Mystery in the Air – “The Lodger”

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Mystery in the Air 47-08-14 (07) The Lodger
Date: October 28, 2025
Stars: Peter Lorre (the Lodger), Agnes Moorehead (Ellen Bunting)

Episode Overview

This episode of Mystery in the Air, originally broadcast in 1947 and starring Peter Lorre, adapts Marie Belloc Lowndes’ suspenseful story “The Lodger.” Set in foggy London, the narrative follows Ellen Bunting and her husband as they rent a room to a mysterious stranger, Mr. Sleuth, amid a series of grisly murders perpetrated by a killer known as "The Avenger." The story mixes psychological tension, religious mania, and classic radio drama atmosphere, pushing its landlady protagonist to the breaking point as suspicions close in on her unsettling new lodger.

Key Discussion Points and Story Progression

I. Setting the Scene

• London in Fear: Serial murders attributed to “The Avenger” terrorize the city. The latest victim matches the killer’s usual pattern: blond, a music hall patron.

• Economic Desperation: Ellen and her husband struggle financially, longing for their daughter Daisy to return home, but they can’t afford it—unless they find a lodger.

  “Robert, Robert. He could be the fellow standing next to you. Or maybe the man you bump into. It's a terrible story.”
  — Mrs. Ellen Bunting (03:36)

II. Arrival of the Lodger

• Mr. Sleuth's Entrance: A man in a black cape and hat arrives seeking a quiet room. He seems eccentric and insists on privacy, immediately unnerving Ellen.

  “I'm looking for a quiet room. But it should be very quiet.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (05:19)

• Religious Obsession: Mr. Sleuth rejects beauty (“pretty pictures interest me very little”) and clings to his Bible, quoting scripture and focusing on sin and punishment.

  “I like the bareness. Yes, I think I'll take it... My name is Sleuth. S-L-E-U-T-H. Think of a hound, Mrs. Bunting, and you'll never forget my name.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (06:02, 07:23)

• Odd Behavior: He turns pictures of young women to the wall, declaring them “wicked and sinful.”

  “I've turned [the pictures] to the wall because they are wicked and sinful. Don't you agree, Mrs. Bunting, that everything wicked and sinful should be purged from the earth?”
  — Mr. Sleuth (09:49)

III. Suspicion and Tension Mount

• Paranoia Grows: With each new murder, anxiety deepens — especially when newsboys cry out that “the Avenger” has killed again close by.
  [11:18]

• Ellen’s Dilemma: Despite her fear, her family desperately needs Mr. Sleuth’s rent.

  “He seems so helpless sometimes... This man couldn’t be a murderer. It was all a coincidence. Besides, we just couldn’t afford to lose that 30 shillings a week.”
  — Mrs. Ellen Bunting (14:23)

• Investigation: Ellen sneaks into Mr. Sleuth’s room hoping to glimpse his belongings, suspecting his case may contain a murder weapon. She panics when she hears him return. [16:02–16:45]

• Daisy Returns: Their daughter’s arrival adds urgency and vulnerability, as she matches the Avenger’s victim type.

• Sleuth's Hostility to Pleasure: Mr. Sleuth launches into diatribes against “dancing” and “music,” calling them “instruments of sin.”

  “Enjoyment and fun, my child, are a devil’s breeding ground. All his implements are there: pleasure and impropriety—the temptation of music, dancing.”
  — Mr. Sleuth to Daisy (18:45)

  “She lies in wait as for a prey and increases the transgressors among men.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (19:16)

• Confrontation: Sleuth bristles when Ellen and Bunting are near his things, insisting his room remain locked. [17:37]

IV. The Inquest and Confirmation

• Coroner’s Inquest: Ellen attends, hoping to allay her fears. Instead, a witness describes the Avenger: black cape, gaunt, a foreign accent, reciting scriptures—matching Mr. Sleuth perfectly.

  “He wore a black cape, I believe, was very gaunt looking, was carrying a small handbag... had a low, hesitating voice, I’d say with something of a continental accent... quite mad... reciting scriptures from the Bible.”
  — Witness at inquest (21:14–21:38)

• Ellen’s Horror: Realization dawns—her lodger is likely the murderous Avenger.

  “Oh no, it can’t be. It can’t be. Could there be any doubt about it now? Mr. Sleuth, our lodger, he was the murderer.”
  — Mrs. Ellen Bunting’s thoughts (21:38)

V. Final Confrontation and Climax

• Rushing Home: Ellen realizes Daisy is alone with the lodger and, frantic, rushes home with her husband. [22:46]

• Sleuth’s Delirious “Salvation” of Daisy: Mr. Sleuth, unhinged, tells Daisy she is to be “elevated beyond all sin and evil”—the seventh victim.

  “You are the seventh to be elevated, my child. And my work is almost done.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (23:34)

• Physical Struggle: Ellen and her husband intervene just as Sleuth is about to kill Daisy. In the chaos, Sleuth is fatally wounded by his own weapon.

  “Oh, he fell on the knife... It is burning in me like a fire. Oh, purges me and consumes me. All sin and evil are falling away. Praise, praise and glory: for it is I who is the seventh. The vengeance is fulfilled.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (25:32, 25:44)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Paranoia and the Ordinary:

  “He could be the fellow standing next to you. Or maybe the man you bump into.”
  — Mrs. Ellen Bunting (03:36)

• Introduction of Mr. Sleuth:

  “My name is Sleuth. S-L-E-U-T-H. Think of a hound, Mrs. Bunting...”
  — Mr. Sleuth (07:23)

• Religious Mania:

  “Music is an instrument of sin.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (08:03) “Enjoyment and fun, my child, are a devil’s breeding ground... The temptation of music, dancing.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (18:45)

• Culmination of Fear and Guilt:

  “Could there be any doubt about it now? Mr. Sleuth, our lodger, he was the murderer.”
  — Mrs. Ellen Bunting (21:38)

• Chilling Climax:

  “Now comes the vengeance and the time to rejoice.”
  — Mr. Sleuth (24:25)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:12 – Mrs. Bunting discusses the murders and fears for her daughter
• 05:07 – Mr. Sleuth arrives, seeking a room
• 09:49 – Sleuth turns pictures to the wall; hints at his puritanical worldview
• 11:18 – The news of another Avenger murder reaches Buntings
• 14:04 – Ellen monitors the lodger, wavering between fear and denial
• 16:02–16:45 – Ellen’s panicked search of Sleuth’s room, interrupted
• 17:58–18:45 – Sleuth lectures Daisy on joy and sin
• 21:14–21:38 – Inquest testimony describes the Avenger (matches Sleuth)
• 22:46 – Ellen realizes the urgency: Daisy is alone with the killer
• 23:10–25:44 – Climax: Sleuth is confronted and dies in delirium

Episode Tone and Style

The episode crackles with the tension of classic radio melodrama, fueled by Peter Lorre’s signature chilling, nervous delivery and Agnes Moorehead’s emotional depth. The dialogue is heavy with religious overtones and mounting psychosis, heightening the claustrophobic atmosphere of suspicion and dread until the explosive final confrontation.

Summary for New Listeners

This atmospheric adaptation thrusts listeners into the harrowing experience of having evil lurking under one’s own roof, perfectly captured by the pensiveness of Ellen Bunting. Is her lodger an eccentric Bible-thumper—or the notorious Avenger prowling London’s foggy streets? As the drama unfolds with suspicions mounting, mistaken trust, and a desperate bid to protect her daughter, the episode builds to a dramatic finale. For fans of psychological suspense and classic radio, this is a quintessential tale—where paranoia might be justified, and the line between oddness and deadly danger is perilously thin.