Episode 392: The Mark of the Bat

[00:00:16] Speaker A: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Podcast 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. [00:00:36] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:00:36] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:38] Speaker B: 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 C: Today we listen to an episode of My choosing, the Mark of the Bat from the Shadow. [00:00:49] Speaker A: The Shadow made his radio debut in 1930 as the sinister host of the Detective Story Magazine Hour, a program based on the magazine of the same name. This version of the Shadow was played with malevolent glee by Frank Reddick, who eight years later would play the doomed reporter Carl Phillips in the Mercury Theater's infamous War of the Worlds broadcast. [00:01:10] Speaker B: The mysterious voice of the Shadow proved so popular that Publishers street and Smith hired writer Walter B. Gibson to transform their radio host into the crime fighting star of his own pulp magazine. In turn, the magazine's success inspired a new Shadow radio series, this time with the Shadow as protagonist rather than host. Debuting September 26, 1937, this incarnation starred an up and coming actor and director named Orson Welles. [00:01:34] Speaker C: The Shadow's friend and companion, Margo Lane was first played by Agnes Moorhead, though the character was named after director producer Clark Andrews real life girlfriend actress Margot Stevenson. When Moorhead briefly left the series in the spring of 1938, Stevenson replaced her, playing her namesake opposite Orson Welles for the entire 1938 BFGoodrich sponsored Summers series. [00:01:59] Speaker A: And now let's listen to the Mark of the Bat from the Shadow starring Orson Welles and Margo Stevenson. First broadcast July 24, 1938. [00:02:10] Speaker B: 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. [00:02:31] Speaker D: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? [00:02:41] Speaker E: The Shadow knows. Ladies and gentlemen, while you're getting set for the Shadow's latest three, let me say a few words about that great new Goodrich Silvertown tire. Because believe me, motorists, this new kind of tire is making history. It takes care of skid and blowout problems like they have never been taken care of before. And here's proof positive. The engineers of the famous independent Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory tested the regular and premium priced tires of the nation's sixth largest tire manufacturer. The results? Listen no other tire tested regardless of price, came up to the new Goodrich Silvertowne in skid resistance. What's more this great tire gave more non skid mileage than any other tire tested in its price class, averaging 19.1% more miles before the tires wore smooth. That's the same as saying, this new Silvertowne gives you every sixth mile free ride on the safest thing on wheels. The new Goodrich Safety Silvertown. The Shadow. Lamont Cranston, a man of wealth, a student of science and a master of other people's minds, devotes his life to righting wrongs, protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Cranston is known to the underworld as the Shadow. Never seen, only heard. His true identity is known only to his constant friend and aide, Margo Lane. Today's story. The mark of the Bat. [00:05:04] Speaker F: Alexei, Come. Come in the house, out of the night air. [00:05:08] Speaker E: I am coming, Marie. The dogs were restless, whimpering. Must be the storm coming. [00:05:16] Speaker F: It is more than the storm as you know it, Alexei. [00:05:19] Speaker E: I'm not sure. Why aren't you in bed asleep? [00:05:22] Speaker F: There'll be no sleep in this house. [00:05:24] Speaker E: Tonight or any night. [00:05:27] Speaker F: Then you've seen the great bats, too? [00:05:29] Speaker E: Yes. I've seen the farmer's cattle. Bloodless dead in the fields. [00:05:35] Speaker F: And the white comb of the dead rooster. [00:05:38] Speaker D: Ah. It was the same on the farm of my father in Croatia. [00:05:42] Speaker F: Alexei, why did this Dr. Vickers send. [00:05:46] Speaker D: Away his stepfather's servants? [00:05:49] Speaker F: Why does he pay us so much to stay in this house? Why do we stay, knowing what we know? [00:05:56] Speaker E: Jobs are hard to find, Marie, but. [00:05:59] Speaker D: I think we go soon. [00:06:00] Speaker E: When the master of the house dies. [00:06:02] Speaker F: It cannot be long. And I am not sorry. It is his own doing. [00:06:08] Speaker D: He brought the bats here, set them. [00:06:09] Speaker E: Free to kill, and now they take his life from him. In the night, in the darkness. [00:06:14] Speaker F: Only for his daughter am I sorry. [00:06:17] Speaker D: She is young. [00:06:18] Speaker F: She was beautiful. [00:06:21] Speaker D: But each dawn finds her more. Like those stings from the grave. [00:06:26] Speaker E: Have you seen the mark of the vampire on her, Marie? [00:06:28] Speaker F: Yes, only this morning. On the throat as she lay sleeping. [00:06:33] Speaker E: The sins of the father. [00:06:34] Speaker D: It is his punishment. The great bats are children of Satan. [00:06:41] Speaker F: He brought them here from the caves. [00:06:43] Speaker D: He found in that strange country he wrote books about. [00:06:46] Speaker E: Yeah, and he laughed at the stories I told him. The vampire bat is a thing of evil, leagued with the devil, stealing the blood of the living, that the dead may go on living in their graves. [00:06:59] Speaker F: The storm is coming, Alec. [00:07:01] Speaker E: It will drive the bats back into the cave in the mountain. That much is good. Marie. [00:07:06] Speaker F: What is it? [00:07:07] Speaker E: My shadow path. [00:07:08] Speaker D: Across the moon. [00:07:12] Speaker F: The clouds of the storm meet. [00:07:14] Speaker D: No. [00:07:15] Speaker E: No bat. Like a great bird, is it? Is A Norman. Maria. Norman. [00:07:21] Speaker D: The dog howls. [00:07:23] Speaker E: Yes, it's the dog howl. [00:07:25] Speaker F: Quick, light the candle at the crucifix. [00:07:28] Speaker E: Yes, yes, the crucifix. [00:07:31] Speaker D: Here comes Dr. Vickers. Yes, Alexei. It is quite fitting that you light the candle. Say a prayer. Mary. [00:07:42] Speaker F: Dr. Vickers, is. Is the master Major Stevens? Is he? [00:07:47] Speaker D: Yes, Mary. My esteemed stepfather. Major Stevens is dead. [00:08:06] Speaker F: Lamont Cranston. We've come 200 miles up into these spooky mountains. Why? [00:08:10] Speaker E: I've been reading the obituary columns, Margot. As a result, we're going to visit the home of a man who once had