Atlanta Radio Theatre Company - The Dancer in the Dark (1 of 3)

Summary

Podcast Summary:

Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Atlanta Radio Theatre Company – The Dancer in the Dark (Part 1 of 3)
Date: March 19, 2026
Runtime: ~25 minutes (excluding advertisements and closing promos)

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Episode Overview

This episode features the first installment of A Dancer in the Dark by Thomas E. Fuller, performed by the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company—an homage to the story-driven radio dramas of the Golden Age. The performance begins an atmospheric mystery set in 1928 Georgia, blending Lovecraftian unease, Southern gothic, and archaeological intrigue. Professor Cletus Tremaine, his assistant Jerry, and their associates arrive in the town of Blankenship to investigate the enigmatic Malatoa Mounds, where ancient fears and local tensions intertwine.

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Main Characters Introduced

• Professor Cletus Tremaine: The protagonist, an archaeologist from Miskatonic University (Arkham, MA).
• Dr. Benedict Peterson: Tremaine's nephew and lead excavator of the Malatoa Mounds.
• Miriam: Benedict’s wife.
• Jerry Masters: Tremaine’s student assistant.
• Annabelle Segris Blankenship: Wealthy landowner, matriarch of one of the town’s founding families.
• Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin: Local lawman.
• Jubal Elder: Eccentric town drunk and self-styled prophet of doom.
• Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego: Visiting archaeologist from Mexico.
• Elizabeth Garrett: Reporter with the Atlanta Constitution.
• John McIntosh: A Native American local opposed to the excavation.

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Key Discussion Points and Dramatic Beats

Arrival and Setting the Scene

[00:47-03:58]

• Opening lines present a tone of dark foreboding through the warnings of Jubal Elder:

  "I seen it dancing in the dark. I seen it moving like a pillar of fire. I seen it twisting and turning like smoke on the mountain. Let these damn fools break into them mounds, you'll see it too. Mark my words." (Jubal Elder, 00:47)

• Professor Tremaine evokes the atmosphere of the South, noting the contrast between the order he believes in and the unsettling chaos lurking beneath:

  "In the moments when reality stumbles, we can look through the pillars of our sanity and see the shadows and the dwellers in shadows. And we can see how fragile our order is." (Prof. Tremaine, 01:31)

Introduction to Blankenship

[03:09-04:24]

• The group arrives at Blankenship, a picturesque yet seemingly stagnant Southern town where time moves slowly and history lingers in every corner.
• Miriam attempts to ease Tremaine’s nerves with Southern hospitality, while his introspections hint at deeper, repressed anxieties tied to the land and its history.
• The townspeople begin establishing the main tensions, particularly local resistance and suspicion toward outsiders and their archaeological activities.

Meeting the Players and Foreshadowing Trouble

[04:24-08:18]

• Welcoming the academics, the dignified but controlling Annabelle Segris Blankenship quickly asserts her status, inviting Professor Tremaine to the family’s plantation.
• Jubal Elder confronts the group with warnings about disturbing the mounds:

  "Them hills and hollows, they got places in them places no right minded person ever goes. Them places ain't right…" (Jubal Elder, 07:08)

• Dr. Benedict Peterson announces there’s no archaeological evidence of burial, but Jubal’s cryptic, mythic warnings create a sense of unease and impending doom.
• The local dynamic between progress (science) and superstition (old beliefs) is set.

A Hearth and Ominous News

[10:16-13:51]

• At the Moffat House boarding house, Southern charm is mixed with discomfort as Dr. Peterson and Miriam disagree about safety and the wisdom of refusing police protection.
• Sheriff Conklin brings up unsettling animal mutilations:

  "Someone's been killing small animals around town for about, oh, last three months... Cats don't kill like that. Cats don't open an animal up and spread its lights all over creation." (Sheriff Conklin, 12:47)

• The discussion of dangers and Benedict’s skepticism toward the sheriff’s protection reinforce the growing sense of peril.

