The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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!

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!