We continue our journey through “Bury Your Dead, Arizona,” from I Love a Mystery! In parts 3 and 4 Jack, Reggie, and Doc are still travelling by box car and undergoing strange and inexplicable experiences, all apparently orchestrated by the strange man known as “The Maestro”! But even as bodies disappear and reappear, things grow even more bizarre when they find themselves abandoned in the middle of a desert! How is The Maestro manifesting these apparent miracles? Can he really curse a whole town? What sort of community only has two women but everyone has a hilarious nickname? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Mysterious Patron Mark suggested we dive into “Bury Your Dead, Arizona,” one of two stories that survive in their entirety from I Love a Mystery. And we are up for the challenge! The series begins with Jack, Reggie, and Doc hopping a train to avoid both the police and thugs who want the trio’s $25,000! But on the train the discover an even stranger mystery in the form of “The Maestro” and his vaguely-but-not-quite Russian assistant! Who are these strange travelling companions? Was there really a murder or was it an illusion? Should we stick a knife in this series? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time for us to listen to “The Judas Clock” from Inner Sanctum Mystery! It’s the story of a man hunting for a cursed clock, an Italian antique that only runs when the silver coins of Judas are placed inside. But his own obsession with this relic is more than historic interest, it is a quest for revenge! Why does the history of this clock include so many deaths? What is the secret of its inner workings? Will the Mr. Host and Mary the Lipton Tea Lady commercials overwhelm the story itself? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re paying our first visit to Casey, Crime Photographer with “The Twenty Minute Alibi”! The story features a man who apparently shot himself while on the phone with his insurance provider, confirming that his policy had not yet expired. But when Casey arrives to photograph the body, he suspects that the victim may have been murdered. If it was homicide, who was responsible? How will Casey explain why all the suspects have alibis during a crucial twenty minute window of time? What exactly is a Rathboner? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Mysterious Listener Mark recommended we check out the X Minus One adaptation of William Tenn’s short story, “The Discovery of Morniel Mathaway“! A struggling poet tells the story of his unscrupulous friend, a terrible visual artist named Morniel Mathaway. But unexpectedly, a stranger arrives hoping to meet the famous and influential icon named Morniel Mathaway! Why would this stranger be so excited about such an untalented artist? What gives art value and meaning? If Eric doesn’t care for modern art, will he remember having performed this script before? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re taking a little summer break, but we want to share a sneak peek at what awaits listeners when they become one of our Patreon supporters! Here is a pilot for a potential Columbo podcast called A Podcast Named Dog. If you’re not familiar with Columbo, it’s a beloved 1970s (and late 80s, early 90s) television mystery series starring the great Peter Falk. One of Columbo’s many quirks was his best friend: a dog named Dog. And if you’ve never seen Columbo or don’t remember the episode we’re discussing, here is a link to an online version of “Etude in Black”. 

We’re taking a little summer break, but we want to share a sneak peek at what awaits listeners when they become one of our Patreon supporters! Here is a pilot for a new pod to add to the Patreon rotation: MORLS on Movies. It’s an opportunity to discuss how movies have adapted, reimagined, or been influenced by radio’s legacy. We begin with an obvious but hopefully entertaining choice, Russell Mulcahy’s 1994 flop, The Shadow! 

This week we are joined by our Patreon supporter Jeff who has brought us a story of wartime espionage from Escape entitled “The Thirteenth Truck”! A group of soldiers has been assigned to infiltrate a convoy and sabotage an enemy airfield. And even if they succeed, they will still need to escape with their lives! How can they sneak a truck past the watchful eyes of the Germans? What strange circumstance could stop the guards’ gunfire? Is potato salad the real enemy? Listen for yourself and find out!

According to The Suspense Project, Joan Crawford’s “mic fright” meant that “The Ten Years” needed to be created unlike any previous episode of Suspense! The story features Crawford as Clara who promised to stay with her sister after they were both orphaned as children. But once she grows up and finds a husband, her sister Adele feels betrayed. What will Adele do to return Clara to her childhood promise? Does the episode have a classic Suspense twist or not? What is “The Mystery of the Dabbing of the Neutered Kitten”? Listen for yourself and find out!

Once again we’re checking out a series we’ve never featured before, Dr. Tim, Detective! We’re listening to two 15 minute episodes, “The Mystery of the Dog That Did and Didn’t” & “The Mystery of the Guest in Number Two,” both of which feature the educational adventures of Dr. Tim and his two young companions, Jill and Sandy. How does someone catch Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in November? What is the secret of the man named Jones? Did Tim just pick this series because his name is in the title? Listen for yourself and find out!

Escape presents “She,” an adaptation of H. Rider Haggard’s iconic adventure novel set in a lost world in the African interior. After his father passed away, a son inherits an ancient artifact suggesting the location of a mythic city and the god-like figure known as “She Who Must Be Obeyed” who rules over the land. For reasons the young man cannot explain, the story seems familiar to him and he feels compelled to launch an expedition to find the place. What is the connection between this young traveler and this ancient queen? What dangers await him and his party of explorers? Would a synopsis store be a lucrative business venture? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter Simon recommended we check out the debut episode of Nightfall, “Love and the Lonely One”! A young surgical student uses a cadaver in a grisly prank. Shortly afterwards, he finds himself caught up in a troubling romance. How will he react when he finds out the truth about his new flame? How well does this episode represent the future of Nightfall? Could we do a whole podcast about Calvin Coolidge and Max Headroom? Listen for yourself and find out!

The Mysterious Traveler has stopped by to share the story of “The Accusing Corpse”! The story features a jealous husband who shoots his unfaithful wife with the help of her brother. But not all is as it seems. What sinister plot is happening behind the scenes? How can a corpse accuse its killer? Which room is the most convenient for bitter arguments with your spouse? Listen for yourself and find out!

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz star in this week’s episode, “The Red-Headed Woman” from Suspense! The story features a young woman who commits an impulsive crime and then crosses paths with a potentially dangerous man on the run. Does she have the nerve and the wits to get away with her crime? Who will get the better of whom in this cat-and-mouse game? Is there any job more enticing and menacing than bank robber? Listen for yourself and find out!

We now complete our trilogy of actors who starred in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar during its initial run! This time, we’re listening to “The Chicago Fraud Matter” featuring John Lund in the title role! This story features an investigation into the sudden death of a life insurance policy holder. But the dead man seemed to have not been healthy enough to be approved for his insurance. Did he fool the doctor who approved the policy? Will the insurers be forced to pay the beneficiary? Are we adding emphasis to the right syllables? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon listener Mark recommended we pay a visit to our Listener Library to check out “The April Fool’s Day Adventure” from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes! Thanks, Mark! In this episode, Watson recounts one of his earliest escapades with the famed detective, in which the doctor joins a conspiracy to make Holmes the target of an April Fool’s prank. But when the joke becomes a genuine crime, it’s up to Holmes to uncover the truth! Will Holmes fall for this trick? Is Joshua a fan of Sherlock Holmes or is he a super fan? Listen for yourself and find out!

Richard Widmark stars as a drifter named Jefferson in this episode of Suspense, “Too Hot to Live”! On a blisteringly hot summer day, Jefferson wanders into a small town only to lose his shoes and find a world of trouble. Did he commit the murder that he’s accused of committing? If not, is there any way to prove his innocence? What is Eric’s favorite book of the Bible? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are two-thirds of the way through our tour of actors who starred in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar during its initial run! This time, Edmond O’Brien is our titular investigator with the action-packed expense account in a story entitled “The Queen Anne Pistols Matter.” This episode sees Dollar hired to accompany the delivery of a pair of antique pistols. Why was the original courier attacked? What message are these pistols intended to send? Once we start talking about The Silence of the Lambs, can we stop? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this episode, our Patreon supporter Ryan joins your hosts Eric, Tim, Joshua, and special guest host Shanan live on stage at the Bryant-Lake Bowl! Ryan has brought us “A Shipment of Mute Fate,” an episode of Escape featuring Jack Webb as a passenger transporting dangerous cargo aboard a ship at sea! What deadly thing watches from inside this crate? What dangers threaten everyone aboard if it should escape? What has Eric been afraid of since 1966? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re once again calling Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8209! In what may be her final case, Candy discovers that her beau, Lt. Mallard, may be the target of her investigation. After Mallard is behaving suspiciously, Candy secretly follows him only to discover a dead body! Is Mallard truly up to something illegal? Is this truly her last case? Is their love truly rooted in cold-blooded disdain for human life? Listen for yourself and find out!

Arch Oboler takes us deep into the oceanic depths for this episode of Lights Out entitled “Bathysphere,” recommended to us by our Patreon supporter, Mark. Thanks, Mark! The story features an authoritarian leader attempting to dive down to a record-breaking depth beneath the ocean’s surface. Accompanied only by a doctor experienced in such dives, his excellency finds this life and death journey, “very amusing.” What mysteries await them in deep? How will this script compare to other propaganda works written by Oboler? Should someone be checking on us to make sure we’re okay? Listen for yourself and find out!