a very spooky strange hobby. [00:08:16] Speaker F: Oh. So Lamont Cranston, the amateur criminologist, has been reading between the lines again. Who died recently? [00:08:22] Speaker E: The corpse, Margot, is Major Stevens, noted explorer and zoologist. Oh, yes, I tell you. Anything more? Let me ask you a question. [00:08:30] Speaker F: Yes? [00:08:31] Speaker E: Do you believe in vampires? Creatures with the power to leave the grave, transform themselves into bats and draw from the flesh of the living blood to feed the bodies of the restless. [00:08:42] Speaker F: Lamont, are you serious? [00:08:44] Speaker E: Quite. [00:08:45] Speaker F: Of course I don't believe it. What's all this about? You guessing or do you know we're going on? [00:08:50] Speaker E: A curious mixture of theory and fact. I've known about Stevens for years. He led an expedition of five men into the mountains of Ecuador. Came back alone, the cage full of vampire bats. Big ones. For years he's been breeding them. [00:09:03] Speaker F: Cheerful hobby, I must say. [00:09:04] Speaker E: Become an obsession. Six months ago, I read that a neighboring farmer sued him claiming those vampire bats killed three of his cattle. [00:09:09] Speaker F: Lamont, that's for politics. [00:09:10] Speaker E: No, Margo, it isn't. There are authentic cases where cattle have been killed by blood sucking vampire bats. [00:09:15] Speaker F: And you think Major Stevens pet bats killed those cattle and. And killed the Major as well? [00:09:19] Speaker E: That's possible. [00:09:20] Speaker F: All of which leads to what, Lamont? Who are we going to call on tonight? Not Major Stevens, I hope. [00:09:25] Speaker E: No, the Major is safely untared in his grave. [00:09:27] Speaker F: Oh, you make it sound so cozy. [00:09:29] Speaker E: Stevens had a daughter, Claire Stevens. I've checked up. She's suffering from the same ailment that supposedly killed her father. Anemia Stevens was wealthy. Claire's his, but she's underage, only 20. And there's a guardian in the picture. Dr. Vickers. Who also happens to be the major stepson, I think. [00:09:44] Speaker F: I'm beginning to see. [00:09:45] Speaker E: Apparently, Vickers is running things. He's even discharged the family servants and hired an old Slavic couple. Why, they're Croats, Margot. Not very far removed from the atmosphere of their native land where for centuries human vampires have been accepted fact. Now, do you see what I'm driving at? [00:09:58] Speaker F: Yes, yes, I'm afraid I do. Claire Stevens is being led to believe that she's a victim of human vampires. Whereas actually she's being bled to death by the giant vampire bats. Is that it, Lamar? [00:10:09] Speaker E: That's right, Margot. Just a breed of very large bats. [00:10:12] Speaker F: I see. Oh, this is a lonely road. We haven't passed a car in ages. [00:10:17] Speaker E: My little father. Huh? Good heavens. [00:10:21] Speaker F: What's wrong, Lamar? [00:10:22] Speaker E: Look, look. A man lying there beside the road. Wait here, Margot. This may be a hold up gag. [00:10:28] Speaker F: What's wrong with him? Has he been hit? [00:10:32] Speaker E: Beaten up, I think. [00:10:33] Speaker F: Wait, I'll help you with him. Is he alive? [00:10:36] Speaker E: Yes, but unconscious. [00:10:37] Speaker F: Lamont, there's a paper clutched in his hand. See what it is. [00:10:41] Speaker E: Listen to this, Margot. Dave, if you love me, come and take me away from this awful house. I can't explain. Only come. If you don't, you'll never see me alive again. Sign. [00:10:53] Speaker D: Claire. [00:10:53] Speaker F: Claire Stevens. Oh, Lamont. This boy must have tried to help us. [00:10:57] Speaker E: Yes, and failed. [00:10:58] Speaker F: What are we going to do, Lamont? Drive him back to the last town we've had? [00:11:00] Speaker E: No, Margot, we need the doctor. I think the logical man to patch him up is the one who may have had a hand in this. [00:11:06] Speaker F: Vickers, you're going to take him to the Stevens house. [00:11:09] Speaker E: No, you are, Margot. [00:11:10] Speaker F: But. But you'll be with me in that house. [00:11:13] Speaker E: Yes, Margot. But in my role of the Shadow, it'd be better if you're not Margo Lane. Pretend to be an old friend of Claire Stevens. If she's in danger, she won't give you away. [00:11:20] Speaker F: All right. Help me get the boy into the car, then I'll drive. Lamont. [00:11:24] Speaker E: What's the matter, Margot? [00:11:25] Speaker F: Lamont, look on his throat. What have you a bat fastened to his throat? Kill it, Lamont. [00:11:31] Speaker E: Yes, yes, Margot. One of Major Stevens pets a vampire bat. Ladies and gentlemen, while we leave the Shadow for a moment, here's a brief reminder that when you want real tire safety halfway measures, don't go. There's no such thing as saving half your life. The Shadow knows. Beware. In these days of high speeds and superhighways, you need protection against both skids and blowouts every time you get behind the wheel of your car. And motorists, the tire that will give you life saving protection against both of these driving hazards is the new Goodrich safety Silvertown for a member only. Silvertowns give you the skid protection of the lifesaver tread. This amazing new Goodrich Development protects you against the hazard zone of motoring, where a slippery film of water on the road can make complete command of your car almost impossible. The never ending spiral bars of this lifesaver tread act like a whole battery of windshield wipers. They sweep the water right and left, force it out through the deep drainage grooves, make a dry track for the rubber to grip. You stop quicker, safer on a wet pavement than you've ever stopped before. And don't forget adding one safety feature to another. Silvertowns also give you the famous golden ply protection against dangerous high speed blowouts. Why ride on anything but the safest thing on wheels? Especially when Silvertowns give you these two great life saving features at no extra cost. Play safe with Goodrich. Spelled G O O D R I C H Goodrich Safety Silvertown. [00:13:34] Speaker D: Alexei, who drove Dave Henderson here? [00:13:38] Speaker E: A young girl, Dr. Vickers. She says she's a friend of Ms. Stevens. [00:13:42] Speaker D: A friend of Claire's, eh, Alexei? Yes, and young Dave Henderson. Odd that she should come here tonight. Strange that she should find him on the road. Where are they? [00:13:53] Speaker E: In the room where the Major worked with the bats, Dr. Vickers. Good. [00:13:56] Speaker D: Nothing could be better. It will save me considerable trouble. I lock the door, unlock it, then go back and watch Ms. Claire's