THE EMPTY HOUSE

[SHORT-STORY]

The title story of Blackwood’s first collection of short stories…

[CHRONOLOGY]
(LIGHT PROGRAMME)
[Monday-Tuesday—11:05-11:20 PM]

December 21, 1953The Empty House

[PART 1]

December 22, 1953The Empty House

[Part 2]
PERSONNEL:

Jocelyn Bradford (adapter), Valentine Dyall (reader).

BOOK AT BEDTIME—“ALGERNON BLACKWOOD GHOST STORIES”

(RADIO 4,
LONDON)
[Tuesday—

August 1, 2006The Empty House

[“…An aunt and her nephew attempt to spend the night in a haunted

house…”]

THE ENGULFED CATHEDRAL
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

“Based on Irish folk legend… On the Island of Aran, a man thought to have died

at sea returns to shore guided by the cathedral bells described in ancient Irish

legend.”

ORIGINATION:
DURATION:
PERSONNEL:

Andrew Allan (producer—1940), Peter McDonald (producer—

1949), Arch Oboler (scriptwriter, producer—1939).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:
ARCH OBOLER’S PLAYS (
[???day—10:00-10:30 PM]

May 6, 1939 “The Engulfed Cathedral

THEATRE TIME (C???, VANCOUVER)
[???day—

June 3, 1940 “The Engulfed Cathedral

VANCOUVER THEATRE (C???, VANCOUVER)
[???day—

Oct. 7, 1949 “The Engulfed Cathedral

ENO CRIME CLUES—
HAUNTED HOUSE BROADCAST
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

“Fiction presented under the guise of authenticity is confusing,” complained

Washington Postcolumnist J. H. H. four days after the March 10, 1936 broadcast

of “The Petticoat Ghost,” an episode of the NBC seriesCrime Clews(formerly

known asEno Crime Clues). The broadcast had created a bit of a stir when a

number of listeners thought that the events in the story were really transpiring.

[R. J. D., “Imported Spooks,”

MiddletownTimes Herald, February 27, 1936]

“Boy, things have come to a sorry pass under the New Deal when one of our

major radio networks has to import British ghosts for a special spook program

March tenth. The British spooks will be microphoned to American radio

audiences by short-wave from a haunted manor house on the outskirts of London

over NBC. Mikes will be brought into the spook house at night and an announcer

or two will be on tap to try to coax from the spirits their usual moans, groans,

chain-clankings, shrieks, wall-tappings, stair-creakings, etc.

“But don’t think for a minute our rugged American spooks are going to sit back,

twiddle their thumbs and let the British get away without competition. Not on

your life! Feeling that native ghosts must resent the importation of foreign spooks

and are sufficiently patriotic to assert themselves, a commercial sponsor has

arranged a ghost house broadcast from New York on the same night over the

same network. As yet no house has been selected, but several old mansions with

ghostly associations in and near New York are being considered. Ghosts probably

will be auditioned early next week. And those with the spookiest repertoire of

noises will be given a chance to crash the air in the big All-American spook

program and show a listening world that the British haunts haven’t a thing on

them. Just the same, we’re betting two-to-one on the British spooks because

they’ve had more experience.”

[R. J. D., “Haunted Houses Scarce,”

Middletown Times Herald, February 29,

1936] “Want to convert that idle house of yours into a gold mine? Then hire a pet

ghost and watch the shekels roll in to poppa. Two nights ago we stated a

commercial sponsor, seeking to offset a spook broadcast from a haunted house in

London, planned to air a spook program from some haunted house in or near

New York. But now it appears his play may be shelved because he can’t find an

untenanted haunted house. He employed a dozen detectives to locate a first-class

spook joint for his broadcast, and after a week of intensive scouting they reported

that every house with a good ghost record was occupied—chiefly by society folk

who thrilled to the unusual entertainment possibilities a haunted home afforded.

Real estate men then assured the sponsor that an obliging ghost on the premises

is a decided asset and that haunted houses are worth a premium.”

[Bradley Riter,

Modesto Bee, March 8, 1936] “There was a time, and not so long

ago, when radio was considered spookish.

“People with head-sets were amazed as they pulled in strange noises from the

ether. It was eerie, unbelievable.

“Actually, however, there were about as many spooks in radio as there are in

haunted houses, as the producers of Crime Clues have found out.

“All this week, they have been looking for an authentic haunted house in New

York to be used as a setting for next Tuesday’s broadcast in the man-hunter

mystery series.

