Episode 413: The Corridor of Doom

[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. [00:00:35] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:00:36] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:37] 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. [00:00:42] Speaker A: Today we present an episode of my choosing, the Corridor of Doom from Inner Sanctum Mystery, starring horror icon Boris Karloff. Inner Sanctum Mystery was created by Hyman Brown, one of the great storytellers of the golden age of radio. Brown's career spanned eight decades and a diverse range of genres, from his adaptation of comic strip hero Dick tracy to his 1970s revival of radio drama. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. [00:01:11] Speaker B: Inner Sanctum ran on NBC from January 1941 to October 1952 and featured one of horror radio's most iconic hosts, Raymond Edward Johnson, known simply as Raymond. His ghoulish jokes and horrendous puns were a technique borrowed from a genre of French theater known as Grand Guignol, which famously blended horror and comedy to create a shocking hot and cold shower effect. [00:01:33] Speaker C: In 1945, Raymond left the series, replaced by Broadway actor Paul McGrath, known simply as Mr. Host. McGrath carried on the tradition of painful puns, briefly teaming up with Lipton Tea spokeswoman Mary Bennett to create one of old time radio's strangest comedy duos. [00:01:52] Speaker A: So now let's listen to the Corridor of Doom from Inner Sanctum mystery, first broadcast Oct. 23, 1945. [00:02:01] 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. [00:02:21] Speaker D: Lipton tea and lipton soup present inner sanctum mysteries starring boris karloff. Good evening, friends of the Inner Sanctum. This is your host. Welcome again through the squeaking door to another session of mystery murder and madness. Oh, excuse me if I don't get up, but I'm all worn out. Yes, I've had a hectic few days with an old friend who just blew into town. He's one of those earnest souls who insists on doing everything for himself. Consultations with the monument makers, the grave diggers, fittings of the coffin maker. Yes, quite a busy body. But then we only die once. You know, [00:03:23] Speaker E: these friends of yours, they're such unhappy people. They never seem to enjoy life, never seem interested in any of the quiet, peaceful, good things of life. For instance, what's the use of telling one of your spooky characters about Lipton tea. They wouldn't like it, but other people enjoy that brisk Lipton flavor. They settle back in an easy chair and say to themselves, mmm, Lipton certainly has a rich, hearty flavor. Never the least bit wishy washy. No siree. But would a ghost appreciate Lipton's? Indeed he would not. And it's lucky Lipton's is made for real live folks who like good things, or else it wouldn't be the world's largest selling brand of tea. [00:04:03] Speaker D: Mary, you've been very hard on my friends. Very. And they won't like it. But then, most live folks don't enjoy being scared to death. And that's just what's going to happen to you tonight. Our story is called the Corridor of Doom. It's an original radio play written by Robert Newman. And our story, the star tonight is a man who gives even me the shakes, the famous star of stage, screen and radio, Boris Karloff. Have you thought about death lately? Not the fact that it's inevitable that it must come to all of us someday, but rather how it will come. Do you think of it as a sleep and awaking of a sudden transition from one state of being to another or to a state of non being? John Clay was one of those people who never thought about it at all until he found himself walking down that dim and endless passage which. But suppose we let Boris Karloff in the role of John Clay, tell you about it himself. If your blood pressure will take it, put out the lights and come on a little trip down the corridor of Doom. [00:05:21] Speaker F: When I woke up, I had no idea of where I was or how I'd gotten there. I was lying on a hard white bed in a clean white room. There was a dull pain in my abdomen. Touching it tentatively, I felt a bandage. So that was it, an operation. [00:05:43] Speaker E: But for what? [00:05:45] Speaker F: And where was I? At that moment, the door opened and she came in. Good afternoon. Or is it evening? [00:05:57] Speaker E: Whichever you prefer. It doesn't matter. [00:06:00] Speaker F: My name's Clay. John Clay. Yes, and yours? [00:06:06] Speaker E: You can call me Neda. [00:06:08] Speaker F: Exactly where am I? In what hospital? [00:06:12] Speaker E: It has no name. [00:06:13] Speaker F: What? That's ridiculous. I'd like to speak to Dr. Rogers, if you'll get him for me, please. [00:06:20] Speaker E: There is no Dr. Rogers, at least not here. [00:06:25] Speaker F: Then who operated on me? And for what? Listen, I'm not a well man. I've a very bad heart. Will you get someone who can talk to me? [00:06:36] Speaker E: If you wish, I'll call Dr. Stone. [00:06:45] Speaker F: A chill crept through My bones. It wasn't cold. It was fear. Unreasoning and abysmal fear. The door opened again and there stood a heavy set man, his hair flecked with gray. And with him, my son in law, Alex Bartlett. Alec, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you. Hello, father. But why are you standing out there? Why don't you come in? Oh, no, no. I shouldn't advise it, Mr. Clay. And why not? And why Was it you who operated on me? Yes, I'm Dr. Stone. Why wasn't Dr. Rogers called in? He's taken care of me for years. There wasn't time. It happened during the night. Acute appendicitis. And even as it was. Even as it was what? And why are you dressed that way, Alec, all in black? Well, it's customary. After all, you are my father in law. Of course I am. But. Now look, Alec, you've got to stop being so mysterious. You