Dark Fantasy 41-12-05 (04) Demon Tree

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “Dark Fantasy 41-12-05 (04) Demon Tree”

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: January 20, 2026
Original Airdate: December 5, 1941 (Original “Dark Fantasy” broadcast)
Runtime covered: 01:02 – 25:09

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Episode Overview

This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio features the chilling radio play “Demon Tree” from the classic horror anthology "Dark Fantasy." In true Golden Age radio fashion, a group of travelers finds themselves trapped by supernatural forces in a cursed forest, where myth bleeds into reality, and a malevolent entity stalks the living. The episode expertly creates suspense, dread, and intrigue using atmospheric sound, engaging character interplay, and haunting narration.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

The Boredom and Discontent at the Inn (01:29–03:10)

• The story opens with four English guests—Humphreys, Crane, Clara, and Danvers—passing the time playing cards, lamenting their uncomfortable stay at a dreary countryside inn.
• Quote:
  • “Beastly place is right. Why people come here for a rest is more than I can determine. Honestly, I've never spent such an uncomfortable week in all my life.” — Clara (02:05)
• Danvers joins the group, and they decide to explore the nearby forest to pass time before their stagecoach arrives.

A Legend in the Woods—The Tale of the Demon Tree (03:10–06:27)

• Humphreys brings up a local legend about the haunted Barlow Forest and the infamous tree that is said to strangle those who enter.
• He shares a newspaper clipping:
  • The tale recounts how Sir Horace Wakefield was found strangled in the forest, with six descendants of the Wakefield line dying by such means.
  • The curse began with an ancient witch cursing Sir Thomas Holly Wakefield and planting a blood-smeared acorn that grew into a monstrous oak.
• Quote:
  • “She is said to have planted an acorn smeared with her own blood. The acorn is supposed to have grown into a towering oak, capable of moving about from place to place in Barlow Forest.” — Danvers, reading the article (05:08)
• Crane wonders aloud if he might be related to the Wakefield family.

Entering Barlow Forest—Supernatural Unease (06:27–09:43)

• The group enters the seemingly beautiful but forbidding woods.
• An unnatural chill and sense of dread set in; the forest is noticeably colder and darker.
• They encounter a strange, giant oak tree.
• A series of shocking discoveries:
  • The bark feels disturbingly like human skin.
• Quote:
  • “I just touched the bark of that tree. And didn't feel like bark at all? No, it felt like... like human skin.” — Crane (08:52)

Panic, Terror, and Death (09:43–15:37)

• The party becomes lost as unnatural darkness shrouds them.
• Crane, increasingly desperate, breaks away from the group and is attacked.
• Quote:
  • “You'll think this is foolish, but I swear I felt the branch of a tree brush across my face and shoulder... it felt warm and soft. Like human flesh.” — Crane (12:25)
• Crane is found dead, with mysterious green stains and marks on his throat, and the demon tree vanishes from sight.
• Quote:
  • “Look at him. Marks on his throat like hands would make... That wasn't done by hands. See? Stains on his skin. Green stains.” — Clara (14:23)
• The others resolve to stick together, but are haunted by the feeling they’re pawns in a dark design.

More Losses—The Tree Strikes Again (15:37–20:22)

• As the group tries to find their way out, Danvers is attacked by a tree branch and pulled to his death in a quicksand pit, the branch preventing rescue.
• The supernatural, mobile tree makes a ghostly appearance, carrying Crane's body.
• Quote:
  • “It's the tree. Moving along in a glow of phosphorescent light.” — Humphreys (17:55)
  • “That tree branch is baiting me. I can't get near the Pole. The branch keeps bidding me back. Humphrey, do something!” — Danvers (19:17)

Escape—But No Sanctuary (21:06–22:58)

• Only Humphreys and Clara manage to find their way back to the inn.
• They are haunted by the sense that the curse of the tree still lingers.
• Quote:
  • “I have a feeling that this whole business isn't over yet.” — Humphreys (22:20)
  • “A feeling that we're not finished with the demon tree... Or that it's not finished with us.” — Clara (22:29–22:33)

The Final Haunting—The Tree's Reach Extends (22:58–24:10)

• Upon returning to their room, they discover a living branch of the demon tree on the bed, pulsating with uncanny energy.
• In the chaos, Clara is driven to the elevator shaft by the malevolent branch and falls to her death. Humphreys is strangled by the branch as he tries to call for help.
• Quote:
  • “That branch. It pushed her down the shaft. It's after me. Get away. Get away. Help me. Help me, somebody. The tree. The demon tree. It's chalking me.” — Humphreys (23:41)

Epilogue—The Curse Restated (24:10–24:49)