room. See she does not leave it. Why? What's the matter, Alexei? Your hand is shaking. [00:14:11] Speaker E: You're afraid. Yes, yes. And you would be afraid too. Those caged bats in there, they kill the Major. I know, I know. They are creatures of the devil. [00:14:20] Speaker D: Nonsense. There's nothing to worry about. I have released the good mage as pets, taken them out of their cages and sent them back to the bottomless pit in the grotto. [00:14:28] Speaker E: Yes, but a bat, like a bird of evil, flew across the moon the night the Major died. It was a Norman. A Norman of death. [00:14:36] Speaker D: Tell that to Miss Clare. She'll believe you. And watch carefully, Alexei. Two, perhaps three of those bats may fly across the moon tonight. More omens of death. But now go upstairs. See that I am not disturbed. [00:14:51] Speaker E: Yes, Doctor. The girl is there at the far end of the room with the young man. [00:14:57] Speaker F: Doctor. Are you Dr. Vickers? [00:14:59] Speaker E: Yes. [00:14:59] Speaker D: I understand you brought a young man here. Victim of some hit and run driver. [00:15:03] Speaker F: No, he's been beaten. I'm afraid his skull is fractured. And not only that. [00:15:07] Speaker D: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Alexei told me your fantastic story of finding a giant bat drawing his life blood from his throat. [00:15:12] Speaker F: It's true. The marks are still on his throat. [00:15:14] Speaker D: Look. [00:15:14] Speaker F: There. [00:15:15] Speaker D: Still unconscious. Has he spoken at all? [00:15:18] Speaker F: No, but don't stand There. Do something. You're a doctor, or so I was told. [00:15:22] Speaker D: By whom? Oh, yes. You're a friend of Ms. Stevens. Of course. You would know. [00:15:26] Speaker F: Of course. Where is Claire? [00:15:28] Speaker D: Sleeping. You were coming to call on her. At this late hour? Why? [00:15:33] Speaker F: We're old friends. I. I heard of her father's death. I. [00:15:35] Speaker D: Do you know this young man? [00:15:38] Speaker F: I. No. No, I don't. [00:15:40] Speaker D: Hmm. That's odd. This man is David Henderson, Ms. Stephen's fiance. [00:15:46] Speaker F: Oh. Well. Well, you see, I. I haven't seen Claire for several years. [00:15:50] Speaker D: How many? [00:15:51] Speaker F: Why, for. Oh, not for three years. Oh, but don't stand there questioning me. Do something for him. [00:15:57] Speaker D: There'd be plenty of time for that. I'm more interested in you. And just why you happened to pick this night to visit such an old and dear friend. A friend who apparently never spoke of Dave Henderson, to whom she's been engaged for many years. A childhood sweetheart. Yes, I see. I see you are lying. Who are you? What do you want in this house? [00:16:18] Speaker F: I want you to treat that boy. [00:16:19] Speaker D: Yes, I will treat him in good time and in my own way. But first I think you need my attention. [00:16:25] Speaker F: Keep away from me. I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to kill that boy. [00:16:30] Speaker D: Oh, now I'm beginning to understand. So you know. I know you know too much. Too much to ever leave this house. [00:16:45] Speaker F: Alexi. Let go of me. Let me go. I saw somebody bring David to the house. I know he's here. [00:16:50] Speaker D: Oh, a lucky interruption for you. It will give you a few minutes, Grace. Young woman. And a chance to see your dear friend Claire Stevens. [00:16:57] Speaker F: You and Dr. Bacon's done to Dave. Who is that woman? Let go of me. [00:17:01] Speaker D: He's in there. I know he is. Come. [00:17:03] Speaker E: Doctor says you stay in your room. Come. [00:17:06] Speaker D: What's going on out here? Alexei. [00:17:07] Speaker E: Doctor, I couldn't stop her. She tricked me. She ran down here. I'll take her back. [00:17:10] Speaker F: No. [00:17:11] Speaker D: Come. [00:17:11] Speaker F: I won't go. You've got Dave here. [00:17:13] Speaker D: All right, Alexei, let her come in. You wait out in the hall. Yes. Claire, my dear. Dave is here. You can see him. And there is someone else. An old friend of yours. [00:17:25] Speaker F: An old friend? [00:17:25] Speaker E: Yes. [00:17:26] Speaker D: That young woman there. Well, you don't seem to recognize her. Perhaps it's been so long since you've seen each other. [00:17:33] Speaker F: Claire, don't you remember me? Grace Wilson. We went to school together. I heard you were in trouble. I thought I might be able to help. What? Oh. Oh, of course. Grace. Grace Wilson. I'm so glad you're here. Grace. But Dave, you said I could see him. Where is he? [00:17:49] Speaker D: There, on the couch. [00:17:52] Speaker F: Dave. Oh, Dave. Dave, darling, It's Claire. [00:17:56] Speaker D: Claire. [00:17:57] Speaker F: Oh. Is. Is he dead? No. But he may die if we don't get help revive him. This Dr. Vickers won't help. Why won't you do something? Dave's hurt. His head's cut open. Dr. Vickers won't help because he did it. He wants Dave Henderson to die, just as he wants me out of the way now that I've discovered his secret. And you, Claire Stevens, you're marked for death. I can see it in your face. You're as pale as a ghost, already half bled to death. You're a victim, too. A victim of vampire bats. No. No, it can't be. Not that. I've been ill. Dr. Vickers has been treating me. Your father died of Dr. Vickers treatments. Dr. Vickers? You. Why do you look at me like that? [00:18:38] Speaker D: Why, my dear child? [00:18:42] Speaker F: Then it is true. Those sedatives and the open window. That was so the giant bats could come from the well on the grotto. [00:18:49] Speaker D: You've been listening to the fantastic tales of Marie and Alexei, my dear. Monstrous nightmares out of a ghoulish past. [00:18:54] Speaker F: Miss Stevens, don't listen to him. He's a murderer. We've got to get your fiance out of this house. But he won't let us go. The door's locked. He has the key. [00:19:02] Speaker D: Yes, my dear, you are quite right. The door is locked. I have the key. The only way out is through that door leading to the tunnel in the cave. To the bottomless pit your father, so aptly named the well of the bats. [00:19:14] Speaker F: Father sealed that tunnel when the bats escape. [00:19:17] Speaker D: Yes, but I opened it again. It will come in very handy tonight. The storms have kept the bats in the grotto for many nights now. They must be very hungry for blood. What a feast they will have. Come, Claire. [00:19:32] Speaker E: No. [00:19:32] Speaker D: The vampires are tired of coming to you. It is time you visited them. [00:19:37] Speaker E: David. [00:19:37] Speaker F: Get back. Keep away from me. [00:19:39] Speaker