Darren Marlar

Retro Radio: Old Time Radio in the Dark

History EN ↓ 746 episodes

Welcome to Retro Radio: Old Time Radio In The Dark! Here I bring you shows from the Golden Age of Radio in the darker genre. I’ll have classic radio of the macabre and horror, mysteries and crime, and even some dark science fiction.

Author

Darren Marlar

Episodes

Death Offers a Dying Millionaire a Deal | Pass Away or Take the Job of The Angel of Death 05.02.2026 4:57:11

When Death himself arrives at a dying millionaire's bedside, the two strike an unthinkable bargain — they swap places. | “Come Away, Death” | #RetroRadio EP0583 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Come Away Death” (April 21, 1977) ***WD 00:46:28.211 = Beyond Midnight, “Death Wish” (September 20, 1968) ***WD 01:12:4...

She's Convinced Her Dead Husband Is Coming Back on Their Anniversary | Gift From The Dead 02.02.2026 5:07:33

A year after her controlling husband's death, a terrified widow watches priceless jewels appear one by one on her dressing table — gifts, she believes, from beyond the grave. | House of Mystery, “Gift From The Dead” | #RetroRadio EP0582 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Book of Abaca” (April 19, 1977) ***WD 0...

A Future Where Murder Is Now Legal | His Seventh Victim Won't Run To Save Her Life 02.02.2026 5:01:23

In a future where war has been replaced by government-sanctioned murder, a veteran hunter is assigned his seventh victim — a young woman sitting in the open with no spotters, no gun, and no will to fight back. As he gets to know her, he finds himself falling for the one person he's supposed to kill. | The Seventh Victim | #RetroRadio EP0581 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00...

She Was Chosen Before She Was Born | A Civil War Curse 20 Years in the Making 30.01.2026 4:58:14

Twenty years after a Civil War tragedy burned his mansion to the ground, a vengeful father's ghost still waits by the river bend for the girl who will replace the daughter he lost. | “The Phantom House” | #RetroRadio EP0580 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Phantom House” (April 14, 1977) ***WD 00:45:18.483 =...

Two Stone Knights, One Dark Legend, and a Woman Named Lorna | Man-Sized In Marble 29.01.2026 4:59:16

When an American couple rents a charming Scottish cottage to escape tragedy, they discover a chilling local legend: the marble statues of two murderous knights rise from their tombs every Halloween night and return to the home that was once theirs. | Man-Sized In Marble | #RetroRadio EP0579 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Myster...

The Night a "Meteorite" Crashed on a Connecticut Farm | Then It Opened Up! 28.01.2026 4:53:30

When a Connecticut farm couple nurses an injured extraterrestrial visitor back to health, they have no idea they're caught between a grateful guest from the stars and a government that wants to take him by force. | “The Meteorite” #RetroRadio EP0578 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Meteorite” (April 11, 1977...

What Happens When the Dead Need Your Body to Speak? This Man Found Out! | "The Sensitive" 27.01.2026 4:58:05

A suburban husband who never wanted to attend a séance discovers he's the rarest kind of medium — and a dead Napoleonic soldier discovers he's the perfect host. | #RetroRadio EP0577 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Sensitive” (April 05, 1977) ***WD 00:45:09.178 = Dark Venture, “Miser” (December 09, 1946) 01:...

The Mayor Who Vowed to Hunt Down a Murderer | The Clues Led Back To Him 26.01.2026 5:15:47

A mayor vows to hunt down a murderer and end a deadly plague — never suspecting the trail of clues will lead straight back to himself. | “So Shall Ye Reap” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0576 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “So Shall Ye Reap” (April 04, 1977) ***WD 00:44:58.382 = Strange Wills, “...

Death Was Announced Before It Happened | THE SHADOW, "The Voice of Death" 23.01.2026 4:58:00

A mysterious criminal known only as THE VOICE uses radio broadcasts to announce his victims’ deaths before they happen. And once THE VOICE speaks your name over the airwaves, your fate is sealed. People begin dying exactly as predicted, and panic spreads fast — because now murder has a schedule! | The Shadow present, “The Voice of Death” | #RetroRadio EP0575 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times A...

KABALA | The Ancient Scroll That Answered Any Question, But Demanded a Terrible Price 20.01.2026 4:58:58

When a dying stranger leaves behind an ancient parchment said to answer any question about the future, Dr. Rudd and his friends discover the terrifying truth — some knowledge comes with a price that must be paid. | “Kabala” from Murder at Midnight | #RetroRadio EP0574 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Warrior...

He Was Ordered to Find a Killer… But It Was Him They Were Looking For | The Big Clock 14.01.2026 5:08:11

When a powerful publisher murders his mistress, he orders his best editor to hunt down the mystery man seen with her that night — not realizing he's just asked the man to lead the investigation against himself. | “The Big Clock” from Lux Radio Theater | #RetroRadio EP0573 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “A Study...

She Had Strange Powers — Betraying Her Was His Worst Mistake 01.01.2026 4:58:14

A mysterious woman with unexplainable powers saves a half-blind gold prospector in the Klondike wilderness and follows him back to civilization — but when he abandons her and their children for a politician's daughter, she reminds him that the same gifts that saved his life can just as easily destroy it. | “The Gift of Doom” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0572 CHAPTERS & TIME S...

