the titular detective travelling by rail with his housekeeper, Mrs. Mollett. But when a dead body turns up, its time for Witherall to track down the killer! How will he identify the murderer? Which two Shakespeare plays has Benny seen? Has Joshua already heard this before? Listen for yourself and find out!

To celebrate he holidays, Tim is offering gift episodes to his co-hosts! The first offering is a present for Eric, "The Locomotive Ghost" from The Mysterious Traveler! In this story, two men engineer a train wreck in order to steal the fortune on board. But a strange old man warns them that trains are living things and that there are consequences for taking such a life. Is there really a pantheon of supernatural trains? Can these thieves escape their fate? Will Eric like it? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this episode, we are joined by our esteemed Patreon supporter, Atticus! Atticus has brought us an episode of CBS Radio Workshop, "A Pride of Carrots!" Written and narrated by the novelist Robert Nathan, the story concerns the first astronauts to reach Venus and the fantastical creatures they find there. Will the Earthmen be able to escape the absurd machinations of the Venusians? Does the political satire still hold up after all this time? Did Atticus just sneak an episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle into our podcast? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we're listening to "The House of Death," an episode of The Mysterious Traveler recommended to us by to esteemed Patreon supporter, Patricia! Thanks, Patricia! The story features two elderly sisters whose extended visit with their nephew and niece seems to have become permanent captivity or worse, a death sentence! But despite their failing health, they'll make every attempt to get help or to escape! Why are they being kept in the house? Will these two and their cats survive this ordeal? Is our understanding of debtors' prisons and poorhouses at all accurate? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode of Escape was recommended to us by to our esteemed Patreon supporter, Tim! In "Four Went Home," a small group of soldiers held in a German POW Camp must weigh their options near the end of World War II. The longer they remain imprisoned, the more likely they are to be executed by their captors. But an escape attempt could be just as fatal! When the stakes are this high, which gamble will these men choose? What sort of small talk do they make when they think they're all going to die? How will we delineate between Tim and Tim? Listen for yourself and find out!

As a reward for his top-tier Patreon support of the MORLS, Brian joins us this week to discuss an episode of his choosing, "The Fisherman and his Soul!" The script is an adaptation of an Oscar Wilde story, produced for Columbia Workshop. The tale features a fisherman who falls in love with a mermaid, only to discover that his human soul prevents them from ever being together. Who does one ask about separating from one's soul? What happens to that soul? Is there going to be some actual highfalutin scholarly discussion about Oscar Wilde? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Halloween! We found this treat in our Listener Library. Our mysterious listener Ben recommended "Ringing the Changes" from Nightfall. Thanks, Ben! This episode adapts a story by Robert Aikman about a newlywed couple whose plans take them to the small seaside town of Holyhaven on Halloween. But for some reason the town's bells continue to ring and the locals seem nervous to see the visitors. Will this May-December relationship survive their honeymoon? What happens when the bells stop? Will we be critical of the music again? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Paul whose recommendation has sent us to the Listener Library for another episode of Dragnet, "The Big Cast!" Friday and Romero bring in a suspect who may be responsible for several missing persons cases. But once they begin to interrogate him, his peculiar behavior makes the detectives wonder what motive might connect him to the crimes. Does this man's strange behavior justify accusing him of murder? Why is he so eager to take a lie detector test? Was there ever a time when it was safe for babies to hitchhike? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode of Crime Classics features a tale of the Old West, told in a style that blends tragedy, wry comedy, and historic documentary. "Death of a Picture Hanger" is a series of a surprising vignettes that lead to the inevitable. Who is the picture hanger mentioned in the title? How should one keep track of one's bath schedule? What was that thing we couldn't remember? Listen for yourself and find out!

There’s a big event in the Listener Library this week! Our mysterious listener Jessica recommended we listen to “The Parade” from X Minus One. Thanks, Jessica! An ambitious promoter is hired to tease an impending event with the simple slogan, “The Martians are coming.” As more money gets spent to advertise the big day, the more mysterious what will happen becomes. Did actual Martians hire an advertising agency? Or is this some kind of hoax to convince people that Martians are invading? Will Tim survive the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at the Minnesota Zoo? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s been a while, but this week brings us The Haunting Hour once again! In “The Hands of Mr. Smith,” a pair of criminals get a shot at one big payday. But when the moment comes, Smith can’t control his homicidal impulses. Will their partnership survive this murder? Is this ultimately a ghost story or not? How petty can Joshua possibly get in critiquing a performance? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this trip to the Listener Library, we’re listening to Hume Cronyn in “Too Many Smiths” from Suspense! Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Kimberly for recommending this tale of a man who believes he can make a fortune from a slogan writing contest for toothpaste. But complications soon demand that he go further than he intended to see the plan through to the end. What sort of person could write a prize-winning slogan for toothpaste? Can liars tell when they are being lied to? Why is there so much talk about poop in the post-show discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we launch ourselves into the world of Rod Serling’s Zero Hour for an episode entitled “Skylab, Are You There?” William Shatner and Casey Kasem contribute to this story of an astronaut who in desperate need of medical help. What mystery awaits when that help arrives? Why have we never heard the details of these strange events on Skylab? Is this somehow an episode of “What If...?” featuring Captain Kirk and Shaggy? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Mysterious Listener Keith kindly sent us back into the Lights Out section of our Listener Library for an episode entitled “Bon Voyage!” Two elderly women have bought passage on a ship that departs at midnight, but they soon discover that the sea offers no refuge from the secret that haunts them. Why have these women left their home? What is the ship's destination? What is Joshua’s new title in regard to Lights Out? Listen for yourself and find out!

“In Flanders Fields” is an unusual episode of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, featuring older versions of Holmes and Watson visiting the front lines of World War I! On the eve of a major offensive, a theatrical presentation has been planned to entertain the troops. But something sinister is waiting in the wings, a mystery that could only be solved by the keen mind of Sherlock Holmes! What secret brought the great detective to the field of battle? Who is shooting at him? What Jack Benny film inspired Joshua to choose this episode? Listen for yourself and find out

Our Mysterious Listener Todd has directed us to the more contemporary areas of the Listener Library, recommending “Tissue Memory” from the BBC’s Fear on Four! Thanks, Todd! This story, written by Judy Upton, features a young woman named Anna who begins to have visions of another life after receiving a donor heart. These visions seem to connect her with the fate of the heart's former owner. Will Anna reject her own heart? Who is the real owner of this heart? What is the ideal diet to prepare for a heart transplant? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our installment this week was the final episode of the iconic series, Escape! “The Heart of Kali” features a down-on-his-luck veteran desperate to return to India to recover a temple’s treasure. But to do so, he must sink to the depths of human brutality. How far will he go to claim his prize? What fate awaits him inside the temple? Will this break our hearts like the final episode of Suspense did? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time to pay another visit to The Hermit’s Cave for an episode entitled “The House with a Past!” Our thanks to Roberta for recommending this particular contribution to our Listener Library. The story features a young couple who move into a house that has an eerie reputation in the neighborhood. Soon they begin to experience the seemingly supernatural phenomenon reported by past occupants! Is the house truly haunted? How will this production compare to later ghost stories on the radio? What is the impact of a haunted house on the local economy? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to a very modern adaptation of a classic story of sci-fi and horror, “Who Goes There?” from the BBC series, Chillers! The script is adapted from the novella of the same name written by John W. Campbell, Jr. (under the pen name Don A. Stuart). This tale of a small group of scientists in Antarctica who discover an alien creature frozen in the ice has been adapted and copied many times in many different ways. How will this version compare to its predecessors? Who among these men can be trusted? If you take the good, take the bad, take them both…what do you have there? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Paul for recommending this adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Ring of Thoth" from Escape! Thanks, Paul! Inside the Louvre, an old Egyptian man tells the story of a near-immortal priest. To this day, the priest searches the world for a ring that will grant him his heart's fondest wish! What secret lies hidden within this ring? How much does this early mummy tale resemble the stories that were to follow? Was that Jack Webb? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, The Shadow takes a trip to “The Village of Doom,” and we’re going with him! A small town reaches out to the crime-fighter when death itself seems to be holding the population hostage! Can the Shadow uncover the truth behind this mysterious threat before he becomes the next victim? Is this the most bizarre episode of The Shadow ever made? What kind of advertising budget is the safety committee working with? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're making a particularly special trip to the Listener Library this week for an episode of Defense Attorney, a series recommended to us by our long-time supporter, Chip! Thanks, Chip, and we wish you a speedy recovery! The show featured Mercedes McCambridge in the title role, and in this particular story, “The Hot Rod Accident,” Defense Attorney Martha Ellis “Marty” Barrett is tasked to prove the innocence of a teenager accused of a fatal hit-and-run! If the boy is innocent, who was driving the car? Why is he lying about his whereabouts at the time of the accident? Will your hosts remember how to function in person now that they are no longer recording via Zoom? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we pay a visit to the early days of the legendary series, Dragnet! In this episode, “The Werewolf,” an elusive maniac is terrorizing the city with a series of seemingly random attacks on young women. Sergeant Joe Friday and the rest of the LAPD have been tasked to use every resource at their disposal to catch this menace! What will it take to finally put an end to this crime spree? How does this production compare to later installments in the series? Which is worse, being a police woman or playing a police woman on the radio? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to the Listener Library provides us with a startling view! Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Keara for recommending “The Thing in the Window” from Suspense! This Lucille Fletcher-penned tale features an out-of-work actor who becomes fixated on a window across from his own. Despite what everyone else claims, he insists that a dead body is visible through the pane. Why does nothing seem to banish the vision of this corpse? Are the two elderly women across the street as innocent as they seem? How different could Suspense’s two productions of this script possibly be? Listen for yourself and find out!

Gentle listeners, please join us as we fondly recall the best episodes of 2020 and ruefully regret the worst! Based on listener polls, the learned opinions of esteemed special guests, and our own dubious blithering, one episode shall be declared a mighty champion and another shall be declared a raging dumpster fire. Which episode will take home the Cup of Gold? Which will be sentenced to The Haunted Cell? What were the hosts eating in 2019? Listen for yourself and find out!