know about my heart, what any sudden shock will do. I don't think you need worry about that anymore, Mr. Clerk. And as far as the mystery is concerned, this initial period of adjustment is always a little difficult. Difficult? Do you realize what it's like lying here helpless, Completely isolated. As if I were all alone in the world? Or isn't there someone I can talk to? Some of the other patients? Not just yet. When the time comes, you'll meet them. But look, doctor, I can't stand much more of this. I can't. If I don't find someone who really cares about me, who'll treat me like a normal human being. My dog. How about my dog? What do you think, doctor? Yes, that's possible. We'll see what we can do, Mr. Clay. Come along, Bartlett. Goodbye, Father. You. You'll be back, won't you, Alec? I don't know. I'll try, but it's difficult. Very difficult. Then. Then don't go, Alec. Don't leave me here all alone. Come back. Come back. I waited and watched. Watched and waited. Then the door opened and there was the doctor again. There was a small, thin faced man with him this time. Wearing the white coat of an orderly and carrying a black box with a handle. My dog. You brought my dog. All right, Martin, give it to him. Yes, sir. Thank heaven. Now at least. Come on, Carrie. Come on, boy. Get up. Wake up, boy. What's the matter, Carrie? He. He's not asleep. He's dead. You wanted him, Mr. Clay, but. But why didn't you tell me? When did he die? How. How old was he? Eleven. And a half, maybe 12. Pretty old for a dog. That's probably why he could come. What do you mean? What are you trying to do to me? Don't you realize I'm a sick man? Easy. Easy, mister. I won't take it easy. I won't stay here another minute. I'm leaving right now. Sor. I don't think we can permit. Oh, well, we'll see about that. You're getting yourself all upset for no reason, Mr. Clay, making it very difficult for the rest of us. Martin, you'd better let me have some of that. That bottle there. About 10 cc's. The red medicine. Yes. I. I don't want any medicine. I won't take it. Now, please, Mr. Clay. I won't, I tell you. No, I. I don't want the. [00:10:34] Speaker D: I. [00:10:38] Speaker F: Oh, it's awful. Salty. Tastes like. Yes, but I think you'll find that it will make things much easier for you. Very much easier. You're doping me up. That's what you're doing. Putting me to sleep. You think that when I wake up I'll forget about everything. Yes, Mr. Clay, you forget about everything. Everything. I was somewhere deep down under the earth. It was a passageway. Stone flagged and with stone walls. And I was walking slowly down it in my bare feet. I could feel the chill of the coal stones through the thick layer of dust. The passageway stretched ahead of me endlessly. And suddenly I noticed that there were doors set into the walls on either side. Closed doors. And on each door there was a name. Abel. Abercrombie. Abingdon. Where was I? What was this place? What was behind those awful, ominously closed doors? Something seemed to be drawing me on. On down the terrible passageway. Addison. Agar. Alan. I could feel the cold creeping up my legs higher and higher, my heart pounding faster and faster. Then suddenly I knew. Knew where I was and where I was going. Knew what was waiting for me there, ahead of me down the passage. Exerting all my will, I turned, tried to come back with a roaring in my ears. I was falling through the darkness. [00:12:40] Speaker E: Falling. [00:12:41] Speaker F: Falling. When I opened my eyes, I was in that cold white room again, clutching the blankets with trembling hands. [00:12:55] Speaker E: How do you feel now, Mr. Clay? [00:12:57] Speaker F: You cried out, sir, as if a dream. The most awful, horrible nightmare I ever had. [00:13:03] Speaker E: A dream. The doctor will be very interested. Would you care to tell me all about it? [00:13:09] Speaker F: Oh, I don't even want to think about it. [00:13:11] Speaker E: It was about your former life. [00:13:14] Speaker F: Former life? [00:13:15] Speaker E: Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I meant here. [00:13:18] Speaker F: Where are you Going get my clothes to get out of here. I won't stay here. [00:13:21] Speaker E: You can't go. You can't. Martin, help me, please. [00:13:24] Speaker F: Don't you realize that if I do stay here, if I dream that dream again. Listen. I was in a passageway. An endless, eternal passageway. Like a corridor of doom. It stretched on and on to infinity, with doors, closed doors on either side. And on each one of the doors, in alphabetical order, was a name. The name of all those who had died since the beginning of time. I was walking down that corridor on my bare feet. And why? Why are you looking at me that way? [00:13:56] Speaker E: You mustn't talk about that. You mustn't, do you hear? But you ask me, you didn't dream that dream. You couldn't have. And you've got to get it out of your mind. We'll help you. We'll give you a massage that should make you relax. The alcohol, Martin. Right over there. [00:14:09] Speaker F: A massage. You think that'll help? [00:14:11] Speaker E: If it doesn't, we'll call Dr. Stone. Try something, El. [00:14:17] Speaker F: I see now. What? What are you staring at? Your feet on the soles. Dust. Thick gray dust. Dust like the dust in the passage. The corridor of doom. And that means it wasn't a dream. It means I was really there. [00:14:57] Speaker D: Dirty feet on those nice clean sheets. No wonder our friend the nurse seemed so upset. Or was that the reason? Maybe she was just disappointed that he still hadn't told her about his operation, as that always has them in stitches. Great big stitches like the ones they take in a shroud. [00:15:18] Speaker E: Mr. Host, I'm afraid I just can't believe this story. I can't believe that it really happened. [00:15:23] Speaker D: Is that so? Mary, do you