We return to test our courage and our sanity in the mysterious dream realm of Dark Fantasy for an episode entitled, “Men Call Me Mad”! The story features a scientist who has discovered a strange other world and the means to transport himself there. What adventures await him there? What unforeseen challenges must he face when he returns? Is this the pinnacle of an uncompromising artist’s work or incoherent nonsense? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter, Zach, recommended we listen to “The Thing in Cabin 105” from Beyond Midnight, and we did! Thanks, Zach! The production adapts F. Marion Crawford’s short story, The Upper Berth, which tells the story of a passenger aboard a cruise ship whose cabin seems to have unnatural effects on its inhabitants. But even after being advised to relocate, this passenger is determined to find out what’s really happening. Will he discover the truth of this room? Can he avoid the same fate of previous inhabitants? Will this finally be the episode that you hear your hosts order food for the recording? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re diving far back into the history of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar to listen to “The Little Man Who Wasn’t All There” featuring the first actor to play the iconic insurance investigator on the air, Charles Russell! The story features a man who claims to be taking revenge on an insurance company by killing off their clients! It’s up to Dollar to prove the crimes and put an end to the deaths! How is this man accomplishing these impossible murders? Will we enjoy Russell’s episodes as much as Bob Bailey’s episodes? What sound does the podcaster make? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s another trip to our Listener Library! This time we’re checking out “First Contact” from X Minus One, recommended to us by our Patreon support, Mark. Thanks, Mark! The story features the initial meeting between Earthlings and aliens, who find themselves trapped in a détente, each unable to understand or trust the other. Can their mutual destruction be avoided? Can they understand each other’s jokes? Why does this episode seem so familiar to us? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve returned to The Chase! In this episode, an American reporter who has made himself unwelcome in Russia finds himself traveling by train to Nuremberg, sharing a car with an important figure in Soviet politics. After speaking together, the reporter soon finds himself in the custody of Russian agents. What information did he learn from that conversation? Will the Russians be able to keep him on the train until it reaches the Czech frontier? Was this guy in Negativeland? Listen for yourself and find out!

For our first proper episode of the new year, we left the decision to fate! We chose at random from a collection of New Years’ themed episodes and wound up listening to “The First Year,” from The Whistler! The story features a wedded couple whose marriage began on New Year’s Eve and ended with murder exactly one year later. What legal machinations turned the wife against her husband? Is a random selection as good as our otherwise carefully curated choices? What was the original title of 101 Dalmations? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re starting the new year off with a sneak peek at what awaits listeners when they become one of our Patreon supporters! Our current members voted on their favorite bonus content in the past year and this episode of Frontier Gentleman, “Random Notes,” tied for the top selection! Our supporters on Patreon already know what the other bonus episode was and if you want to find out, go to patreon.com/themorls and join! But for now, please enjoy this tale of a journalist in the Old West collecting small bit and pieces of stories filled with pathos and absurdity. Can this collage of character studies come together to make a satisfying whole? Will this discussion settle the hosts ongoing feud about Frontier Gentleman? Has someone salted this Sonuvagun Stew?

We’re spending Boxing Day with Lurene Tuttle in this Suspense episode, “The Tip”! In this production, she plays a devoted wife being held at gunpoint by a desperate man. This intruder intends to kill her husband as revenge for crimes unknown to her. As the two wait for his intended victim to come home, she engages her captor in a battle of wills. Can she outwit this man to escape? Has her husband really done something wrong? Has Joshua successfully atoned for bringing so many ape-themed episodes? Listen for yourself and find out!

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. What well-mannered historical figure caused their biggest argument? Who dressed as Not Batman for Halloween? Why does Tim have to pay licensing fees each year for a blank piece of paper? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 bedevil our pilots. The second depicts a vision of the future when everyone has easy access to air travel. What do these gremlins really want? How do events in the future so quickly erase our memories? How did this series get stuck with this name? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 worse than all the other terrible men in the noir genre? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 will this episode stack up against the previous ape episodes? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 any other Lights Out episodes? How many television shows can we talk about? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 extreme? Can anything survive the madness and rot within this house? Would this be improved if the family were simple Midwestern folk? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 discover the manuscript itself has strange qualities. Was this book literally written in hell? What truths about damnation does it describe? Has Eric secretly been a fan of Nightfall all along? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 the psychology of twins, but soon a romance blossoms between the scientist and one of his subjects! Did one of them commit the crime? Is there really no better “twin specialist” available? What’s it like to get paid like a musician? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 welcome the men expected! Why are the Martians behaving so strangely? Are these really the best men Earth had to offer? Will we remember this episode three years from now? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 these robberies? Pumpkin or punkin? Listen for yourself and find out!

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? How long is the podcast obliged to continue? Which host can actually name a film from 2024? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 shipwrecked and washes up on the shore of this island, Zaroff invites him to participate in a hunt for an unusual quarry! Will Zaroff capture his prey? At this point, does anyone not know what “the most dangerous game” is? How politically extreme can a dog get? Listen for yourself and find out!

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! Will your hosts go to the Black Room in the Cabin? Will they get Milwaukee Deep in the Devil’s Workshop? And which host will be arrested for taking a standardized test nude? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 happened in the past that connects these two? Why is Fate so judgy? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 Shadow to uncover the truth! Is the Gorilla Man really turning into an animal? How exactly does the staffing in this zoo work? Why does Eric keep saying, “Ski-U-Mah”? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 the ship! Why does this intelligence think the crew is being threatened? Why does it do such strange things to “care” for them? What made the podcast host decide to “sing” in this discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 institution? What elaborate selection process did Eric use to bring this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 this drawing? What madness does this summer heat inspire? What hilarious TikTok content are we considering? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 avert inevitable disaster? Can Scott Bishop? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 would Mark McKinney do? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 “The Silence of Death” from the MORLS original series, Mr. & Mrs. Nighthawk! Our supporters on Patreon have access to all the shows we’ve recorded over the years, and you can become a supporter too at patreon.com/themorls!

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 amateur detective Cross deduce some less phantasmal explanation for the crime? Do all comedians want to be blaggards? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 achieved? Did the Cub Scouts help defeat the French at the Battle of Agincourt? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 reconciled? How hard would it be to use child actors borrowed from a Victorian orphanage? Listen for yourself and find out!

Special guest Laura Zabel joins us for this week’s episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Bryant-Lake Bowl! We’re listening to “A Thing of Beauty” from Suspense! Angela Lansbury stars as a reclusive woman recounting the days of her youth to two clergymen. She tells them of her time as a renowned actress and the accusation of murder that led to her marriage. What happened to take her from a life on the stage to her current reclusive state? Who did kill her rival? How can you tell if you’re less popular than your spouse? Listen for yourself and find out!

Boris Karloff stars in this week’s episode, “The Final Reckoning” from Creeps by Night! After a convict has his life sentence commuted, his long-planned path of revenge can begin. Soon the man who put him in prison finds a dead rat on his doorstep and is looking for someplace to hide! Will this quest for vengeance be fulfilled? What is the plan? Would you be willing to stay longer in prison if there were tasty snacks? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been compelled to revisit Obsession! This time for a story entitled “Shadow of Huntley House” (also known as “On the Wild Seas”), a story about a woman reuniting with her estranged twin sister, who was recently widowed. But rather than familial support, the reunion is thick with jealousy and plotting that might result in murder! How could an obsession drive someone to such an extreme? Would such a crime be truly unsolvable? Have beer salesmen always been cool and affluent? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to “Wild Jack Rhett,” an episode of Escape set in a small frontier town in the Old West! When the town’s previous sheriff dies, the citizens need to decide what kind of man they want to hire to replace him. But electing to a hire a steely-eyed killer like Wild Jack Rhett may be more than the town can bear. Will Rhett bring order to this town? How does this compare with Gunsmoke, which in part drew its inspiration from this episode? Should experienced drivers be above the law? Listen for yourself and find out!

This sci-fi themed episode of Quiet Please was recommended to us by our Patreon supporter Lance. Thanks, Lance! Appropriate to the story’s title, “The Pathetic Fallacy” is the story of a scientist who has created a machine capable of computing fantastically complex mathematical problems, but the device seems to willfully be making errors. Soon the public is more interested in the machine’s apparently human-like behavior than its computing power! Is the machine truly alive? Are the scientist and press just indulging in the pathetic fallacy? Do podcast hosts have “real” feelings? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter Simon recommended we make another Appointment with Fear for an episode entitled, “The Clock Strikes Eight”! Thanks, Simon! John Dickson Carr’s corpulent detective, Gideon Fell, is summoned to meet a woman about to be executed for murder. But this woman has lost all her memories, starting with the victim’s death! Can Fell uncover the truth before the fatal hour arrives? What caused this woman to lose her memories? Would you like to go on a vacation with Gideon Fell? Listen for yourself and find out!

