Retro Radio: Old Time Radio in the Dark

A writer is gifted the rope that hanged a notorious highwayman, and from that night forward, something with a face like impure wax begins following him through London — into his dreams, into his work, and finally into the jury box of a murder trial he was never meant to survive.

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Trial For Murder” (October 24, 1977)
00:48:20.210 = CBC Nightfall, “The Wedding” (April 15, 1983) ***WD
01:18:54.528 = Nightmare, “Chance of a Ghost” (March 31, 1945) ***WD
01:40:57.831 = Obsession, “The Hangman” (January 15, 1951) ***WD
02:10:47.211 = Origin of Superstition, “Breaking The Wishbone” (1935)
02:25:03.766 = Pat Novak For Hire, “Lydia Reynolds Case” (November 23, 1947)
02:54:53.127 = Peril, “A Matter of Honor” (1953) ***WD
03:21:57.779 = Mystery Playhouse, “Two Men In a Furnished Room” (September 27, 1946) ***WD
03:45:48.955 = Philip Morris Playhouse, “Night Has a Thousand Eyes” (August 19, 1953) ***WD
04:09:26.274 = Price of Fear, “Fish” (September 1973)
04:38:04.873 = Adventures of Ellery Queen, “Nick Knife” (August 01, 1945) ***WD
05:02:05.115 = Show Close

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0659

Five words from a faceless machine end Walter Hayes's career — and send him down a spiral where the only solution he can see is to be worth more dead than alive.

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Sorry To Let You Go” (October 21, 1977)
00:45:08.893 = MindWebs, “Letters From Underneath The Earth” (January 24, 1983)
01:15:14.587 = Two On a Clue, “The Case of the Silent Witness” (October 03, 1944) ***WD
01:29:41.774 = Mystery In The Air, “Black Cat” (September 18, 1947) ***WD
01:55:27.900 = Molle’ Mystery Theater, “Creeper” (March 29, 1946)
02:24:33.240 = Mr. Keen, “The Missing Witnesses” (January 13, 1944) ***WD
02:52:57.583 = Murder at Midnight, “Ape Song” (April 13, 1947) ***WD
03:19:33.899 = Black Museum, “Auto Service Card” (March 28, 1952) ***WD
03:45:30.365 = Mysterious Traveler, “It’s Only Money” (January 08, 1952)
04:14:43.412 = Mystery House, “Death Passed My Window” (March 31, 1946) ***WD
04:40:59.457 = Night Beat, “Sanctuary” (June 22, 1951)
05:08:08.740 = Show Close

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0658

A curving Mississippi lake road after sundown, a wedding present on the passenger seat, and a quiet island resort across the water where the ferryman takes fifty cents — exact change only.

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Island on Silvertree Lake” (October 19, 1977)
00:46:15.152 = Lights Out, “the Projective Mr. Drogan” (January 26, 1943)
01:15:39.621 = Lux Radio Theater, “Return of Peter Grimm” (February 13, 1939)
02:17:22.687 = Macabre, “Crystalline Man” (January 01, 1962) ***WD
02:45:43.599 = Philip Marlowe, “Bid For Freedom” (January 21, 1950)
03:14:29.567 = Results Inc, “Mummy’s Walk” (December 03, 1944)
03:42:38.776 = Black Mass, “Shidah And Kuziba” (October 16, 1973) ***WD
03:56:34.198 = Michael Shayne, “Date At Cliff House” (April 16, 1945)
04:26:13.554 = Beyond Midnight, “Marble Room” (September 26, 1969) ***WD
04:53:52.211 = Show Close

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0657

Two travelers seek refuge from a thunderstorm in a forbidding old house — where a mad woman's laughter, a warning to stay away from the bookcase, and a corpse that crumbles at a touch are only the beginning of what waits in the dark.