Malatoa Mounds—Past and Present

[14:36-17:08]

• At the excavation site, Benedict explains the site’s unusually precise layout and the presence of mysterious chiseled stone columns, which deviate from known Mississippian customs:

  "It's like trying to dig the Panama Canal with a snow shovel. Oh, the site's a treasure trove. Something wiped out Malatoa at the height of its culture. Everything's right here…" (Dr. Peterson, 16:26)

• Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego draws parallels between the Malatoa layout and Aztec pyramid complexes, further emphasizing the site’s archeological mystery.

Community Conflict on Sacred Ground

[17:08-20:15]

• Local opposition manifests physically through John McIntosh, a Native American man resistant to the excavation, arguing with the sheriff and project leaders:

  "How would you feel if some outsider wandered in and started digging up your kinfo?" (John McIntosh, 19:26)

• Accusations fly regarding blame for animal deaths and the disturbance of sacred ground, heightening community tensions.

Shocking Discovery: The “Mammoth” Incident

[20:15-22:45]

• Annabelle Segris Blankenship dramatically accuses McIntosh of killing her prized stallion, Mammoth.
• The group discovers the mutilated horse in a gruesome, ritualistic display, echoing previous animal killings:

  "Mammoth was or had been a gigantic roan stallion. A beast of truly epic magnificence…around that mutilated magnificence…wheeled and danced swarm after swarm of flies, bloated and slick." (Prof. Tremaine, 21:13)

• Dr. de la Prego and Prof. Tremaine observe:

  "Did you notice the way the incision was made…one clean slice…" (Dr. de la Prego, 22:01) "Look at the way the organs have been shifted around…Heart moved here. The liver's over there." (Prof. Tremaine, 22:09)

• The sheriff refuses to arrest McIntosh without proof, frustrating Annabelle and sparking deeper divisions:

  "I can't arrest him without proof, ma'." (Sheriff Conklin, 22:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the limits of rationality:

  "How easily it can all come tumbling down around us, how easy it would be to bow to shadows. How terribly easy."
  (Prof. Tremaine, 01:31)

• Southern Gothic banter:

  "That's a very impressive name, sheriff. Someone seems to have dropped a Confederate general all over it."
  (Prof. Tremaine to Sheriff Conklin, 11:51)

• Jubal Elder’s ominous refrain:

  "Things don't have to been alive to be dead, boy. Things don't have to be dead to be buried. This is old Jubal telling you. Old Jubal knows."
  (Jubal Elder, 07:39 & 09:06)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:47–01:10: Prologue and opening warnings from Jubal Elder.
• 01:31–03:09: Prof. Tremaine reflects on order vs. chaos; group sets out for Blankenship.
• 04:24–08:14: First encounters with Annabelle Segris Blankenship and town eccentricities; community tensions introduced.
• 10:16–12:47: Breakfast at the Moffat House; Sheriff describes animal mutilations.
• 14:36–17:08: Arrival and explanation at the Malatoa Mounds dig site.
• 19:21–20:15: Confrontation with John McIntosh over sacred ground.
• 20:35–22:45: Discovery of mutilated horse, “Mammoth”; accusations and tempers flare.
• 22:53–end: Credits and preview for the next episode.

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Tone & Atmosphere

• Language: Rich, literary, and occasionally wry; small-town Southern speech contrasts with academic verbosity.
• Mood: Eerie, suspenseful, with moments of dark humor and deepening dread as tensions between rationality and ancient superstition build.

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Conclusion

“A Dancer in the Dark (Part 1 of 3)” sets the stage for a classic supernatural mystery, deftly blending local color, academic rivalry, and cryptic omens. The episode ends with the community on edge—locals and outsiders at odds, and a dark force seemingly awakened by the disturbance of the Malatoa Mounds. Act One closes with more questions than answers, inviting listeners back for part two as the night grows darker in Blankenship.

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For further details and the next installment, stay tuned to Harold's Old Time Radio.