“They have found that ghosts do not cause all of the clanking of chains, the

dismal moaning and the nerve-wrecking banging of doors and many of the

‘haunted houses’ got that way through bad plumbing, unoiled hinges and liberal

dashes of imagination.

“While there are several old mansions in New York with excellent ghostly

records, the best ones are occupied. This is because society people have rented

them for the unusual entertainment they offer guests. Indeed, the real estate

fellows say an obliging ghost on the premises is a decided asset and such houses

are now worth a premium.”

[Washington Post, March 14, 1936] “Just see what comes in the mail from the

sponsors of ‘Crime Clews’:

“ ‘Maybe it indicates many radio listeners are reading their newspapers,

working on income tax returns, playing bridge or otherwise diverting themselves

while their radio sets are turned on, but a great many of them missed the

announcement made on the ‘Crime Clews haunted house’ broadcast last Tuesday.

And as a result, thousands of listeners phoned their radio stations asking if the

murder really had been committed on this program.

“ ‘The broadcast came from the basement kitchen of the famous old Conference

House on Staten Island, reputed to be haunted. During the program, a murder

instigated by a spook was committed.

“ ‘However, in the preliminary announcement that went on the air from the

studio before the broadcast was shifted to the Conference House, it was twice

stated specifically that listeners would hear another ‘Crime Clews’ story. Again at

the end of the broadcast, it was announced a story had been presented.’

“The announcement then goes into detail in respect to the number of calls

received—at Conference House, Radio City and other stations. It continues:

“ ‘Prior to the broadcast, newspapers carried stories which pointed out that,

while every opportunity would be given the Conference House ghost for

broadcast there would be a regular ‘Crime Clews’ drama, entitled ‘The Petticoat

Ghost’ presented. (Note: I was one radio writer who failed to ‘hear’ that

announcement, also.) Producers of the show, anticipating the ghosts would

probably be mike-shy, felt that listeners would be bored with a mere description

of the house, so a special ghost mystery was prepared. In the story, however,

‘breaks’ were provided so that spirit noises could be put on the air if such noises

developed.’

“It seems to me the above is a remarkable document. A lot of heads were

together, no doubt, for some time in working out the precise wording. Radio

sponsors learned early in the broadcst business that the public does not like to be

hoodwinked or deceived.

“As a recipient of the publicity mentioned and also as one who listened to the

program, I would say that ‘Crime Clews’ earned all the kickbacks they received on

their scrambled and confusing broadcast of ghost manifestations.”

Decades later listeners still remembered this broadcast. “My favorite weekly

radio show, after I did my school work, was theEno CrimeClues,” recalled 76-

year-old Lou Wagner in 2000. “Their shows were very realistic. They had one

show where I thought the murder actually happened…ala Orson Welles—‘War of

the Worlds’.”

ORIGINATION:

W???, New York City, New York (NBC-

DURATION:

March 10, 1936.

PERSONNEL:
SPONSOR:
EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

ENO CRIMES CLUES (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Tuesday—8:00-8:30 PM]

March 10, 1936The Petticoat Ghost

[“...Dr. Hereward Carrington, director

of the American Psychical Institute

and one of the outstanding authorities

on the supernatural, will take a leading

role in the ‘haunted house’

broadcast…”]

[“…Billopp Manor on Staten Island,

built by an ill-tempered, iron-fisted sea

captain in the 17th century, with stone

walls three feet thick and a dungeon

where slaves were punished, will be

the scene of the Crime Clues ‘haunted

house’ broadcast… Among the

assorted ghosts who are supposed to

sing Harlem lullabies and drag

assorted hardware around the mansion

during the dead of night are those of a

girl who was given the run-around by

one of the later Billopps and a slave

girl who was bumped off in the attic.

Also it is said that some of the men

before the mast resented the Captain’s

strong-arm methods and returned to

make his life miserable. Dr. Hereward

Carrington, psychic authority, will be

on hand to attempt to find the causes

of any ghostly sounds that may or may

not be heard during the broadcasts. If

none of the spooks show up, the

mystery drama of the evening, titled

‘The Petticoat Ghost,’ will be staged in

the old house, over a ghost-to-ghost

hookup…”]

THIRTY MINUTE THEATRE

*FOUND*Enoch Soames Max Beerbohm R4 3.6.1997/1400 Nigel Anthony/David

Bannerman/Ioan Meredith

ESYLT NEWBERY
[RADIO-TALKS]

Esylt Newbery was an lecturer on the Far East who had lived in the Orient for

nearly twenty years, first as a governess and then as a teacher at the Cathedral

Choir School in Shanghai. Once back in England she broadcast sporadically in the

mid-Twenties, oftentimes on the subject on Asian legends and ghost lore. A

number of her talks were broadcast as part of a regular Friday-night series,

Eastern Cameos.

