Unsolved Mysteries 36-xx-xx (20) The Horror Of Bebe Dele

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Unsolved Mysteries 36-xx-xx (20) The Horror Of Bebe Dele
Air Date: November 9, 2025
Main Theme:
The episode transports listeners to the Golden Age of Radio, presenting a suspenseful tale of terror and folklore called "The Horror of Bebe Dele." Set in the depths of an African jungle, the story follows three white men and their native companions as they confront a series of brutal killings attributed to a supernatural shape-shifter—specifically, a witch doctor who may have turned into a man-eating beast. The narrative examines the fine line between superstition and science, ultimately diving into the chilling possibility of lycanthropy, or were-animal transformations.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Introduction to the Mystery (02:53–03:57)

• The setting is described evocatively: a remote African village near Benedebele, swallowed by jungle and beset by terror every night.
• Three white men—Frank, Jack, and Bill—stand guard with their rifles, aware of the growing superstition among villagers after a series of gruesome murders.
• Atmosphere and Stakes:
  “The jungle dark, mysterious, full of fearful sounds and fuller yet of fearsome shadows... the kill call of the lion. The sharp hysterical laugh of the hyena.” – Narrator (02:53)

2. The Curse of Nakapa the Witch Doctor (03:57–05:31)

• The villagers believe expelled witch doctor Nakapa has cursed them, vowing to return as a beast.
• Following Nakapa’s curse, a black leopard begins killing villagers—always men, and always in a savage manner.
• Rational vs. Supernatural Debate:
  • Jack dismisses the story as "coincidence" and “silly,” while Frank is more open to the supernatural explanation.

    "I'm willing to accept one or two as coincidence. But 10? That's different." – Frank (05:14)

3. Stalking the Beast (06:02–08:10)

• The adventurers are startled by a bloodcurdling scream—the witch doctor's rumored “call of death.”
• They follow tracks to a wounded animal, and after shooting at it, pursue the blood trail back to their own bungalow.
• Intensifying suspense as they confront the reality that something monstrous is in their midst:

  “Even the beasts know there’s something not quite right…” – Jack (07:33)

4. The Grisly Revelation (08:10–08:57)

• Bloodied pawprints lead into the bungalow, ending at an oak chest.
• When they open the chest, horror strikes: inside is Nakapa, the witch doctor, "half his jaw shot away"—matching the wounds the beast sustained.
• Notable Moment:

  "A gasp of horror escapes them... Sprawled like some nightmarish monster, half his jaw shot away, lies Na Capa, the witch doctor. The horror of Benedeboli." – Narrator (08:41, 08:44)

5. Debating the Explanation (10:22–12:18)

• One hour later, the survivors try to process the unexplainable events.
• Frank introduces the idea of lycanthropy as both a folkloric myth (shape-shifting) and a recognized psychological condition.
• Scientific and supernatural boundaries blur:

  "Science calls it lycanthropy… in pathology, the belief of a person that he or she is some sort of animal." – Frank (11:04, 11:10) "The common name is werewolves, but wolves are by no means the only animal... In Java, we meet with a weretiger. In South America, the word jaguar. In Abyssinia, generally a woman and in the form of hyena or leopard." – Frank (12:00, 12:10)

6. Reflecting on the Unknown (12:18–End)

• The story closes with a chilling literary reference:

  “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in our philosophy.” – Frank quoting Shakespeare (12:18)

• The characters remain unsettled, unable to reconcile the grisly evidence before them with rational explanations.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Laugh that off, will you?” – Frank, challenging Jack’s skepticism about so many deaths being coincidence (05:12)
• “That scream we heard was the witch doctor.” – Jack, after an unearthly sound pierces the night (06:07)
• “Take careful aim. You, Bill, after me. And you, Jack, take the brute if he leaps to the right.” – Frank, as they prepare to confront the beast (07:05)
• “Sprawled like some nightmarish monster, half his jaw shot away, lies Na Capa, the witch doctor.” – Narrator (08:44)
• “Science calls it lycanthropy… in pathology, the belief of a person that he or she is some sort of animal.” – Frank (11:04, 11:10)
• “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in our philosophy.” – Frank (12:18)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Setting the Scene and Stakes: 02:53–03:57
• Exploring the Curse Legend: 03:57–05:31
• Confronting the Beast: 06:02–08:10
• Discovery of Nakapa’s Body: 08:10–08:57
• Discussion of Lycanthropy: 10:22–12:18

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Tone & Style

The episode is classic pulp-radio: suspenseful, atmospheric, and a little melodramatic. The dialogue and narration blend skepticism and fear, grounding the supernatural in both local folklore and tentative scientific explanation. The language is evocative, rich with descriptions of the jungle's menace and the villagers' terror.

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Conclusion

"The Horror of Bebe Dele" is a gripping radio drama that weaves superstition, horror, and proto-scientific speculation into a suspenseful narrative. The characters—and listeners—are left questioning whether what happened was evidence of a psychological disorder, a supernatural curse, or some chilling reality in between. The story remains unresolved, true to the "Unsolved Mysteries" theme, leaving both its characters and the audience haunted by possibilities beyond their understanding.