Transcript

[Announcer]

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[Jubal Elder]

I seen it dancing in the dark. I seen it moving like a pillar of fire. I seen it twisting and turning like smoke on the mountain. Let these damn fools break into them mounds. You'll see it too. Mark my words.

[Megan McCardell]

Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company.

[Announcer]

Our show for you this week, the first of three installments of Thomas E. Fuller's A Dancer in the Dark.

[Megan McCardell]

So sit back, relax and enjoy our presentation of the new Old Time Radio.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

There is in the world a certain order, a certain sense of the correct and proper. The order is all around us. We see it in the neatly structured way the seasons follow one after the other, the way the earth marches steadily round the sun, God's own clockwork wonder. And it's never more apparent than when it is gone, when it is eclipsed by something else, blotted out, eradicated. In the moments when reality stumbles, we can look through the pillars of our sanity and see the shadows and the dwellers in shadows. And we can see how fragile our order is. We can see how easily it can all come tumbling down around us, how easy it would be to bow to shadows. How terribly easy.

[Jubal Elder]

The Dancer in the Dark an adventure from the journals of professor cletus tremain.

[Announcer]

See one gray carpet bag, one blue carpet bag. The suitcase my mother gave me one bag of taffy.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

October 15, 1928. I am Professor Cletus Tremaine, Professor Emeritus of archaeology at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts. My nephew, Dr. Benedict Peterson, has invited me and my new student assistant, Jerry Masters.

[Announcer]

All bags pressing and counted for Professor Trust.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Yes. Thank you, Jerry. To the sleepy north Georgia town of Blankenship and his excavation of an obscure Mississippian mound culture site called Malatoa Mounds. We joined Miriam, my nephew's wife, in Atlanta, and from there took a small train on a milk run north from that dynamic metropolis.

[Miriam]

You'll just love Blankenship, Uncle Cletus. It's absolutely delightful. I don't think they've added anything new to it in the last 30.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Shadows haunt my Arkham. Here the sun burns them away with a fiery benediction. Yet there was something in that golden blaze that set me to thinking of the twisted hills and the hidden valleys beyond Arkham of decayed Kingsport. In Innsmouth

[Miriam]

we're staying at this wonderful little place called the Moffat House. The food is absolutely wonderful.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

I believe Benedict mentioned the food in his letter.

[Miriam]

Oh, did he mention anything else?

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Should he have?

[Miriam]

No, no, I just thought he might, is all.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Even as a child, Benedict wasn't one for wasting time on paper. Or for wasting paper, for that matter.

[Miriam]

Oh, look up ahead. There it is. There's Blankenship. Isn't it everything I said it would be?

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Oh, yes, Very picturesque. Like a very substantial ghost, the little town rose up out of the blood red clay and rich green grass, its neat white building sliding in and out of sight behind the towering pines. Again I had a strange feeling of languidness, the sense of something sleeping on the threshold of waking. It was October 18, 1928.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Uncle Cletus.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Over here, Uncle Cletus.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Benedict ought to be around here someplace. Jerry's usually obsessively prompt and punctual and gets that from the raintree branch of the family. Very prompt people. The rain trees.

[Announcer]

Yes, sir.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

No wheat remains with never on time for anything. So nobody really expects us to be anymore.

[Announcer]

Uh, he's over here, sir.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Who in the world are you yelling at, Jerry?

[Announcer]

Well, I'm not sure, Professor Tremaine, but I think it's your nephew.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Welcome to Blankenship, Uncle Cletus.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Delighted to be here. I suppose.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

I'd like to introduce you to a very dear friend of mine. Uncle Cletus. This is the lady without whose help the entire Malitoa Mounds excavation would have been impossible. This is Mrs. Annabel Se Blankenship.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

You charmed Professor Tremain.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Not nearly as much as I am, dear lady. I've never met a member of a founding family before.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

There have been Blankenships and Secreases in this part of Georgia since before the Cherokee were driven out. You will dine with me at Coal Fine Plantation once you're settled in.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Of course I will. Oh, yes, of course. Yes, I will. Certainly.