• The narrator’s voice repeats the legend:
  • “A descendant of Sir Thomas Hurley Wakefield, who enters Barlow Forest is doomed to die. And all who enter the forest with him are likewise doomed.” (24:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I say, it's getting a little lighter, Clara... Isn't that a path?” — Humphreys, hope flickering amidst horror (21:14)
• “It just doesn't seem right leaving him there.” — Humphreys, expressing the helplessness and grief of the survivors (15:30)
• The atmosphere: Tight-knit group dynamics, descent into hysteria, and the shifting, inescapable threat of the Demon Tree is enhanced by sound design and dialogue-driven suspense.
• The living, mobile tree is both monstrous and uncannily human, representing the supernatural at its most inexplicable and terrifying.

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Important Timestamps

• 01:13 – Eerie opening: “I am the spirit of the demon tree.”
• 04:13–05:38 – Reading of the legend and curse.
• 08:52 – Discovery of the human-flesh-like bark.
• 13:34–14:42 – Crane’s death and its aftermath.
• 17:55–18:32 – The tree appears, carrying Crane’s body.
• 19:11–19:44 – Danvers is attacked and lost to the quicksand.
• 21:20–22:33 – Survivors return, but dread remains.
• 23:00–24:10 – The demon tree branch attacks in the hotel, claiming the last survivors.

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Tone & Style

The story is told in classic 1940s radio drama style—clipped English accents, dry wit even in terror (“Perhaps you're right, Crane, but this way I get a sense of honest toil”), and an escalating sense of helpless doom. Dialogue and sound together weave an atmosphere of gothic suspense and chilling inevitability.

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Final Thoughts

This episode captures the essence of Golden Age radio horror: a malevolent supernatural curse, inescapable fate, and the collapse of reason amid mysterious terror. “Demon Tree” stands out for its effective use of legend, group dynamics, and a horror that “isn’t finished” once the story seems over.

If you love atmospheric horror, classic storytelling, and the unique chills of old time radio, this is an essential listen.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Dark fantasy.

[C]

I am the spirit of the demon tree.

[B]

£3 on the jack of diamonds.

[D]

You should tear your money up, Humphreys. It would last you longer.

[B]

Perhaps you're right, Crane, but this way I get a sense of honest toil. I say, isn't anyone else betting?

[E]

Oh, let's quit. I'm tired of losing.

[D]

Oh, look here, old girl. Could I loan you a few pounds?

[E]

No, thank you, Crane. I have enough to get me back to London if we ever do get back.

[D]

Now why do you say that, Clara? It's only a matter of a stage getting through here to the resort and taking us out of this beastly place.

[E]

Beastly place is right. Why people come here for a rest is more than I can determine. Honestly, I've never spent such an uncomfortable week in all my life.

[D]

Well, think of me. I've been here three. So have you, Humphreys.

[B]

Look here, you two, it's three o'.

[D]

Clock.

[B]

They're expecting the stage around eight to nine. What do you say the three of us go for a bit of a walk through the forest?

[D]

I say, why not? Oh, here comes Danvers. Perhaps he'll join us.

[E]

Anything to get away from this place. Good afternoon, Danvers.

[C]

Greetings, good people. I take it you're no happier than when I left you a while ago.

[D]

The place is as gloomy as a morgue. We've just agreed to take a walk in the forest back of the inn. Invited to come along if you like.

[C]

Sounds like a good enough way to pass the time.

[B]

Good. We all go together. Besides, I'm quite interested in that forest out there. You remember, of course, the story the night clerk told us? Last evening? Yes.

[D]

I don't like him. He talks through his nose. People should talk through their mouths.

[B]

No, no, no. I mean what he told us about the forest.

[E]

What about the forest? I didn't hear it. Humphries.

[B]

Well, the clerk said it was a gorgeous place. Lots of beautiful foliage, vivid colors, clear water, lakes.

[E]

But nobody goes there. So beautiful.

[B]

That's just it, Clara. You see, people have gone there and never come back.

[C]

Rubbish. It's a lot of nonsense. Why, the clerk is just superstitious, that's all.

[D]

I am inclined to agree with you, Danvers. Why, he even told us an absurd story about a tree out there in that forest that's supposed to strangle people.

[E]

Strangle them?

[F]

How?

[D]

Oh, I don't know. With its branches, I suppose. Just some absurd legend that people around here like to believe.

[B]

I believe it's more than just a legend, Crane.

[C]

What makes you say that? Old man here.

[B]

I talked to the clerk again later last night. He dug out this old newspaper clipping for me. Read it, Danvers. Aloud.