[Newbery: describes witnessing “The Feast of Lanterns” in Kodzu in Japan: “I

saw two or three hundred people, all carrying lighted paper lanterns swinging at

the end of a string… It appeared that the people were holding the annual ‘walk of

the ghosts’ when the spirits of the dead return by special invitation to visit their

loved one on earth. ‘They come,’ he said, ‘from the ‘Land of Shadows’ at sunset,

and they must return at midnight’… [At] midnight…the market square emptied as

the people dispersed to their homes to fetch the little ‘Ghost Boats’ which were to

take the visitors home. We all went down to the river where the tiny fleet was

launched, none of the boats more than six or seven inches long, but each carrying

its tiny lighted torch or a lantern at the prow, and a little heap of food to sustain

the unseen voyager on the journey.

“The ghosts cannot come unless they are invited. In some parts of China they

build little houses for them, with real little gardens outside, and inside paper

chairs and tables with food set out, and bowls of clean water for the ghosts to

wash themselves after the journey. The people of the East are much occupied

with death and the dead.”

“…another year—1926—was with us. I don’t remember how it all began, I think

it was through meeting some of the Cardiff personnel at a Garden Party given by

the B.B.C. at Weston, but I began broadcasting from the Cardiff studios, and I

kept it up fairly regularly for the next three years. I did a long series at one time,

for fifteen weeks, every Friday night from seven till a quarter past. The ‘Talks’

were known as ‘Eastern Cameos’, irreverently known to the staff as ‘Miss

Newbery’s Camisoles’. Arrangements in those days were pretty happy-go-lucky.

The studios were only a couple of small houses in a terrace. I would walk in past a

commissionaire sitting on a chair near the door, and he would touch his hat with

one finger and say, ‘Good evening, Miss, you’re in Number Three.’ The room had

a silent swing door, a thick carpet, and was entirely hung with drapery. Even the

ceiling was festooned with it. One had to stand at a tall desk the whole time with

what looked like a large meat-safe in front of it. My paper, in my own

handwriting, would be on the desk, and lying beside it would be a card saying

‘Don’t rustle your papers’.

“After a bit an announcer would come in, say ‘Come for your Camisole?’ or

something equally original, and after the usual light signal, I would be

announced, and then left alone to read my paper. Sometimes a man would come

soundlessly into the room, take me by the shoulders and push me closer to the

meat-safe, or else pull me back. Sometimes I had a printed card on the top of a

short pole pushed before my eyes with ‘You are talking too fast’, or some other

bright remark. Ineverhad to rehearse beforehand. Then, leaving my next week’s

talk on the desk, I left, having first had to stand still while the announcer,

breathing down my neck, would say, ‘That is the end of Esylt Newbery’s talk on

the Far East for this evening, she will be here again for another Talk at the same

time next Friday.’

“Then a brief pause, while we both looked for the light over the door. Then

would come: ‘And now, here is Fat Stock Prices for Farmers.’ For some reason I

did not understand, the Fat Stock Prices were not given from the studio in which

I had given my broadcast, but from somewhere else, and as soon as the notice

was given, the light flickered again, and we could talk. One dreadful evening,

when I though the light had gone, in order to make the announcer laugh, I put my

face close to the meat-safe and, putting on a broad Welsh accent, I said, before he

could stop me, ‘Now, there’s a luffly treat for you!’

“At that moment, to my unspeakable horror, the light over the door twinkled a

moment and went out.

“You should have seen that announcer! He doubled up with laughter, slapped

his thighs and danced all over the room. ‘Nowyou’ve done it!’ he said. ‘No more

camisoles foryou, my lady! You’ll get the sack, you see!’

“But I never heard a word about it!

“One Christmas Eve, I was to give a broadcast on ‘True Ghost Stories’, and to

have half an hour instead of my usual fifteen minutes.”

[“When the Dead Return,”

The Argus, September 25, 1945] “One reason for

that curious Japanese message of condolence when President Roosevelt died was

suggested by Esylt Newbery, in the BBC Listener for June 28. ‘Most people in this

country,’ she said, ‘have no idea how much the Japanese fear, not death, but the

dead. The Japanese believe that after death souls pass on to the ‘land of the

shadows,’ where they deteriorate in character, become spiteful and jealous, and

are restless and unhappy, always longing to return to this world. These spirits of

the dead are far more powerful and influential, the Japs think, than they ever

were in life, and the great thing is to propitiate them and keep them if possible

contented in the spirit world, for if once, they take offence they could do mortals

very great harm.