[Miriam]

And hello, Benedict.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Miriam.

[Miriam]

I missed you, Benedict.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

You did? How novel.

[Miriam]

Benedict, please.

[Announcer]

That's all. Your bags, Professor. Oh, and here's mine.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Jerry, you're just in time to be introduced again. This young man is my assistant, Jerry Masters. The striking lady is Miss Annabel Segris. Blankenship, of the first family of the town of the same name, ma'.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Am.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

And the young man, being beastly to his wife, is my distinguished nephew, Dr. Benedict Peterson.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

I think it's time we were getting over to the boarding house, Uncle Fetus. Ms. Moffat doesn't like to keep dinner waiting.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Good.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Neither do I. I've got a car right over here.

[Jubal Elder]

So you're gonna do it.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Oh, my God.

[Jubal Elder]

After all I didn't tell you. After all I done seen, you're still going to do it.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Jubal Elder. You disgusting, drunken slug. Remove yourself from this platform immediately.

[Jubal Elder]

Don't you order me around, Annabelle Segris. I ain't one of your hired hands. I come to speak my peace, and I'll speak it.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Friend of yours, Benedict?

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

This uncle is Mr. Jubal Elder, our resident prophet of doom and the town drunk.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Ah, my pleasure. Mr. Elder. Allow me to introduce my assistant.

[Jubal Elder]

You talk like a Yankee. Oh, I don't have no truck with Yankees.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

How fortunate for both of us.

[Jubal Elder]

But you look that you might have a half a pound of cents, which is more than I can say for this young idiot and that dried up old widow woman over there.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

If my husband were alive, he'd have you horsewhipped about.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Do it, Elder.

[Jubal Elder]

Oh, not by a long shot, it won't. I didn't come here to talk to you. Either of you done that already. I come to talk to you, Yankee.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

To me, Mr. Ella.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

My uncle has no intention.

[Jubal Elder]

Them hills and hollows, they got places in them places no right minded person ever goes. Them places ain't right. Never have been, never going to be. Twisted sick places like a canker on the earth. Them mounds is one of them places. No good will come from messing around them dead things and them things that ought to be dead.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Mr. Elder, I've told you time and time again, there is no evidence that the Malatoa Mound site was ever used as a burial ground.

[Jubal Elder]

Things don't have to been alive to be dead, boy. Things don't have to be dead to be buried. This is old Jubal telling you. Old Jubal knows.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

And what do you know, Mr. Elder?

[Jubal Elder]

I seen it dancing in the dark. I seen it moving like a pillar of fire. I seen it twisting and turning like smoke on the mountain. Let these damn fools break into them mounds. You'll see it, too. Mark my words. You'll see it's don't come.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Gosh.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Yeah, I think that just about sums it up.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

I am mortified that you had to witness that, Professor Tremaine. That man has been a burden and a trial to us for years. He should be put away for his own good.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Ah. Now that that nasty little interlude is over, perhaps we can continue on to the Moffat house. As I was saying, uncle, the car is right over here. If you would deign to join us, Miriam, I.

[Miriam]

Of course, Benedict.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

I will join you at the mounds in the morning, Doctor. Then we can make our plans for you and your uncle to dine with us. Good evening, Professor Tremaine.

[Announcer]

Boy, you sure don't hear stuff like that in Arkham.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Well, that depends on where you are in Arkham, Jerry. Take the old Pickman place. Now, for example.

[Jubal Elder]

Things don't have to be alive to be dead. Things don't have to be dead to be buried.

[Megan McCardell]

Has the news been getting you down? I'm Megan McCardell, and I'm here to help. I'm the host of a new show from Washington Post Opinion called Reasonably Optimistic, and it's an antidote to the pessimism that's riddling America right now. Every Wednesday, I'm going to talk to people who see a path forward.

[Announcer]

It does seem to me that there is some awakening of a desire to act together, to solve problems where they are.

[Howie Mandel]

You know, I am a believer in America, and it's worth fighting for.

