1001 Ghost, Chiller & Lovecraft Stories

Today we dive into one of the most atmospheric chapters of Nathanial Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables.  Chapter 13 is a fascinating story within a story that highlights Hawthorne's obsession with ancestral guilt and the supernatural.
The Legend of Alice Pyncheon
In this episode, we step away from the present-day tension of the Gables as Holgrave reads an original manuscript to Phoebe. We are transported back three generations to meet Alice Pyncheon, the beautiful and haughty daughter of Gervayse Pyncheon.
Gervayse, driven by the family's signature greed, seeks a missing deed to a vast territory in Maine. To find it, he strikes a deal with the wizard's grandson, Matthew Maule. But the price of the Pyncheon ambition is higher than Gervayse ever imagined.
Credits
Host and Producer Gizelle Erickson
Executive Producer Jon Hagadorn
Music: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music"
LibriVox recording read by: Mark F. Smith
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This episode is a high-stakes urban thriller that finds the Shadow tackling a modern terror: a serial bomber. It is one of the surviving recordings from the legendary first season.
Episode Overview
Title: "The Circle of Death"
First Aired: November 28, 1937
Network: Mutual Broadcasting System
Sponsor: Blue Coal
Cast & Voice Actors
The Shadow / Lamont Cranston: Orson Welles
Margot Lane: Agnes Moorehead
Commissioner Weston: Traditionally played by Dwight Weist or Ray Collins during this era.
Announcer: Ken Roberts
Episode Summary
The city is gripped by a wave of terror as a madman begins setting off a series of devastating explosions in crowded public spaces. After each blast, the killer leaves a chilling note with the simple, nihilistic motive: "I hate crowds."
With fifteen citizens dead in the most recent blast, the public is in a frenzy and the police are powerless. Commissioner Weston, under immense political pressure, is forced to entertain a suggestion from Margot Lane: calling upon the mysterious Shadow. The Shadow accepts the challenge and engages in a psychological duel with The Masked Killer.  Using his invisible presence to infiltrate the bomber's lair, the Shadow must race against time to stop the next explosion before the "Circle of Death" widens to claim more lives.
Trivia & Fun Facts
Predicting "War of the Worlds": This episode utilizes news bulletins that interrupt the narrative to report on the bombings. This immersive technique was a precursor to the style Orson Welles would use to cause a national panic with his War of the Worlds broadcast just eleven months later.
The 10th Episode: This was the tenth episode of the new format where the Shadow was the hero. By this point, the chemistry between Welles and Moorehead was perfected, and the show had become a Sunday night ritual for millions.
Pulp vs. Radio: A Shadow pulp magazine story titled "The Circle of Death" was published in 1934, but the plots are entirely different. The radio show often borrowed titles from the magazines while crafting original scripts better suited for audio.
Creepy Performance: Historians often note that Welles's performance in this specific episode is particularly brutal and creepy, as he drops the socialite charm of Cranston to become a truly menacing force when confronting the bomber.
Credits
Host and Producer Gizelle Erickson
Executive Producer Jon Hagadorn
Music: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music"
The Shadow sourced by AcousticMonster on Internet Archive

This episode is a quintessential Halloween classic, leaning heavily into the "ghostly" reputation of the Shadow to stop a psychological crime.
Episode Overview
Title: "The Three Ghosts"
First Aired: October 31, 1937 (Halloween Night)
Network: Mutual Broadcasting System
Sponsor: Blue Coal
Cast & Voice Actors
The Shadow / Lamont Cranston: Orson Welles
Margot Lane: Agnes Moorehead
Announcer: Arthur Whiteside (stepping in for the usual Ken Roberts in some listings)
Organist: Elsie Thompson
Commercial Spokesman: Thomas Coffin Cooke
Episode Summary
In this atmospheric holiday broadcast, a wicked criminal attempts to drive a wealthy woman to her death by convincing her that she is being haunted by three vengeful spirits. The goal is to literally frighten her into a fatal heart attack to claim her fortune.
The Shadow becomes a literal conscience in the dark. Utilizing his own ghostly presence and hypnotic voice, he turns the tables on the conspirators. By the episode's end, the Shadow ensures that the only ones truly terrified are the criminals themselves, as he uses the very haunting they invented to force a confession. It is a brilliant example of how the Shadow doesn't just fight crime with fists, but with psychological warfare.
Trivia & Fun Facts
The Ultimate Halloween Episode: Aired on October 31, 1937, this was the show's first-ever Halloween broadcast. The producers leaned into the holiday spirit by making the plot centered on ghosts and hauntings.
Organ Bridges: This episode is frequently cited by sound historians for its "beautiful organ bridges" performed by Elsie Thompson. The music was used to create a seamless, unsettling transition between the world of the living and the "supernatural."
The Conscience Motif: Unlike earlier episodes where the Shadow is a more physical threat, this story highlights him as a psychological force—acting as the "conscience" that the criminals lack.
Surviving Broadcast: While many early episodes of The Shadow are "lost," this Halloween classic was preserved in excellent audio quality, allowing modern listeners to hear the original 1937 performance.
Credits
Host and Producer Gizelle Erickson
Executive Producer Jon Hagadorn
Music: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music"
The Shadow sourced by AcousticMonster on Internet Archive