D: Stupid heroes will not save you. Keep back, young woman, or I shall have to shoot you. The bats ruined mine. Not so long as the blood in your body is still warm. Come, Clare. Come with me. [00:19:52] Speaker F: No. [00:19:53] Speaker D: No. Very well. Perhaps you would rather follow your beloved David. I'll take him first. [00:19:58] Speaker F: Oh, no. No, don't. He doesn't know anything. If you'll only let him go. [00:20:03] Speaker D: I thought that would bring you to me. [00:20:08] Speaker E: Dr. Vickers. Dr. Vickers. You are startled, Doctor. I see in your eyes and read in your reeling mind. Questions, questions beating in your brain like the black wings of your destroyers. Who am I? Where am I? Is this voice you hear real? Or the trickery of a mind warped and twisted by the remorse of murder done and murders yet to come? No. [00:20:39] Speaker D: No. [00:20:40] Speaker E: The gun in Your hand trembles, Dr. Vickers. Your lips are dry. [00:20:47] Speaker F: But who. [00:20:48] Speaker D: Who are you? [00:20:49] Speaker E: The shadow, Dr. Vickers. [00:20:51] Speaker D: The shadow. The Shadow. [00:20:53] Speaker E: It would seem you have heard of the Shadow, Doctor. [00:20:56] Speaker D: Yes. Yes, I've heard of you, Shadow. [00:20:58] Speaker E: Do you believe what you have heard? [00:21:00] Speaker D: Yes. I know all about your devilish tricks of mesmerism, hypnotic influence. I know you're here in this room, but I can't see you. I know my gun isn't any use against you, but that won't stop me. I am going into the grotto and I'm taking these girls with me. Both of them. Try to stop me, Shadow, and I'll shoot them both. All right, Claire. And you too, Ms. Wilson, or whoever you really are. Quick, get through this door and let me use this gun. [00:21:30] Speaker F: No, don't. We'd better do as he says, Ms. Stevens. Come on. [00:21:33] Speaker D: All right. All right, Shadow. Let's see you follow me through this door. It bolts on the inside. And by the time you've broken it down, the vampire bats will leave feasting on these two women. The only ones who stand between me and Steven's fortune. It should have been mine in the first place. And now it will be. It will be mine. [00:21:53] Speaker E: Don't be too sure, Dr. Vickers, for the grotto will be filled with shadows. Shadows of the living and shadows of the dead. David. David Henderson. Listen. Listen to me. Wake up. Listen. [00:22:30] Speaker D: Oh, my head, it aches. [00:22:33] Speaker E: Listen. David Henderson. You came to save your fiance. She's in danger. Dr. Vickers has taken her to the grotto. To the well of the bats. [00:22:45] Speaker D: Claire gone into the cave? [00:22:48] Speaker E: Yes. Who am I talking to? There's no one here. I must be out of my mind. No, There is someone here. The Shadow. The Shadow? Yes. Don't be alarmed because you cannot see me, even to those I try to help. I must remain unseen, unknown, for their own safety. There is no time to explain the whys and wherefores of my presence. I'm here to help you and your fiance. If we don't get into the grotto and stop him, Vickers will kill Claire Stevens and a girl who is with her. No. Kill them and drop them into the well of the bats. That. [00:23:25] Speaker D: That heavy door leads to the pit. [00:23:29] Speaker E: Come on. Can't follow that way. [00:23:30] Speaker D: I tried. [00:23:31] Speaker E: It's bolt on the other side. Is that on the way into the grotto? Any other way of reaching the pit? Yeah, there is one other way Major Stephens showed me years ago. Where? Up on the side of the mountain. There's an opening shorter that way. Maybe we can get in that way and head Vickers off before he reaches the pit. Come on, I'll show you the way. If I get my hands on Vickers, the bats will have their feast tonight on him. Shadow. [00:24:09] Speaker D: Shadow. [00:24:11] Speaker E: We're almost there. [00:24:13] Speaker D: Shadow. [00:24:14] Speaker E: I am still close to you. Go on. It may be too late. Be careful along here. This ledge is slippery. We're getting near the pit. How deep is this pit? This well of the bats? No one knows. Once Major Stevens and I dropped a weighted kite string down into it. It thousand feet of string, didn't touch bottom. [00:24:35] Speaker F: Shadow, look. [00:24:35] Speaker E: There's a light. A torch down the passageway. That must be Vickers. It's in the big chamber. That's where the pit is. We're not too late, see? Your fiance and the other girl is with him. Wait. Stop here. He's forcing them toward the pit. He's gonna kill both of them, I tell you. Let me go. No, you've done your part. Stay here. No, no, I won't. [00:24:51] Speaker D: I won't, I tell you. [00:24:51] Speaker E: But you must to understand. If Vickers saw you coming, he'd shoot you down. He'll be signing the death warrant of your fiance and the other girl. Oh, I'll get him. I'll get him before he sees me. Call me Shadow. Sorry I had to knock you out like that, Henderson, but it was the only way. [00:25:13] Speaker F: They'll kill you with this, Dr. Vickers. The police will find it out. They'll hang you. [00:25:18] Speaker D: My dear Claire. You see, to prove a murder has been committed, there must be some trace of the body. The vampires will leave little in the way of evidence. [00:25:25] Speaker F: Have you forgotten the shadow, Dr. Vickers? Do you think he'll let you live to enjoy the fruits of this ghastly thing you're about to do? [00:25:32] Speaker D: So you're still counting on the shadow to save you? [00:25:34] Speaker F: He may not be able to save us, but you'll never get away from him unless you follow us into that pit. [00:25:39] Speaker D: Oh, hope and faith die hard. I've been wondering why one of you didn't try to get away from me. So I would have an excuse to shoot you down. [00:25:47] Speaker F: Oh, you need an excuse? [00:25:48] Speaker D: No, not really. But there is something fascinating about watching the reactions of people who are about to die. But now I give you your choice. Turn, take each other's hand and walk straight ahead into the darkness. Or stand there while I count arnold. No, not 10. That is too definite, too certain. I will merely count number after number until my trigger finger obeys the impulse to shoot. [00:26:21] Speaker F: No, no, don't. [00:26:22] Speaker D: Oh, Dave. [00:26:23] Speaker E: Dave. [00:26:25] Speaker F: Oh, she's fainted. That should make it easier for you and for her. [00:26:29] Speaker D: That's right. Hold her up. Steady her. One. [00:26:35] Speaker E: Two. [00:26:37] Speaker D: What a feast the vampires will have. Three. The bats they're waiting for, far down in the pit. 5. By the thousands they cling to the clammy walls. [00:26:58] Speaker F: 6. [00:27:00] Speaker D: Hanging heads downward with folded wings. [00:27:05] Speaker E: 7. [00:27:06] Speaker D: Waiting. 