The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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 li...

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...

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 Ch...

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...

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 su...

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 ne...

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 bo...

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...

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 sto...

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 b...

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 s...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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 increas...

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 yo...

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...

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...

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 subterr...

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...

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 t...

UPDATE: Our guess for the episode’s initial broadcast is incorrect! That was a rebroadcast of an episode aired on August 22, 1952. 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...

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 f...