BONUS - Friday Frights: Ghost Hunt

Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

This bonus episode of Stars on Suspense features a Halloween special showcasing the classic 1949 radio drama "Ghost Hunt," starring game show host Ralph Edwards as Smiley Smith, a disc jockey who records himself spending a night in a notoriously haunted cliffside house. The

Key takeaways

• Ralph Edwards plays Smiley Smith, a radio DJ who stages a live wire-recording stunt in a house with four recorded suicides since 1939 to boost his show's ratings and help sell the property.
• Dr. Clarence Reed joins as a self-proclaimed psychic investigator from the British and American Psychical Research Guilds, claiming sensitivity to evil presences despite never having seen an apparition himself.

Main topics

• Classic radio horror storytelling
• Paranormal investigation and skepticism

Notable quotes

"I don't believe in ghosts, never have, but what I say is this. If you're dead set on looking for them, this is a dandy place to do it."

Conclusion

Listeners gain a nostalgic yet chilling immersion into golden-age radio drama,

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:02) Bye. Speaker 6 (0:09) The hushed voice and the prowling step in the dead of night. The crime that is almost committed. The stir of nerves at the ticking of the clock. The rescue that might be too late. Or the murderer who might get away. Mystery and intrigue and dangerous adventure. Speaker 6 (0:31) We invite you to enjoy stories that keep you in... Speaker 6 (0:37) Spent. Speaker 1 (0:55) Welcome to a bonus episode of Stars on Suspense, the first in our series of Friday Frights. Each Friday in October, I'll share one of my favorite scary stories from suspense. Speaker 1 (1:12) Shows that add chills to radio's outstanding theater of thrills, and that are perfect for the Halloween season. And our first show in this series is Ghost Hunt, from June 23, 1949. It stars Ralph Edwards, who was best known as the host of game shows like Truth or Consequences, and later This Is Your Life. His casting is a great example of one of the things that made Suspense such a unique show. Producers and directors like Anton M. Leder would put well-known stars or personalities in roles that riffed on their public personas and then would tweak them in unexpected directions. Edward stars here as Smiley Smith, a radio DJ whose latest stunt for his show is to record the night he spends in a supposedly haunted house. No spoilers if you've never heard this one. No spoilers if you've never heard Ghost Hunt before. But it's been a favorite of mine, and one that never fails to give me the willies, ever since I first heard it almost 30 years ago. So now let's start our Halloween countdown with a terrifying tale from suspense, with Ralph Edwards in Ghost Hunt. Speaker 2 (2:45) Now, Autolite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present Suspend. Speaker 2 (2:57) Tonight, Autolite brings you Mr. Ralph Edwards in Ghost Hunt, a suspense play produced and directed by Anton M. Leder. Speaker 2 (3:12) Friends, replace worn-out narrow-gap spark plugs with a set of those new wide-gap Autolite resistor spark plugs. Your motor will idle smoother, give better performance on leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas. These winning benefits are all made possible by a newly developed Autolite 10,000-ohm resistor built right into every Autolite resistor spark plug, making practical a wider spark gap setting. And that's what does the trick. What's more, Autolite resistor spark plugs with this exclusive Autolite resistor have greatly increased electrode life and cut down on radio and television interference. So, folks, see your Autolite dealer and have him replace old, worn-out, narrow-gap spark plugs with a set of the new Autolite resistor spark plugs. Remember, you're always right with Autolite. And also remember, the Autolite suspense show is now on television. Every Tuesday night in many parts of the country. And now, Autolite presents Ralph Edwards in a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. Speaker 3 (4:30) Yeah, didn't that leave you high, huh? Left me feeling treetop tall. That was Louis Armstrong's I Can't Give You Anything But Love. And that's all we have time for on the Hot and Mellow Hour tonight. Speaker 3 (4:42) Yes, yes, yes, this is Smiley Smith, your favorite disc jockey. I hope, I hope, bootin' the hot and mellow hour home for this evening. I'll be