Mystery-Horror Sampler 1

What does Radio do best? Commercial Radio made the listener feel good so that he or she would go out and buy things, However, some of the best radio kept the listener up at night with the bedsheets pulled over their heads, their hearts racing, and ready to jump right out of their skins.

Horror and Mystery Radio Shows work so well because Radio is a medium of imagination. TV and films show the viewer what he should be scared of, but they show what the producer finds frightening. The author of a book or other printed story can better stimulate the reader's imagination but still has to overcome the limitations of the written word.

Radio is much more than a happy medium. The spoken word goes directly to the center of the imagination and allows the imagination free rein. The images that the imagination can create will be many times more vivid than could be captured by a camera and reproduced on screen.

While the thrills of Radio Horror are more intense and vivid than those from the printed [age, they tend to be a lot more fun. Taking the effort to read a story implies a lot more commitment to the work, and the brain takes it more seriously. 

Listening to a Radio Mystery allows for the imagination to run wild while not impressing so tightly on the psyche. The Horror keeps its intensity while allowing the listener to enjoy the fun of the thrilling tales.

5-Minute Mystery: "Murder Will Out", The father is killed for his money.

ABC Mystery Time: "The Tale", An exciting story of pearls upon the sea,

Arch Oboler's Plays: "The House I Live In", A man awaits a letter from his son.

Appointment With Fear: "And The Deep Shuddered", a widow believes that she is still on the doomed RMS Lusitania.

Beyond Midnight: "The Green Vase", An inheritance drives an author to the border of sanity and madness.

The Black Mass: "The Rats in the Walls", A classic chiller from H.P. Lovecraft

Beyond the Green Door: "Henry Gill Joins the Foreign Legion", Be careful when you are drinking with strangers…

Cabin B-13: "The Sleep of Death", No one who stays in the room survives the night.

CBS Radio Mystery Theatre: "The Courtyard of Death", The Mad-monk Rasputin has an unconventional way of saving souls.

The CBS Radio Workshop: "The Case of the White Kitten", A suburban cop learns to use a modern tape recorder.

Chandu the Magician:  "Fortune Told", Frank Chandler receives a message while with the mountain gypsies.

The Chase: "Killer at Large", A Doctor tries to treat a potential murderer in a mental institution

The Creaking Door: "Haunted Hangman", An executioner doing his duty against a possibly innocent man at a military prison.

Creeps By Night: "Walking Dead", Beating drums presage this tale of voodoo on a Haitian plantation.

Columbia Presents Corwin: "Untitled", Many people had met Hank Peters, but now, in the war zone, he is dead.

Dark Fantasy: "The Sea Phantom", The mate finds a skeleton writing in the captain's cabin.

Dark Venture: "Pursuit", The late night streets of London are the setting for robbery and murder.

The Devil and Mr. O/Lights Out: "Mr. Freak", The ugliest man in the world on the edge of suicide.

The Diary of Fate: "Nelson Walker", A drifter's fate comes down to a torn paper bag.

Dragnet: "The Werewolf", Sgt. Friday is o the trial of a brutal robber who beats his victims.

Dreadful John at Midnight: "Ghost Hunt", A haunted house in London is the scene of many suicides.

Drop Dead: "Chicken Heart", A piece of preserved flesh grows until it takes over the world.

The Eleventh Hour: "Millionaire's Double", A man vacationing in Paris discovers that he is the virtual twin of a wealthy financier and becomes embroiled in a nefarious plot.

Ellery Queen: "The Adventure of the Message in Red", The killer calls his victims on the phone and shoots them as soon as they open their doors.

Ellery Queen's Minute Mysteries: "Rocking Chair Fraud", A museum asks for Queen's help.

Escape: "Country of the Blind", You're trapped in a hidden valley where no-one has eyes.

Everyman's Theater: "Cat Wife", She doesn't love him but she has an incredible hold over him.

Faces in the Window: "The Pit and the Pendulum", A man reacts to the terror of a death sentence.

Favorite Story: "Frankenstein", Mary Shelley's classic tale is Fred Allen's Favorite Story.

Five After the Hour: "Murder Has No Tongue", A madman thinks that he has created the perfect crime after his wife divorced him.

Forecast/Suspense: "The Lodger", A brutal murderer takes a room as the headquarters of his bloody spree through foggy London.

The Ghost Corps: "The Prayer Rug of Narna Sahib", A freelance diplomat finds intrigue aplenty in a Cairo rug market.

The Hall of Fantasy: "The Shadow People", Elaine is seeing forms in the darkness that cannot be seen in the light.

The Lives of Harry Lime: "Rogue's Holiday", Harry takes a cruising holiday when the heat is on.

The Haunting Hour: "Breakdown", A wealthy woman suspects her brother and thinks her nurse is on his side.

The Hermits Cave: "Buried Alive", A man descends into madness when he is locked in a sealed room.

High Adventure: "Snakes", A man and woman in an apartment in the middle of the city are trapped by snakes in the corridor.

The House of Mystery: "The Monster in the Lake", Mrs. Dobbs, who lives at Macklin Lake, is haunted by a creature that lives in the lake.

I Love a Mystery: "Temple of Vampires", Jack, Reggie, and Doc are interrupted on their way to Central America.

I Love Adventure: "Finishing School Kidnapping", The Twenty One Old Men of 10 Gramercy Park call the boys to London to rescue the innocent young ladies.

See also: Mystery Horror Sampler 2