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

I'm here on a job site with Tim, who owns his own electrical contracting business.

[Tim]

Three employees and two work trucks.

[Narrator/Host]

Tim traded up to Geico Commercial Auto Insurance. We're positively here where he needs us most.

[Jack]

They sure are.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Jack]

Shockingly low, huh?

[Narrator/Host]

Just a little bit of electrician humor.

[Jack]

Do you get it?

[Tim]

I got it.

[Narrator/Host]

You know, it feels like we have a real connection.

[Tim]

All right, I'll stop, get a commercial auto insurance quote [e-mail] and see how.

[Jack]

Much you could save.

[Tim]

Get more with Geico.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Unsolved Mysteries. Out of deference to people who may still be living, character names in some of these true unsolved mysteries have been changed. I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres, thy knotted and combined locks to part, and each particular hair stand on end. So spoke the ghost of Hamlet's father. But the words might well have been applied to the horror of Bena d'.

[Frank]

Ebole.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

The scene is the heart of darkest Africa. A tiny, nameless village not far from Benedebele. The village but a small clearing fighting off the ever engulfing jungle. The jungle dark, mysterious, full of fearful sounds and fuller yet of fearsome shadows. Overhead, the sky is lost beyond the locked and twisted branches of tall trees. And below, the black of night is pierced by the kill call of the lion. The sharp hysterical laugh of the hyena. Shuddering whimpering of a group of natives shivering about the campfire. Three white men, their rifles across their knees, stare out into the surrounding blackness.

[Jack]

If you want to know what I think, I think you fellas are batty. You've been out here too long. You've let a lot of native gossip get under your hide. Now wait a minute, Jack. I haven't seen this thing.

[Frank]

The natives who have seen it say it's a black leopard. I've only seen its tracks and they're enormous. Bigger than any lion spoor I've ever seen. I set a trap for the brute last night. It didn't go off, and this morning I went to take a look at it. It had been set off by hand.

[Jack]

One of the natives probably set it off.

[Frank]

Do you think any one of the natives would come out here after dark with almost a dozen of their brothers lying back? They are mangled so that you can't tell they were other human beings. Not on your life, irrespective of what.

[Jack]

It Is we've got to kill it. Or the natives will pack up and leave the village. You can't convince them that it is no Nakapa, the witch doctor. But it's so silly. The idea that just because they expelled the witch doctor. That he should turn himself into a black leopard and come back to kill them one by one. Why? It's silly.

[Frank]

Maybe it is silly, but look at it from their standpoint. Old Nakapa, who's 70 if he's a day, wants to marry the village belle. Asks a spell on her. In a week she's dead.

[Jack]

Jack will say that's coincidence.

[Frank]

Yes, because he hasn't been out here as long as we have. In any case, the villagers drive old Nakapa out of the village. He curses them and the village and tells them that he'll return in the form of a wild beast and kill. Kill them one by one.

[Jack]

And the next night one of them is mauled by a black panther. And the night after that, and after that, and after that. Till 10 of them have been killed.

[Frank]

Laugh that off, will you?

[Jack]

Coincidence.

[Frank]

Listen, I'm willing to accept one or two as coincidence. But 10? That's different.

[Jack]

Why not 10? If the boat's got a taste for human flesh, why not the whole village? If he's a man eating panther? There's a subtle distinction between a panther and a leopard. Leopards are not man eaters.

[Frank]

And why only the men? Since even a wild animal knows that the women are easier to get.

[Jack]

You're jittery, that's all. What's that?

[Frank]

You're not jittery, are you? Well, that's probably a wild parrot.

[Jack]

That's a parrot's rot. Then you name it. Go on. You've heard it twice. Name it. Well, I. I can't.

[Frank]

I never heard anything like it's niche.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

He come.

[Frank]

That Nakapa. You hear him? Nakapa Give witch doctor call of death. Now that.

[Jack]

That scream we heard was the witch doctor.

[Frank]

You heard what Nietzsche said. Come on.

[Jack]

Come on. Timer getting away from fire.

[Frank]

Yes. Lychee here. Yes, Buena. Hellboy. Who afraid? Follow me. Lie quiet. By fire no move. No speak. Only lie quiet. Yes, Buena may.

[Jack]

Tell him, Number one.

[Frank]

All right, fellows, follow me. We'll get onto the trail.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Forcing their way through the dense underbrush, the three white men, followed closely by their gun bearers, worked their way to the animal trail. The jungle has become strangely still at the horrifying shrieks of the witch doctor. Almost as though brute beasts though they were, they voiced silent disapproval of anything so brutish the Party pushes on their general direction toward Bennett Abele. Suddenly holding up his hand for silence.

[Jack]

Frank stops, then points to a yawning.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Black hole in the already black jungle.