[Megan McCardell]

Join me Wednesdays on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Como Mama siempre Quiero lo mejor para mi familia porreso Quiero lo mejor en nico sina tie so significance Egg lands best no importa como los cocines si empresa ven fresco si deliciosos y tien en mass vitaminas de y el de omega tres que los huevos regular Entonces porque conformarte con menos cuando puedestener lo mejor Egg lands best mejor sabor mejor nutricion mejores huevos.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Rooms had been secured for us in the Moffett House, a large boarding establishment run by one Ms. Florence Montgomery Moffat, a lady of rather coy but endearing Southern charm, and by all accounts, a cook of singularly exceptional talents.

[Miriam]

Why, good morning, Professor Tremain. You're just in time. I do believe there's still some breakfast.

[Announcer]

Can I have some more sausage, Ms. Moffat? Oh, you really gotta have some of this white stuff, Professor. It's great. What did you call it, Ms. Moffat?

[Miriam]

Grits, son. We call them grits.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

They look interesting.

[Announcer]

Oh, they are. Especially with scrambled eggs and a little bit of cheese and some bacon and

[Jubal Elder]

a Big pat of butter.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

In that case, my dear Ms. Marfit, I will have the same breakfast my assistant's enjoying only in less heroic proportions.

[Announcer]

Oh, make sure you try the grit, sir. It's delicious.

[Miriam]

Grits, Jerry. It's plural.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Good morning, Miriam. You look a little peaked. Didn't you get enough sleep?

[Miriam]

I couldn't seem to get any better.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

My wife has been having trouble sleeping, Uncle Cletus.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Oh, really? You should try a little warm milk, my dear. I'm Gladys. Used to always give me warm milk when I had trouble sleeping. Also used to give me a strong shot of rum in it. But she never told me that. Actually, I could have done without the milk. It's nasty stuff.

[Miriam]

Come on in, the door's open. I'll have to try that, Uncle Cletus.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Yes, Miriam, you'll have to. Who knows, it might even help.

[Miriam]

Benedict, please.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

So these are grits, are they?

[Miriam]

They're in the dining room, J.B. just finishing up breakfast.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Morning, all. Dr. Peterson.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Oh, Uncle Cletus, this. This stalwart looking individual here is Sheriff Conklin. Conklin? My uncle, Professor Cletus Tremaine.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Pleasure that, professor. I'm John Bell Hood Conklin. Welcome to Blankenship.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

That's a very impressive name, sheriff. Someone seems to have dropped a Confederate general all over it.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Yeah, that was my daddy. He served with Hood throughout most of the war. Had a great deal of affection for the man. Nobody seems to know why. The general got him wounded at Atlanta. Damn near got him killed in Nashville. Well, that was Daddy all over the place.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

I think I can sympathize with that. I had an uncle named Mad Anthony Wayne Tremaine. He ran away to sea at a very early age.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

I never knew that.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

We don't talk about him much.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

I hate interrupting you folks breakfast like this but I do have some business to get out the way. Happened again last night, Dr. Peterson.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

What was it this time? Another chicken?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

No, old Miss Colquitt's dog, Jupiter. Spread that poor old hound all over her front yard. Unfortunately, she's down Decatur visiting her oldest girl. She's about nine to five. That mess had killed her for sure.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

People having trouble with their pets, Sheriff?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Someone's been killing small animals around Noun for about, oh, last three months, Professor Tremain. Now, some folks, they think it's a puma come down from the mountains. Cats don't kill like that. Cats don't open an animal up and spread its lights all over creation. Liver here, heart over there. Intestines all spread to hell and Go, JB Conklin.

[Miriam]

This here's a dinner table. Folks are eating.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Sorry, Ms. Florence.

