Episode 315: The Man in Black

[00:00:27] Speaker A: Welcome to the mysterious old Radio Listening Society, a podcast dedicated to suspense, crime, and horror stories from the golden age of radio. I'm Eric. I'm Tim. [00:00:37] Speaker B: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:38] Speaker C: We love mysterious old time radio stories, but do they stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out. [00:00:43] Speaker A: This week we're listening to the man in black, but not the character who hosted suspense or appointment with fear. And it's not the series called the man in black. No. For my choice, I'm bringing us back to a series that we haven't listened to in over two years, hall of Fantasy. For an episode called the man in. [00:01:04] Speaker C: Black, Richard Thorne and Carl Grayson created Hall of Fantasy as a murder mystery show on Kal in Salt Lake City in 1946, but that incarnation only lasted a year. By coincidence, the two happened to be working together again at WGN in Chicago in 1949, and it was there that they revived the show with a greater focus on the supernatural. [00:01:25] Speaker B: Richard Thorne wrote or adapted the stories for this new version until it eventually ended in 1954. Despite its small budget, the show was picked up by the Mutual Broadcasting System for national audiences in 1952. [00:01:39] Speaker A: The hall of Fantasy first broadcast the man in Black December 11, 1950, but unfortunately, that version did not survive. To the best of our knowledge. They reprise a show for the version we are listening to today. The second version was first heard July 6, 1953. [00:01:57] Speaker C: It's late at night and a chill has set in. You're alone and the only light you see is coming from an antique radio. Listen to the sounds coming from the speaker. Listen to the music and listen to the voices. [00:02:12] Speaker D: And now. [00:02:17] Speaker E: The hall of Fantasy. Welcome to the hall of Fantasy. Welcome to the series of radio dramas dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown. Come with me, my friends. We shall descend to the world of the unknown and forbidden, down to the depths where the veil of time is lifted and the supernatural reigns as king. Come with me and listen to the tale of the man in black. [00:02:56] Speaker F: The wind. Where did it come from? [00:02:58] Speaker G: It is always there when he wants to speak to me. It is the sound of his voice. [00:03:04] Speaker H: You're not serious about this man, are you? [00:03:06] Speaker G: Take it as you will, my good sir. Put your own interpretation upon the words I have spoken. Yes, master, I understand. [00:03:22] Speaker H: What did you say? [00:03:23] Speaker G: I answered him. [00:03:24] Speaker F: What do you mean? [00:03:26] Speaker G: The wind. The marking sound of the wind is his voice. He has seen. He has looked into your minds and seen you. But he sees only one woman. One woman in both of your minds. First she shall die. Then you. Both of you. Yes, master, I hear and obey. [00:04:05] Speaker D: In just a moment, the hall of fantasy will present the man in black. And now for our story, an original tale of fantasy by Richard Thorne entitled the man in black. [00:04:26] Speaker F: We live in a world which borders at times on the unreal. A world that cannot explain the various phenomena which seem to have neither beginning nor end. That subtle, fleeting power of perception which reveals itself to a human being only at infrequent intervals throughout his life. That sudden, sharp feeling that danger or death is near. These things mankind cannot explain. This 6th sense of warning never appears when we go about our everyday tasks, but only when we are faced with an insurmountable problem, imminent and deadly peril. Such is the tale of the man in black. It was a cool, quiet night. That night it began. For some reason, Brian had insisted that we take a stroll in the park. [00:05:24] Speaker H: As late. [00:05:25] Speaker F: Brian? Almost 1130. [00:05:26] Speaker H: I know, David. Beautiful night, isn't it? [00:05:29] Speaker F: Yes, a good night for sleeping. [00:05:31] Speaker H: I like to come out here about this hour. It seems to give me a sense of belonging. [00:05:35] Speaker F: That sounds strange coming from you. [00:05:37] Speaker H: No, I'm quite serious, Dave. I feel no relation with the rest of the world. But out here in the park, listening to the sound of the crickets, our footsteps on the walk, I feel as if I belong. You understand what I'm trying to say? [00:05:51] Speaker F: I think so. [00:05:53] Speaker H: Another thing strange, but I have a feeling. A feeling that something is wrong. That something is going to happen. [00:05:59] Speaker F: What do you mean? [00:06:00] Speaker H: Something inside of me. I almost know that something will happen that will change the entire course of my life. I think you're just a mad woman coming towards us. [00:06:09] Speaker F: Yes, I see her. [00:06:10] Speaker H: I wonder if. [00:06:11] Speaker I: Man in black. Have you seen that man in black? [00:06:14] Speaker F: I'm sorry, but we haven't. [00:06:15] Speaker H: Just a minute, David. Let her talk. [00:06:17] Speaker I: Have you seen him? Have you seen the man in black? [00:06:20] Speaker H: No, I'm afraid not. [00:06:21] Speaker I: Oh, I thought perhaps you could help me. I must find him. [00:06:25] Speaker F: We haven't seen anyone out here tonight except you. [00:06:27] Speaker