The House And The Brain by The CBS Radio Mystery Theater

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Horror! (Old Time Radio) – Episode: The House And The Brain by The CBS Radio Mystery Theater

Introduction

In this enthralling episode of The Horror! (Old Time Radio), hosted by RelicRadio.com, listeners are transported into the eerie and suspense-filled world of The House And The Brain. Adapted from a short story by Edward Bulwer Lytton, this episode delves deep into themes of supernatural phenomena, the untapped potential of the human mind, and the thin veil between reality and terror. Released on October 19, 2024, this rendition by The CBS Radio Mystery Theater promises a gripping narrative filled with mystery, suspense, and chilling encounters.

Characters

• Harold Rumsford: A dedicated scientist specializing in supernatural phenomena, determined to uncover the truths behind haunted occurrences.
• Walter Garrison: The current owner of the haunted house at 47 Hatch Lane, grappling with the inexplicable forces within his property.
• Samuel Blake (Cheever): Manservant to Harold Rumsford, assisting in the investigation with his loyal dog, Duke.
• Mrs. Cavendish: The deceased housekeeper whose mysterious death sets the stage for the unfolding horror.
• Jack Tarbach (Mr. Richards): A sinister figure with mastery over the power of the human mind, embodying the dark potential of human will.

Plot Overview

The House And The Brain unfolds in a fashionable residential area of 19th-century London, where the haunted house at 47 Hatch Lane becomes the epicenter of supernatural disturbances. The story begins with Harold Rumsford receiving a distressing account from Samuel Blake about his and his wife's terrifying experience in the house. Despite witnessing no traditional ghostly apparitions, Clara and Samuel were driven away by an undefinable terror emanating from an unfurnished room.

Key Plot Points

1. Initial Investigation ([03:54] – [05:34])

   • Harold Rumsford engages with Walter Garrison to investigate the haunted house, dismissing the supernatural in favor of scientific explanations.
   • Rumsford’s determination leads him to spend a night in the house, accompanied by Samuel Blake and Duke, to unravel the mysteries.

2. Supernatural Encounters ([12:06] – [16:21])

   • The trio explores the unsettling unfurnished room, experiencing inexplicable phenomena such as doors opening by themselves and feeling intrusive forces.
   • A menacing shadow with "luminous green eyes" ([15:59] Harold Rumsford: “look at its eyes. They're green, shining like a serpent's.”) threatens them, culminating in the tragic death of Duke ([15:25]).

3. Discovery of the Hidden Room ([27:05] – [29:00])

   • Digging deeper, they uncover a concealed room beneath the house housing mysterious items: bottles of liquid, an iron rod, and rocks with unique properties ([28:04] Harold Rumsford: “They all possess electrical properties.”).
   • The discovery links these artifacts to the theory that the human mind can transmit thoughts telepathically, supporting Rumsford’s hypothesis that the haunting force originates from a living human brain.

4. Confrontation with Jack Tarbach ([40:52] – [48:40])

   • The introduction of Jack Tarbach, an enigmatic and wealthy British scholar with a dark past, brings the narrative to a tense climax.
   • A psychological duel ensues between Rumsford and Tarbach, exploring the immense power of human will and its potential for both creation and destruction.
   • Tarbach’s ominous declaration ([48:40] Jack Tarbach: “I have therefore established power over you for three months...”) heightens the stakes, suggesting ongoing terror linked to the mental prowess of a single malevolent individual.

5. Resolution and Lingering Dread ([53:51] – [53:59])

   • Despite efforts to cleanse the house by destroying the transmitter in the safe, questions linger about the true nature and origin of the evil forces.
   • The episode concludes with a chilling reminder of the pervasive power of human thought and the unknown limits of the mind ([53:54] Richard: “...our story. Mr. Garrison's house may now be free of the evil influences that haunted it. But has the evil itself been destroyed?”).

