THE HOUSE OF HORROR
[RADIO-SERIES]
“This is a local program, produced by Washingtonians with a Washington cast. The scripts are
written by an outstanding author of horror stories.”
[Bryson Rush, Washington Star] “We have heard the first two and still don’t know whether to
recommend the program or issue a dire warning against listening… This program is out-and-out
horror with no tongue-in-cheek treatment at all. It is well written, well produced and the cast is
superb.
“Last Monday’s episode, ‘The Floor Between,’ had to do with a sadistic gentleman who lures
people to a ramshackle old hotel in New York by means of a jingle contest, so that he could get
plasma for his flowers and himself. It turns out that he is a vampire. The title comes in when the
young couple are ushered into their room on a floor from which there is no exit. The worst
moment in the script is when Mr. Monti, the elderly vampire who died in 1882, kills the young
man, takes his plasma and that of his wife, then in a systematic manner proceeds to strip off their
skins to make petals for his flowers. You can see why we might hesitate to recommend your
listening, but if you have a strong constitution and lots of neighbors within earshot you might try
the first few minutes and see what happens.”
ORIGINATION: WMAL, Washington, D.C.
DURATION: May 15-August 28, 1944.
PERSONNEL: Unknown.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
THE HOUSE OF HORROR (WMAL, WASHINGTON)
[Monday—10:30-11:00 PM]
May 15, 1944
May 22, 1944 “The Floor Between”
May 29, 1944
June 5, 1944 “Strange Little Living Things”
June 19, 1944
July 3, 1944
July 10, 1944
July 17, 1944
July 24, 1944
July 31, 1944
August 7, 1944
August 14, 1944
August 21, 1944
August 28, 1944
THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY
Spook stuff for the juvenile set, explained away each week by the eminent ghost debunker, Roger
Elliott. (Is Elliott perhaps a reference to famed ghost-hunter Elliott O’Donnell?)
[Variety, June 5, 1946] “ ‘House of Mystery,’ the General Foods-sponsored show on Mutual,
recently awarded top network honors in the juve division at Ohio State IER Conference, bows out
this Saturday (8).
“While Benton & Bowles, agency on account, still holds a six-week renewal option for fall airing,
move, coming in wake of wholesale GF retrenchment, looks like permanent folderoo unless grain
situation improves.
“Show was created by Bob Maxwell, juve package specialist, following story preference survey
made by Dr. Robert Thorndyke of Columbia University. Data compiled revealed that moppets of
both sexes in wide-age range preferred supernatural mystery to any other format.
“Olga Druce, agency producer-director of show, resigned this week and is weighing other offers,
among them production of adult version of ‘House of Mystery.’”
[Elizabeth McLeod] “…’House of Mystery’s’ production company, Robert Maxwell
Associates…was also responsible for the ‘Superman’ radio series. DC’s ‘House of Mystery” comic
magazine didn’t begin publication until 1951…and may have been loosely derived from the radio
series in its earliest years. DC had a longstanding relationship with Maxwell, dating back to 1940,
and the most likely explanation is that at some point, they bought out Maxwell’s company—thus
getting ownership not just of the Superman discs but also the rights to the ‘House of Mystery’ title
as part of the deal.”
ORIGINATION: WOR, New York City, New York (MBS).
DURATION: January 15-[August 18], 1945 (first series), September 15-1945-June 8, 1946
(second series), October 6, 1946-December 25, 1949 (third series).
PERSONNEL: Frances Dexter (producer), Johanna De Witt (scriptwriter), Olga Druce
(producer, director), Max Ehrlich (scriptwriter), Al Fanelli (organist), John Marion Gart
(composer of series theme), David Goodis (scriptwriter), John Griggs (voice of “Roger Elliott, the
Mystery Man”), Johanna Johnston (scriptwriter), Jessica Maxwell (director), Robert Maxwell
(head of production company, Robert Maxwell Associates).
CASTS: Vera Allen, Charita Bauer, Horace Braham, Peggy Carnegie, Sara Fussell, John Griggs,
Berry Kroeger, Fran Lafferty, Gilbert Mack, Ted Osborne, Hester Sondergaard, et al.
