Blog-o-ween 2022: Edgar Allan Poe

It's that part of the week that everyone is working for, and that means that we are two days away from Halloween 2022. We've been through a lot, you and I. We've listened to, we've learned from, and we've loved a lot of old time radio, but something's been missin' don'cha think? It's kinda like we threw a party but there's one guest that RSVP'ed who hasn't shown up yet. That one party animal without whom we might as well pack up the beerball and call it a night. And I don't mean that kid who's taking a second trip through his junior year, the one in the torn up "Who Farted?" t-shirt who can chug an Old Milwaukee tall boy while standing on his head neither...although...given our Blog-o-ween subject's history with alcohol, maybe that's exactly who I'm talking about, after all!

What can we say about Edgar Allan Poe that hasn't already been drilled into our heads during a junior high English class? He was born in Boston in January, 1809, and he died in Baltimore in October, 1849. In between, E.A. Poe lived a life with as many ups and downs as an Otis elevator, albeit the downs outnumbered the ups by a conservative 4-to-1 margin.

Even in death, the poor man couldn't catch a break. Rufus Wilmot Griswold, an editor, critic, and antholgist, bore Poe a grudge. The tension between the two men stemmed from Poe's attack on Griswold's critical acumen in his 1842 book The Poets and Poetry of America. Later, Griswold replaced Poe as co-editor at Graham's Magazine at a higher salary, something Poe could not stomach. Somehow, even through all this antagonism and aggrievement, Griswold was named Poe's literary executor upon his death, and he used this position to spread lies and destroy Poe's reputation.

Thankfully, Griswold failed at his attempt at literary assassination. Due to the dilligence of people who knew Poe well, as well as French critics and writers like Charles Baudelaire, Poe's reputation remained intact, and in fact only grew as the years passed.

Today, we have a collection of classic tales from the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's work was a source of inspiration to many old time radio producers and writers over the years. A search of the Internet Archive would reveal myriad adaptations to choose from -- all of them weird, all of them wonderful. I've chosen four that I think best represent the man and the radio programs of the 20th century.

First up is a classic tale of revenge from Hall of Fantasy. Two men are enjoying Carnival in Venice. Unbeknownst to one of the men, the other holds a venomous grudge against him and plots his revenge. Montresor invites the drunken Fortunato to his family vaults, luring him deeper and deeper into the catacombs with the promise of..."The Cask of Amontillado."

Next is one of the, if not the most famous tale Poe ever wrote, "The Tell-Tale Heart." Adapted for The Weird Circle in 1944, the story is about one man's murderous obsession and the way his conscience gets the better of him.

Next up is an episode of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. It is a updated adaptation of my personal favorite Poe tale, "Berenice." In this version, a young man falls in love with his young sister-in-law while his wife lies on her deathbed. The last distressing smile of his wife taunts him day and night, and he goes crazy when he sees the same smile on his new beloved.

Lastly, we have the other story for which Poe is so rightly famous. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a gothic masterpiece, and the radio show Escape does a fine job of bring it to life...and death!

Blog-o-ween 2022: Werewolves

“Even a man who is pure in heart,
And says his prayers by night,
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms,
And the moon is full and bright.”

When Lon Chaney, Jr., hears these words for the first time in George Waggner's 1941 film, The Wolf Man, he laughs them off as village superstition. He doesn't laugh for long, however, and as the moon goes up, ol' Lon lets his hair down.

While not the first cinematic portrayal of lycanthrophy, The Wolf Man really crystallized the mythololgy in the minds of the general populace. The rules are simple:

1.) Anyone who is bitten by a werewolf and lives becomes a werewolf.

2.) Said person becomes a werewolf during the full moon.

3.) A werewolf can only be killed by silver.

It wouldn't be until the 1970s that we learned from Warren Zevon that werewolves prefer the piña coladas at Trader Vic's and that they have outstanding taste in coiffure.

Werewolves on the radio seem like a perfect match because, since we are dealing with the theatre of the mind, the messy, elaborate, and just expensive transformation scenes are taken care of by the perfect blend of sound design and the listener's imagination. There are many old time radio programs that dealt with werewolves. Let's listen to a few...

First up is Dark Fantasy and their tale "W Is for Werewolf." This story was first broadcast on a Friday the 13th and it was Dark Fantasy thirteenth broadcast, so...listen at your own peril! The story concerns Jim Howard and his visit to the town of Cape Howe to see his old friend Dr. Bill Andrews. The doc keeps to himself on a private island he shares with his son, John. Before his visit, Jim was asked by his friend to bring every book he could fin on the subject of lycanthropy. Now why would he want that, I wonder?

Next, let's go back to our old friends, The Weird Circle. Their tale, "The Werewolf," is described on one website thusly: A simple woodland hunter marries a lady with sharp teeth. I can't think of a way to improve on that economic use of language, so let's move on...

...to the last of today's shaggy dog stories. Creeps by Night host Boris Karloff brings us the story of "The Hunt." In this tale, a old recluse keeps his sister hidden in a farmhouse by a swamp. When a potential suitor has his throat ripped out by a strange wolf-like, an expert on lycanthrope arrives on the scene to investigate.

Blog-o-ween 2022: The Weird Circle

"In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of the past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in The Weird Circle."

And with those words, the listener was encouraged to huddle close to their radio set and enjoy another bizarre tale of horror from one of the spookiest show around: The Weird Circle.

The Weird Circle was produced in New York City. It originally ran for two seasons from 1943 to 1945 and gave the world 78 strange and weird adaptations of classic horror literature. These episodes were syndicated and rerun many times over the following decades, including the 1970s when interest in old time radio was re-kindled.

Production values were kept to the bare minimum. While other programs laid it on thick with organ music and sponsorship hullaballo, The Weird Circle forewent the usual accoutrements that old time radio listeners expect to hear. Most episodes begin with the above incantation and then jump right into the story. Kinda like The Ramones. You get the count-off from Dee Dee, then you're right into the music. No foolin' around!

The first of tonight's episodes is based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant. "The Horla" is the story of a man who believes that he has discovered an invisble vampire-like creature that he claims follows him about, haunting his life.

Next up is another a tale concerning itself with unseen phenomena. "What Was It?" by Fitz-James O'Brien presents a group of people who are trying to determine if the world of spirits is real or not. To prove or disprove the existence of the invisible world around us, they perform a seance and inadvertantly invite something into their circle.

The last story for tonight is from a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. "The Burial of Roger Malvin" is about an unkept promise and a strange revenge from beyond the grave.