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Return Engagement” (October 17, 1977) ***WD
00:45:14.749 = Harry Lime, “Too Many Colors” (August 03, 1951)
01:10:16.188 = Haunted Tales of the Supernatural, “The Lamp” (July 07, 1984)
01:35:55.862 = The Haunting Hour, “Ptolomey’s Grave” (April 14, 1945) ***WD
02:00:46.453 = Hermit’s Cave, “The Vampire’s Desire” (July 17, 1941)
02:25:28.357 = Mystery Is My Hobby, “Death Writes An Epitaph” (January 28, 1948) ***WD
02:51:08.798 = Sherlock Holmes, “The Grand Old Man” (December 21, 1946)
03:20:24.671 = House of Mystery, “Gift From The Dead” (August 03, 1947) ***WD
03:50:07.476 = Incredible But True, “Only A Miracle” (1950-1951)
03:53:45.337 = Inner Sanctum, “The Skull That Walked” (April 15, 1944)
04:21:32.456 = The Key, “Chicken” (1956) ***WD
04:45:52.876 =

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0656

An archaeology professor fixates on a stranger across the restaurant, his wife admits to a skill she's kept hidden for the twenty years they've been married, and what the two of them overhear at the man's table suggests he isn't from this planet. 

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Mystery Theater, “The People of Sissora” (October 14, 1977)
00:45:53.743 = Murder By Experts, “It’s Luck That Counts” (August 29, 1949)
01:15:23.858 = Exploring Tomorrow, “Speak No More” (May 07, 1958)
01:34:57.034 = Faces In The Window, “Pit And The Pendulum” (January 24, 1953) ***WD
02:05:56.415 = Dark Fantasy, “Convoy For Atlantis” (March 27, 1942)
02:28:30.890 = BBC Fear on 4, “Survival” (March 19, 1989)
02:57:27.374 = Future Tense, “Tunnel Under The World” (May 22, 1974) ***WD
03:24:06.381 = BBC Ghosts From The Past, “Mortmain” (April 22, 1992)
04:08:08.795 = Ave Maria Hour, “St. Benedict of Nursia VS Poison And Witchcraft” (1939)
04:31:51.450 = Hall of Fantasy, “Death In The Bayous” (March 06, 1947)
05:01:47.886 = Show Close

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0655

Based on the story, "The Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan" from the #RetroRadio episode, "The Burial of Alexander Jordan: The Coffin Bell That Rang Six Nights After the Funeral."  Find more music from Static Wax at https://weirddarkness.com/music. 

Old Alexander Jordan, terrified of being buried alive during one of his cataleptic fits, rigs a bell from his crypt to his nephew's bedroom — so that if he wakes inside the coffin, he can ring for help. But his nephew Ramsey has been waiting a long time to inherit the Jordan place, and a bell that rings in the dead of night can be silenced more than one way.

ABOUT THE SONG: "The Dead Man's Bell" is a smoky funeral blues in the 1944 tradition — minor key, mournful muted trumpet, weeping clarinet, walking upright bass, brushed drums, and a tolling brass bell threaded through the arrangement like a second heartbeat. The narrator lays the tale out from a detached, knowing distance, the way a bartender or an undertaker might tell it across a quiet room after the lights go down. It's a song about a man who built his own escape hatch from the grave, the wicked nephew who silenced it, and the ironic fate that sealed them both inside a stone vault no living soul could open.

ABOUT THE EPISODE" The song is drawn from Creeps by Night — "The Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan," originally broadcast July 13, 1944, on the Blue Network and hosted by the anonymous "Dr. X." This episode starred celebrated English character actor Edmund Gwenn — who would later win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Miracle on 34th Street — in the role of Ramsey, with Everett Sloan as Alexander Jordan, Abby Lewis as Martha, and Gregory Morton as Dr. Rutledge. The story turns on one of the oldest human fears — premature burial — and the elaborate precautions a wealthy old man takes to make sure it never happens to him. Whether those precautions save him, doom him, or do something stranger still, you'll have to listen to find out. The full original episode airs on Weird Darkness Retro Radio.

ABOUT STATIC WAX: Static Wax is a music project from Weird Darkness, where every track is an original song written and produced in the musical style of the era that produced the vintage radio episode it draws from. A 1944 horror drama gets a 1944-styled funeral blues. A 1955 tale gets doo-wop or rockabilly. A 1968 episode gets garage rock. The songs aren't covers, parodies, or pastiches — they're original compositions designed to feel like records that could have been pressed the same year as the broadcast they honor.

ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS RECORDS: Static Wax is one of several music projects produced under Weird Darkness Records, the music arm of Marlar House Productions and the Weird Darkness brand. Sister projects include Dark Weirdness (modern dark music in a punk-pop-rock style), Crossroads Haint (Southern gothic and Americana ghost songs), and Incorruption (Christian rock). All Weird Darkness Records releases are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and every other major streaming platform — search "Weird Darkness Records" or any band name to find the full catalog.

Old Alexander Jordan, terrified of being buried alive during one of his cataleptic fits, rigs a bell from his crypt to his nephew's bedroom — so that if he wakes inside the coffin, he can ring for help. But his nephew Ramsey has been waiting a long time to inherit the Jordan place, and a bell that rings in the dead of night can be silenced more than one way.

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Case of the Chateau-Margaux” (October 12, 1977) ***WD
00:45:49.691 = Creeps By Night, “Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan” (July 13, 1944)
01:15:20.185 = The Crime Club, “Cupid Can Be Deadly” (October 16, 1947) ***WD
01:43:49.472 = Danger Dr. Danfield, “Mad Men Strike Swiftly” (January 05, 1947)
02:08:13.766 = CBC Deep Night, “Birth” (July 08, 2005)
02:39:10.152 = The Devil and Mr. O, “Vacation With Death” (November 26, 1971) ***WD
03:07:52.353 = Diary of Fate, “Joe Mattuck” (March 16, 1948) ***WD
03:36:20.390 = Dimension X, “Potters of Firsk” (July 28, 1950) ***WD
04:03:51.650 = The Strange Dr. Weird, “Stand-In For Death” (December 26, 1944) ***WD
04:15:18.925 = The Eleventh Hour, “Bad Day for Big Ben” (1960’s – Early 1970’s) ***WD
04:45:09.364 = Escape, “The Day The General Died” (April 16, 1949)
05:14:36.099 = Show Close

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0654

Based on the #RetroRadio episode of the same title about a lineman who gets a strange call on a dead phone line while working on a telephone pole... a call from himself... from the future!

When telephone lineman Sam Yoder picks up an impossible call from himself ten days in the future, the tips start paying off — until future Sam steers him straight into the middle of a bank robbery he's told to watch, but not stop.

Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTR

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Actress” (October 10, 1977) ***WD
00:46:36.193 = X Minus One, “Sam This Is You” (October 31, 1956)
01:15:29.980 = Zero Hour, “An Arms Length” (May 13, 1940) ***WD
01:32:52.045 = ABC Mystery Time, “The Tale” (1956-1957)
01:56:19.779 = Strange Adventures, “Malay Magic” (1945) ***WD
01:59:34.349 = Appointment With Fear, “The Clock Strikes Eight” (May 18, 1944) ***WD
02:28:21.070 = BBC Radio4 Ghost Story, “Lost Hearts” (October 29, 1978)
02:42:35.566 = Beyond The Green Door, “Frederick Morton” (1966)
02:46:35.493 = The Man In Black, “The Price Of The Head” (February 02, 1952) ***WD
03:01:20.239 = Barry Craig, “Ghosts Don’t Die In Bed” (September 07, 1954)
03:29:53.534 = Box 13, Double Right Cross” (November 28, 1948) ***WD
03:56:39.464 = CBC Mystery Theater, “Mr Higginbothom’s Catastrophe” (1967) ***WD
04:25:34.811 = The Clock, “The Hunter And The Hunted’ (November 22, 1955) ***WD
04:51:37.696 = Show Close

(ADU) = Air Date Unknown
(LQ) = Low Quality
***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0653

All songs by Crossroads Haint can be found at https://hyperfollow.com/crossroadshaint.  All music from Weird Darkness Records can be found at https://weirddarkness.com/music. 
I forgot to finish up this song a few days ago after I posted the Retro Radio episode, "Pennsylvania Turnpike" so here it is now!  Better late than never?
I typically only include songs by Static Wax in this RetroRadio podcast, but the versions of this song I created for that project just did not sound right to me.  They might've been authentic to the time, but I did not like the results.  I have found that Crossroads Haint has a great feel for dark storytelling though, so I used this as my backup plan and I kinda like the result.  I hope you do as well!