8. Waiting. [00:27:15] Speaker E: Yes, vicars, waiting. Waiting for you. You. [00:27:21] Speaker D: You got through. [00:27:22] Speaker E: Useless to struggle because your trigger finger obeys the impulse to kill. But the gun hammer won't fall because my hand is on it. Because you should have used an automatic. [00:27:34] Speaker C: Oh, you. [00:27:35] Speaker D: You devil. [00:27:36] Speaker E: Yes, yes, if you could only break loose. Try it and your arm will stick. Snap. Like the stem of a pipe. [00:27:46] Speaker F: I knew you'd find a way, Shadow. You're gonna go here now. [00:27:50] Speaker E: Is she all right? [00:27:51] Speaker F: Yes, she just fainted, that's all. [00:27:53] Speaker E: Oh. [00:27:54] Speaker D: Oh, there you are, Vickers. [00:27:55] Speaker E: So the shadow got you. Well, you'll hang for what you did to Claire's father. But first I'm gonna pay her for torturing. [00:28:00] Speaker D: No, you won't. No, you won't. Stop and I won't hang. [00:28:03] Speaker F: Stand where you are or I'll shoot. [00:28:05] Speaker D: Go ahead, shoot. Shoot me. The Shadow was right. The vampire bats are waiting. Waiting for their feast. For me. And I won't get to find them. They've had their feet. They've had their feet. Now, now. [00:28:32] Speaker E: Do you like this thing I'm playing? Margot. [00:28:34] Speaker F: Yes. Lamont. Lamont. [00:28:37] Speaker C: Hmm? [00:28:37] Speaker E: Yes, Margot. [00:28:38] Speaker F: Now that Dr. Vickers is dead and Claire Stevens is out of that awful house, what's going to happen to the Major's little pet? [00:28:45] Speaker E: Those vampire bats won't kill any more cattle or men. Margot thought of that while you and David Henderson were getting Claire to the hospital. [00:28:53] Speaker F: Yes, but how, Lamont? [00:28:56] Speaker E: Like this Dynamite? Yes. Yes, I found it in Stephen's toolhouse. The explosion filled the well of the bats with hundreds of tons of rock sealed forever. There will be no more black wings across the moon. No more marks of the bat on the throats of sleeping victims. You have been listening to a dramatized version of one of the many copyrighted stories which appear in the Shadow magazine, now on sale at your local newsstand. [00:29:42] Speaker D: The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows. [00:30:02] Speaker E: All the characters and all the places named are fictitious. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. [00:30:46] Speaker A: That was The Mark of the Bat from the Shadow here on the mysterious old Radio Listening Society podcast once again, I'm Eric. [00:30:54] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:30:54] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:30:56] Speaker A: All right, well, that was fantastically fun. I don't know when. I've never not said that after an episode of the Shadow. [00:31:03] Speaker C: Oh, a couple times. [00:31:04] Speaker E: Have I? [00:31:05] Speaker A: Yes, well, that was fantastically fun. It's been a while since we've had a shadow on the podcast, so. Thank you, Joshua. [00:31:13] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I chose this one in particular because this episode will be landing somewhere around the Halloween area. No, it's not a Halloween area, is it? [00:31:22] Speaker A: The Halloween area is something you don't want to. Don't type that into Google. [00:31:29] Speaker C: The Halloween zone. [00:31:30] Speaker A: Yeah, no, we're not even close to being Halloween. [00:31:32] Speaker E: Ish. [00:31:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it's Halloweeny. [00:31:34] Speaker A: Yeah. None of these are good. [00:31:36] Speaker C: All right, anyway, back to the Mark of the Bat. [00:31:40] Speaker A: I. I'm always curious to hear when the first time you heard when it's the Shadow, like, oh, I was eight and I was scarred for life, you know? [00:31:49] Speaker C: No, this one I heard as an ad and was scarred for life. I just put it on a list of good seasonal old time radio episodes for Halloween, period, and promptly forgot about it for years and remembered it this year. [00:32:05] Speaker A: It's a great episode of linear plot. I always forgive the Shadow for, you know, moving off base of plot a little or in the sense of that's wacky or whatever. And I know none of the. That's a weird thing to say about a giant vampire bat. Vampire bat. [00:32:23] Speaker C: It's really grounded in reality. [00:32:26] Speaker A: But I liked the box that the plot was in. It stayed there and I liked how it worked. [00:32:33] Speaker C: The Orson Welles shadows just don't mess around. [00:32:35] Speaker A: No. [00:32:36] Speaker C: Within a couple minutes, the Shadow has figured out there's a problem somewhere, and he and Margot go directly to it and start solving it. [00:32:44] Speaker A: Right. [00:32:44] Speaker C: They don't go on long picnics or have rides with Shreevy where they laugh at his idiocy. They just get right to the action, which is fascinating. [00:32:54] Speaker A: He's just reading obituaries to find trouble. Just find me something to get involved. [00:33:00] Speaker B: In as a little bit of. Not pushback, but a parallel to your enjoyment of the sort of straightforwardness of this plot. One of my favorite little beats was when the Shadow is listening to this lunatic go through his plan, which is so convoluted and unnecessarily complicated that at some random point, the Shadow just. I've heard enough. I see what's happening now. [00:33:27] Speaker A: Which is the writer saying, I've written myself into a corner. [00:33:31] Speaker B: And then later than that, the guy actually says, like, it's for the inheritance. [00:33:35] Speaker C: Oh. [00:33:36] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:33:37] Speaker B: This is very unnecessary. All that being said, it's super fun. [00:33:43] Speaker A: What I like about this is, oh, this is a raving psycho. [00:33:47] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:33:47] Speaker A: And that's what the plot is. He's just nuts. [00:33:52] Speaker C: And this particular actor whose name I couldn't find, I swear, at one point in an earlier podcast, I had found this actor's name, but I couldn't dig it up again. He played these kind of lunatics over and over again in Orson Welles era Shadow. [00:34:06] Speaker A: He wasn't the one in that shadow. [00:34:08] Speaker B: The Mad Bomber guy? [00:34:09] Speaker A: Yeah, the Mad Bomber. He was. So it's the same guy. [00:34:11] Speaker C: Same guy, yeah. He's