Not much is known about The Key, the Australian series that produced this week's episode, “The Ghost!” The story features a puzzle master who is called upon to solve the mystery of a strange spirit haunting two elderly women. But he soon discovers that the supernatural details defy all rational explanation! (Note that the recording that your Mysterious Old Hosts listened to was of relatively poor quality, but the version we included here was cleaned up by Eric.) Will puzzle-solving skills be enough to solve this mystery? Can any of the other people who seem to just lurk in the house be responsible? Does Tim know that he’s still missing both “U” and “Z”? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week's visit to the Listener Library was requested by two Mysterious Old Radio fans from overseas! Thanks to both Katherine and Stuart for recommending we listen to "The Author and the Thing!" This recording of Arch Obloler's script served as the final episode of Lights Out in 1943. Of course, the series could never quite stay dead and it was revived again later. But when Oboler said goodbye this time, he did so with all the metafictional gruesome humor he could muster. The story features Oboler himself struggling so hard to come up with one last tale of terror, he may have invoked a real nightmare! Can a person's preoccupation with stories of darkness manifest a genuine monster? How many family members and friends need to die to finish a script? What series could possibly ever fill the space left behind by Lights Out? Listen for yourself and find out!

This month includes Orson Welles’ birthday and we celebrate with this episode of The Lives of Harry Lime! The series chronicles the adventures of the notorious rogue before his famous appearance in the classic film, The Third Man. In this story, entitled “Ticket to Tangier,” Lime answers an enigmatic message inviting him to Tangier. This exotic locale provides the perfect backdrop for a tale of whirlwind romance and cunning deceits! Can Lime turn this mysterious situation to his advantage? Which version of Lime will show up for this episode, impish prankster or charming sociopath? Is this too much zither or just the right amount? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to James for sending us back to the Listener Library for this episode of Suspense! “One Hundred in the Dark” is a tale of mystery told to the members of a gentleman’s club for art appreciation. In this story, the hostess of a dinner party discovers that a crime has been committed and one of her guests is the guilty party! Will this mystery be resolved with a satisfying solution? Given the promise of no dead bodies, will you listen to the whole thing? Is Harpo Marx or Julia Child more likely to be the culprit? Listen for yourself and find out!

No, we’re not repeating ourselves (yet). You may recall that back in episode 166 we listened to the adaptation of Marie Bellic Lowndes' short story/novel, “The Lodger” that was used to launch Suspense! This week we are checking out a different interpretation, presented by Mystery in the Air and featuring Peter Lorre and Agnes Moorehead! Inspired by Jack the Ripper, this story tells the story of a woman who suspects her tenant may secretly be a killer! Can she discover the truth without making her daughter the next victim? How will this interpretation compare to the Suspense version? Will everyone cut loose, footloose? Listen for yourself and find out!

Despite Joshua’s illness, we’re making another trip to the Listener Library! This time we’re checking out an episode of The Mysterious Traveler, recommended to us by both Jeffery and Paul! Thanks to you both! This story, entitled “S.O.S.,” features three men who have been cast adrift recalling their supposedly fool-proof crime! What could have possibly gone wrong during the theft of diamonds aboard a ship? Who are the real masterminds behind this trickery? Do professional podcasters such as ourselves ever make mistakes? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week is our first encounter with Philo Vance, the radio series based on the iconic detective created by S. S. Van Dine. In this episode, “The Cheesecake Murder Case,” the police think a deadly crime has already been solved, but Vance suspects the murderous thief is still on the loose! What details of the investigation are the source of Vance’s suspicion? What happens when you pair an old-fashioned detective with a present-day detective structure? Has this episode left room for dessert? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re paying another visit to our Listener Library this week, checking out “Battle of the Magicians” from the legendary series, Lights Out! Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Tim for the recommendation! This recording is a revival of an earlier Lights Out script written by Wyllis Cooper about a mysterious occult figure known as Saladin who fights to save an airline from the mystic machinations of the villain known as Ehrlich! What is the evil plan for crashing a plane? Can Saladin do anything to save the passengers? Is Joshua’s trivia about da Vinci’s The Last Supper true? Listen for yourself and find out!

Richard Thorne adapted M.R. James’ ghost story “Count Magnus” for this episode of Hall of Fantasy, entitled “He Who Follows Me!” In this installment, a husband and wife apparently incur the wrath of a vengeful being from beyond the grave. No matter what they do to try to escape, it hounds their every step! Is there any way for them to outrun their doom? What will happen if this thing should catch them? Will Gary be able to help? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode is the fourth of our four-part series featuring one of our Patreon members who supports us at the highest level! This time, we welcome Evan as we listen to an episode of his choosing, “The Louis Spence Case” from the series Richard Diamond, Private Detective! In this installment, the legendary singing detective must overcome a mad bomber who threatens to blow up the police station in less than an hour! What strange mix of psychology and technology will Diamond use to try to thwart this madman? What were neighborhoods like back then? Which of your hosts won't make it to the end of the conversation? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Christian, a Patreon supporter at the highest level, who joins us as we listen to an episode of his choosing, “Meshougah” from the classic Western series, Gunsmoke! Wait, we’re listening to Westerns now? Well, this story does have crime, horror, and suspense! (For some great background on Gunsmoke, check out Episode 90 of the fantastic Breaking Walls podcast!) In this story, Marshall Dillon wanders into an isolated town that seems to have been abruptly abandoned. Where are all the people? Will Dillon be able to escape the fate that befell everyone else? Can anyone explain why this episode is called “Meshougah”? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this episode we are joined by Kelly, a Patreon supporter at the highest level! Kelly has chosen this week’s selection, “The Night Man,” written by Lucille Fletcher for Suspense! In this story, a woman tries to convince a prison warden that one of his prisoners, a man she convicted of murder with her testimony, has escaped and is now tormenting her. Has this inmate somehow managed to evade the law? Is this woman only imagining the threat? Is operating an elevator really that hard? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode features special guest David, a Patreon supporter at the highest level! David has chosen the CBS Radio Workshop adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, told in two parts. Thanks, David! Huxley himself narrated this version of his classic dystopic vision. In the future, industry has completely eclipsed morality, and hedonism has replaced emotional connections. But opportunity knocks when an outsider is introduced to this world. Do the horrors of this Brave New World actually hold some appeal? Which parts of the novel’s predictions have come to pass? Were there radio artists who specialized in butt foley? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode corresponds to the second installment of our Mysterious Old Radio Watching Society! After listening to “Only the Dead Die Twice” from Inner Sanctum, head over to our YouTube page to watch “Dead Level,” the adaptation of this story used for the unaired pilot of the Inner Sanctum television series! In this tale, a hearse driver is offered an unsavory deal to dispose of a corpse. What could possibly go wrong? What’s a reasonable price to charge for getting rid of a dead body? What is the ratio of puns per plot twist? Listen for yourself and find out!

No special event this week! We’re just listening to Candy Matson for the sheer pleasure of it. In this episode the San Francisco-based detective is called in to investigate a dead body discovered in a restaurant. Some time after that, she goes to the opera! Is that essentially the whole story? Is the food any good? Who writes this stuff? Listen for yourself and find out!

We're listening to another episode of Escape featuring Vincent Price! This time it’s “Present Tense,” the story of a man on the way to his execution after being convicted of murdering his wife. But before being put to death, he will go to any lengths to avoid his predicament. Is his wife truly dead? Can a man elude the law using only his skills as a poet? How did Paul Frees get so much radio work? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy New Year! As the holiday season comes to a close, it’s time for our annual visit to the diligent man who lives by the rails. This is our fourth year sharing an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” We listen to the Lights Out adaptation this year and as before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. Why does he seem to be receiving some otherworldly warning? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What is the secret meaning of the Lights Out gong? Listen for yourself and find out!

Not only is this the conclusion of our Suspense-o-rama, a whole bunch of episodes from the classic series, it’s also our 200th episode! We are celebrating this momentous landmark by listening to a story written by the esteemed Lucille Fletcher and performed by the one-and-only Orson Welles, a tale entitled, “The Hitchhiker!” Welles plays a motorist whose cross-country trip becomes something more mysterious after he sees a seemingly innocuous man by the side of the road. Where will this strange journey lead? How did Suspense distinguish itself from other scary shows of the time? Where does Mr. Spock live? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Suspense-o-rama continues, featuring a whole bunch of episodes from the classic series that were recommended by our listeners! Our fifth installment in the series is “Bells,” the story of a young couple whose search for a new house seems to get some mysterious assistance. Once they move in, supernatural forces seem to descend upon the new tenants! Are there really powers from beyond luring this husband and wife to their doom? Can this couple retain their wits despite the terrors they face? Is it possible to buy insurance for this sort of thing? Listen for yourself and find out!

Welcome to our fourth installment of our Suspense-o-rama, a whole bunch of episodes from the classic series that were recommended by our listeners! This time we are listening to “Murder in G-Flat,” featuring a performance by Jack Benny. Benny plays a keen-eared piano tuner who finds himself inadvertently in possession of $25,000. But this money comes with Is the murder and mystery attached! Where did the windfall come from? Will trying to keep it cost this piano-tuner his life? Does this police department host a lot of parties? Listen for yourself and find out!

Ray Bradbury authored this episode of Suspense, the third installment in our Suspense-o-rama, a whole bunch of episodes from the classic series that were recommended by our listeners! While investigating a murder, a detective finds that a ventriloquist might be his prime suspect. But the only one who’s willing to talk is the performer’s strikingly beautiful dummy! June Havoc provides narration for the episode under the name Armana Fargey. Visit the Breaking Walls podcast for a great snippet of an interview with June Havoc and William Spier! Is the doll speaking on her own behalf or is just saying what she's told? Will the detective actually question a dummy? Can everyone agree on how to pronounce Riabouchinska? Listen for yourself and find out!