think Mr. Clay got that gray dust in his feet because he has feet of clay? [00:15:30] Speaker F: Mm. [00:15:32] Speaker E: There you go again. Always looking on the discouraging side of things. I really do believe I'd rather talk to cheerful folk like those nice young men and women who sang that new Lipton tea song when I was at the studio. Sing a song of Liptons? Yes, that's the way people ought to feel about tea. Because you know when you're feeling discouraged or tired, there's nothing quite like that brisk flavor of Lipton tea to perk you up. Yes, brisk means that Lipton's is never wishy washy. No, no, no, siree, as they say in the song. So when you've had a busy afternoon, or maybe when friends drop in for a little talk, pour yourself a cup of cheer with brisk flavored Lipton tea. It's got a special flavor that always tastes like home. And it always tastes like more, too. [00:16:20] Speaker D: Well, now, I think it's about time to take another little walk. Yes, down the Corridor of Doom with our star, Boris Karloff. And by the way, don't be concerned about getting too tired because you'll only have to walk one way. That's the nice part of a trip like that. You don't have to worry about coming back. [00:16:46] Speaker F: I lay there staring down at my feet. No, it had not been a dream. There on my feet was the thick, heavy dust from the Corridor of Doom. I had been there, walking down its awful silence, not in my mind, but in the flesh. My heart clenched like an icy fist that I threw the blankets aside, started to get up. [00:17:11] Speaker E: Mr. Clay, what are you doing? Where are you going? [00:17:12] Speaker D: Let me go. [00:17:13] Speaker E: But you can't get up. You can't leave. Quick, help me, please. [00:17:16] Speaker F: Mr. Clay, I haven't seen. Let me go. Don't you realize what this means? If it wasn't a dream, and if I stay here, go down to that horrible place again. [00:17:24] Speaker E: Make him quiet down. Some more of that medicine, Martin. Another 10cc, right. [00:17:28] Speaker F: Oh, no. No more of that. It's here, Mr. Clay. [00:17:30] Speaker E: You must take it. You must. It will make you sleep. Sleep so soundly that you won't be able to go down there again. [00:17:36] Speaker F: Oh, all right. Give it to me. Here. [00:17:45] Speaker E: You stay here, Martin. I'll go get Dr. Stone and tell him. [00:17:52] Speaker F: Better, Mr. Clay? I don't know. The color. Dark red. The taste, it's like. Yes, I know. And it makes me sleepy. My eyes get heavy and. Have you been here for a long time, Martin? No, not long. What. What is it like outside of this room? It's strange, like no place else. And the other patients, what are they like? They're strange, too. Listen, Martin, I'm a rich man. You're the only friend I've got here. You. You've got to help me. Whether you're rich or poor doesn't matter. As for helping you, that's what I'm here for. You've got to stay here. Watch me every minute. My heart, I don't think it'll stand like. My first sensation was one of cold, numbing cold, creeping up my limbs. I reached for the blankets, couldn't find them. Then I opened my eyes and I was there again. Back there in that awful, endless passage, that corridor of doom. The same stone wall, stone floor covered with a thick layer of dust. The same doors with a name on each one, on both sides of Me. But now. Now I was up to the bees. That one there. Baba next with Babbitt and then Backer. I tried to cry out, but I couldn't utter a sound. I tried to stop, check myself. My muscles didn't respond. Slowly, heavily, I continued walking on down that endless passage. Past Badger, Baffin, Bagley, past the bees and towards the sea. Towards a door with my name on it. My heart pulsed, pounding with terror. My breath rasped in my throat. Convulsively. I clutched at the walls, forced myself completely around. Then, as if I were fighting against a roaring gale, I drove myself back. One step. I took two, three. And I stumbled and was falling again. Falling through darkness. Complete, absolute, unending. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew where I was. Back in my room, the sheets crumpled in my sweating hands. I lay there for a moment. I knew that this was my last chance. I knew where I was. Back in my room, the sheets crumpled in my sweating hands. Slipped out of bed, tiptoe to the door of the room, opened at a crack and peered out a hospital corridor. And sitting at a desk halfway down at the nurse. Could I slip past her There not a table next to the door, I saw the telephone. A telephone. Now I could get help. Was it someone who would save me? Take me out of this place? Picking it up quietly, I dialed my daughter's number. Alec Bartlett's wife. [00:21:32] Speaker E: Hello? [00:21:33] Speaker F: Jane? Oh, thank. Hello? Jane, it's your father. Listen, you've got to help me. You've got to come and get me. I'm at the hospital. Alex knows where. Yes, can't you hear me? Didn't you hear what I said? It's your father and Jane. Jane hung up. I heard her, but she couldn't hear me. Something wrong with the phone. Her phone. I've got to get hold of somebody. Somebody? But who? Dr. Rogers might be out. If they come in while I'm phoning. Oh, I know, of course. Police headquarters, Ryan speaking. Hello, police? This is John Clay of Riverside Road. I'm at a hospital. I don't know where. Can't you hear me? Officer, for heaven's sake, listen. It's a matter of life and death. John Clay at a hospital. My son in law, Alec Bartlett, can tell you where. [00:22:27] Speaker E: Hello, Officer. [00:22:28] Speaker F: Officer, Listen, don't hang up. Don't. [00:22:30] Speaker E: Officer. [00:22:31] Speaker F: Officer. Hello? Anything the matter, Mr. Clay? Dr. Stone, your telephone. There's. There's something wrong with it. No, Mr. Clay, there's nothing wrong. Not with the telephone. But I tried to make two calls. Two