[Miriam]

Your mama raised you better, Nat.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Yes, Ms. Florence, pardon me, but what exactly does this have to do with my nephew and his work?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Well, this all started right after the the doctor and his folks hit town. Now, what I want to know is if Dr. Peterson wanted some deputies stationed out where his folks are digging. You know, just in case anybody puts two and two together and gets 12.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

I really don't think that'll be necessary, Sheriff. One of the senior staff members is out there most of the time. It's Dr. Delaprego. I'm sure he can handle any problems that might come up.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Well, if you Change your mind, Dr. Peterson, you know where to find me. Pleasure to meet you, Doctor. Professor Tremaine, ma'. Am.

[Miriam]

Benedict, I wish you'd accept the sheriff's offer. This could be dangerous.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

I will have no further discussion on this subject, Miriam. Our work's too important to have a covey of bumpkins stomping all over it, protecting us from sick pranksters.

[Miriam]

Yes, Benedict?

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Uncle Cletus, do you mind if we discuss this while we're at the site? I think that'll put this entire foolishness into perspective.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

You do, do? Yeah, most assuredly.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

I'll see to the car and we can be on our way. Miriam, we should be back in time for dinner. Please inform Ms. Moffat.

[Miriam]

I. I will, Benedict.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Thank you.

[Announcer]

You want your bacon, Professor?

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

No, no, I think I've lost my appetite.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Oh, great.

[Announcer]

I. I mean, that's a shame, sir.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

After my assistant finished eating the escort Admirable Ms. Moffat, out of house and home, we retired to my nephew's Model T and set out for the Malatoa Mounds. Once again, I was struck by the warm calm of this, to me, unnatural Indian summer. When the looming pines pulled back and we motored into a large open meadow in the middle tower, the ancient overgrown hillocks of the Malatoa Mounds.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Let me help you out, Uncle Cletus.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Oh, there's a marvelous new invention for automobiles, Benedict. They call them shock absorbers. I earnestly suggest you buy a set.

[Announcer]

I thought they would be bigger.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Oh, they don't have to be, son. The wonderful thing about the Malatoa Mounds isn't their size. It's that they're so isolated, only the locals really knew about them, and they've tended to ignore the sight. Right this way, Uncle. Now, the entire complex is laid out on a north south axis. Directly to the north is the Mound of the Snake. It has very defined lines. We've already uncovered evidence of stairs going up the south face. At the present time, we're devoting most of our work on the large central Courtyard. It's approximately 300ft wide. It's bounded by the Mound of the Snake, the slightly smaller Mound of the Eagle to the south, and four lesser mounds, two to the east, two to the west.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

So far, the layout's rather standard for pre Columbian North American cultures. Little overly geometrical perhaps.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Oh, but it's the stones that make it truly unique. When we began to clear the site, we discovered a parallel march of tall stones had once connected the two large mounds that all been either knocked down or broken. But we found that originally there had been six foot chiseled stones every 10ft. Now, that's not standard for Mississippians.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

No.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Hand worked every one of them. 60 columns, each one laboriously created by chipping stone against stone. That's unbelievable. It's like trying to dig the Panama Canal with a snow shovel. Oh, the site's a treasure trove. Something wiped out Malatoa at the height of its culture. Everything's right here, just waiting for us to dig it out and identify it.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Do you have any theories as to what choked them off?

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Several. Oh, but here's someone I've been wanting you to meet. He can explain them. Most of them are his.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

We were advancing steadily on a robust young woman and a dark, elegant little man who were talking several yards in front of us. At least the man was. The girl was spending most of her time taking notes.

[Miriam]

Then you feel that it's all interconnected?

[Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego]

Oh, absolutely. One has merely to compare the Great Pyramid of the sun in my native Mexico to the mounds here.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

It's.

[Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego]

See the similarities? Although on a vastly smaller scale, the grouping of truncated pyramids around a central courtyard is the same classic Aztec classic.

[Miriam]

I see.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Excuse me. Raul, this is my uncle, Professor Cletus Tremain. Uncle, this is Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego of the University of Mexico.

[Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego]

Tremaine of Miskatonic University. I read your paper on the appearance of the Cthulhu archetype in South Pole specific cultures. A definitive work, Professor.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Recognition in my own lifetime. How delightful. It is a pleasure, Dr. De la Prego. Allow me to introduce my assistant, Mr. Gerald Masters.

