Dracula 1938

10/31/21 • 66 min

Tonight, I’m presenting a special “double-feature” episode in celebration for Halloween. The first episode is the original Mercury Theater presentation of Dracula.
Produced, directed, written, hosted, and performed by Orson Welles, with the Mercury Theatre Company, this adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic horror story, "Dracula" -- recounted by various characters in the first person. This radio play originally aired on Friday, July 11, 1938. It stars Orson Welles , Ray Collins, Elizabeth Fuller, Martin Gabel, and Agnes Moorehead. You may recognize Agnes Moorehead from her role as Samantha’s mother, Endora, in the Bewitched TV series.

Previous Episode

W is for Werewolf

Jim Howard arrives at Cape Howe to meet his old friend Bill Andrews who happens to be a Doctor. On arriving he is startled to find out that Bill owns a private island of his own, a little place where he and John, his Son who has become something of a recluse, now call home. Apparently Jim has a Wife and small child who will be arriving in a couple of days to join them on the island – although Bill sent a rather odd letter before he arrived – requesting his friend bring a variety of books on lycanthropy. If the fact that Bill now owns his own island was a bit of a shock for Jim, imagine when he meets young John after so many years to find that his hands are overgrown with thick amounts of hair.
This episode is another one from Dark Fantasy, a series that aired for 31 episodes between November of 1941 to June of 1942. It originally aired on Friday, February 13th, 1942.

Next Episode

Frankenstein 1944

It has proven to be extremely difficult to find any information about this radio play, except for that it takes a lot of liberties with the original story and that it was presented by The Weird Circle. The Weird Circle was a 30-minute mystery horror radio series that aired on NBC for four years, from 1943 to 1947.
What sets The Weird Circle apart from other programs airing horror and ghost stories, or similar sci-fi fare, is that it focused so heavily on the works of classic, highly-revered authors. Many of the stories are intended to relate to people's fears of the unknown, of a past coming back to haunt one, of misdeeds being repaid in unexpected ways.
This is a collection not to be missed, since the show is not as well-known or well-remembered as many of its counterparts. It is of high-quality, though, in no small part due to the greatness of the works on which it bases the episodes.
This radio play originally aired on Sunday, February 20, 1944.