Ron's Amazing Stories

On the podcast we have a crime and punishment edition. To start us off we will tell the story of Theo and Dianna’s road trip turned bad. The we will hear a classic from the OTR series Phillip Marlowe and finish it all off with a short story about a group of truly desperate folks.

I may have mentioned this before, but I love a good detective story. In the 1930's and 1940's American writers added a grittier urban element to the detective genre -- the hardboiled detective. Dashiell Hammett introduced the new genre and a few years later Raymond Chandler came along and perfected the type, with his detective, Philip Marlowe. What we will hear is one from the Philip Marlowe series. It is called the Green Flame and first hit the airwaves on April 26, 1949.

On the podcast we head to the future with a great story from Dimension X. Also, we will answer some listener’s emails and listen to a short story read by Phil Chenevert. So press that play button to join us and be ready to adventure in time and space!

One of my favorite OTR series from the golden age of radio is Dimension X. It didn’t run long, only two seasons. That leaves us with about 40 episodes of some the best witting, best acting and best sound effects in the business. What we have is a recent addition to the list, a lost episode if you will, that was found and brought back to life. It is called The Professor Was a Thief and tells an interesting story about an invention that nobody wants. It first aired on November 5, 1950.

As promised this week we are doing a sort of western round-up and we have a really good show. We will start with a story from listener Peter Jordan in Nebraska, then we have a new OTR series series to look at and we will end up with a short story from the book Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park.

We have a new addition to Ron’s Amazing Stories. It is called Frontier Town. It is a western series that fell a foul of the syndication/transcription system. The show ran for 47 episodes and was canceled.  It was aired in syndication, on different stations, on different days and at different times. Bottom-line, it was impossible to follow. I have listened to a couple of these episodes and there is only one thing that bugged me about this series. I will share that on the podcast. What we will hear is episode 23 called, Thunder over Texas, which was first heard in syndication sometime in 1949.

On the podcast this week we get to learn a lot about refrigeration from the experts themselves, General Electric. I guess I should point out that this is from the 1950’s perspective. Also, we have a Geologist who tells his tale on how he got shipwrecked in Minnesota.  Oh, and if that was not enough how about a short story about shipmate who is an alien? Sounds a like a great show to me!

Our OTR story is a good one. It’s a high seas romance and adventure story staring Dana Andrews. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s. What we will hear comes from a short run radio series, General Electric Theater and is called, The Token. It first aired on CBS as an audition program on January 18, 1953.

In this podcast Jim Harold is here for the fifth annual Old Time Horror. Jim will tell us about his new book, True Ghost Stories: Jim Harold's Campfire 4. Also, learn we’ll about the cat that makes no sense and Jim’s views on 1934 Witches dialects.

Our Story comes from an obscure OTR series called Witches Tales. There are 6 known episodes to have survived all found in tact on a transcription disc from 1934. It is not known if these shows were ever aired or when. The story is called Graveyard Mansion an is tale of two brothers who take control of the old and scary family mansion.

If you want to listen to Jim Harold’s other Old Time Horror shows here is the full list:

Old Time Horror #1 – Only Available for DL in the RAS archives

Old Time Horror #2 – Tuesday, October 20, 2012

Old Time Horror #3 – Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Old Time Horror #4 – Tuesday, October 30, 2014

This episode’s destiny is to become a classic. That may sound presumptuous, but when you hear the line up I think that you will agree. We have Ghost stories from Sylvia Shults, Halloween prose and an “As Read By” that is off the charts with emotion. So hit that play button and find out for yourself.

Our special guest today has been writing for years, following a lifetime spent in the pursuit of the weird and the strange. Her non-fiction works include Ghost of the Illinois River and Fractured Spirits: Hauntings at the Peoria State Hospital. Her newest book, Hunting Demons: A True Story of the Dark Side of the Supernatural, is a terrifying tale of demonic attachment. In the book a paranormal investigator, who has devoted her life to helping those suffering from unwanted spirit activity, runs a foul with three demonic entities. Sylvia talks about her new book and shares some wonderful ghost stories.

Sylvia’s FaceBook page

Sylvia’s Amazon Author’s page

Sylvia’s website and home of her paranormal podcast, Lights Out.

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week we have man who wants to be a ghost, a ghost that visits a man and a death at Semi-Detached home. This is the kind of stuff you get during the Month Of Spooky! So tune in sit back and don’t forget to turn out the lights.

Our main story comes from the Mysterious Traveler. This OTR classic series was an anthology radio series, a magazine and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to mystery and suspense. Our story is one of my favorites and has an ending you will not see coming. It is called, I died Last Night and first aired on April 24, 1950.

An Interesting fact about the Mysterious Traveler is that I based my other podcast, The Horror Express, on it. The idea of boarding a train and listening to a creepy guy telling a story was too much to resist.

Fall is an important time here at Ron’s Amazing Stories. It kicks off the best podcasts of year and by that I mean it is time for the Month of Spooky. This will be our fifth go around for all things scary and looks to be the best so far. On this episode the Conductor from The Horror Express introduces his favorite story about one of his family members. We also have a story about one crazy set of ghost cats. You won’t believe your ears!

Halloween is my very favorite time and while I am not sure what its says about me. I do know that it it encourages me to make some of the best podcasts you will hear all year long. Don’t believe me? Why not check out last year’s 2014 Month Spooky while you listening to this year’s creations. Double the fun!

This episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories is dedicated to the brave men and women of the south. On the program we have author J.D.R. Hawkins who is here to talk about the Civil War from the southern perspective. Also, on the program today is the Old Time Radio’s perspective of Robert E. Lee.

We have special music on the show that was written and performed by our guest author, Julie Hawkins. After I finished the interview I took a moment and went to iTunes and listened to her music. I was blessed and impressed.  Julie graciously gave her permission for us to play her song, Grey is the Rose.

Our story is told by Cavalcade of America, which was a radio anthology series that ran from 1935 all the way up to 1953. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement. What we will hear is their program dedicated to the life and times of Robert E. Lee. It first hit the airwaves on April 23, 1940.

It is detective week on Ron's Amazing Stories. We have an old time radio detective tale, a short-story mystery from librivox.org and a email from one of our listeners that I am very excited about. If that was not enough, I will answer the question: Who is my favorite detective?  I am telling you this show is worth a listen. 

For those of you that can't wait, here are some hints as to who my favorite gumshoe is. He came to NBC in 1949 and was a slick, sophisticated detective, with a sharp tongue for folks who needed it. He enjoys the detective life, but not as much as entertaining his girl, Helen Asher. After each show, he would croon a number to his sweetheart. Any Guesses?