Author Topic: Old Time Radio Horror Favorites?  (Read 10719 times)

Marlboro

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on: December 24, 2019, 04:46:32 PM
Any old time radio fans around here? Lots of great audio horror out there if you do a little digging.  Thought I'd post a list of my favorite horror episodes from some old time radio shows. Almost all of these can be found on the Internet Archive.


The Black Mass - The Imp of the Perverse
The Black Mass - The Rats in the Walls
The Black Mass - The Squaw

Nightfall - The Monkey's Paw 
Nightfall - The Repossession 
Nightfall - Where Do We Go From Here? 
Nightfall - The Tie That Binds

Fear on Four - Every Detail But One   
Fear on Four - The Speciality Of The House
Fear on Four - A Routine Operation   
Fear on Four - Life Line
Fear on Four -  His Last Card   
Fear on Four -  Green and Pleasant

Escape - Pollock and the Porroh Man
Escape - The Abominable Snowman
Escape - The Heart of Kali (09.25.54)
Escape - Eye of Evil (07.17.54)
Escape - I Saw Myself Running (02.22.53)
Escape - The Untouchable (09.27.53)
Escape - An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (12.10.47)

Mysterious Traveler, The - Death is the Judge (06.15.47)
Mysterious Traveler, The - S.O.S. (05.02.50)

Strange Doctor Weird, The - The Man Who Talked With Death (12.12.44)       



Theater 10:30 - The Screaming Skull
Theater 10:30 - The Wendigo

Lights Out - Revolt of the Worms (10.13.42)
Lights Out - Mungahra (10.27.42)
Lights Out - A Knock at the Door (12.15.42)

Mercury Theatre - Dracula
Mercury Theater - The Interlopers
Mercury Theatre -  War of the Worlds

Suspense - The Hitchhiker (09.02.42)
Suspense - The Sin Eater (07.08.62)
Suspense - Donovan's Brain (05.18.44)
Suspense - The Waxwork (03.01.59)
Suspense - Three Skeleton Key (11.11.56)
Suspense - The House in Cypress Canyon (12.05.46)
Suspense - The Black Door (11.19.61)
Suspense - The Yellow Wallpaper (07.29.48)
Suspense - Sorry, Wrong Number (11.18.48)
Suspense - Never Steal a Butcher's Wife (12.29.57)
Suspense - Carnival (01.28.52)
Suspense - Deep, Deep is My Love (04.26.59) 

Quiet, Please - The Thing on the Fourble Board (08.09.48)

Mindwebs - Descending
Mindwebs - A Walk In The Dark
Mindwebs - All The Sounds Of Fear



Modern stuff:

BBC Ghost Stories: Midnight Express
BBC Ghost Stories: A Little Place Off The Edgware Road
BBC Ghost Stories: The Tower


Campfire Radio Theater - The Philadelphia Xperiment
Campfire Radio Theater - Night Chills
Campfire Radio Theater - Abduction at Willow Woods

The Truth - The Dark End of the Mall         


Oh, and for people who like dramatic readings more than radio plays, I'd like to recommend:

Orson Welles - Rime of the Ancient Mariner
James Mason - The Tell-tale Heart
Basil Rathbone - The Raven
Basil Rathbone - The City By the Sea
Vincent Price - An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe

All of which can easily be found online.




So, what are some of your favourites?



« Last Edit: December 26, 2019, 09:47:40 PM by Marlboro »



Sgarre1

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Reply #1 on: December 26, 2019, 05:04:42 PM
I have been listening to Radio Drama almost my entire life, after a childhood in which we would listen to CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER on long drives to my Grandma's in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn from the Jersey Shore. My listening over the last ten years or so has been spotty, although I am currently listening to cherry-picked episodes of CBSRMT (coincidentally), as I try to come to grips with its decade long, DAILY output (it's not the best of shows, but once you get the parameters down, there are some interesting offerings).

I would have to think quite a bit about singular episodes, but I can easily name THE BLACK MASS, QUIET PLEASE, NIGHTFALL and LIGHT'S OUT as particular fave series - ESCAPE is one of the best examples of an "all-over" genre series I can think of. Although the surviving audio is not great, I also hold great affection for DREADFUL JOHN AT MIDNIGHT (readings, not dramatic productions) and Ken Nordine on FACES AT THE WINDOW (readings, again).



Marlboro

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Reply #2 on: December 26, 2019, 09:58:59 PM
Yeah, churning out 5 radio episodes per week is absolutely insane. I haven't listened to a ton of Radio Mystery Theater, but I have found a few episodes that I like. I like their version of A Christmas Carol; in fact, I listened to it last night. I also really liked The Chinaman Button and Men Without Mouths.

One fun thing about the show is that many of the recordings contain the original advertisements. Each episode is a combo of a history lesson of 1970s America and a terrifying reminder of how bad advertising jingles were back in the day.

I've never heard o Dreadful John or Faces at the Window. I'll keep an eye out.



Sgarre1

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Reply #3 on: December 26, 2019, 11:14:03 PM
Funny you should mention the ads - as I'm doing this listen through I'm clipping out all the ads, station IDs and news ephemera  as separate files for those who want - say - 35 versions of the Buick Skylark commercial from 1976 in various states of audio quality (because I'm a bit obsessive like that). For those interested look on Soulseek under ID FuturistMoon. 



Marlboro

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Reply #4 on: December 27, 2019, 12:10:57 AM
"When You Say Budweiser, You've Said It All"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGp_1MOeOjc


I for one long for the days when every other commercial featured singers who weren't cool enough to belong to Up With People.





LastFeastofSilence

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Reply #5 on: December 08, 2021, 03:28:05 PM
I believe it was CBS Radio Mystery's The Creature from the Swamp. IIRC, it was a horrifying and heartbreakingly bittersweet episode.