Unsolved Mysteries - Rue Morgue Mystery

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Unsolved Mysteries – Rue Morgue Mystery
Date: August 5, 2026
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio

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Overview

This episode presents a dramatized old-time radio adaptation of "The Murder in the Rue Morgue," inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s legendary detective story. The episode recreates the chilling mystery surrounding the locked-room murder of Rose Delacour, set in 19th-century Paris, and explores the seemingly impossible circumstances under which the crime was committed. The narrative delves into methodical police work, the bewildering details of the crime scene, and, finally, a proposed solution to the case—juxtaposed with Poe’s own famous fictional answer.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Scene: Setting the Tone

[00:22-02:26]

• The story opens with atmospheric narration depicting “Paris of dark, narrow, crooked streets”—a city where danger lurks, and a careless word may mean death.
• The arrival of Mademoiselle Rose Delacour late at night, her weariness, and her longing for the lively Parisian social scene set a foreboding yet vivid background.

The Murder Scene: Discovery & Initial Shock

[03:03-08:25]

• Rose returns home to her modest apartment at 2 a.m. after talking with Madame du France and retires for the night.
• The next morning, Madame grows alarmed when Rose does not answer her summons.
• After failed attempts to rouse Rose, the residents, with the help of Pierre and an axe, force open the bolted door to find Rose murdered—killed in a manner “strange and unnatural.”
• The key elements of the so-called “impossible crime” are established:
  • Door locked from the inside with bolts top and bottom
  • Window also locked, 60 feet above ground—impossible to reach without leaving a trace
  • No other way in or out
  • No motive, no evidence, and no sign of forced entry or hidden passage

Quote [07:00, Anonymous]:
“A bolted door, a lock window 60ft above the ground. Impossible and possible to happen. But it does happen.”

Police Investigation: Dead Ends and Frustration

[08:25-09:50]

• Inspector Lecourt and the Paris police are stumped, unable to explain the locked-room aspects of the murder.
• Searches for enemies, suspects, and motives yield nothing.
• The impossibility of the physical evidence (locked doors/windows, undisturbed scene) becomes the central theme.

Quote [09:35, Monsieur Lecourt]:
“Till my dying day, I shall find myself face to face with that stout oak door, bolted top and bottom, that leaded glass window locked on the inside, and Rose Delacour lying there, staring unseen at the ceiling.”

Reflection: A Mystery for the Ages

[09:50-10:21]

• The episode emphasizes that the Rue Morgue case remains a mystery that haunts the Paris police, and character names have been changed out of respect for the living.
• Listeners are primed for a “supposed” solution after the sponsor break.

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Unveiling the Solution

The Chimney Sweep Theory

[11:49-13:27]

• Inspector Lecourt advances a theory involving a chimney sweep—a common, overlooked figure on Paris rooftops.
• The murderer is envisioned dressing as a chimney sweep, entering the building with plausible tools and a concealed bayonet.
• He hides in Rose’s room, kills her, and uses strings and hooks to pull the door bolts from outside after escaping through the chimney access, thereby explaining the locked room.
• Strings and hooks are then retracted up the chimney, leaving no trace.

Quote [12:40, Murderer’s Internal Monologue]:
“This is easy. The way I have planned it, it cannot—Freely I lower these two hooks on the two lengths of string. Now I lower the bayonet. Then I will go to Rose Delacour's room. I will hide under the bed. And when she is fast asleep, I kill her. In a few moments, I fix the hook to the door and the strings to the bolts. It is so simple. And I return to the roof, I pull the two strings, and voila, the bolts, they are closed. I pull the string and the hooks up the chimney. And, yes, I must not forget. I must not forget the third string. I pull him too, because on that I have the bayonet. How they will puzzle over the mystery, these French police.”

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Reflection on Poe’s Fictional Solution

[13:27-14:01]

• The narrator points out that while Edgar Allan Poe’s solution (an ape as the murderer) was sensational, it ignored the physical impossibilities of the scene, such as the size of the chimney.
• The radio drama chooses a more plausible (though still speculative) mechanical solution.

Quote [13:27, Narrator]:
“Edgar Allan Poe wrote his solution. But Poe was writing fiction. And so, in order to give legitimate literary punch to his denouement, he ignored the fact that the chimney was too small for even the tiniest monkey, let alone an ape, to get through.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [07:00, Anonymous]:
  “A bolted door, a lock window 60ft above the ground. Impossible and possible to happen. But it does happen.”
• [09:35, Monsieur Lecourt]:
  “Till my dying day, I shall find myself face to face with that stout oak door, bolted top and bottom, that leaded glass window locked on the inside, and Rose Delacour lying there, staring unseen at the ceiling.”
• [12:40, Murderer’s Monologue]:
  (See above for full text)
• [13:27, Narrator]:
  (See above for full text)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:22-02:26] – Setting and introduction to the dark side of Paris
• [03:03-08:25] – Discovery of the murder, investigation of the crime scene
• [08:25-09:50] – Police interviews and the locked-room conundrum
• [11:49-13:27] – Inspector Lecourt’s theory: the chimney sweep mechanism
• [13:27-14:01] – Comparison to Poe’s classic tale and critique