I: The man in black. I must find the man in black. [00:06:32] Speaker F: What did she mean? [00:06:33] Speaker H: I don't know. The man in black. [00:06:37] Speaker F: Maybe we ought to follow her now. [00:06:38] Speaker H: Let it go. [00:06:40] Speaker F: That's strange. [00:06:42] Speaker H: What? [00:06:42] Speaker F: It was so still before. Now a wind seems to have sprung up from nowhere. [00:06:49] Speaker H: Listen. [00:06:49] Speaker F: She went off in that direction. Let's take a look. [00:06:51] Speaker H: Wonder why she screamed. [00:06:53] Speaker F: She couldn't have gotten too far. [00:06:55] Speaker G: Look up ahead. [00:06:56] Speaker H: That must be her. [00:06:59] Speaker F: Lady. Is anything. What's the matter with her? [00:07:05] Speaker H: She's dead. [00:07:06] Speaker F: Dead? [00:07:08] Speaker H: That's right. I wonder who he is. [00:07:12] Speaker F: Who? [00:07:13] Speaker H: The man in black. [00:07:22] Speaker F: And told them everything we knew. There were no marks on the woman's body, nothing to indicate the manner in which she died. The police were inclined to believe she died from natural causes. But Brian and I felt there was something behind her death that concerned the men in black. I didn't see Brian for almost two weeks. At the end of that time, I received a call from Carol Deming, Brian's bride to be. Hello, David. [00:07:54] Speaker I: I hope I didn't disturb you. [00:07:55] Speaker F: Oh, of course not, Carol. [00:07:57] Speaker I: David, Brian wants you to come to dinner tonight. [00:08:00] Speaker F: Any particular reason? [00:08:02] Speaker I: I think so. [00:08:03] Speaker F: What is it? Do you know? [00:08:04] Speaker I: No, I'm not sure. David, I'm frightened. Brian's been so strangely mysterious lately. He seems obsessed with only one idea, something about a man in black. [00:08:23] Speaker F: Not once during dinner did Brian mention the subject. It was perhaps an hour after the meal. The three of us were sitting in the library when he brought up the subject of the man in black. [00:08:33] Speaker H: Remember that woman we saw in the park, David? Yes, of course. She aroused your interest, didn't she? Yes. She did the same thing to me, only I did something about it. [00:08:42] Speaker I: Brian, I wish you'd forget about this. [00:08:45] Speaker H: I can't, darling. I know how you feel about it. I did my best to forget it, but I couldn't. [00:08:49] Speaker I: Still, don't you think my mind will. [00:08:50] Speaker H: Never be quiet until I get to the bottom of this? [00:08:53] Speaker F: Maybe the woman we saw was upset. [00:08:55] Speaker H: It was quite evident, David. I made some inquiries about this supposed man in black, just to see if anyone knew anything about him. And I discovered that no person alive was described in that way. [00:09:05] Speaker F: Well, then you can forget about it. [00:09:07] Speaker H: I said anyone alive. [00:09:10] Speaker I: What do you mean by that, Brian? [00:09:12] Speaker H: The man she was talking about has been dead for 30 years. [00:09:15] Speaker I: Well, then that ends your investigation, doesn't it? [00:09:19] Speaker H: I'm afraid not. [00:09:20] Speaker I: Why not, Brian? [00:09:21] Speaker H: When I've traced down every last clue about him, only then will I be satisfied. [00:09:24] Speaker F: Who was he, this man in black? [00:09:26] Speaker H: An immigrant to this country, David. He's buried in a mausoleum in a private estate about 40 miles north of the city. [00:09:31] Speaker F: You mean he lived here? [00:09:32] Speaker H: No, he didn't. It was his dying wish that a mausoleum be built and his body plates there after his death. No one knows where he came from. [00:09:40] Speaker F: Why should he pick this location? [00:09:42] Speaker H: I don't know, David, but I intend to find out. [00:09:44] Speaker I: How? [00:09:44] Speaker H: I understand there's a caretaker for the estate. I intend going to him to learn the story. [00:09:48] Speaker F: When? [00:09:49] Speaker H: Tomorrow. [00:09:50] Speaker F: Do you mind if I come along? [00:09:52] Speaker H: Of course not. What about you, Carol? [00:09:55] Speaker I: No, I don't want to go with you. And I wish you wouldn't go either. [00:09:59] Speaker H: There's nothing to be afraid of. [00:10:00] Speaker I: Are you sure, Brian? Are you really? [00:10:04] Speaker F: What's the matter, Carol? [00:10:06] Speaker I: Over there at the window. [00:10:09] Speaker F: There's nothing there. [00:10:12] Speaker I: Oh, but there was. There was something over there. I couldn't see it clearly, Brian, but it was there. The grotesque figure of a man's face floating outside the window. [00:10:29] Speaker D: Back now to our story. An original tale of fantasy by Richard Thorne entitled the man in black. [00:10:41] Speaker F: Neither Brian nor I saw anything outside the window. And we put it down to Carol's imagination. She asked us again not to go out there, but Brian insisted, and in the end went out the following day. In the late afternoon, we started out to the estate. [00:11:00] Speaker H: This is the road that leads into the estate. [00:11:03] Speaker F: It seems so lonely out here. [00:11:05] Speaker H: Yes, doesn't it? Almost as if this little area was set apart from everything else. [00:11:10] Speaker F: Maybe it's the day gray over camera. [00:11:13] Speaker H: That all adds to it. Of course. [00:11:15] Speaker F: Up ahead. Is that it? [00:11:16] Speaker H: Yes. [00:11:17] Speaker F: Only that one building with that semicircle of trees behind it. I thought you said he was buried in a mausoleum. [00:11:25] Speaker H: He is. [00:11:26] Speaker F: You mean that? I don't like this, Brian. [00:11:32] Speaker H: Are you afraid? [00:11:33] Speaker F: Maybe. [00:11:33] Speaker H: Look, there's an old man standing in the doorway. Looks as if he were waiting for us. [00:11:37] Speaker F: Wouldn't be surprised if he was. [00:11:39] Speaker H: Well, let's go meet him. [00:11:44] Speaker F: Maybe we ought to go back. [00:11:45] Speaker H: Of course not. We've already come this far. We'd be crazy to turn back now. [00:11:49] Speaker G: Good day, gentlemen. I've been expecting you. [00:11:52] Speaker H: Please come to find out. [00:11:53] Speaker G: No need to tell me. Just follow me, please. He said you would be here about this time. [00:12:03] Speaker F: Who? [00:12:04] Speaker H: I'll tell you later. So dark in here. [00:12:07] Speaker G: Your eyes will become accustomed to it. The darkness. Just come with me. [00:12:14] Speaker H: What do you think? [00:12:15] Speaker F: I don't know. [00:12:16] Speaker G: You said something. [00:12:17] Speaker H: No, nothing at all. [00:12:20] Speaker G: This is the room, right in here. You wish to learn of the man in black, am I correct? [00:12:30] Speaker H: Yes. [00:12:30] Speaker F: Can't we have more light? The candles burning in here don't throw off much light. [00:12:35] Speaker G: I am sorry, but that would be against his orders. [00:12:39] Speaker H: Whose orders? [00:12:40] Speaker G: He who walks by night. [00:12:42] Speaker H: What can you tell us about this man in black? [00:12:44] Speaker G: Quite a good deal. The man who lies in the stone coffin in the center of this room died some 30 years ago. Yet his body is as it was when he was alive. Perhaps you would like to look at him. [00:13:00] Speaker F: No, I'm sorry. [00:13:03] Speaker G: You are to look upon him. After all, he has laid claim to you already. [00:13:09] Speaker F: What do you mean? [00:13:11] Speaker G: The woman you met some time ago. She was the first link in the chain. The last in her chain, but the first in yours. They who search for the man in black shall die. But not before they see the one they love most in this world die first. [00:13:30] Speaker F: The wind. Where did it come from? [00:13:33] Speaker G: It is always there when he wants to speak to me. It is the sound of his voice. [00:13:38] Speaker H: You're not serious about this man, are you? [00:13:41] Speaker G: Take it as you will, my good sir. Put your own interpretation upon the words I have spoken. Yes, master, I understand. [00:13:55] Speaker H: What did you say? [00:13:56] Speaker G: I answered him. [00:13:58] Speaker F: What do you mean? [00:13:59] Speaker G: The wind. The marking sound of the wind is his voice. He has seen. He has looked into your minds and seen you. But he sees only one woman. One woman in both of your minds. First she shall die, then you. Both of you. Yes, master. I hear and obey. [00:14:28] Speaker H: That voice. Where's that voice coming from? [00:14:31] Speaker G: From his coffin. [00:14:33] Speaker H: Stop now. [00:14:35] Speaker G: Yes, he has stopped laughing. Your meeting is over now, but you will see him again quite soon. Remember to look for the man in black. [00:14:54] Speaker F: The old man showed us out of the mausoleum. So cold and lifeless, so frightening to behold. We sat silent for some minutes as we drove back. But then Brian broke the unnatural quiet. [00:15:08] Speaker H: I didn't know you felt that way about Carol. [00:15:11] Speaker F: Oh, he was mistaken, Brian. [00:15:13] Speaker H: You're not a very convincing liar, David. It's true, isn't it? Yes. I'm sorry. [00:15:18] Speaker F: Forget it. [00:15:19] Speaker H: All right. What do you think about the story. [00:15:22] Speaker F: The old man told us? [00:15:24] Speaker H: I hope he's crazy. What if he isn't? [00:15:26] Speaker F: Then I don't know. I just don't know. [00:15:30] Speaker H: When we get back to town, Dave, we'll pick up Carol and head for my place. [00:15:33] Speaker F: Why? [00:15:33] Speaker H: Strange, but something tells me that what the old man said was true. [00:15:45] Speaker F: In the back of my mind, I also knew that what the old man had said was true. What bothered me was that we knew we were doomed to die, but not from which direction death would come, nor what form it would take. We phoned Carol from a little roadhouse just outside the city. She was waiting for us when we pulled up in front of the apartment building in which she and there it was. Only a short drive to Brian's place. [00:16:14] Speaker H: And that's the story, Carol. [00:16:17] Speaker I: I can't believe it. [00:16:18] Speaker F: You know, sitting here in your house, Brian, with the lights on like this and everything so normal. I find it difficult to believe myself. Perhaps we were mistaken, Brian. Maybe nothing will happen. [00:16:29] Speaker H: You really believe that, David? [00:16:31] Speaker F: I'm trying to. [00:16:32] Speaker I: Just a minute. What time was it when you were out there? [00:16:36] Speaker F: Oh, it must have been about five why? [00:16:39] Speaker I: Well, maybe it was my imagination, but just about that time, I heard someone laughing. The voice came from behind me. I turned around to look, and no one was there. [00:16:50] Speaker H: It could have been the laugh we