[C]

Old is right. Almost illegible.

[E]

Well, read.

[G]

Says.

[C]

London, England, April 21, 1857. It is reported that Sir Horace Wakefield, Earl of Dorsere, was found strangled last night in Barlow Forest. His body was discovered entangled in the branches of a huge oak tree.

[B]

Go on, read the rest of it.

[C]

Earl's death recalls to mind the weird tale of the Witch of Barlow Forest, who is said to have lived in the 16th century. An evil old hag who, upon having a falling out with Sir Thomas Holly Wakefield, cursed him and warned him that any of his descendants who entered Barlow Forest would surely perish.

[D]

Charming old girl, wasn't she?

[B]

No, no, no. Don't scoff until you've heard the rest of it.

[E]

Go on, Danvers.

[C]

She also added that any person of persons with the Wakefield descendant would also die. She is said to have planted an acorn smeared with her own blood. The acorn is supposed to have grown into a towering oak, capable of moving about from place to place in Barlow Forest. Sir Horace is the sixth of the Wakefield line to have perished by strangulation in the forest.

[D]

Thomas Hurley Wakefield. I wonder.

[B]

You wonder what, Crane?

[D]

My mother's name was Wakefield. I was just wondering if she was related to Sir Thomas.

[E]

Oh, of course not, Crane. It's just a story.

[B]

But an extraordinary story, don't you say?

[E]

Yes. Wouldn't do very well as a bedtime story, would it?

[C]

A demon tree. I wonder if we could find it.

[D]

Well, let's have a try, shall we?

[C]

I'm game.

[E]

Don't let anybody say I'm not.

[D]

Then let's go. Oh, Humphreys. Going along. I say, Humphreys, are you daydreaming?

[F]

Hmm?

[B]

I was just thinking.

[D]

Wouldn'T it be.

[B]

Odd if the whole thing were true if we all went in there and didn't come?

[E]

Well, do you gentlemen see any way we can get into that forest?

[D]

It's as dense as Father Time's beard. Doesn't seem to be an opening anywhere.

[F]

I think we can get in over here.

[D]

Oh, all right. Coming, Danvers?

[F]

There seems to be a footpath over here.

[C]

Only one along this line of the forest there seem.

[B]

Oh, yes, you're right. Come on. I'll leave. Well, we'd better remember the way back. It'd be hard to get out of here if we didn't know where this opening is.

[E]

Don't worry, I'll remember it. I'm good at landmarks.

[D]

Go ahead, Clara. I'm right behind you.

[C]

I say, do any of you feel that?

[D]

Feel what, Danvers?

[B]

The chill.

[C]

I feel like. Like it's 20 degrees colder in this place.

[E]

I feel that way too.

[B]

So do I. It's naturally cooler in the woods where the sun doesn't shine.

[C]

But not this much cooler.

[E]

I don't like this place. I'm for going back to the inn.

[D]

Oh, let's get on ahead a little ways. I say, it is pretty in here.

[E]

Pretty or not, it gives me the creeps.

[C]

It isn't the kind of cold caused by climatic changes. What was that, Danvers? I said it's a different kind of cold. It's the kind that creeps up your spine when some. Some evil comes over you.

[D]

Oh, now, Danvers, we're just letting that newspaper story play on your mind.

[C]

Wait a minute here. Look. That tree there in front of us. It looks like a human giant joke. You're right, Danvers. I couldn't swear it moved. Just a moment ago.

[E]

It did move. I saw it too.

[D]

That's the strangest looking tree I ever saw. Look at that bark. I wonder if.

[C]

Crane, what's wrong, man?

[D]

I. I just touched the bark of that tree. And didn't feel like bark at all? No, it felt like. Like human skin.

[C]

Yeah. Let me feel it. By heaven, it's true. It does feel like skin. Warm the smooth and soft.

[E]

Yes, it feels that way to me, too.

[D]

Here, Humphries, you touch it.

[B]

No, thanks.

[C]

Go ahead, Humphries. Feel it.

[B]

I have no desire to. You see, I'm sure you're right.

[G]

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[A]

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[H]

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[B]

What's that? I feel that. But this is the Demon Tree of Barlow Forest.

[C]

I think we've seen enough of this place, haven't we? Let's get back to the end.

[E]

Yes, let's.

[D]

All right. Come on, Whyte.

[C]

Wait a minute. Have you noticed how dark it is? All of a sudden?

[B]

The sun's behind a cloud. Probably.

[D]

It's impossible to see the sky through this foliage.

[E]

It is darker. I can hardly see where I'm walking.

[D]

Are you quite sure this is the right way? I don't remember this clearing.

[C]

I don't either.

