The Crimson Hand by The Hermit’s Cave

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Horror! (Old Time Radio)

Episode: The Crimson Hand by The Hermit’s Cave

Original Air Date: June 20, 2026
Producer: RelicRadio.com

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Overview

In this chilling episode, “The Crimson Hand,” The Hermit’s Cave weaves a ghostly tale set in pre-occupied Paris on the eve of Nazi invasion. A young American couple, Temple and Margaret Hunter, move into a lavish but foreboding mansion, only to encounter spine-tingling paranormal happenings—a crimson, bloodied hand appears, leading to the discovery of a hidden, grisly crime. Through suspenseful storytelling and atmospheric sound design, the episode explores how secrets claw their way to light, and how love, fear, and ambition can become fatally entwined.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Highlights

1. Setting the Stage: An Invitation to Horror

• Introduction [00:06–04:18]:
  • The Hermit and his supporting cast set a tone of dread:

    “Stories. Weird stories and murders too. The Hermit knows of them all. Turn out your lights. Turn them out.” – The Hermit [03:29]

  • Host contextualizes the legendary Hermit’s Cave series and introduces the night's episode.

2. Arrival in Paris and the Haunted House

• Moving In [04:18–06:53]:
  • Temple and Margaret arrive in wartime Paris, renting a grand house vacated by the wealthy Perron couple.
  • The place is heavy with gloom and an “atmosphere over every room.”
  • Margaret remarks:

    “Something strange about this old house, Temple. Silence is heavy and mysterious. It's as if it's always waiting behind those doors, ready to come out and strike doom.” – Margaret [05:36]

3. Unease Grows—Supernatural Manifestations

• First Occurrences [08:09–11:57]:
  • During a rainy evening, Margaret sees a spectral, crimson-stained hand by the library window.
  • Margaret insists she's not imagining things:

    “I saw a hand. A hand red with blood.” – Margaret [10:31]

  • A book now bears a strange, fresh red stain.

4. A Night of Terror

• Escalation and Fear [13:08–14:11]:
  • The couple hears mysterious tapping, then see a human hand “flying in space,” unattached, in their bedroom.
  • The Hermit interjects with ominous narration:

    “Yes. Flying in space in the bedroom of Margaret in Temple Hunter is a human hand attached to nothing. The Hermit will tell you before the night is done.” – The Hermit [14:11]

5. Seeking the Truth—A Friend’s Help

• Bringing in Max [16:06–18:23]:
  • Max Harrison, their journalist friend, offers to help verify their experiences—motivated both by skepticism and curiosity.
  • Max narrates the backstory of Leila and Paul Perron, their undying love, and poignant last night in Paris:

    “Oh, they were colorful... I was here the night before they left for America. Paul had [the book] in his hands. Leila was looking up at him.” – Max Harrison [17:43–18:51]

6. The Past Unveiled Through Ghostly Signs

• Following the Hand [21:13–25:04]:
  • The group hears repeating taps and traces it to the cellar.
  • Max helps force open a locked iron door, revealing the horror inside:

    “A body.” – Narrator (Jack White) [25:07] “It was Paul Peron... His right hand was cut and covered with blood. Flesh was torn away. The bones of the wrist were broken. It seemed to be hanging to the arm by a thread.” – Temple Hunter [25:09–26:15]

7. Horrific Revelation and Aftermath

• Tragic Motive [26:15–27:36]:
  • A horrifying realization: Paul was murdered—locked in the cellar, left to a cruel death. Suspicion falls on his wife, Leila, driven by a fear of aging and a hunger for a life beyond Paris.
  • Margaret, heartbroken, voices her disbelief:

    "You don't think his wife... you don't think she locked him in there to die?" – Margaret [26:15]

  • Max concludes:

    “I’m afraid that’s it, Temp.” – Max Harrison [26:37]

8. The Supernatural Delivers Justice

• Closing Reflection [27:36–28:05]:
  • The Hermit delivers the final moral:

    “Leela Perun loved youth more than soul and heart... She did not reckon with a ghostly hand that led three people to the grave of her victim.” – The Hermit [27:36]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Margaret’s Foreboding:

  “It's as if it's always awaiting behind those doors, ready to come out and strike doom.” – Margaret [05:36]

• Spectral Intrusion:

  “I saw a hand. A hand red with blood.” – Margaret [10:31]
  “...a human hand flying around in the air—” – Margaret [13:49]