Lucille Ball stars in “Dime a Dance” from Suspense! This week we're listening to the second installment in our Suspense-o-rama, a whole bunch of episodes from the classic series that were recommended by our listeners! In this story, a series of grisly murders targeting taxi dancers baffles the police and Ginger may be the next victim! Can the police protect her? What would drive someone to such a disturbing crime? How much crotch-kicking can one expect in the sequel? Listen for yourself and find out!

We've collected quite a backlog of Suspense episodes recommended to us by our mysterious listeners, so it's time for a Suspense-o-rama! We begin with "The Dark Tower," an episode that features Orson Welles in a theatrical, perhaps self-parodying role. In the story (based on a play), a larger-than-life actor spins a tale about an alleged murder. In this case, the alleged killer cannot remember whether or not she committed the crime! Is this script an adaptation of a play or a story about an adaptation of a play? Is Welles' performance parodying his own reputation or just living up to it? Was this episode a prequel to this commercial for the Dark Tower board game? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode corresponds to our first Mysterious Old Radio Watching Society episode! After listening to "Wear the Dead Man's Coat," from Quiet Please, head over to our YouTube page to watch the adaptation of the story that was presented as part of the Lights Out television series! This audio version features a hard-luck resident of Chicago who decides to help a local grifter find a coat for the evening. What supernatural legend is associated with a dead man’s coat? How will this story compare to the televised version? Does anyone have a lukewarm reaction to sushi? Listen for yourself and find out!

Welcome to the second half of our Mysterious Old Radio Double-Header! If you missed last week’s episode, you may want to check it out first. For this Double-Header, Joshua and Tim each chose a story from Dark Fantasy to redeem the series in your hosts’ opinions. For the second half, we listen to “The Headless Dead,” chosen by Joshua. The story features a visitor at the Tower of London whose tour includes grisly ghost stories and an opportunity to play the chapel’s organ. What business do the dead have with this sleepy tourist? Can one’s destiny be rescheduled to a more convenient evening? Are we going to have to listen to a third consecutive Dark Fantasy episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we start an experiment with a new format, The Mysterious Old Radio Double-Header! For a Double-Header, we present two episodes— one the first week and the second during the following week— that are connected in some way. In this case, Joshua and Tim have each chosen a story from Dark Fantasy to break the show’s trend of frustrating us with its bizarre installments. This first half of the Double-Header is “The Letter from Yesterday,” chosen by Tim. The story features the spark of romance between an ambitious inventor and a small-town librarian. But their love seems to be caught up in the strange currents and eddies of time. In what strange web of history are the young lovers caught? Can Scott Bishop write a script that stays on task? Will someone explain how to get a library card in a small town? Listen for yourself and find out!

The celebration of our fourth anniversary continues with Joshua’s present for Tim, a specially chosen episode of Vanishing Point, “Death and the Compass!” In this adaptation of Jorge Luis Borges’s short story, detective Erik Lönnrot is on the case when a rabbi and has been found murdered. A message found with the body suggests the crime is related to the name of God, and as more murders are reported, a bizarre symmetry begins to emerge. What secret motivated these deaths? Who has created the maze that Lönnrot must navigate? Will you fall down your own rabbit holes after listening to this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re celebrating our fourth anniversary with presents! Specifically, Joshua has chosen an episode of The Shadow as a gift for Eric! (Tim will get his present next week...) In this tale, “The Temple Bells of Neban,” Lamont Cranston and his heroic alter ego investigate a rash of drug abuse among young, wealthy socialites. However he quickly comes face-to-face with a sinister woman who seems connected to his own origins! Will Sabi Bel Adda’s powers prove too much for our hero? Is Cranston really allowed to just take animals from the zoo? Will Eric love his present? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our apologies for running late with this episode, but we're launching ourselves into the Halloween season with this adaptation of a classic M. R. James tale! In “The Ash Tree” from The Black Mass, a woman convicted of witchcraft lays a curses upon the man who accused her. Soon his home is beset by mysterious deaths that continue for generations. What malicious presence has taken up residence in the house? Does this blend of audio drama and storytelling succeed in bringing the tale to life? When did the thought of rats at the window become reassuring? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we listen to an episode of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes recommend to us by our mysterious listener Daniel. Thanks, Daniel! In this story, entitled “The Case of the Double Zero,” Holmes and Watson are portrayed by the two actors most associated with the roles, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. This case finds the duo enjoying some leisure time at a casino until an apparent suicide victim raises questions only the world’s greatest detective can answer! Had the dead man truly lost all his money? Will a morbid plan to steal from the casino succeed? How do Rathbone and Bruce really stack up compared to all the other versions of Holmes and Watson? Listen for yourself and find out!

Pat Novak for Hire was a radio series with enough snappy dialogue to metaphor a whole podcast full of patter. This episode, “John Saint John,” features Jack Webb’s titular character trying to fulfill a stranger's dying wish to see a letter delivered. But no good deed goes unpunished and soon Novak is the target of several sinister figures with plans of their own! Who is the mysterious John Saint John? What could the envelope contain that would drive men to murder? How many zingers can one script cram into a half hour? Listen for yourself and find out!

After a long stretch of recording remotely, we finally assembled in the same room for this week’s episode! It features a story entitled “Cat's Cradle” from the series, Price of Fear! Our mysterious listener Monica recommended the story of a tour of a sinister medieval castle, but the tourists themselves may be the true horrors. Why do these visitors seem to have such interest in these artifacts of sadism? Does this story go too far when it comes to cruelty and gore? Did this couple really have no other options for a honeymoon destination? Listen for yourself and find out!

“The Case of the Killer Cards” is an episode of The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe that was recommended to us by our mysterious listener Rob in an actual letter that was sent in the mail! Sydney Greenstreet stars as Rex Stout’s famous corpulent detective. This particular mystery features four criminals who decide to play one winner-take-all game of poker for ownership of their shared illegal enterprises. But there's murder in the cards and only Nero Wolfe can solve the case! Will Archie Goodwin be given the night off to go on a date? Does the detective really have a meticulous plan to find the solution or is he just improvising? What brand of beer is Wolfe drinking? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our sincere thanks to mysterious listeners Lionel and Abby for recommending this episode of Lights Out, “The Haunted Cell!” You are both awesome! In this story, the police get their hands on a suspected murderer and lock him in a cell— a cell that is allegedly occupied by the ghost of an executed felon! There in the dark, this prisoner must confront both a disembodied voice and his own guilt. Can he avoid the horrors of a final judgment? What kind of legal system works like this? Is our last-minute analysis a stroke of insightful genius or is it obvious to everyone? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re checking out an episode of a series that we haven’t featured before! Our mysterious listener Nathan recommended a story called “Disappearance” from the Canadian show, Vanishing Point. In this tale, a woman starts leads a bartender to a philosophical journey down a bizarre path. Are the strange moments that begin to manifest simply changes in his perception or alterations to reality? Will he find enlightenment or obliviion? Will this episode prove to be too artsy-fartsy or just the right amount of artsy-fartsy? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to “The Black Door” from Suspense, yet another installment in our ongoing Lockdown Listener Series. Thanks to our mysterious listener Roberta for recommending this episode to us! An ambitious archaeologist partners with a treasure hunter to uncover a lost city in the mountains. But the legend of this city contains a dire warning about a “Black Door!” What horrors await them in this ancient ruin? What secret will they learn that connects the place to famous landmarks of history? Does this bar serve late-in-the-day Suspense episodes? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re back this week with another recommendation from our listeners, in this case “The Deadly Hour” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater, an episode suggested by Cindy. Thanks, Cindy! In this tale, heartbreak has driven a man to years of self-imposed silence, but now a bizarre turn of events has compelled him to share his story with a doctor. Can anything be done to comfort this man’s tortured soul? Can what he says be believed? Should we have gone back and edited out Eric’s original interpretation of the plot? Listen for yourself and find out!

As we continue to record these episodes under lock-down conditions, we also continue to listen to suggestions provided by our Mysterious Listeners! This week, we check out “Border Town,” an episode of Escape recommended to us by Marc. Thanks, Marc! Jack Webb stars in this tale of an aspiring actor who decides to explore the seedy underworld in a small Mexican town. The show does include some racial stereotypes and derogatory terms, albeit not what one might expect. Will he outsmart this den of thieves? Just how dangerous is an unemployed actor? How does one play the game, “Wham-O Toy or Smiths’ Song?” Listen for yourself and find out!

Apologies for running a little late, but we are back with an episode recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Swearoh! Thanks, Swearoh! This week, we are listening to “The Wig Makers of Doom Street,” from The Shadow! A ghoulish couple is killing young women to harvest their victims’ hair for theatrical wigs! Can Lamont and Margo put an end to this diabolical business plan? Is this a crime that we could make pay? Is that ad saying that education is a good thing or bad thing? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our mysterious listener Tim, who recommended we check out “Delay en Route,” from Cloak and Dagger! This series took its inspiration from the files of the OSS, the American organization dedicated to espionage during World War II! In this particular episode, an OSS agent must face a difficult decision after helping the Italian partisans oust the fascists from their town. Who can truly say what justice is? Will Roberto successfully return to Vermont? Is this more like Sgt. Preston of the Yukon or Call of Duty? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our long-time listener David recommended that we check out “Short Order,” another all-star episode of Suspense! Thanks, David! The owner of a small but successful diner gains a new customer, a man whose face has been horribly disfigured. Even as this new guest starts to drive away his other customers, the owner seems to fall victim to other misfortunes. Are these woes all just a coincidence? Is some supernatural force targeting this diner? Is ketchup to blame for everything wrong in the world? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we kick off the first in a series of episodes recorded during stay-at-home orders, beginning with “Ancient Sorceries” from Escape recommended to us by our Mysterious Listeners Marc and Anton! Based on the story by Algernon Blackwood, “Ancient Sorceries” tells the tale of a buttoned-up British man who finds himself mysteriously drawn to a Welsh village where the taciturn inhabitants seem to already know him. Where on Earth is the strange organ music coming from? What do cats and sleep have in common? Would a soothing magical balm make it easier to listen to “Cat Wife”?  Listen for yourself and find out!

