Horror Anthology (1941 - 52)
Radio was famous for its ability to create
emotions "out of thin air." One of the emotions
that radio did best was stark raving terror. Horror radio
shows took the darkened night and solitary listener as
a willing companion on an unknown journey of fear, terror
and dread. Tales of horror recreated by great actors,
a spooky organ and chilling sound effects presented by
a creepy, rib-tickling host, was a strange brew indeed.
Inner Sanctum did it in spades! To this day the
show remains a wonderful "guilty" pleasure of
many old time radio fans, who listened back then when
these shows first fired the imaginations of all but the
most jaded.
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The ominous organ, and then, the famous
turning doorknob and the deadly squeaking door, slow and
ominous opened on the deep recesses of the Inner Sanctum.
But wait! Here is our ghoulishly cleaver, er, clever host
of the cutting remark, Raymond.
From Inner Sanctum's
beginnings until 1945, Raymond Edward Johnson played the
host with the most deadly runs of puns. Paul McGrath took
over as Raymond in 1945, and played Raymond with a little
more warmth…almost body temperature.
The wonderful
organ player, probably a skeleton, was always alert for
the sting of death, or an encore of gore. And the announcers
often played off Raymond, putting up with his gruesome
jests with commercial aplomb.
All the sly humor of the intro and
goodnight was just a fiendish warm-up for the main
event - a story that took you on a wild and scary
ride, just like at the amusement park, filled with
bumps and twists and turns, on and on to where you
might not want to go. But will.
See also Suspense,
Dark Fantasy,
Escape, Lights
Out, The Hermit's
Cave, Mysterious
Traveler, Mystery
in the Air, Strange
Dr. Weird, The
Whistler and Weird
Circle.
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