Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Beyond Midnight - Little Happenthatch
Air Date: March 12, 2026
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Featured Radio Drama: "Beyond Midnight" - “Waxworks” Segment

Episode Overview

This episode transports listeners back to the golden era of radio dramas, presenting the chilling story “Waxworks” from the series "Beyond Midnight." The narrative delves into the macabre as Raymond Hewson, a hard-luck journalist, attempts to spend a night in a museum's notorious "murderers' den" among wax figures of infamous criminals. Blending supernatural suspense with psychological horror, the episode explores the shadows between reality and imagination, culminating in a twist where the boundaries between wax and flesh blur fatally.

Key Discussion Points & Dramatic Moments

The Request: Staying Overnight in the Murderer's Den

• Raymond Hewson, struggling, disheveled journalist, requests to spend a night alone among the wax effigies of history’s most notorious murderers at Mariners Waxworks.
  • Notable Quote [01:21] Narrator: "A night in the murderer's den. That's what Raymond Hewson, the man in the shabby clothes, was after. Why?"
• Manager and Uniformed Attendant express reluctance, citing past refusals and risks. But Hewson’s angle—a published story about the experience—convinces them, especially with the lure of publicity.
  • Memorable Exchange [03:21] Hewson: “I suppose you mean that journalists have no senses to lose?”
  • [04:06] Manager: “How do you propose to treat it?”
    Hewson: “Well, make it gruesome, of course, but with just a saving touch of humor.”

Atmospheric Buildup: Inside the Waxworks

• Narrator paints a vivid, eerie scene: relics of past torture, lifelike murderers rendered in wax.
  • [06:10] Manager: “We keep the place as gloomy as possible. The whole atmosphere of the place is unpleasant.”
• A tour through infamous figures (Fertel, Lefroy, Crippen, Mrs. Dyer, Patrick Mahon) and especially the enigmatic Dr. Burdett/Bourdet—a Parisian healer by day, killer by night, never captured.

Focusing on Dr. Burdett

• Dr. Burdett becomes the focal point of Hewson’s unease.
  • [07:50] Uniformed Attendant: “He’s our starter. He’s the only one who hasn’t been hanged.”
  • [10:01] Uniformed Attendant: “Burdett practiced mesmerism... He was supposed to mesmerize his victims before dispatching them.”

Night Falls: The Ordeal Begins

• Left alone, Hewson’s nerves steadily fray. He begins doubting his senses as wax figures seem to move imperceptibly.
  • [13:58] Hewson: "Must be like this at the bottom of the sea. Have to work that into the story somehow."
• He feels the weight of Dr. Burdett's stare behind him—a psychological motif echoing unease and latent fear.
  • [14:46] Hewson (inner monologue): "My nerves have started already. If I turn and look at that dressed up dummy, it'll be an admission of funk."
  • [15:01] Dr. Burdett (voice in Hewson’s mind): “Not of a lot of waxworks, just one. Dr. Bourdette.”

Reality and Delusion Collide

• Hewson battles between dismissing his unease as mere imagination and feeling a very real threat. Figures seem to shift when not watched; a sense of something breathing in the chamber heightens terror.
  • [17:41] Narrator: “He looked straight into the baffled countenance of Lefroy, which smiled vacantly back, as if to say, it wasn't I.”
  • [19:12] Hewson: “Rose will laugh about this, I tell her. You asleep, Rose girl?”

The Surreal Climax: Dr. Burdett Reveals Himself

• The episode’s most chilling segment: Dr. Burdett steps off his pedestal and addresses Hewson—no longer wax, but flesh and blood.
  • [21:41] Dr. Burdett: “You cannot move or speak without my bidding, but you can hear perfectly well. Something tells me that you are, shall I say, nervous? My dear sir?”
  • [23:15] Dr. Burdett: “I collect throats.”
• Dr. Burdett details how he evaded police, blended in with the wax figures, and how fate brought him a new victim tonight.
  • [23:22] Dr. Burdett: “I should never have selected you from choice, of course. I like men with thick necks. This is a little French razor. The blade ... does not cut very deep, but deep enough. In just one little moment. I shall ask you the little civil question of all polite barbers. Does the razor suit you, sir?”

Finale: Imagination Turned Fatal

• Morning: Hewson is found dead, unmarked, his head tilted as if waiting for a shave, proving his imagination was truly potent—and lethal.
  • [25:23] Narrator: “He was cold and quite dead. His previous employers were wrong in having him credited with no imagination.”
• The wax Dr. Burdett resumes his position—once more a silent effigy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [05:28] Hewson (on his motivation): “After all, they are only waxworks, aren't they?”
• [10:01] Uniformed Attendant: “Mesmerism. Burdett practiced mesmerism.”
• [14:46] Hewson: "My nerves have started already. If I turn and look at that dressed up dummy, it'll be an admission of funk."
• [21:41] Dr. Burdett: “You cannot move or speak without my bidding, but you can hear perfectly well. Something tells me that you are, shall I say, nervous? My dear sir?”
• [23:15] Dr. Burdett: “I collect throats.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:21] – Introduction of the murderers' den and Hewson’s challenge
• [07:31] – Introduction of Dr. Burdett and his sinister backstory
• [13:58] – Hewson starts his vigil; sense of deepening psychological horror
• [21:28] – Dr. Burdett comes to life and confronts Hewson
• [25:23] – Morning discovery; poetic and fatal conclusion

Episode Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is steeped in dread and old-fashioned suspense, relying on psychological horror, atmospheric detail, and the fearful power of suggestion, true to the genre's roots. The language is ominous yet tinged with sardonic humor, maintaining a period feel:

• Manager’s professional skepticism and dry humor
• Hewson’s nervous, self-deprecating banter
• Dr. Burdett’s icy politeness and sinister logic

Summary

This broadcast masterfully revives the radio horror tradition, blending chilling performance with evocative narration. “Waxworks” presents both a literal and psychological descent into terror, as the mundane dissolves into the macabre—proving that sometimes, the greatest horrors lie not in the supernatural, but in the limits of one’s own imagination.

Recommended For:
Fans of golden age radio, classic horror, psychological thrillers, and tales where the boundaries of reality are dangerously thin.