‘When President Roosevelt died insults of every sort came from Hitler, but the

Japs sent a polite message of condolence to America. And into the bargain, when

Stalin spoke at a diplomatic gathering in Moscow on the passing of the great man,

and proposed that everyone should stand for a minute’s silence in the late

President’s honour, the Japanese Minister joined in with alacrity. As far as I

know all this wasn’t in the least because the Japs liked or respected President

Roosevelt, but because they simply dared not do otherwise. In short—the Japs are

far more afraid of Mr. Roosevelt now that he is dead than they were when he was

alive.’”

ORIGINATION:

5WA, Cardiff (BBC).

DURATION:

Various dates between 1926 and 1929.

PERSONNEL:

Esylt Newbery (speaker).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

MISS ESYLT NEWBERY (5WA, CARDIFF)
[Friday—4:45-5:00 PM]

July 30, 1926 “Folk Lore and Fairy Tales of

China

Aug. 20, 1926Some Strange Chinese

Superstitions

MISS ESYLT NEWBERY (2BD, ABERDEEN)
[Thursday—3:45-4:00 PM]

April 7, 1927 “Some Strange Chinese

Superstitions

ESYLT NEWBERY (5WA, CARDIFF)
[Saturday—7:00-7:15 PM]

April 14, 1928More Ghosts, and other

Uncanny Happenings

[Saturday—7:00-7:15 PM]

Dec. 22, 1928 “More Ghost Stories

EUROPEAN GHOST STORY PROGRAMS
[RADIO-SPECIALS]

The British seem to have taken to ghostly broadcasting more than their

continental neighbors…

Cited in Heinz Schwitzke's bookDas Horspiel: Dramaturgie UndGeschichte

(1963). It is identified as a Rolf Reissmann production, done in Berlin in 1934,

but it is not clear whether it was a regular series or not. Possibly based on the

1932 bookGeister, Ganger, Gesichte, Gewaltenby Friedrich, Freiherr von

Gagern. Although the book has never been translated into English in its entirety,

two stories from it were included inThe Dedalus/Ariadne Book of Austrian

Fantasy.

The title translates literally asGhosts, Corridors and Faces.

Hair-Raisers: TheTimeslisted this title in their foreign station section on

Monday, March 19, 1934 in a 4:20-4:40 PM slot (Greenwich time). The following

Monday (26) the same time period was listed simply as “Reading.”

Horror Knocks: Listed as one-act play by Rybrant. Most like Gosta Rybrant,

writer and lyricist who wrote a series ofkriminalromanenin the late twenties

and early thirties.

SEE ALSO: SPUK.

ORIGINATION:

Various.

DURATION:

Various.

PERSONNEL:

Meinhard Maurberlin (reciter—1925,Grotesque Recitations),

Rolf Reissmann (producer—1934,Geister, Ganger und Gesichte).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

GROTESQUE RECITATIONS BY MEINHARD MAURBERLIN

(WESTDEUTSCHE FUNKSTUNDE, MUNSTER)
[Tuesday—8:30- PM]

June 9, 1925 “The Ghostly Laugh in the

Chorus” (by Heinrich Heine) /

Scene from ‘The Sandman’

(by E. T. A. Hoffmann) / “The

Raven—Part II” (by Edgar Allan

Poe) / “The Gallows’ Song” (by

Christian Morgenstern) / “Uncle

Casper’s Red Nose” (by Wilhelm

Busch) / “Humorous Selection

(by Mark Twain)

(SCHLESLACHE RUNDFUNK, BRESLAU)
[Sunday—

June 21, 1925 “Spuk

(BRESLAU)
[Thursday—7:00-7:50 PM]

Feb. 9, 1928 “Reading and Recitations on

Ghosts and Spirits

(STUTTGART)
[Wednesday—7:00-9:45 PM]

Feb. 15, 1928 “The Fateful Carnival Night

[“…Musical Farce (Nestroy), followed

by Recital of Ghost Stories…”]

FANTASTIC STORIES (MUNSTER)
[???day—9:00-10:30 PM]

