The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

Welcome to the second half of our Mysterious Old Radio Double-Header! If you missed last week’s episode, you may want to check it out first. For this Double-Header, Joshua and Tim each chose a story from Dark Fantasy to redeem the series in your hosts’ opinions. For the second half, we listen to “The Headless Dead,” chosen by Joshua. The story features a visitor at the Tower of London whose tour includes grisly ghost stories and an opportunity to play the chapel’s organ. What business do the dead have with this sleepy tourist? Can one’s destiny be rescheduled to a more convenient evening? Are we going to have to listen to a third consecutive Dark Fantasy episode? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

This week we start an experiment with a new format, The Mysterious Old Radio Double-Header! For a Double-Header, we present two episodes— one the first week and the second during the following week— that are connected in some way. In this case, Joshua and Tim have each chosen a story from Dark Fantasy to break the show’s trend of frustrating us with its bizarre installments. This first half of the Double-Header is “The Letter from Yesterday,” chosen by Tim. The story features the spark of romance between an ambitious inventor and a small-town librarian. But their love seems to be caught up in the strange currents and eddies of time. In what strange web of history are the young lovers caught? Can Scott Bishop write a script that stays on task? Will someone explain how to get a library card in a small town? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

The celebration of our fourth anniversary continues with Joshua’s present for Tim, a specially chosen episode of Vanishing Point, “Death and the Compass!” In this adaptation of Jorge Luis Borges’s short story, detective Erik Lönnrot is on the case when a rabbi and has been found murdered. A message found with the body suggests the crime is related to the name of God, and as more murders are reported, a bizarre symmetry begins to emerge. What secret motivated these deaths? Who has created the maze that Lönnrot must navigate? Will you fall down your own rabbit holes after listening to this episode? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

We’re celebrating our fourth anniversary with presents! Specifically, Joshua has chosen an episode of The Shadow as a gift for Eric! (Tim will get his present next week...) In this tale, “The Temple Bells of Neban,” Lamont Cranston and his heroic alter ego investigate a rash of drug abuse among young, wealthy socialites. However he quickly comes face-to-face with a sinister woman who seems connected to his own origins! Will Sabi Bel Adda’s powers prove too much for our hero? Is Cranston really allowed to just take animals from the zoo? Will Eric love his present? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

Our apologies for running late with this episode, but we're launching ourselves into the Halloween season with this adaptation of a classic M. R. James tale! In “The Ash Tree” from The Black Mass, a woman convicted of witchcraft lays a curses upon the man who accused her. Soon his home is beset by mysterious deaths that continue for generations. What malicious presence has taken up residence in the house? Does this blend of audio drama and storytelling succeed in bringing the tale to life? When did the thought of rats at the window become reassuring? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

This week we listen to an episode of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes recommend to us by our mysterious listener Daniel. Thanks, Daniel! In this story, entitled “The Case of the Double Zero,” Holmes and Watson are portrayed by the two actors most associated with the roles, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. This case finds the duo enjoying some leisure time at a casino until an apparent suicide victim raises questions only the world’s greatest detective can answer! Had the dead man truly lost all his money? Will a morbid plan to steal from the casino succeed? How do Rathbone and Bruce really stack up compared to all the other versions of Holmes and Watson? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

Pat Novak for Hire was a radio series with enough snappy dialogue to metaphor a whole podcast full of patter. This episode, “John Saint John,” features Jack Webb’s titular character trying to fulfill a stranger's dying wish to see a letter delivered. But no good deed goes unpunished and soon Novak is the target of several sinister figures with plans of their own! Who is the mysterious John Saint John? What could the envelope contain that would drive men to murder? How many zingers can one script cram into a half hour? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

After a long stretch of recording remotely, we finally assembled in the same room for this week’s episode! It features a story entitled “Cat's Cradle” from the series, Price of Fear! Our mysterious listener Monica recommended the story of a tour of a sinister medieval castle, but the tourists themselves may be the true horrors. Why do these visitors seem to have such interest in these artifacts of sadism? Does this story go too far when it comes to cruelty and gore? Did this couple really have no other options for a honeymoon destination? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

“The Case of the Killer Cards” is an episode of The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe that was recommended to us by our mysterious listener Rob in an actual letter that was sent in the mail! Sydney Greenstreet stars as Rex Stout’s famous corpulent detective. This particular mystery features four criminals who decide to play one winner-take-all game of poker for ownership of their shared illegal enterprises. But there's murder in the cards and only Nero Wolfe can solve the case! Will Archie Goodwin be given the night off to go on a date? Does the detective really have a meticulous plan to find the solution or is he just improvising? What brand of beer is Wolfe drinking? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

Our sincere thanks to mysterious listeners Lionel and Abby for recommending this episode of Lights Out, “The Haunted Cell!” You are both awesome! In this story, the police get their hands on a suspected murderer and lock him in a cell— a cell that is allegedly occupied by the ghost of an executed felon! There in the dark, this prisoner must confront both a disembodied voice and his own guilt. Can he avoid the horrors of a final judgment? What kind of legal system works like this? Is our last-minute analysis a stroke of insightful genius or is it obvious to everyone? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

This week we’re checking out an episode of a series that we haven’t featured before! Our mysterious listener Nathan recommended a story called “Disappearance” from the Canadian show, Vanishing Point. In this tale, a woman starts leads a bartender to a philosophical journey down a bizarre path. Are the strange moments that begin to manifest simply changes in his perception or alterations to reality? Will he find enlightenment or obliviion? Will this episode prove to be too artsy-fartsy or just the right amount of artsy-fartsy? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

This week we’re listening to “The Black Door” from Suspense, yet another installment in our ongoing Lockdown Listener Series. Thanks to our mysterious listener Roberta for recommending this episode to us! An ambitious archaeologist partners with a treasure hunter to uncover a lost city in the mountains. But the legend of this city contains a dire warning about a “Black Door!” What horrors await them in this ancient ruin? What secret will they learn that connects the place to famous landmarks of history? Does this bar serve late-in-the-day Suspense episodes? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

We’re back this week with another recommendation from our listeners, in this case “The Deadly Hour” from CBS Radio Mystery Theater, an episode suggested by Cindy. Thanks, Cindy! In this tale, heartbreak has driven a man to years of self-imposed silence, but now a bizarre turn of events has compelled him to share his story with a doctor. Can anything be done to comfort this man’s tortured soul? Can what he says be believed? Should we have gone back and edited out Eric’s original interpretation of the plot? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

As we continue to record these episodes under lock-down conditions, we also continue to listen to suggestions provided by our Mysterious Listeners! This week, we check out “Border Town,” an episode of Escape recommended to us by Marc. Thanks, Marc! Jack Webb stars in this tale of an aspiring actor who decides to explore the seedy underworld in a small Mexican town. The show does include some racial stereotypes and derogatory terms, albeit not what one might expect. Will he outsmart this den of thieves? Just how dangerous is an unemployed actor? How does one play the game, “Wham-O Toy or Smiths’ Song?” Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!

Apologies for running a little late, but we are back with an episode recommended to us by our mysterious listener, Swearoh! Thanks, Swearoh! This week, we are listening to “The Wig Makers of Doom Street,” from The Shadow! A ghoulish couple is killing young women to harvest their victims’ hair for theatrical wigs! Can Lamont and Margo put an end to this diabolical business plan? Is this a crime that we could make pay? Is that ad saying that education is a good thing or bad thing? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!