April 2nd would have been the late Jack Webb’s 100th birthday! Our mysterious listener Mark recommended that we celebrate the occasion and by happy coincidence, our mysterious listener Tim recommended that we listen to “The Big Ruling” from Webb’s signature series, Dragnet! This particular episode depicts an investigation of a heroin ring and evidence that law enforcement is no longer what it once was! Will an informant provide enough details to catch and convict the narcotics dealer? Do you find the casual banter between officers to be authenticating or extraneous? Why would Joe Friday need a new suit? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we seek high adventure with the episode “The Shanghai Secret,” from the series, Voyage of the Scarlet Queen. Ship’s Master Kearney cannot set sail until the murder of his first mate is solved. But staying ashore makes him an easy target for an international conspiracy. Can Kearney trust anyone? Who did kill his first mate? Just how amorous are his feelings for his ship? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Dawn who recommended this week’s visit to the Listener Library, “Where Do We Go From Here?” from Nightfall! This episode of the beloved series tells the tale of a man who has been left completely immobilized in a death-like state after a car crash. Can he find a way to communicate that he is awake and alert? What fate awaits him if he fails? Are Canadian ambulances better than those in the U.S.? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Valentine’s Day celebration is over a month late and still not what we intended, but we won’t let that stop us! As a gift for his wife Adrienne, Joshua chose an adaptation of a story by one of her favorite authors, Dorothy Sayers. “The Cave of Ali Baba,” was an early episode of Suspense that tells the story of an infiltration into a secret cabal of thieves. The tale is notable for featuring a fantastical invention that would someday become reality. (Learn more about this at https://blog.oup.com/2016/03/dorothy-sayers-voice-print-vsi/) Will the intruder’s deception be discovered? Why is there so much dancing? Would Adrienne have liked this? Listen for yourself and find out!

When the world has turned upside down and nothing makes any sense, it’s time for Dark Fantasy! This week’s episode, “Cup of Gold,” features a golf tournament where the winner has been murdered! The prime suspect is a woman who can recall neither why she was there nor why she presented the winner with a counterfeit trophy. What secret drove her to this dire situation? What past crime was being avenged by this death? What … whoa, Dark Fantasy, what…what are you doing there? Listen for yourself and find out!

This month marks 100 years since the birth of actor/writer/director/ producer Antony Ellis! Our listener Mark suggested we celebrate Ellis’ remarkable career and we have chosen an episode of Escape to do just that! The Abominable Snowman was written and directed by Ellis and it tells the tale of a hunting expedition in the Himalayas determined to track down the legendary yeti. What do the local guides know about this creature that the hunters do not? Just who is really hunting who? Will we at any point successfully say the word abubinuble…amunabubble…bunimumable—dang it! Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Mark for sending us to the Listener Library this week for a special treat, “The Case of the Flaming Skull,” an episode of The Shadow that was rebroadcast as part of Mystery Playhouse. It’s a treat because we get Peter Lorre serving as host to the Shadow! In this particular episode, our masked hero squares off against a glowing skeletal thief who may have abducted a scientist! What has driven this creature to pursue its thefts? Is the entity a supernatural horror, a product of aberrant science, or a clever fraud? Just how many Batman villains did this episode inspire? Listen for yourself and find out!

There’s been a murder and we’re joining San Francisco P.I. Candy Matson to find the solution to “The Cable Car Case!” When a shopping trip puts Candy on the same cable car as a murder victim, our sharp-witted heroine sees a chance to earn a few bucks if she can solve the crime before the police. How was the murder even possible in such a crowded space? Will Candy’s investigation put her in the killer’s crosshairs? Will anyone in San Francisco still be sober enough to care about the solution? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week is the second of two episodes in which we check out the beginning of Suspense and its end! “Devilstone” was the last episode of the classic series to be broadcast and it features the tale of a haunted Irish manor that has a peculiar effect on the dead. What secret drove the previous tenant mad? Will this story serve as the ideal finale for the famous series? What sound does a peahen make? Listen for yourself and find out!

We keep surpassing Patreon goals! This week, we are cerebrating with episodes featuring the beginning and end of Suspense! For the first part, we listen to the (sort-of) audition episode presented as part of the Forecast series in July of 1940. Alfred Hitchcock (sort of, not really) presented this adaptation of the short story and novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, the same source material he adapted for his 1927 silent film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. Based on the Jack the Ripper murders, this story depicts a mysterious zealot who who rents a room a working class London couple. Could this stranger be the murderous figure known as the Avenger? Why did this episode receive so many complaints? Are we being stalked by Bromo-Seltzer? Listen for yourself and find out!

We have passed another Patreon goal and to celebrate we are exploring strange new territory: classic radio comedies! This week we listen to three different comedic takes on our usual suspense and horror diet. First, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis get the creeps with Peter Lorre! Then Stan Freberg parodies a beloved crime drama! And finally, Jack Benny puts his own spin on a classic horror anthology! Can these jokes still be funny after all these years? Are visual gags better when you can’t see them? Which comedy icon threatens to tear this podcast apart? Listen for yourself and find out!

Pardon our delay! Apparently we were a little slow getting back from the Listener Library where we found “The Dark Wall,” from Escape, recommended to us by Sarah. Thanks, Sarah! This story, written by Kathleen Hite, tells the story of a man traveling through Andora with his wife. She starts to behave strangely, her love sometimes being replaced by blind terror, a fear that could cost either of them their lives! What could drive a woman to such strange extremes? Did the small mountain village just disappear? Why does anyone go to Andora? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are still celebrating the new year by listening to “Rain on New Year’s Eve,” an episode of Quiet, Please that was probably inspired by Wyllis Cooper’s time spent working on Son of Frankenstein! The story features a beleaguered screenwriter who is trapped in a seemingly endless film production. Can anything convince this director to stop changing the script and just finish the movie? Where did this writer find his inspiration for the monster in this picture? How much resentment does Cooper still harbor toward Hollywood? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy holidays, everyone! Please join us as we celebrate with Campbell Playhouse’s 1939 version of A Christmas Carol featuring Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore. This treasured annual tradition tells the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, whose miserly ways summon three spirits to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Was Barrymore’s performance the definitive Scrooge? Is death really the only alternative to Christmas? Are we really going to sit around critiquing A Christmas Carol? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time once again for our annual holiday trip to the danger light by the rails! For the third year, we are listening to an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man,” this time adapted by the South African series, Beyond Midnight! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. What tragedy do his visions portend? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What will it take for you to be proud of your underwear? Listen for yourself and find out!

There’s no better way to celebrate a winter wonderland than listening to “The Snowman Killing” from Fear on Four! This intense tale of suburban horror features a chilling performance by Imelda Staunton. (And at no point in the discussion afterwards do we identify her as the actress who played Dolores Jane Umbridge in the Harry Potter films!) Is this mother of twins truly facing some supernatural disturbance or is she just married to a yuppie? Why are her children obsessed with a snowman that doesn’t seem to really exist? Does Eric own the DVD of Schindler’s List? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, our visit to the Listener Library brings us an episode of Lights Out, “Come to the Bank,” recommended to us by our Mysterious Listener Kristaps! Thanks, Kristaps! In this Arch Oboler story, a desperate woman pleads with the listener to accompany her to the bank. She has an improbable tale about a man who believes the power of concentration and will can accomplish supernatural feats. Could this man manifest the abilities he claimed? What happened at the bank to make this woman so distraught? Is this story flawed because it is a typical Arch Oboler story or is that what makes it awesome? Listen for yourself and find out!

We recently polled our mysterious listeners to recommend a show that we have not listened to yet. The winner was Broadway is My Beat! Detective Danny Clover is called down to the morgue to examine a body that has evidently been killed twice. The ensuing investigation presents Danny with a wide array of eccentric suspects. Will he be able to discern the truth amid all these peculiar conversations? Is this story a classic hard-boiled mystery or an over-the-top oddity? WHY WON’T THAT GUY SPEAK UP? Listen for yourself and find out!

We finish our month of gratitude by saying, “Thank you!” to David, who supports this podcast at the highest level on Patreon! David requested that we listen to “The Martian Chronicles” from Dimension X! Thanks, David! Ray Bradbury’s famous anthology of interconnected stories presents the colonization of the red planet and explores the impact it has on humanity. Is Mars the perfect place to watch the end of humanity? Can all of these stories really be condensed down to thirty minutes? Will David appreciate our jokes about Oslo? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to spend November saying, “Thank you!” to those who support our Patreon at the highest level! David wrote us a lovely message which included a request that we listen to “Quiet Please,” a script which served as the final episode of the series, Quiet Please. Thanks, David! The tale features the lone survivor of a war-torn civilization who rhapsodizes about all that was lost and the path that led his culture to its end. What lessons can be gleaned from an old man’s bittersweet memories? How well does this tale serve as a final episode to this legendary series? Are we truly nothing more than just a bunch of people sitting around talking? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s a month of Thanksgiving and we are saying, “Thanks!” to some of our Patreon supporters! Our supporter Joseph asked that we listen to “The Silent Avenger,” an episode of The Shadow! A convict condemned to execution threatens the death of the judge, jurors, and governor. When his predicted victims start to turn up dead from bullet wounds, the Shadow begins a desperate search for the man fulfilling the convict’s threat! What grisly fate awaits the shooter? Why does the Shadow hold society responsible for these deaths? Can Orson Welles seriously not shut up for ten seconds even when the Shadow’s life depends on it? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Halloween from the MORLS! We are celebrating the holiday by listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater version of “Dracula,” featuring Mercedes McCambridge! A sudden sickness has befallen Lucy Westenra, suspiciously just as Count Dracula arrives! Can her friend, Mina, save her from a horrific fate? Will Mina herself fall victim to this grisly (yet sensuous) condition? Do you find CBSRMT and it’s commercials to be totally drinkable or has it broken your taster? Listen for yourself and find out!