Sep. 17, 1928 “Krischen Schmoer” (by

Lillen??ton) / “La Morte” (by

Guy de Maupassant) / “Des

Bettelweib von Locarno” (by

Kleist) / “The Raven” (by Edgar

Allan Poe) / “Der Kleine

Hilvelmann” (by Storm)

(FRANKFURT)
[Monday—10:45- PM]

Sep. 30, 1929 “Ghosts, Real and Imitation

(KONIGSWUSTERHAUSEN, BERLIN)
[Monday—8:00- PM]

Oct. 21, 1929 “Ghost Programme

(KONIGS WUSTERHAUSEN, BERLIN)
[Sunday—12:45-1:10 PM]

Dec. 6, 1931 “Three Ghost Stories

(BRESLAU)
[Sunday—5:00-5:45 PM]

Dec. 6, 1931 “Ghost Stories and Winter

Tales

(MUHLACKER, STUTTGART)
[Wednesday—10:45-11:10 PM

July 6, 1932 “A Humorous Ghost Story

(KONIGS WUSTERHAUSEN, BERLIN)
[Saturday—8:00-9:00 PM]

April 1, 1933

[“…A Humorous Ghost Play (Ernst

Keienburg…”]

(MUNICH)
[Monday—7:50-8:35 PM]

Nov. 20, 1933In der Kunkelstub’n

[“…Tales of Witches, Spirits and

Ghosts—and a Short Ghost Play, Die

Teufelsnacht…’]

(MUHLACKER, STUTTGART)
[Monday—10:45-11:30 PM]

Dec. 25, 1933 “The Ghost in the Music Shop

[“…Sketch (Carl Struve)…”]
(VIENNA)
[Tuesday—7:50-8:20 PM]

Feb. 6, 1934 “Ghost Stories

(FRANKFURT)
[Monday—7:50-8:30 PM]

Feb. 26, 1934 “Horror Knocks at Peter Holl’s

Door

(DEUTSCHLANDSENDER, BERLIN)
[Monday—4:20-4:40 PM]

March 19, 1934Hair-Raisers

(MUHLACKER, STUTTGART)
[Wednesday—6:00-6:25 PM]

May 16, 1934 “The Ghost on the Roof

[“…Radio Play (Kasten)…”]
(BERLIN)

Circa 1934Geister, Ganger und Gesichte

(COLOGNE)
[Thursday—9:30-10:15 PM]

Jan. 3, 1935 “When Ghosts Walk!

[“…Twelfth Night Play (Petry)…”]
(MUNICH)
[Monday—9:15-10:00 AM]

March 18, 1935Ghost Play

(BEROMUNSTER)
[Tuesday—9:45-10:15 PM]

July 2, 1935 “Horror Knocks at Allen Dale’s

Door

(KONIGSBERG)
[Monday—6:40-7:00 PM]

Sep. 9, 1935 “Ghost Stories

(BRUSSELS)
[Saturday—8:45-9:30 PM]

April 3, 1937 “A Strange Story

[“…Thriller (Duterme)…”]
(LEIPZIG)
[Monday—10:20-11:20 PM]

April 26, 1937Ghosts from the Classics

[“…Sequence of Literature and Music

(Wanninger)…”]

(HEILSBERG, KONIGSBERG)
[Friday—10:20-11:00 PM]

Oct. 15, 1937 “The Midnight Ghost” (Bartels)

(DEUTSCHLANDSENDER, BERLIN)
[Friday—2:40-3:00 PM]

Nov. 19, 1937 “Ghosts!

[“…Scene (Popp)…”]
(VIENNA)
[Thursday—7:25-8:30 PM]

Jan. 6, 1938 “A Ghost in the Bar

[“…Fantasy (Jeft)…”]
(VIENNA)
[Sunday—4:55-6:00 PM]

Jan. 16, 1938 “Ghosts, Fairies and Fabulous

Monsters

(DJD, BERLIN)
[Friday—7:30-8:00 PM]

May 20, 1938“Ghost Stories

(HEILSBERG, KONIGSBERG)
[Monday—9:15-10:00 PM]

July 4, 1938 “The Lightning-Conductor”

[“…Gruesome Tales of Storms and

Floods and Superstitions (arr.

Bartels)…”]

(KALUNDBORG)
[Tuesday—10:00-10:20 PM]

Feb. 14, 1939 “Ghost Story

THE EVE OF FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

Charles Tazewell scripted…

ORIGINATION:

WABC, New York, New York City (CBS).

DURATION:

September 12, 1935; March 12, 1936.