[F]

Wait a minute. By heaven.

[D]

This isn't the way it must be.

[C]

We're on the path, aren't we?

[E]

No, I don't think we are. It's so dark. Do any of you have a flash?

[D]

I certainly don't remember this clearing. I think.

[F]

What was that?

[B]

What was what? Cling.

[F]

You.

[D]

You'll think this is foolish. But I swear I felt the branch of a tree brush across my face and shoulder.

[C]

That's. That's impossible. There's not a tree within 50ft of.

[D]

But I felt it, I tell you. It rustled like a branch covered with leaves. And yet it. It felt warm and soft. Like human flesh.

[E]

Crane, are you sure?

[F]

Yes. Look.

[D]

We're lost here. It's dark. Dark as night. Right in the middle of the afternoon. And we've lost the path and that tree.

[B]

Easy, Crane. Keep your head, man.

[D]

I'm getting out of here. I'm not going to stay here and be murdered.

[C]

Crane, stay with us.

[G]

No.

[F]

No. I'm going to find the path and get out of here.

[E]

Crane, stay here. We'll find a way back.

[F]

I don't want to stay here and die. I want to get away from this place. Crane. Don't be a fool. Crane.

[E]

He's gone.

[C]

Now he is in for it. We're better off by staying together.

[B]

I don't know whether we are or not.

[F]

Listen.

[E]

It's great.

[B]

Sounds like he's strangling.

[F]

Come on.

[E]

We couldn't have gotten far.

[F]

Right over here, I think.

[B]

Take it easy now. Be careful.

[E]

Oh, there he is.

[C]

Yes. Stretched out on the ground like. Like he was dead.

[B]

Look.

[C]

Look at him. Marks on his throat like hands would make.

[E]

That wasn't done by hands. See? Stains on his skin. Green stains.

[B]

Thomas Wakefield Crane.

[E]

Oh, what a horrible way for him to die.

[B]

Clara, the tree. This is where we first saw it. Now it's gone.

[E]

Humphreys, you're right. This is where it was. I'm sure of it.

[C]

Then what's happened to it?

[B]

The important question is, what are we going to do with Crane?

[C]

We'll have to leave him here until we can find a way out of this place.

[E]

Poor Crane. It happened so quickly. One minute he was with us, and.

[B]

The next we warned him not to leave us. Now the three of us had better stay close together.

[F]

Oh, yes.

[E]

For heaven's sakes, let's not get separate and do.

[D]

Come on.

[C]

There's nothing we can do for Crane now. We've got to find our way out of here.

[B]

It just doesn't seem right leaving him there.

[C]

It's all we can do. Command.

[E]

How do we know which way to go?

[C]

We don't. All we can do is keep moving and hope to find the path again.

[E]

Oh, it's horrible wandering about like this like. Like nothing but a group of marionettes.

[B]

Controlled by what strange puppeteer.

[C]

What? What's that? Humphreys?

[B]

I said controlled by what? Strange puppeteer.

[E]

Humphreys, surely you don't think we've been purposely led into this?

[B]

Who can say?

[C]

Oh, now, Humphreys, Crane went off the deep end. We've got to keep our heads.

[E]

We found a way in. Surely we'll find a way out.

[B]

Yes, we did find a way in. But what about the chill, the darkness?

[C]

There's some explanation. Perhaps a storm is coming up. Yes, that could be it, couldn't it?

[B]

Storms don't rise that quickly in this part of the country.

[E]

And the darkness, it came down on this forest like a shroud.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Came so quickly. Reminded me of how a corpse must feel in his coffin when the lid is put over him.

[C]

Look here, Humphries. I'm about fed up with that sort of talk.

[B]

Only a fool refuses to face the facts, Danvers. You know this isn't any ordinary situation. We're in the chill of winter and the summertime darkness in mid afternoon. And a tree that strangles.

[C]

It was probably just an. An accident. Crane's death.

[B]

Why don't you stop trying to tell yourself that the tree was only an imaginary thing? We all know that it's real. Hungry and as alive as any of us. The bark did feel like human flesh.

[E]

Dan. Was Humphries.

[G]

Look.

[D]

What?

[C]

What is it? A glow of light. There ahead of us.

[E]

It's the tree.

[B]

There now. What do you think, Danvers? Look. It's the tree. Moving along in a glow of phosphorescent light.

[C]

Good heavens. It's the same tree.

[E]

It looks like a human giant.

[C]

It was nowhere near here.

[F]

It was back there.

[B]

Do you two see what the tree is carrying?

[C]

It's carrying Crane. It's got him tucked up under that huge branch that looks like a human arm.