heard. [00:16:51] Speaker F: But we were there. How could she possibly have heard anything? At the precise moment we did? [00:16:55] Speaker H: The old man said it was his voice issuing forth from the coffin. The voice of the man in black. [00:17:00] Speaker I: No. What's that? [00:17:02] Speaker H: It's just thunder, Carol. [00:17:03] Speaker F: It's been threatening to rain all day. [00:17:05] Speaker H: Every time the old man said he heard the voice, did you notice how the wind would spring up? There was another sound, too. I don't know what it was. It was there. Never forget it. [00:17:14] Speaker I: What are we going to do? [00:17:15] Speaker H: I'm going to hire bodyguards. Take protective measures against anyone getting me. [00:17:20] Speaker I: Listen. [00:17:23] Speaker F: The wind. And that sound we heard in the mausoleum. [00:17:26] Speaker H: Where's it coming from? [00:17:27] Speaker F: I don't know. [00:17:27] Speaker H: Carol, what's wrong? [00:17:29] Speaker F: There's something at the window. [00:17:31] Speaker H: Fate. Terrible, twisted face. [00:17:33] Speaker I: Oh, it's still something. [00:17:37] Speaker G: It's gone. [00:17:38] Speaker H: The window's broken. [00:17:39] Speaker I: It was looking in at us, watching the three of us. And those eyes. Those terrible eyes. I'm afraid. Brian. Brian, you have to do something before it's too late. [00:17:56] Speaker D: Back now to our story, an original tale of fantasy by Richard Thorne entitled the man in black. [00:18:08] Speaker F: A moment before the three of us had been witnessed to an amazing and terrifying sight. For outside the window, we had seen a face, distorted and twisted. The fire burning in its eyes. Misspoke. Death. [00:18:25] Speaker I: I'm afraid. Brian. Brian, you have to do something before it's too late. [00:18:30] Speaker H: Was that the same face you saw before, Carol? Yes. [00:18:32] Speaker I: Only now it was much clearer. What are we going to do, Brian? [00:18:35] Speaker F: Maybe we should call the police. [00:18:36] Speaker H: They probably wouldn't believe us. I used a detective agency a few months ago. I'm going to call them. Telephone number should be here in my. I'll take it easy, Carol, but it's. [00:18:46] Speaker I: Just that I'm so frightened. [00:18:49] Speaker F: We'll be all right as soon as we can. Get some guards here. [00:18:52] Speaker H: Bradcliffe, is that you? This is Brian Conley. I want every available man you have to come out here tonight. You know my address. Yes, thank you. I'll be out here as soon as possible. [00:19:05] Speaker F: Is Radcliffe coming? [00:19:06] Speaker H: No, but we'll have eight men here in the house to give us protection. They'll stay here, the three of us. That way we'll have a better chance. [00:19:12] Speaker I: Oh, if only you hadn't been so interested in what that woman had to say. Brian, I was. [00:19:17] Speaker H: I'm sorry. [00:19:18] Speaker F: That's over and done with. Carol. I'm as much to blame as he is. [00:19:21] Speaker I: I suppose we all are. [00:19:22] Speaker H: There's nothing we can do except wait, Carol. But I'm sure the man in black won't call on us again. Not when we have Graham. Yes? [00:19:45] Speaker F: What do you want? [00:19:46] Speaker H: I'm just checking up on things, sir. [00:19:48] Speaker F: Have all the men been posted? [00:19:50] Speaker H: Yes. Rather dark out here in the hallway. [00:19:53] Speaker G: You shouldn't be out here by yourself, sir. [00:19:55] Speaker F: I'm just as safe here as I would be with the others. [00:19:58] Speaker H: Probably. [00:20:00] Speaker F: It's so dark, I can't see your face very well. [00:20:03] Speaker H: It's just a face, sir. Nothing else. [00:20:07] Speaker G: You seem very nervous. Do you believe the old man's story? [00:20:11] Speaker F: I prefer not to. But it is rather frightening, isn't it? [00:20:17] Speaker H: Yes. Well, I'll continue on my rounds. Good night, sir. Probably see you again before Mornington. [00:20:33] Speaker F: The guard somehow disturbed me. There was something unusual about him in the gloomy hallway. I couldn't see his face, of course. In the shadows, it was difficult to tell what color his clothes were. Who's that? [00:20:55] Speaker H: David. You startled me. [00:20:59] Speaker F: Are you alone down here? [00:21:00] Speaker H: Yes. [00:21:01] Speaker F: Where's Carol? [00:21:02] Speaker H: She had a headache upstairs for a nap. [00:21:04] Speaker F: Well, she shouldn't be alone. [00:21:05] Speaker H: There's a man stationed outside her door. [00:21:08] Speaker F: So quiet in the house. One of the guards just passed me in the hallway. Asked me if I believed in the story the old man told us. [00:21:17] Speaker H: The guards don't know anything about the story. [00:21:21] Speaker F: Are you sure? [00:21:22] Speaker H: Of course I am. The only thing they've been told is to watch for a man in black clothing. Why should the guard know? Did you see his face? What was he wearing? [00:21:30] Speaker F: It was too dark out there in the hallway. [00:21:32] Speaker H: Of course, he might have heard something about it. I know he couldn't have. I didn't even tell Radcliffe the story. [00:21:38] Speaker F: But how did he know it unless. [00:21:41] Speaker H: He was the man in black? [00:21:44] Speaker F: Something about him that seems so strange. [00:21:47] Speaker H: I can't place it, but he frightened me. We better search the house. Listen. [00:21:53] Speaker F: The wind