The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

We’re listening to one of Arch Oboler’s most Arch Oboler contributions to the famed series Lights Out, an episode entitled, “Murder in the Script Department!” The story features a pair of typists who are obliged to work late into the night to complete a particularly terrifying script for Lights Out. As the evening wears on, a series of unexplainable and terrifying events convince the two women that some malevolent supernatural force is in the office with them. Is there some rational explanation for what’s happening? How will this dark presence ultimately manifest itself? Will people mind if one of us talks about the episode while the other two make references to a classic horror movie from the 80s? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s our 300th episode and we’re celebrating with the second half of “Donovan’s Brain,” a special presentation from Suspense! Last week we listened to the first installment, recommended to us by our mysterious listener and Patreon supporter Trevor. Thanks, Trevor! The story features Orson Welles as a scientist experimenting with a brain that has been removed from its body. What sort of strange influence does this brain have over the scientist? What will it take to overcome this influence? How is this production like Mel Gibson’s Hamlet? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re on the brink of our 300th episode and we’re marking the event with a special visit to the Listener Library! Our mysterious listener and Patreon supporter Trevor recommended we listen to “Donovan’s Brain,” the first two-part installment of Suspense. Thanks, Trevor! The story features Orson Welles as a scientist convinced he can keep a brain alive even after the body has perished. But the pursuit leads him into making some dangerous and dubious decisions. What sort of existence can a brain have outside of its body? What effect will this experiment have on the doctor? Is he just mad about saffron? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Jessica for directing us to the Listener Library for this adaptation of a Dashiell Hammett’s short story “Two Sharp Knives,” presented by Suspense! In this episode, a small town chief of police and his assistant arrest a fugitive wanted for murder. But a lot can happen while they wait for the Philadelphia authorities. Is the man truly guilty of the crime? Who will be collecting the reward for his capture? Who is now carrying the title of “genial character actor”? Listen for yourself and find out!

BIG TOWN! We’re headed to BIG TOWN for an episode entitled “Double Murder,” in which a woman visits the Illustrated Press to get help finding her missing twin sister. As editor Steve Wilson digs into the disappearance, he discovers lies, bribes, and murder! Will he learn what happened to the missing sister? What are the two murders referred to in the title? Is this story avuncular enough? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re returning to the Weird Circle for an episode entitled “The Doll,” an adaptation of Fitz-James O’Brien’s short story, “The Wondersmith.” The story begins with the creator of an ingenious doll confessing to the murder of a fortune teller. And it only gets stranger from there. What criminal plot first brought the two of them together? What arcane secret makes this doll so special? Would a reading of the original story be the perfect Christmas Eve tradition? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode of Suspense comes from the Listener Library, recommended to us by our Mysterious Listener, Pip. Thanks, Pip! “Murderous Revision” features a writer of crime stories who loses his job after clashing with his producer over the quality of his scripts. To take his revenge and prove his mastery, he plans to record a murder of his own design. Will this fatal script be any good? Can he successfully record his story? Is there a better name for a show than “Murder, Please”? Listen for yourself and find out!

This trip to the Listener Library is at the request of a whole family of Mysterious Old Radio Listeners and Patreon supporters! Our thanks to Tom, Barb, Christy, and Jeff! They’ve sent us to “The Black Tie Affair” from Bold Venture starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall! The iconic duo star as Slate and Sailor, Americans living abroad in Havana, having adventures, and exchanging romantic wit. In this story, Sailor wants Slate to accompany her to a formal event and has rented a suit for him. But two teachers on vacation are willing to kill to get that jacket! What is about this suit that makes it so valuable? Why won't Slate just agree to hand it over? Why are we talking about Adam Ant's "Goody Two Shoes?" Listen for yourself and find out!