different numbers, and. I know. And you should have known, Nurse. [00:22:58] Speaker D: All of a. [00:22:58] Speaker F: Should have known what? Why couldn't they hear me when I could hear them? Why. [00:23:02] Speaker E: Yes, Dr. Stone, will you put Mr. [00:23:04] Speaker F: Clay back into bed? No, I'm awfully sorry, sir. I only went out for a minute. Come on, Mr. Clay. No. No. Leave me alone. Please. Let go. [00:23:10] Speaker D: No. [00:23:10] Speaker F: You're struggling. You know that, don't you? Yes, I know, [00:23:17] Speaker D: Doctor. [00:23:19] Speaker F: I won't have to go back down there again, will I? Down to the corridor. That's not up to me. All right, Nurse. I think we're ready for another dose. The final one. [00:23:30] Speaker E: Yes, Doctor. [00:23:32] Speaker F: No knock, sir? No. Not that red medicine. Not again. I'm sorry, but you've had a lot of time. All the time we can give you. [00:23:39] Speaker E: All right, Mr. Clare. [00:23:40] Speaker F: I won't take it. You know what it means, Doctor. Why go back down there again to the corridor? It'll be to the letter C, to the place where my name is, if he won't take it by himself. Perhaps you'd better help her, Martin. Yes. No. No. No, I won't. Again. I knew where I was before I opened my eyes. I could feel the dust under my bare feet. And through the dust, the biting chill of the cold stones. I was there, back in the corridor, walking down its silent lengths, past the blank closed doors, for the names on the doors now, they were All Seas. Cabot, Cadden, Cahoon. On I walked, the beating of my heart, the pounding of my pulse loud in my ears, on down the passage, no longer even trying to fight against what I knew was an endless on past Cameron, Chelsea, Chiswick. And then, suddenly, terribly, one door. A door with my name on it, gaping, waiting for me. I tried to stop, to turn, but my legs carried me forward. I was but two doors away. I could see into it now, see that it contained nothing, Absolutely nothing. Not even a coffin. Just stone walls and a flat stone stab. I was turning, turning to step over the threshold. I made a last convulsive eff. Merciful heavens, help me. Save me. All right, Martin, pick him up. Yes, sir. Is it all over? Hello, Bartlett. In at the death, eh? I'll see if there's any pulse, of course, but I should think it is all over. It is stone, but not the way you think. What? Clay? He's not dead. No thanks to you. All right, get him up, both of you. Here, Mr. Clay, let me help you. All right, Martin. I'll be fine from now on. But how? Don't look so surprised, Alec. Mr. Martin is a detective. I hired him some time Ago. You see, I had a feeling that something was wrong when that railing broke accidentally and I took that bad fall. So I decided I should investigate. You can't prove it. You can't prove anything. The first results of Martin's investigation showed me what bad financial shape you were in. And it was then that I realized that you had actually been trying to murder me to get hold of my money. So I faked that story of having a very bad heart. You mean it? I thought it would give you the idea of trying something more subtle and less dangerous. And it certainly did. But you still can't prove anything. [00:26:32] Speaker D: Not a thing. No. [00:26:33] Speaker F: Don't you worry about that. Don't forget. Come back here, Bartlett. You'll never have a chance to prove it. [00:26:37] Speaker D: Come back. [00:26:37] Speaker F: Bart. You shot him. Killed him. Well, I haven't. I couldn't have. I fired up in the air to get him to stop. Come on. I don't understand. Not a mark on him. But he is dead. He was the one who had the bad heart. That's what gave me the idea of preten. Good heavens. Look at what this hallway was supposed to be. The corridor of doom. When I reached the door with my name on it, I was supposed to die. Look. Look at the name on that door there. The one right next to him. Bartlett. His name. So what? Nothing, Martin. Nothing at all. [00:27:45] Speaker D: Now, where do you think old Dr. Stone got the idea for that little alphabetical graveyard that's right for me, huh? You don't believe me? Then come on home with me tonight and I'll show you the one in the cellar of my house. What's more, I'll show you a door and a neat stone slab with your name on it. [00:28:07] Speaker E: Nonsense, Mr. Host. Mr. Clay just explained that the whole thing was a hoax, and I'm not going to sit here and hear you say otherwise. [00:28:14] Speaker D: Well, then don't sit. Stand up and we'll take a walk. Mary Bennett. Yes. Back to your name. Back to the bees. Baker, Bartlett, Bennett. [00:28:26] Speaker E: You don't scare me. [00:28:27] Speaker D: Yeah, well, how would you like it if we went to the elves and found a door marked Lipton? [00:28:32] Speaker E: Oh, why, that's fine. Inside we'd find a wonderful, friendly beverage. Lipton's, the tea with the brisk flavor. The tea that's welcome at all hours of the day. Yes, the largest selling brand of tea in the whole world, Lipton tea. [00:28:53] Speaker D: And now a word of advice. If you should wake up tonight with a sudden chill, find yourself walking barefoot down a dusty stone corridor with doors on both sides of it, don't get excited, just insist on a doom with a view. By the way, this month's Inner Sanctum mystery novel is the Whistling legs by Roman McDougall. Yes. In next week's Inner Sanctum story, directed by Hyman Brown and brought to you by Lipton Tea and Lipton Soup, next week's story is about women. Yes, two women who like to be treated rough. Choke em to death, shoot em, murder em. They love you for it. And who do you think is going to be their boyfriend? [00:29:41] Speaker F: Mmm. [00:29:42] Speaker D: Yeah, that's right. Boris Karloff. Boris Karloff will be with us again next week because who else could love such women? So if you're in a tender