We conclude our trio of inaugural episodes from classic radio series! This time we’re listening to “Milford Brooks III,” the audition episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar! In this initial story, Johnny has to keep the holder of a two-million-dollar life insurance policy holder from committing suicide. Along the way he’ll try to get some quality time with a beautiful lady and figure out why this policy holder suddenly changed his beneficiary! How does Dick Powell compare to other actors who have played Johnny Dollar? Are there life insurance policies that cover suicide? What does it sound like when two people have three drinks with each other? Listen for yourself and find out!

For the second of our trio of inaugural episodes from classic radio series, we present “Dead of Night,” the audition episode for Escape! This story of a British ventriloquist plagued by paranoia and delusions was adapted from one section of the classic horror anthology film of the same name. When this entertainer encounters his American counterpart, jealousy drives him to bizarre and perhaps dangerous behavior! Is the ventriloquist’s dummy truly alive? How does this compare to later Escape episodes? What classic delicacy is made from noodles and disappointment? Listen for yourself and find out!

In the hopes of launching 2024 with some auspicious beginnings, we’re presenting a trio of first episodes from classic radio series! Our mysterious listener Glenn starts us out by celebrating 50 years of CBS Radio Mystery Theater with the series’ debut episode, “The Old Ones are Hard to Kill!” Agnes Moorehead stars as a kindly old woman whose lodger confesses to a murder on his deathbed, and tells her that the man convicted of the crime is innocent. She begins to investigate, hoping to clear the name of the wrongly convicted man, but soon discovers that sinister forces are still at work! What is the truth behind this murder? What was it that made her lodger sick in the first place? What are we throwing at thrift stores as we drive by? Listen for yourself and find out!

Before we dive fully into 2024, we'd like to take a moment to share a sample from our Patreon page! Last October, our patrons were treated to a Halloween Special, "Spirits and Spooks Summoned for Halloween by William Conrad," a 1973 children's spoken word album! At the end of the year, our Patreon members declared this the second best bonus content from 2023! Now we're sharing it with everyone as a little taste of all the great stuff that comes with membership. Please have a listen and consider joining the amazing community of MORLS fans whose support keeps this podcast going!

Happy New Year’s Eve! We cannot let the year pass without another adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” Unexpectedly, we learned of a version even more contemporary than last year’s, presented by Seeing Ear Theater from 1998! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. Why does he seem to be receiving some otherworldly warning? How will this version compare to those we have already heard? What would this story be if Dickens collaborated with Tennessee Williams? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re spending this Christmas with Candy Matson! This episode, entitled “Jack Frost,” features Candy on the case of a missing assistant to a department store Santa, Jack Frost! When the man who played Jack turns up dead, she needs to call in some festive help from her friend Rembrandt Watson! Who would want to kill Jack Frost? What important question will Detective Mallard ask Candy? Can Eric explain the sports jokes to his co-hosts? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s visit to the Listener Library is a gift for Tim from our mysterious listener, Hank. Thanks, Hank! “The Crisis of Dirk Diamond” is an episode of Suspense featuring a cartoonist who’s going to lose his job if he doesn’t come up with a new villain to challenge his protagonist, Dirk Diamond. But when he introduces Freddy, a character that haunted his own childhood, the danger begins to spill off the page and invade reality! Can an artist truly kill his own creation? Can theater of the mind be adapted to comic strip of the mind instead? How many layers of meaning lie beneath the surface of this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week’s episode is “The Man Who Stole a Planet,” from Quiet, Please! Even for this idiosyncratic, and groundbreaking series, this story is one of the stranger ones, featuring tomb raiding, the undead, and natural disasters in the Iron Range! Who is this man? What planet did he steal? Who wrote the script for the Red-Headed Stepson of Frankenstein? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s been a while since we’ve payed a visit to The Hall of Fantasy, so we’re stopping by for an episode entitled, “The Man in Black!” The story features two men who encounter a woman terrified by a person she calls “the man in black.” Once she’s found dead, the men become obsessed with finding out the truth behind this dark-clad figure. Soon, the two are themselves targeted by this mysterious, unnatural being. Can they discover the identity of the man? What threat does he prove to the woman they both love? What do you call the guy who follows He Who Follows? Listen for yourself and find out!