Spookiest old-time radio classics sure to give you the chills
Are you looking for some thrills and chills? Why not give old-time radio a go?
In the era of Netflix, it's hard to believe that radio plays were the prime form of mass entertainment once upon a time.
Radio had its Golden Age from the 1920s to the 1950s, with a peak in the 1940s, before TV began gobbling up the top-notch talent. Though streaming has become the new standard, it's still worth taking a trip down memory lane with old-time radio, especially its riveting horror and mystery classics.
The medium encouraged writers to streamline their texts and actors to display their full range of vocal expression as they sought to scare an audience without visual clues. Listeners can let their imaginations run wild as performers spin their spine-tingling yarns and composers and sound technicians work their acoustic magic.
Are you looking to jazz up your evening enjoyment? Do something unconventional and gather a group of friends to hear some chilling radio dramas, or turn out the lights and listen solo.
The star-studded Suspense radio program, originally broadcast on CBS from 1942 to 1962, is a great place to begin if you're in the spooky mood. Here are some recommended Golden Age classics to get you started.
Sorry, Wrong Number (1943)
Agnes Moorehead dazzles in one of radio's most stunning performances: Sorry, Wrong Number.
Written by Lucille Fletcher, the play first aired on the Suspense radio program in 1943. It was dubbed "the greatest single radio script ever written" by none other than Orson Welles.
The drama is pretty much a one-woman show, with Moorehead in the leading role as the wealthy invalid, Leona Stevenson.
The story kicks off when Stevenson overhears two men on a crossed telephone connection planning a murder to take place that very night. Seemingly unable to leave her bed, she tries repeatedly to reach her husband by phone, but his line is busy.
Moorehead's acting prowess is on full display as she carries the listener through 28 minutes of increasingly desperate attempts to find help, before it's too late.
Sorry, Wrong Number is radio at its finest, and you won't want to miss it!
The House in Cypress Canyon (1946)
The House in Cypress Canyon, aired in 1946, is regarded as one of the most frightening Golden Age radio dramas.
The story opens with a police detective named Sam Spade (Howard Duff) speaking with a friend about a mysterious manuscript concerning a house for rent in Cypress Canyon, California.
The narrative shifts to the manuscript's author James A. Woods (Robert Taylor) and his wife Ellen (Cathy Lewis), who have recently moved into the house.
On their first night, the Woods begin to hear unearthly voices emanating from their closet, followed by blood running from under the door. The next night, Ellen attacks her husband in a manic craze, and James decides to take drastic measures to end the torment.
The play's trippy twist ending is one you won't forget!
The Hitch Hiker (1941)
One of radio's eeriest classics is The Hitch Hiker, written by Lucille Fletcher and first performed in 1941 on CBS' The Orson Welles Show.
"Although blood may be curdled on this program, none will be spilt. There's no shooting, knifing, throttling, axing, or poisoning here, no clanking chains, no cobwebs, no bony and/or hairy hands appearing from secret panels or, better yet, bedroom curtains," Welles assures listeners at the start of the 1942 Suspense broadcast.
Nevertheless, The Hitch Hiker conjures up a thrilling ghost story with Welles in the lead role as Ronald Adams, a man embarking solo on a car trip from New York to California. Along the way, he passes a lonely hitch hiker in the rain on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Things take a bizarre turn when Adams begins to see the same hitch hiker at various stages along his route, sending the driver – and the listener – into a spiral of paranoia as the fateful road trip continues.
This haunting masterpiece will definitely make you think twice before you get in the car alone at night.
The Thing in the Window (1946)
Let the unmistakeable voice of Joseph Cotten fill your airwaves in The Thing in the Window, performed on Suspense in 1946.
The Hollywood A-lister plays Martin Aimes, an actor who believes he has spotted a dead man through the window of an apartment across the street.
Aimes repeatedly raises the alarm over the supposed corpse, but nobody else appears able to see the body.
Is Aimes going mad? Is there a conspiracy afoot?
The Thing in the Window keeps listeners guessing throughout, and Cotten's performance is one for the books. After all, nobody has that cool, enigmatic flair quite like the Shadow of a Doubt star.
Tune in to The Thing in the Window for a glimpse into one of Suspense's better-known radio plays.
Fugue in C Minor (1944)
No list of creepy radio classics would be complete without a performance by horror legend Vincent Price, and what's creepier than a sinister organ enthusiast in a gothic mansion?
Fugue in C Minor, aired in 1944, takes place in the late Victorian era. The radio play, once again written by mystery author Lucille Fletcher, stars Price as Theodore Evans, a rich and charming widower who has installed a huge pipe organ throughout his entire home which seems to play on its own.
Ida Lupino, a barrier-breaking Hollywood filmmaker and actor, leads as Amanda Peabody, who falls for Evans and begins spending more time in his home.
Evans and Peabody bond over their appreciation for classical music, but things get strange during a visit from Evans' two children, who are convinced their mother's soul is imprisoned in the organ.
Initially sure of Evans' innocence, Peabody gradually grows more suspicious as the children remain firm in their fears and mysterious happenings continue around the house. She determines to find the truth, to the final, horrifying conclusion.
Donovan's Brain (1944)
If you're looking for a longer listen, check out Donovan's Brain, aired in two parts in 1944.
Orson Welles once again lends his acting talents to Suspense in this radio adaptation of Curt Siodmak's Sci-Fi novel of the same name.
The iconic artist plays Dr. Patrick Cory, a physician with a deep interest in brain science. When William H. Donovan, an evil but brilliant tycoon, is entrusted to Cory's care for life-saving treatment, the opportunity presents itself for the doctor to expand his research on a human brain.
Cory starts trying to communicate with the organ, but gradually begins to fall under the brain's spell instead. The result is a full hour of creepy listening pleasure.
This version of the radio play won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album when it was released on vinyl in 1982, and it's not hard to see why!
Turn out the lights and tune your dials to these "tales well calculated to keep you in... Suspense."
Cover photo: Collage: 123RF/stokkete, Imago / Everett Collection & IMAGO / Cinema Publishers Collection