• Chilling Discovery:

  “It was Paul Peron. His right hand was cut and covered with blood. Flesh was torn away. The bones of the wrist were broken.” – Temple Hunter [25:09–26:15]

• Final Judgment:

  “She did not reckon with a ghostly hand that led three people to the grave of her victim.” – The Hermit [27:36]

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Important Timestamps

• [03:29] – The Hermit’s invitation to hear “The Crimson Hand”
• [05:36] – Margaret expresses unease about the house
• [10:31] – Margaret first sees the bloody hand
• [13:49] – The flying hand appears in the bedroom
• [16:06] – Max listens to the couple’s account
• [21:13] – Group decides to stay in hopes of witnessing the phenomenon again
• [24:07] – Tapping traced to cellar door
• [25:07] – Discovery and description of Paul’s body
• [27:36] – The Hermit’s closing moral about Leila’s fatal choice

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains an air of classic horror—melancholic, suspenseful, and tinged with tragic romance. The dialogue is poetic and atmospheric, punctuated by sudden moments of terror and grounded in the fraught uncertainties of wartime Paris.

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Conclusion

“The Crimson Hand” is an exemplary piece of gothic radio drama, skillfully blending unnerving supernatural elements with very human motives and frailties. The Hermit’s Cave delivers a ghost story that resonates with both an eerie sense of justice and deep sadness for all who are ensnared in its spectral grip.

For fans of vintage radio horror and supernatural mysteries, this episode is essential listening—turn the lights down low, if you dare.

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Transcript

[The Hermit]

Oh, stories. Real stories. And murder too. Turn out your legs. Turn them out. Good evening. Come in, won't you? Why? What's the matter? Surely you're not nervous? Perhaps you can't.

[Temple Hunter]

By telling a story we are meant

[The Hermit]

to call from out of the past.

[Max Harrison]

Stories strange, weird tales of mystery and

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

terror by radio's masters of the macabre.

[Temple Hunter]

Stories of the supernatural. The supernova dramatized by fantasy. The mystery, the unknown.

[The Hermit]

We tell you this Frank, frankly.

[Temple Hunter]

So if you wish to avoid the excitement tension of these magnet play we urging our latest theory to turn off your radio.

[Podcast Host]

Welcome back to the horror old fashioned fear since 2007@ Relicradio.com we're going to hear from the Hermit's Cave this week. A series that debuted in September of 1936 over Detroit's station WJR. It aired until May of 1947, producing 558 episodes. There was a separate west coast production of the series from September of 1940 to November of 1944. 217 episodes for that one. Our story today is the Crimson Hand. This one was first heard February 6, 1944.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

The Carter Coal Company and the dealers of Aga Coal present the Mummers in

[Max Harrison]

the Little Theater of the Air.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I saw a movie the other night that applied both to all Gakol and to you. It had to do with the American shipbuilding program. One of the workers looked right out at the audience from the screen and explained that these new vessels aren't being built only in the shipyards, but everywhere in the country. The parts and materials come from practically every state in the Union. He went on to say that nowadays the coal mines aren't just digging coal, they're digging ships. In other words, coal is a basic war material. Which explains why you might not always be able to get as much of that good aug coal as you've been accustomed to as quickly as you've been accustomed to getting it. But I know you'll be patient and I know you'll cooperate when you realize the reason for any delays or shortages that may occur. The reason is that coal is helping to win the war. Besides, aga coal is so good that it's worth waiting for. Remember, when you have auger, you have one of the smokeless coals, which means that it's clean burning. You can have a comfortable home with less furnace tending than usual because this coal holds its fire so long. And you find it possible to keep fuel bills down because of auger's extra heat content. I'll tell you at the end of the program how to find your auger spelled Olga Dealer. And he'll tell you the rest of the story. And now suppose we let the hermit tell his.

[The Hermit]

Stories. Weird stories and murders too. The hermit knows of them all. Turn out your lights. Turn them out. Have you heard the story of the Crimson Hand? Then listen while the hermit tells you the story.

[Max Harrison]

Temple Hunger. Imagine you turning up in Paris at a time like this.

[Temple Hunter]

What do you mean?

[Max Harrison]

Great Scott, man. Everyone who has two coins to rub together is leaving.

[Temple Hunter]

You're still here, Max?

