The Most Horrible of OTR

Not by Cisco & Ebert, but nobody asked to give "Squeaky Reel" awards either

Bob Jennings,

FabFicBks@aol.com Erik Smith,

ErikS74342@aol.com

WITCH'S TALES This was a very early effort, which was hot stuff in the mid thirties, but which dates very badly over the years. Even by the mid forties these stories were pretty pedestrian. The last of adequate musical bridges and somewhat abbreviated sound effects greatly hurt this program as well. Haunted houses, ghosts of evil dead, revenge with supernatural overtones are the primary focus of this show. Lights Out: The creepiest of all, because it relies less on narration than on dialogue and internal monologues by the main character.

THE WEIRD CIRCLE A syndicated effort which I find inifinitly boring. This is just my opinion. Other people find nuggets of terror in the muck, and perhaps they are right. But generally these plots seem stale to me and the acting seems overdone. Weird Circle: Syndicated dramatizations of 19th-century horror stories (read: public domain) of a generally high -- and terrifying -- caliber.

THE SEALED BOOK I dunno how you missed this one. This was a 1946 effort which was syndicated with incredible success in the early sixties when the first radio revival was underway, and for many people this was their initial contact with the essence of old time radio. The program ranges the field from weird menace, to supernatural terror, but it also has more than its share of crime dramas and greedy scheming human menace plots with twist endings. The same people who did The Mysterious Traveller worked on The Sealed Book, so the same quality is exhibited thruout. Incidentally Erik, you must not have listened to very many Mysterious Traveller shows for you to rate this so poorly. MysTrav was one of the best horror and suspense shows on the air. You must had gotten a bad batch or something, try more, they're great. The Mysterious Traveler: Uneven combination of horror, mystery and science fiction, in which the common factor appears to be a twist ending. Perhaps a third of the surviving shows are classics -- but at its worst, the show was quite dreary indeed. (I am currently working on a log with episode summaries and cast lists.)

THE UNEXPECTED A 15 min series of weird, bizarre and unique stories almost all with twist endings that completely alter the story conclusion. This is a gimick but it works very well. I don't know how many of these are around. I have perhaps twenty or so. The Haunting Hour: Disappointing low-budget horror.

THE STRANGE DR. WEIRD Another fifteen minute show with a mixture of horror, supernatural mystery, crime menace and unique endings. The same people who did Mysterious Traveller and Sealed Book also did this one. Very enjoyable. About forty or so are around as I recall. The Strange Doctor Weird: Juvenile horror program aired in odd lengths of 10 and 15 minutes. The stories sound like they were written by third-graders, but the show allowed host Maurice Tarplin to polish his better-known Mysterious Traveler persona.

NIGHTFALL I don't know how you mised this CBC series. This is straight horror, and they make no bones about it. There are some classic supernatural story adaptions, but most of this stuff is new and raw and very vivid. One of the best horror series ever aired on radio, with genuine chills guaranteed. I believe there is a log of shows and dates care of Frank Passage on Lou's radio web page. The Creaking Door: A South African attempt to redo Inner Sanctum, marred by impenetrable accents and trite plots. Generally unmemorable.

NIGHTMARE I only have a few of these. I think it was syndicated. The shows are adequate, mostly supernatural with vengeance themes. Theater 10:30: Hard-to-listen-to CBC horror show, with tired plots and cliched themes. (Note: My knowledge is limited to the five or six shows I've heard, and I know some people think it's among the greats. I guess I have no real interest in hearing more.)

MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE I only have three. These were to be radio adaptions of the terror & menace plays produced by the Theater Grande Gigroude (or however it is spelled) the famous Paris theater of blood and thrills. These are terror stories rather relying on supernatural horror elements. Beyond Midnight: Hard-to-follow South African horror show.

GHOST STORIES There may be some connection between the radio series and the famous bedsheet mag of the 1920's of the same name. The stories are bad enough to be turned out by the magazine crowd. These are putrid. Radio (and pulp magazine writing) at its worst. Inner Sanctum: Horror and mystery stories with a generally surreal atmosphere -- enhanced by the wisecracks of the host. Stephen King remarked in his book "Danse Macabre" that the terrible puns of the host seem ludicrous when you hear the show alone, or in a crowd -- but in a group of two or three listeners, they hit just the right note. The best shows are classics, the worst are merely trite.

THE BLACK MASS is a British series which mostly seems to adapt famous supernatural stories of literature. I was not much impressed. The spirit seems to be missing here, if you'll excuse the expression. The shows sound tired and pedestrian. Even good stories are turned into lackluster radio adaptions. There are a few exceptions, but I was not much impressed by this series. Editor's Note: Several readers have commented that The Black Mass, was produced by KPFA, Berkeley, CA, in the early 60s, and was an 'effective' horror story. There may have been some confusion with the BBC series The Black Museum. The Hall of Fantasy: Another fine syndicated horror program, on a par with Murder at Midnight.

. Quiet Please: A program often exhibiting a strange stream-of-conciousness narrative technique. The best episodes of this show can give you nightmares.

. Escape: A show that transcends the standard definition of radio horror, with a more literary selection of stories than your typical horror show. Yet many of the stories could be classified as horror, or have horror elements. However this show is classified, it is one of the best of the OTR era, and certainly a must-listen for any horror fan.

. Mystery in the Air: A short summertime series featuring Peter Lorre in some of the all-time most-horrible mind-blowing radio plays; particularly horrible is "The Mask of Medusa." The Camel commercials also are a scream: "We asked, 'Doctor, what cigarette do you smoke?'... "