Advertise on podcast: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

This week we’re listening to an episode of Inner Sanctum Mystery featuring Boris Karloff. “The Corridor of Doom,” features a man who wakes up after a medical procedure he doesn’t recall surrounded by a medical staff he doesn’t know. And even as he struggles to understand his surroundings, the strange medicine they prescribe him gives him nightmares of a hallway where each doorway has a name. How did he end up in this bizarre place? What will happen when he reaches the door with his own name? Would Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers be a better sponsor for this series than Lipton Tea? Listen for yourself and find out! 

It’s time for another stuggle with the enigmatic artistry of Scott Bishop’s Dark Fantasy, this time with an episode entitled “The Curse of the Neanderthal.” A painter is desperate to contact her sister after being rescued from a strange mishap. Was she saved by a ghost? Was it a swerf? Will any of that matter by the end? Listen for yourself and find out! 

Join us for Escape’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short story, “Poison.” William Conrad and Jack Webb star in this story of an encounter with a deadly krait snake. But one man’s chances of survival are diminished by his own prejudices! Will he survive the night? How does the adaptation compare to others? Why does this podcast smell like tires? What flavor of Slurpee requires a note from a parent or guardian? Listen for yourself and find out! 

This week’s episode features a performance by Eva le Gallienne in an episode of Suspense entitled “Phobia.” She plays a wealthy woman with a strange and severe phobia. Between caring for her shoplifting sister and appeasing her maid, this woman becomes targeted by blackmail and theft. Can she navigate these threats despite her condition? Does something seem off about the story’s conclusion? Why does this podcast smell like tires? Listen for yourself and find out!

Once again, we’re checking out a series we haven’t listened to before. This time it’s The Adventures of the Falcon! This episode, “The Widow’s Gorilla,” features private detective Michael Waring’s hunt for a suicide note that might or might not exist which could prove or disprove a murder that may or may not have happened. How much money could this note be worth? Who or what is the widow’s gorilla? Does the pronunciation of Miracle Whip change depending on how it’s being served? Listen for yourself and find out!

There’s an episode of The Shadow that’s been waiting for us in the Listener Library and this week our Patreon supporter James has sent us to go get it! Thanks, James! “Hypnotic Death” features Lamont Cranston stumbling on to a madman’s plot to combine hypnotism, murder, and insurance fraud. But even the Shadow might be overwhelmed by this opponent. Can Lamont save an innocent man from an accusation of murder? If the Shadow cannot stop this criminal hypnotist, who can? What do Tim and Eric have in common with George Clooney? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week is a double-feature exploration of Anthony Boucher’s story, “They Bite,” featuring a reading of the original by our own Joshua and the adaptation produced by Nightfall! The story features a mysterious loner in the desert camped out by an adobe ruin. The locals claim this ruin is the home to some mysterious entity that kills those who come to close. Folks cannot give this threat a name, but ominously warn, “They bite!” What is the cause of these strange deaths? How do these two different audio presentations compare in capturing the story? Will Joshua be reading to his co-hosts on a regular basis after this? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we’re listening to an episode of Suspense entitled “Fragile Contents Death,” recommended to us by our Patreon supporter Cole! Thanks, Cole! The story features a postmaster who receives word that a time bomb is hidden somewhere in all the items passing through his post office. He and his staff only have a few hours to find the explosive, and it will detonate if the package is opened! How can they possibly find the bomb in time? Why would someone put a bomb in the mail? What’s the right way to punctuate the title of the show? Listen for yourself and find out! 

As we discussed in episode 405, "The Hat, the Bed, and John J. Catherine," from Quiet Please, our first attempt at a secret episode for our Patreon supporters was featured “Hat on a Bed,” from the series Origin of Superstition. Unfortunately, the recording had a few sound issues (including Tim having a cold) so we redid our inaugural episode with a different show to discuss. For the curious who are willing to overlook these flaws, we offer this abandoned alternative which tells the tale of an uninvited guest, an accusation of murder, and a truly outlandish courtroom stunt. Thank you again for your support of the podcast and we hope you enjoy this strange cautionary tale! 

This week we’re diving into one the final episodes of Quiet Please, “The Hat, the Bed, and John J. Catherine”! An eccentric aspiring actor, relegated to the position of a stage hand, sees a hat on a bed onstage. Convinced that the omen foretells death, he walks away from his job into a strange, dreamlike state. Did he indeed experience a preview of death? What hidden meanings live within his theatrical references? Did Wyllis Cooper steal this story from the Coen Brothers? Listen for yourself and find out! (And check out a special preview of our first attempt at a secret episode for our Patreon supporters, “Hat on a Bed,” from the series Origin of Superstition!)

This week we bravely check out an episode Dangerous Assignment entitled (arguably) “Investigate Missing Scientists”! Globetrotting adventurer Steve Mitchell is sent to Alaska to track down a former Nazi scientist and an American physicist who appear to have gone missing. Confronted by an unpaid hotel bill and a wide range of dialects, Mitchell will stop at nothing to solve this mystery! What happened to these scientists? What is that smell? Who made cartoon theme music so complicated? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re exploring another episode of Vanishing Point entitled “The Cave”! This story, written by and starring W. D. Valgardson, features a young man whose beloved will not marry him due to a mystery in her Icelandic family line. As he searches for the nature of this secret, he suffers from a growing obsession that threatens to swallow him like a boundless dark cave. What is it that haunts this family? Can this young man escape this fate? Does anyone actually speak Icelandic? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been sent to discover “Nasty People” in our Listener Library! It’s an episode of Frontier Gentleman recommended to us by our Patreon supporter Melissa. Thanks, Melissa! In this story, Kendall needs to stop for the night in Kansas, relying on the hospitality of a small family. But he’s warned to be careful around them and their daughter seems haunted by unseen forces. Is there truly something sinister about his hosts? What is it that has afflicted their daughter? Where do the MORLS go to hang out with other podcasts? Listen for yourself and find out!

Every year or so, we get struck by the impulse to listen to a radio adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man”! And, what do you know, it happened again! This year we head up North for the CBC Radio Mystery Theatre version! 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 style of retro-animation would suit this story best? Listen for yourself and find out! 

It’s our 400th episode! And we are celebrating by revisiting the first series featured on our podcast, Suspense! All those years ago, our first episode featured The House in Cypress Canyon, but this time we’re listening to “Fury and Sound,” a story that both roasts and pays tribute to William Spier (and other radio luminaries)! (For more details about this episode, check out what The Suspense Project has to say about it!) The script features a tyrannical radio producer who screams abusive tirades at his cast and crew. But his assistant producer plans to use his boss’ keen hearing as a weapon for revenge! Does this sound like a great way to celebrate 400 episodes? Does everyone who produces audio drama become a narcissistic maniac? What facts have our dedicated Patreon supporters uncovered about our voting history? Listen for yourself and find out!