[Max Harrison]

Actually, I haven't two coins. Add to that the fact that I'm a broken down journalist and you know why I'm sticking around.

[Temple Hunter]

Then there are two of us.

[Max Harrison]

Temp. You're a sight for sore eyes. Don't think I'm not glad to see you. How's Margaret?

[Temple Hunter]

Swell. We're anxious to find a place to live. Margaret wants to do some painting. And I've got a story that wants to be written.

[Max Harrison]

Say, how would you like to live in state for a few months?

[Temple Hunter]

I haven't sold the story yet.

[Max Harrison]

Listen, old man. I know of a place on Rouge Roy you can rent for a song.

[Temple Hunter]

Yeah.

[Max Harrison]

You remember hearing about Leela and Paul Perrot?

[Temple Hunter]

No.

[Max Harrison]

Sure you do. I've written a dozen articles about them, remember? Well, Leela took her jewels and sables and her fabulously wealthy husband and sailed for America about a month ago. I give her credit. She could see the handwriting on the wall. They've gone for good. So their house is for rent. I saw the agent just yesterday at lunch. He said everyone was moving out of Paris. No one wanted to move in. So there you are. Wait, I get my hat. I'll take you over to meet him in 15 minutes.

[Temple Hunter]

You'll have the keys.

[Max Harrison]

Number five, Ruloir.

[Margaret]

Something strange about this old house temple. Silence is heavy and mysterious. It's as if it always awaiting behind those doors ready to come out and strike doom.

[Temple Hunter]

Margaret was speaking in the old house. We rented it Number five. We rented it four months before tragedy struck the city. Four months before the arrogant Nazis marched down the boulevards of the most light hearted city in the world. Paris. Margaret and I had dreamed of coming here years before when we were students at Berkeley. We had hoarded pennies to come here where I might do some writing and Margaret to paint. And now we were settled in the old fashioned house of a rich couple who had gone to America. It was filled with treasures. Library of priceless first editions. Rich heavily embroidered draperies and tapestries. Oriental Rugs and dark mahogany panels. I told Margaret it was a lavish display of wealth that made the place seem honest.

[Margaret]

Nonsense, Temple. It's not the ostentatious display that gets me down. The atmosphere of every room so dark and foreboding.

[Temple Hunter]

If we could afford to have servants so that you could hear people moving around, it wouldn't seem so strange to you.

[Margaret]

Maybe not.

[Temple Hunter]

Oh, I should never have allowed Max to talk me into renting it. It's too lively for us.

[Margaret]

You said it. We've been here two weeks and I haven't put a brush to the canvas.

[Temple Hunter]

My typewriter's gathering dust.

[Margaret]

And if you don't take me to some gay place for dinner right now, I shall be seized with a desire to throw one of these cloisonne vases at you.

[Temple Hunter]

Put on your best bib and tucker. Here we go. Remember the place Max told me about, just off the Rue Washington where they sell the best spaghetti? The side of Heaven? So we took to hunting out cheerful places to eat. Places where there was lots of light laughter and smart conversation. Our house, which we had rented for a song, wasn't turning out successfully. Margaret was right. There was an atmosphere over every room in the house. A feeling that persisted during all hours of the day as well as making you sleep fitfully at night. It had me mumbling over and over to myself, coming events cast their shadows before.

[The Hermit]

Coming events cast their shadows before.

[Temple Hunter]

We had lived at number 5 Rue Loi for about 10 days before the first weird thing occurred. It was raining that night, a steady downpour. We had a late dinner and returned by cab to our new address.

[Margaret]

Wait, Temple. I want to put my head under my coat before I step out from this cloudburst. Walk from the cab to the house will turn me into a drenched rat.

[Temple Hunter]

Well, sit here in the cab. Madame Brown must have left an umbrella in the stand. I'll bring it out.

[Margaret]

Never mind. I'm ready for the dash. Here goes.

[The Hermit]

All right.

[Temple Hunter]

Got the key right here.

[The Hermit]

Oh,

[Temple Hunter]

well.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

Any old port in storm.

[Margaret]

Even this museum should be welcome on a night like this.

[Temple Hunter]

I'll light the log in the library. That should be the most comfortable room on a night like this.

[Margaret]

You sure the roof doesn't leak in this house? I can feel a rain falling on me right now.

[Temple Hunter]

Margie, you should be the writer in this family. Your imagination works overtime.

