All At Sea by Beyond Midnight

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Horror! (Old Time Radio)

Episode: "All At Sea" by Beyond Midnight

Date: March 14, 2026
Host: RelicRadio.com

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Horror! features a chilling tale from the South African radio series Beyond Midnight. Set aboard the Atlantic-crossing vessel "Kamshatka," "All At Sea" unravels the unnerving events surrounding cabin 105, where multiple passengers have mysteriously vanished overboard. Rumors of hauntings and inexplicable occurrences at sea build suspense, culminating in a tense supernatural encounter that blurs the boundary between the living and the dead.

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Key Discussion & Story Points

1. Introduction to Beyond Midnight

• Beyond Midnight aired on Springbok Radio from 1968 to 1970; featured tales of terror and the supernatural.

  “[Beyond Midnight] debuted November 1, 1968 and aired for 78 episodes… Our story today is from February 28, 1969. Episode 18 titled All At Sea.” — Host [01:02]

2. The Arrival — Setting and Suspense

• The unnamed narrator, a seasoned sailor, always selects his favorite ships but is unnerved by what happens aboard "Kamshatka."

  “I was only cheated out of a good passage once in my life… You’ll find out the terror that was curtained in the upper berth on the June crossing of the Atlantic that year…” — Narrator [01:42]

• Cabin 105 is introduced with a strange atmosphere and an unsettling vibe from the steward.

  “I wasn’t very pleased to find I was to have a companion… He was very tall, very pale-faced… He was overdressed and a bit odd.” — Narrator [05:34]

3. Ominous Conversations & The Ship's Reputation

• The ship’s doctor reveals the disturbing pattern surrounding cabin 105.

  “It’s because on the last three trips the people who have slept there actually have gone overboard.” — Doctor [11:07]

• Both the captain and crew confirm multiple overboard incidents, but wish to keep this from other passengers to avoid panic.

4. Unexplained Phenomena in Cabin 105

• The recurring issue of the porthole inexplicably opening, regardless of how well it is fastened.
• A wager is offered by the narrator to the steward: if he finds the port open again, he’ll pay him five pounds.

  “If I find it open in the night, I’ll give you a fiver. It’s not possible.” — Narrator [14:47]

5. The First Supernatural Encounter

• In the dead of night, the narrator senses a presence in the upper berth.

  “It was as if I was plunging my hands into a damp cellar… I laid hold of something that had the shape of a man’s arm. It was smooth and wet and icy cold.” — Narrator [17:37]

• The ghostly figure rushes past him, leaving behind a chilling smell of stagnant seawater.

6. Seeking Help and Clashing Explanations

• The doctor, unnerved, refuses to help further, suggesting supernatural causes are more likely than rational explanations.

  “You’ll get to the bottom of something else if you try. The bottom of the sea. I’m leaving this ship. It’s not canny.” — Doctor [19:30]

• The captain is consulted and agrees to investigate in person, bringing the carpenter for a thorough cabin search.

7. Final Confrontation and Resolution

• Together, the narrator and the captain secure the porthole and prepare the room, ensuring no possible entry or exit.
• They witness the porthole bolt moving on its own, then a spectral manifestation attacks.

  “It was like the body of a man long drowned. And yet it moved and had the strength of ten men living dead… I was wrestling with a dead thing.” — Narrator [25:33]

• After a fierce struggle, the creature disappears through the porthole. Both men survive; the captain is stunned, the narrator shaken but alive.
• Cabin 105 is sealed with multiple screws and effectively condemned.

8. Conclusion and Epilogue

• Superstitious belief overtakes rationality — the captain never sails the ship again, nor does the narrator.
• The ghost is thought to be the first overboard victim, forced to repeat his drowning eternally.