mood, tune in next Tuesday. Until then, good night. Pleasant dream, [00:30:17] Speaker E: Folks. It's wonderful how quick and easy cooking can be these days. I guess some of you remember when it used to take half a day to make a pot of chicken noodle soup, but now we have Lipton's noodle soup mix. You might say Lipton's takes no time at all to prepare and yet it has a fresh cooked chickeny taste. A real old fashioned homemade flavor. Yes. And it's brimful of tender golden egg noodles. Lipton's is grand for quick meals and it's also a perfect beginning for the most elaborate dinner. So don't forget to serve Lipton's noodle soup and don't forget to tune in next Tuesday night for another Inner Sanctum Mystery. [00:31:11] Speaker D: This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System. [00:31:20] Speaker A: That was the corridor of doom from Inner Sanctum Mystery here on the mysterious old Radio Listening Society podcast once again. I'm Eric. [00:31:30] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:31:31] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:31:32] Speaker A: That was my pick. I brought this this week. I don't know, there was a thing that. You're gonna make so much fun of me right now. [00:31:41] Speaker B: Idiot. [00:31:42] Speaker C: I just got ahead of it. [00:31:44] Speaker A: Inner Sanctum did a thing once where they were celebrating something. Ended three in a row with Boris Karloff. [00:31:50] Speaker C: Yes. [00:31:50] Speaker A: Is this one of them? Do we know? Was that intersected or was it even Inner Sanctum? [00:31:56] Speaker C: Lights Out. [00:31:56] Speaker A: That was lights out. [00:31:57] Speaker C: But clearly Inner Sanctum did it as well because we have this as an example and he has been in other Inner Sanctum episodes. [00:32:05] Speaker A: That's something I could have looked up before starting recording and not just asked you. But that was a lot easier. [00:32:11] Speaker B: Makes it seem like we're having a conversation. [00:32:13] Speaker A: Yes, well, we are because I don't do any damn work. Just ask you guys. [00:32:17] Speaker C: Speaking of conversations, I'd like to talk about how little work you. [00:32:23] Speaker A: What was that so, you know my love of Karloff, I think he's a tremendous actor on screen and on radio. I was really attracted to this for the following reasons. One, I love the Lipton tea lady, Ann Raymond so much. They are phenomenal and interesting and bizarre. And this is a LIPTON Tea Lady 1. So I'm always happy when that happens. Second, there is something about his delivery and his voice and his just everything that I'm not sure I'm about to find out. I think this was really good. I do. But I'm not sure because that man could just read the phone book and I'd be like, mmm, that was really good. But I think it was incredibly suspenseful and had me on edge. And I was worried for him, you know, and didn't know quite what was going on. And I enjoyed that. But I may have been misled just by that soothing blanket of a voice. God almighty. I love listening to him perform. Anyway, so that is why I brought it. [00:33:37] Speaker C: Swept off your feet by Boris Karloff. [00:33:39] Speaker A: Damn right I am. So I'm very curious to hear. [00:33:44] Speaker C: I think it is serendipitous that this comes on the heels of Dark Fantasy. Yeah, this is one of the more Scott Bishop esque inner Sanctums that I remember hearing. Yeah, it leaves a lot unexplained when [00:34:02] Speaker A: we talk about Scott Bishop and Dark Fantasy and the dreamlike quality. I get it. But this was more focused of that genre. [00:34:11] Speaker C: It's formal in style. Whereas I do think Scott Bishop feels like a real dream. There's no structure at all. It is just kind of a cascade of images. So, yes, this has a more formal structure to it. It has a repeated structure. That's where I thought it got a little inert to my taste. And one of the things I like from Inner Sanctum is its escalatory nature. It keeps notching up. And this one covered the same ground over and over again and then kind of made up for it by having an utterly gonzo bat poop crazy, like, last four minutes. That made me go, wait, what? [00:34:51] Speaker A: Right. [00:34:52] Speaker B: It is interesting that there are characters in place there actively arguing to him that this is normal. For as disturbing as the dreamlike qualities of it are, there's a voice in place that is arguing against that, which I think makes it different again than the Scott Bishop, that there is a way to navigate this. That is if you do this and you don't do this, you'll be fine. Even though it is really strongly implying both the conspiracy between the author and these characters, that this is the great beyond. And that I, as a listener and Boris Karloff as a character, are struggling to come to grips with. Like, I've gone way off topic. I'm so grateful for the both of you right now looking at me as though like, we're really struggling to understand what you're saying. [00:35:42] Speaker C: I'm writing a grocery list of my. [00:35:47] Speaker B: But to struggle for and against. All right. This is death. This is the waiting room for death. This is Whatever part of the dying experience should I just like, okay, so I'll just walk down the hall and find my name and be dead. [00:36:01] Speaker C: Or. [00:36:01] Speaker B: If I'm not going to do that. If I want to fight against this growing sense of this is my impending death, what do I do? I'm stuck in a hospital where I don't know anyone. [00:36:11] Speaker C: And that's the tension that was appealing to you. Yes. Like, what other recourse does he have? [00:36:17] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, exactly. There is a certain inertness, and that's. It worked for me. That was part of his challenge as a character, is I'm stuck. And if I stay