During the golden age of radio, Robert Olson wrote and adapted several suspense thrillers as well as a popular crime and punishment series in the late 1940’s. The stories became part of the Hall of Fantasy radio anthology that ultimately enjoyed local airtime at Kall studios in Salt Lake City, Utah.
These old radio shows were brought to life by skilled announcers Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson. The initial program focused mainly on murder mysteries and the inherent struggle between good vs. evil. However, the series came to an abrupt end when Thorne and Greyson went their separate ways in 1947, a year after its inception.
A stroke of luck reunited the former partners at studio WGN in Chicago where they both happened to be working at in 1949. This immediately resulted in the revival of the Hall of Fantasy anthology. This time, they veered away from the original shows’ program thrust and instead concentrated on man’s unfortunate encounters with the supernatural.
112 episodes later and despite severe budget constraints, Hall of Fantasy went nationwide on August 22, 1952 over Mutual stations. The original work and adaptations of Robert Thorne were fleshed out and continued to entertain the listening public with chilling and monstrous tales of terror.
Download Hall of Fantasy and experience this epic old time radio show today!
| Air Date |
Title |
Synopsis |
| 1947-03-07 |
Death In Bayous |
A new married couple decides to spend their honeymoon on the estate of the woman's former suitor. The suitor was a Southern gentleman who seemed nice enough - but he actually has a terrifying scheme that would make the couple regret everything. How far would a jealous man go to avenge his rejected heart? Find out in this episode of a romance gone sour. |
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| 1947-04-03 |
Judge's House |
Bram Stoker, author of the legendary "Dracula", supplies the story for this tale of a hermit mathematician who rents a house, ignoring the warnings of haunting and spooky events happening inside. Could it all just be rumors designed to scare off anyone who comes near it, or could there be a truth lying behind all the stories? As the mathematician spends more and more days alone inside the house, he begins to notice little things - sounds, weird occurrences…is he really all alone in there? Find out in this chilling story of ghosts, spirits and things that go bump in the dark… |
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| 1947-04-10 |
Man Size In Marble |
A couple relocates to the Scottish Highlands, seeking tranquility and a simpler life. Or so they thought. In what they mistakenly expect to be a peaceful hiatus away from the rest of the world, they are suddenly thrust into the middle of an old war stretched into centuries. Two medieval statues, both of them knights, have purposely exacted an altogether darker fate that will catch this couple in the middle. Will they be able to escape this trouble? Or would the peace they are looking for be immediately attained in the after life? |
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| 1947-04-24 |
Markheim |
Bravado and largesse causes an impetuous young man to lose his grip on sanity and cross the line into murder as he struggles to impress his bored fiancé in this story by Robert Louis Stevenson. What started out as an innocent dealing of rare items spiraled towards a web of conspiracy that's too complicated to escape, and too horrifying to fight off. Tune in as we spin another story of doubt, mystery and madness. |
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| 1947-05-01 |
Mark Of Shame |
Two cousins are torn apart by their pursuit of the same woman. This comes to a head as they duel to the death over her. However, for the loser, death is not enough to stop him wreaking his terrible revenge. How far would one fight for love? How far would one go for revenge? Find out in this tale of passion and vengeance, where one man fights to keep his love alive, and the other vows his vengeance from beyond the grave. |
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| 1950-03-11 |
He Who Follows Me |
A couple accidentally blunders into an open mausoleum, completely unaware of the terrifying consequences of disturbing the corpse in there. The longer they stay there, the more dangerous it becomes for these two innocent people. Will they realize their mistake in time, or would it be too late? What evil lies before them? |
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| 1952-08-22 |
Castle Of Lavoca |
The home of Vlad the Impaler and fictional birthplace of Dracula, has Romania spawned even more evil to unleash on the world? From out of a dark history, a Romanian castle is home to a deadly secret: ghosts of the past and a dark future looming ahead combine forces to make up this chilling tale. |
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| 1952-09-05 |
Shadow People |