  “You’ll be told that [cabin 105] is engaged. It is engaged by something that’s dead. I finished the trip in the surgeon’s cabin. The captain never sailed again on that ship… I shall never sail her either.” — Narrator [29:16]

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Introduction to Haunted Cabin:

  “You’ll find out the terror that was curtained in the upper berth on the June crossing of the Atlantic…” — Narrator [01:42]

• Doctor’s Grave Warning:

  “If you’ll take my advice, you’ll move in with me… I might as soon see you overboard as though that you or any other man with a sleep in 105.” — Doctor [10:45]

• Steward’s Reluctance:

  “There’s nobody on board who can keep that porthole shut… I ain’t staying on this ship any longer. Once she docks, sir.” — Steward [14:50]

• Supernatural Attack:

  “It was like the body of a man long drowned. And yet it moved and had the strength of ten men living dead.” — Narrator [25:33]

• Final Words — Damned to Drown:

  “I believe he’s condemned until that ship sailed the Atlantic for the last time. To sleep in the upper berth and hurl himself to his drowning death at night. Every night.” — Narrator [29:00]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:42] – Cabin 105 and ominous feelings about the Kamshatka
• [11:07] – Doctor reveals the deadly history of cabin 105
• [14:47] – Steward insists on the porthole’s supernatural resistance
• [17:37] – First direct encounter with the ghostly entity
• [19:30] – Doctor refuses further involvement
• [21:36] – Preparation for the final night’s confrontation
• [25:33] – Final supernatural attack and the struggle to survive
• [29:16] – Epilogue: cabin condemned, survivors’ fates

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Tone and Style

Throughout, the storytelling is atmospheric and tense, capturing both the rational skepticism and the creeping dread typical to classic ghost tales. The dialogue moves from matter-of-fact to deeply unnerved, blending sailor’s superstitions with Victorian-era horror language (“the living death that was overpowering me…”).

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Final Thoughts

“All At Sea” exemplifies the best of old time radio horror: a claustrophobic setting, a building sense of unease, and a finale that lingers in the imagination. Those who enjoy maritime ghost stories or tales of cursed places will find this a particularly memorable entry in The Horror! podcast.

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Transcript

[A]

Oh, stories. Real stories. And murder too. Turn out your legs. Turn them out. Good evening. Come in, won't you? What's the matter? Surely you're not nervous for that to be calm, I think restored we are meant to call from out of the past. Stories, strange and weird. Tales of mystery and terror by radio's masters of the MAA Stories of the supernatural, the supernormal dramatized the mysteries of the unknown. We tell you this. Frank. Frank. So if you wish to avoid the excitement of these magnet play ladies, we urge you our latest series to turn off your radio.

[B]

Welcome back to the Horror. Our story comes from Beyond Midnight this week. A series that debuted November 1, 1968 and aired for 78 episodes until April 24 of 1970 over Springbok Radio in South Africa. Our story Today is from February 28, 1969. Episode 18 titled all at Sea.

[A]

