The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

We keep surpassing Patreon goals! This week, we are cerebrating with episodes featuring the beginning and end of Suspense ! For the first part, we listen to the (sort-of) audition episode presented as part of the Forecast series in July of 1940. Alfred Hitchcock (sort of, not really) presented this adaptation of the short story and novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes , the same source material he adapte...

We have passed another Patreon goal and to celebrate we are exploring strange new territory: classic radio comedies! This week we listen to three different comedic takes on our usual suspense and horror diet. First, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis get the creeps with Peter Lorre! Then Stan Freberg parodies a beloved crime drama! And finally, Jack Benny puts his own spin on a classic horror anthology!...

It’s time to look back over the last year and choose which of the episodes we listened to stood above the rest and which sank to the bottom! Based on listener polls, the learned opinions of esteemed special guests, and our own unfocused rambling, one episode shall be declared champion and another shall be declared the worst. Which episode will bask in glory? Which will wallow in shame? Do we actua...

Pardon our delay! Apparently we were a little slow getting back from the Listener Library where we found “The Dark Wall,” from Escape , recommended to us by Sarah. Thanks, Sarah! This story, written by Kathleen Hite , tells the story of a man traveling through Andora with his wife. She starts to behave strangely, her love sometimes being replaced by blind terror, a fear that could cost either of t...

We are still celebrating the new year by listening to “Rain on New Year’s Eve,” an episode of Quiet, Please that was probably inspired by Wyllis Cooper’s time spent working on Son of Frankenstein ! The story features a beleaguered screenwriter who is trapped in a seemingly endless film production. Can anything convince this director to stop changing the script and just finish the movie? Where did...

Happy holidays, everyone! Please join us as we celebrate with Campbell Playhouse’s 1939 version of A Christmas Carol featuring Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore . This treasured annual tradition tells the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, whose miserly ways summon three spirits to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Was Barrymore’s performance the definitive Scrooge? Is death really the only altern...

It’s time once again for our annual holiday trip to the danger light by the rails! For the third year, we are listening to an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “ The Signal-Man ,” this time adapted by the South African series, Beyond Midnight ! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. What tragedy do his visions portend?...

There’s no better way to celebrate a winter wonderland than listening to “The Snowman Killing” from Fear on Four ! This intense tale of suburban horror features a chilling performance by Imelda Staunton . (And at no point in the discussion afterwards do we identify her as the actress who played Dolores Jane Umbridge in the Harry Potter films!) Is this mother of twins truly facing some supernatural...

This week, our visit to the Listener Library brings us an episode of Lights Out , “Come to the Bank,” recommended to us by our Mysterious Listener Kristaps! Thanks, Kristaps! In this Arch Oboler story, a desperate woman pleads with the listener to accompany her to the bank. She has an improbable tale about a man who believes the power of concentration and will can accomplish supernatural feats. Co...

We recently polled our mysterious listeners to recommend a show that we have not listened to yet. The winner was Broadway is My Beat ! Detective Danny Clover is called down to the morgue to examine a body that has evidently been killed twice. The ensuing investigation presents Danny with a wide array of eccentric suspects. Will he be able to discern the truth amid all these peculiar conversations?...

We finish our month of gratitude by saying, “Thank you!” to David, who supports this podcast at the highest level on Patreon ! David requested that we listen to “The Martian Chronicles” from Dimension X ! Thanks, David! Ray Bradbury’s famous anthology of interconnected stories presents the colonization of the red planet and explores the impact it has on humanity. Is Mars the perfect place to watch...

We continue to spend November saying, “Thank you!” to those who support our Patreon at the highest level! David wrote us a lovely message which included a request that we listen to “Quiet Please,” a script which served as the final episode of the series, Quiet Please . Thanks, David! The tale features the lone survivor of a war-torn civilization who rhapsodizes about all that was lost and the path...

It’s a month of Thanksgiving and we are saying, “Thanks!” to some of our Patreon supporters! Our supporter Joseph asked that we listen to “The Silent Avenger,” an episode of The Shadow ! A convict condemned to execution threatens the death of the judge, jurors, and governor. When his predicted victims start to turn up dead from bullet wounds, the Shadow begins a desperate search for the man fulfil...