[NOTE: Although these shows were broadcast after midnight and therefore fell

actually on the 13th, they are listed as broadcasts of the 12th because they were

technically part of WABC’s Thursday broadcasting schedule.]

PERSONNEL:

Charles Tazewell (scriptwriter).

CAST: William Johnstone, Ethel Remey, Orson Welles, et al.

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

(WABC, NEW YORK)
[Thursday—

September 12, 1935 “The Eve of Friday the Thirteenth

[Thursday—

March 12, 1936The Eve of Friday the Thirteenth

EVENING CALL
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

An original script by Dwight Weist, performed on the NBC Radio Guild…

ORIGINATION:

WJZ, New York City, New York (NBC-BLUE).

DURATION:

August 10, 1940.

PERSONNEL:

Dwight Weist (scriptwriter).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

THE RADIO GUILD (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Saturday—8:00-8:30 PM]

August 10, 1940Evening Call

EVENING PRIMROSE
[SHORT-STORY]

John Collier’s classic horror story…

The original source story for “Evening Primrose” was first published in 1940. It

can be found in the John Collier collectionFancies andGoodnights

[Doubleday

& Co., 1951].

ORIGINATION:

Various.

DURATION:

Various.

PERSONNEL:

Alexander Courage (music conductor—1949,Escape), John

Dunkel (scriptwriter—1949,Escape), Norman Macdonnell (director—1949,

Escape), John Pritchett (host, reader—2007,An Hour of Short Stories)

CAST [8/25/49,Escape]: Harry Bartell, Lois Corbett, Georgia Ellis, Wilms

Herbert, Vivi Janis, Ruth Perrott, Ben Wright.

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

“Evening Primrose (Escape, 8/25/49),

MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION (HOME SERVICE, LONDON)

[Thursday—9:30-10:00 PM]

Jan. 3, 1946 “Evening Primrose

Escape. November 5, 1947. CBS net. "Evening Primrose". Sustaining. A

fascinating adventure with a strange assortment of characters who live inside

New York's department stores. Great radio! The script was subsequently used on

Escape on September 12, 1948 (see cat. #65849) and on August 25, 1949 (see cat.

#24294). Pat Lowery, Elliott Lewis, Paul Frees, John Collier (author), William N.

Robson (producer, director), John Dunkel (adaptor).

Escape. September 12, 1948. CBS net. "Evening Primrose". Sustaining. A

fascinating adventure with a strange assortment of characters who live inside

New York's department stores. Great radio! The script was used previously on

"Escape" on November 5, 1947 (see cat. #65835) and subsequently on August 25,

1949 (see cat. #24296). Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Ivan Ditmars

(special music), William Conrad, Constance Cavendish, Jeff Corey, John Collier

(author), John Dunkel (adaptor), Roy Rowan (announcer), Harry Bartell, Lillian

Buyeff, Kay Miller, Irene Tedrow.

ESCAPE (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Thursday—

July 28, 1949 “Evening Primrose

[“…This is the eerie yarn of a poet

who decides to live in a department

store and finds a whole community

already in occupation. His plans to

escape the weird community are

thwarted by the Dark Men, nocturnal

policemen who live in undertaking

parlors…”]

Escape. August 25, 1949. CBS net. "Evening Primrose". Sustaining. A

fascinating adventure with a strange assortment of characters who

live inside New York's department stores! Great radio! The script was

used on the program previously on November 5, 1947 (see cat.

#65835) and on September 12, 1948 (see cat. #65849). Ben Wright,

Bob Lemond (announcer), Georgia Ellis, Harry Bartell, John Collier

(author), John Dunkel (adaptor), Lois Corbett, Norman Macdonnell

(producer, director), Ruth Perrott, Alexander Courage (music

conductor), Vivi Janis, Wilms Herbert.

THE BLACK MASS (KPFA, BERKELEY)
[Saturday—

??? ??, 196? “Evening Primrose

AN HOUR OF SHORT STORIES (NORTH TEXAS RADIO FOR THE

BLIND, DALLAS)
[Sunday—1:00-2:00 PM]

Dec. 9, 2007 “Evening Primrose” / “The

American’s Tale”

(BBC RADIO 7)
[Friday—6:30-7:00 PM]

Oct. 10, 2008 “Evening Primrose

A darkly surreal story by John Collier about a bizarre community of

people who have opted out of society .