Thematic Elements and Insights

The House And The Brain masterfully intertwines themes of fear, the supernatural, and the untapped capabilities of the human mind. Harold Rumsford’s scientific approach contrasts sharply with the inexplicable events, highlighting the limitations of human understanding when faced with forces beyond conventional explanation. The episode probes philosophical questions about the nature of evil, the power of thought, and the fine line between courage and obsession.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Harold Rumsford on Willpower ([22:31]): “This force that haunts your house is a powerful and evil will that somehow has its origin in a living human mind.”

• Samuel Blake on the Shadow ([15:59]): “But its eyes, sir. Look at its eyes. They're green, shining like a serpent's.”

• Jack Tarbach’s Threat ([48:40]): “I have therefore established power over you for three months... Do you doubt my power to lay on you this command?”

• Rumsford on Thought Power ([24:32]): “We have no idea what might be the ultimate range of its power.”

• Narrator’s Reflection ([53:59]): “Mr. Garrison's house may now be free of the evil influences that haunted it. But has the evil itself been destroyed?”

Conclusion

This episode of The Horror! (Old Time Radio) captivates listeners with its intricate plot and profound exploration of the human psyche. By blending scientific inquiry with supernatural horror, it challenges audiences to consider the profound and sometimes terrifying potential of the human mind. The narrative's conclusion leaves an open-ended tension, prompting reflection on whether true evil can ever be wholly eradicated or simply contained. For aficionados of mystery and horror, The House And The Brain offers a compelling and thought-provoking listening experience.

Transcript

[Walter Garrison]

Oh, stories.

[Cheevers]

Real stories that murdered too. Turn out your legs.

[Walter Garrison]

Turn them out.

[Harold Rumsford]

Good evening.

[Cheevers]

Come in, won't you?

[Harold Rumsford]

What's the matter? Surely you're not nervous?

[Cheevers]

Perhaps if you can't. I think restored we are meant to.

[Samuel Blake]

Call from out of the past.

[Walter Garrison]

Stories, strange and weird.

[Harold Rumsford]

Tales of mystery and terror by radio's.

[E.G. Marshall]

Masters of the Maab.

[Harold Rumsford]

Stories of the supernatural, the supernormal dramatized fat faith.

[Walter Garrison]

The mystery of the unknown.

[Harold Rumsford]

We tell you this, Franklin, so if.

[Walter Garrison]

You wish to avoid the excitement tension.

[E.G. Marshall]

Of these magnets play.

[Harold Rumsford]

We urge our lady seriously to turn.

[Cheevers]

Off your rating down.

[Narrator]

This is the horror. Welcome back. Thanks for joining me. This Saturday we're going to hear from the CBS radio Mystery Theater. This week, series that took to the air in 1974, aired until 1982, produced almost 1400 original stories. Or, like today's episode, an adaptation of a story. This one's by Edward Bulwer Lytton. It's the House and the brain story. Aired March 6, 1978.

[E.G. Marshall]

Here's 78 on 78 News Radio 78, WBBM Chicago.

[Richard]

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Present. Come in. Welcome. I'm E. G. Marshall. A man too careful of danger liveth in continual torment, goes an old proverb. But where do we draw the line between courage and rashness? In normal situations, we can rely on our common sense to guide us. But what do we rely on in situations which involve forces we know nothing about?

[Samuel Blake]

Sir, look. Something's come between us and the door.

[Harold Rumsford]

It looks like an enormous shroud with luminous green eyes.

[Samuel Blake]

It's coming toward us.

[Harold Rumsford]

Stand firm, Chivas. It's only an illusion.

[Samuel Blake]

If it's only an illusion, why can I feel its force?

[Harold Rumsford]

The supernatural does not exist, Chivas. It does not.

[Richard]

Our mystery drama the House and the Brain is based on a short story by the English writer Edward Bulwer Lytton. It was adapted especially for mystery theater by Percy Granger and stars Gordon Heath. It is sponsored in part by contact the 12 hour cold capsule and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with Act 1.

