The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

“In Flanders Fields” is an unusual episode of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, featuring older versions of Holmes and Watson visiting the front lines of World War I! On the eve of a major offensive, a theatrical presentation has been planned to entertain the troops. But something sinister is waiting in the wings, a mystery that could only be solved by the keen mind of Sherlock Holmes! What secret brought the great detective to the field of battle? Who is shooting at him? What Jack Benny film inspired Joshua to choose this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Mysterious Listener Todd has directed us to the more contemporary areas of the Listener Library, recommending “Tissue Memory” from the BBC’s Fear on Four! Thanks, Todd! This story, written by Judy Upton, features a young woman named Anna who begins to have visions of another life after receiving a donor heart. These visions seem to connect her with the fate of the heart’s former owner. Will Anna reject her own heart? Who is the real owner of this heart? What is the ideal diet to prepare for a heart transplant? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our installment this week was the final episode of the iconic series, Escape! “The Heart of Kali” features a down-on-his-luck veteran desperate to return to India to recover a temple’s treasure. But to do so, he must sink to the depths of human brutality. How far will he go to claim his prize? What fate awaits him inside the temple? Will this break our hearts like the final episode of Suspense did? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s time to pay another visit to The Hermit’s Cave for an episode entitled “The House with a Past!” Our thanks to Roberta for recommending this particular contribution to our Listener Library. The story features a young couple who move into a house that has an eerie reputation in the neighborhood. Soon they begin to experience the seemingly supernatural phenomenon reported by past occupants! Is the house truly haunted? How will this production compare to later ghost stories on the radio? What is the impact of a haunted house on the local economy? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to a very modern adaptation of a classic story of sci-fi and horror, “Who Goes There?” from the BBC series, Chillers! The script is adapted from the novella of the same name written by John W. Campbell, Jr. (under the pen name Don A. Stuart). This tale of a small group of scientists in Antarctica who discover an alien creature frozen in the ice has been adapted and copied many times in many different ways. How will this version compare to its predecessors? Who among these men can be trusted? If you take the good, take the bad, take them both…what do you have there? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Paul for recommending this adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Ring of Thoth” from Escape! Thanks, Paul! Inside the Louvre, an old Egyptian man tells the story of a near-immortal priest. To this day, the priest searches the world for a ring that will grant him his heart’s fondest wish! What secret lies hidden within this ring? How much does this early mummy tale resemble the stories that were to follow? Was that Jack Webb? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to our Mysterious Listener Paul for recommending this adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Ring of Thoth" from Escape! Thanks, Paul! Inside the Louvre, an old Egyptian man tells the story of a near-immortal priest. To this day, the priest searches the world for a ring that will grant him his heart's fondest wish! What secret lies hidden within this ring? How much does this early mummy tale resemble the stories that were to follow? Was that Jack Webb? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, The Shadow takes a trip to “The Village of Doom,” and we’re going with him! A small town reaches out to the crime-fighter when death itself seems to be holding the population hostage! Can the Shadow uncover the truth behind this mysterious threat before he becomes the next victim? Is this the most bizarre episode of The Shadow ever made? What kind of advertising budget is the safety committee working with? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re making a particularly special trip to the Listener Library this week for an episode of Defense Attorney, a series recommended to us by our long-time supporter, Chip! Thanks, Chip, and we wish you a speedy recovery! The show featured Mercedes McCambridge in the title role, and in this particular story, “The Hot Rod Accident,” Defense Attorney Martha Ellis “Marty” Barrett is tasked to prove the innocence of a teenager accused of a fatal hit-and-run! If the boy is innocent, who was driving the car? Why is he lying about his whereabouts at the time of the accident? Will your hosts remember how to function in person now that they are no longer recording via Zoom? Listen for yourself and find out!