The seas aren’t safe while a madman commands the crew of a submarine, sinking whatever ships it finds! But Lamont Cranston is on the case as The Shadow in this episode entitled “Death from the Deep!” But before he can stop this submarine, the Shadow will need to find it! What motivates the killer to do what he does? Will the Shadow be able to outwit his cunning opponent? Is this in any way appropriate for children? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode was recorded live at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis with special guest, Shanan Custer! We’re listening to “The Wailing Wall” from Inner Sanctum Mystery, starring Boris Karloff! The story features a murderous husband who can’t seem to escape his crimes! What is the source of the keening sound that haunts him? Is he truly being plagued by a ghost? Is that really how the police investigate unidentified corpses? Listen for yourself and find out!

A violent series of robberies have Joe Friday and the entire L.A. police force on high alert in this episode of Dragnet, “The Red Light Bandit”! According to his victims, the assailant approached them pretending to be a policeman. Even as a city-wide manhunt fails to stop him, his crimes grow more brutal by the day! How will the police track him down? Is the story you about to hear actually true? Would Dragnet be improved with more pigeon-related content? Listen for yourself and find out!

Philo Vance returns to the podcast! S.S. Van Dine’s classic detective pits his wits against a gang of robbers targeting upper class house parties in “The Cipher Murder Case.” When one of these robbers kills his own partner, a cipher is found on the dead man’s body that could unmask the mastermind behind the crimes! What key did Vance use to decrypt the cipher? Will this story adhere to Van Dine’s Twenty Rules of Mysteries? Are we doing this swingers’ party correctly? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we’re presenting one of our B Sides of the Mysterious Old Radio, an example of the sort of bonus content we make available to our supporters on Patreon! Each B Side is a companion piece to an episode presented as part of our usual podcast. In this case we’re listening to “A Night to Forget” from Quiet Please as a supplement to our previous installment, “The Coffin in Studio B,” from Lights Out! Wyllis Cooper wrote this script roughly 15 years after its predecessor on Lights Out. The story features the star of a popular radio series who suffers from surreal nightmarish experiences that he fears might lead to his own death. Where is the boundry between his reality and his dreams? How does this differ from Cooper’s version of this ideas created for Lights Out? What if a version of this story were produced for The Flintstones? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s not just any episode of Lights Out this week, it’s a recreation of one of Wyllis Cooper’s scripts from the earliest days of the classic series! “The Coffin in Studio B” features the story of actors and a director struggling to get a production of Lights Out ready in time for its broadcast, but creative differences and an uninvited salesman threaten to derail the show. Can the actors and the director agree on what constitutes a menacing tone? What is the actual plot of the episode of Lights Out being depicted in this episode of Lights Out? Does Eric speak Russian? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we meet The Man Called X! Herbert Marsall starred as the title character in this series of espionage thrillers. During this episode, “Storm Over the Alps,” X’s investigation into a counterfeiting ring brings him to the Swiss Alps, specifically an area of the mountains with peculiar weather conditions. But instead of answers, he finds himself framed for murder! Will X learn which way the wind is blowing? What is the secret of the Rhinemaiden? Is it okay to watch season 5 of Fargo without having seen any earlier seasons? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re revisiting the Australian series, The Key, about which not much is known. This episode, “Showgirl Murdered,” tells the story of a man seemingly framed for the murder of his former girlfriend. As the trial proceeds, a variety of circumstances align to prevent him from proving his innocence. Will the true killer be found? Will justice prevail? Do people in Australia often forget the names of food? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to Barbara Stanwyck’s lone appearance on Suspense, “The Wages of Sin”! Stanwyck stars as a hard-boiled woman being used to help cover up a murder. But once the police become involved she comes up with a scheme to secure a sizeable payday for herself! Will she successfully get her payout? Or will she die trying? Can someone bowl so badly that isn’t funny to watch? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our mysterious listener (and Patreon supporter and artist) Tim sent us down to the Listener Library for an episode of Nightfall entitled, “Gerald”! Thanks, Tim! This story features a young boy who is drawn down a dark path by a mysterious figure, someone who can’t always be seen or heard. As the child’s actions grow more monstrous, the child’s father desperately searches for the source of these horrors. What does this stranger want with young Gerald? What will happen when the boy’s father finds out the truth? What will we be watching at 5 AM in Los Angeles? Listen for yourself and find out!

We conclude our trio of inaugural episodes from classic radio series! This time we’re listening to “Milford Brooks III,” the audition episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar! In this initial story, Johnny has to keep the holder of a two-million-dollar life insurance policy holder from committing suicide. Along the way he’ll try to get some quality time with a beautiful lady and figure out why this policy holder suddenly changed his beneficiary! How does Dick Powell compare to other actors who have played Johnny Dollar? Are there life insurance policies that cover suicide? What does it sound like when two people have three drinks with each other? Listen for yourself and find out!

For the second of our trio of inaugural episodes from classic radio series, we present “Dead of Night,” the audition episode for Escape! This story of a British ventriloquist plagued by paranoia and delusions was adapted from one section of the classic horror anthology film of the same name. When this entertainer encounters his American counterpart, jealousy drives him to bizarre and perhaps dangerous behavior! Is the ventriloquist’s dummy truly alive? How does this compare to later Escape episodes? What classic delicacy is made from noodles and disappointment? Listen for yourself and find out!

In the hopes of launching 2024 with some auspicious beginnings, we’re presenting a trio of first episodes from classic radio series! Our mysterious listener Glenn starts us out by celebrating 50 years of CBS Radio Mystery Theater with the series’ debut episode, “The Old Ones are Hard to Kill!” Agnes Moorehead stars as a kindly old woman whose lodger confesses to a murder on his deathbed, and tells her that the man convicted of the crime is innocent. She begins to investigate, hoping to clear the name of the wrongly convicted man, but soon discovers that sinister forces are still at work! What is the truth behind this murder? What was it that made her lodger sick in the first place? What are we throwing at thrift stores as we drive by? Listen for yourself and find out!

Before we dive fully into 2024, we’d like to take a moment to share a sample from our Patreon page! Last October, our patrons were treated to a Halloween Special, “Spirits and Spooks Summoned for Halloween by William Conrad,” a 1973 children’s spoken word album! At the end of the year, our Patreon members declared this the second best bonus content from 2023! Now we’re sharing it with everyone as a little taste of all the great stuff that comes with membership. Please have a listen and consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

Happy New Year’s Eve! We cannot let the year pass without another adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” Unexpectedly, we learned of a version even more contemporary than last year’s, presented by Seeing Ear Theater from 1998! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. Why does he seem to be receiving some otherworldly warning? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What would this story be if Dickens collaborated with Tennessee Williams? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re spending this Christmas with Candy Matson! This episode, entitled “Jack Frost,” features Candy on the case of a missing assistant to a department store Santa, Jack Frost! When the man who played Jack turns up dead, she needs to call in some festive help from her friend Rembrandt Watson! Who would want to kill Jack Frost? What important question will Detective Mallard ask Candy? Can Eric explain the sports jokes to his co-hosts? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to the Listener Library is a gift for Tim from our mysterious listener, Hank. Thanks, Hank! “The Crisis of Dirk Diamond” is an episode of Suspense featuring a cartoonist who’s going to lose his job if he doesn’t come up with a new villain to challenge his protagonist, Dirk Diamond. But when he introduces Freddy, a character that haunted his own childhood, the danger begins to spill off the page and invade reality! Can an artist truly kill his own creation? Can theater of the mind be adapted to comic strip of the mind instead? How many layers of meaning lie beneath the surface of this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

Join us in this celebratory toast to the peaks and valleys that we traveled through in 2022! Based on listener polls, the keen insights of esteemed special guests, and our own incoherent ramblings, one episode shall be declared the specialty of the house and another shall be declared a real punch to the groin. Who can outwit the chess master? Who will regret having followed a banjo act? Why does this episode feature a cat butt? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode is “The Man Who Stole a Planet,” from Quiet, Please! Even for this idiosyncratic, and groundbreaking series, this story is one of the stranger ones, featuring tomb raiding, the undead, and natural disasters in the Iron Range! Who is this man? What planet did he steal? Who wrote the script for the Red-Headed Stepson of Frankenstein? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s been a while since we’ve payed a visit to The Hall of Fantasy, so we’re stopping by for an episode entitled, “The Man in Black!” The story features two men who encounter a woman terrified by a person she calls “the man in black.” Once she’s found dead, the men become obsessed with finding out the truth behind this dark-clad figure. Soon, the two are themselves targeted by this mysterious, unnatural being. Can they discover the identity of the man? What threat does he prove to the woman they both love? What do you call the guy who follows He Who Follows? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Thanksgiving! As always, we are most grateful for our listeners and today we’re celebrating with a visit to our Listener Library! Our Mysterious Listener Dave recommended we check out “The Black Room” from CBS Radio Mysterious Theater. Thanks, Dave! The story features a man locked against his will in a light-less, window-less room. The men who subjected him to this peculiar treatment and the purpose of the room itself are mysterious, but what is certain is that he needs to find a way to survive in utter isolation and darkness. Why was this man chosen for the black room? What might he discover in there? Is it helpful to have a guide during your honeymoon? Listen for yourself and find out!