It was a dark and stormy night when your hosts retrieved this episode of The Weird Circle from their Listener Library, recommended to them by Jill. Thanks. Jill! “The House and the Brain,” is an adaptation of a story by Edward Bulwer-Lytton and it features a couple whose interest in a sinister-looking portrait leads them to a house haunted by ghosts. Or is it actually a story about an immortal hypnotist? Or is it a Nick-and-Nora-like farcical mystery? Is it just a story about a guy yelling at his dog? Listen for yourself and find out!

We return to one of the earliest series that we featured on this podcast, The Price of Fear! Today we hop on a train with the series’ star Vincent Price for the episode, “The Man Who Hated Scenes,” featuring fellow horror icon Peter Cushing. Price sits down for breakfast with a stranger who has a macabre tale to tell. Why was he traveling without his wife? Is he truly as nervous as he seems? How difficult is it for a Minnesotan to send food back at a restaurant? Listen for yourself and find out! 

Inspired by our “Cat Wife” episode, our mysterious listener Shaun recommended we listen to “The Queen of the Cats” from The Mysterious Traveler. This episode features a man who has been lured into an ill-advised marriage by a seductive woman with a strange affinity for cats. How does she always seem to know where he goes and who he sees? How far would he be willing to go to free himself from her influence? Is there anything worse than sleepwalking with a gun? Listen for yourself and find out!

To celebrate our 150th episode, we listen to a series that we have never featured before, Night Beat starring Frank Lovejoy! Randy Stone’s nightly search for stories leads him to a crowd of people awaiting a gunfight between the police and a cornered fugitive. Why does a particular couple in the crowd have such a strong interest in the fugitive’s fate? Can a person truly escape where they came from? After three years, have we now just been reduced to slapping each other? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Flannery, one our Mysterious Listeners who recommended this week’s Listener Library episode, “I Saw Myself Running,” from Escape! A young woman’s sleep is plagued by recurrent nightmares in which she sees a version of herself tormented by an ambiguous figure. The more she tries to help her double in the dream, the more vulnerable she makes herself to the phantasmal threats! Can she rescue the other version of herself and finally be free from these nightmares? What is the true nature of a dream? Can Joshua and Tim quickly explain Twin Peaks to Eric? Listen for yourself and find out!

Today is the exciting conclusion of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! All week long we’ve been releasing one installment per day as a reward for meeting our Patreon goal, and today Johnny hopes his insurance fraud case ends with an arrest! How much leeway are the police willing to grant Johnny on this case? Can you guess Johnny’s final tally of expenses without going over? Is anyone out there writing Johnny Dollar fan-fiction? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s the penultimate episode of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! All week long we’ve been releasing one installment per day as a reward for meeting our Patreon goal, and we will post the conclusion tomorrow! Thank you, Patreon supporters! Johnny’s potential insurance fraud case has turned into an investigation of multiple murder attempts and the facts are starting to fall into place! Mike may be indestructible but what about Johnny? Is it more than just a coincidence that this particular shelter has been targeted by Cosgrove? Just how many times have we been knocked unconscious? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

As a reward for meeting our Patreon goal (thank you to all our supporters!), we are dedicating this entire week to Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! Each day, we are going to post one installment of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” a story in which insurance investigator Johnny Dollar looks into potential fraud when a homeless man’s life is insured by a wealthy stranger. Why would an insurance company authorize this? Can the city’s indigent sing well? How well do we understand the plot without going back and listening again? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

This week’s visit to the Listener Library features an episode of the Lone Ranger recommended to us by Will. Thanks, Will! “Legacy for a Ghost” features a conspiracy to frame and murder an innocent man. But the Lone Ranger and Tonto have other plans! Will the ghost story concocted by the Masked Man bring two criminals to justice? How many times can the same man be murdered? How hard is it to pretend to be asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

Jimmy Stewart stars in “Mission Completed,” an episode of Suspense about a veteran whose experiences in a Japanese POW camp left him paralyzed. When he sees the face of his former captor working across the street, his strength begins to return. Will he get the revenge he has longed for? Can he keep his newfound health a secret? What does Admiral Ackbar think of Colt 45? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to another episode of Mystery Playhouse, a series which repurposed other shows (in this case Inner Sanctum Mystery) for the Armed Forces Network! This story, “Murder Comes at Midnight,” depicts a woman at home alone with her child when when a dangerous stranger shows up at her door, nursing a broken arm. Why is her husband so late getting home? Who will prevail in their battle of wills? Given that this poor woman is a novelist, hasn’t she suffered enough? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been listening to a lot of Lucille Fletcher-penned stories lately, and this week we check out an episode she wrote for The Clock, “Bad Dreams!” A Hungarian husband who has just immigrated to America with his wife begins suffering from terrible dreams of imprisonment and death. Why is he suddenly tormented by these nightmares? Will they ruin his ability to work and support himself and his wife? Have we listened to episodes of the The Clock before? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to our Listener Library features an episode of Hall of Fantasy, “The Masks of Ashor,” recommended to us by Clarence! Thanks, Clarence! A couple receives two gold masks as a gift from a relative traveling through Istanbul. They soon learn the strange story of the masks and why they seem to stare at their new owners! Why was the merchant who owned them before so eager to sell them? What face were these treasures meant to hide? Was there a time when people just knocked on doors, looking for stamps? Listen for yourself and find out!

Horror icon Boris Karloff made a handful of appearances on Lights Out and this week, we’re listening to a peculiar example, “The Dream!” Templeton Fox joined Karloff for this story of a man who never dreams suddenly experiencing strange visions both in his sleep and while awake! What is the source of these horrific imaginings? What end are these dreams driving him toward? Is this a story written by a guy falling asleep for guys falling asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

We pulled this episode of The Shadow from our Listener Library, recommended to us by Chris. Thanks, Chris! In “The Circle of Death,” the Shadow plays a dangerous game, manipulating the police in his hunt for a madman who is terrorizing the city! Will the Shadow’s plan lead to disaster? Is the Shadow really just a voice in someone else’s head? Who are the enigmatic powerful theater moguls presiding over the Twin Cities? Listen for yourself and find out! 

We follow up last week with another episode written by Lucille Fletcher! This time we are listening to “Remodeled Brownstone” from Columbia Workshop. While her husband renovates their newly purchased Victorian home, a woman fears that their brownstone is haunted by a ghostly child. Is she simply imagining this spirit? How much renovation does it take to completely change a home? How on earth did the post-show conversation get to Matt Berry? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Scott for this week’s visit to the Listener Library! Scott recommended an episode of Suspense entitled, “Fugue in C Minor!” Vincent Price and Ida Lupino star in this story written by Lucille Fletcher about a woman whose widowed suitor lives in a home built around an enormous pipe organ. She soon discovers that his children believe their mother haunts the house after their father murdered her. Are the children delusional? Is the house haunted by a vengeful spirit? Would a pipe organ be the worst household appliance to malfunction? Listen for yourself and find out!

Can you solve the mystery in this episode of The Adventures of Ellery Queen? This week, we’re listening to “The Adventure of the World Series Crime,” a story of baseball sabotage and the disappearance of a very special bat! This time, famed detective Ellery Queen only has three hours to find the culprit! Will he find the lost bat in time to restore the Eagles’ chances in the World Series? Wait, the Eagles are in the World Series? Are Tim and Joshua really attempting to have a discussion about the history of baseball with Eric? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time for another visit to the Listener Library! “Til Death Do Us Part” is an episode of Inner Sanctum recommended to us by Marc. Thanks, Marc! In this tale, a couple’s honeymoon is cut short when they witness a murder! Soon the newlyweds are on the run and making desperate decisions. Just how bad can their honeymoon get? How long can Mr. Host continue to say things that sound like jokes, without actually telling any real jokes? Wait, what was the killer’s plan? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Father’s Day! We’re celebrating with a paternally themed episode of Quiet Please, entitled, “My Son John.” A doting father aches for the return of his son who has been lost overseas. In his desperation, he turns to the occult, but soon discovers, “there’s always a catch.” Will what he finds truly be his son? Will his love for his child carry him past the point of no return? Do we have any acting tips to infuse mustard with menace? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we listen to an episode of Obsession entitled “The Silver Cord,” in which a young woman longs to leave home. But an overbearing matriarch is determined to keep her near. Soon, a dark secret forever changes the bond that connects the two of them. Will the young woman ever escape to begin a new life? Why does the older woman find lightning storms so entertaining? Would this have been improved if they were connected by a literal silver cord? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re paying another visit to our Listener Library! This time we’re checking out “The Golem,” an episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theater recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Clare! (Thanks, Clare!) This World War II-era tale features a married couple who must choose between protecting their own family and sheltering a young Jewish woman and her grandfather. As the story unfolds, the grandfather acts strangely, collecting all the necessary elements to create the legendary entity known as the Golem! Will the couple help the fugitives or betray them? Is the Golem only a figure from folklore or might it truly come to life? How will our conversation incorporate both Johnny Carson and Superman? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we listen to an episode of X Minus One, “The Cave of Night,” which tells the story of messages sent from an astronaut trapped in orbit. Presented as an unfinished news report, this unique tale depicts the world’s desperate attempt to rescue the man before his oxygen runs out! Can they reach this brave explorer’s ship in time? How does the story compare to genuine historic events that followed this broadcast? How exactly does this essay about Game of Thrones relate to the story? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s installment features another visit to our listener library with an episode of Favorite Story, recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Tim (author of numerous books including Radio by the Book: Adaptations of Literature and Fiction on the Airwaves)! In this case, the series is presenting Fred Allen’s “favorite story,” an adaptation of “Frankenstein.” How will this version of the frequently-adapted tale distinguish itself from others? Is the story improved by including all the murders? How different were the police back then? Listen for yourself and find out! 

