Inner Sanctum

Like many of our lovely friends of RUSC, I have listened to radio plays since I was a youngster.

However, it wasn't until I was a little older that I discovered 'old time radio' as a real passion, which led me on to listening to thousands more series I had never heard of before.

In my experience, one of the most favored genres of old time radio is the thriller. It seems that we all like a good scary story now and then to keep us on the edge of our seats - especially when the summer months are almost at an end and the dark nights are drawing in.

There was one chilling new series in particular which I can vividly remember hearing for the first time. It had been given to me on a Memorex audio cassette by a fellow enthusiast, along with the advice to shut off the lights, lay down and close my eyes, whilst listening to the rather eerie storyteller begin the tale.

It was called the Inner Sanctum Mystery series, and featured probably the most famous opening in the history of radio - which Himan Brown evidently recycled in the 1970s, with his CBS Radio Mystery Theater series.

From the very first broadcast on 7th January 1941, Raymond Edward Johnson was heard as the series narrator, introducing himself as "Your host, Raymond." 

After his chilling greeting, “Good Evening…..Creep,” a door squeaked slowly open and the listener was greeted by a gruesome joke and then the introduction to the story for the evening. 

The stories were entirely fictitious, highly improbable and were a strange combination of horror and humor. Over time, the character became well known for his macabre introductions and morbid puns, and his typical closing, "Pleasant dreaaaams, hmmmmmmm?" and the door would then squeak shut.

Raymond Edward Johnson departed the series in 1945 when he joined the Army; and although he was replaced for the remainder of the run by Paul McGrath as host, he took the "Raymond" name with him. 

On 5th October 1952, Inner Sanctum was heard for the last time on ABC radio. The show was called Death Pays the Freight, and was a repeat from July, starring Everett Sloane.

You can listen to over 150 shows from the eleven years Inner Sanctum was broadcast, here on RUSC.

Happy listening my friends,