As the weather turns cold, “The Cabin” from Gunsmoke is the perfect was to prepare for the snow! In this story, Marshal Dillon and his horse get caught in a blizzard and his only hope for survival is to find shelter in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. But what he finds inside might be deadlier than the storm outside! What desperate situation awaits inside? How can Dillon escape? How long will it take Tim to Google the name of that movie he can’t remember? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Halloween! We conclude our Monster on the Air series with this adaptation Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella, “Carmilla,” from Nightfall! We previously listened to Lucille Fletcher’s adaptation for Columbia Workshop about the mysterious young girl named Carmilla who must suddenly be taken in by a kind man and his lonely daughter. As this daughter and Carmilla grow closer, strange deaths begin to plague the surrounding Black Forest of Germany. Is this new guest a threat to her host family? Can Nightfall capture the essence of the novella? Will Joshua’s trivial knowledge of the text impress his co-hosts? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue with Monsters on the Air, our series of monster-themed episodes to celebrate the Halloween season! Our third installment features “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” from NBC Presents: Short Story! This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic novella features Victorian chemist Henry Jekyll, whose experiments transform him into a murderous new persona. Soon the compulsion to return to this dark side leads to blood in the streets and chaos in Jekyll’s own home. How similar is this radio version to the original? What metaphors and themes does this adaptation choose for its focus? What popular band from the 80s will be inevitably referenced in the post-episode discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re celebrating our fourth anniversary with presents! Specifically, Joshua has chosen an episode of The Shadow as a gift for Eric! (Tim will get his present next week…) In this tale, “The Temple Bells of Neban,” Lamont Cranston and his heroic alter ego investigate a rash of drug abuse among young, wealthy socialites. However he quickly comes face-to-face with a sinister woman who seems connected to his own origins! Will Sabi Bel Adda’s powers prove too much for our hero? Is Cranston really allowed to just take animals from the zoo? Will Eric love his present? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our apologies for running late with this episode, but we’re launching ourselves into the Halloween season with this adaptation of a classic M. R. James tale! In “The Ash Tree” from The Black Mass, a woman convicted of witchcraft lays a curses upon the man who accused her. Soon his home is beset by mysterious deaths that continue for generations. What malicious presence has taken up residence in the house? Does this blend of audio drama and storytelling succeed in bringing the tale to life? When did the thought of rats at the window become reassuring? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we listen to an episode of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes recommend to us by our mysterious listener Daniel. Thanks, Daniel! In this story, entitled “The Case of the Double Zero,” Holmes and Watson are portrayed by the two actors most associated with the roles, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. This case finds the duo enjoying some leisure time at a casino until an apparent suicide victim raises questions only the world’s greatest detective can answer! Had the dead man truly lost all his money? Will a morbid plan to steal from the casino succeed? How do Rathbone and Bruce really stack up compared to all the other versions of Holmes and Watson? Listen for yourself and find out!

Pat Novak for Hire was a radio series with enough snappy dialogue to metaphor a whole podcast full of patter. This episode, “John Saint John,” features Jack Webb’s titular character trying to fulfill a stranger’s dying wish to see a letter delivered. But no good deed goes unpunished and soon Novak is the target of several sinister figures with plans of their own! Who is the mysterious John Saint John? What could the envelope contain that would drive men to murder? How many zingers can one script cram into a half hour? Listen for yourself and find out!

After a long stretch of recording remotely, we finally assembled in the same room for this week’s episode! It features a story entitled “Cat’s Cradle” from the series, Price of Fear! Our mysterious listener Monica recommended the story of a tour of a sinister medieval castle, but the tourists themselves may be the true horrors. Why do these visitors seem to have such interest in these artifacts of sadism? Does this story go too far when it comes to cruelty and gore? Did this couple really have no other options for a honeymoon destination? Listen for yourself and find out!

“The Case of the Killer Cards” is an episode of The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe that was recommended to us by our mysterious listener Rob in an actual letter that was sent in the mail! Sydney Greenstreet stars as Rex Stout’s famous corpulent detective. This particular mystery features four criminals who decide to play one winner-take-all game of poker for ownership of their shared illegal enterprises. But there’s murder in the cards and only Nero Wolfe can solve the case! Will Archie Goodwin be given the night off to go on a date? Does the detective really have a meticulous plan to find the solution or is he just improvising? What brand of beer is Wolfe drinking? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our sincere thanks to mysterious listeners Lionel and Abby for recommending this episode of Lights Out, “The Haunted Cell!” You are both awesome! In this story, the police get their hands on a suspected murderer and lock him in a cell— a cell that is allegedly occupied by the ghost of an executed felon! There in the dark, this prisoner must confront both a disembodied voice and his own guilt. Can he avoid the horrors of a final judgment? What kind of legal system works like this? Is our last-minute analysis a stroke of insightful genius or is it obvious to everyone? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re checking out an episode of a series that we haven’t featured before! Our mysterious listener Nathan recommended a story called “Disappearance” from the Canadian show, Vanishing Point. In this tale, a woman starts leads a bartender to a philosophical journey down a bizarre path. Are the strange moments that begin to manifest simply changes in his perception or alterations to reality? Will he find enlightenment or obliviion? Will this episode prove to be too artsy-fartsy or just the right amount of artsy-fartsy? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to “The Black Door” from Suspense, yet another installment in our ongoing Lockdown Listener Series. Thanks to our mysterious listener Roberta for recommending this episode to us! An ambitious archaeologist partners with a treasure hunter to uncover a lost city in the mountains. But the legend of this city contains a dire warning about a “Black Door!” What horrors await them in this ancient ruin? What secret will they learn that connects the place to famous landmarks of history? Does this bar serve late-in-the-day Suspense episodes? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re back this week with another recommendation from our listeners, in this case “The Deadly Hour” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater, an episode suggested by Cindy. Thanks, Cindy! In this tale, heartbreak has driven a man to years of self-imposed silence, but now a bizarre turn of events has compelled him to share his story with a doctor. Can anything be done to comfort this man’s tortured soul? Can what he says be believed? Should we have gone back and edited out Eric’s original interpretation of the plot? Listen for yourself and find out!

As we continue to record these episodes under lock-down conditions, we also continue to listen to suggestions provided by our Mysterious Listeners! This week, we check out “Border Town,” an episode of Escape recommended to us by Marc. Thanks, Marc! Jack Webb stars in this tale of an aspiring actor who decides to explore the seedy underworld in a small Mexican town. The show does include some racial stereotypes and derogatory terms, albeit not what one might expect. Will he outsmart this den of thieves? Just how dangerous is an unemployed actor? How does one play the game, “Wham-O Toy or Smiths’ Song?” Listen for yourself and find out!

Apologies for running a little late, but we are back with an episode recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Swearoh! Thanks, Swearoh! This week, we are listening to “The Wig Makers of Doom Street,” from The Shadow! A ghoulish couple is killing young women to harvest their victims’ hair for theatrical wigs! Can Lamont and Margo put an end to this diabolical business plan? Is this a crime that we could make pay? Is that ad saying that education is a good thing or bad thing? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our mysterious listener Tim, who recommended we check out “Delay en Route,” from Cloak and Dagger! This series took its inspiration from the files of the OSS, the American organization dedicated to espionage during World War II! In this particular episode, an OSS agent must face a difficult decision after helping the Italian partisans oust the fascists from their town. Who can truly say what justice is? Will Roberto successfully return to Vermont? Is this more like Sgt. Preston of the Yukon or Call of Duty? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we kick off the first in a series of episodes recorded during stay-at-home orders, beginning with “Ancient Sorceries” from Escape recommended to us by our Mysterious Listeners Marc and Anton! Based on the story by Algernon Blackwood, “Ancient Sorceries” tells the tale of a buttoned-up British man who finds himself mysteriously drawn to a Welsh village where the taciturn inhabitants seem to already know him. Where on Earth is the strange organ music coming from? What do cats and sleep have in common? Would a soothing magical balm make it easier to listen to “Cat Wife”?  Listen for yourself and find out!

