The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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...

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...