SPONSOR: General Foods (Post Toasties, Post Raisin Bran).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: “The Monster from the Lake” [Part 2] (5/8/45), “The Haunters and
the Haunted” [Part 2] (6/13/45), “Rip Van Winkle” [Part 1] (8/14/45), “The Ghost Who Forgot
Hallowe’en” (10/27/45), “The Mystery of the Bat Boy” (11/17/45), “A Gift from the Dead”
(8/3/47).
[NOTE: “The Mystery of the Bat Boy” appears to be from the “adult version” of the series. It’s
announced as transcribed, has no children—pseudo or otherwise—at thebeginning and end, and
has ads for Post Raisin Bran rather than Post Toasties.]
THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY (WOR, NEW YORK)
[Monday through Friday—5:30-5:45 PM]
Jan. 15, 1945 “The Beast of the Bayou”
[Part 1]
[“…has to do with the efforts of
frightened mansion owners in the
swamp lands of Louisiana attempting
to combat a werewolf.”]
Jan. 16, 1945 “The Beast of the Bayou”
[Part 2]
Jan. 17, 1945 “The Beast of the Bayou”
[Part 3]
Jan. 18, 1945 “The Beast of the Bayou”
[Part 4]
Jan. 19, 1945 “The Beast of the Bayou”
[Part 5]
Jan. 22-26, 1945
Jan. 23, 1945
Jan. 24, 1945
Jan. 25, 1945
Jan. 26, 1945
Jan. 29, 1945 etc
Feb. 5, 1945 etc
Feb. 12, 1945 etc
Feb. 19, 1945 etc
Feb. 26, 1945 etc
March 5, 1945 etc
March 12, 1945 etc
March 19, 1945 etc
March 26, 1945 etc
April 2, 1945 etc
April 9, 1945 etc
April 16, 1945 etc
April 23, 1945 etc
April 30, 1945 etc
May 7, 1945 “The Monster from the
Lake” [Part 1]
May 8, 1945 “The Monster from the
Lake” [Part 2]
May 9, 1945 “The Monster from the
Lake” [Part 3]
May 10, 1945 “The Monster from the
Lake” [Part 4]
May 11, 1945 “The Monster from the
Lake” [Part 5]
May 14, 1945 etc
May 21, 1945 etc
May 28, 1945 etc
June 5, 1945 etc
June 12, 1945 “The Haunters and the
Haunted” [Part 1]
June 13, 1945 “The Haunters and the
Haunted” [Part 2]
June 14, 1945 “The Haunters and the
Haunted” [Part 3]
June 15, 1945 “The Haunters and the
Haunted” [Part 4]
June 16, 1945 “The Haunters and the
Haunted [Part 5]
June 19, 1945 etc
June 26, 1945 etc
July 3, 1945 etc
July 10, 1945 etc
July 17, 1945 etc
July 24, 1945 etc
July 31, 1945 etc
Aug. 7, 1945 etc.