April 2nd would have been the late Jack Webb’s 100th birthday! Our mysterious listener Mark recommended that we celebrate the occasion and by happy coincidence, our mysterious listener Tim recommended that we listen to “The Big Ruling” from Webb’s signature series, Dragnet! This particular episode depicts an investigation of a heroin ring and evidence that law enforcement is no longer what it once was! Will an informant provide enough details to catch and convict the narcotics dealer? Do you find the casual banter between officers to be authenticating or extraneous? Why would Joe Friday need a new suit? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we seek high adventure with the episode “The Shanghai Secret,” from the series, Voyage of the Scarlet Queen. Ship’s Master Kearney cannot set sail until the murder of his first mate is solved. But staying ashore makes him an easy target for an international conspiracy. Can Kearney trust anyone? Who did kill his first mate? Just how amorous are his feelings for his ship? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Dawn who recommended this week’s visit to the Listener Library, “Where Do We Go From Here?” from Nightfall! This episode of the beloved series tells the tale of a man who has been left completely immobilized in a death-like state after a car crash. Can he find a way to communicate that he is awake and alert? What fate awaits him if he fails? Are Canadian ambulances better than those in the U.S.? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Valentine’s Day celebration is over a month late and still not what we intended, but we won’t let that stop us! As a gift for his wife Adrienne, Joshua chose an adaptation of a story by one of her favorite authors, Dorothy Sayers. “The Cave of Ali Baba,” was an early episode of Suspense that tells the story of an infiltration into a secret cabal of thieves. The tale is notable for featuring a fantastical invention that would someday become reality. (Learn more about this at https://blog.oup.com/2016/03/dorothy-sayers-voice-print-vsi/) Will the intruder’s deception be discovered? Why is there so much dancing? Would Adrienne have liked this? Listen for yourself and find out!

When the world has turned upside down and nothing makes any sense, it’s time for Dark Fantasy! This week’s episode, “Cup of Gold,” features a golf tournament where the winner has been murdered! The prime suspect is a woman who can recall neither why she was there nor why she presented the winner with a counterfeit trophy. What secret drove her to this dire situation? What past crime was being avenged by this death? What … whoa, Dark Fantasy, what…what are you doing there? Listen for yourself and find out!

This month marks 100 years since the birth of actor/writer/director/ producer Antony Ellis! Our listener Mark suggested we celebrate Ellis’ remarkable career and we have chosen an episode of Escape to do just that! The Abominable Snowman was written and directed by Ellis and it tells the tale of a hunting expedition in the Himalayas determined to track down the legendary yeti. What do the local guides know about this creature that the hunters do not? Just who is really hunting who? Will we at any point successfully say the word abubinuble…amunabubble…bunimumable—dang it! Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Mark for sending us to the Listener Library this week for a special treat, “The Case of the Flaming Skull,” an episode of The Shadow that was rebroadcast as part of Mystery Playhouse. It’s a treat because we get Peter Lorre serving as host to the Shadow! In this particular episode, our masked hero squares off against a glowing skeletal thief who may have abducted a scientist! What has driven this creature to pursue its thefts? Is the entity a supernatural horror, a product of aberrant science, or a clever fraud? Just how many Batman villains did this episode inspire? Listen for yourself and find out!

There’s been a murder and we’re joining San Francisco P.I. Candy Matson to find the solution to “The Cable Car Case!” When a shopping trip puts Candy on the same cable car as a murder victim, our sharp-witted heroine sees a chance to earn a few bucks if she can solve the crime before the police. How was the murder even possible in such a crowded space? Will Candy’s investigation put her in the killer’s crosshairs? Will anyone in San Francisco still be sober enough to care about the solution? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week is the second of two episodes in which we check out the beginning of Suspense and its end! “Devilstone” was the last episode of the classic series to be broadcast and it features the tale of a haunted Irish manor that has a peculiar effect on the dead. What secret drove the previous tenant mad? Will this story serve as the ideal finale for the famous series? What sound does a peahen make? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 adapted for his 1927 silent film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. Based on the Jack the Ripper murders, this story depicts a mysterious zealot who who rents a room from a working class London couple. Could this stranger be the murderous figure known as the Avenger? Why did this episode receive so many complaints? Are we being stalked by Bromo-Seltzer? Listen for yourself and find out!

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! Can these jokes still be funny after all these years? Are visual gags better when you can’t see them? Which comedy icon threatens to tear this podcast apart? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 actually remember all of what we listened to last year? Listen for yourself and find out! Plus, we have some announcements about the coming year and other fun surprises!

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 them their lives! What could drive a woman to such strange extremes? Did the small mountain village just disappear? Why does anyone go to Andora? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 this writer find his inspiration for the monster in this picture? How much resentment does Cooper still harbor toward Hollywood? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 alternative to Christmas? Are we really going to sit around critiquing A Christmas Carol? Listen for yourself and find out!

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? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What will it take for you to be proud of your underwear? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 disturbance or is she just married to a yuppie? Why are her children obsessed with a snowman that doesn’t seem to really exist? Does Eric own the DVD of Schindler’s List? Listen for yourself and find out!

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. Could this man manifest the abilities he claimed? What happened at the bank to make this woman so distraught? Is this story flawed because it is a typical Arch Oboler story or is that what makes it awesome? Listen for yourself and find out!

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? Is this story a classic hard-boiled mystery or an over-the-top oddity? WHY WON’T THAT GUY SPEAK UP? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 the end of humanity? Can all of these stories really be condensed down to thirty minutes? Will David appreciate our jokes about Oslo? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 that led his culture to its end. What lessons can be gleaned from an old man’s bittersweet memories? How well does this tale serve as a final episode to this legendary series? Are we truly nothing more than just a bunch of people sitting around talking? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 fulfilling the convict’s threat! What grisly fate awaits the shooter? Why does the Shadow hold society responsible for these deaths? Can Orson Welles seriously not shut up for ten seconds even when the Shadow’s life depends on it? Listen for yourself and find out

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’s commercials to be totally drinkable or has it broken your taster? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 hypnotist? Or is it a Nick-and-Nora-like farcical mystery? Is it just a story about a guy yelling at his dog? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 difficult is it for a Minnesotan to send food back at a restaurant? Listen for yourself and find out! (And thank you to our mysterious listener Terry for this illustration of Vincent Price!)

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 influence? Is there anything worse than sleepwalking with a gun? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 from? After three years, have we now just been reduced to slapping each other? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 rescue the other version of herself and finally be free from these nightmares? What is the true nature of a dream? Can Joshua and Tim quickly explain Twin Peaks to Eric? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 going over? Is anyone out there writing Johnny Dollar fan-fiction? Listen for yourself and find out!

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 to fall into place! Mike may be indestructible but what about Johnny? Is it more than just a coincidence that this particular shelter has been targeted by Cosgrove? Just how many times have we been knocked unconscious? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

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 Cosgrave has returned to his felonious ways? Will this episode end with yet another attempt on Mike’s life? Is this shelter run by a professional wrestler? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

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 mention it if you were stabbed with an ice pick? Would you have the good manners to wave back when someone shoots you? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

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 authorize this? Can the city’s indigent sing well? How well do we understand the plot without going back and listening again? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment! (While you wait, check out the Breaking Walls documentary about Johnny Dollar, episode 72, and their follow-up, episode 74!)

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 pretend to be asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

Jimmy Stewart stars in “Mission Completed,” an episode of Suspense about a veteran whose experiences in a Japanese POW camp left him paralyzed. When he sees the face of his former captor working across the street, his strength begins to return. Will he get the revenge he has longed for? Can he keep his newfound health a secret? What does Admiral Ackbar think of Colt 45? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to another episode of Mystery Playhouse, a series which repurposed other shows (in this case Inner Sanctum Mystery) for the Armed Forces Network! This story, “Murder Comes at Midnight,” depicts a woman at home alone with her child when when a dangerous stranger shows up at her door, nursing a broken arm. Why is her husband so late getting home? Who will prevail in their battle of wills? Given that this poor woman is a novelist, hasn’t she suffered enough? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been listening to a lot of Lucille Fletcher-penned stories lately, and this week we check out an episode she wrote for The Clock, “Bad Dreams!” A Hungarian husband who has just immigrated to America with his wife begins suffering from terrible dreams of imprisonment and death. Why is he suddenly tormented by these nightmares? Will they ruin his ability to work and support himself and his wife? Have we listened to episodes of the The Clock before? Listen for yourself and find out!

UPDATE: The date we give for the episode’s initial broadcast is incorrect! The actual date was March 9, 1953 and was rebroadcast on November 23, 1953. This week’s visit to our Listener Library features an episode of Hall of Fantasy, “The Masks of Ashor,” recommended to us by Clarence! Thanks, Clarence! A couple receives two gold masks as a gift from a relative traveling through Istanbul. They soon learn the strange story of the masks and why they seem to stare at their new owners! Why was the merchant who owned them before so eager to sell them? What face were these treasures meant to hide? Was there a time when people just knocked on doors, looking for stamps? Listen for yourself and find out!

