Old Time Radio Horror Collection (OTR) The Haunting Hour, Peril, Murder at Midnight, Dark Fantasy (4 x mp3 CD)

Collection of Four Classic Old Time Radio Horror Shows

The Haunting Hour

(38 Episodes)

This old time radio show was billed as "Mystery at its Best" solves psychological mysterie, "whodunit" thrillers and crime crusades with a cast of network stars.

The Haunting Hour is a very mysterious show. First, let's note that the Haunting Half-Hour would actually be correct, but an odd title for the show. So Haunting Hour it was.

The second mystery is that, like so many of the great radio talents who labored in the background, unseen and unheralded, this show made for transcription has receded into the ethers of old time radio without a history. That is, the Magister Ludi of Old Time Radio himself, John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio,""There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."

Vanished without a trace? Were they really there, making real radio? The answer is yes, and the following set of shows proves it. Perhaps you, the kind listeners, might give us a clue to the talents involved. Or were we all just imagining it? It sounds like a plot for another Haunting Hour.

The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us.

See also the some of the classics of thrills and horror: Suspense, Inner Sanctum, Lights Out, Mysterious Traveler, The Whistler, Witch's Tale, Escape and I Love a Mystery. Also recommended are the Dark Fantasy, Mystery in the Air, Hall of Fantasy, Unexpected, Weird Circle, Strange Dr. Weird, and the many detectives and operatives whose lives are littered with clues and corpses.

Peril
(24 Episodes)

Peril, stories of suspense, is a syndicated old time radio show. The plots of the shows vary from week to week but most of the shows deal with the topic of the limitation of human morality.

Four actresses receive an invitation to a deserted house only to be trapped by a murderous fiend.
Two conjoined brothers (who argue a lot and are in love with the same woman) plan to be separated; the operation is complicated when one of the twins will not survive.
A woman and her boyfriend kill her disabled husband, who happened to be filthy rich.
The plots of Peril are original and well constructed, the characters of complex, and the acting is surprisingly good as there are not many recognizable actors in this show. The conflict of each show builds and there are twist and turns.

Murder at Midnight
(41 Episodes)

From the pens of some of the most talented writers working in radio, (including Robert Newman, Max Ehrlich, and William Norwood) Murder at Midnight delivered tales of supernatural suspense and macabre crime. Hosted by Raymond Morgan, it is believed that 50 episodes were produced. The show was briefly rebroadcast in 1950, but there were no new episodes made, as all of that creative talent had already been snapped up by other shows.

Dark Fantasy
(27 Episodes, Plus Intro)

Dark Fantasy was a short series with tales of the weird, adventures of the supernatural, created for you by Scott Bishop. The series aired as a horror drama on NBC between 1941 and 1942.

Dark Fantasy was a series dedicated to dealings with the unknown. Originating from radio station WKY, Oklahoma City, it was written by Scott Bishop (of Mysterious Traveler and The Sealed Book fame) and was heard Fridays over stations. Tom Paxton served as announcer. The shows covered horror, science fiction and murder mysteries. Although a short series, the shows are excellent with some stories way ahead of their time. The following is a news promo promoting the show:

Every since Lights Out went out several years ago, fans of the fiendish have been clamoring for more good old goose-pimple horror drama on the air. Now they have it. One of the programs that currently freezes the airwaves with its chilling stories is Dark Fantasy comparatively new to the networks. In the late hours of Friday nights these shivery, shocking stories go out over NBC - right straight from Oklahoma City, which you might not have thought of as headquarters for haunts. Station WKY is the home of the Dark Fantasy plays, and the writer is Scott Bishop, who lives in the midst of mystery and the supernatural, represented by the innurnerable volumes of thriller fiction, fantasy lore and all kinds of horror literature that fill his home andhis office. Bishop has long contributed to network broadcasting and to magazines. He says, "Give the listener enough material to let his imagination go to work, and he'll supply his own goose-pimples." Dark Fantasy has been furnishing plenty of such material since last November. And judging from enthusiastic comment, the horror fans are responding with goose-pimples galore! Tune in every Friday on Station WKY Oklahoma City.

Format: 4 x mp3 CD.

Contained in: Transparent Plastic Wallets.