[E.G. Marshall]

1Pm July 12, 1979. In 24 hours, the Masada Plan will toll destruction for the world's nine largest cities. The Masada Plan, a tense terrafield novel by Leonard Harris presenting the ultimate solution to the turmoil of the Mid East. Only the beautiful famous TV journalist Kate Colby can stop the Masada Plan. But first she must betray the man she loves. Read the Masada Plan in paperback from Popular Library.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Take your contact. Take it.

[Cheevers]

Now. Give your code to.

[Richard]

You've got A nighttime cold congestion is keeping you awake. You didn't take contact, did you? We're so famous for all day relief you didn't think of us for nighttime.

[E.G. Marshall]

Wrong.

[Richard]

Our 12 hour contact capsule decongests all night long so you can get the rest and sleep you need. And sleep's a great healer.

[Cheevers]

Give you call to contact.

[Walter Garrison]

Take only as directed.

[E.G. Marshall]

Here are some clues having to do with well known mystery writers or fictional characters appearing in famous detective stories. Let's see how good a detective detective you are. First, a dog that figures prominently in a famous story involving a well known fictional detective and his partner. Named the dog the detective, the story and the author. A famous fictional detective becomes involved with a snake in one of his early cases. Named the book detective and author. How did you do with those clues? Okay, here are the answers. First, Asta was the dog of Nick and Nora Charles and Dashiell Hammett's the Thin Man. Rex Stout introduced Nero Wolf in his first published book, Fer de Lance. And here's one more clue. The best place in town for fun and fitness for the whole family. That one's easy. You don't have to be a detective to solve that one. All you need to do is open your telephone directory to ymca. That's it. Ymca. The people who practically invented modern fitness techniques. Look them up soon.

[Richard]

The haunting of the living by the spirits of the departed has long been a popular theme among writers on the supernatural. Edward bulwer Lytton, a 19th century English politician, added a most interesting tale to the genre. What makes his tale so absorbing? Aside from his obsession with good and evil? A favorite theme with the Victorians of his day is the theory he advances to explain the haunting of the particular house he deals with. And what makes his theory so absorbing is its plausibility. We're in the heart of 19th century London in a fashionable residential area.

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes?

[Samuel Blake]

There's Mr. Blake to see you, sir.

[Harold Rumsford]

Blake? Oh yes, Samuel Blake. Show him in, Cheever.

[Samuel Blake]

Very good, sir. Mr. Blake?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Thank you, Harold. I hope I'm not disturbing you.

[Harold Rumsford]

No, no, not at all. I was just relaxing from my morning lecture. What's wrong with you? You're white as a sheet. What on earth is the matter?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Well, since I last saw you at the club, something very extraordinary has happened. Your going to think me quite ridiculous. As you know, my wife and I were in search of a furnished flat.

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes, I remember. Did you find one?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Well, we thought we had a large comfortable looking house on a quiet side street near Leicester Square. We let the rooms by the week and left after the third day. No power on earth could induce us to return.

[Harold Rumsford]

What happened?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Well, I know your opinions on such matters, Harold, and I'm quite prepared to have you mock me. But the fact is the house was haunted. But not in the usual sense. That is, we didn't see any ghosts and we didn't hear any noises. Well, then what drove us away was an undefinable terror which seized us whenever we passed by the door to a certain unfurnished room.

[Harold Rumsford]

Terror?

[Mr. Cavendish]

But it was more than just a feeling. It was as if a force were emanating from the room even when the door was closed.

[Harold Rumsford]

Had you any advanced knowledge that the house might be haunted?

[Mr. Cavendish]

You mean, were we subject to the power of suggestion? No, we had no pry inkling whatsoever.

[Harold Rumsford]

Still, it's possible it was simply your own fancy.

[Walter Garrison]

No.

[Mr. Cavendish]

For when we summoned the housekeeper, an elderly lady, she gave us the strangest smile and said, you've stayed longer than any other lodger. They've been very kind to you.