[B]

It's fading now. Disappearing again.

[C]

Fading away.

[D]

Yes. Gone.

[F]

He's gone.

[B]

Now do you believe, Danvers? Now do you admit that the tree is alive?

[C]

What else can I believe? I don't know.

[F]

Danvers. Look out. He's fallen into a water pit. Help. Huntsman, It's Christian.

[E]

I'm really thinking.

[F]

Help. I lend my race. Get me out of here. Stand still, Danvers. You just sink deeper. Quick, help me out of here. There's something I can get out of here. Danvers. Danvers, grab the end of that pole.

[E]

He'll end your help on me.

[F]

Grab it, Danvers.

[G]

Grab it.

[F]

The pole, Danvers. Grab the end of the. Pull you off. That tree branch is baiting me.

[B]

Good Lord.

[F]

Listen, Clara.

[E]

A tree branch. But we can't see him.

[F]

I can't get near the Pole. The branch keeps bidding me back. Humphrey, do something. He's up to his shoulders now. I can't. I can't make it. I can't. Help. Take me. Take me.

[E]

He'll go under the quick standards to try and go.

[F]

Danvers. There's nothing I can do. That tree. The demon tree. There's no shaving from it.

[E]

He's gone.

[B]

Poor devil didn't have a chance.

[E]

Humphries. We've got to get out of here. We're all doomed.

[F]

It's the way for your curse.

[B]

Let us stop it.

[E]

It is the curse.

[F]

We're helpless.

[E]

There's nothing we can do to save ourselves.

[F]

Clara, stop it. Our prisoner now.

[B]

We can't give up. We've got to find a way out of this place.

[C]

Follow me.

[B]

Be careful where you step. Whatever happens, keep your head. Clara, for heaven's sake.

[G]

Oh.

[E]

I'm so tired. We've walked for hours.

[B]

I say, it's getting a little lighter, Clara.

[F]

Up ahead, there.

[B]

Isn't that a path?

[G]

What?

[E]

Oh, you're right, Humphreys. It's the path we came in on. And look.

[B]

There's an opening through the trees.

[E]

Yes, I remember the landmarks. Oh, thank God for the light.

[F]

Come on, clever Sarah.

[B]

Out of this place. There's nothing we can do for Danvers or Crane now. Clara.

[C]

Yes?

[B]

I. I wonder if you feel as I do. I thought we'd be safe back here in the hotel. I don't know how to describe it, but I have a feeling that this whole business isn't over yet.

[E]

I know. I've had the same feeling. A feeling that we're not finished with the demon tree.

[B]

Or that it's not finished with us.

[E]

Yes, exactly.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

My room. Better go in and have a drink, Clara. Heaven knows we need one.

[E]

Yes, I certainly do.

[B]

What's worrying me is how we're going to explain what happened to Craig and Danvers. Yeah. Wait a minute. I'll get the light.

[E]

There, Humphreys, on the bed there.

[B]

Good Lord. The branch of a tree about two feet long.

[F]

Humphreys, don't touch it. Look at it. Look at it.

[B]

A fresh living branch.

[F]

Put it down.

[E]

Oh, Humphreys, I'm getting out of here.

[B]

Where are you going?

[E]

Down to the lobby and wait for the stage.

[B]

Hold on, I'll go with you.

[F]

Wait, Cleta, wait. It's three flights down.

[B]

Let's take the elevator.

[E]

All right. We can get the thing up here.

[B]

It's automatic. Just push the button. It'll come up.

[E]

Humphreys, look. Someone left the steel gate open.

[B]

I say, that's dangerous.

[E]

It certainly is. Humphreys, that branch is pushing.

[F]

Drop it, Humphreys.

[B]

Good Lord.

[F]

Clara. Clara. That branch. It pushed her down the shaft. It's after me. Get away. Get away. Help me. Help me, somebody. The tree. The demon tree. It's chalking me.

[C]

And a descendant of Sir Thomas Hurley Wakefield, who enters Barlow Forest is doomed to die. And all who enter the forest with him are likewise doomed.

[B]

Dark fantasy.

[D]

You have just heard the Demon Tree, an original tale of dark fantasy by Scott Bishop. Tonight's cast included Eleanor Naylor Coren as Clara. Ben Morris, who was Humphrey's Garland Moss took the part of Danvers and Murillo Schofield was heard as Crane. Next Friday night at this time, the National Broadcasting Company will will bring you another unusual and fantastic adventure thriller. Men Call Me Mad. The story of another world and the people who inhabit it. An exciting and weird tale of dark fantasy created by Scott Bishop. Dark fantasy originates in the studios of station wky, Oklahoma City.