The Society is finally paying another visit to The Hermit’s Cave! This episode, entitled “The House on Lost Man’s Bluff,” tells the story of a husband, wife, and her brother on a road trip. But when the weather turns stormy, the trio is forced to take shelter in an abandoned house. Once inside, a sinister plan begins to unfold! Why would the husband return to this house a second time? Why has he found a job for his brother-in-law so far from their home? What are all those dogs barking at? Listen for yourself and find out!

This visit to the Listener Library features an episode recommended to us by two listeners! Both Moses and Ethan suggested we check out “The Outsider” from the 1960s-era series, The Black Mass! Erik Bauersfeld (who provided the voices for both Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna) adapted, performed, and produced this version of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic short story in which an unnamed protagonist struggles to escape from a dreary and desolate environment. What circumstances brought him to live in such a dismal place? What would he discover if he were to escape? Is this episode a trap? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this episode we return to The Weird Circle for a tale entitled “The Red Hand,” in which a young French woman discovers her husband hides a terrible secret that could lead to her death! Will she and her maid successfully disguise themselves and escape the peril they face? Doesn’t The Weird Circle usually do adaptations of literary works? What is dark secret behind Tim’s decision to bring this particular story to the podcast? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week features another episode of Suspense from our Listener Library! Mark recommended we check out “Pigeon in the Cage,” starring Lloyd Bridges as a wallpaper hanger who finds himself trapped in a house where a murder plot is underway. Will the killers find him before he can escape? Can he keep his wits about him in the worst of situations? How did he memorize all those different wallpapers? Listen for yourself and find out!

In honor of the recent April Fool’s Day, we’re indulging in a more comedic episode of The Mysterious Traveler! The story features a young man traveling to join his fiancée. En route, he discovers the ghost of a hobo lurking inside his trailer. As this spirit makes himself at home, happily revealing all the tricks of hauntings, his presence begins to threaten his host’s plans for the future. Can the young man do anything to rid himself of this unwanted guest? What are the main tools used by ghosts for terrifying the living? Do people actually know the names of Casper the Friendly Ghost’s uncles? Listen for yourself and find out!

Hot on the heels of last week’s episode of The Shadow, we’re listening to another episode of The Shadow! This time we’ve drawn an episode from our Listener Library, “Out of this World,” written by Alfred Bester and recommended to us by David. Thanks David! This particular production was recorded in Australia and the story features Lamont and Margot investigating a string of murders that may have been perpetrated by extraterrestrials! How vast is the conspiracy behind these deaths? How did the police get their hands on such advanced technology? Once you face an alien invasion, is it time to retire from crime fighting? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to the very first episode of The Shadow to celebrate our 125th tale of crime, suspense, and horror! “The Death House Rescue” stars Orson Welles and features the first appearance of Margot Lane! An innocent man get swept up with a robbery that puts him on death row, but the Shadow intends to see that the real criminals are punished. What forgotten clue will trip up the culprits? Do Margot and Lamont truly love each other? Is disembodied laughter the creepiest behavior available to the Shadow? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to another installment from our Listener Library, a story recommended to us by you, our Mysterious Listeners! Kate suggested this episode of The Whistler entitled “Death Wears a White Robe!”A nasty feud between two women comes to a head when they share a cabin for their winter vacation. Soon accusations of scandal become threats of murder. Which woman has the sharper insults? What will prove more dangerous, the rivalry or the blizzard? What sort of education do you get walking by night? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to “The Lottery,” an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s famous tale of a village’s distinctive annual tradition presented by NBC Presents: Short Story. In this classic parable, all the families in town gather together to draw lots as part of a time-honored celebration to guarantee a bountiful harvest. Which family will draw the paper with the black spot? How does this adaptation compare to the original text? Was this podcast better back when we used wood chips? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode was based on a suggestion by Matt, who inspired us to listen to “The Long Night” from Suspense. Frank Lovejoy stars in this tense tale of an air traffic controller trying to guide a lost and inexperienced pilot to a safe landing. Can he steel his own nerves enough to not panic the man in the plane? When your engine is dying, could you trust your plane to fly itself? Do you recognize the reference to The Return of the Durutti Column even though Tim misidentified it as an album by the Sex Pistols? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time to take another walk down the Hall of Fantasy! This time we’re listening to an episode entitled “The Perfect Script”! An eccentric radio producer has brought a young writer to his seaside home to create the perfect tale of horror. How does this producer motivate such vivid tales of terror? Why have none of the previous authors ever written a second script for this show? Is milk really that dangerous? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, we are joined this year by Tim’s wife, Wendy! Wendy has brought us Mercedes McCambridge in an episode of Defense Attorney entitled “Client Mike Pelley!” In this story, an innocent man faces the death penalty based on the eyewitness testimony of a respected housewife. But his attorney, Martha Ellis Barrett, is determined to uncover the truth and save her client. Why would this witness lie about a complete stranger? What price would a person pay to hide the past? Will there still be time for necking in the park? Listen for yourself and find out!

February is the perfect time to share some love, and we’re sharing our love of Boris Karloff! Join us for “The Hunt” from Creeps by Night! In this story, a pair of siblings live on a remote farm where an unknown beast has been killing sheep. But when this creature claims a human victim, a curious professor arrives to investigate a disturbing theory. Can the younger sister escape from the farm and find happiness? Why does the older brother insist on burying the the slaughtered sheep? Will we remember that we already listened to “The Werewolf?” Listen for yourself and find out!

January may be over, but we’re making one more trip to our Listener Library before getting back to choosing our own episodes. This week, we listen to “Cat Wife” from Lights Out! Our thanks to Darrell, who requested this story of a husband whose marriage is so catastropic, he somehow transforms her into a yowling, scratching feline. Boris Karloff stars in this truly bizarre tale by Arch Oboler. Will this unexplained change improve their marriage? How exactly would you report this to the police? What secret haunts this unique performer? How many cat-hybrid characters can we mention? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to spend January in the Listener Library catching up on suggestions sent to us by you, our Mysterious Listeners! Our thanks to Gary for recommending “Flesh Peddler” from Suspense! The story features DeForest Kelley as a talent agent determined to take a mysterious ventriloquist on as a client. Why are the other carnival acts so determined to prevent this? What secret haunts this unique performer? Why does it take Tim so long to Google things while we are recording? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time again to visit The Clock! We’re spending January going through our Listener Library, catching up on suggestions sent to us by you, our Mysterious Listeners! “Aunt Emmy” was recommended to us by Cole (thanks, Cole!) and it features a young girl visiting her aunt in the country. But there are mysteries and madness in this remote home as well! What happened to the tie salesman who disappeared last Halloween? Why is the furnace kept so hot? How is everyone not dead from food poisoning? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re back and this month we are returning to our Listener Library! A listener named Joshua (not our Joshua) suggested that we listen to “The Young Man with the Cream Tarts” from Escape! This episode is an adaptation of a short story, the first of three stories collectively known as The Suicide Club, by Robert Louis Stevenson. It tells the tale of two men who encounter a desperate youth, trying to give away pastries. This young stranger leads them to a macabre secret society. Why do these two lie to the young man about their names? Why do the members of this society gather to play a deadly game of cards? Why does everyone sound like Orson Welles to Eric? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s Christmas and we’re celebrating the things we love, and that includes classic holiday episodes from great radio series such as CBS Radio Mystery Theater! In honor of the day, we’re presenting CBSRMT’s adaptation of a Christmas Carol without any poll or post-show critique. It’s just a yuletide treat for everyone to enjoy. Happy Holidays to our wonderful listeners and thank you for sharing a great year of classic radio with us!

It’s almost Christmas and we’re celebrating the season with CBS Radio Mystery Theater! In this episode, entitled “A Holiday Visit,” a couple on their way to visit family find themselves stranded in a strange, nearly-abandoned town called Taylortown. If this strange old woman is the only inhabitant, where is that singing coming from? Can Skip and Joan escape this mysterious place and make it home for Christmas? What better way to spend the holidays than making each other feel like jerks and not offering each other scones? Listen for yourself and find out!

As part of our run of Christmas episodes last year, we listened to one of the Suspense versions of “The Signal-Man,” based on Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story. The Signal-Man has been adapted by so many different series, we’re revisiting the tale, this time listening to the Columbia Workshop version of the story of an isolated rail worker whose strange visions foretell terrible tragedies. Is the Signal-Man suffering delusions or catching glimpses of the future? How will this version compare to last year’s? Are your pets technically haunting you? Listen for yourself and find out!

This December we’re checking out holiday-themed episodes starting with “A Study in Wax” from Escape! William Conrad and Stacy Harris star in this tale of two men working together in a remote Arctic outpost. As the isolation and bitter cold erode their spirits, they begin to turn on each other. How much worse is life without listening to radio shows? Can opening Christmas presents restore the peace? Why would anyone live somewhere that gets to 40 degrees below zero? Listen for yourself and find out

We have one more episode dedicated to saying thanks to our listeners! This time we are joined by Brent, a Patreon supporter at the highest tier! He’s brought us “The Long Wait” from Suspense featuring Burt Lancaster! Lancaster plays Dan, a man fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit. When he goes to take revenge on Lois, the woman responsible for his incarceration and the death of his brother, he finds his feelings won’t let him follow through. Will his brother’s dangerous friends tolerate this change of heart? Can Lois’ happiness fulfill Dan? Would this story have worked better as an episode of Super Friends? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Thanksgiving! We asked listeners to vote for an episode from a list of titles originally broadcast during the week of Thanksgiving. The results are in and we are listening to “The Thing from the Sea” from Dark Fantasy! Originally aired in 1941 (although according to The Digital Deli , it was broadcast December 5th rather than November 28th), this is the story of a lost ship stumbling upon an island that has just reemerged from the ocean. What became of the civilization that once lived here? What fate does the strange creature in the young woman’s dream foretell? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather vote for The Green Hornet? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we continue our month of saying thank you to our listeners! For this episode, we are joined by Aimee! Not only is Aimee the creator of the fantastic Twelve Chimes It’s Midnight podcast, she’s also a Patreon supporter at the highest tier! She invited us to listen to “The Big Confession” from Dragnet! A troubled young man wanders into the police office to confess to a murder, but Sergeant Joe Friday suspects something about his story doesn’t add up. Will the facts establish a murder happened as the man said? What reasons would he give to justify such a crime? What bit of trivia does Aimee provide to top references to Magilla Gorilla and the Pentateuch? Listen for yourself and find out!