[Harold Rumsford]

So she knew. And yet she lived there.

[Mr. Cavendish]

She said she remembered the spirits from years ago and she'd lived there, not as a servant. And then she said something very odd. I know there will be the death of me someday, but I don't care. I'm old and must die soon anyhow. And then I shall be with them and in this house still.

[Harold Rumsford]

If you give me the housekeeper's name and the address, there's nothing I should like better than to spend a night there.

[Walter Garrison]

Yes?

[Harold Rumsford]

My name is Harold Rumsford. I'm looking for a Mrs. Cavendish.

[Walter Garrison]

She's not here.

[Harold Rumsford]

This is 47 Hatch Lane, isn't it?

[Walter Garrison]

I said she's not here.

[Harold Rumsford]

I was told by a former lodger, Mr. Samuel Blake, that she was the housekeeper of this establishment.

[Walter Garrison]

Mrs. Cavendish is dead.

[Harold Rumsford]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Then who are you?

[Walter Garrison]

My name is Walter Garrison, sir. I'm the unfortunate owner of this property.

[Harold Rumsford]

May I inquire what were the circumstances of Mrs. Cavendish's death?

[Walter Garrison]

What business is that of yours?

[Harold Rumsford]

I've heard this house is considered to be haunted.

[Walter Garrison]

Yes, it is. I can't rent it. Can't even find a servant to keep it.

[Harold Rumsford]

I'm a scientist by profession, Mr. Garrison, but I've made a lifelong study of supernatural phenomena and I'd be most obliged if I could hire your house for a night to examine it.

[Walter Garrison]

Oh, forgive me, Mr. Rumsford. Oh, yeah, Mr. Rumsford. I came here today to close it up for good. But if you think you might come up with an explanation for the hobgoblins that live here. I'd gladly put the house at your disposal. And rent, of course, is out of the question.

[Harold Rumsford]

If you'll give me the keys, I'll send my manservant round to select and prepare our rooms for the evening.

[Walter Garrison]

You are obviously not impressed.

[Harold Rumsford]

Oh, I am indeed. But it is my belief, Mr. Garrison, that there is no such thing as the supernatural.

[Walter Garrison]

Then how would you explain the forces which undoubtedly inhabit this house? These forces killed Mrs. Cavendish. She was found on her bed, her eyes wide open and a look of terror frozen on her face.

[Harold Rumsford]

According to my friend Mr. Blake, she apparently knew something about these forces.

[Walter Garrison]

Whoa. She seemed less frightened of them than most.

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes, I should like to have talked to her. What can you tell me of her past?

[Walter Garrison]

Nothing. Nothing more than she was once mistress of the house. But I can make inquiries if you.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Think it might be helpful.

[Harold Rumsford]

It would indeed, for I'm convinced that with sufficient information, we could come up with a very rational explanation.

[Samuel Blake]

Good evening, sir. Welcome to the haunted house.

[Harold Rumsford]

Hello, Cheevels.

[Walter Garrison]

Ah, you brought Duke with you.

[Harold Rumsford]

He enjoys prowling about these old houses so much, I could hardly leave him at home.

[E.G. Marshall]

Right.

[Samuel Blake]

Well, if you come upstairs, I've got a room all ready for you.

[Harold Rumsford]

Have you seen or heard anything yet?

[Samuel Blake]

Oh, a couple of queer things, I suppose.

[Harold Rumsford]

What?

[Samuel Blake]

Well, the sound of feet pattering behind me and once or twice whispers in my ear. Nothing more.

[Harold Rumsford]

And you weren't at all frightened?

[Samuel Blake]

Not in the least, sir. This is your room, sir. I've got a nice fire going to keep the night share away.

[Harold Rumsford]

And where's your room?

[Samuel Blake]

I chose the adjoining chamber right through that door there.

[Harold Rumsford]

Good. Now, let's begin by having a look at the room which gave old Blake and his missus such a fright.