Happy Halloween from the MORLS! We are celebrating the holiday by listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater version of “Dracula,” featuring Mercedes McCambridge ! A sudden sickness has befallen Lucy Westenra, suspiciously just as Count Dracula arrives! Can her friend, Mina, save her from a horrific fate? Will Mina herself fall victim to this grisly (yet sensuous) condition? Do you find CBSRMT and...

It was a dark and stormy night when your hosts retrieved this episode of The Weird Circle from their Listener Library, recommended to them by Jill. Thanks. Jill! “The House and the Brain,” is an adaptation of a story by Edward Bulwer-Lytton and it features a couple whose interest in a sinister-looking portrait leads them to a house haunted by ghosts. Or is it actually a story about an immortal hyp...

We return to one of the earliest series that we featured on this podcast, The Price of Fear ! Today we hop on a train with the series’ star Vincent Price for the episode, “The Man Who Hated Scenes,” featuring fellow horror icon Peter Cushing . Price sits down for breakfast with a stranger who has a macabre tale to tell. Why was he traveling without his wife? Is he truly as nervous as he seems? How...

Inspired by our “Cat Wife” episode , our mysterious listener Shaun recommended we listen to “The Queen of the Cats” from The Mysterious Traveler . This episode features a man who has been lured into an ill-advised marriage by a seductive woman with a strange affinity for cats. How does she always seem to know where he goes and who he sees? How far would he be willing to go to free himself from her...

To celebrate our 150th episode, we listen to a series that we have never featured before, Night Beat starring Frank Lovejoy ! Randy Stone’s nightly search for stories leads him to a crowd of people awaiting a gunfight between the police and a cornered fugitive. Why does a particular couple in the crowd have such a strong interest in the fugitive’s fate? Can a person truly escape where they came fr...

Our thanks to Flannery, one our Mysterious Listeners who recommended this week’s Listener Library episode, “I Saw Myself Running,” from Escape ! A young woman’s sleep is plagued by recurrent nightmares in which she sees a version of herself tormented by an ambiguous figure. The more she tries to help her double in the dream, the more vulnerable she makes herself to the phantasmal threats! Can she...

Today is the exciting conclusion of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar ! All week long we’ve been releasing one installment per day as a reward for meeting our Patreon goal, and today Johnny hopes his insurance fraud case ends with an arrest! How much leeway are the police willing to grant Johnny on this case? Can you guess Johnny’s final tally of expenses without goi...

It’s the penultimate episode of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar ! All week long we’ve been releasing one installment per day as a reward for meeting our Patreon goal, and we will post the conclusion tomorrow! Thank you, Patreon supporters! Johnny’s potential insurance fraud case has turned into an investigation of multiple murder attempts and the facts are starting...

Today we present our third installment in “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar ! This five-part, week-long series is a treat for our listeners and a reward for our generous Patreon supporters! Johnny’s investigation into potential insurance fraud now leads him from the poorest part of town to a lavishly-furnished apartment. Will Johnny find any evidence to prove Cosgrav...

We continue listening to “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” as part of our week-long journey into Yours Truly Johnny Dollar ! This break from our usual routine is a reward for meeting our Patreon goal! Thank you, Patreon supporters! This is the second episode in Johnny Dollar’s investigation of potential insurance fraud. Can Mike’s assailants kill him before the alcohol does? Would you think to men...

As a reward for meeting our Patreon goal (thank you to all our supporters!), we are dedicating this entire week to Yours Truly Johnny Dollar ! Each day, we are going to post one installment of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” a story in which insurance investigator Johnny Dollar looks into potential fraud when a homeless man’s life is insured by a wealthy stranger. Why would an insurance company...

This week’s visit to the Listener Library features an episode of the Lone Ranger recommended to us by Will. Thanks, Will! “Legacy for a Ghost” features a conspiracy to frame and murder an innocent man. But the Lone Ranger and Tonto have other plans! Will the ghost story concocted by the Masked Man bring two criminals to justice? How many times can the same man be murdered? How hard is it to preten...