The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

Guy de Maupassant’s classic short story was adapted by Mystery in the Air for this week’s episode, “The Horla!” Peter Lorre stars in this story a man tormented by an invisible presence. Where did this shadowy nightmare come from? How far will this narrator go to rid himself of this creature? Is this secretly a really disturbing episode of the Shadow? Would you book a flight to Lorretown? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to the earlier of Agnes Moorehead’s two performances of “The Yellow Wallpaper” from Suspense! Our thanks to Mark for recommending this adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story! A new mother is being kept by her husband in a room adorned with yellow wallpaper, allegedly for her health. Is her madness causing her to see things in the wallpaper’s pattern? Are the things hiding in the pattern driving her mad? Is this secretly a really disturbing episode of the Shadow? Listen for yourself and find out!

Listener Jamie recommended this week’s episode, “Weekend Vacation” from The Darkness! Thanks, Jamie! A vacationing family winds up in a strange old motel operated by an elderly woman and her child-like brute of a grandson. What dark fate awaits the guests on their vacation? Is this story as simple as it seems? Has our hearing really gotten that bad? I SAID HAS OUR HEARING REALLY GOTTEN THAT BAD? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Ryan for suggesting “The Iron Coffin” from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, part of our Listener Library series! Raymond Chandler’s famous hard-boiled detective investigates a 16th century castle moved stone by stone from Spain to California, including the coffins that store the castle’s ancient family. What are the strange sounds that have been heard in the castle’s crypt? Is a haunted castle not a suitable location for a Philip Marlowe story? OR IS IT? Listen for yourself and find out! (Tim is a little sick this episode. It’s winter in Minnesota so please bear with his ragged voice. Also! We briefly mentioned the Cowles Center, known as the Shubert when it moved, in Minneapolis. Learn all about it!)

The holiday season is over and the Society is back with an episode from our Listener Library. Our thanks to Dee for suggesting “If You Believe,” a strange story told by The Mysterious Traveler! A disreputable reporter publishes the story of a disgraced scientist’s efforts to create life from protoplasm. Is it easier to believe something cynical rather than something hopeful? Can the themes of these stories return to immediate relevance? Is there a dignified way to talk about the Mysterious Traveler’s organ? Listen for yourself and find out!

The Society is settled in for Christmas with some hot cocoa and a classic Charles Dickens ghost story, adapted by Suspense! In this case, we’re listening to Dickens’ other classic ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” In this episode Sarah Churchill plays a reporter whose fascination with trains leads her to interview an old rail worker. She discovers the man is haunted by strange visions—visions which somehow involve her! Do these omens warn of tragic accidents or is the trauma of these accidents the source of these visions? Are there moments in life that we must simply accept our fate? Does this story capture the true spirit of Christmas?  Listen for yourself and find out! Please note that we’ll be taking a couple weeks off for the holidays, but we will be back in January! In the meantime, here’s a link to the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas adaptation of The Signal-Man!

The Weird Circle brought a little something to our holiday party, the supernatural tale of a Christmas descent into desperation with a man named “Markheim!” Based on the short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, this Christmas classic features a young man confronting the dark impulses of his own dark reflection. Will his misdeeds come back to haunt him? Can he free himself from the malicious voice that pushes him toward evil? Just how did stocks work back in the 19th century? Listen for yourself and find out!