Aug. 14, 1945 “Rip Van Winkle” [Part 1]
Aug. 15, 1945 “Rip Van Winkle” [Part 2]
Aug. 16, 1945 “Rip Van Winkle” [Part 3]
Aug. 17, 1945 “Rip Van Winkle” [Part 4]
Aug. 18, 1945 “Rip Van Winkle” [Part 5]
[Saturday—12:00 NOON-12:30 PM]
Sep. 15, 1945 “The Teeth of Death”
Sep. 22, 1945 “The Ghost Car”
Sep. 29, 1945 “The Phantom Fountain”
Oct. 6, 1945 “The Living Buddha”
Oct. 13, 1945 “The Silver Bells of Satan’s
Manor”
Oct. 20, 1945 “The Ghost of Don Pedro”
Oct. 27, 1945 “The Ghost Who Forgot
Hallowe’en”
Nov. 3, 1945 “Death Takes The Stage”
Nov. 10, 1945 “The Mystery of the Fire God”
Nov. 17, 1945 “The Mystery of the Bat Boy”
Nov. 24, 1945 “The Skeleton on the Canvas”
Dec. 1, 1945 “The Haunted Violin”
Dec. 8, 1945 “The Pigmy Ghost of Red
Mist Valley”
Dec. 15, 1945 “The Merman of Coom
Ballow”
Dec. 22, 1945 “The Ghost of Gibson Cove”
Dec. 29, 1945 “The Mummy’s Secret”
Jan. 5, 1946 “The Ship of Death”
Jan. 12, 1946 “The Tunnel of Doom”
Jan. 19, 1946 “The Invisible Killer”
Jan. 26, 1946 “The Ghostly Sonata”
Feb. 2, 1946 “The Ghost on the Track”
Feb. 9, 1946 “The Mystery of the Deadly
Vampire”
Feb. 16, 1946 “The Flute with the Double
Face”
Feb. 23, 1946 “The Mystery of the Great
White Wolf”
March 2, 1946 “The Phantom Castle of
Ranta”
March 9, 1946 “The Mystery of the Screaming
White Statues”
March 16, 1946 “The Mystery of Brian’s
Banshee”
March 23, 1946 “The Mystery of Hangman’s
House”
March 30, 1946 “The Phantom Fountain”
April 6, 1946 “The Ghost on the Flying
Trapeze”
April 13, 1946 “The Singing Spirits of
Zenzura”
April 20, 1946 “The Terror of Mellock Valley”
April 27, 1946 “Death by the Demon Puppet”
May 4, 1946 “The Mystery of the Tiger
Woman”
May 11, 1946 “The Teeth of Death”
May 18, 1946 “The Mystery of the Vanishing
Train”
May 25, 1946 “The Mystery of the Men of
Fire”
June 1, 1946 “Possessed by the Devil”
June 8, 1946 “The Mystery of the Howling
Death”
[Sunday—4:00-4:30 PM]
Oct.6, 1946 “The Crimson Dagger”
Oct. 13, 1946
Oct. 20, 1946 “The Living Buddha”
Oct. 27, 1946 “Death Plays a Tune”
Nov. 3, 1946 “The End of the Earth”
Nov. 10, 1946 “The Haunted Mill”
[“…Three mysterious deaths, a
curse invoked by a convicted
collaborationist, and a bewitched
dog brings Roger Elliott, the mystery
man, to a little village in post-war
France to investigate a haunted
mill..”]
Nov. 17, 1946 “The Echoing Death”
Nov. 24, 1946 “The Destroying Angel”
Dec. 1, 1946 “The Ghost Train”
Dec. 8, 1946 “The Siren of Santo Domingo”
[“…Today’s drama centers around
an ancient vessel, sunk off the coast
of Santo Domingo many years ago
with a fortune in gold and jewels
aboard…”]
Dec. 15, 1946 “Book of the Dead”
Dec. 22, 1946
[“…John Griggs…will point out
that there is no mystery in the true
message of Christmas…”]
Dec. 29, 1946 “The Canterville Ghost”
Jan. 5, 1947 “The Pygmy Ghosts of Red
Mist Valley”
Jan. 12, 1947 “The Mystery of the Headless
Monster”
[“…Roger Elliott has a tingling story
of a haunted tomb that brings death to
all who invade… It is believed by the
natives that the spirit of King Koraker
still guards the tomb from disturbance
and is responsible for the grisly
deaths. The Mystery Man, spurning the
supernatural explanation, spends a
night inside the tomb and discovers the
solution to the weird happenings…”]
Jan. 19, 1947 “The Sobbing House”
Jan. 26, 1947 “The Silver Bells of Satan’s
Manor”
Feb. 2, 1947 “The Lonesome Ghost”
Feb. 9, 1947 “The Jewelled Statuette”
