Best Old Time Radio Horror ?

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BoLorKay	Best Old Time Radio Horror ?	Lead	[-]
(03/22/09 9:16 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Would anyone care to offer an opinion as to what might be the best horror and/or suspense old time radio series from the golden age of radio? Great scripts, acting etc. Thank You
Red Gargon		#1	[-]
(03/22/09 10:55 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	As with anything, "best" is going to depend on what you're looking for. Shows like SUSPENSE or ESCAPE had strong, slick production values and A-list actors, but skirted around the horror genre's tropes (like monsters and gore) more than LIGHTS OUT or THE WITCH'S TALE did. INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES was probably one of the most popular and enduring "horror" programs, but it had one too many cop-out non-supernatural endings and straight crime shows for my tastes. QUIET PLEASE usually gets well-deserved high marks for quality. I personally like MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER, DARK FANTASY and HALL OF FANTASY quite a lot. Honorable mention to Nelson Olmstead's SLEEP NO MORE (which is not a full-cast dramatization). Since almost all OTR horror is in the form of anthologies though, the quality is going to go up and down with the individual episodes. I'd suggest looking into some of the many samplers out there and seeing what's to your tastes.
davlghry		#2	[-]
(03/22/09 12:58 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I agree with Red. SUSPENSE and ESCAPE have standout episodes like "Ghost Hunt" and "Three Skeleton Key" but for over-all creepy consistency and imagination, I'd recommend QUIET PLEASE. Willis Cooper wrote and directed these stories, all of which star Ernest Chappell, first person accountings of the weird and the terrifying. They really suck you in. And if your taste runs to science fiction, X MINUS ONE/DIMENSION X is one of the most rewarding radio anthology series -- ever.
Lawrence Nepodahl		#3	[-]
(03/24/09 9:16 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I never liked LIGHTS OUT, like everybody else who likes OTR seems too. Many of the half hour shows, would be better as 15 minute plays, because they seem to go on and on, being stretched out to fill the 30 minute time period. Someone trapped, stalked, or even dying, can go on for 10 minutes and more. I like THE HERMIT'S CAVE, for the actors that participated. The cackling Hermit was a good host as well.
borisandbelarule		#4	[-]
(03/25/09 12:18 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Not counting Suspense or Escape as horror shows, I'd have to go with Dark Fantasy as the most consistently spooky, although really, all of the shows like Inner Sanctum, Mysterious Traveler, Lights Out, Hermit's Cave, Halls of Fantasy, Haunting Hour, etc., appeal to me. Then there was The Strange Dr. Weird, in which you were taken for a 15-minute ride into horror, and come out of it wondering what just happened. Some of those British shows were pretty good, like "The Creaking Door" and "Beyond Midnight." The commercials alone were worth the price of admission.
Carl Eyesnheart		#5	[-]
(03/25/09 12:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	davlghry wrote: And if your taste runs to science fiction, X MINUS ONE/DIMENSION X is one of the most rewarding radio anthology series -- ever. I'd go beyond that even and just say one of the best forms of entertainment ever, period. I'm talking all forms of media. Both shows were just consistently enjoyable in fun, imagination, acting, suspense, fear, everything. When they choose to be a little funny, they are, when they want a message, they give it. Just brilliant shows. My fanzine all about Rock N Roll: www.sonicruin.com
Red Gargon		#6	[-]
(03/25/09 6:31 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Lawrence Nepodahl wrote: I never liked LIGHTS OUT, like everybody else who likes OTR seems too. Someone trapped, stalked, or even dying, can go on for 10 minutes and more. I hear you on this. There are several LIGHTS OUT ("Valse Triste" springs to mind), where there is a heavy and creepy-not-in-a-good-way emphasis on suffering and agony. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's icky, and there's one "Paris Macabre" that I was listening to recently that had this vibe, but then finally went SO over the top I thought it was hilarious. borisandbelarule wrote: The Strange Dr. Weird, in which you were taken for a 15-minute ride into horror, and come out of it wondering what just happened. Yes! Strange Dr. Weird is a masterpiece of "huh?!". I love these goofy little tidbits. I listen to a lot of OTR while walking or hiking, and it's great to have a few of these in the mp3 player when there's not a whole 30 minute stretch of trail left
telegonus	O, The Horror!	#7	[-]
(03/26/09 9:40 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I'm pretty much in accordance with most of what's been said on this thread. Lights Out was a huge disappointment for me when I finally got around to listening to OTR regularly. It tries too hard, almost never works for me, though The Spider episode was well done. The Inner Sanctum was another that failed to work the charms it was supposed to have. The Mysterious Traveler was effective at times, though it's very hit or miss. Quiet, Please was extremely well done, admirably crafted, featured good scripts.The Weird Circle was more literary than most, featured some fine episodes, had great titles.