[Samuel Blake]

Yes, sir. Just follow me. It's at the end of the hallway here. I've been down there once already.

[Harold Rumsford]

How did it seem?

[Samuel Blake]

Quite harmless.

[Harold Rumsford]

You didn't feel anything?

[Samuel Blake]

No, sir. Just a simple vacant room. Here we are. That's odd.

[Harold Rumsford]

Now what's the matter?

[Samuel Blake]

Well, I'm certain I left it unlocked. I have to go back for the key. Did you see that? The door opened by itself.

[Harold Rumsford]

Obviously we are being invited in to have a look round. Hold up the candle, Cheevers.

[Samuel Blake]

Yes, the room's quite bare. Where could the person who's playing these tricks hide?

[E.G. Marshall]

Hmm?

[Harold Rumsford]

The walls seem quite solid. No hidden doors, sir.

[Samuel Blake]

The door closed. It's locked. We are trapped.

[Harold Rumsford]

I must say, I'm beginning to imagine how Blake must have Felt.

[Walter Garrison]

Look.

[Samuel Blake]

It opened again.

[Harold Rumsford]

Quickly, get out to the landing. I got a very distinct impression in that, sir. A sensation, as if we were in the presence of a powerful force of evil.

[Samuel Blake]

Sir, there's something else.

[Mr. Cavendish]

What?

[Samuel Blake]

In this room, up here, on the next landing.

[Harold Rumsford]

Quiet, you. What room is this we're going to.

[Samuel Blake]

It was the housekeeper's, the room where she was found dead. In the drawer by her bed, I found two letters.

[Harold Rumsford]

I see. They're both addressed to Mrs. Cavendish. Postmark date is 35 years old.

[Samuel Blake]

Would that have been when she was mistress of the house?

[Harold Rumsford]

Probably, yes. Now, here's something. Both letters make reference to something that sounds very much like a crime. Listen. Don't let anyone be in the same room with you at night. You talk in your sleep. And in this one, even more interesting. What's done can't be undone. And I tell you, there's nothing against us unless the dead should come to life. And next to this, in the margin, written in a female hand, are the words they do.

[Samuel Blake]

What was that?

[Harold Rumsford]

I don't.

[Samuel Blake]

Sir, look in front of you.

[Harold Rumsford]

It's grasping the letters.

[Samuel Blake]

The hens disappeared, taking the letters with it. Are you all right?

[Harold Rumsford]

Something struck my arm.

[Walter Garrison]

It's numb.

[Samuel Blake]

Sir, there's another presence in this room. I can feel it.

[Harold Rumsford]

Hold steady, Cheevers. Look.

[Samuel Blake]

The flame in my candle, it's beginning to flicker. Even though there's no draught, it's growing smaller. What's the matter with Duke?

[Harold Rumsford]

He must see something. He's cowering in terror. What happened?

[Samuel Blake]

Old Duke, he's been flung against the wall, sir. He's dead.

[Harold Rumsford]

Dead?

[Walter Garrison]

Are you sure?

[Samuel Blake]

His neck is broken. What force could have caused it?

[Harold Rumsford]

I don't know, but we'd better get back to our rooms.

[E.G. Marshall]

Look.

[Samuel Blake]

There's something coming between us and the door.

[Harold Rumsford]

I think that's your answer, Achievers. An enormous shadow meant to terrify us. Do not give in.

[Samuel Blake]

But its eyes, sir. Look at its eyes. They're green, shining like a serpent's.

[Harold Rumsford]

It's just a trick. A trick?

[Samuel Blake]

It took the letters, didn't it? It struck your army, Kim.

[Jack Tarbach]

Duke, look.

[Walter Garrison]

It's coming toward us.

[Harold Rumsford]

Stand fast.

[Walter Garrison]

My God.

[Samuel Blake]

This thing means to kill us.

[Walter Garrison]

We must get out of this house as quickly as possible. Are you coming, sir?

[Harold Rumsford]

No, I'm going to stay until I find out what this thing is.