[Margaret]

You know, it's as damp as a tomb in here.

[Temple Hunter]

Yeah. Wait five minutes. This fire will make the room as warm as toast. Throw up your chair.

[Margaret]

If you don't mind. I think I'll sit right in the fire.

[Temple Hunter]

Now, isn't this potent?

[Margaret]

Better.

[Temple Hunter]

Give me the right smile and any minute I'll go fix you a cup of hot chocolate.

[Margaret]

Oh, that would taste good.

[Temple Hunter]

At your service, my lady.

[Margaret]

You're in a happier move tonight, Temple.

[Temple Hunter]

Oh, I feel better. You know, I think I'll be up early tomorrow morning and start my story. I'm through wasting time. I'll be back in a minute with hot chocolate. Marcus, what is it?

[Margaret]

Look behind those draperies, at the window.

[Temple Hunter]

What do you think you saw someone picking up?

[Margaret]

Look.

[Temple Hunter]

Okay. Well, if there was anyone at the window to go now, we could have heard you scream all over Paris.

[Margaret]

I didn't see anyone looking in at the window. I saw a hand, Margaret. I did. It reached right around the drapery. I saw the fingers. They were bright red, covered with blood.

[Temple Hunter]

What's got into you? You know such a thing is impossible. If you saw a hand, there would be a person. There's no one behind here.

[Margaret]

Now, you see, I don't care what you think or how impossible it seems. I saw a hand. A hand red with blood.

[Temple Hunter]

I'm not going to allow you to let your imagination run away with you this way. I'm going back to the pantry and fix the hot chocolate just as I intended it to.

[Margaret]

Temple, don't you dare leave me. I don't want any hot chocolate. I want to get out of this house.

[Temple Hunter]

Oh, honey, you know that's impossible. I paid three months rent here. We can't afford to move out.

[Margaret]

You can stay. I'm leaving.

[Temple Hunter]

Now, wait a minute. You've allowed your nerves to get the better of you.

[Margaret]

Dimple. Look at this book on the table. Yes, I see it, but you're not looking closely. See? There's a crimson stain on this book just as if the hand had touched it.

[Temple Hunter]

That's not a fresh stain, Martin.

[Margaret]

What does it matter? I picked up this book before. I know the stain was never on it until tonight.

[Temple Hunter]

Nonsense.

[Margaret]

Stop calling everything I say nonsense. You know that I'm observing. And I say the stain was never on this book until tonight.

[Temple Hunter]

All right, let's forget about it now and go to bed. It'll calm your fears any. In the morning, I'll call the police and have them look around the house. Please, Margaret, don't sit there staring wildly. Nothing is going to harm us. It's just the atmosphere of this house and your imagination. You finally let her get you down. Come on, dear. We'll get out of this room. The hours of the night inched along I knew Margaret was not sleeping. Neither was I. Outside, the rain was still coming down. Made a mournful sound against the window panes. I was ashamed to find that I too was allowing my imagination to get the better of me. I could actually believe that the rain was a million fingers tapping on the panes. And then I heard another sound. Did I? Of course not. Was Fancy running wild again, or was it. Sounds like someone is tapping on the door.

[Margaret]

What did you say, Temple?

[Temple Hunter]

Oh, was I talking out loud?

[Margaret]

Yes, I know what you said. Someone was tapping on a door.

[Temple Hunter]

Gosh, for a minute I did think that. But it's just the rain against the windows.

[Margaret]

No, it isn't. Temple, listen. There's someone tapping on the door to our room.

[Temple Hunter]

Who's out there? I say, who's out there? Oh, listen, this is foolish, just darn foolishness. We know very well there's no one outside this door.

[Margaret]

I'm not sure. Neither am I. Dimple.

[Temple Hunter]

Straight, Scott.

[Margaret]

Something is coming right through the door. Look at it, flying around the room. You see? It's a hand. A human hand lying around an arrow.

