Podcast Summary: The Horror! (Old Time Radio) – "A Horror Story" by The CBS Radio Mystery Theater
Episode Date: December 27, 2025
Original Air Date: December 11, 1978
Host: RelicRadio.com

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode of The Horror! features the chilling CBS Radio Mystery Theater dramatization titled "A Horror Story." The show dives into a macabre legend blending murder, cannibalism, and the supernatural, set across 19th-century Paris and New Orleans. In signature old-time radio fashion, the tale uses layered storytelling—presenting a narrative within a found diary that reveals sinister secrets behind culinary genius and notorious shoemakers. The podcast aims to evoke tension, curdle blood, and showcase how horror stories evolve into legend.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Stage & Warnings

• The host and E.G. Marshall emphasize the terrifying nature of the tale, frequently warning sensitive listeners to prepare themselves before proceeding.
• [00:06] E.G. Marshall: "If you are all or any of these things, perhaps you had better not listen...aptly called A Horror Story."
  • Sets a tone of foreboding and teases the supernatural.

2. The Forgotten House and Hidden Diary

• The framing story involves an unnamed narrator exploring a supposedly haunted house in New Orleans and discovering a diary hidden behind a fireplace brick.
• [~13:20] Narrator describes the building’s past and the superstitions surrounding it.

3. Diary of Gaston d’Aunay (Paris, 1829): Chef’s Dark Ambition

• Gaston d’Aunay, an ambitious assistant chef, is thrust into cooking for an important Count after the head chef’s accident.
• A scullery boy, Pierre, critiques Gaston's overcooked truffles, inciting Gaston's rage and leading to Pierre's murder.
• Gaston dismembers Pierre and cooks his flesh in various ways, passing it off as haute cuisine to rapturous acclaim.
• [~19:00] Narrator: "He prepared the flesh in any number of ways. Marinated, stuffed, gratinate, minced, pickled, smoked. Oh, you do have to admire the man's ingenuity."
• Success demands repeating the feat, and soon Francois, the next scullery boy, meets the same fate for another lavish, cannibalistic meal.

4. Legend Continues in New Orleans: Lucien Ferraud

• The tale transitions to New Orleans, where Lucien Ferraud, a master shoemaker, moves into the same building’s third floor.
• Ferraud is portrayed as an industrious craftsman, newly married to Camille, and eager to advance his daughter Monique’s debut.
• [~34:40] Lucien insists on using his special, more “pliant” materials over a customer’s damask for slippers.

5. Shocking Revelations: Human Skin Slippers

• Lucien rents the second floor to a mysterious restaurateur, revealed to be himself, leading a double life (dual identity: chef and shoemaker).
• The diary reveals Lucien’s slippers’ secret material: human skin, acquired from the slave market.
• [~39:50] Narrator: "The secret material Pharaoh used for his extraordinary slippers was human skin...the source of his supply was the slave market."
• Tensions rise as Lucien’s wife, Camille, demands to see the restaurant; her curiosity and resistance ultimately lead to her murder and transformation into slippers for Monique’s debut.

6. The Supernatural & Inevitable Downfall

• Lucien’s crimes catch up in classic horror style. The slippers, made from Camille’s skin, seem cursed—they appear to torment and chase Lucien.
• [~55:00] Lucien (panicked): "My slippers. My beautiful white slippers. What's cutting to them?... They're following me."
• In his terror, he hides the diary and is later found dead—horrifically skinned—in an apparent act of supernatural retribution.

7. Narrative Twist and Reflection

• The tale ends with a meta twist: the narrator (Gaston d’Aunay/Lucien’s ghost) reveals their identity as the source of this “legend,” highlighting how stories are embellished and become folklore.
• [~58:30] Narrator: "That is to say, I am his astral, his etherical body. Body called a ghost. So I know all about it."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chilling Warnings:

  • [00:06] E.G. Marshall: "If you wish to avoid the excitement tension of these magic play labels refer to our latest theory. This is the horror..."
  • [13:15] Narrator: "You are about to hear as dreadful a tale as has ever been told, appalling in its frightfulness."

• On Gaston’s Crimes:

  • [19:05] Narrator: "He dissected and dismembered the body and removed every last bit of flesh..."
  • [21:44] “He prepared the flesh in any number of ways. Marinated, stuffed, gratinate, minced, pickled, smoked..."

• The Legend's Moral:

  • [58:40] Narrator: "And as they talk, legends are born and legends grow. And legends never die."

• Horror Realized:

  • [55:20] Lucien (final panic): "They're coming at me. Ah, they're on me. They're crawling up my back. My hair on my face... There are my diary. No one must ever see my diary."

• Meta Revelation:

  • [59:10] Narrator: "Well, you're right. The reason I know what happened is that I am Gaston Donay. Later Lucien Ferraud. That is to say, I am his astral, his etherical body. Body called a ghost..."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:06–06:00]: Introduction and content warnings by relayed host and original host E.G. Marshall.
• [13:00–19:00]: Discovery of diary in haunted house; introduction to Gaston d’Aunay’s narrative.
• [19:00–26:00]: Gaston’s culinary crimes, murder, and cannibalism in Paris.
• [34:00–39:50]: Lucien Ferraud’s ambitions in New Orleans; hints at the dark origins of his craft.
• [39:50–41:30]: Explicit reveal that Lucien’s finest slippers are made of human skin.
• [46:00–50:00]: Confrontation with Camille and her murder.
• [55:00–58:00]: The haunted climax: the cursed slippers and Lucien’s doom.
• [58:00–End]: The narrator’s twist—revealing the ghostly perspective and the transformation of grisly truth into legend.

Tone and Style

The episode masterfully blends the grandiose, melodramatic narration of classic horror radio with grisly, grotesque imagery. There’s a persistent, dark humor in the narrator’s asides and a relish for the macabre—a tone fully in line with the tradition of 19th-century horror fiction.

Conclusion: Why This Episode Stands Out

“A Horror Story” encapsulates the archetypal power of horror legends—how a gruesome tale survives and mutates over time, blurring historical fact with gothic fiction. From cannibalistic chefs to haunted slippers made of human skin, the episode is simultaneously a warning, an entertainment, and a reflection on the creation of folklore. The subversive twist, combining identity, guilt, and supernatural vengeance, cements this story as a classic in the pantheon of old-time radio horror.

For further chills and more old-time horror, visit RelicRadio.com.