I'm an old sailor. I cross the Atlantic pretty often. I have my favorite ships, you see, and I have a habit of waiting for certain vessels I favor. It may be prejudice, but I was only cheated out of a good passage once in my life. I remember it very well. It was the 1st of June and the Kamshatka was a ship I always loved to travel on. I say was because she emphatically and no longer is. She's uncommonly clean in a run aft. She has enough bluffing off in the bows to keep her dry, and the lower berths are most of them double. She has a lot of advantages, but I won't cross that duck pond in her again. Why? You'll find out. You'll find out the terror that was curtained in the upper birth on the June crossing of the Atlantic that year when all the drowned souls who ever were endeavored to drag me beyond Midnight. Biotech the new soak and pre wash powder presents Beyond Midnight by Michael McCabe. Since biotechs appeared on the market, we've had many endorsements from time to time and these can be seen in our office. I am broadcasting some of these to you and will do so as they come to hand. Mrs. M.V. clauser of 5th Avenue, Pinetown, Natal wrote and said, here's a letter from me of appreciation to the basis of biotechs. I am highly satisfied with biotechs and have introduced my friends to your product and so far there has not been one complaint that it does not live up to the claims you make for it. I have two sons aged two and a half and one year. The elder boy gets filthy dirty and his clothes are pretty much the Worse for wear. At the end of the day, the baby naturally drags himself about and his little diapers become very black and dirty at the end of each day, too. The point I'm trying to make with you is that every night I soak these diapers and the elder child's clothing in Biotex. And in the morning, all I have is a slight rubbing and rinsing and that's it. The name again is Biotex. 105. Lower birth, please. Stewart took my portmanteau, great coat and rug. I shall never forget the expression on his face. I supposed at the time, as he led me into the lower regions, that the steward had had a little grog. But I said nothing and followed him. 105 was on the port side, well aft. There was nothing remarkable about the cabin. The lower berth was double. There was the usual washing apparatus. The folded blankets looked like large buckwheat cakes. The general air was one of desolation. I remember. I'll try and make you as comfortable all I can, sir. Thank you. Oh, thank you, sir. Ciao. I hope it'll be a good crossing for you. Well, one passes across the Atlantic very much like another. Whales and icebergs are always indeed objects of interest. But after all, one whale is very much like another whale. One rarely sees an iceberg at close quarters. I agree, sir. No one don't. I must say I'm not looking forward the first day at sea. People pace the decks and stare at one. Everything's uncertain. No one knows whether the food's going to be good or bad or indifferent.

[C]

Seasickness?

[A]

No, I don't like the first day. Not that I'm generally sick, but new sailors, you know. Yes. Well, sir, if everything. Yes, yes, yes. Thanks very much. I'm sure you want to go and look after more passengers now. Ah, thank you, sir. Pleasant trip? I had the funny feeling even then that he was thinking me a queer fish. I don't know why. I also felt he didn't like number 105, but I mean, he wasn't going to live in it. I wasn't very keen either, but it didn't worry me unduly. I wasn't very pleased to find I was to have a companion. I have to admit, before I'd been long in bed that night he came in too. He was very tall, very pale faced and with sandy hair and whiskers. He was overdressed and a bit odd. I didn't like him and made up my mind I'd give him a Miss? Whenever possible. If he rose early, I decided I would rise late and vice versa. Anyway, I was pretty tired that first night. Perhaps the cabin wouldn't be so bad after all. I. Sam. What happened to him? Gone. Nightmares. Rolling a bit. Odd smell. Damp. Sort of blasted cold, in fact. What happened to that other cell? Sam? Fine morning.

[C]

Well, it's a fine morning and it's not a fine morning. I don't think it's much of a morning myself.

[A]

Well, no, it's not a very fine. Must admit. You're the doctor, aren't you? My name's Brisbane.

[C]

I'm what I call fugly weather. Yes, I'm the doctor. How do you do?

[A]

How do you do? Very cold last night, I thought. However, when I looked, I found the porthole was wide open. Hadn't noticed it when I went to bed. Cabin was damp too.

[C]

Damp too.

[A]

Whereabouts are you? 105. 1.

[C]

100.

[A]

Whatever's the matter?

[C]

Oh, nothing, nothing. No, only it's just that everybody's complained of that cabin for the last three trips.

[A]

I shall complain too. Certainly hasn't been properly aired. Shame.

[C]

Look, I don't believe it can be helped. You see, I believe this something.

[A]

What?

[C]

Well, it's not my business to frighten passengers.

[A]

Oh, you need to be afraid of frightening me. I can stand any amount of damp. If I get a cold, I shall come to you.

[C]

It's not so much the damp. However, I dare say you'll get along very well. You have a roommate.

[A]

The juice of a fellow who bolts out during the night and leaves the door open. Doctor, you keep staring at me. Me?

[C]

Did he come back, this fellow?

[A]

Yes. Yes, I was asleep. But I woke up and heard him moving and I felt cold and went to sleep again. This morning I found the porthole open.

[C]

Look here, I don't care much for this ship. I don't care a rep for a reputation. I tell you what I'll do. I have a good sized cabin up here. I'll share it with you. Though I don't know you from Adam.