[The Hermit]

Yes. Flying in space in the bedroom of Margaret in Temple Hunter is a human hand attached to nothing. How? And who will explain this strange phenomenon to the two frightened people? This weird psychomancy? The Hermit will tell you before the night is done.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

We needn't give the Hermit a hand. He seems to have one in tonight's story. But I can give you a helping hand on the job of heating your home. The most important thing is good coal. And one way to be sure of that is to place your orders well in advance and ask for aug coal. Aug is worth waiting for. Even though your dealer may not always be able to give you the usual overnight delivery service. He may not even have the exact size of auger you've been using. But most furnaces or room heaters can use either of several sizes with complete satisfaction. So may I suggest that if your dealer doesn't happen to have the exact size of auger coal you've been using, you take another size. It's all the same good coal of the smokeless type, no matter what the size, you get the benefit of the same extra high heat content, which can mean an adequate heating job with less coal, the same long burning quality that can enable you to cut down on furnace tending, and the same ready response to the dampers, which can mean a more evenly heated home without waste of coal. One more suggestion. Keep your furnace or room heater clean so you don't waste coal Incidentally, if you burn aga coal, chances are your heating system can stay cleaner. I'll tell you at the end of the program how to find your Auga dealer. That name is spelled O, L, G, A. Now, suppose we let the hermit get back to the matter in hand.

[The Hermit]

It is the next night, and in the library where the night before Margaret first saw the vision of the Crimson Hand sit three people.

[Temple Hunter]

Temple.

[The Hermit]

Margaret and their friend, the journalist Max Harrison. Listen.

[Temple Hunter]

So that's the story, Max. You can see why we didn't call in the police.

[Max Harrison]

Yeah. If it were anyone but you two telling me this story, I'd think you'd take it to the opium pipe.

[Margaret]

After such an experience, it's enough to drive anyone to it.

[Temple Hunter]

All day I've been trying to convince myself it was a hallucination.

[Margaret]

But it wasn't. Max has got to take you to that agent to get our money back so we can move out of here.

[Max Harrison]

It's going to be difficult to make him believe a story like this.

[Margaret]

I don't care if it is. We're leaving here as soon as we can get back.

[Max Harrison]

Sure. Don't stay because of me. You come over to my place tonight. There's just one thing I want you to do. After all, I am a journalist. And if there's anything to your story, I'd like to see it repeated.

[Temple Hunter]

It probably never will happen again.

[Max Harrison]

Temp. You're not trying to pull my leg, are you?

[Temple Hunter]

I don't blame you for asking that question, but the answer is no.

[Max Harrison]

After you saw the hand flying around in your room, what then?

[Temple Hunter]

It just seemed to disappear. We got up and dressed, called a cab and went out for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day hunting for you. We haven't been near the house until we came in just now with you.

[Max Harrison]

This is the book you spoke of, Margaret?

[Margaret]

Yes.

[Max Harrison]

This is one of Paul Perron's favorite philosophers. Kind of strange he didn't take the book with him.

[Temple Hunter]

Max, tell me something about the couple who lived here.

[Max Harrison]

Oh, they were colorful. I thought you'd remember some of the things I'd written about them. You didn't. Lila Perron was one of the most beautiful women I've gazed upon. Soft brown hair, light brown eyes, very unusual. Almond shape, ivory skin, a live slender body. Oh, you can't describe her. She was just different. Her mind, her thoughts.

[Temple Hunter]

And Paul?

[Max Harrison]

Well, he was the type you'd cast in the cinema as the super successful businessman because of his steel gray hair and smile. But he is the intellectual artist, kind and Warm like old wine.

[Temple Hunter]

And very wealthy.

[Max Harrison]

Yes, very wealthy. And older than Leila. But I've never known a couple so much in love as these two. I was here in this house the night before they left for America, in this very room, sitting in a chair. Temple is in now. Paul sat where Margaret is sitting and Leila on a stool at his feet. And this book you speak of, Paul had it in his hands. Lila was looking up at him.

[Margaret]

Oh, it is so hard, Paul, for you to leave the things you love.

[Temple Hunter]

You mean my books, my treasures?

[Margaret]

Oui.

[Temple Hunter]

They are things I love. But their degree compared to you is slight.

[Margaret]

Ah, you will love America, Paul. It is new and shining.

[Temple Hunter]

How do you know? You have not been there since a little girl.

[Margaret]

Oui, but Maxie tells us all that Pierre tells us. But Paris, every day she grows more like an old woman whose body decays with the year. Soon we will see our bones. And I am afraid.

[Max Harrison]

Leela.

[The Hermit]

Afraid?

[Temple Hunter]

Never has she been afraid of anything.

