The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

He knows when you’ve been bad or good and he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men! The Shadow has brought the Society “A Gift of Murder!” Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane show up to a holiday party with a murderer on the guest list! Will Christmas be ruined? Was anyone else invited to this party? If this gift doesn’t work, can it be exchanged? Listen for yourself and find out!

(UPDATE! One of our astute listeners (thank you, Mike!) noticed that we have misidentified the origin of this recording! This is in fact from the 1955 run of The Clock, recorded in Australia. Our humblest apologies for the error.) The Society finally has finally turned their attention to The Clock! Howard Williams has moved to a small town, where everyone seems considerate and happy to help a neighbor, but chance and coincidence have conspired to turn a friendly favor into a death sentence in this episode entitled, “A Helping Hand!” What’s the worst that could happen when you help a stranger? Is the perfect murder truly possible or will there always be a slip up? Who would write a story about a pile of potatoes? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our thanks to Scott for suggesting “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” from Mystery Playhouse! The series, hosted by Peter Lorre, re-purposed other radio series (in this case Molle Mystery Theater) for the Armed Forces Network. This particular episode was an adaptation of a short story by Robert Bloch about a hunt for London’s notorious killer in 1945 Chicago! Could Jack the Ripper still be claiming victims over fifty years after his (or her!) reign of terror in London? Can this bloodthirsty killer ever be caught? What dark magic grants Joshua the time management powers to read short stories? Listen for yourself and find out!

Once again, it’s later than the we think and we are listening to Lights Out! This time, we indulge in “Revolt of the Worms,” an episode from the Arch Oboler era of the series. In the face of a war-torn world, brilliant scientist Charles Prentice retreats to develop the perfect rose. But even in his far-off laboratory there is something monstrous in the earth. Based on the title, can you guess what happens? How long is too long for a death scene? Is this really less gruesome than Murder Castle? Listen for yourself and find out!

We may not know much about the 1984 BBC series, Spine Chillers, but that won’t stop the Society from checking out “Dracula in White” by Peter Redgrove. A journalist investigates strange stories of prisoners disappearing from a prison, but soon finds herself caught by the man known as Dracula in White! Do the missing inmates have anything to do with the delicious canned meat produced within the prison? Can a story have too many details? How does this relate to The Food of the Gods? Listen for yourself and find out!

Monster Month concludes with Mercury Theatre on the Air’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula! Orson Welles was only 23 years old when his version of this classic tale was broadcast, featuring himself in the title role. A mysterious Transylvanian noble comes to England, and everywhere he goes, death follows. Can those victims transformed into undead things be saved? Will this adaptation’s adherence to the original novel elevate it above other versions of Dracula? Will we once again forget to discuss the remarkable musical direction of Bernard Hermann? Listen for yourself and find out!

He’s no werewolf or mummy, but Edgar Allen Poe certainly deserves his spot in our Monster Month! This week, we’re listening to Boris Karloff in Inner Sanctum Mysteries’ adaptation of “The Tell-Tale Heart!” Two peculiar strangers share a home until madness drives one of them to deadly extremes. How will Inner Sanctum’s outlandish style transform Poe’s famous short story? Can the restoration of particular senses make a person inherently good or evil? What would a podcast for time in the bathroom sound like? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to “W is for Werewolf” from Dark Fantasy as part of our Monster Month! The story depicts a visit to a remote island where a troubled man’s only surviving son seems to be suffering from a strange condition. As a treat for theater fans in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, the production features a performance by the Twin Cities’ own Don Stolz! Can this father find a cure for what ails his son? Will this story live up to the high standards set by Spawn of the Sub-Human? Does anyone know what monsters the other 25 letters stand for? Listen for yourself and find out!