stuck, I'm gonna die. [00:36:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:31] Speaker C: And that's where the dreamlight quality comes for him to just have this instant knowledge of the red medicine that tastes salty. Kind of like. Yes. He says it twice, and they cut him off before he can say what it is. And then he quickly. [00:36:47] Speaker B: Salty Kool Aid. [00:36:48] Speaker C: Yes, I know. That's your view of the afterlife. I don't want to get into. Because if you say it denominational, the [00:36:56] Speaker B: Kool Aid will come breaking through the door, and you'll be free. [00:36:59] Speaker F: Oh, yeah. Ooh. [00:37:01] Speaker A: That would have been a great ending. [00:37:03] Speaker C: But he seems to instantly know the rules. [00:37:06] Speaker B: Yes. [00:37:06] Speaker C: That medicine, each time he gets it brings him closer to death. And, yes, it's because he's associating the. Moving down the alphabetized doors. Seems interesting that death uses the Alphabet, the English Alphabet, instead of, like, the Dewey Decimal System. I don't know what other system they would use. [00:37:26] Speaker B: Based on your birthday, based on, we're [00:37:29] Speaker C: going to arrange you by heights. I'm glad his last name was Clay. This would have been a long episode if it was like, Zellweger. [00:37:36] Speaker F: Oh, man. [00:37:37] Speaker B: Be here forever. [00:37:39] Speaker C: Oh. He has, like, CBS Radio Mystery Theater goes on and on and on. And now, Act 3 of the alphabetized Doors. What a cruel moment when they bring him his dog in a box. [00:37:59] Speaker A: Oh, God. Yeah, it's terrible. [00:38:04] Speaker C: And I was okay with that when I was willing to imagine that this was a supernatural happening. [00:38:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:14] Speaker C: And that his dog had Passed. But also, if he had, then wouldn't he have a little table with like a bowl of red medicine and be there with him? [00:38:23] Speaker B: Sets of doggy doors. [00:38:24] Speaker C: That, to me seems a clue that, okay, this is not the afterlife and did they kill your dog for a prop? [00:38:32] Speaker A: Right? [00:38:33] Speaker C: And ultimately, that's where it gets weird. This guy is having financial problems, and yet he could afford this expensive, elaborate hoax with alphabetized doors of every human who has ever died in the history of Earth. [00:38:53] Speaker A: I'm just thinking about each door having a little doggy door on it. But you know what it reminds me of is almost, you know, I've rewatched almost all of the 1960s Mission Impossible TV shows, and I love it when they build an entire couple of rooms and put a guy in it, and it's actually in the middle of a garage somewhere and the guy thinks he's on a train. That's one of my favorite ones where they've gone through so much elaborate stuff to create the illusion that this man is on a train. They're just outside rocking it and flay. You know what I mean? It reminded me of that. That's all I'm getting. [00:39:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I was trying to think of [00:39:36] Speaker C: more of these examples. [00:39:37] Speaker B: The one that comes to mind is V for Vendetta, where V creates this elaborate prison to make Evie thinks that she is a prisoner. Spoiler alert. [00:39:48] Speaker C: Just to be clear, I'm not criticizing it for the convoluted ending. It's what I like about Inner Sanctum. I guess my criticism would be more how long it took to get to that escalation. And it left very little time for it. It goes by so fast. I did have to go back and listen to it again to make sure I understood exactly what was happening. And I maybe still don't. [00:40:16] Speaker A: Well, that was the thing that I was gonna ask. Tell me what you think happened at the end of this. [00:40:20] Speaker B: It implies a lot of story, that which it did not hint at before this, to my knowledge of the elaborate nature of this plan, matched only by his elaborate plan to like, oh, someone's trying to kill me, I better fake a heart condition and hire a private detective to infiltrate. And I struggle now because I don't think it's clear, but infiltrate this elaborate, folks. [00:40:50] Speaker C: And he also was inspired to claim a weak heart by his son in law Alec's weak heart. And so suddenly when the curtain comes up and no, this isn't the afterlife. It's reality. The reality he describes as actually more surreal than the 20 minutes of surreal Afterlife. And so I think when I first listened to it, especially after Alec drops dead at his name on the door, which I'm like, Alex, don't put your name on one of the doors. [00:41:28] Speaker F: Right. [00:41:29] Speaker B: We think of like six different names that start with B. I have a B name. Let's use mine. [00:41:36] Speaker C: Oh, that's what confused me. And on a second listen I appreciated more and I wondered were they trying to imply that this is still part of the afterlife? Like your final entrance is some kind of victory or the dog comes out clapping slowly. I don't think that's what they intended. But I do like how everything is reversed there at the end. It's just makes no sense. Are we supposed to believe that the narration we've been hearing, the bafflement, the disorientation on his part, if that was all his elaborate ruse. But it doesn't seem like that. It seems like he could have confronted Alec right away as soon as his man shows up. Martin. [00:42:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:42:32] Speaker C: So as long as. As soon as he has the firepower on his side. But it appears as if he didn't recognize them. So presumably again this is also. If you have to think about part of this plan was that his son in law drugged him and we have to believe that he really did wake up in this room. [00:42:50] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:42:50] Speaker