The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

The Society is taking off to the Great White North to pass the evening with “The Club of Dead Men,” an episode of the Canadian series, Nightfall ! Based on a short story by James Wentworth Day , this episode tells the tale of a young Cambridge student who learns the story of a debauched 18th century club that continues to meet even after death. Can this student attend one of their meetings and sur...

It’s Valentine’s Day and we celebrate by welcoming Eric’s wife, Shanan Custer, as our special guest! She’s brought us a Lucille Fletcher -penned episode of Suspense entitled “Dark Journey!” A young woman claims that she can manipulate people and events by the sheer power of her will. Does she truly possess such supernatural powers? Who is truly to blame for the consequences that ensue? Sasquatch,...

Guy de Maupassant’s classic short story was adapted by Mystery in the Air for this week’s episode, “ The Horla !” Peter Lorre stars in this story a man tormented by an invisible presence. Where did this shadowy nightmare come from? How far will this narrator go to rid himself of this creature? Is this secretly a really disturbing episode of the Shadow? Would you book a flight to Lorretown? Listen...

This week we’re listening to the earlier of Agnes Moorehead’s two performances of “The Yellow Wallpaper” from Suspense ! Our thanks to Mark for recommending this adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story ! A new mother is being kept by her husband in a room adorned with yellow wallpaper, allegedly for her health. Is her madness causing her to see things in the wallpaper’s pattern? Are t...

Listener Jamie recommended this week’s episode, “Weekend Vacation” from The Darkness ! Thanks, Jamie! A vacationing family winds up in a strange old motel operated by an elderly woman and her child-like brute of a grandson. What dark fate awaits the guests on their vacation? Is this story as simple as it seems? Has our hearing really gotten that bad? I SAID HAS OUR HEARING REALLY GOTTEN THAT BAD?...

Our thanks to Ryan for suggesting “The Iron Coffin” from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe , part of our Listener Library series! Raymond Chandler’s famous hard-boiled detective investigates a 16th century castle moved stone by stone from Spain to California, including the coffins that store the castle’s ancient family. What are the strange sounds that have been heard in the castle’s crypt? Is a ha...

The holiday season is over and the Society is back with an episode from our Listener Library. Our thanks to Dee for suggesting “If You Believe,” a strange story told by The Mysterious Traveler ! A disreputable reporter publishes the story of a disgraced scientist’s efforts to create life from protoplasm. Is it easier to believe something cynical rather than something hopeful? Can the themes of the...

The Society is settled in for Christmas with some hot cocoa and a classic Charles Dickens ghost story, adapted by Suspense ! In this case, we’re listening to Dickens’ other classic ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” In this episode Sarah Churchill plays a reporter whose fascination with trains leads her to interview an old rail worker. She discovers the man is haunted by strange visions—visions which...

The Weird Circle brought a little something to our holiday party, the supernatural tale of a Christmas descent into desperation with a man named “Markheim!” Based on the short story by Robert Louis Stevenson , this Christmas classic features a young man confronting the dark impulses of his own dark reflection. Will his misdeeds come back to haunt him? Can he free himself from the malicious voice t...

He knows when you’ve been bad or good and he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men! The Shadow has brought the Society “A Gift of Murder!” Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane show up to a holiday party with a murderer on the guest list! Will Christmas be ruined? Was anyone else invited to this party? If this gift doesn’t work, can it be exchanged? Listen for yourself and find out!

(UPDATE! One of our astute listeners (thank you, Mike!) noticed that we have misidentified the origin of this recording! This is in fact from the 1955 run of The Clock, recorded in Australia. Our humblest apologies for the error.) The Society finally has finally turned their attention to The Clock ! Howard Williams has moved to a small town, where everyone seems considerate and happy to help a nei...

Our thanks to Scott for suggesting “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” from Mystery Playhouse ! The series, hosted by Peter Lorre , re-purposed other radio series (in this case Molle Mystery Theater ) for the Armed Forces Network . This particular episode was an adaptation of a short story by Robert Bloch about a hunt for London’s notorious killer in 1945 Chicago! Could Jack the Ripper still be claimin...