back again tomorrow night, minus the music, but with a little surprise for you. Tomorrow night, Friday night, as you know, is stunt night here at Station WXP. And have I got a stunt for you. Last week, if you remember, I planted my wire recorder in the steam room at a lady's Turkish bath and let you listen in on the playback, remember? Speaker 4 (5:08) Well, Speaker 3 (5:08) tonight, as soon as I leave the studio, do you know where I'm going? Your friend Smiley is going to spend the night in a haunted house on a spook hunt. You heard me. A spook hunt in a haunted house. I'm bringing my little old wire recorder along with me. And if you tune in tomorrow evening at this time, you'll learn what it's like to spend a night in a haunted house. Ain't that something? A real haunted house. No kidding. Four people are known to have committed suicide there. So tune in tomorrow night and share a real thrill with your old pal Smiley. I must be crazy. Smith, good night. Speaker 8 (5:41) you Speaker 8 (5:55) Care for a cigar, Mr. Thorpe? I got some cigars in the dash there. Speaker 5 (5:59) No. Speaker 8 (6:00) Well, no reason for you to carry a chip on your shoulder, Mr. Thorpe. Speaker 5 (6:03) Oh, really? Speaker 8 (6:04) Well, I don't like this fool stunt. Well, I don't see it as a fool stunt at all. I really don't. I think it's the only way you're going to unload this house. Ordinary selling methods won't work in a case like this. I don't forget the reputation saddling this house. Four suicides since 1939. You know what people call it? The death trap. Yes. It's a lot of nonsense. Sure, but try to convince people of that. Anyway, when this disc jockey offered me this chance to kill all the rumors about the death of... about the property, I just naturally jumped and took him up at it. Especially since it don't cost a cent. Speaker 5 (6:37) You sure about that? I'm not liable for a penny. Not Speaker 8 (6:40) a cent. We're doing him a favor letting him use the place, he said. Thanked me for the chance last night when I drove him out here. So one hand washes the other, as the feller says. He got a chance to pull off a stunt, and the wire recording will prove to people the property is A number one, and we increase the chance of selling the place. Speaker 5 (6:57) Well, as long as it doesn't cost me anything. Speaker 8 (6:59) Not a thing. He's using his own recorder, and I'm paying for the rental of a couple of walkie-talkies he hooked up to. Speaker 5 (7:04) Well, what about this Reed? Does he charge anything? He Speaker 8 (7:08) comes gratis, too. Dr. Reed is a, whatchamacallit, a psychic investigator. Belongs to a couple of societies that do nothing but hunt ghosts. He showed me articles he's written about it in their magazine. Well, here's the house. Yeah, looks real nice in the sunshine, don't it? Yeah, man, smell that sea breeze. You Speaker 5 (7:31) don't have to sell me. Well, let them know we're here. Speaker 8 (7:38) Probably asleep up all night and everything. Speaker 8 (7:44) Why don't Speaker 5 (7:44) they Speaker 8 (7:44) come out? Do you think they've gone? I told them last night I'd pick them up around 11. Smith! Speaker 8 (7:52) Smith! Hey, Smiley! Dr. E! Speaker 8 (8:00) Yeah, fast asleep, I guess. We better go in and wake him up. Speaker 8 (8:11) Of course, they may Speaker 5 (8:12) have taken the bus back to town. Oh, Speaker 8 (8:14) no, no. It's a two-mile hike to the main highway. Speaker 8 (8:27) Eh, Smith! Hey, uh... Smiley! Where are ya? Waker? Speaker 5 (8:36) You don't suppose... Do you? Oh, Speaker 8 (8:39) no, no. Uh, Smith? Speaker 8 (8:44) Dr. Reed? Speaker 5 (8:46) What's that clicking noise from in there? Speaker 8 (8:51) Well, it's his wire recorder he left it running. These machines cost a lot of money. Doesn't he care if he uses up his batteries? Well, where is he, and where's this reed? Maybe they're upstairs. Uh, Smith! Speaker 8 (9:04) Hey! Anybody home? Speaker 5 (9:09) They must have walked to the highway and taken the bus. Well, you wouldn't have left these machines. Well, where are they then? Where are they? Now, Speaker 8 (9:15) now, now, don't get excited, Mr. Speaker 5 (9:16) Thorpe. Don't tell me not to get excited. If something's happened to them in my house, I'm liable. You Speaker 8 (9:22) try this side. I'll try that one. Speaker 5 (9:24) All right. Speaker 8 (9:26) Uh, Smith? Hey, Smiley? Smith? Smith! Speaker 5 (9:33) McDonald, come here. What? What? Speaker 8 (9:38) No Speaker 8 (9:41)