Horror icon Boris Karloff made a handful of appearances on Lights Out and this week, we’re listening to a peculiar example, “The Dream!” Templeton Fox joined Karloff for this story of a man who never dreams suddenly experiencing strange visions both in his sleep and while awake! What is the source of these horrific imaginings? What end are these dreams driving him toward? Is this a story written by a guy falling asleep for guys falling asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

We pulled this episode of The Shadow from our Listener Library, recommended to us by Chris. Thanks, Chris! In “The Circle of Death,” the Shadow plays a dangerous game, manipulating the police in his hunt for a madman who is terrorizing the city! Will the Shadow’s plan lead to disaster? Is the Shadow really just a voice in someone else’s head? Who are the enigmatic powerful theater moguls presiding over the Twin Cities? Listen for yourself and find out!

We follow up last week with another episode written by Lucille Fletcher! This time we are listening to “Remodeled Brownstone” from Columbia Workshop. While her husband renovates their newly purchased Victorian home, a woman fears that their brownstone is haunted by a ghostly child. Is she simply imagining this spirit? How much renovation does it take to completely change a home? How on earth did the post-show conversation get to Matt Berry? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Scott for this week’s visit to the Listener Library! Scott recommended an episode of Suspense entitled, “Fugue in C Minor!” Vincent Price and Ida Lupino star in this story written by Lucille Fletcher about a woman whose widowed suitor lives in a home built around an enormous pipe organ. She soon discovers that his children believe their mother haunts the house after their father murdered her. Are the children delusional? Is the house haunted by a vengeful spirit? Would a pipe organ be the worst household appliance to malfunction? Listen for yourself and find out!

Can you solve the mystery in this episode of The Adventures of Ellery Queen? This week, we’re listening to “The Adventure of the World Series Crime,” a story of baseball sabotage and the disappearance of a very special bat! This time, famed detective Ellery Queen only has three hours to find the culprit! Will he find the lost bat in time to restore the Eagles’ chances in the World Series? Wait, the Eagles are in the World Series? Are Tim and Joshua really attempting to have a discussion about the history of baseball with Eric? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time for another visit to the Listener Library! “Til Death Do Us Part” is an episode of Inner Sanctum recommended to us by Marc. Thanks, Marc! In this tale, a couple’s honeymoon is cut short when they witness a murder! Soon the newlyweds are on the run and making desperate decisions. Just how bad can their honeymoon get? How long can Mr. Host continue to say things that sound like jokes, without actually telling any real jokes? Wait, what was the killer’s plan? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Father’s Day! We’re celebrating with a paternally themed episode of Quiet Please, entitled, “My Son John.” A doting father aches for the return of his son who has been lost overseas. In his desperation, he turns to the occult, but soon discovers, “there’s always a catch.” Will what he finds truly be his son? Will his love for his child carry him past the point of no return? Do we have any acting tips to infuse mustard with menace? Listen for yourself and find out! (Like many episodes of Quiet Please, the audio on this one can be challenging. You might wish to follow along with this transcript of the show.)

This week, we listen to an episode of Obsession entitled “The Silver Cord,” in which a young woman longs to leave home. But an overbearing matriarch is determined to keep her near. Soon, a dark secret forever changes the bond that connects the two of them. Will the young woman ever escape to begin a new life? Why does the older woman find lightning storms so entertaining? Would this have been improved if they were connected by a literal silver cord? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re paying another visit to our Listener Library! This time we’re checking out “The Golem,” an episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theater recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Clare! (Thanks, Clare!) This World War II-era tale features a married couple who must choose between protecting their own family and sheltering a young Jewish woman and her grandfather. As the story unfolds, the grandfather acts strangely, collecting all the necessary elements to create the legendary entity known as the Golem! Will the couple help the fugitives or betray them? Is the Golem only a figure from folklore or might it truly come to life? How will our conversation incorporate both Johnny Carson and Superman? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we listen to an episode of X Minus One, “The Cave of Night,” which tells the story of messages sent from an astronaut trapped in orbit. Presented as an unfinished news report, this unique tale depicts the world’s desperate attempt to rescue the man before his oxygen runs out! Can they reach this brave explorer’s ship in time? How does the story compare to genuine historic events that followed this broadcast? How exactly does this essay about Game of Thrones relate to the story? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s installment features another visit to our listener library with an episode of Favorite Story, recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Tim (author of numerous books including Radio by the Book: Adaptations of Literature and Fiction on the Airwaves)! In this case, the series is presenting Fred Allen’s “favorite story,” an adaptation of “Frankenstein.” How will this version of the frequently-adapted tale distinguish itself from others? Is the story improved by including all the murders? How different were the police back then? Listen for yourself and find out!

The Society is finally paying another visit to The Hermit’s Cave! This episode, entitled “The House on Lost Man’s Bluff,” tells the story of a husband, wife, and her brother on a road trip. But when the weather turns stormy, the trio is forced to take shelter in an abandoned house. Once inside, a sinister plan begins to unfold! Why would the husband return to this house a second time? Why has he found a job for his brother-in-law so far from their home? What are all those dogs barking at? Listen for yourself and find out!

This visit to the Listener Library features an episode recommended to us by two listeners! Both Moses and Ethan suggested we check out “The Outsider” from the 1960s-era series, The Black Mass! Erik Bauersfeld (who provided the voices for both Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna) adapted, performed, and produced this version of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic short story in which an unnamed protagonist struggles to escape from a dreary and desolate environment. What circumstances brought him to live in such a dismal place? What would he discover if he were to escape? Is this episode a trap? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this episode we return to The Weird Circle for a tale entitled “The Red Hand,” in which a young French woman discovers her husband hides a terrible secret that could lead to her death! Will she and her maid successfully disguise themselves and escape the peril they face? Doesn’t The Weird Circle usually do adaptations of literary works? What is dark secret behind Tim’s decision to bring this particular story to the podcast? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week features another episode of Suspense from our Listener Library! Mark recommended we check out “Pigeon in the Cage,” starring Lloyd Bridges as a wallpaper hanger who finds himself trapped in a house where a murder plot is underway. Will the killers find him before he can escape? Can he keep his wits about him in the worst of situations? How did he memorize all those different wallpapers? Listen for yourself and find out!

In honor of the recent April Fool’s Day, we’re indulging in a more comedic episode of The Mysterious Traveler! The story features a young man traveling to join his fiancée. En route, he discovers the ghost of a hobo lurking inside his trailer. As this spirit makes himself at home, happily revealing all the tricks of hauntings, his presence begins to threaten his host’s plans for the future. Can the young man do anything to rid himself of this unwanted guest? What are the main tools used by ghosts for terrifying the living? Do people actually know the names of Casper the Friendly Ghost’s uncles? Listen for yourself and find out!

Hot on the heels of last week’s episode of The Shadow, we’re listening to another episode of The Shadow! This time we’ve drawn an episode from our Listener Library, “Out of this World,” written by Alfred Bester and recommended to us by David. Thanks David! This particular production was recorded in Australia and the story features Lamont and Margot investigating a string of murders that may have been perpetrated by extraterrestrials! How vast is the conspiracy behind these deaths? How did the police get their hands on such advanced technology? Once you face an alien invasion, is it time to retire from crime fighting? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to the very first episode of The Shadow to celebrate our 125th tale of crime, suspense, and horror! “The Death House Rescue” stars Orson Welles and features the first appearance of Margot Lane! An innocent man get swept up with a robbery that puts him on death row, but the Shadow intends to see that the real criminals are punished. What forgotten clue will trip up the culprits? Do Margot and Lamont truly love each other? Is disembodied laughter the creepiest behavior available to the Shadow? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to another installment from our Listener Library, a story recommended to us by you, our Mysterious Listeners! Kate suggested this episode of The Whistler entitled “Death Wears a White Robe!”A nasty feud between two women comes to a head when they share a cabin for their winter vacation. Soon accusations of scandal become threats of murder. Which woman has the sharper insults? What will prove more dangerous, the rivalry or the blizzard? What sort of education do you get walking by night? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to “The Lottery,” an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s famous tale of a village’s distinctive annual tradition presented by NBC Presents: Short Story. In this classic parable, all the families in town gather together to draw lots as part of a time-honored celebration to guarantee a bountiful harvest. Which family will draw the paper with the black spot? How does this adaptation compare to the original text? Was this podcast better back when we used wood chips? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode was based on a suggestion by Matt, who inspired us to listen to “The Long Night” from Suspense. Frank Lovejoy stars in this tense tale of an air traffic controller trying to guide a lost and inexperienced pilot to a safe landing. Can he steel his own nerves enough to not panic the man in the plane? When your engine is dying, could you trust your plane to fly itself? Do you recognize the reference to The Return of the Durutti Column even though Tim misidentified it as an album by the Sex Pistols? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time to take another walk down the Hall of Fantasy! This time we’re listening to an episode entitled “The Perfect Script”! An eccentric radio producer has brought a young writer to his seaside home to create the perfect tale of horror. How does this producer motivate such vivid tales of terror? Why have none of the previous authors ever written a second script for this show? Is milk really that dangerous? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, we are joined this year by Tim’s wife, Wendy! Wendy has brought us Mercedes McCambridge in an episode of Defense Attorney entitled “Client Mike Pelley!” In this story, an innocent man faces the death penalty based on the eyewitness testimony of a respected housewife. But his attorney, Martha Ellis Barrett, is determined to uncover the truth and save her client. Why would this witness lie about a complete stranger? What price would a person pay to hide the past? Will there still be time for necking in the park? Listen for yourself and find out!