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Conclusion

This episode of Harold’s Old Time Radio captures the eerie suspense of Poe's locked-room mystery, weaving in period dialogue, a chilling sense of place, and a rational (if speculative) solution that honors the spirit of Golden Age radio drama. Both fans of old-time mysteries and newcomers will enjoy the blend of nostalgia and clever deduction, ending with the tantalizing reminder that some mysteries—real or imagined—are never truly solved.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Unsolved mysteries. Murder MOST foul as in the best it is, but this most foul, strange and unnatural. Had William Shakespeare penned these lines about the murder in the Rue Morgue, his description could not have been more fitting. The murder in the Rue Morgue was not only strict strange, it was incredible. It was impossible.

[C]

Yet it was.

[B]

The scene is Paris. Not the Paris of the bright lights, the boulevards, the cafes and the theaters, but that Paris of dark, narrow, crooked streets. That Paris in which murder is no stranger. That Paris where the wrong glance, the carelessly spoken word is answered by the night thrust. And the offender is found, cold and stark, staring with glassy eyes at a waning moon. 2:00 clock in the morning, Mademoiselle Rose Delacour turns into La Rue Morgue. The guttering street lamp shows her lithe of figure, pretty of face. At Demoiselle of the Boulevards. She stops at her apartment, number 16,

[D]

and rings the Bellard. Who is it? Rose? You are very late, Rose, and very tired. Paris not what it was. No young gentleman to buy you dinner, eh? You have guessed it. The first time. London. Now that I am hungry. Come with me into my room. The coffee. He is hot. The bread, stale, perhaps, but not too stale. Rose, why do you not go to the country, away from all this? Me? To the country? I cannot live without my daddy. The laughter, the song, the theaters, the cafe, the boulevards. Oh, no, no, no, no. C' est impossible. No one call upon me today. Not one single person, Mashari. Not one. Come competit. Drink the coffee. And then to sleep. Tomorrow may be brighter. You have been very good to me. I will do as you say. I will go to bed. But not to sleep. No, no, no. Not to sleep.

[B]

Slowly, Rose Delacour makes her way up the creaky, rickety stairs. Five flights of them, with the rotted worm eaten banister giving under her touch as she pulls herself wearily onward. Her own room at last. The heavy door groans as she opens it, closes it. The rasping of the lock as she turns the key. Key. The dull click of the bolts, top and bottom of the door as she forces them home. The one window with its leaded panes of glass slams as she closes it and turns the catch that locks it in Place dreary silence broken only by the hammer, like ticks of the old clock. As Rose undresses and gets into bed. A puff and the candle is out, its dying flare showing a wisp of smoke curling ceiling.

[E]

Words.

[D]

Rose. Rose. Get off my sherry. It is 10 o'. Clock. I have the coffee and the rolls. Rose. Rose.

[C]

What is it?

[D]

Madame Dufin, there is something wrong, I know it. Rose. Rose. She does not answer me.

[C]

Oh, perhaps it is that she is tired and sleeps.

[D]

No, no, it is not that. Mon Dieu. But I am afraid. Call these police. Quickly. Call them. Call them.

[C]

Police.

[D]

Rose. Rose. Anthony, speak to me. It is Suzanne du Femme. Oh, what is the news? She is dead. I know it.

[C]

What is the trouble, Madame?

[D]

No, Monet. She does not answer me.

[C]

Here, let me knock on the door. No, answer that.

[B]

I will break down the door.

[D]

Mon, you cannot break down that door without a knack.

[C]

Oh, Pierre. Yes, mon? Bring an axe in case it is that we cannot break down the door.

[D]

At once, mon.

[C]

At once, everybody. Now, Jacques, we will together throw our weight against the door.

[B]

You ready?

[D]

I said without the axe you can do nothing. Here, Mon, this is the biggest axe in the cellar.

[C]

Give it here.

[B]

Stand back.

[D]

There is a bolt at the top and another bolt at the bottom.

[C]

A little more down.

[D]

Doc.

[C]

Attorney. I told it. I shall reach the bolt. Sucre and through the arm. Do not leave the knife either. This was no knife. Grass a dear. No, damn it. A sword or something. Right through and four inches into the knife head.

[D]

She. She's dead.

[C]

Here, take Madame out of the room.

[B]

We will marry.

[C]

Come, Madame. We can affect her. But yes, have a certainty.

[B]

This is very strange.

[C]

Mal.

[B]

The window is locked on the inside.

[C]

Impossible. Impossible.

[B]

Impossible.

[C]

Lieutenant. It is he or she could not have come in, gone out that way. It is 60ft above the ground. Nothing to hang on to, no way to get in or out. And no mark on the window, the

[B]

door, both the top and bottom. Whoever did it couldn't have turned the key in the lock. But they both. No one could not shoot the bolts after leaving the room.

[C]

The chimney? Not that way either.

[B]

Monsieur de. No, it is, if anything, smaller than usual. You see, a trial chimney not even

[C]

large enough for a cat. Nothing bigger than a bird could get through that chimney. But somebody somehow got in here, kill Rose and get out again. Madame. Madame.