Once again, it’s later than the we think and we are listening to Lights Out ! This time, we indulge in “Revolt of the Worms,” an episode from the Arch Oboler era of the series. In the face of a war-torn world, brilliant scientist Charles Prentice retreats to develop the perfect rose. But even in his far-off laboratory there is something monstrous in the earth. Based on the title, can you guess wha...

We may not know much about the 1984 BBC series, Spine Chillers , but that won’t stop the Society from checking out “Dracula in White” by Peter Redgrove . A journalist investigates strange stories of prisoners disappearing from a prison, but soon finds herself caught by the man known as Dracula in White! Do the missing inmates have anything to do with the delicious canned meat produced within the p...

Monster Month concludes with Mercury Theatre on the Air’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula ! Orson Welles was only 23 years old when his version of this classic tale was broadcast, featuring himself in the title role. A mysterious Transylvanian noble comes to England, and everywhere he goes, death follows. Can those victims transformed into undead things be saved? Will this adaptation’s adheren...

He’s no werewolf or mummy, but Edgar Allen Poe certainly deserves his spot in our Monster Month! This week, we’re listening to Boris Karloff in Inner Sanctum Mysteries’ adaptation of “The Tell-Tale Heart!” Two peculiar strangers share a home until madness drives one of them to deadly extremes. How will Inner Sanctum’s outlandish style transform Poe’s famous short story? Can the restoration of part...

This week we’re listening to “W is for Werewolf” from Dark Fantasy as part of our Monster Month! The story depicts a visit to a remote island where a troubled man’s only surviving son seems to be suffering from a strange condition. As a treat for theater fans in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, the production features a performance by the Twin Cities’ own Don Stolz ! Can this father find a cure fo...

Monster Month continues this week and the Society is listening to an adaptation of “Frankenstein” from Suspense ! This version of Mary Shelley’s classic novel features the obsessed doctor confiding in a priest about his obsessive quest to conquer death. Can spiritual guidance provide a measure of redemption for the scientist? Can this story be crammed into half an hour? Is Johnny Plug Check the tr...

The Society starts out a whole month of shows themed around classic movie monsters. We begin with the Mummy, represented by this Quiet, Please episode entitled “Whence Came You?” The story features an archaeologist who finds himself being observed by a mysterious beautiful woman with a strange connection to the ruins he is excavating. What destiny awaits our hero beneath the sands? How much richer...

CBS Mystery Theater adapted Jacques Futrelle’s short story, “ The Problem of Cell 13 ,” for this week’s episode entitled “The Great Brain”! A brilliant mind hopes to prove the limitless potential of human intellect by allowing himself to be locked in a prison with a week to escape. Can he free himself from his cell in this short time or will his ego be his undoing? Why has the prisoner above him b...

Columbia Workshop presents Lucille Fletcher’s adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella “Carmilla”! A father takes in a young abandoned girl who befriends his daughter, but soon discovers that Carmilla is much more than she seems. Will a parent’s desire to make his child happy prove to be his family’s undoing? Could he possibly have known what evil lurked in Carmilla’s heart? Are Canadians secretly...

This week, The Mysterious Traveler takes the Society “Behind the Locked Door!” Two archeologists set out on an expedition into the Vermilion Cliffs but only one returns. Why does he want his fiancé to leave him forever? What has he locked away in his bedroom? What’s the maximum speed of a burro? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s our 50th episode and to celebrate, the Society is listening to this beloved episode of Quiet, Please ! An oil-drilling roughneck encounters a terrifying mystery after his team digs up something unexpected from deep beneath the Earth’s surface. What greater horror lurks beneath the telling of this tale? How can Cecil Roy make such disturbing noises? How many pork chops can this guy eat? Listen...

More than one listener requested this particular episode of Nightfall and so the Society has been drawn to “The Porch Light!” Many thanks to both Rob and David for recommending this creepy tale from the popular Canadian series. On the night of a powerful snowstorm, a husband and wife wake up in their isolated home in the woods to find their porch light has inexplicably turned on. From this simple...

The Society continues with its Listener Library series! This week, we feature a suggestion from Laurie, who recommended “The Werewolf” from The Weird Circle ! The episode is based on “The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains,” a short story by Captain Frederick Marryat . In the forest, a father and his children find their family invaded and hunted by cruel, supernatural forces. How has the young narr...