[A]

That's very good of you, really. I mean, I think even now the cabin could be aired and cleaned out or something. Why don't you care for the ship?

[C]

We're not superstitious in our profession, sir, but the sea makes people so. I don't want to prejudice you and I don't want to frighten you. But if you'll take my advice, you'll move in with me. I might as soon see you overboard as though that you or any other man With a sleep in 105.

[A]

Good gracious. Why?

[C]

It's because on the last three trips the people who have slept there actually have gone overboard.

[A]

I was sure the doctor wasn't pulling my leg, but I was resolute all the same. I told him that even if three people had gone overboard, I was going to prove the exception. At breakfast that morning, I noticed that one or two of the officers looked grave. When I'd finished my meal, I left the dining room. Was informed by the steward that the captain of all people wanted to see me. I went toward the captain's cabin and found him waiting for me. Sir, I. I want to ask a favor of you. Do anything to oblige you. Your roommate has disappeared. He's known to have turned in early last night. Did you notice anything extraordinary in his manner? You don't mean to say he's gone overboard? I fear he has. He's the fourth then. And I told the captain what the doctor had told me. He seemed annoyed. Then I told him what had occurred in the night. He was shocked and looked very grave. What you say coincides almost exactly with what was told to me by the roommates of the two of the others who disappeared from 105 that built out and down the passage. Two of them were seen to go overboard by the watch. Nobody, however, saw or heard the man who was lost last night. The others you searched, of course. Of course. We stopped and lowered the boats, but we found nothing. Now, sir, I beg you not to mention this to any of the other passengers. I don't want the ship to get a bad name. And nothing hangs about the ocean going like stories of suicides. You shall have the choice of the officers cabins, including mine, for the rest of the trip. Is that a bargain? Yes, but I shan't move. Thank you. If the steward would just take that unfortunate man's things out. I'll stay where I am. You'd have no fear that I'll follow him? I'd rather. Thank you, Captain. I'd rather stay where I am. Just one or two small things. I. I'd like the room cleaned and aired. I like the fastening of the port looked into. Thing was open this morning and maybe the catch is loose or something. Of course, you every right to stay where you please, but. Oh, well, hang it, man.

[C]

I. I wish you'd let me lock

[A]

the place up and have done with it. Towards evening I met the doctor again and he asked me whether I'd change my mind. I told him I had not. He didn't Say much just you will before long. For the man who knows how to handle his car.

[C]

Johnson's Rally the new car wax with

[A]

the detergent proof formula won't wash off its detergent resistant rally gives Shaw wax protection that deep and long lasting. And the finish is fast, very fast. Johnson's Rally car wax in liquid or paste form. Soak, soak. That's all you have to do. Soak, soak.

[C]

Just for an hour or two you'll find.

[A]

Let's soak as orders new when you use new biotech amazing new biotech soak stubborn stains away clean clean everything soon will be clean clean for all the well to see. Doke soak spend away easily when you use new biotech get amazing new biotech today and let soaking do the washing. Do it. Yes, sir. What the deuce you mean, you scoundrel. Even a port open every night. That's against the regulations. Do you realize if the ship healed and water started to come in, 10 men couldn't shut it. I'm going to report you to the captain for endangering the ship, sir. Well, if you please, sir. There's nobody on board who can keep that porthole shut. You can try it yourself, sir. I ain't staying on this ship any longer. Once she docks her. If I was you, sir, I'd just clear out. Go and sleep with a surgeon or something. I don't want to sleep with a surgeon. Try the port now, sir. Wait there, sir. Try it now, sir. It's fast. Yes, sir. But I'll wager my reputation as an A1 steward that within half an hour that thing will be open again. If I find it open in the night, I'll give you a fiver. It's not possible. Fiver, did you say, sir? Huh? Thank you, sir. Good night, sir. Pleasant repose and all manner of enchanting dreams. Sir. Night, sir. I went to bed and I slept. I awoke startled. Sometime in the small hours I felt the draft. I got out of my bunk and stood. The port was again wide open. It was then I thought I heard someone or something moving behind the closed curtains in the upper birth. I thrust in my hands to see if there was anyone. In the upper birth, there was someone. It was as if I was plunging my hands into a damp cellar. The air was full of the smell of stagnant sea water. I laid hold of something that had the shape of a man's arm. It was smooth and wet and icy cold. And then the creature sprang violently forward against me.