C: And doesn't remember till the very end everything that's going on. Maybe I spent too much time trying to understand this. [00:42:59] Speaker A: Another reason I brought it was I was hoping you guys tell me what happened. [00:43:03] Speaker B: But I have spoken in the past with my deep wonderful love of inner sanctum and the effort that goes into. Not just sort of like we're not really going to get paid attention to the details that we will actively snuff out any attempt you have to make sense of it. We will follow every path of logic you're going to follow and frustrate you put a barrier up there. So good job doing that. [00:43:27] Speaker A: The end. [00:43:30] Speaker C: I love how the nurse, just to try to keep him from trying to figure out what's going on. She's just like, how about a massage? [00:43:37] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I know where they hired her. [00:43:40] Speaker C: And apparently she was just gonna start his feet and work her way up because immediately the whole massage thing is for her to discover his dirty feet on the sheets. As Mr. Host comments on later. Yes, his feet of clay. And at that point I was like, I think this guy wrote this entire script to justify the one Mr. Host joke of the feet of clay. [00:44:07] Speaker B: Who at this table is above that? [00:44:10] Speaker C: Yeah, right. Nobody raised their hand Listeners. [00:44:13] Speaker B: Oh. [00:44:14] Speaker C: But back to our Bible with Shakespeare. [00:44:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:17] Speaker C: Feet of clay, Eric. [00:44:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:19] Speaker C: Which one? [00:44:20] Speaker A: Feet of clay. That is a Bible reference. Yes, from Corinthians, the book of Daniel. That was my next guess. [00:44:29] Speaker C: But it's dream interpretation. I'm now really stretching to keep going with this dream stuff. But it's part of Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's. Yes, [00:44:41] Speaker A: Daniel's my middle name. [00:44:43] Speaker F: Uh. [00:44:43] Speaker C: Oh, this is weird. Just take the red medicine, Eric. I kept trying to figure out what that was. It clearly knocks him out. But it was just weird how they said yes. And then when they said salty and red, I just thought, are they giving him blood? But I think it's just supposed to be mysterious and weird. [00:45:02] Speaker B: Yeah. I think the implication is it's blood. Don't say it. But in my head it looks like Bartles and Chains. [00:45:09] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:45:10] Speaker B: Which is not salty. [00:45:13] Speaker C: You can get a little salty after you have enough. [00:45:16] Speaker A: Do they still make Bartles and James? [00:45:18] Speaker B: They do. [00:45:19] Speaker A: Huh. [00:45:19] Speaker B: I got it. [00:45:20] Speaker A: That's 18 year old drinking. [00:45:22] Speaker B: I know this is not necessarily pertinent to this episode or anything we've ever talked about before, but I. I drank a fair amount of bottles of James in college and I. It's different now. [00:45:35] Speaker C: That makes a lot of sense, Tim. [00:45:37] Speaker A: I drank like I'd go to a liquor store. [00:45:39] Speaker B: Like, what do you want, Tim? Wine coolers? [00:45:43] Speaker A: I drink a lot of it myself. Mine was on the beaches of Lake Calhoun in the summer, which is no [00:45:50] Speaker B: longer Lake Calhoun, but in Akaska. Yeah. [00:45:53] Speaker A: Anyway. What? I. I think we're off the rails a little, but I think that we're [00:45:59] Speaker C: all in agreement on that son of a bitch Alec killed his dog. [00:46:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:05] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:46:05] Speaker A: You dick. Look, can we vote? [00:46:09] Speaker C: No. We haven't talked about some of the Mr. Host's jokes. [00:46:12] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:46:13] Speaker A: Bring those in. Let's go. [00:46:14] Speaker C: I think the winner for me is A Doom with a view. [00:46:18] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:46:20] Speaker C: Eat your heart out, EM Forster. Yeah. And Mary is always funny with her chiding of him and just slapping down all his friends and ghosts. Can't enjoy tea. She took a pretty strong stance. So that was my favorite. But what I really want to talk about is. Do you think these Inner Sanctum books were real? These titles seem made up. Do you remember what this title was? [00:46:47] Speaker A: No. [00:46:48] Speaker C: The Whistling legs by Roman McDougall. That can't be real. [00:46:58] Speaker A: Did you not look it up? [00:46:59] Speaker C: I was afraid. It's true. [00:47:01] Speaker A: Here we go. I'm looking it up. [00:47:03] Speaker B: What I love to think about is what other novels do they go, nah, nah, that's not Inner Sanctum level. [00:47:10] Speaker C: Is that just a guy walking around in corduroys? What is that? [00:47:15] Speaker B: I mean, it might have been like some lady whose legs will whistle back. [00:47:18] Speaker C: Oh, [00:47:21] Speaker A: The Whistling Legs, 1945. Inner Sanctum. [00:47:26] Speaker C: Oh, it's real. [00:47:27] Speaker A: Yeah. By Roman McDougall. And by the way, it's not McDougal. It's McDougall. [00:47:35] Speaker C: The McDougal. Doug McDougal. You, sir, got McDougalled. [00:47:41] Speaker A: It's a verb. [00:47:44] Speaker C: I think everyone who read that book got McDougalled. [00:47:49] Speaker A: Yeah, I can. I'm going to ebay right now. They're all on the way. All right. [00:47:55] Speaker C: But honestly, the most disturbing thing in this Entire episode was Mr. Host's description of next week's episode. That was distressful, Distressful, Distressing. Stressful and distressing simultaneously, which is distressful. [00:48:11] Speaker A: What