[Margaret]

Only growing old and being swallowed up by time. Our friends, they are gone. And time, it is heavier now. Oh, Paul, you are so good to take me to America. Look in my handbag. A ticket. I will sleep with them under my pillow tonight. They are tickets to freedom. Freedom from growing old in a dying. Parry, parry.

[Temple Hunter]

Perry, it will never die.

[Margaret]

Lina, you hear what Max tells us? The French, they play blind man's boat with the naked. He does not fight him.

[Temple Hunter]

Paris will never die. Persons like us, we should be true to the Paris that has rocked us gently in its arms and fed our happiness.

[Margaret]

Oh, no, Paul, you must not talk like that. Put the old book down. Let us get out of this room. It is stifling me. It is reaching out, trying to hold us here. Come, Max. Come, Paul. Let us go out and sing and be gay on our last night in Paris. Come quickly. Stop the ring.

[Max Harrison]

So we went out and I said good night to them and goodbye. In one of the bright cafes they were happy in singing. Paul had forgotten that his heart was wrapped up in Paris. He was shouting off to freedom.

[Margaret]

Then she too was afraid of this room. It stifled her.

[Max Harrison]

Yes, but she had seen those strange phenomenon as you have.

[Margaret]

She got away just in time then, for there is something in this house. It was in this very room.

[Temple Hunter]

Let's see.

[Max Harrison]

A little past midnight. Go straight to one. If nothing occurs, we'll leave and forget it all and call it a bad dream.

[Temple Hunter]

Suits me.

[Margaret]

I'll sit here. Either one of you will leave me. And you're going to pack with me when it's time to leave.

[Temple Hunter]

Of course.

[Margaret]

Max, do you feel something portentous about this house?

[Max Harrison]

No. It only seems strange not to have Leland Paul here.

[Temple Hunter]

He was here many times when it was filled with people. Naturally it could not affect. Naturally it would. Margaret, what's the matter? Why did you stand up?

[Margaret]

I'm listening. I heard it again.

[Max Harrison]

Heard what?

[Margaret]

The tapping. Listen. You hear?

[Max Harrison]

Yes. Come on, let's have a look around.

[Temple Hunter]

Didn't sound as if it were. This library door distinct is far away.

[Max Harrison]

Well, as you can see, there's no one out here. No. Stand still. Let's listen again. I hear the tapping sound, but I can't locate where it comes from. We'll keep looking.

[Margaret]

Where are you going?

[Max Harrison]

First to your room. That's where you say you saw the hand the second time. Where's the overhead lights?

[Temple Hunter]

Oh, here.

[Max Harrison]

Nothing in here. No tapping sound. Seems further away.

[Temple Hunter]

Yes.

[Max Harrison]

I'm going to locate what that is. If it takes all night, we know what it is.

[Margaret]

It's a hand that does it.

[Temple Hunter]

Let him discover for himself, Margaret.

[Max Harrison]

Let's see. This door leads to the kitchen and the servants quarters.

[Temple Hunter]

I'll get the light.

[Max Harrison]

Tapping is stronger out here.

[Margaret]

It is Max Temple. Stay near me.

[Max Harrison]

Have you ever been down in the cellar?

[Temple Hunter]

We've had no reason to go down there.

[Max Harrison]

We're going now. Come on.

[Temple Hunter]

What's down here?

[Max Harrison]

Hundreds of boxes of treasure that Paul has had shipped here from all over the world. And one of the finest wine cellars in the world. But it'll be locked up, waiting for the master to return. I've been down here with Paul. Last time was to get a bottle of hundred year old port.

[Temple Hunter]

Wow. We've been living over something like that.

[Max Harrison]

Which I could show you. Well, you see, this is a fine hiding place for a prowler who might want to play tricks on you to get you out of the house.

[Temple Hunter]

Is that what you think it is, Max?

[Max Harrison]

I've got a hunch.

[Margaret]

Listen,

[Temple Hunter]

My job's coming from down here.

[Max Harrison]

Sure it is. It's in the cellar.

[Temple Hunter]

Behind this door?

[Max Harrison]

Yes. This the door le to the wine cellar. And the door is locked.

[Temple Hunter]

Tight iron door too.

[Max Harrison]

Yeah.

[Temple Hunter]

We've got to get it open somehow.

[Max Harrison]

I said it. Look, I think I can break the lock with this.

[Temple Hunter]

We can try. Give it to me. Stand back.