Feb. 16, 1947 “The Phantom Flames”
Feb. 23, 1947 “The Stronghold of Death”
March 2, 1947
March 9, 1947 “The Spotless Knives”
March 16, 1947 “The Mystery of the Rapping
Death”
[“…An old Irish legend that seems to
be coming true is the basis of today’s
drama… The hero of the story, Danny,
hears the rapping at the door while he
is ill of a heart ailment and believes
that the noise signifies the approach of
death. When he also hears the
banshees wail he believes that an old
Irish tale of its meaning death is
coming true. Roger Elliott the mystery
man is called in to disprove the legend
and after investigation finds the secret
of the rapping and the wail…”
March 23, 1947 “Death’s Head”
March 30, 1947 “The Mysterious Pool”
[“…Approaching a remote, isolated
Indian village in the Florida
Everglades, Roger Elliott is stopped by
a chief dressed in ceremonial garb. The
chief warns him to go no farther into
the swamp, for if he touches the waters
of a pool immediately in front of him
he will suffer instant death. To prove
it, the chief throws a pig in the pool
and, sure enough, the pig dies. The
Indians are about to throw a young
man in the waters because they think
he has done evil. Elliott persuades
them to wait long enough for him to
solve the mystery of the deadly waters,
using his usual technique of finding
the facts behind superstitions…”]
April 6, 1947 “Alice in Wonderland”
[with Eva Le Gallienne, Bambi
Lynn, Margaret Webster}
April 13, 1947 “The Haunted Circus”
April 20, 1947 “The Haunted Circus” ????
April 27, 1947 “The Mystery of the Ship of
Doom”
May 4, 1947 “The Magic Shield”
May 11, 1947 “The Ghostly Highwayman”
May 18, 1947 “The House of Doom”
May 25, 1947 “The Queen’s Tears”
June 1, 1947 “The House of Terror”
June 8, 1947 “The Buddha’s Revenge”
June 15, 1947 “The Ghost Ship of Ardah”
June 22, 1947 “Disappearing Monkeys”
June 29, 1947 “The Window of Death”
July 6, 1947 “The Pointing Bone”
July 13, 1947 “The Phantom Voice”
July 20, 1947 “The Mystery of the Headless
Horseman”
[“…A rich tapestry, dating back to
the days when knighthood was in
flower and gallant warriors did
battle for their ladies fair, is the
object d’art surrounded by an aura
of violent death…”]
July 27, 1947
Aug. 3, 1947 “A Gift from the Dead”
Aug. 10, 1947 “The Mystery of the
Disappearing Planes”
[“…One of Mother Nature’s most
inexplicable phenomena plays a
prominent role…”]
Aug. 17, 1947
Aug. 24, 1947
Aug. 31, 1947
Sep. 7, 1947
Sep. 14, 1947
Sep. 21, 1947 “Footprints of the Devil”
Sep. 28, 1947 “The Sea Ghost”
Oct.5, 1947
Oct. 12, 1947 “The Bells of Manitou”
Oct. 19, 1947 “The Bells of Manitou”??
Oct. 26, 1947 “The Venetian Daggers”
Nov. 2, 1947
Nov. 9, 1947
Nov. 16, 1947
Nov. 23, 1947
Nov. 30, 1947
Dec. 7, 1947
Dec. 14, 1947 “Death Lives in a Valley”
Dec. 21, 1947
Dec. 28, 1947
Jan. 4, 1948
Jan. 11, 1948 “The Mystery of the Ghostly
Werewolf”
Jan. 18, 1948
Jan. 25, 1948
Feb. 1, 1948
Feb. 8, 1948
Feb. 15, 1948
Feb. 22, 1948
Feb. 29, 1948
March 7, 1948
March 14, 1948 “The Mystery of the Bell
Without a Tongue”
March 21, 1948
March 28, 1948
April 4, 1948
April 11, 1948
April 18, 1948
April 25, 1948
May 2, 1948
May 9, 1948
May 16, 1948
May 23, 1948
May 30, 1948 “The Mystery of the Visiting
Devil”
[“…During an auto race in Paris, a
driver sees the masked face of Satan,
and Roger Elliott finds himself in
another adventure…”]
June 6, 1948