February is the perfect time to share some love, and we’re sharing our love of Boris Karloff! Join us for “The Hunt” from Creeps by Night! In this story, a pair of siblings live on a remote farm where an unknown beast has been killing sheep. But when this creature claims a human victim, a curious professor arrives to investigate a disturbing theory. Can the younger sister escape from the farm and find happiness? Why does the older brother insist on burying the the slaughtered sheep? Will we remember that we already listened to “The Werewolf?” Listen for yourself and find out!

January may be over, but we’re making one more trip to our Listener Library before getting back to choosing our own episodes. This week, we listen to “Cat Wife” from Lights Out! Our thanks to Darrell, who requested this story of a husband whose marriage is so catastrophic, he somehow transforms her into a yowling, scratching feline. Boris Karloff stars in this truly bizarre tale by Arch Oboler. Will this unexplained change improve their marriage? How exactly would you report this to the police? What secret haunts this unique performer? How many cat-hybrid characters can we mention? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to spend January in the Listener Library catching up on suggestions sent to us by you, our Mysterious Listeners! Our thanks to Gary for recommending “Flesh Peddler” from Suspense! The story features DeForest Kelley as a talent agent determined to take a mysterious ventriloquist on as a client. Why are the other carnival acts so determined to prevent this? What secret haunts this unique performer? Why does it take Tim so long to Google things while we are recording? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time again to visit The Clock! We’re spending January going through our Listener Library, catching up on suggestions sent to us by you, our Mysterious Listeners! “Aunt Emmy” was recommended to us by Cole (thanks, Cole!) and it features a young girl visiting her aunt in the country. But there are mysteries and madness in this remote home as well! What happened to the tie salesman who disappeared last Halloween? Why is the furnace kept so hot? How is everyone not dead from food poisoning? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re back and this month we are returning to our Listener Library! A listener named Joshua (not our Joshua) suggested that we listen to “The Young Man with the Cream Tarts” from Escape! This episode is an adaptation of a short story, the first of three stories collectively known as The Suicide Club, by Robert Louis Stevenson. It tells the tale of two men who encounter a desperate youth, trying to give away pastries. This young stranger leads them to a macabre secret society. Why do these two lie to the young man about their names? Why do the members of this society gather to play a deadly game of cards? Why does everyone sound like Orson Welles to Eric? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s Christmas and we’re celebrating the things we love, and that includes classic holiday episodes from great radio series such as CBS Radio Mystery Theater! In honor of the day, we’re presenting CBSRMT’s adaptation of a Christmas Carol without any poll or post-show critique. It’s just a yuletide treat for everyone to enjoy. Happy Holidays to our wonderful listeners and thank you for sharing a great year of classic radio with us!

It’s almost Christmas and we’re celebrating the season with CBS Radio Mystery Theater! In this episode, entitled “A Holiday Visit,” a couple on their way to visit family find themselves stranded in a strange, nearly-abandoned town called Taylortown. If this strange old woman is the only inhabitant, where is that singing coming from? Can Skip and Joan escape this mysterious place and make it home for Christmas? What better way to spend the holidays than making each other feel like jerks and not offering each other scones? Listen for yourself and find out!

As part of our run of Christmas episodes last year, we listened to one of the Suspense versions of “The Signal-Man,” based on Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story. The Signal-Man has been adapted by so many different series, we’re revisiting the tale, this time listening to the Columbia Workshop version of the story of an isolated rail worker whose strange visions foretell terrible tragedies. Is the Signal-Man suffering delusions or catching glimpses of the future? How will this version compare to last year’s? Are your pets technically haunting you? Listen for yourself and find out!

This December we’re checking out holiday-themed episodes starting with “A Study in Wax” from Escape! William Conrad and Stacy Harris star in this tale of two men working together in a remote Arctic outpost. As the isolation and bitter cold erode their spirits, they begin to turn on each other. How much worse is life without listening to radio shows? Can opening Christmas presents restore the peace? Why would anyone live somewhere that gets to 40 degrees below zero? Listen for yourself and find out!

We have one more episode dedicated to saying thanks to our listeners! This time we are joined by Brent, a Patreon supporter at the highest tier! He’s brought us “The Long Wait” from Suspense featuring Burt Lancaster! Lancaster plays Dan, a man fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit. When he goes to take revenge on Lois, the woman responsible for his incarceration and the death of his brother, he finds his feelings won’t let him follow through. Will his brother’s dangerous friends tolerate this change of heart? Can Lois’ happiness fulfill Dan? Would this story have worked better as an episode of Super Friends? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Thanksgiving! We asked listeners to vote for an episode from a list of titles originally broadcast during the week of Thanksgiving. The results are in and we are listening to “The Thing from the Sea” from Dark Fantasy! Originally aired in 1941 (although according to The Digital Deli , it was broadcast December 5th rather than November 28th), this is the story of a lost ship stumbling upon an island that has just reemerged from the ocean. What became of the civilization that once lived here? What fate does the strange creature in the young woman’s dream foretell? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather vote for The Green Hornet? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we continue our month of saying thank you to our listeners! For this episode, we are joined by Aimee! Not only is Aimee the creator of the fantastic Twelve Chimes It’s Midnight podcast, she’s also a Patreon supporter at the highest tier! She invited us to listen to “The Big Confession” from Dragnet! A troubled young man wanders into the police office to confess to a murder, but Sergeant Joe Friday suspects something about his story doesn’t add up. Will the facts establish a murder happened as the man said? What reasons would he give to justify such a crime? What bit of trivia does Aimee provide to top references to Magilla Gorilla and the Pentateuch? Listen for yourself and find out!

Throughout November we will be saying thank you to our listeners! This week we are joined by Chip, a Patreon supporter at the highest tier.  Chip has invited us to listen to an episode of The Shadow entitled “The Face!” A famous actor suffers a disfiguring accident that drives him to kill. Will the Shadow be able to put an end to his crimes? What will it take to make the Shadow afraid? Do you have the same dark, grisly taste in radio as Chip? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s Halloween and we’ve got one more ghost story to share before the end of the night! Our final haunted tale for the month is “The Three Ghosts” from The Shadow! Orson Welles stars in this tale of a wealthy wife tormented by a spectral presence. However, the Shadow suspects the alleged ghost hides a plot to murder her for her money!  How will this earlier incarnation of the character deal out justice? Will Eric’s love of the Shadow outweigh his aversion to Orson? Why do prisoners need a library card? Listen for yourself and find out!

Happy Halloween! We’re celebrating this spooky time of year by listening to ghost stories. Aimee Pavy from Twelve Chimes It’s Midnight recommended this one, “Good Ghost” by Wyllis Cooper from Quiet Please. Thanks, Aimee! It’s the story of an everyday sort of guy who suffers a wrongful death, but he’s in no rush to become a vengeful spirit. Why would he want to help out his murderer? Is there a limit to his patience and good nature? How awkward would Hogan’s Heroes be without a laugh track? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re celebrating October with a series of ghost stories, and this week we check out “Lanceford House” (also known as “The Green Vase”) from Beyond Midnight! Based on a short story by Dennis Roidt, it’s the tale of a novelist who moves into an old house with a dark history. What lies in the locked attic? Why has he become so fascinated by the green vase left behind by a former occupant? Are angry mobs just more polite in the country? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue our ghost-filled celebration of Halloween with an episode of BBC’s Fear on Four entitled “Tapping.” It tells the story of a wife trying to convince her husband to open up about a childhood trauma that still haunts him. What threat can a memory really hold? Do Scottish dialects inherently make ghost stories better? How much is 2018 minus 1997? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s almost Halloween and to celebrate, we’re listening to ghost stories! The first haunting tale is Arch Oboler’s “Knock at the Door” from Lights Out. A woman’s resentment toward her new husband’s mother turns homicidal, but being murdered doesn’t improve the mother’s mood. Does the young wife have enough upper body strength to survive? Does her husband sound more like Lennie or more like Lon Chaney, Jr.? What all is in Charles Fort’s Book of the Damned? Listen for yourself and find out!

After our long run of listener recommendations and Patreon rewards, we’re back to picking out a few episodes for ourselves! In this case, we’re listening to “Treasure Hunt” from The Whistler! A scoundrel endears himself to one of two sisters once he discovers that their grandfather left behind a hidden fortune. Can he decipher the verse that leads to the money’s location? How dysfunctional could his relationship with this sister possibly get? If we keep rearranging atoms are we going to explode? Listen for yourself and find out!