in another one called the Poison Death plays basically the same crazy character, slightly different tones and colors and shades to his craziness. He kind of keeps it together a little more in this one than he does in others. It's not till the end when he throws himself into the well of baths that he goes into full lunatic. [00:34:31] Speaker A: Oh, I don't know when the Shadow first appears. [00:34:35] Speaker D: You're the shadow. [00:34:38] Speaker A: He's terrified of him. [00:34:40] Speaker B: In my ongoing keeping track of how well people know the Shadow as we listen to episodes, this guy knew the Shadow better than most people. [00:34:47] Speaker C: I felt like. Yeah. And he understood his powers, too, that they were a form of mesmerism. It wasn't a supernatural attack. [00:34:53] Speaker A: Yeah, he was very well read. There's a lot of shadows where they're like, who are you? [00:34:57] Speaker B: Well, the average reaction is like, oh, yeah, right. [00:35:03] Speaker E: Shadow. [00:35:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:04] Speaker C: So you're just invisible. All right, well, I'm going to keep doing my crime. You keep watching me. [00:35:14] Speaker B: And this was, I think, the first time in an episode of the Shadow I've heard where he discussed the shadow, acknowledging that I am the Shadow in my role as the Shadow. [00:35:28] Speaker C: Cause usually it's a. [00:35:30] Speaker B: The shadow will be there. [00:35:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:35:32] Speaker B: As if he were somehow still fooling Margot. [00:35:35] Speaker C: Speaking of Margot, there is some of the most incredibly enthusiastic active listening acting from Margo Stevenson. When Lamont's explaining this all to her at the beginning and she's like, oh, yes, I see. [00:35:51] Speaker A: Yes. Like I'm doing to you right now. Huh? [00:35:57] Speaker C: Huh? [00:35:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [00:35:58] Speaker C: I'm not tuning out. [00:36:00] Speaker A: I will. [00:36:00] Speaker C: I'm totally listening to you. [00:36:01] Speaker A: I'm gonna. It's interesting you brought that up, because I noticed that it is a huge pet peeve of mine that forced active listening, and I'm gonna veer a little. I swear. I'll get back to this plot. I love Antiques Roadshow. [00:36:21] Speaker E: But. [00:36:24] Speaker A: When they're talking to people and going, well, what you have here. And they start telling me the act of listening by these people is overwhelmingly crazy. Huh? Oh, okay. And I scream at my television, you don't have to respond to everything he's saying to you. Oh, okay. Oh, is that so? Shut up. So when I heard this and went, there it is again, the same old. [00:36:52] Speaker C: She just wanted to make sure she kept this job. When Agnes Moorehead came back, she's like, I'm gonna just act my socks off. [00:36:59] Speaker A: Huh? Yes. Yeah, that's true. [00:37:01] Speaker C: I see. So what I hear you saying is I do. Like in the Orson Welles era of the shadow, the writers give him that really melodramatic, pulpy dialogue where he speaks in a poetic manner meant to terrify his adversaries. The grotto shall be full of shadows. The shadows of the living and the shadows of the dead. He's just kind of filibustering at that point. Piffle spouting. [00:37:37] Speaker A: They're looking at a clock on the wall three minutes in the broadcast. [00:37:42] Speaker B: And I never felt so terrified about the prospect of a blowout on the highway. [00:37:49] Speaker A: Did you catch what he said when he said, there's a. Hey, there's a man on the side of the road. And he said, do you stay in the car? And I don't remember the phrase he used, but it could be a heist tactic. [00:38:02] Speaker C: Yeah, basically like carjacking. Carjacking. But he used an older term like a highway robbery. It wasn't that either, but no, I. [00:38:08] Speaker A: Can'T remember the term, but it made me realize how many old time radio shows delve into that topic of trucks, truckers, or people being duped to stopping their car and then robbed or killed or their car stolen? It seemed like a bigger epidemic back then than it is now. I don't know, but I found. [00:38:32] Speaker C: We'll have to dig into the numbers and get back to our listeners. [00:38:36] Speaker A: I don't even know how you dig into that number. [00:38:39] Speaker C: I'll just Google. Google. Yeah. [00:38:40] Speaker A: Okay. [00:38:40] Speaker C: Carjacking, 1938. [00:38:45] Speaker B: This also in my. [00:38:46] Speaker E: I'm. [00:38:46] Speaker B: I'm gonna stop with my ongoing shadow facts. But yeah, another animal killed. Another shadow kills another animal. [00:38:53] Speaker C: Yeah. When Margos is just like, kill it, kill it. The bat. [00:38:57] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the bat. For some reason, because it was a vampire bat. I looked at you quizzically because I wasn't what animal? That's not an animal, it's a vampire bat. And then I was, oh, that's an animal. [00:39:09] Speaker C: That's an animal. [00:39:11] Speaker A: To me, that was the monster. [00:39:12] Speaker C: It's so hard to capture bat noises because it does sound like he's just kissing the bat because the badge is. [00:39:18] Speaker A: Like, yep. [00:39:27] Speaker C: Margo, we should leave this bat in. This bat in peace. He just pulled over to the side of the road with his bat. [00:39:37] Speaker A: Oh, the old ran out of gas trick, eh? [00:39:43] Speaker B: I could just fly. No, no, run out of gas. [00:39:50] Speaker C: Also, this continues the trend with Orson Welles where he is in some ways one of the most powerful shadows, because he does. He speaks again in here of reading the thoughts in Dr. Bicker's mind. His reeling thought thoughts beating against his brain like the black wings of his destroyers. All that melodramatic stuff. But then also he gets thwarted by someone just locking a door behind him. [00:40:16] Speaker A: Yes, follow me down here, shadow. And I was like, why can't he follow him down there? And I'm like, oh, he locked the door. [00:40:25] Speaker B: I gotta go wake up concussion boy and see if he knows another way. [00:40:28] Speaker C: And I love how the shadow sort of covers for himself. He's like, no, no, no, I tried the door while you were unconscious. So presumably there's a cut scene of the shadow just going. [00:40:40] Speaker A: Or while he's going down the hall, why don't you just jump? Grabbing the women, jump on him, punch him, you know, like, there's plenty of time to stop this or get through the door before he shuts it. He can't see you. So there was a lot of that. [00:40:56] Speaker