Throughout November we will be saying thank you to our listeners! This week we are joined by Chip, a Patreon supporter at the highest tier.  Chip has invited us to listen to an episode of The Shadow entitled “The Face!” A famous actor suffers a disfiguring accident that drives him to kill. Will the Shadow be able to put an end to his crimes? What will it take to make the Shadow afraid? Do you have the same dark, grisly taste in radio as Chip? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s Halloween and we’ve got one more ghost story to share before the end of the night! Our final haunted tale for the month is “The Three Ghosts” from The Shadow! Orson Welles stars in this tale of a wealthy wife tormented by a spectral presence. However, the Shadow suspects the alleged ghost hides a plot to murder her for her money!  How will this earlier incarnation of the character deal out justice? Will Eric’s love of the Shadow outweigh his aversion to Orson? Why do prisoners need a library card? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Halloween! We’re celebrating this spooky time of year by listening to ghost stories. Aimee Pavy from Twelve Chimes It’s Midnight recommended this one, “Good Ghost” by Wyllis Cooper from Quiet Please. Thanks, Aimee! It’s the story of an everyday sort of guy who suffers a wrongful death, but he’s in no rush to become a vengeful spirit. Why would he want to help out his murderer? Is there a limit to his patience and good nature? How awkward would Hogan’s Heroes be without a laugh track? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re celebrating October with a series of ghost stories, and this week we check out “Lanceford House” (also known as “The Green Vase”) from Beyond Midnight! Based on a short story by Dennis Roidt, it’s the tale of a novelist who moves into an old house with a dark history. What lies in the locked attic? Why has he become so fascinated by the green vase left behind by a former occupant? Are angry mobs just more polite in the country? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue our ghost-filled celebration of Halloween with an episode of BBC’s Fear on Four entitled “Tapping.” It tells the story of a wife trying to convince her husband to open up about a childhood trauma that still haunts him. What threat can a memory really hold? Do Scottish dialects inherently make ghost stories better? How much is 2018 minus 1997? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s almost Halloween and to celebrate, we’re listening to ghost stories! The first haunting tale is Arch Oboler’s “Knock at the Door” from Lights Out. A woman’s resentment toward her new husband’s mother turns homicidal, but being murdered doesn’t improve the mother’s mood. Does the young wife have enough upper body strength to survive? Does her husband sound more like Lennie or more like Lon Chaney, Jr.? What all is in Charles Fort’s Book of the Damned? Listen for yourself and find out!

After our long run of listener recommendations and Patreon rewards, we’re back to picking out a few episodes for ourselves! In this case, we’re listening to “Treasure Hunt” from The Whistler! A scoundrel endears himself to one of two sisters once he discovers that their grandfather left behind a hidden fortune. Can he decipher the verse that leads to the money’s location? How dysfunctional could his relationship with this sister possibly get? If we keep rearranging atoms are we going to explode? Listen for yourself and find out!

As a reward for our listeners whose support pushed our Patreon page above $150 per month, we’re finally presenting our most requested episode, “Three Skeleton Key” from Escape! Vincent Price stars in James Poe’s adaptation of a short story by George Toudouze about three men maintaining a lighthouse off the coast of French Guiana. When deadly invaders descend on this isolated island, who will survive? Will this recording live up to its sterling reputation? Is The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis superior to Gilligan’s Island? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve reached our 100th episode and as a thank you to those listeners whose support pushed our Patreon page above $100 per month, we’ve prepared a special giant-sized recording for Mercury Theatre on the Air’s legendary version of The War of the Worlds, an adaptation of H.G Wells’ novel about the invasion of Earth by deadly Martians! Does Orson Welles’ mad plan to tell this story via realistic news bulletins still pack a punch? When you strip away the myth and hyperbole surrounding this recording, how good is the actual story? Wait, Orson Welles and H.G. Wells were interviewed together? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve got time for one more visit to our Listener Library before our 100th episode! After our first foray into Murder at Midnight, Bob suggested another installment from the same series, “The Ape Song!” In this tale, a big game hunter returns home from safari to his estranged wife, vowing to never hunt again. Nonetheless, this man has brought home a caged ape with whom he has struck a peculiar bond. Can you imagine Raymond from Inner Sanctum as a big game hunter?  Would Alfred Hitchcock films be improved with the addition of gorillas?  Are there any YouTube clips of singing gorillas? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Listener Library series continues this week as we listen to “The Screaming Woman” from Suspense, recommended to us by our Robert. Thanks, Robert! Based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, the episode tells the tale of a young girl whose Thanksgiving is interrupted by the disembodied cries of a woman buried alive. It features a performance by acclaimed child star Margaret O’ Brien, who won an Academy Juvenile Award in 1944 for the role of Tootie in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis. Can this girl convince her friends or family to help rescue the woman in time? Can you guess the uncredited identity of the actress who plays the screaming woman? Have we been celebrating Thanksgiving wrong? Terribly, terribly wrong? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to David and Colleen for recommending this week’s episode! This installment from our Listener Library is an episode of Quiet Please entitled “Let the Lilies Consider,” in which a man accused of murdering his wife insists that she has become a large lily. Wyllis Cooper wrote this surreal tale of love and strange botany. Will the man’s story exonerate him? What truly happened? Is this story halfway between scripture and Star Trek? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we feature another episode from our Listener Library, this time a story entitled “Hands of Death” from The Sealed Book, recommended to us by Jill. Many thanks, Jill! It’s the story of two brothers, one driven to murder by his monstrous hands and the other obsessed with collecting murder-related memorabilia. After a disputed inheritance has driven them apart, their reunion is a macabre blend of blackmail, revenge, and milk. Which brother is the true monster? In their deadly rivalry, which of the two will gain the upper hand? Did you see what I did there? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re running a little late this week—out humblest apologies! Our Listener Library is again featured in this week. This time, we’re listening to “It Happened” from Lights Out, recommended to us from a fan on Instagram! The recording tells the story of a young girl, eager to explore her own freedom, runs away from her tour group in Paris. Her quest for fun and adventure soon takes a dark turn as she finds that beneath the city of lights exists a gruesome world of eternal night. Is this the worst vacation/etsy shop idea ever endured? What is the true nature of suspense? Why did no one tell Tim that Sadako vs. Kayako has been out in North America for more than a year? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to delve into our Listener Library, this time featuring an episode of Suspense entitled “The Devil’s Saint” by John Dickson Carr! The story was recommended to us by Hubert after listening to our take on the Cabin B-13 version of the same story using the title, “The Sleep of Death!” Carr’s story tells the story of a young woman and her mysterious uncle, played by the one and only Peter Lorre. When a young man seeks the niece’s hand in marriage, the uncle forbids the wedding unless the suitor passes a night in a seemingly cursed room. Why do guests in the tapestry room die during the night?  Will the young man survive to see the dawn? Is there any better way for young unmarried women to attract husbands than wearing funny hats? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to our Listener Library features a classic Ray Bradbury story as adapted by X Minus One! Our thanks to Cheryl (author of The Viv and Charlie Mystery Series!) for recommending this episode, “Mars is Heaven,” based on part of Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (although it was originally published in Planet Stories).  An exploratory mission to Mars discovers strangely familiar sights when they land on the planet’s surface. What hopes and fears dwell in the hearts of those who explore new worlds? Do the small town comforts hide some sinister secret? Did we perpetuate another internet error by saying that Mason Adams was in this cast even though he’s not mentioned in the actual recording? (Our apologies if we did.) Listen for yourself and find out!

Join us for “A World of Darkness” from Suspense! We’re continuing to pull episodes from our Listener Library and this story was recommended to us by Bart. Thanks, Bart! “A World of Darkness” features the investigation of a young woman’s murder. The police have an array of likely suspects and one witness—a man who cannot see (played by Paul Lukas). This man claims to know who killed her and how. Why would someone in this young woman’s life be driven to kill her? Can the sounds the witness hears from his own apartment prove who the murderer was? Is Carl really a good dog? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re still exploring our Listener Library, and this week our thanks go to Christian for recommending “Bloodbath,” an episode of Escape, featuring Vincent Price. Five men in the middle of the jungle discover a vast uranium deposit and a fortune awaits any survivors who reach civilization. But the fewer survivors there are, the more money awaits. Is nature crueler than the greed of humanity? Are these animals actually this deadly in real life? In what ways are Vincent Price and Cookie Monster alike? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we are listening to another episode of the Canadian series, Nightfall! Our thanks to Ashley for recommending “Assassin Game” to us! Saul Rubinek stars in this rare science fiction story from the series. In the future year of 1994, the finest students at prestigious universities prove their competitive edge by playing a game of assassination. But as corporate influence begins to increase, the game grows truly deadly! Does this game foster excellence or ruthless ambition? Is this university nothing more than a corporate puppet? Would you like this jingle lodged in your head forever? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are back in the Listener Library, this time exploring “A Country Road,” an episode of Suspense recommended to us by Donal. Many thanks, Donal! Cary Grant stars in this thriller about a married couple who take an ill-timed shortcut that leaves them stuck with a deranged killer on the loose. Is there any escape from their predicament? When the danger arrives, will their fears paralyze them? Do you love Cary Grant as mach as we do? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are back in the Listener Library! Because Darrell requested it, we’re listening to an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story, specifically an episode of X Minus One entitled “Colony!” In a search for a suitable planet to colonize, a ship’s crew examine a world that seems too good to be true. Why have their possessions suddenly turned against their owners? Is there any way to know which items are genuine? Do you trust your rug? Do you trust it completely? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to explore our Listener Library! This time, we listen to “Valse Triste,” an episode of Lights Out recommended to us by Lionel. Thanks, Lionel!  Two young women stumble upon a mysterious hermit who commits their fate to the outcome of a coin toss. Can anything be done to escape the deadly consequences? How does the famed composition Valse Triste relate to the themes of this story? What could “Make mine vanilla with onions” possibly mean? Listen for yourself and find out! 

