The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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...

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 thi...

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...

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 fo...

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...

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 whet...

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...

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 i...

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...

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 report...

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...

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 t...

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...

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...

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 o...

“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 enterpr...

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...

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 realit...

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 t...

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? Ca...

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 racia...

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 th...

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 trul...

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 so...

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 se...