[C]

A Tammy, oozing mass Hit against me.

[A]

It was heavy and wet and seemed endowed with supernatural strength. Then the creature rushed to the door and out. A sort of creeping horror had taken hold of me. But I examined the upper birth once more by the light of the railway reading light I always carry with me. The bed had been slept in. The smell of the sea was strong. But the bedding was as dry as bone. I did not sleep anymore. I waited for the porthole to open again. It didn't. You're quite right. There is something wrong about 105. And that's an understatement.

[C]

Don't you change your mind. Had a bad night, huh? Want to pick me up?

[A]

Have a capital recipe? No, thank you. But I would like to tell you what happened.

[C]

Come to my place.

[A]

Peculiar thing was, I couldn't get the blasted port closed. I struggled and struggled and actually bent the brass fittings before I finally got it to stay.

[C]

Bring your bags here. Stay with me.

[A]

No. You come and take half of my cabin for a night. Help me get to the bottom of this thing.

[C]

You'll get to the bottom of something else if you try.

[A]

What?

[C]

The bottom of the sea. I'm leaving this ship. It's not canny.

[A]

You won't help me then?

[C]

Not I. It's my business to cure passengers ailments. Not monkey about with ghosts and things.

[A]

You really believe it is a ghost?

[C]

Have you any reasonable explanation of these things to offer? No, you have not. You say you'll find an explanation. Well, I'm telling you once, sir, because there isn't one.

[A]

But, my dear sir, can you tell me as a man of science that these things can't be explained?

[C]

I can tell you and I do. And even if they could be explained, I would not be concerned with that explanation.

[A]

I'd made up my mind to spend another night in 105 if the doctor wouldn't join me. I was determined to have the captain. Consequently, I told him the whole story. I said that if no one would spend the night with me, I would ask leave to have the light burning all night and would try it alone. The captain fell for my ploy. Look here, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll share your watch myself. Just see what happens. There may be some fellow skulking on board who steals a passage by frightening the people on this ship. It's just possible that there may be something queer in the carpentering of that berth. Then I suggest, Captain, we take with us the ship's carpenter and make a thorough examination of the Whole cabin. Certainly we will. We did that. We took the cabin bit by bit, completely to pieces. We found nothing in the least bit extraordinary. As we were finishing our work, the steward, Roberts, looked in. Well, sir, did you find anything? Sir? You were right about the porthole. Robert, hear me. I'm. Oh, thank you, sir. Look. Begging your pardon, sir. I'm a plain man, sir, but it's my belief you'd better turn out your things and let the carpenter here run half a dozen four inch screws through the door of this cabin. There's been four lives lost out of here to my own remembrance. And that in four trips. Better give it up, sir.

[C]

Better give it up.

[A]