[D]

Yes, yes, one Rose who came in

[C]

here last night with Rose?

[D]

No, not one single person.

[C]

You are certain?

[D]

But yes. Rose came home at 2 o'. Clock. She rang the bell. I myself opened the door. She drank Some coffee in my room. And then she came upstairs. I watch her go.

[C]

No one could get into the house without passing your room?

[D]

No, impossible. Pierre looks over the house before 10 o'.

[E]

Clock.

[D]

Then attendee door is bolted and no one can get inside after that without me, Madame du France seeing them.

[B]

Then whoever committed the murder must have

[C]

got in before that and hidden in the house. No.

[D]

But he could not get out again. I have the key to the front door.

[C]

And anyway, that will not explain how he got into Rose's room. And he does not explain how he gets out again holding the bolts on the inside. Sacrileg. Nothing before did I see anything like this. No cue, Nothing. A bolted door, a lock window 60ft above the ground. I'm positive and possible to happen. But it does happen. Come, Jacques. We will go to this yachtie and Monsieur Lecourt will work on this case.

[B]

But neither Monsieur Lecour nor any of the other brilliant minds of the French police could find any clue upon which to start an investigation. The apartment was searched. Almost police torn apart in an effort to find a trap door or secret passage. Nothing. Nor the suggestion of anything. Always a bolted door, a locked window. Two weeks later, Monsieur Lecourt is seated in his office at the sieurite, talking to the Lieutenant.

[C]

Bonjour, Monsieur Lecour.

[B]

Sit down, mon Lieutenant.

[C]

Mercy, monsieur.

[B]

No further development in the Delacour case?

[C]

Nothing, Monsieur. I have combed the underworld of Paris, hoping for a chance worth a single thing the fund might call a clue.

[B]

Had she any enemies?

[C]

No, monsieur. Not that I can find. No money? Nothing to be rob of. Un pauvre demoiselle et des boulevards not worthy of such hatred or such careful plans.

[B]

You had someone watching at the morgue when the. When Rose Delacour was laid there?

[C]

Oui, Monsieur. Nothing but the usual morbid crowd. No known underworld character. And besides that, everyone that I have picked up have questioned as an alibi on that night.

[B]

You have no suspicion of Madame du France? No, Monsieur.

[C]

Besides, no woman struck that door.

[B]

Granted. But she could have admitted the murder and let him out again.

[C]

That still does not account for the door bolted on the inside.

[B]

May we? Of course, mon Lieutenant. Always we come to the door bolted on the inside.

[C]

Always, monsieur. Till my dying day, I shall find myself face to face with that stout oak door, bolted top and bottom, that leaded glass window locked on the inside and Rose Delacour lying there, staring unseen at the ceiling.

[B]

And today, almost half a century later, when the Paris police discuss the murder in the Rue Morgue, they come face to Face with the same problem. The locked window, the door bolted top and bottom on the inside. Out of deference to people who are still alive. Character names in these unsolved mysteries have been changed. Inasmuch as any solution must of necessity be supposition. Liberties of time, place and character exist in the solution that will be presented after you have heard from your sponsor.

[E]

Sa,

[B]

Ladies and gentlemen, the solution for which you have been waiting. Tell me, Monsieur Le Cur, have you no idea, after all these years, as to how the murder of Rose Delacour was perpetrated? Marie. But, yes, I think I have a possible solution. Indeed. You must understand, monsieur, that at the time of the murders in the Rue Morgue, the chimney sweep was a familiar figure on the rooftops and among the chimney pots of Paris. Chimney sweep, Monsieur? Marie, the chimney sweep cleaned the chimneys of Paris by lowering a round brush on a piece of rope or a pole made of many pieces of wood fitted together.

[E]

I have a.

[B]

You understand, monsieur, that I have no idea who the murderer might be. But I think I know how he committed the crime. This murderer realized that a chimney sweep would hardly be noticed on the roof of Rose Delacour's apartment. I can see him donning his disguise, an old soot grind suit. Carrying his bag of paraphernalia. But hidden in that bag was a French bayonet. I can hear him as he creeps over the tiles, muttering to himself.

[E]

This is easy. The way I have planned it, it cannot. Freely I lower these two hooks on the two lengths of string. Now I lower the bayonet. Then I will go to Rose Delacour's room. I will hide under the bed. And when she is fast asleep, I kill her. In a few moments, I fix the hook to the door and the strings to the bolts. It is so simple. And I return to the roof, I pull the two strings, and voila, the bolts, they are closed. I pull the string and the hooks up the chimney. And, yes, I must not forget. I must not forget the third string. I pull him too, because on that I have the bayonet. How they will puzzle over the mystery, these French police.

[B]

And puzzled they did, these French police. And with them, the rest of the world. Edgar Allan Poe wrote his solution. But Poe was writing fiction. And so, in order to give legitimate literary punch to his denouement, he ignored the fact that the chimney was too small for even the tiniest monkey, let alone an ape, to get through.

[D]

It. Sam.

[E]

Sa.

[A]

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