was the. [00:48:12] Speaker C: It's like being McDougalled. [00:48:15] Speaker A: What was the next week episode again? [00:48:17] Speaker C: It was next week's story is about women. And he did just say, like that. [00:48:22] Speaker A: That's right. [00:48:23] Speaker C: I remember. That generates into two women who love being. Love it rough. Being choked. [00:48:28] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. [00:48:28] Speaker C: That's right. [00:48:31] Speaker A: By Boris Karloff. [00:48:32] Speaker F: On and on and on. [00:48:33] Speaker C: And I expected Mary to step in and go, kool Aid [00:48:40] Speaker A: or Kool Aid. [00:48:41] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Wow. But he didn't say what episode that is or if that one actually exists. Not that we're going to feature. Podcast. [00:48:51] Speaker A: No, now I remember. I think I blocked it out mentally. Stop talking. Stop talking. Okay, so let's it next episode. [00:49:03] Speaker B: I just picked something up. [00:49:04] Speaker C: All right, you guys, stop making something up. [00:49:08] Speaker A: Whistling Legs, first printing from 1945. Six bucks. Buy it now. Yes. Oh, yeah, this is on. Oh, yeah, this is coming. [00:49:23] Speaker C: All right, so you are going to do a. A reading of it? [00:49:26] Speaker A: No, no, I'm going to give it. I'm giving it to you for Christ Christmas, you dumb. What the hell? Of course you're getting this for Christmas. I just got a book club now. I just got a shop for Tim. [00:49:36] Speaker C: The Whistling Legs. [00:49:39] Speaker A: Well, should we vote now? [00:49:41] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. [00:49:42] Speaker A: I loved is not a classic. Weirdly stands the test of time in the some ways. In some ways it does not. I don't think it's a great story. I'm gonna tell you. Look, I'm just gonna stop. Bullshit. I just like listening to Karloff talk, but I don't think it's a great piece. [00:50:05] Speaker C: I listened to this and went, eric picked it because Boris Karloff has 90% of the dialogue. [00:50:12] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. That's a strong argument. [00:50:14] Speaker A: Yeah. And so I liked it for that, but no, it's not great. [00:50:18] Speaker B: I love Inner Sanctum scripts and this one is cut from that cloth, but I think not as good as the ones that I really enjoy. So I'm glad to have more Inner Sanctum like this to listen to, but it does not raise through the upper echelons of weird Inner Sanctum that I love. And then, as Eric said, like, Boris Karloff is a huge bonus for any episode he's in, and this one in particular, so it stands the test of time. I wouldn't call it a classic. [00:50:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that it was, again, just surprisingly, that's the word that I keep coming to for Inner Sanctum, which usually just moves like a runaway train from incident to incident. And this was a little too repetitive for my taste. It had a lot of the bells and whistles and the appearances of Inner Sanctum that I like, but it had feet of clay and whistling legs, all these weird body parts. [00:51:20] Speaker B: Whistling legs? Is that Shakespeare or the Bible? [00:51:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I think King David was like, I like those whistling legs. [00:51:28] Speaker B: Bathsheba Bible, Shakespeare or MacDougled. [00:51:34] Speaker A: You can't say McDougled in a theater, [00:51:38] Speaker C: but to Erik's point, Boris Karloff forgives a lot of sins. It's just that voice that is melodious but vaguely sinister. [00:51:46] Speaker B: It makes it all sound credible. [00:51:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:49] Speaker C: And it really wasn't. [00:51:50] Speaker F: No. [00:51:53] Speaker C: But I will say it's one of those interesting episodes that it was way more fun to talk about than to listen to. Correct. So good job, Eric, kindly thank you kind enough. [00:52:03] Speaker B: Tim, tell him stuff, Please go visit ghoulishdelights.com that's the home of this podcast. You'll find all the other episodes of this podcast that we've done and there's a lot more all the time. You can check out particular series you want to listen to. Just like, hey, I'm going to put some random word in the search bar. Is there an episode of that? Probably. And you can leave comments and let us know what you think. You will also find links to our. Excuse me, I swallowed wrong. You'll find links to our store. If you'd like to buy some swag, some mysterious old radio listing society merch, you can do that. And you'll also find a link to our Patreon page. [00:52:38] Speaker C: Yes, go to patreon.com themorals you will find all kinds of bonus material there. Just give us a little bit of money and it is yours for the taking. [00:52:49] Speaker A: The mysterious old radio listening society theater company performs live on stage recreations of classic old time radio shows and a lot of our own original work. Come see us performing audio drama by going to ghoulishdelights.com to find out how to get tickets where we're performing, what we're performing and when and then also we record the audio of those live shows. Being a patreon, that's another perk you get access to the audio recordings of our live performances. What is coming up next? [00:53:21] Speaker F: Me. Ah. [00:53:22] Speaker B: I am bringing an episode of the Adventures of the Abbotts entitled the Blue Rocket Express. [00:53:30] Speaker F: Until then you'd better let me have some of that. That bottle there about 10 cc's the red medicine. Yes. Hey koolaid. Yeah Crash bag rollback hey wipes out thirst for you oh yeah Crash a [00:53:48] Speaker D: bang a bo with a big bright [00:53:50] Speaker C: smile and a funny taste too oh yeah Hell. [00:53:54] Speaker F: Oh it's awful salty. Tastes like. Oh yeah. Yes.