The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

Thanksgiving has passed but it’s too soon for Christmas, and that means it’s time for leftovers! Specifically, it means another live Q&A at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in which special guest Shanan Custer asks your Mysterious Old Hosts all the leftover questions from our previous Q&A ! Tim, Eric, and Joshua share their opinions about classic monster movies and their earliest stage performances. W...

We were joined by Shanan Custer for this live recording of our podcast at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ! She brought a couple episodes of Ceiling Unlimited for us to check out! The series features Orson Welles in patriotic tales of flight sponsored by Lockheed-Vega! The first of these two scripts was written by Lucille Fletcher and features the military’s response to the endless variety of gremlins that b...

This week’s episode, “The Target” was the penultimate episode of Escape and featured Whitfield Connor as Vic Kennedy, a hard-boiled insurance investigator scouring South America to track down a man named Arthur Matson. Soon the case leads Vic to a dead body and a femme fatale, as well as deceptions and accusations. Will he track down his target? Was Vic complicit in Matson’s escape? Is this guy wo...

And with this, Joshua finally concludes his trilogy of ape-themed episodes of The Shadow with “The House of Horror”! The story features a kidnapped gorilla, a fortune teller, and a series of wealthy young socialites who vanish in a taxidermist’s shop! And a plot happens! What will young women be willing to do to find a piece of lost jewelry? How does a scientist reach this point in his career? How...

Our thanks to our Patreon supporter, Lance, who suggested this week’s episode, “Little Old Lady” from Lights Out ! Thanks, Lance! The story features a young college student and her friend paying an unannounced visit to her elderly aunt. But once there, the two find themselves menaced by a large cat and their aunt is behaving strangely. What’s really going on in this house? Does this remind you of...

Happy Halloween! We’re celebrating the spooky season with CBS Radio Mystery Theater’s adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”! Kevin McCarthy stars in this story of Roderick Usher, a man consumed by nameless fears even as his sister falls in and out of catatonic states indistinguishable from death. What horrific obsession terrifies the siblings to such an extr...

Our Patreon supporter Zachary sent us to the Listener Library to check out “The Book of Hell” from Nightfall ! Thanks, Zachary! The episode features a publishing house struggling to survive which is presented with a strange manuscript from an author who apparently died two years ago. Allegedly, the text is an actual message from hell! Even as they debate the morality of publishing the text, they d...

This week we’ll be reflecting upon the Screen Director’s Playhouse adaptation of the film , “The Dark Mirror”! Olivia_de_Havilland recreates her dual role as a set of identical twins who come under suspicion for murder. But it’s unclear which was at the scene of the crime, and which had an alibi— and the twins refuse to reveal which was which. The pair are researched in depth by a specialist in th...

For this week’s trip to the Listener Library, one of our Patreon supporters sent us to Mars! Thanks, Mark! We’re listening to Escape’s adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s “The Earth Men”! A band of brave astronauts have arrived on Mars and, while they wait to report back to Earth, they encounter the planet’s inhabitants. But the Martians’ reactions to the newcomers is neither hostility nor the hero’s wel...

It’s time for another thrilling adventure of The Shadow ! This time we’re listening to “The Night Marauders,” in which a series of home invasions attracts Lamont Cranston’s attention when the perpetrators break into Margo’s home! Even as their crimes grow more brutal, the police remain unable to solve the crimes! Will Commissioner Weston accept Lamont’s help in the investigation? Who is behind the...

Our 350th episode celebration continues with a live Q&A at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ! Special guest Shanan Custer interviews your Mysterious Old Hosts to find out the true origin of the MORLS and to learn their secret opinions on a wide range of topics! We collected questions from Patreon and the audience and here are the answers! What’s the best way to get cast in a show at the Bryant-Lake Bowl?...

It’s our 350th episode and we’re celebrating with live recording of our podcast at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ! Our audience joined us for the Suspense adaptation of “ The Most Dangerous Game ” based on the short story by Richard Connell ! The production features Orson Welles as General Zaroff, an eccentric big game hunter who lives a reclusive life on a private island. When a fellow hunter is shipwreck...

It’s that time again! Join us as we celebrate the glorious triumphs and the embarrassing whoopsies of 2023! We’re revisiting all the episodes we listened to last year. Then, based on listener polls, the keen insights of esteemed special guests, and our own incoherent ramblings, one episode shall travel a Long Distance to The Black Tie Affair and another will be forced to Hideout in the Junkyard! W...

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 happen...

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 S...

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 th...

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 inst...

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...

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...

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 w...

Your hosts are taking the weekend off to celebrate July 4th, but we do have a treat for you! We’ve been performing live radio shows on stage at Crooners Supper Club for a while now, and here’s two examples of our work, starring Shanan Custer, Joshua English Scrimshaw, Tim Uren, and Eric Webster ! First, we present “The Cabin” a classic episode from the series, Gunsmoke ! Our second performance is...

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 amat...

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...

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 reconcile...