[Walter Garrison]

Yes?

[Harold Rumsford]

Good morning.

[Samuel Blake]

Are you Mr. Garrison, owner of the house at 47 Hatch Lane?

[Walter Garrison]

I am.

[Mr. Cavendish]

What may I do for you?

[Samuel Blake]

My name is Cheever, sir. I'm manservant to Mr. Harold Rumsford. Or perhaps I should say the late Mr. Rumsford.

[Walter Garrison]

What? What's happened?

[Samuel Blake]

We must call the police at once. Your house contains a force of such power. I saw it break the neck of my master's dog with my own eyes.

[Walter Garrison]

Broke its neck.

[Samuel Blake]

That's when I fled. And Mr. Rumsford, he was determined to stay and confront this force, this apparition that arose before us. It was horrible, sir. It had empty, snake like eyes that glowed in the dark the most terrible shade of green and it was as tall as the ceiling.

[Walter Garrison]

And Mr. Rumsford has not been home this morning?

[Samuel Blake]

No, sir. We must go right away.

[Walter Garrison]

Excuse me.

[Samuel Blake]

I'm sure we'll find him Horribly mangled with Mr. Rumsford.

[Harold Rumsford]

Good morning, Garrison. Cheebus.

[Samuel Blake]

Are you all right?

[Harold Rumsford]

I think so. It got considerably worse after you left. What happened? I can describe what I saw, Mr. Garrison, but I'm not at all sure I can explain it. One thing however. I am absolutely convinced. This force that haunts your house is a powerful and evil will that somehow has its origin in a living human mind.

[Richard]

We have so little understanding of the full power of the mind. Are you aware for example, that most of us use no more than 15% of our brain's total power? And that even a genius like Einstein used only 17%? What fantastic things might be achieved by a person who had the discipline them to unleash the mind's complete force. And how terrifying if this person's mind preferred evil to good. I shall return shortly with Act 2.

[E.G. Marshall]

The 1978 Buicks.

[Richard]

Cars designed to make a whole lot of sense.

[Cheevers]

A little science.

[E.G. Marshall]

But along with the innovation and logic.

[Richard]

There'S all the comfort and luxury people have always loved about viewing from the Skyhawk and the amazing new century in Regal right up through the trim live full sized viewing. It's the kind of science that gives you the wizardry of smooth, even firing V6 engines.

[E.G. Marshall]

Cars that are trim but roomy and.

[Richard]

The kind of magic that makes driving them fun. The 1978 Buicks. See them soon, attribute they surely will.

[Cheevers]

Have found you the amazing things. You see the car they built, the wonderful. How can such things be?

[Richard]

Buick automobiles are equipped with GM build.

[E.G. Marshall]

Engines produced by various divisions.

[Richard]

See your dealer for details.

[Cheevers]

Ready to fly.

[E.G. Marshall]

Listen carefully Chicago. This commercial could be worth about 20% off on your next flight to Memphis or New Orleans. That's what you save on Delta's night coach flights. The fair to Memphis is just $54. To New Orleans, $74. Delta has night coaches to Houston too for only $80. That's 20% less than regular day tourist. To cash in on these savings, carefully cut out this commercial. Or if you don't have scissors handy, just ask Delta or your travel agent for a Delta night coach flight. Then just cut.

[Richard]

If a man harbors any sort of fear, it percolates through all his thinking, damages his personality and makes him landlord to a ghost. So spoke Lloyd Douglas. Fear can make us cowards, but it is also a survival instinct bred into all species. Lack of fear can lead us down dangerous paths. Harold Rumsford has demonstrated a remarkable presence of mind. But is this to be envied for where might it lead him?

[Walter Garrison]

You think some person is behind the troubles in my house? Why, Mr. Rumsford?

[Harold Rumsford]

Because, Mr. Garrison, things do not simply appear out of thin air. Cheevers.

[Samuel Blake]

Yes, sir.