Distraught at the death of her beloved father, a young woman turns to a self avowed authority on the unknown and paranormal to protect her from the dark forces she believes murdered him. But if death really does lurk in every shadow, how can she defeat it and defend herself? Leave the lights on as you listen to this dark and frightening tale of a daughter's love and the eternal fight of good versus evil. |
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| 1953-01-05 |
Hangman's Rope |
In the 1700s Jack Ketch was the faithful servant of the English Monarchy, acting as their executioner. Two brothers, unknown to him, are suddenly plague with visions of Jack and a horrible fate. What terrible message was Jack trying to relay to two brothers, and whose life was involved in the visions? And will the warning come in time or will fate intervene and deal its merciless hand? |
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| 1953-01-26 |
Black Figurine Of Death |
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| 1953-03-09 |
Masks Of Ashor |
Two golden masks, carrying a dreadful curse, are given by a well-meaning relative to a young couple. Unfortunately the rightful owner, Ashor, unleashes his fearsome servants to get them back. Will this innocent couple meet with their terrifying fate against the Spirit of Death? How far will Ashor go to get back what belongs to him? |
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| 1953-08-17 |
Stone's Revenge |
Looking for a quiet fishing holiday, a group of friends rent an isolated cabin in the woods. However, the cabin houses a deadly curse: the ghost of Josh Stone has vowed to kill whoever stays there. If that wasn't problem enough, a local sanitarium is missing some of its inmates and a deadly storm is brewing… |
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| 1953-10-05 |
Dance Of Devil Dolls |
An underappreciated and genuinely scary radio-play, this is the terrifying tale of a fishing trip gone awry for two men who encounter a man frantically hunting for a dancing doll. Later, upon settling down for the night, they are awakened by a screeching voice who unleashes macabre evils on the man and our protagonists. What kind of horrifying fate awaits them? Find out in this story of terror and macabre, as our characters dance helplessly to the finish. |
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| 1953-10-12 |
Sea Phantom |
An artist and writer is on a working retreat in a small house in a particular inaccessible part of the coast. Soon, they find themselves relentlessly subjected to terrible, unearthly sounds and pleas for aid from a phantom vessel in the bay. Will they be brave enough to answer the call? And if they did, will it be something that they would regret for the rest of their lives? |
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| 1953-11-02 |
Temple Of Huizilipochle |
Surveying for Uranium deposits in an isolated outcrop of Brazil, two geologists stumble across a forgotten tribe of Aztecs in the jungle. However, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice - and they geologists are just in time for their next meal. It looks like the geologists may not get to relay their incredible find to the world at large after all… |
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| 1953-11-09 |
Telltale Heart |
An adaption of the horror classic from Edgar Allen Poe: slowly driven to madness by an omnipresent spying vulture eye, a man suddenly murders the bird's owner due to paranoia and darker terror living inside him. He casts away the eye and thought he can finally begin to live with himself. However, the murdered man's heartbeat can be heard emanating from beneath the floorboards, crying out for justice and revenge. Will this further drive the man to the brink of his insanity, or can he still fight it? Listen in on this rigorous tale of the powers of the mind, and what it can make us do if we are not strong enough to control it… |
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| 1953-11-30 |
Diamonds Of Death |
A group of thieves violate a sacred shrine in darkest Africa, making off with the holy diamonds it houses into the jungle. Will they learn to heed the tales of a terrible curse on the diamonds, or is it all just actions of a deadly cult? |
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| 1954-01-04 |
Cask Of Amontillado |
The Cask of Amontillado is a story by Edgar Allan Poe. This episode is adapted for radio by Richard Thorn.
Montresor narrates of his grudge against Fortunato, whose love for wine often puts his mouth and conduct in danger. This time, Montresor couldn't contain his patience any longer, and decides to deal with Fortunato's foul offense in the most awful way possible. He entices Fortunato with a chance to taste Amontillado, a rare cask of wine, and with this, lured the drunken man through a series of chambers. As they walk on, the chambers get deeper and deeper, and a sense of foreboding hangs in the air. Will Fortunato be able to sense his fate amidst the fog of his drunkenness, or will Montresor succeed with his evil plans?
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