The Hall Of Fantasy
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The HALL OF FANTASY most collectors know are from the 1953 series on
the Mutual network. There were three other series that aired under
the HALL OF FANTASY banner. All four series were produced, written
and directed by Richard Thorne who also acted in may of the shows.
His is the voice of the narrator who opened the shows with "Come with
me, my friends...".
The first HALL OF FANTASY originated from radio station KALL in Salt
Lake City, Utah. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for
the station, possibly late in 1946 and into 1947. The series consisted
of 26 rather barebones shows. Broadcast dates for the shows are not
known. It is not clear what role Mr. Greyson played in the series
other than acting in various roles, but his name appears in other
discussions of the series.
Most of these first shows were classic murder mysteries with
traditional endings; the evil-doer got his just rewards. The series
was sponsored by the Granite Furniture Company, although existing
shows are missing the commercials, apparently because they were
inserted live. Only six shows from this series are know to exist at
this time.
The HALL OF FANTASY aired again in 1949 when Mr. Thorne and Mr.
Greyson were working at WGN in Chicago. This time, the series
featured stories involving struggles against the supernatural where
man was usually the loser, specializing in shock endings. This series
consisted of 112 shows and aired locally on radio station WGN,
Chicago. It started on Saturdays at 2:30 PM but after 21 shows, moved
to Mondays at 9:00 PM. Later, it moved to 9:30 PM.
On August 22, 1952, THE HALL OF FANTASY went nationwide, over Mutual
stations. It started as a short series of six shows over WGN, Chicago
and other Mutual stations on the East Coast. The shows were heard on
Fridays, from 8:30 to 9:00 PM. The short series of 1952 led to a
regular series of 39 shows in 1953, airing on WGN from Jan. 5, 1953
to Sept. 28, 1953, Monday evenings at 7:30 PM.
Richard Thorne wrote original stories or adapted classic works of
horror for the shows. The series claimed to be "the series of radio
dramas dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown."
Mr. Thorn was also involved in production and played many of the lead
character roles. Eloise Kummer played many of the female leads.
Mr. Thorne and Leroy Olliger directed the series. Original music was
by Harold Turner.
Twenty six shows from the 1952 and 1953 series were selected for
syndication after the end of the 1953 series. The syndicated shows
were rebroadcast during the 1970's OTR revival era. It is believed
that "He Who Follows Me" was retitled "Steps That Follow Me" for the
revival. "The Hangman's Rope" was reproduced for the 70's series,
since the original did not survive.
47/02/13 1 The Perfect Script
47/03/06 2 Death in the Bayous
47/04/03 3 The Judge's House
47/04/10 4 Man Sized in Marble
47/04/24 5 Markheim
47/05/01 6 The Mark of Shame
50/03/11 7 He Who Follows Me
50/03/18 8 The Beast with Red Eyes
51/08/27 Steps That Follow Me
52/08/22 1 The Castle of Lavoca
52/09/05 3 The Shadow People
52/09/19 5 The Steps That Follow Me
53/01/05 7 The Hangman's Rope
53/01/19 9 The Cask of Amontillado
53/01/26 10 The Black Figurine of Death
53/02/02 11 The Silver Flask
53/02/09 12 The Dance of the Devil Dolls
53/03/09 16 The Masks of Ashor
53/03/23 18 The Night the Fog Came
53/03/30 19 The Beast With The Red Eyes
53/04/06 20 The Return from Death
53/04/13 21 Demon of the Night
53/04/20 22 Out of the Sky
53/04/27 23 The Wild Huntsman
53/05/04 24 Idol of Cromm Cruac
53/05/11 25 Spectre of Denston Castle
53/05/18 26 The Crawling Thing
53/05/25 27 The Twisting Weeds of Death
53/06/01 28 The Telltale Heart
53/06/08 29 The Hand of Botar
53/06/15 30 The Jewels of Kali
53/06/22 31 The Marquise of Death
53/06/29 32 The Temple of Huizilipochle
53/07/06 33 The Man in Black
53/07/20 35 The Treasure of Kublai Khan
53/07/27 36 The Automaton
53/08/03 37 The Golden Bracelet of Amoniris
53/08/10 38 The Man From the Second Earth
53/08/17 39 Stone's Revenge
53/08/24 40 The Sea Phantom
53/08/31 41 Diamonds of Death
53/09/21 44 The Shadow People
53/10/26 4 He Who Follows Me(repeat of 50-03-11)
54/01/11 15 The Marquise of Death(repeat of 53-06-22)
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