June 13, 1948
June 20, 1948
June 27, 1948
July 4, 1948
July 11, 1948
July 18, 1948
July 25, 1948
Aug. 1, 1948
Aug. 8, 1948
Aug. 15, 1948
Aug. 22, 1948 “The Mystery of the Phantoms
of the Abbey”
[“…Westminster Abbey will be the
locale for the ‘House of Mystery’
drama to be broadcast from
London…”]
Aug. 29, 1948
Sep. 5, 1948
Sep. 12, 1948
Sep. 19, 1948
Sep. 26, 1948
Oct. 3, 1948 “Death and the Unicorn”
[“…While hunting in the jungles of
Africa, Roger Elliott encounters a
weird experience…”]
Oct. 10, 1948 “The Phantom of Grave’s
End”
[“…Roger Elliott debunks mine
ghosts…”]
Oct. 17, 1948 “The Curse of Zbenda”
[“…Roger Elliott meets the ghost of
a Nazi captain off the coast of
Holland…”]
Oct. 24, 1948 “The Skull on Black
Mountain”
Oct. 31, 1948 “Fields of Gold”
[“…Leprechauns are debunked by
the mystery man…”]
Nov. 7, 1948 “The Mystery of the Erratic
Chair”
Nov. 14, 1948 “The Mystery of the Terror of
Mellock Valley”
Nov. 21, 1948
Nov. 28, 1948 “The Ghost of Christopher
Rock”
[“…Roger Elliott tells of a
farmhouse that was haunted by the
ghost of a turkey…”]
Dec. 5, 1948
Dec. 12, 1948 “The Warning of the Wild
Rabbit”
Dec. 19, 1948
Dec. 26, 1948 “The King of the Golden
River”
Jan. 2, 1949
Jan. 9, 1949 “The Mystery of the Perfumed
Ghost”
Jan. 16, 1949 “The Mystery of the Islands of
the Doomed”
[“…The weird tale of a ship that drops
anchor during the night, then in the
morning finds itself in the center of an
island… All aboard the ship die of
hunger and disease, but the captain
manages to reach Dakar on the west
coast of Africa and bring the ‘Mystery
Man’ Roger Elliott back to reveal how
an ocean of water can turn to solid
land overnight…”]
Jan. 23, 1949 “The Mystery of the Backstage
Ghost”
[“…The show goes on even though
four leading men fail to live through
the second act…”]
Jan. 30, 1949 “The Witch of Dog Moon
Hollow”
Feb. 6, 1949 “The Mystery of the Invisible
Arrows”
Feb. 13, 1949 “The Mystery of the Moving
Hand”
Feb. 20, 1949 “The Mystery of the Clock of
Death”
[“…A remorseful college student,
who believes his professor died
because he stopped the clock as a
prank, calls on the mystery man to
explain…”]
Feb. 27, 1949 “The Mystery of the Man Who
Wouldn’t Stay Dead”
March 6, 1949 “The Mystery of the Monster in
the Lake”
March 13, 1949 “The Mystery of the Isle of
Mists”
March 20, 1949 “The Mystery of the Dying
Portrait”
[“…A portrait that progressively
shows age-lines down through the
years and causes a widower to start
practicing voodoo rites on a suspected
former rival provides the uncanny
problem for ‘Mystery Man’ Roger
Elliott…”]
March 27, 1949 “The Mystery of the Phantom
Jockey”
April 3, 1949 “The Mystery of the Ghostly
Duet”
[“…A music teacher who forced his
wife to study voice, then saw her
collapse and die during the death scene
of ‘Tristan and Isolde’ is haunted by
‘The Mystery of the Ghostly Duet’…
The teacher takes a new pupil. But
each time she sings, her solo seems to
become a perfectly executed duet by
what he believes to be the ghostly
voice of his dead wife. Roger Elliott,
the ‘Mystery Man,’ reveals a less
occult explanation for the strange
happenings…”]
April 10, 1949 “The Devil Bells”
April 17, 1949 “The Miracle of the Trees”
[“…A story of life, from the days of
Adam and Eve through the
Resurrection period and the murder of
Julius Caesar, is whispered to Roger
Elliott by the California redwoods as