again. [00:21:53] Speaker H: That sound. He is here in the house. It was Carol's voice. [00:21:57] Speaker F: And that man wasn't a guard. Come on. [00:22:02] Speaker E: Guard. [00:22:04] Speaker G: Guard. [00:22:05] Speaker F: Nobody answered. Carol, are you all right? [00:22:09] Speaker G: Carol. [00:22:10] Speaker F: Anything has happened to her? The door to her room, it's open. [00:22:15] Speaker H: Carol. [00:22:17] Speaker F: She's dead. Just like the woman in the pot. [00:22:21] Speaker G: She can't be. [00:22:23] Speaker H: What happened to the guard outside her door happened to all of the guards in the house. [00:22:26] Speaker F: Brian. We haven't seen a single one on our way up here. [00:22:29] Speaker H: Did I ever start this? [00:22:31] Speaker F: We'd better call the police. Is there a phone up here? [00:22:32] Speaker H: No. No extensions up here. You phone. I'll stay here with Carol. [00:22:37] Speaker F: It won't do you any good to stay up here, Brian. She's dead. You better come with me. [00:22:40] Speaker H: I guess you're right. [00:22:42] Speaker F: Oh, Brian, I'm sorry. I should have known that the man in the hall. [00:22:46] Speaker H: I'm to blame. I started this. [00:22:48] Speaker F: I can't understand what happened to the guard. [00:22:50] Speaker H: Whoever he is, whatever he is, he has a power, David. Something evil and malignant. To send the guards away would be a simple matter for him. You can use the phone in the library. [00:23:03] Speaker F: You look all done in, Brian. You better sit down in that chair over there. [00:23:07] Speaker H: All right. Never forgive myself. [00:23:11] Speaker F: I hope they can get here in time. [00:23:13] Speaker H: I don't know what he'd be doing. [00:23:15] Speaker F: That's strange. [00:23:16] Speaker H: What? [00:23:17] Speaker F: I'm not getting any dial tone. Something's wrong with the phone. What's the matter, Brian? [00:23:26] Speaker H: Nothing. [00:23:27] Speaker F: I can't get to the police. The lines must be down. [00:23:30] Speaker H: Yes, they must be. [00:23:32] Speaker F: I thought I heard you moan when I was trying to get to the police. [00:23:35] Speaker H: You were mistaken. [00:23:38] Speaker F: It's rather dark in here. And are you sitting in that chair with your back to me? Your voice sounds different. [00:23:44] Speaker H: Does it? [00:23:44] Speaker F: Yes. [00:23:46] Speaker H: Hey, where you are. [00:23:47] Speaker F: Something's wrong with you. What is it? [00:23:49] Speaker H: Don't you know? [00:23:51] Speaker F: No. [00:23:52] Speaker H: Perhaps you should look at my face. [00:23:54] Speaker F: You're not Brian, the man in the hallway. [00:23:57] Speaker H: You're the man in black. [00:24:00] Speaker F: What happened to your friend? [00:24:02] Speaker G: We've changed places for a while. [00:24:05] Speaker F: You mean he's dead? [00:24:07] Speaker H: That's correct. [00:24:08] Speaker G: As you will be soon. [00:24:11] Speaker F: Don't come any closer to me. [00:24:13] Speaker H: Are you afraid? [00:24:17] Speaker G: Why don't you run? [00:24:19] Speaker H: I can't move. [00:24:21] Speaker G: Now you see him. [00:24:24] Speaker H: The man in black. [00:24:26] Speaker F: Face to face. [00:24:28] Speaker G: And now you die. The wind knocking. Sound of the wind is his voice. The last link in the chain has been broken. Death will strike at those who search for the man in black, for he is dead. [00:25:15] Speaker E: So runs tonight's tale of the unusual, the terrifying, the unknown. Join us again when next we journey down the corridors of the hall of fantasy to hear another strange tale of the supernatural. [00:25:33] Speaker D: All characters and events portrayed in these programs are fictional, and any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. [00:25:50] Speaker A: That was the man in black from hall of fantasy here on the mysterious old radio listening society podcast. Once again, I'm Eric. [00:25:58] Speaker H: I'm Tim. [00:25:58] Speaker B: And I'm Joshua. [00:25:59] Speaker A: I have been avoiding eye contact with you two for about four minutes. [00:26:03] Speaker B: They're going to say four years. That's how it's felt like, wow, we just don't talk like we used to, Eric. [00:26:11] Speaker A: Well, that's what marriage does. Okay, so I heard this. I was listening to this, and I brought it to the podcast for this reason, because this was my reaction afterwards. And then since this was my reaction, I went, oh, maybe Tim and Joshua can answer this for me. Was that good? I literally went, wait a minute. I have the hardest time trying to figure out if this was any good or not, because I think part of me thinks. I think that was pretty good, especially for all of fantasy, which I usually don't like much of. And I don't know. I don't know. And I could be completely wrong. [00:26:54] Speaker C: I'm kind of on board, like, pretty good with some real highlight moments. [00:26:57] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I thought. Okay, so we're kind of on the same page. Kind of Midland. Like, was that good? [00:27:05] Speaker B: I think I'm basically there with you. I mean, I think we've talked about hall of Fantasy in this context before that it's a throwback. [00:27:14] Speaker F: Yes. [00:27:15] Speaker A: Series got a witch's tale feel to it. [00:27:17] Speaker B: Like witch's tale or dark fantasy, because it is not a fully professional production, or at least it's not initially