We’re on the cusp of Halloween itself, a scant handful of days before The Big Day itself, and goddamn if I’m not still struggling manfully against the catastrophic summer warmth and general horribleness of the World to get Into the Mood for the Season. It’ ain’t easy, but the good things in life rarely are, so BY GOD I’m going to continue on with sharing some extremely excellent Halloween audio content that I absolutely adore. We’ve had some good ones already, I think; last time we had some fun old time radio adaptations of classic H.P. Lovecraft stories, while the time prior was devoted to some of the best old time radio ever made, in case you missed em.

This time around is more of the same – three classic old time radio shows that I enjoy, and one much more recent reading of the greatest Shirley Jackson story (and possibly the greatest weird fiction) of all time! Good spooky season listening, if that’s your thing! So let’s get to ’em!

1 – Ghost Hunt (Suspense, 1949) – this is a fun one that wrings some real chills out of the medium of radio. The actor manages to convey a real mounting sense of dread and slipping sanity as the story proceeds. Good use of silences too, and by god I’m a sucker for “War of the Worlds” style meta-radio! It’s good! Enjoy!

2 – The Signalman (Suspense, 1953) – I love Dickens’ ghostly short stories, and the Signalman is an all time great of his of course, but the real treat with this one is that it’s got Agnes Moorehead in it, one of the best actors in history.

3 – Ancient Sorceries (Escape, 1948) – A classic Algernon Blackwood story adapted by the masterful players of Escape? Of course it’s good!

4 – The Summer People (Selected Shorts, 2011?) – Shirley Jackson was a genius and this is not only my favorite thing she ever wrote, but it is also possibly the pinnacle of weird fiction, a story laced with dread and menace that builds and builds and builds. PLUS it was read by René Auberjonois. Basically perfect!