It’s another week of catching up on our Listener Library! This time, thanks to a recommendation from Holly, we are listening to “The Thing in the Cave,” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater. A group of speleologists find themselves trapped in a cave reputed to be inhabited by a monstrous creature. Can they overcome their own shortcomings to survive? Is there really a monster that dwells in this subterranean world? Is proper letter-writing etiquette really that important? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Jeff for suggesting we listen to “The Ravine” from Bradbury 13!  Based on acclaimed writer Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Whole Town’s Sleeping,” this episode tells the story of a dark night in a small town. Despite a murderer being on the loose, three young women brave a trip to the movies. Will they dare pass through the ravine where the killer lurks? Why is Lavinia so determined to face this threat? How many peppermint chews can you get for a nickel? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, esoteric scholarship leads to…Murder at Midnight! In this episode, “The Kabbalah,” a professor of the occult suddenly comes into possession of a strange, ancient book. Inside he discovers a forgotten version of the Kabbalah, and uses this system of transforming words into numbers to reveal hidden truths of the universe. It not only answers questions about the future, but also seems to grant wishes. What dark price does this book require for its secrets? Is this just the sort of thing that happens in a college towns? How many obscure references can we cram into one discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Will for recommending this Hall of Fantasy episode, “The Castle of Lavoca!” Or maybe it’s “The Castle of Drago.” Or it may be “The Legend of Drago.” Regardless of the proper name, the story depicts two American tourists who visit a small Eastern European town in the shadow of an old castle. Is there truth to the stories about the baron who once called this castle home? Do these tourists dare risk visiting the castle and becoming part of it’s sinister legend? Are Satan’s dogs truly evil or just poorly trained? Listen for yourself and find out! 

Wyllis Cooper and Ernest Chappell have invited the Society down to “Beezer’s Cellar” for this story from the celebrated series Quiet, Please. Three thieves decide to hide their loot in the supposedly haunted cellar of a remote, unfinished house. What dark powers await them in that underground room? How much terror will they endure for $82,000? Would you buy a warm and dangerous blanket? Listen for yourself and find out!

(UPDATE! As one of our listeners astutely pointed out in the comments: “This episode is actually from the Australian run of the series, not the American and Miriam Wolfe is not in this episode.” Thank you, Jeff, for catching the mistake! Our apologies for the error.) This week, the Society revisits Alonzo Deen Cole’s landmark series The Witch’s Tale! “The Firing Squad” presents the story of a World War I soldier whose fear of death drives him to desperate choices. Will he pay the ultimate price for his mistakes? How different would this story be if it had been presented a year later? Can we get through an episode without mentioning the Shadow?  Listen for yourself and find out!

Bela Lugosi beckons us to enter The Mystery House!  This recording, “The Thirsty Death,” is a considerable mystery unto itself. The story features Lugosi and John Carradine in a mad tale of love, suspicion, and rabies in the jungle. What terrible revenge has Lugosi’s character concocted for his revenge? How did this episode get made in the first place? Why would someone move to a city being terrorized by rabid dogs? Listen for yourself and find out!

The Society looks to the stars with “Cold Equations,” an episode of X Minus One! Based on a short story by Tom Godwin, this is the tale of a pilot on the frontiers of space who suddenly finds a young woman stowed away, forcing him into a moral quandary. What mechanical computational process will determine her fate? Is there any way to save her? Why is Eric judging people’s DVD purchases? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week Murder by Experts is back with an episode called “I Dreamt I Died!” A wife wakes up in the middle of the night having dreamt that her husband tried to kill her, starting what may or may not be a murder mystery featuring two characters and set in a bed. Is it a meaningless flight of fancy or an ominous warning? How could the police possibly fail to solve this case? HOW DO YOU EAT YOUR HAMBURGERS? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode is gratefully dedicated to Trish and her father Lee. Our sincerest thanks to them for allowing us to share their story. Trish recommended we listen to an episode of The Shadow, “The Laughing Corpse!” In this story, the mysterious crime fighter encounters cadavers who continue to laugh even in death. What horror has contorted the faces of these dead men into a wicked grin? Why can the police find no evidence of the crime? Could the Shadow pursue a career as a therapist? Listen for yourself and find out!

The Chase is on! This week, we listen to “The Newspaper Reporter,” from Lawrence Klee’s adventure series dedicated to stories of the hunter and the hunted! A reporter catches a shot at the story of a lifetime, but he soon finds a dead body and becomes the target of an elaborate conspiracy. Will he survive long enough to discover the shocking truth behind this conspiracy? Who is the mysterious figure in the coat with the up-turned collar? Is this story a precursor to The Rum Diary? Listen for yourself and find out!

Mystery Theater CBC presented this adaptation of Algernon Blackwood’s “The Wendigo!” Theater 10:30 also presented this adaptation of Algernon Blackwood’s “The Wendigo!” What’s the relationship between them? We don’t know! We do know it’s a story about two men on a hunting expedition who find themselves abruptly abandoned.  What monstrous thing abducted their guide and left behind such strange tracks? Is this a real creature or the product of madness? Would you listen to the “Eric, You’re Wrong” podcast? Listen for yourself and find out! (ALSO! We’ve got a couple of announcements. First, we are still encouraging folks to pay a visit to thewallbreakers.com for a fascinating history of radio drama. Second, we have launched a Patreon page! Our podcast will continue to be free, but we now offer our listeners a way to help us to produce these shows and receive some great gifts and bonus content in return!)

This episode of Inner Sanctum Mystery, “The Shadow of Death,” tells the story of a man who believes that his dreams foretell death in the real world!  Is this young man suffering from a delusion or is something supernatural killing those around him? Just how many twists does this plot have? Are we getting a glimpse of Mary the Lipton Tea Lady’s dark side? Listen for yourself and find out! (This week again, we’re encouraging folks to pay a visit to thewallbreakers.com for a fascinating history of radio drama!)

The sun is going down and the Society is again paying a visit to Escape, this time to peruse their adaptation of John Collier’s short story, “Evening Primrose.” A strange journal is scribbled on a notepad found on a shop shelf. This journal tells the tale of a young poet who abandons society only to discover a strange nocturnal world within a department store.  Would living in a department store be idyllic or nightmarish? Can love flourish in such a bizarre place? Was this story actually adapted as a musical for television, with music by Stephen Sondheim, now available on DVD? (Yes, it was.) Listen for yourself and find out! (Also, don’t forget to check out thewallbreakers.com for a fascinating history of radio drama!)

The Society is taking off to the Great White North to pass the evening with “The Club of Dead Men,” an episode of the Canadian series, Nightfall! Based on a short story by James Wentworth Day, this episode tells the tale of a young Cambridge student who learns the story of a debauched 18th century club that continues to meet even after death. Can this student attend one of their meetings and survive? Can well-established bylaws forestall supernatural doom?  Why were the Mackenzie Brothers on SCTV? Listen for yourself and find out! (This week again, we’re again encouraging folks  to visit thewallbreakers.com. Check it out!)

It’s Valentine’s Day and we celebrate by welcoming Eric’s wife, Shanan Custer, as our special guest! She’s brought us a Lucille Fletcher-penned episode of Suspense entitled “Dark Journey!” A young woman claims that she can manipulate people and events by the sheer power of her will. Does she truly possess such supernatural powers? Who is truly to blame for the consequences that ensue? Sasquatch, why haven’t you called? Listen for yourself and find out! (During this episode we mention a couple links that we encourage you to check out: ghoulishdelights.threadless.com and thewallbreakers.com. Have a look!) 

Guy de Maupassant’s classic short story was adapted by Mystery in the Air for this week’s episode, “The Horla!” Peter Lorre stars in this story a man tormented by an invisible presence. Where did this shadowy nightmare come from? How far will this narrator go to rid himself of this creature? Is this secretly a really disturbing episode of the Shadow? Would you book a flight to Lorretown? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to the earlier of Agnes Moorehead’s two performances of “The Yellow Wallpaper” from Suspense! Our thanks to Mark for recommending this adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story! A new mother is being kept by her husband in a room adorned with yellow wallpaper, allegedly for her health. Is her madness causing her to see things in the wallpaper’s pattern? Are the things hiding in the pattern driving her mad? Is this secretly a really disturbing episode of the Shadow? Listen for yourself and find out! 

Listener Jamie recommended this week’s episode, “Weekend Vacation” from The Darkness! Thanks, Jamie! A vacationing family winds up in a strange old motel operated by an elderly woman and her child-like brute of a grandson. What dark fate awaits the guests on their vacation? Is this story as simple as it seems? Has our hearing really gotten that bad? I SAID HAS OUR HEARING REALLY GOTTEN THAT BAD? Listen for yourself and find out! 

Our thanks to Ryan for suggesting “The Iron Coffin” from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, part of our Listener Library series! Raymond Chandler’s famous hard-boiled detective investigates a 16th century castle moved stone by stone from Spain to California, including the coffins that store the castle’s ancient family. What are the strange sounds that have been heard in the castle’s crypt? Is a haunted castle not a suitable location for a Philip Marlowe story? OR IS IT? Listen for yourself and find out! (Tim is a little sick this episode. It’s winter in Minnesota so please bear with his ragged voice. Also! We briefly mentioned the Cowles Center, known as the Shubert when it moved, in Minneapolis. Learn all about it!) 

The holiday season is over and the Society is back with an episode from our Listener Library. Our thanks to Dee for suggesting “If You Believe,” a strange story told by The Mysterious Traveler! A disreputable reporter publishes the story of a disgraced scientist’s efforts to create life from protoplasm. Is it easier to believe something cynical rather than something hopeful? Can the themes of these stories return to immediate relevance? Is there a dignified way to talk about the Mysterious Traveler’s organ? Listen for yourself and find out!