[Max Harrison]

Margaret. Making any headway? Yes, I think so.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

I think I can break the lock.

[Margaret]

What do you think is in there, Max?

[Max Harrison]

I haven't the slightest idea. But there's something behind that door making a sound.

[Margaret]

We should have gotten the Police and who?

[Max Harrison]

A scoop on a story. Nothing doing.

[Margaret]

I've got it.

[Temple Hunter]

Okay, here goes.

[The Hermit]

Max.

[Temple Hunter]

Margaret, stay back.

[Margaret]

What is it? What is it?

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

A body.

[Temple Hunter]

The body of a man? Yes, the body of a man. Max identified it before we called the police. It was Paul Peron. We've had to piece together the story of how he got there. For up to now, Leela Perron has not been found. They are quite certain she never came to America. And Paul never went anywhere but down to the cellar where his old vines were. Someone had locked him in there and left him to die for hours. He must have tried to make himself heard for days. He must have tried to break open the door. His right hand was cut and covered with blood. Flesh was torn away. The bones of the wrist were broken. It seemed to be hanging to the arm by a thread.

[Margaret]

Margaret said, you don't think his wife. You don't think that she locked him in there to die? Max, you said they loved each other so much.

[Max Harrison]

I said that I believed it.

[Temple Hunter]

But she was afraid of growing old and afraid of everything old. And Paul Per own was going down the hill and she wanted to climb.

[Max Harrison]

I'm afraid that's it, Temp.

[Temple Hunter]

That's what all Paris believed too. If it hadn't been for the fact that we saw a ghostly thing, a crimson hand floating in the upper rooms of the house. Why then, a few months later, the horrible crime could have been blamed to the invaders of Paris. And Mila would have gone free. But now, when they find her, she will be arrested for the murder of Paul Perron. Who died a horrible death in the cellar of his house and led us to his grave by a crimson.

[The Hermit]

Yes. Leela Perun loved youth more than soul and heart. Committed a crime that she thought would be buried from sight forever. She did not reckon with a ghostly hand that led three people to the grave of her victim. Turn on your lights. Turn them on.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

You have just listened to the 368th story by the hermit made possible through the courtesy of the Carter Coal Company, producers of Ala coal and your Alad dealer. Let him answer your questions on the fuel situation. If you are thinking of converting your furnace from your present type of fuel to coal. The auger dealer can give you helpful advice. If you'll be patient on deliveries, it will help a lot. Everybody realizes that we're in a war. Everybody wants to do his part to win. Be sure to order al coal by name. That's the only way you can be sure of getting this particular coal mined. From a single seam. No other coal is quite like Olga. And when delivery is made, look for the Auga guarantee seal on the delivery ticket. It's your final assurance of getting genuine Alga coal. If you can hear this program, you should find an Auger dealer near you. Leading coal dealers in towns and cities from Manitoba to Quebec, from Ontario to the Carolinas, supply their customers with Alga. In many cities you can locate your Alga dealer by turning to the coal section of your classified telephone directory. There you will find the dealers listed under Alga, spelled Olga. In other cities, you can obtain the name of your Auga dealer by writing to the station to which you are listening. Remember, Auga is not only one of the smokeless coals, but also was given the famous auger dustless treatment at the mine. It's the only coal which receives this patented treatment. Aga combines the maximum number of good qualities in one coal. And remember this too. America combines so many good qualities in one nation that every American wants to buy war bonds and stamps to the limit of his ability. Every dollar put into war bonds and stamps gives a body blow to the Axis now and a helping hand to those boys of ours who are fighting for liberty the world over, on land, at sea and in the air.

[The Hermit]

And the Hermit has more stories for you. Listen in next week for My Howl's Howling. I'll tell you the story of sea water. I'll be back. Pleasant dreams.

[Narrator/Announcer (Jack White)]

All characters, places and occurrences mentioned in the Hermit's Cave are fictitious and similarity to persons, places or occurrences is purely accidental. This is Jack White speaking.

[Podcast Host]

You can find more from the Hermit's Cave, the Horror and all of the Relic Radio podcasts at the website relicradio.com if you'd like to help support this and all of the shows, visit donate. Relicradio.com or click on one of the support links in the show notes. Your donations make all of this possible. Thank you as always to those who have helped out. Thanks for joining me this week. I'll be back tomorrow with Strange Tales and next Saturday with our next episode of the Horror.