Gadfly		#8	[-]
(06/14/09 9:14 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	borisandbelarule wrote: Not counting Suspense or Escape as horror shows, I'd have to go with Dark Fantasy as the most consistently spooky, although really, all of the shows like Inner Sanctum, Mysterious Traveler, Lights Out, Hermit's Cave, Halls of Fantasy, Haunting Hour, etc., appeal to me. ... Dark Fantasy episodes are available at archive.org, specifically at this page. (Options range from listening to individual episodes online to downloading them all as a zip file.) Gadfly
BoLorKay	Old Time Radio Horror	#9	[-]
(06/28/09 11:20 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Hi, What is the best way to obtain copies of episode of "Quiet, Please" and "The Weird Circle" ? Websites ? What formats are usually offered ? CD? MP3s? Thanks, Bob
telegonus	OTR On-Line	#10	[-]
(06/28/09 11:49 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	There's a Quiet, Please website, just google it. You can listen to shows from the site and/or download them. It also has several message boards, though you have to join to post, it's easy enough to do and it's free. As to the player requirements, they're simple. I'm borderline Stone Age when it comes to such things, had no problems whatsoever with the site. I'm less sure about where to find The Weird Circle. Googling it might help, with OTR added. Bill Sparks used to carry it on his site, I don't know what the story is now. You might want to venture over to the Internet Radio Archives, which has a huge data base. One has to sign up to access it, yet it's free and easy, which tends to be the case with on-line OTR, most of which is PD. Also, many OTR buffs are so fanatical that they're more interested in "spreading the word" than making money. Good luck.
Red Gargon		#11	[-]
(06/29/09 8:12 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Huh, a bunch of WEIRD CIRCLE episodes, up until very recently, were at archive.org but they seem to have been pulled. A lot of OTR is not technically public domain; very often elements like the scripts or music, etc. still have valid copyright holders. The thing is that for most of them, there would be a lot of cost and not a lot of potential reward to legally combat the countless OTR dealers, download sites and so on, so they choose not to pursue it, making them sort of "de facto" public domain. However, a few will. That may be the case with WEIRD CIRCLE?
ejazzyjeff		#12	[-]
(06/30/09 3:02 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	When I was growing up in the 70's, I remember my dad going to the library and checking out LP's of old time radio performances and even late at night listening to old time radio shows on the radio, and I listen with him. But out of all the radio shows I remember listening, Lights Out stands out the most and the Shadow in second (when I was little, the Shadow scared me to having nightmares of him. It was that laugh of his). I haven't heard Lights Out in a long time, and almost afraid to listen to it because it might lose that effect it had on me as a kid!
MacXoftheMounted		#13	[-]
(07/08/09 8:09 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	My favourite shows so far would be Escape and The Price Of Fear. That Vinnie sure has led an exciting life! MacXoftheMounted.....................formerly known as Professor Von X
Monstroso Sabroso		#14	[-]
(07/23/09 5:42 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	My favorite Escape episodes include Poison, Casting the Runes, Pollock and the Porrah Man, Red Mark, Evening Primrose, Three Skeleton Key (the first broadcast version with Elliot Reid more than the later ones with Vincent Price, by the way), and probably a few I am forgetting. I think that these shows would meet anyone's definition of horror, purist or no, and I found them more unsettling/engrossing than most series promoted as flat out "scary" radio. I heard 3 Skeleton Key back in the early '70s and couldn't find many other episodes at the time. (Anyone remember the OTR record company "The Radiola Company"? As a kid I read and re-read their flyers, but couldn't afford much of their product -- low cash flow. ) In the mid 80s, I stumbled on a mom and pop OTR enterprise selling compact cassettes, and I bought maybe 25 epsiodes of Escape at the time. The Good Stuff.
Lawrence Nepodahl		#15	[-]
(07/23/09 8:21 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I like many of the Escape programs you have choosen. I don't recall ever listening to- "Red Mark" though. I'll have to go have a listen on this web site, I believe found if you Google- Radio Library, where I listen to many of the otr shows for free. One of the titles you didn't mention, that I like also, is- "Lennigen vs. the Ants." But, I think, of this story, the one I like best, because they did it several times (on Escape that is), is in the later years of Suspense. William Conrad still portrayed Lennigen, but Ben Wright was the commisioner. Now the reason I like it the best, is the music. Music is so important for radio productions and most of the Escape, Lennigen's, had this goofy march played when the ants are first sighted. Not so with the Suspense broadcast. The music there, almost puts a lump of fear in your throat.
Monstroso Sabroso		#16	[-]
(07/23/09 8:57 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Yes. Good point about the importance of music. On the whole, I think Suspense could always be counted on for emotionally impactful scores (played, as they were, by an ensemble), while Escape had an organ score, perhaps a little too much of the time. Here's an easy grab of an mp3 of the show. http://www.escape-suspense.com/2008/03/escape---the-re.html Peace
lelananh	hello	#17	[-]
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