The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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 t...

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...

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...

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 com...

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 th...

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 d...

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 not...

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 Haunt...

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...

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 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 wh...

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 t...

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...

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 aboar...

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-fash...

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...

UPDATE: The date we give for the episode’s initial broadcast is incorrect! The actual date was March 11, 1950 and was rebroadcast on October 26, 1953. 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...

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...

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...

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...

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 kn...

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....

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! Then vote and let us know...

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?...

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 h...