The Ghostly Spirit Behind the Script Wanted His Name on the Marquee, Not Hers 20.12.2025 5:07:53

In “The Imposter”, a woman, despite having no theatrical background, is suddenly inspired to write a full-length play — with the ghostly help of a long-dead actor. When the play turns out to be a hit, she tries to take all the credit for it. But the real author’s spirit isn’t having it and demands that her name be removed from the marquee. | #RetroRadio EP0571 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Time...

He Spent 20 Years in Prison Planning the Perfect Revenge 11.12.2025 5:10:10

After twenty years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, George Miller walks out a free man — and the gangster who framed him starts receiving dead rats in the mail. Ace Dinelli can run, but he can't escape a revenge and “Final Reckoning” two decades in the making. | #RetroRadio EP0570 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery...

The Man Whose Face Matched a 1,000-Year-Old Stone God 11.12.2025 4:50:18

“Jobo” — a big-boned, simple-minded man from Texas – bears a striking resemblance to the mysterious stone figures of Easter Island. When an archaeologist (and later his daughter) catch wind of this uncanny likeness, each sets off on their own journey to uncover what it might mean. Along the way they encounter strange and compelling clues — including shiny silver medallions — that hint at an astoni...

A Couple Bought a Bargain House in Scotland — Then People Started Dying 09.12.2025 4:55:58

A doctor begins treating a woman who insists that a glowing, supernatural figure — the Shining Man — has been appearing to her. She claims this radiant entity warns her of danger and even predicts deaths. At first the doctor chalks it up to stress and hallucination… until he starts encountering disturbing coincidences that match her visions. The deeper he digs, the more he’s pulled into a mystery...

No One Had Lived in the Gatehouse for Forty Years — So Who Was the Pleading Voice? 08.12.2025 4:44:01

A teenage girl recovering from an illness begins hearing a disembodied voice begging to be let into a ruined building on the property. Her father and the family’s minister investigate the ruins to uncover the source of the voice. | “The Pleading Voice” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0567 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS...

His Daughter Brought Him Back To Life for Only One Reason... Revenge 08.12.2025 5:09:33

A reporter arrives in a small country town investigating rumors that a man has returned from the dead. He uncovers that the supposedly resurrected man was actually murdered, and his daughter resurrected him via sorcery for vengeance. As the reporter digs deeper, he becomes entangled in a web of revenge and dark supernatural secrets. | “Lazarus Rising” from CBC’s Nightfall | #RetroRadio EP0566 CHAP...

KING KONG – A 1938 Radio Drama! 03.12.2025 5:05:23

A film crew ventures to a mysterious island where ancient legends prove terrifyingly real — and the giant ape they capture and bring back to civilization will make his final stand atop the tallest building in the world. | #RetroRadio EP0565 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Beyond The Barrier” (March 07, 1977) 00...

The Hound of the Baskervilles | Old Time Radio In The Dark! 02.12.2025 5:12:04

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate the disappearance of a young woman. Their investigation draws them into the legend of a ghostly, hellish hound said to haunt the moors around the Baskerville estate, and they must unravel whether the curse-hound is real or part of a darker human plot. | “The Hound of the Baskervilles” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0564 CHAPTERS & TIME...

“THE BLACK CAT” by Edgar Alan Poe – Presented by Faces In The Window in 1952! 01.12.2025 5:04:17

He killed the cat he once loved, but something with familiar eyes returned to make sure his guilt would never stay buried. | “The Black Cat” by Edgar Alan Poe, presented by Faces In The Window | #RetroRadio EP0563 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Light That Failed” (February 28, 1977) 00:45:57.938 = Murder B...

I Tried to Run Away. Now I'm in the Bone House. 29.11.2025 4:51:34

In this isolated prairie town, no one is allowed to leave — and teenage Eero has tried to escape five times. Each attempt brings harsher punishment, but what the town has planned for his sixth attempt is far worse than anything he's faced before. He’s about to wish he had never tried to leave. | “Bonehouse” by CBC Deep Night | #RetroRadio EP0562 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…...

For 30 Years He Hid the Truth—Until His Nightmares Betrayed Him 26.11.2025 5:02:53

“Last Judgement” – A dying man's nightmares reveal a horrifying secret—one his daughter-in-law knows all too well, because he destroyed her family. | #RetroRadio EP0561 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Last Judgement” (February 24, 1977) 00:45:46.928 = ABC Mystery Time, “Sherlock Speckled Band” (May 01, 1956) **...

The Golden Portrait That Exposed a Lifetime of Evil 25.11.2025 4:51:24

A woman, driven by vanity and greed, arranges to have her own portrait stamped on special gold coins. But things go very wrong — instead of her elegant image, the coins bear a hideous reflection of her avaricious nature. | “A Heart of Gold” by CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0560 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery...

Nobel Physicist Claims Husband Was Alien - Then He Turns Up Dead 22.11.2025 4:46:45

A top-nuclear researcher recounts (in therapy) how she fell in love with a supposed alien, married him, and was later convicted of his murder. The question remains: is she a delusional murderer or the innocent victim of extraterrestrial manipulation? | “The Star Killers” – CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0559 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00...