a national production. Right. It's a local person trying to break into the business the way Scott Bishop did, the way Thorne is doing here, and the way Alonzo Dean Cole did. [00:27:40] Speaker A: And I think Alonzo. Kenny Matson. Yeah. [00:27:44] Speaker B: Of all those guys, I think it's only Alonzo Dean Cole who ended up actually breaking into a professional national radio career writing for the shadow. I think gangbusters. He wrote all the scripts for Casey, crime photographer, where I think Thorne and Bishop, aside from having a year or two of their shows syndicated, never really became national professionals beyond their regional experience. And I think if you judge it from that perspective, then there's some great moments in it. I still think overall, it's a little amateurish. And it's also thorn in particular, is very repetitive. There are beats straight out of shadow people. There's some elements of this that are straight out of a couple dark fantasy episodes. Maybe they were copying from each other. I have heard this one before, and early in the podcast, I considered bringing it, but I thought it was too much like the shadow people, but not as good. [00:28:47] Speaker A: Right. [00:28:47] Speaker B: Which I don't mean to slam the door shut on this conversation. [00:28:52] Speaker A: Tim said it. There are moments in this that I feel like I'm listening to a really amazing story. [00:28:59] Speaker C: The obvious one that jumps out at me is when he's talking to the guard in the hall. [00:29:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:03] Speaker C: And it's this ambiguous. And you can sort of predict the plot of like, oh, you can't see his face, you can't see what color his suit is, but the interaction is kind of innocuous. You're not that confused about what's going on. [00:29:17] Speaker A: Right. [00:29:17] Speaker C: But it's still a creepy, effective scene. [00:29:20] Speaker B: And I think that's the strength of Thorne's script, is he creates these eerie, frightening moments, but he struggles to connect them in a satisfying or always sensical way. [00:29:34] Speaker A: The arc is. [00:29:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Because, for example, I think the best scene in here is when the woman comes up to them, just says, have you seen the man in black? [00:29:44] Speaker H: Thank you. [00:29:44] Speaker B: It has this real Robert Chambers quality. It made me think of. Have you found the yellow sign? [00:29:49] Speaker H: Right. [00:29:50] Speaker A: And she gets 10ft away. [00:29:51] Speaker B: Screams, they find her and she's dead. But then also, instead of finding some way to contextualize this scene, it's just this weird thing where Dave likes late night walks with his buddy. There's no real character moment to explain why they're out. I mean, this happens a lot to writers where they're like, I have this idea for a great. [00:30:14] Speaker A: Yep. [00:30:15] Speaker B: And then you have to sort of justify how to get there. And usually in that justification, you find all the details. You can use it as a way to create character, build tension and just from scene to scene, it's just kind of a wet noodle. [00:30:29] Speaker A: Yes. He says, I've been obsessed with the man in black. Invites him over for dinner and then says, well, I found out who it was and he's dead. And he buried in this old castle up on the road or whatever. The old building. Let's just stop and go back. How did you research and find out from all the information the man in black? Oh, got him. [00:30:54] Speaker C: Johnny Cash. [00:30:56] Speaker H: Right. [00:30:56] Speaker B: That's the other thing that's hard for me in this episode is hello, hello, I'm the man in black. [00:31:03] Speaker A: I hold. My parents. [00:31:07] Speaker B: Shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, that he. [00:31:10] Speaker A: Became obsessed with what this woman had said. Also not going back and explaining who was that woman and what her relationship to the whole story was. There's a lot of things left, but take a little more time to say, here's how I discovered this. I found out from this book. Anything to say? The man in black. Here's the old folklore of it. Let's go up to this place and look around. Why are you so infatuated with it? Is it having a psychological effect on him? I think what Joshua is saying is exactly right. Is that, God, this thing has potential. [00:31:47] Speaker B: It does. And I mean, we say that about a lot of hall of, I mean. [00:31:51] Speaker C: Just the setup of you're both going to die and you're going to watch this woman die. [00:31:55] Speaker A: Yeah. That's horrible. [00:31:57] Speaker C: And to go through with the characters of everything we're going to try to do, to try to prevent this and protect her and do this, and that's all great. But that question, like why. [00:32:11] Speaker B: Again, I brought up Robert Chambers, and I think there's a way to write this where the fact that you don't know why is what makes it terrifying. [00:32:18] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:32:19] Speaker B: And Robert Chambers and all those king and yellow stories are a great example of that. When done by a master, they use that obscurity to make it all the. [00:32:29] Speaker C: More defies logic rather than just ignores it. [00:32:33] Speaker B: But the problem is, yes, you need to know when these are choices or just a lack of skill on the part of the