This episode is widely considered one of the most exotic and atmospheric of the Orson Welles era, leaning heavily into the "Eastern mysticism" that provided the foundation for The Shadow's powers.
Episode Overview
Title: "The Temple Bells of Neban"
First Aired: October 24, 1937
Network: Mutual Broadcasting System
Sponsor: Blue Coal
Credits
Host and Producer Gizelle Erickson
Executive Producer Jon Hagadorn
Music: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music"
The Shadow sourced by AcousticMonster on Internet Archive
Cast & Voice Actors
The Shadow / Lamont Cranston: Orson Welles
Margot Lane: Agnes Moorehead
Announcer: Ken Roberts
Supporting Cast: Likely included OTR staples like Ray Collins or Dwight Weist, who often voiced the more "exotic" or villainous roles in the Welles period.
Episode Summary
The plot takes Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane far from the streets of New York to the mysterious Orient. The story revolves around the "Temple Bells of Neban," ancient artifacts rumored to have a deadly, supernatural curse. 
When an American explorer attempts to steal the bells to bring them back to the West, he triggers a series of mysterious deaths. The Shadow must intervene to prevent a bloodbath and return the sacred relics to their rightful place. This episode serves as a rare bridge between Cranston's life as a wealthy socialite and his secret past in the Far East, where he originally learned the "hypnotic power to cloud men's minds."
Trivia & Fun Facts
Exploring the Origin: While the radio show rarely spent time on "origin stories," this episode is a rare nod to the character's training in the Himalayas/Orient. It reinforces the idea that The Shadow's powers aren't just a trick, but a spiritual discipline.

Sound Design Masterclass: This episode is famous among radio historians for its use of foley (sound effects). The resonance of the "temple bells" had to be carefully engineered to sound both beautiful and ominous, creating a sense of dread every time they rang over the airwaves.

The "Orientalism" Trope: Typical of 1930s media, the episode utilizes the "Mysterious East" trope popular in pulps like Flash Gordon or The Spider. It highlights the era's fascination with hidden temples and ancient curses.

The Welles/Moorehead Dynamic: This episode features heavy dialogue between Lamont and Margot, showcasing the incredible chemistry between Orson Welles and Agnes Moorehead. Moorehead was a member of Welles's Mercury Theatre troupe, and their professional shorthand is evident in the pacing of this script.

Tonight we peel back the moss-grown layers of Nathaniel Hawthorne's gothic masterpiece, The House of the Seven Gables, to examine a most peculiar resident in Chapter 12, "The Daguerreotypist."  While the shattered Clifford seeks rest, dreaming of a childhood long lost, Phœbe finds herself drawn into the company of the enigmatic Holgrave—a man whose past is a kaleidoscope of identities, ranging from a traveling peddler of cologne-water to a public lecturer on Mesmerism. Though he speaks of a bright future, Holgrave is obsessed with the odious and abominable Past, which he likens to a giant's dead body weighing upon the living and freezing the heart with its white, immitigable face. He gazes upon the Pyncheon legacy with the cold eye of a surgeon, suggesting that the very walls of the house, crystallized with the discontent and anguish of generations, should be purified with fire until only ashes remain. As the late sunbeams gild the seven gables, the artist prepares to reveal a family legend he has penned, leaving us to wonder: is this young man a friend to the household, or a visionary seeking to finally bury the dead?.
Credits
Narration and Production by Gizelle Erickson
Executive Producer Jon Hagadorn
Music: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music"
LibriVox recording read by: Mark F. Smith