[NOTE: “Evening Primrose” was originally announced to be performed by Peter

Lorre on his Mystery in the Air program on July 31, 1947, but was replaced by “

THE EVIL EYE
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

[Circleville Daily Herald, January 27, 1938] “Both Boris Karloff and Charlie

McCarthy have a new experience next Sunday, January 30, when they meet. Boris

has never tried to scare a ventriloquist’s dummy before and Charlie McCarthy has

never come within ten miles of trying to scare Boris Karloff. In fact it’s still far

from settled just how close to Karloff, Edgar Bergen will be able to get Charlie...

Karloff also plays the leading part in a dramatic sketch with Don Ameche.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, February 10, 1938] “Nobody can say that Harry Saz,

NBC Hollywood sound man, hasn’t his heart in radio these days. The heartbeats

which listeners heard when Boris Karloff and Don Ameche dramatized Edgar

Allen Poe’s ‘The Telltale Heart’ were the McCoy. With a hand mike clamped

against his chest, Saz sat in another studio while NBC engineers faded in his

heartbeats at the proper time. Producers auditioned several hearts, but Saz’s

seemed to give out the loudest throb.”

[Homer Canfield,

San Mateo Times, February 4, 1938] “Karloff didn’t scare

McCarthy nearly as much as he did Senator Herring of Iowa. The Iowan has

demanded a script of the broadcast as a perfect example of what children

shouldn’t be allowed to hear over the air.”

[February 3, 1938] “Protesting against radio horror scenes during children’s

broadcasts, Senator Clyde L. Herring, D., Ia., today asked for a script of Boris

Karloff’s recital of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘Evil Eye’ on a National Broadcasting

Company network last Sunday night.”

“ ‘The fact that the poem [sic] is a classic does not make it satisfactory for

broadcasting on a ‘children’s hour’ program,” Herring said. ‘It is all right for the

book to be on the shelf to be read when anyone desires, but I don’t think it should

be broadcast just before children go to bed.’”

[Renwicke Carey,

San Antonio Light, March 6, 1938] “Boris Karloff was so

effective in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ that he was given a five-week contract to portray

original horror stories by Arch Oboler at the Lights Out broadcasts.”

ORIGINATION:

KFI, Los Angeles, California (NBC-RED).

DURATION:

January 30, 1938.

PERSONNEL:

Dwight Cooke (producer), Shirley Ward (scriptwriter).

CAST: Don Ameche, Boris Karloff.

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

Yes, in the Library of Congress.

THE CHASE AND SANBORN HOUR (KFI, LOS ANGELES)

[Sunday—8:00-9:00 PM]

Jan. 30, 1938 “The Evil Eye

AN EXERCISE IN HORROR
[RADIO-SCRIPT]
[press release] “…described by Arch Oboler as ‘a peculiar comedy’…”

ORIGINATION: K???, Los Angeles, California (MBS).

DURATION: May 24, 1945.

PERSONNEL: Arch Oboler (scriptwriter, :director).

EXTANT RECORDINGS: Yes.

ARCH OBOLER’S PLAYS (K???, LOS ANGELES)
[Thursday—

May 24, 1945 “An Exercise in Horror

[“…With the famous Hollywood

portrayer of villains, Peter Lorre, in the

lead, ‘An Exercise in Horror’ will base

its theme upon the horror-men of our

time, from Boris Karloff to the late

Adolph Hitler…”]

EXIT
[STAGE-PLAY; SHORT-STORY]

Based on a one-act play by his brother Harry, “Exit” was rewritten as a short story

for the BBC by J. Jefferson Farjeon.

No trace of this broadcast has been found in theTimes, but on October 20, 1938

was listed “In Reverse,” a short story by J. Jefferson Farjeon.” It ran from 1:00 to

1:20.

“A short story about a group of people at a dinner party, including a newlywed

couple. At the end of the evening they all undertake some ritual that will make

one of them disappear, and never have existed. None of them believe it will occur,

and so they all play along. At the end of the ritual they don't believe anything has

changed, however we learn that from a newlywed couple, the wife has

disappeared and the man is a bachelor - never been married.”

“It’s about a group of people in a hotel in the mountains who play a party game.

The person who suggests the game says he can make one of the group of hotel

guests disappear. They turn the lights off and the game starts. It’s a bit like

hypnosis with the person who suggested the game describing the sensations that

the person who is to disappear will feel (a strange fluttering in the throat etc.). the

lights are turned back on and everyone laughs and says, ‘Well, I didn’t disappear,

etc.’ but it becomes apparent that the young woman who was with her husband at

the beginning of the story is now a single woman. No one has any recollection of

her husband’s existence so he has, in fact, disappeared.”