C: I have the idea that he's tried that in the past and he ends up getting his foot shut in the door or his hand, and he's just learned it awkwardly. His trench coat is stuck. [00:41:09] Speaker A: Not going through that again. [00:41:11] Speaker C: It does have this slightly sad quality about it. [00:41:15] Speaker B: I mean, all of this, as much as we are poking a little fun, it. It's part of the fun. [00:41:21] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. I mean, this kind of stuff, we've said this before, it's easy to pick apart, but you don't listen to it for those yes, yeah. Reasons. You listen to it for the action and the pace and the huge scary jump scares and the over the top psychotic acting. [00:41:48] Speaker C: And you basically know how each of these are going to end. And yet I know some listeners are rolling their eyes and going, yes, but it's just all the little details as it goes, both that are ridiculous, but some that are really dark. As the Orson Welles era does get, like the psychological torture that Vickers wants to induce in the two women when he's saying, well, instead of counting to 10, hold hands and walk into the dark while I count to a number. You won't even know when. [00:42:21] Speaker A: Right. [00:42:22] Speaker C: Also getting off on it. [00:42:23] Speaker A: Well, also getting off on. It's really fascinating to watch people react as they are learning they're about to die. But it's also cool. Cool. I don't know. It's a terrible word. Makes me sound like a horrible person. But it's a really cool psychological thriller to have this person be someone that is in it. Just to watch people's faces as they. The fear. [00:42:50] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:42:51] Speaker A: The feeding off their fear. The Shadow did hand out some really healthy advice during this episode for anybody going up against the Shadow or anything. Psychotic, mastermind, killer. You. You should have had an automatic pistol. [00:43:09] Speaker C: I thought that was a great line. And you could tell it was the Shadow getting him back for that door. [00:43:16] Speaker A: Right. [00:43:17] Speaker C: Because he's. I will snap your arm off. He's like, right, you know what? You made me look stupid in front of the guy who was making out with a bat. [00:43:26] Speaker A: In my head. He put his finger so the hammer wouldn't go down. [00:43:29] Speaker C: Yep. [00:43:30] Speaker A: I wanted to just hear a click. [00:43:34] Speaker C: Son of a. Ow. [00:43:35] Speaker A: Okay, well, had to do it. [00:43:39] Speaker C: And he also took out some of his frustrations on the fiance by punching him in the face. [00:43:46] Speaker A: Yes. Sorry I had to do that. Was the other thing made me laugh is he's knocked him out. He's still explaining to him that he's sorry. [00:43:52] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:43:52] Speaker A: Who are you talking to? Sorry I had to do that to you. [00:43:56] Speaker B: I know. You just had a head injury a little earlier. [00:43:58] Speaker C: Right. [00:43:59] Speaker A: Again with the head injuries. [00:44:02] Speaker C: It's also interesting, and she might have just been bluffing that Margot tells Vickers that, well, you can shoot us or throw us into the well of the bats, but the Shadow is gonna kill you. [00:44:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:14] Speaker C: Which you believe more of this version of the Shadow because he does. I don't know that he actually is ever portrayed in any of these as directly murdering somebod. [00:44:26] Speaker A: He's the one where the guy died in the electrical. Now I'm gonna struggle. [00:44:30] Speaker C: He'll do something like, be careful. Oh, yeah, he died. [00:44:34] Speaker A: Right. [00:44:35] Speaker C: But it's a really half hearted like, oh, don't step off that ledge. [00:44:39] Speaker A: Yeah. The guy that fell from the electrical wires or something like that. And he was like, oh, too bad. You could have stopped you. But I didn't. [00:44:47] Speaker C: Yeah. But I'm talking about a failure of action is not quite as direct as I'm going to fill you full of lead. I'm going to pick you up and throw you off this building. He doesn't do any direct action like that in the radio shows. In the pulps. He would. [00:45:01] Speaker A: Good luck with that argument in court. Failure of action is responsibility. [00:45:07] Speaker C: It is. But Margot and this one suggested a more direct action on his. [00:45:12] Speaker A: And this one. He didn't do anything. This guy decided to kill himself. [00:45:17] Speaker C: He'd rather do that than hang. [00:45:18] Speaker A: Yeah, he. So he just ran into a cave. [00:45:21] Speaker C: Full of bats or a bottomless pit full of bats. Full of bats. Which doesn't even make sense. [00:45:25] Speaker A: I could not. One of the things I had an issue with is the inability of the writing to create the space. I was unable to really see where we were. I got really confused about where we were. And then there's these cave of bats is just in a hole in the wall to their right. You know what I mean? And then he just ran in there and died. And I couldn't quite figure that out. [00:45:48] Speaker C: In the house was sort of built into some kind of moun or in. And what's the word they use? Grotto. So there's some sort of cave that exists. [00:45:58] Speaker B: Every time I hear the word grotto. [00:45:59] Speaker C: I think tiki bar. [00:46:00] Speaker B: Which I know is not what these bats were in. [00:46:02] Speaker A: So. Nice polonaise room. [00:46:04] Speaker C: Yeah. A grotto is just a cozy small cave. If I'm understanding. Yeah. Like a tiki bar. So I'm assuming this door went out into this cave. And that at the entrance of the cave, at the opening of the cave, not the entrance was this bottomless pit. [00:46:21] Speaker A: So when he ran out, he ran into the pit. So he jumped into the pit. [00:46:27] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. [00:46:27] Speaker A: That it was bottomless. [00:46:29] Speaker C: Yeah. Or not bottomless. I mean they couldn't find a bottom. [00:46:31] Speaker B: Right. [00:46:31] Speaker C: Put the kite straight. [00:46:32] Speaker A: But instead of that, the. The scream fall like ah. You know what I mean? It was just like ah. Like he was being attacked. So it seemed like a flatter surface. I am really losing it here. [00:46:43] Speaker C: I got the feeling that it was more one of those like this scream that says I'm gonna do this. [00:46:49] Speaker A: Okay, okay. [00:46:51] Speaker C: Three screams for me. Throws himself into the face. Thank you for back writing it also. Which is a great moment