I'll try it for one more night. Now, you'll just put your signature to that, Mr. Brisbane. Yes. You see, I cannot afford to laugh at the affair. Your signature to this writing telling what we're about to do is at least proof that another responsible man believed that something queer was happening in room 105. This crossing. Well, if both of us are all right after this night and we do observe or experience anything uncanny, then you and I together will fill in our experiences and emotions. If nothing happens tonight, we'll try it again tomorrow and the next day. Now, suppose we put your portmanteau before the door. One of us can sit on it. Nothing can get out. Then is the port screwed down? Yes. I like the reading man, but you should do it. And now we can see well into the upper bed. And I shall sit before the door. I sit thoroughly. There's nothing in here save ourselves. Nothing at all. It's impossible for any human being to get in. Or for any human being to open the port. All right. If we see anything now, it must be either imagination or something supernatural. First time it happened was in March. The person who slept here in the upper berth turned out to have been a lunatic. He'd taken this passage without the knowledge of his friends, rushed out in the night and threw himself overboard before the officer of the watch could stop him. His suicide was accounted for on the grounds of his insanity. I've never heard of such a thing ever occurring before or after or in any other ship. Well, on the very trip. What are you looking at? I could not reply. My eyes were riveted upon the porthole. The brass loop nut was beginning to turn very slowly upon the screw. It moves. It loosens. Definitely loosen. I can turn it just with my hand. The queer thing is that the second man who was lost are supposed to have gone through that porthole. The weather was Very heavy. There was an alarm that one of the ports was open, that the sea was coming in down here. We found the whole cabin flooded. The water poured in every time the ship rolled. Ever since then. That place smells of seawater from where I can smell it now. Can't you? Yes. Just smell like this. The place must be damp. Yet when the carpenter examined it this morning, it seemed perfectly dry. Why? How did that bolt on the port come loose? Captain, I saw it move. Hello. How did. My reading lantern which had been placed in the upper berth was extinguished. Most extraordinary.

[C]

The GW

[A]

it's all good. Wait, wait. Stick a stick to the ring. No good. Nothing enclosed it. Nothing. I'm as good. Brisbane. There's something in the upper berth. Hold the door. He won't escape us. Whatever it is. No. Wait. And I flung myself across that cabin and seized something which lay in the upper birth. It was something ghostly, horrible beyond words. And it moved in my grip. It was like the body of a man long drowned. And yet it moved and had the strength of ten men living dead. White eyes seemed to stare at me out of the dusk. The putid odor of rank seawater was about its shiny hair hung in foul wet curls over its face. I was wrestling with a dead thing. It wound its corpse's arms around my neck. The living death that was overpowering me. I lay a long time on that cabin floor. The thing, whatever it was, could only have gone one way out through the port. I revived the captain. He wasn't hurt, but badly stunned. There's nothing more. The carpenter and a dozen 4 inch screws through the door of 105. And if ever you take a passage on the Kamshatzka, you may ask for a berth in that cabin. You'll be told that it is engaged. It is engaged by something that's dead. I finished the trip in the surgeon's cabin. The captain never sailed again on that ship, although it is still running. I shall never sail her either. You see, I saw a ghost. If that's what the thing was, it was dead anyway. I believe that somehow. That poor wretch who flung himself overboard, the first one, the lunatic. I believe he's condemned until that ship sailed the Atlantic for the last time. To sleep in the upper birth and hurl himself to his drowning death at night. Every night. Let's play some music. I feel like dancing. But I thought you had a splitting headache. Well, that was five minutes ago. I've taken Grandpa headache powder since. Grandpa headache powders kill pain, soothe strain nerves and lip depression. Grandpa headache powders are extra effective because they have a triple action. Grandpa headache powders work extra fast because they dissolve almost immediately. Get fast effective relief from any pain, all pain. Get Grandpa headache powders. Ah Grandpa Soak, soak. That's all you have to do. Doke soak just for an hour or two. You as old as new when you use new Biotex. Amazing new Biotex acts with a biological action to soak out the stubbornness, stains and loosen dirt. New Biotex is great for all textiles and synthetics, whites and colors. It contains no bleach. Get amazing new biotex today and let soaking do the washing. Beyond Midnight is presented every Friday night at half past 29 by biotechs the New Soak and Pre Wash Powder. The program is adapted for broadcasting and Produced by Michael McCabe.

[B]

There's more from Beyond Midnight, the Horror and all of the other Relic Radio podcasts at the website relicradio.com like to support the show. You can do so there as well and listen to our Shoutcast streamer if you're looking for even more Old Time Radio. Thanks for your support and for joining me this week. I'll be back tomorrow with Strange Tales and next Saturday with our next episode of the Horror.