[Announcer]

Oh, just call me Jerry, sir.

[Miriam]

And I'm Elizabeth Garrett. I'm a reporter with the Atlanta constitution.

[Announcer]

Hi.

[Miriam]

Hi. Dr. Della Prego has been kind enough to tell me a little bit about what he's doing here. Perhaps you could tell me something about your connection with all this professional. Professor to Main.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Well, right now I'm merely the elderly uncle of this excavation supervisor. I have very little clout, but I do get humored a lot.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

My uncle's field is prehistoric myth cycles and their reoccurrence during different epochs as evidenced through physical artifacts. Ms. Garrett.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Very good, Benedict. Nicely phrased. And you didn't giggle once.

[Miriam]

Let me just ask you a couple of questions.

[Announcer]

Peterson. Dr. Peterson.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

What is it, Harris?

[Announcer]

We got some real trouble up near the steps grid.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Sheriff is having a run in with

[Jubal Elder]

that crazy Indian guitar Macintosh.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Macintosh? Now, I gave strict orders that that man was not to be allowed to set foot on this dig.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

I know that, sir, and so does the sheriff.

[Jubal Elder]

I think that's what set this whole thing off. I'd come on up there if I was you.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Of all the idiotic. We'll get to the bottom of this right now.

[Announcer]

I told him you wouldn't like it, sir.

[Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego]

I told him. Professor, I suggest we tag along. This could be interesting.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Or at the very least, entertaining.

[Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego]

After you, sir.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Come, Jerry. We made a rather neat parade as we marched across the ancient courtyard. Ahead of us, I could see the formidable bulk of Sheriff Conklin in the slightly smaller form of a man with long black hair and a braid. The Indian with the unlikely name of McIntosh.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Now, damn it, John, you are just going to get yourself in a heap of trouble just like the last time.

[Announcer]

Something I gotta do, J.B. how would you feel if some outsider wandered in and started digging up your kinfo?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

I tell you, it's scientific.

[Announcer]

It's grave robbing.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

It's nothing of the sort. This is sacred ground. This is an archaeological dig. Oh, what's the use, Sheriff? Do I have to swear out a warrant to keep this lunatic from harassing my staff?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

I'll handle this, Doc. Now, look, John, I tried to be nice about this. Cause your daddy knew my daddy. But I don't want any more trouble here. And you know what I mean. Do not deny it.

[Announcer]

I don't know what you're talking about,

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

JB all this stuff started right after these folks started working. And ain't nobody been riled up about except you. Now, what am I supposed to think?

[Announcer]

You really think I've got nothing better to do with my time than cut up animals?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

You sure got nothing better to do with it than hang around here where you're not wanted.

[Miriam]

Sheriff Conklin. Sheriff Conklin.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Oh, my sweet Lord.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

John Bell Hood. Conklin. You listen to me when I'm talking to you.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Yes, Miss Annabelle.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Now you arrest him. Him? John Bell. You arrest him right now.

[Jubal Elder]

You hear me?

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Right now.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Arrest who? John McIntosh.

[Jubal Elder]

What?

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

For trespassing? Spitting on Sunday?

[Jubal Elder]

What?

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

For what he did to Mammoth. For what he did to my poor, poor mammoth.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

She owns a prehistoric elephant.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Uncle Cletus, please.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

The best breeding stock in the state of Georgia. Bloodlines, better than royalty. And he's over there right under your stupid noses. You follow me. You follow me right now. All of you.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Yes, Ms. Annabelle.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Like the wake of a battleship, we trailed behind her. She stormed toward the surrounding trees. And in the shadows of those darkling pines, we found the mysterious mammoth.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

There, you see? Do you see what he did to the finest stallion in five states? Do you see?