directorially in here. I don't think we get to the end of the scream. Cause it just does a cut to Lamont. Yes. Tickling the ivories. And I love that cut. [00:47:08] Speaker A: And how about the fact he's playing the piano and then slams some dynamite down on the keys. You're just carrying that around? [00:47:14] Speaker C: Oh no. I think he just made the sound to say dynam. [00:47:17] Speaker A: He said because of this. Bam. [00:47:19] Speaker C: And she goes, dynamite. She went like, oh, that's your dynamite keyboard. I thought he was playing move. [00:47:25] Speaker A: Like, he just whipped out a stick of dynamite and slammed it on the keyboard. [00:47:31] Speaker C: No, I don't think. [00:47:32] Speaker B: Killing many more bats and probably making a real problem with the insect population in the area. The whole biome is. [00:47:40] Speaker A: Yeah, there's got to be no insects in this part of the country. [00:47:44] Speaker C: I also think the Shadow, particularly in this era, is always like, a great example of a good bad script. As in, it does things you shouldn't do, but gets away with it just out of a sheer, I don't know, willpower or verve. But the level of exposition at the top of this, with the Slavic, the couple who have been brought in to sort of share their superstitions with the family, there's so much at the top. They tell you all the backstory, everything. But they do it with such urgency. And there's thunder and there's dogs howling, and it just seems very gripping and exciting. Even though it's a clunky exposition. [00:48:31] Speaker A: Right. [00:48:32] Speaker C: At least to my ears, I'm like, ooh, it was. It just tells me, like. And then the Shadow's gonna come and break it all up. [00:48:38] Speaker A: It still always begs the question, what are Lamont and Margot doing all day? Like, what do they do? Just driving around, reading obituaries, going to the next thing. It's unbelievable. Incredibly wealthy and how quickly they can find crazy crap. [00:48:54] Speaker C: They'd be creating social media platforms today instead of money. They're bored out of their minds. Margot also is incredibly feisty in this one. [00:49:05] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:49:05] Speaker C: She just barges straight in posing as this young woman's college roommate and just holds her own. [00:49:15] Speaker B: I also got the vibe, I mean, it was hilarious to me of how quickly this mad scientist who was trying to cover up this crime, just like, you came here. You get to know my plan. It's fine. But to that point of Margot, of. It's ambiguous to me how much she was afraid of the situation and how much was like, my invisible boyfriend's in here and he's gonna kill you. [00:49:40] Speaker A: Yeah, right. [00:49:41] Speaker C: You get the sense that she's sure hoping that would be really annoying. Like, I never know when he's here. [00:49:47] Speaker A: You would think in these scenarios that he would give her peace of mind by just going over and giving her a secret tap on the shoulder. [00:49:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:49:56] Speaker A: To let her know, hey. [00:49:57] Speaker C: But then she just jumps and screams, don't do that. A wet willy. [00:50:03] Speaker A: I'm just impressed she never says Lamont. I mean, Shadow. [00:50:07] Speaker C: There was one episode where she did that. I swear we've done it on the podcast where she slips and then the Shadow has to essentially let the guy die. That's right. [00:50:17] Speaker B: This is on you, Margot. [00:50:20] Speaker A: Final thoughts. [00:50:22] Speaker B: I mean, I know the day will come, either of my own on we or whatever. I listen to an episode of the Shadow and go, meh. It's okay, but it's exactly the set. [00:50:35] Speaker C: Of a good bad script of they. [00:50:37] Speaker B: Did so much stuff wrong in this and I love them for it. [00:50:41] Speaker A: I will say that this is a classic of the Shadow. This is a top 10. I mean, I don't have them ranked, but this is a really good. It's a really good episode of the Shadow. It has every element that you want from this show and that you're expecting from the show. And it's terrifying and gripping and crazy and awesome. It was awesome. [00:51:07] Speaker C: Yeah. It's not a classic for me. I do like my Shadows a little weirder and I think that tells you how weird the Shadow gets because this is plenty weird in spots. But yeah, I agree with Eric in that it. It stands the test of Time for sure as a fun romp that just checks all the spooky boxes that makes it just a really great, seasonally appropriate slice of pulpy goodness. [00:51:36] Speaker B: I wouldn't say classic, but it's so good. It stands the test of Time in that it says its weirdness and joy. It does not softened over the years. [00:51:49] Speaker A: Tim Tellem stuff. [00:51:50] Speaker B: Go visit ghoulishlights.com if you like. You can find all kinds of stuff there. You can find our store if you'd like some swag. You can get a coffee cup or some other clothing with our logo on it. That's a pretty good merchandising sale. Get apparel with our logo. You'll also find a link to our Patreon page. [00:52:13] Speaker C: Yes, go to patreon.com themorals and support this podcast. Come on, people, join us. We have all kinds of great bonus content on the Patreon site. We have bonus podcasts. So many. At this point, I think we've got to be up to about a hundred of bonus podcasts. At least, if not more than that. We have Zoom Happy Hours. We have a Zoom Book Club. We have Discord. We can hang out with other fans of old time radio and morals. We're working on our Grotto. [00:52:47] Speaker B: That would be awesome. [00:52:48] Speaker C: But I would love to hang out in the Grotto with you. [00:52:51] Speaker A: And the mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Theater Company does recreations of classic old Time radio shows and a lot of our own original work live on stage. You can find out where we're performing and what we're performing and how to get tickets monthly by just going to ghoulishdelights.com and there you'll be able to see all that and get a ticket. If you can get a ticket to come see us performing radio drama on stage, become a Patreon. And we record the audio of those live performances. And that is another. Yet another Patreon perk. What is coming up next? [00:53:29] Speaker C: Next, because we really weren't sure which episode would land closer to Halloween. We have another spooky offering for you. And that is Taboo from Escape. Until then, who are you? [00:53:44] Speaker E: The Shadow. Dr. Vickers. [00:53:47] Speaker A: You're the Shadow. [00:53:49] Speaker D: Good.