writer. And that's the problem with Thorn, is you never know. Like, did you choose to do that or did you just not know how to do anything else? [00:32:47] Speaker A: Right. [00:32:47] Speaker B: The thing I have a hard time forgiving in here is this great idea that slips in here and then he totally lets it go. Because you brought up, the woman you love has to die first. [00:32:59] Speaker A: Right. [00:33:00] Speaker B: And you love the same woman. [00:33:02] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:33:02] Speaker B: And I was like, oh, I didn't see that coming. You've got this horror thing set up and now we have this possible jealousy, bitterness, shock, anger, anything, and they're just like, I didn't know you loved my fiance. No, I don't. Okay. And that's it. And then when she does die, they're like, well, she's dead. Yeah, we're next. [00:33:28] Speaker G: There's no effect. [00:33:30] Speaker A: I was going to do a recreation of that scene, but that's exactly right. So you love her, too, and. Yes. I'm sorry. Never mind. Because we've got this bigger thing. There's no development of that. And they move on very quickly from her death, which I don't think they loved her that much. [00:33:48] Speaker C: I suppose I felt worse for the guards. Like, where did they go? Are they dead? Did they never show up? They never actually get called. What's going on with the guards? [00:33:55] Speaker A: Right? Oh, yeah, right. [00:33:57] Speaker B: I think they were union guards and they were on a smoke break and they're fine. [00:34:02] Speaker A: Or that guy killed them. Yeah. There's a lot more to flesh out. Do you both understand how, listening to this, that I came away with this vague feeling of, that was good? Was that good? [00:34:22] Speaker C: It's a variation of what we sometimes have with dark fantasy of wandering into, like, this is good. I like this. And then you kind of wander out, like, no, nothing's happening. And it's kind of weird and vague, and then wander into, oh, no, this is good. [00:34:34] Speaker A: Right? [00:34:35] Speaker B: It's a lot like a campfire story. You need to 100% buy in and want to be scared by it. It's not going to convince you to be scared. You need to listen to it. Late at night with the lights out in bed, hopefully it's storming outside. It just needs a lot of help with a stranger in the room with you. And when the lightning flashes, there's a man with a knife standing over you. [00:35:00] Speaker C: Just for the mood, I will tell. [00:35:03] Speaker A: You, late at night, it was storming out. I listened to this. Yeah, maybe that had the effect on me. And we were close to Halloween, and I was like, oh, this is a fun Halloween type story. [00:35:15] Speaker C: You know what happened to me on Halloween? [00:35:17] Speaker B: Did you get murdered? [00:35:19] Speaker C: No, I was home, and the power went out. It's like, oh, that's a bummer. [00:35:26] Speaker A: And then just. [00:35:26] Speaker C: It starts trickling into my head, like, oh, it's Halloween. I got to go in the basement. Well, this will be either a quick, little, simple ten minute chore or the last thing I ever do. [00:35:40] Speaker A: Right. [00:35:41] Speaker B: And you fell down the stairs. [00:35:43] Speaker A: You walked into a horror movie. [00:35:45] Speaker B: Yes. [00:35:46] Speaker C: If I'm watching a horror movie and it's Halloween, the power goes out for. Don't go. Change the circumstance. Don't be an idiot. [00:35:53] Speaker A: That story, I think, was better than this. Tim's story was better than this. [00:35:58] Speaker B: This is he who follows combined with shadow people, too, because the caretaker scene is just almost. The curse is slightly different, but otherwise is straight out. [00:36:09] Speaker A: Yeah, you're right. [00:36:09] Speaker B: He who follows me or he who. I can't remember, but it's the guy. [00:36:14] Speaker A: That is behind me. [00:36:18] Speaker B: He who awkwardly lingers. [00:36:20] Speaker A: Right. [00:36:25] Speaker F: You should go. [00:36:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Bringing this episode to the podcast was an absolute and total risk. I had others on my list, and I'm glad I didn't choose those because I had a quiet please on my list. And it turns out Joshua has a quiet please coming up. So good. You know what mean? Like, it fits well within this block that we're. [00:36:46] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:36:46] Speaker C: Even if I don't sit here and praise this episode for adults greatness, I love the little, nice scenes. These are nice little jewels. [00:36:57] Speaker B: Another great scene to balance out our digs with our praise here is. I can't remember which one. I think it's Brian. It's right toward the end. He sits down in the chair, and there's just this creepy little sigh from him in the background, like he's being. [00:37:11] Speaker A: Entered, body's being entered. [00:37:14] Speaker B: And then Dave asks him a question or something, and his voice is completely changed. And the man in black says, I borrowed his body. And that's just a really eerie, creepy scene. Has zero to no connective tissue from moment to moment. But, yeah, we can't sit here and. [00:37:32] Speaker C: Say what a great episode this was, but a lot of good stuff. [00:37:35] Speaker A: Exactly. I think the ending made me kind of go, oh, and you're exactly right. It's that quick moment where audioly, verbally, the