ORIGINATION:

National Programme, London (BBC).

DURATION:

September 21, 1937; October 20, 1938.

PERSONNEL:

Felix Aylmer (reader—1943,The Wednesday Story), Rupert

Caplan (producer—1937,The Ghost Room), Carleton Hobbs (reader—1937,

National Programme).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:
[The story was published in

Best Broadcasting Stories, where it was presented

under its original title, “Exit.”]

THE GHOST ROOM (CRCM, MONTREAL)
[Thursday—10:00-10:30 PM]

June 24, 1937“Exit”

SHORT STORY (NATIONAL PROGRAMME)
[Tuesday—8:50-9:10 PM]

Sep. 21, 1937 “In Reverse

(NATIONAL PROGRAMME, LONDON)
[Thursday—1:00-1:20 PM]

Oct. 20, 1938 “In Reverse

(PROGRAMME FOR THE FORCES)
[Tuesday—10:15-10:30 PM

Aug. 11, 1942 “Exit

THE WEDNESDAY STORY (PROGRAMME FOR THE FORCES)

[Wednesday—10:10-10:30 PM]

July 7, 1943 “Exit

[“…written by Harry Farjeon, and

adapted for broadcasting by J.

Jefferson Farjeon; read by Felix

Aylmer. (Previously broadcast on

August 11, 1942…”]

AN EXPERIMENT IN ACOUSTICS
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

[Wireless Weekly] “Professor Strange discovered that there are secrets no man

might know—and what occurred forms the basis of one of the strangest and most

interesting radio dramas ever presented.”

[CRB] “A mad scientist invents an acoustical machine recording sounds from

the past and in doing so frames his assistant for adultery with his wife.”

ORIGINATION:

2BL, Sydney, New South Wales; CBK, Winnipeg, Manitoba

(CBC Eastern Network).

DURATION:

July 19, 1939; November 29, 1939; September 13, 1945.

PERSONNEL:

Max Afford (scriptwriter), Esse W. Ljungh (producer—1945,

Winnipeg Drama), Charles Wheeler (producer—1939, 2BL).

CAST: ? (Professor Julian Strange, a Professor of Advanced Physics), ? (Albert

Parkinson, His Assistant), ? (Berenice Strange, His Wife), ? (Dolly Edwards, Mrs.

Strange’s Maid), ? (Roger Easterwood, Friend of Professor Strange).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

(2BL, SYDNEY)
[Wednesday—8:00-8:30 PM]

July 19, 1939 “An Experiment in

Accoustics

EVERYMAN THEATRE (CBK, WINNIPEG)
[Wednesday—11:00-11:30 PM]

Nov. 29, 1939An Experiment in

Acoustics

WINNIPEG DRAMA (CBK, WINNIPEG)
[Thursday—7:00-7:30 PM]

Sep. 13, 1945 “An Experiment in

Acoustics

Afford, Max

E-2-1. An Experiment In Acoustics

Winnipeg Drama, 13 Sept. 1945

Producer: Esse W. Ljungh, Winnipeg, Eastern

Network, 30 min., 22 pp., M006937

Mf c184.

Concordia: microfilm

Drama: A mad scientist invents an acoustical

machine recording sounds from the past and in doing

so frames his assistant for adultery with his wife.

EYES OF DEATH
[RADIO-SCRIPT]

"…presented by the New 2UE Players, under the direction of Lionel Lunn.”

[Wireless Weekly] “A dramatic thriller, with its setting in Sydney. An attractive

girl falls ill and dies and, according to her wishes, she is embalmed by an Indian.

Her grief-stricken fiancé, some time later, when walking down the street, comes

face to face with the girl who had only been buried a few weeks previously.”

After George Edwards jumped ship and went to 2GB, the Sunday night

dramatics continued as the New UE Players were formed, under the direction of

Lionel Lunn. In addition to “Eyes of Death,” they did the occasional delving into

the weird and mysterious with “The Monkey’s Paw” (May 21, 1933), “The

Revenge of the Ruby God” (June 18, 1933), presumably a re-titling of Lord

Dunsany’s “A Night at an Inn,” and “The Marie Celeste (July 2, 1933).

ORIGINATION:

2UE, Sydney, New South Wales.

DURATION:

August 6, 1933.

PERSONNEL:

Lionel Lunn (director).

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

THE NEW 2UE PLAYERS (2UE, SYDNEY)
[Sunday—8:00-9:00 PM]

Aug. 6, 1933 “Eyes of Death

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