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Oh, my God.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Mammoth was or had been an gigantic Rome stallion. A beast of truly epic magnificence. You can still see that in the elegant muscles, the graceful sweep of the neck, the mane that spread away from it like a glowing stain on the grass. And around that mutilated magnificence, glistening in the corrupt night of the summer country, wheeled and danced swarm after swarm of flies, bloated and slick.

[Jubal Elder]

Wow.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

I I. Oh. I told you. I told you. I want him arrested. I want that monster arrested for what he did to Mammoth.

[Jubal Elder]

Oh, my Lord.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

He's. He's been cut to ribbons. Look at that. Just look. Damn, John.

[Jubal Elder]

Damn.

[Announcer]

I didn't do it, JB I swear to you, I didn't do it.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Terrible. Disgusting.

[Dr. Raul Hernandez de la Prego]

Did you notice the way the incision was made into the belly? One clean slice from the neck to the center and two others slices from the legs to the midsection.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Look at the way the organs have been shifted around in the body cavity itself. Heart moved here. The liver's over there.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

What are you waiting for? Sheriff Conklin?

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Arrest him.

[Announcer]

Ms. Garrett. Elizabeth, are you all right?

[Miriam]

Please. Please. I'll be okay. Just leave me alone for. Oh, God. I've never seen anything like oh, God.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

I can't arrest him without proof, ma'.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Am.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Oh, God. Arrest him, you great staring moonpath. The colonel always said you didn't have this since God gave a great.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

All right, all right. That will just about do it. Everybody shut up.

[Announcer]

Damn it, J.B. i didn't.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

Shut up, John.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

Now, see here, Sheriff, you shut up too.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Well, it's just about time.

[Professor Cletus Tremaine]

Ms. Annabelle.

[Sheriff John Bell Hood Conklin]

When I said everybody shut up, I meant everybody.

[Announcer]

Be sure to check back for the second installment of Thomas E. Fuller's A Dancer in the Dark.

[Jubal Elder]

The Dancer in the Dark was written by Thomas E. Fuller and directed by Doug Kay. The music was created by Terry Sanders. It starred Brad Strickland as Professor Cletus Tremaine, Joyce Lee as Annabelle, Ron N. Butler as Benedict, Dina Friedman as Miriam,

[Announcer]

Terry Sanders as Professor De La Prego, Doug K. As Jewel Elder and the Old Indian, Daniel Taylor as McIntosh, Thomas E. Fuller as JB Karen Barrett as

[Jubal Elder]

Elizabeth, Phil Carter as Jerry, Matt Sacato as Harris and Karen Wilbanks as Ms. Moffat.

[Announcer]

Our floor manager was Amanda Baskin. Live sound effects were performed by Lily Sonya and by Jeff Baskin. Tape sound effects were created by Henry Howard. The sound engineers were David Carter and Bill Richard.

[Jubal Elder]

This show was produced by William Allen Rich and we are your announcers, Doug

[Announcer]

Kay and Phil Carter.

[Jubal Elder]

And we are the Atlanta Radio Theater Company.

[Announcer]

Intro music by Alton Leonard and intro sound clips are of Tamara Morton and Doug Kay. A Dancer in the Dark was recorded live here in Atlanta, Georgia at Syfy SummerCon 2003. And remember, there is adventure in sound.

[Dr. Benedict Peterson]

All material is copyright by its creators or the Atlanta Radio Theater Company.

[Annabelle Segris Blankenship]

Artc.org.

[Megan McCardell]

Has the news been getting you down? I'm Megan McCardell and I'm here to help. I'm the host of a new show from Washington Post Opinion called Reasonably Optimistic and it's an antidote to the pessimism that's riddling America right now. Every Wednesday I'm gonna talk to people who see a path forward.

[Announcer]

It does seem to me that there is some awakening of a desire to act together to solve problems where they are.

[Howie Mandel]

You know, I am a believer in America and it's worth fighting for.

[Megan McCardell]

Join me Wednesdays on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Howie Mandel]

Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow267's million dollars gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right [e-mail] that's globalgamingleague.com everybody games.