As a reward for our listeners whose support pushed our Patreon page above $150 per month, we’re finally presenting our most requested episode, “Three Skeleton Key” from Escape! Vincent Price stars in James Poe’s adaptation of a short story by George Toudouze about three men maintaining a lighthouse off the coast of French Guiana. When deadly invaders descend on this isolated island, who will survive? Will this recording live up to its sterling reputation? Is The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis superior to Gilligan’s Island? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve reached our 100th episode and as a thank you to those listeners whose support pushed our Patreon page above $100 per month, we’ve prepared a special giant-sized recording for Mercury Theatre on the Air’s legendary version of The War of the Worlds, an adaptation of H.G Wells’ novel about the invasion of Earth by deadly Martians! Does Orson Welles’ mad plan to tell this story via realistic news bulletins still pack a punch? When you strip away the myth and hyperbole surrounding this recording, how good is the actual story? Wait, Orson Welles and H.G. Wells were interviewed together? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve got time for one more visit to our Listener Library before our 100th episode! After our first foray into Murder at Midnight, Bob suggested another installment from the same series, “The Ape Song!” In this tale, a big game hunter returns home from safari to his estranged wife, vowing to never hunt again. Nonetheless, this man has brought home a caged ape with whom he has struck a peculiar bond. Can you imagine Raymond from Inner Sanctum as a big game hunter?  Would Alfred Hitchcock films be improved with the addition of gorillas?  Are there any YouTube clips of singing gorillas? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Listener Library series continues this week as we listen to “The Screaming Woman” from Suspense, recommended to us by our Robert. Thanks, Robert! Based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, the episode tells the tale of a young girl whose Thanksgiving is interrupted by the disembodied cries of a woman buried alive. It features a performance by acclaimed child star Margaret O’ Brien, who won an Academy Juvenile Award in 1944 for the role of Tootie in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis. Can this girl convince her friends or family to help rescue the woman in time? Can you guess the uncredited identity of the actress who plays the screaming woman? Have we been celebrating Thanksgiving wrong? Terribly, terribly wrong? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to David and Colleen for recommending this week’s episode! This installment from our Listener Library is an episode of Quiet Please entitled “Let the Lilies Consider,” in which a man accused of murdering his wife insists that she has become a large lily. Wyllis Cooper wrote this surreal tale of love and strange botany. Will the man’s story exonerate him? What truly happened? Is this story halfway between scripture and Star Trek? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we feature another episode from our Listener Library, this time a story entitled “Hands of Death” from The Sealed Book, recommended to us by Jill. Many thanks, Jill! It’s the story of two brothers, one driven to murder by his monstrous hands and the other obsessed with collecting murder-related memorabilia. After a disputed inheritance has driven them apart, their reunion is a macabre blend of blackmail, revenge, and milk. Which brother is the true monster? In their deadly rivalry, which of the two will gain the upper hand? Did you see what I did there? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re running a little late this week—out humblest apologies! Our Listener Library is again featured in this week. This time, we’re listening to “It Happened” from Lights Out, recommended to us from a fan on Instagram! The recording tells the story of a young girl, eager to explore her own freedom, runs away from her tour group in Paris. Her quest for fun and adventure soon takes a dark turn as she finds that beneath the city of lights exists a gruesome world of eternal night. Is this the worst vacation/etsy shop idea ever endured? What is the true nature of suspense? Why did no one tell Tim that Sadako vs. Kayako has been out in North America for more than a year? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to delve into our Listener Library, this time featuring an episode of Suspense entitled “The Devil’s Saint” by John Dickson Carr! The story was recommended to us by Hubert after listening to our take on the Cabin B-13 version of the same story using the title, “The Sleep of Death!” Carr’s story tells the story of a young woman and her mysterious uncle, played by the one and only Peter Lorre. When a young man seeks the niece’s hand in marriage, the uncle forbids the wedding unless the suitor passes a night in a seemingly cursed room. Why do guests in the tapestry room die during the night?  Will the young man survive to see the dawn? Is there any better way for young unmarried women to attract husbands than wearing funny hats? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to our Listener Library features a classic Ray Bradbury story as adapted by X Minus One! Our thanks to Cheryl (author of The Viv and Charlie Mystery Series!) for recommending this episode, “Mars is Heaven,” based on part of Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (although it was originally published in Planet Stories).  An exploratory mission to Mars discovers strangely familiar sights when they land on the planet’s surface. What hopes and fears dwell in the hearts of those who explore new worlds? Do the small town comforts hide some sinister secret? Did we perpetuate another internet error by saying that Mason Adams was in this cast even though he’s not mentioned in the actual recording? (Our apologies if we did.) Listen for yourself and find out!

Join us for “A World of Darkness” from Suspense! We’re continuing to pull episodes from our Listener Library and this story was recommended to us by Bart. Thanks, Bart! “A World of Darkness” features the investigation of a young woman’s murder. The police have an array of likely suspects and one witness—a man who cannot see (played by Paul Lukas). This man claims to know who killed her and how. Why would someone in this young woman’s life be driven to kill her? Can the sounds the witness hears from his own apartment prove who the murderer was? Is Carl really a good dog? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re still exploring our Listener Library, and this week our thanks go to Christian for recommending “Bloodbath,” an episode of Escape, featuring Vincent Price. Five men in the middle of the jungle discover a vast uranium deposit and a fortune awaits any survivors who reach civilization. But the fewer survivors there are, the more money awaits. Is nature crueler than the greed of humanity? Are these animals actually this deadly in real life? In what ways are Vincent Price and Cookie Monster alike? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we are listening to another episode of the Canadian series, Nightfall! Our thanks to Ashley for recommending “Assassin Game” to us! Saul Rubinek stars in this rare science fiction story from the series. In the future year of 1994, the finest students at prestigious universities prove their competitive edge by playing a game of assassination. But as corporate influence begins to increase, the game grows truly deadly! Does this game foster excellence or ruthless ambition? Is this university nothing more than a corporate puppet? Would you like this jingle lodged in your head forever? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are back in the Listener Library, this time exploring “A Country Road,” an episode of Suspense recommended to us by Donal. Many thanks, Donal! Cary Grant stars in this thriller about a married couple who take an ill-timed shortcut that leaves them stuck with a deranged killer on the loose. Is there any escape from their predicament? When the danger arrives, will their fears paralyze them? Do you love Cary Grant as mach as we do? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are back in the Listener Library! Because Darrell requested it, we’re listening to an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story, specifically an episode of X Minus One entitled “Colony!” In a search for a suitable planet to colonize, a ship’s crew examine a world that seems too good to be true. Why have their possessions suddenly turned against their owners? Is there any way to know which items are genuine? Do you trust your rug? Do you trust it completely? Listen for yourself and find out!

We continue to explore our Listener Library! This time, we listen to “Valse Triste,” an episode of Lights Out recommended to us by Lionel. Thanks, Lionel!  Two young women stumble upon a mysterious hermit who commits their fate to the outcome of a coin toss. Can anything be done to escape the deadly consequences? How does the famed composition Valse Triste relate to the themes of this story? What could “Make mine vanilla with onions” possibly mean? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s another week of catching up on our Listener Library! This time, thanks to a recommendation from Holly, we are listening to “The Thing in the Cave,” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater. A group of speleologists find themselves trapped in a cave reputed to be inhabited by a monstrous creature. Can they overcome their own shortcomings to survive? Is there really a monster that dwells in this subterranean world? Is proper letter-writing etiquette really that important? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Jeff for suggesting we listen to “The Ravine” from Bradbury 13!  Based on acclaimed writer Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Whole Town’s Sleeping,” this episode tells the story of a dark night in a small town. Despite a murderer being on the loose, three young women brave a trip to the movies. Will they dare pass through the ravine where the killer lurks? Why is Lavinia so determined to face this threat? How many peppermint chews can you get for a nickel? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, esoteric scholarship leads to…Murder at Midnight! In this episode, “The Kabbalah,” a professor of the occult suddenly comes into possession of a strange, ancient book. Inside he discovers a forgotten version of the Kabbalah, and uses this system of transforming words into numbers to reveal hidden truths of the universe. It not only answers questions about the future, but also seems to grant wishes. What dark price does this book require for its secrets? Is this just the sort of thing that happens in a college towns? How many obscure references can we cram into one discussion? Listen for yourself and find out!

UPDATE: Our guess for the episode’s initial broadcast is incorrect! That was a rebroadcast of an episode aired on August 22, 1952. Our thanks to Will for recommending this Hall of Fantasy episode, “The Castle of Lavoca!” Or maybe it’s “The Castle of Drago.” Or it may be “The Legend of Drago.” Regardless of the proper name, the story depicts two American tourists who visit a small Eastern European town in the shadow of an old castle. Is there truth to the stories about the baron who once called this castle home? Do these tourists dare risk visiting the castle and becoming part of it’s sinister legend? Are Satan’s dogs truly evil or just poorly trained? Listen for yourself and find out!