The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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 strug...

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 p...

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?...

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 t...

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...

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...

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...

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 co...

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 rec...

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 t...

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....

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 an...

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 cat astrophic, he somehow transforms her into a yowling, scratching feline. Boris Karloff stars in this truly bizarre tale by Arch Oboler ....

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 uniqu...

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 disappea...

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, tryin...

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 g...

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...

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 tragedie...

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 peac...

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 br...

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 a...

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...

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...

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 j...