Inklings: Apprehension, consternation, trepidation... | Columnists | Summerville Journal Scene

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Inklings: Apprehension, consternation, trepidation...

Published Thursday, March 04, 2010 11:37 AM

By Barbara Lynch Hill
Summerville Journal Scene ®

...in another word – “Suspense,” i.e., the old-time radio drama. I grew up loving having the daylights scared out of me by such shows. I’d get into bed at night; turn the lights out and the radio on. Wide-eyed and clutching the sheets, I’d get absorbed into the adventures of “The Shadow,” “The Whistler,” or “Inner Sanctum.” First class actors like William Conrad, Peter Lorre, Agnes Moorehead, Orson Welles and Vincent Price swept me up into their stories. It was aptly called the “theatre of the imagination,” a major blessing of such performances.

Wiling my way through the library a couple of weeks ago, I came across a collection of recordings of some of these unforgettable shows. Turns out I still love having the daylights scared out of me! It seems nostalgia can certainly have its jolting side.

My first foray into the collection came when I tried to take an afternoon nap and thought I’d listen to one of the tapes as I fell asleep. Right! In the middle of the afternoon I found myself wide-eyed and sheet-clutching once again. Sleep was not an option now, and on reflection, I remembered it wasn’t much of a choice during my pre-teen years either, when these stories first gripped my attention.

This time I listened while I dusted, made the bed, folded laundry or loaded the dishwasher. It seemed to make the chores go faster. Or maybe that was my blood pressure! Nevertheless, I still felt chills up my spine when the chimes began and the announcer intoned a version of the typical intro: “This is the man in black, here to introduce the program ‘Suspense,’ compounded of mystery and suspicion and dangerous adventure, tales calculated to intrigue you, stir your nerves . . . to offer you a vicarious situation and then withhold the solution until the last possible moment – keeping you in . . . suspense.”

Daunting organ chords opened another story, with a shivery voice asking “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men – the Shadow knows.” Then came a sinister laugh. Next I heard that “Another thrilling adventure of ‘The Shadow’ is on the air, a drama designed to demonstrate forcibly to old and young alike and that crime does not pay.”

One of the creepiest was the program that began with a haunting whistle and a ghostly tone: “I am the ‘The Whistler’ and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, another tale about a musical score began with the sound of a creaky door taking an interminably long time to open. “Good evening friends. This is your horror host at the squeaking door of the ‘Inner Sanctum.’ Come in. Come in. Umm…hang your hat on the torture rack over there and get cozy. Tonight we’ve got cadences and cadavers. Murders and melodies. That’s all I can tell you now. No sense putting the cart before the . . . hearse . . . is there?” More sinister chuckling.

And even more memorable anticipation for me.

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