[Jack]

A pair of gleaming eyes.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

A streak of glistening white below the foam flecked jaws of a maddened animal.

[Frank]

Take careful aim. You, Bill, after me. And you, Jack, take the brute if he leaps to the right. Right. Okay.

[Jack]

Ready? Again.

[Frank]

It's gone.

[Jack]

And I know I hit.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

So did I.

[Frank]

Come on, let's hurry.

[Jack]

Look here. The tracks.

[Frank]

Come here, quick.

[Jack]

What is it?

[Frank]

We did hit it.

[Jack]

Look. Somebody's shot took effect. Why, that shot part of its jaw away.

[Frank]

Warner.

[Jack]

Warner.

[Frank]

Come on. Come on. It's at the village.

[Jack]

Even the beasts know there's something not quite right. Beats me how the brute can run it all. It must be more than half dead. If it gets into the compound, we'll have no difficulty finding it.

[Frank]

Or we'll be at the compound in a moment. Bwana. Buena.

[Jack]

Yes, Nichi. Here.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Buena.

[Frank]

Here. It's trained again.

[Jack]

My gosh, he's right. Look. Headed this way. What on earth does a half dead animal want to come this way for? It has to cross the whole length of the compound before it can reach jungle again.

[Frank]

Take it easy now, fellows. We're at the end of the trail.

[Jack]

Bleeding pretty badly now. The spore's soaking.

[Frank]

All right, I'll go first. No foolhardiness, no hasty shooting.

[Jack]

Frank, look. The trail leads right to your bungalow.

[Frank]

I know it.

[Jack]

Stand back.

[Frank]

I'm going first.

[Jack]

It went into the living room. Look out when you go through the opening. This is the Jack stops dead.

[Frank]

His eyes start from his head.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

The bloody paw marks cross the bare wood floor and end before a huge oak chest.

[Jack]

He points and stutters. But it isn't here. Yes, it is. Got your 45 ready, Bill? Yes.

[Frank]

Stand on the left side of the chest. You, Jack in front.

[Jack]

I'll open it.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

On tiptoe and in silence, the three men take their places. The native boys crouch in the open doorway. Taking his.45 in his left hand, Frank slowly opens the heavy lid of the chest.

[Jack]

A gasp of horror escapes them.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Incredulously, Jack leans farther forward and stares into the chest. Sprawled like some nightmarish monster, half his jaw shot away, lies Na Capa, the witch doctor. The horror of Benedeboli.

[Frank]

Dead.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

In just a moment you will hear a solution to the mystery of the horror of Benedevolution.

[Jack]

Sa sam.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Ladies and gentlemen, Inasmuch as any solution must of necessity be supposition, liberties of time, place and character have Been taken with the solution for which you have been waiting. The scene is Frank Hilton's bungalow. One hour later. The natives have disposed of the horror and the three white men are seated at the table, while Nietzsche, the native boy, serves them something to steady their nerves.

[Jack]

Well, Jack, what have you to say now?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Nothing.

[Frank]

I want to forget it. You won't, not as long as you live.

[Jack]

But it's impossible. I expect to wake up any minute and find it's all a nightmare. Yes, and every time you think of it, you'll do the same thing. In spite of the fact that I was here, I still don't believe.

[Frank]

Oh, it's true, all right. This isn't my first experience with one of the things. No, we're not Bill's either. You'll get used to it if you live here long enough.

[Jack]

Not me. I'll take my chances elsewhere.

[Frank]

What would you call it? Never mind what I call it. Science calls it lycanthropy.

[Jack]

Science? Does science recognize what we just saw?

[Frank]

Yes. Lycanthropy is, first in folklore, the liability of a person to turn into an animal.

[Jack]

And.

[Frank]

And secondly, in pathology, the belief of a person that he or she is some sort of. An animal.

[Jack]

Sort of insanity. Yes.

[Frank]

The idea is this, that the person who, through mental maladjustment begins to think like an animal, will, when removed from the company of human beings, actually turn into an animal.

[Jack]

But it's impossible. Humanly impossible. Biologically impossible. Yeah.

[Frank]

Take a look at this.

[Jack]

I've kept the Encyclopedia Britannica.

[Frank]

Yes, I had it copied.

[Jack]

And the pathological state is. It is characterized by the patient's belief that he has been metamorphosed into an animal and is often accompanied by craving for strange articles of food, including the flesh of human beings or corpses. But when he leaves the neighborhood of a man, real metamorphosis may be asserted.

[Frank]

Pleasant sort of idea, isn't it?

[Jack]

It's ghastly.

[Frank]

The common name is werewolves, but wolves are by no means the only animal. The pradhanica states further. In Java, we meet with a wer.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Tiger.

[Frank]

In South America, the word jaguar. In Abyssinia, generally a woman and in the form of hyena or leopard.

[Jack]

And this is the world in which we live.

[Frank]

Yes. Shakespeare expressed it admirably when he wrote. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in our philosophy.

[Jack]

Sam. Foreign.

[Tim]

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