Podcast Summary: The Horror! (Old Time Radio)
Episode: "The Hairy Monster" by The Witch’s Tale
Date: January 17, 2026

Overview

In this chilling episode, The Horror! presents "The Hairy Monster," a classic supernatural tale from the 1930s radio series The Witch’s Tale. Host RelicRadio.com pulls together both parts of this story, revolving around an inherited mansion, an eerie will, a tragic mystery, and a monstrous presence fueled by dark Eastern sorcery. The episode immerses listeners in a narrative laced with gothic suspense, old-world folklore, and classic radio drama flair.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Setting the Stage: The Inheritance and Unusual Will

• [03:02 - 05:14]
  • Old Nancy, a character from the original series, cuddles up audience expectations: “I wears a iron ring to keep away rheumatics. Thar’s always a onion hanging over my door to drive off chills and fevers...” (03:10).
  • Listeners are guided into the story with the tradition of magic and superstition as the backdrop.
• [05:15 - 06:57]
  • Ms. Turner, her brother Rodney, and Aunt Maggie arrive at an opulent house they've just inherited under mysterious terms.
  • The will’s stipulations: Ms. Turner must live there for a year, sleep each night in the master bedroom alone, and never spend a night away; three hours in the room from midnight to sunrise are required.

2. Hints of the Supernatural and the Past

• [06:58 - 08:48]
  • The oddities of Mrs. Hawker’s will are reviewed and her background—years spent in Tibet, fascination with Eastern mysticism, and a library full of books on magic and alchemy—is highlighted.
  • Notably, “They’re the only books in the place with English titles. I don’t know what the volumes treat that are written in Chinese...” (08:42, Mr. Weeks).
• [10:21 - 10:30]
  • Mrs. Hawker’s tomb, built in the backyard, unnerves the family.
    • “That’s the one thing I ain’t gonna like about this place. That tomb.” (Ms. Turner)

3. Aunt Maggie’s Tragic End

• [12:28 - 13:13]
  • Strange occurrences on their first night: flickering lights, terrified screams, and then the unthinkable—Aunt Maggie is dead from fear.
  • The diagnosis: “...paralysis of the heart muscle brought about by shock. The expression of her face and eyes indicate that shock was caused by sheer, stark terror.” (13:22, Doctor)

4. The Investigation & Rising Suspense

• [14:11 - 16:05]
  • Police and a skeptical but open-minded Detective Ryan comb the scene—no intruders, all doors locked, but a bizarre clue remains: “These are most unusual hairs, sir. Look, I’m six feet tall and these hairs are longer than I am...” (15:57, Ryan)
• [16:41 - 17:38]
  • The household sits vigil in terror, with Ryan’s brooding musings about the inexplicable: “I kind of got a notion strange things happen in this world that can’t be explained away by simply saying they couldn’t happen.” (17:38, Ryan)

5. The Hairy Monster Appears

• [21:09 - 21:57]
  • Another night, more supernatural dread—lights go out, a monstrous being with long white hair materializes.
  • “It’s a hairy monster. You missed. Shoot again... I hit it, but it doesn’t drop. Bullets don’t seem to kill it. Something unnatural...” (21:21, Ms. Turner & Mr. Weeks)
• [21:57 - 22:26]
  • The beast escapes through a secret passage, leading the protagonists to the chilling revelation that it connects directly to Mrs. Hawker’s tomb.

6. Ancient Sorcery & The Terrible Truth

• [22:40 - 23:54]
  • Detective Ryan theorizes about how Mrs. Hawker could be alive through Tibetan magic—suspending her bodily functions to live as the “undead,” intending to reclaim life by stealing another’s body and soul.
  • “Her body is just a dried up husk held together by her evil spirit. That husk must be destroyed entirely, all at once. That’s why I’m having those lamps put up inside the mausoleum. The sun that preserves life is the destroyer of the dead. That’s why she can only leave her tomb in darkness.” (24:46, Mr. Weeks)

7. Climactic Confrontation in the Tomb

• [25:04 - 26:21]
  • The group enters the mausoleum to end the threat.
  • As they expose the creature to artificial sunlight, it attacks, but the rays cause the “hairy monster” to disintegrate to “just dust and bones and hair... She’s gone. Destroyed forever...” (26:00-26:21, Ms. Turner & Mr. Weeks)
  • Ryan survives, wounded, with Ms. Turner tending to him.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Supernatural Experience:

  • “I kind of got a notion strange things happen in this world that can’t be explained away by simply saying they couldn’t happen.”
    — Detective Ryan, (17:38)

• On Mrs. Hawker’s Mysticism:

  • “In Tibet, where Mrs. Hawker used to live, there’s magicians who knew how to suspend all animation of their organs and to live like the dead for almost any time they want. They also know how to kill another human being with smothering its breath. And how to set up their own spirit inside the stolen flesh.”
    — Mr. Weeks, (23:27)

• Hair as a Clue:

  • “These are most unusual hairs, sir. Look, I’m six feet tall and these hairs are longer than I am.”
    — Detective Ryan, (15:57)

• The Monster Attacks:

  • “It’s a hairy monster. You missed. Shoot again... I hit it, but it doesn’t drop. Bullets don’t seem to kill it. Something unnatural...”
    — Ms. Turner & Mr. Weeks, (21:21-21:31)

• The Final Vanquishing:

  • “She’s letting go. Oh, mister, she’s swollen. She’s becoming. Just dust and bones and hair. She’s gone. Destroyed forever. Are you all right?”
    — Ms. Turner, (26:18-26:21)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Strange Will & Introduction to the House: 05:15 – 08:48
• Aunt Maggie’s Death by Fright: 12:28 – 13:22
• Discovery of Six-Foot Hairs: 15:45 – 16:07
• First Encounter with the Hairy Monster: 21:09 – 22:26
• Revealing Mrs. Hawker’s “Living Death”: 23:13 – 24:57
• Final Confrontation and Destruction of the Monster: 25:11 – 26:21

Tone & Atmosphere

The Witch's Tale embodies classic gothic horror, delivered in period dialect, with a blend of morbidity and melodrama. Folkloric, skeptical, and scientific explanations intermingle as the unexplainable overwhelms the rational, all wrapped in the deliciously earnest creepiness of Old Time Radio. Clever comic relief (Ryan's awkward flirtations with Ms. Turner) lightens the dread but never dispels the tension.

Summary

This episode is a quintessential example of 1930s radio horror—filled with curses, haunted houses, links to “exotic” magics, and a thoroughly unique monster. The interplay between skeptical investigation and supernatural terrors is compelling, with the story delivered in a style that is simultaneously spookily earnest and endearingly camp. If you enjoy haunted inheritance stories, Eastern occultism, and the fascination of period horror, this episode is a must-listen.