he walks beneath their century-old
branches during the special Easter
broadcast of Mutual’s ‘House of
Mystery’…”]
April 24, 1949 “The Jeweled Ghost of Chaz-
Moni”
May 1, 1949 “The Dancing Skeleton of the
Tides”
[“…A ghostly apparition, supposedly
guarding the long buried treasure of
Captain Kidd, is debunked by Roger
Elliott… An aging lobster fisherman
sold rights to dig for the treasure for
$5,000 per party. His customers were
driven off by a skeleton that danced on
the waves…”]
May 8, 1949 “The Mystery of the Ghost
Train”
May 15, 1949 “The Living Ghost”
May 22, 1949 “The Mystery of the Mad
Chessman”
May 29, 1949 “Ghost Chamber”
[“…An ancient castle, supposedly
haunted by an authentic ghost that did
everything expected of it, including
rattling chains, groaning voices, etc.,
provides the locale for Mutual’s
‘House of Mystery’… Roger Elliott is
called to the scene to debunk the
legend and to find a logical
explanation for the uncanny events
taking place there…”]
June 5, 1949 “The Mystery of the Smiley
Pirate”
June 12, 1949 “The Ghost of Sampson’s
Gulch”
[“…An uncanny chain of railroad
accidents, involving suddenly
uncoupled cars, rock slides on the
track, etc., terrorize a gang of
construction workers…”]
June 19, 1949 “The Spirit of Andrew
Cameron”
[“…A woman who believes in
spiritualism and a daughter who does
not both view the ghost of the
deceased husband and father… The
man had been reported drowned in the
Indian Ocean. Even Roger Elliott, the
‘Mystery Man,’ is forced to admit that
he, too, has seen and heard the
apparition. But a chemical analysis of
a tiny pool of water provides the
answer to the seemingly supernatural
occurrences…”]
June 26, 1949 “The Revenge of Genghis Khan”
July 3, 1949
July 10, 1949
July 17, 1949 “The Return of the Dead
Dacoit”
July 24, 1949 “The Mystery of the Haunted
Desert”
[“…There’s nothing unusual about a
ship’s distress siren, but when it is
heard in the middle of an Arizona
desert, it becomes a strange
phenomenon to be solved by Roger
Elliott… A man fears he is being
haunted by a ship whose distress signal
his father failed to heed, but Elliott
discovers a more logical explanation
for the supernatural events…”]
July 31, 1949 “Death Is a Puppetmaster”
[“…A puppeteer who became so fond
of his little characters that he began to
fancy them as real people provides a
strange story…”]
Aug. 7, 1949 “The Mystery of the Ghostly
Flame”
Aug. 14, 1949 “The Mystery of the Moaning
Vase”
Aug. 21, 1949 “The Beacon for the Dead”
Aug. 28, 1949 "The Curse of the White Cat”
Sep. 4, 1949 “The Mystery of the Ghostly
Castanets”
Sep. 11, 1949 “The Ghost of Muggy Doone”
Sep. 18, 1949 “The Mystery of the Harp and
the Black Mirror”
Sep. 25, 1949 “The Mystery of the Charming
Betty”
Oct. 2, 1949 “The Book of the Dead”
Oct. 9, 1949
Oct. 16, 1949
Oct. 23, 1949 “
[“…Spook-buster Roger Elliott will
expose the superstitions believed by
the natives of Haiti in a special
broadcast celebrating the bi-centennial
founding of Port-au-Prince…”]
Oct. 30, 1949 “The Devil in Massachusetts”
Nov. 6, 1949
Nov. 13, 1949
Nov. 20, 1949
Nov. 27, 1949 “The Clutching Hand”
Dec. 4, 1949 “The Legend of Coomhallow”
Dec. 11, 1949 “The Mystery of the Pools of
Blood”
Dec. 18, 1949 “The Mystery of the Lost
Gallows”
Dec. 25, 1949 “The Happy Prince” (by Oscar
Wilde)
Sources for log information: Variety, New York Herald-Tribune, Miami Daily News, Miami
Herald