actor makes it sound like he's been taken over. Let's vote. I don't have anything nice to say about it. I just brought this for that one question. Was this good? And the answer seems to be no, but it had its moments. [00:37:59] Speaker C: I don't even know if I would say this doesn't stand the test of time. The flaws that exist here aren't matters of going bad over time or just not holding up. I think it just has some narrative flaws. It's not a classic, but I enjoyed it, and I think anyone else who listened to it would probably have a similar reaction of. [00:38:19] Speaker A: Right. [00:38:20] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:38:21] Speaker B: It's hard to slot it into one of our categories because half of it does not stand the test of time, and the other half is worth stealing. [00:38:29] Speaker F: Yes. [00:38:29] Speaker A: Okay. That is exactly what I was going to follow up with. This is there are things in this I would like to steal, elements that I'd like to. That's a great concept. I'm going to put that in a story. [00:38:41] Speaker B: Maybe that's the whole script, is we steal elements from Richard Thorne's script, and he comes back from the dead and follows us. [00:38:48] Speaker A: This isn't that bad of an idea. Scrimmage. [00:38:54] Speaker C: But he would chase us one place to another, and we'd ask him, how did you get from there to here? I don't know. [00:39:01] Speaker B: I did some vague research. So, yeah, it's kind of a curate egg. [00:39:11] Speaker C: Worth stealing, I think is a fine category. [00:39:13] Speaker A: Worth stealing. Worth rewriting. Or how about we have a category? Well, that happened. [00:39:21] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:39:21] Speaker B: But I'll tell you this for me. Timpani drums. [00:39:26] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:39:26] Speaker B: That forgives a lot. I just love that. [00:39:29] Speaker A: God, it's a great opening, isn't it? Yeah, it's a great opening. [00:39:33] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:39:33] Speaker B: If you're ever not sure of the quality of some work you're doing, add. [00:39:39] Speaker C: I did when I was doing a little bit of research on hall of Fantasy. Some question as to who the announcer was. There was one website that said they were heard from someone who claimed to be, I think it was Thorne's grandchild who said that it was Thorn doing the announcing. So that's unverified. But that was a thing I read on the Internet, so almost kind of true. [00:40:00] Speaker B: Who was on the drums? [00:40:01] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:40:02] Speaker A: Buddy Rich? Neil Pert? [00:40:08] Speaker B: Yeah, let's start that rumor. [00:40:12] Speaker A: Tim, tell him stuff. [00:40:13] Speaker C: Please go visit ghoulishlights.com. You can let us know what you thought of this episode. You can vote in polls. You can leave us a comment. You can send us a message. You can also say, visit our social media pages by clicking on links to our social media pages. You can get swag at our threadless store, and you can get a link to our Patreon page. [00:40:33] Speaker B: Yes, go to patreon.com. The morals and please support this podcast. We really do appreciate it. In all honesty, it really is what makes this podcast possible. And in return for your generous support, we offer a lot of bonus materials. We have lots of podcasts at this point on there for people to listen to you. So you become a member and instantly you get access to a lot of great content, from podcasts to happy hours with us to my mysterious old book club to videos of our live shows. We've done a number of annual Halloween specials that are a lot of fun. Check us out. [00:41:14] Speaker C: And Marty Croft thing that he's going. [00:41:16] Speaker A: To, is that coming that he promised. [00:41:19] Speaker C: And guaranteed is going to happen? [00:41:21] Speaker B: Yes. [00:41:23] Speaker A: All right. Hooray. [00:41:26] Speaker B: It's a 24 hours Sid and Marty Croft marathon that you're hosting on. [00:41:30] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:41:30] Speaker B: So we're expanding it a little, as. [00:41:32] Speaker A: Long as people don't mind the part of me that's on camera watching with them every now and then is actually asleep. [00:41:39] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:41:41] Speaker A: Hey, if you'd like to see us performing live, the mysterious old radio listening society theater company performs pretty much monthly doing live radio and audio drama on stage. We do classic recreations of old time classic radio shows, and we also do a lot of our own original work. If you'd like to know and see what we're performing and where we're performing each and every month, just go to ghoulishdelights.com. And there you will see that information. And if you can't make it because you're not in that town or that city at that time, being a patreon means that we film them and you get to watch them because you're a patreon. [00:42:21] Speaker G: Yay. [00:42:22] Speaker A: How's that? Was that better? [00:42:23] Speaker B: That was much better than last week. [00:42:25] Speaker A: Okay, good. What's coming up next? [00:42:27] Speaker B: Next, my pick. And it is an episode of quiet, please. Entitled the man who stole a Planet. [00:42:34] Speaker F: Until then, you're not Brian, the man in the hallway. You're. [00:42:40] Speaker H: I'm Johnny catch.