[Harold Rumsford]

I must talk with Mr. Garrison. Will you wait for me at home?

[Samuel Blake]

Yes, sir. I want to apologize for breaking ranks last night.

[Harold Rumsford]

That will be all, Cheever.

[Samuel Blake]

Yes, sir. Good day, Mr. Garrison.

[Walter Garrison]

Good day.

[Harold Rumsford]

Let me begin by describing what happened.

[Walter Garrison]

Your manservant told me about the shadow.

[Harold Rumsford]

With the curious snake like eyes. Yes. Next, I was attacked, literally attacked by a horde of images. I could feel them physically striking me.

[Walter Garrison]

Now what kind of images?

[Harold Rumsford]

I couldn't tell. They seemed only half formed and came and went with lightning speed. But the strangest thing was I felt the threat was not to my body but to my mind. As if someone were trying to subjugate me by terror. And I knew if I gave in, my fear would kill me just as it killed my dog.

[Walter Garrison]

Oh yes, I heard about that. I'm sorry.

[Harold Rumsford]

Quite abruptly, this random assault of images gave way to two brief scenes. In the first, I saw the apparitions of a young man and woman dressed in Fashions popular 100 years ago. They approached each other like two lovers. But just as they touched, the shadow swooped down and covered them. And when he drew back, they lay as if dead upon the floor.

[Walter Garrison]

And the second scene?

[Harold Rumsford]

It was the phantom of an old woman and possibly Mrs. Cavendish.

[Walter Garrison]

Why do you think that?

[Harold Rumsford]

Because she was reading two letters I'd found in her room that hinted of some crime. They'd been snatched from my grasp. As she read them, her face was transformed into a young woman's. Then behind her there appeared the bloated face of a man. Bloated as if he might have been drowned. The woman turned and reached out for him as if she was begging forgiveness. But just then the shadow swooped down again and when it withdrew, the figures had vanished.

[Walter Garrison]

That's a remarkable coincidence. What Is you remember asking me to make inquiries about Mrs. Cavendish? Well, she was married to a rather strange man with an unsavory reputation. Supposedly an American. They bought that house. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Cavendish's older brother was found drowned. Like the man in your second apparition.

[Harold Rumsford]

The crime referred to in the letters.

[Walter Garrison]

Possibly foul play was suspected, though it couldn't be proven. Mrs. Cavendish came into a good deal of money as a result of her brother's death.

[Harold Rumsford]

What happened then?

[Walter Garrison]

The American husband took the money and vanished. Disappeared. The house fell to my uncle in you of payment of a loan. And from charity he kept Mrs. Cavendish on as housekeeper.

[Harold Rumsford]

We may be onto something here. The mind, Mr. Garrison, is a powerful and mysterious organization. We have no idea what might be the ultimate range of its power. For example, it's been discovered recently that the basis for the brain's thought waves is electrochemical. Think of the implications. A brain theoretically could transmit thoughts over incredible distances.

[Walter Garrison]

Thoughts powerful enough to kill old Mrs. Cavendish. Even if you're correct, why should a person want to do this?

[Harold Rumsford]

Why does an evil person want to do anything? I don't know, Garrison. But I am certain that what I saw and felt in that house last night were the half formed and ever shifting thoughts of a human brain.

[Walter Garrison]

But could this brain or this person have known details of Mrs. Cavendish's brother's murder? Presumably the only two who knew about it were Mrs. Cavendish and her husband.

[Harold Rumsford]

Whatever became of Mr. Cavendish?

[Walter Garrison]

No one knows. After his disappearance with the brothers money, he was never seen or heard from again.

[Harold Rumsford]

Well, I cannot answer your doubts. My theory is obviously incomplete.

[Walter Garrison]

There's nothing that can be done to save my house.

[Harold Rumsford]

No, I think that wherever the haunting force comes from, its receptacle within the house is the small unfurnished room on the second floor. I notice that room is an addition and not part of the main body of the building. It could be removed.

[Mr. Cavendish]

And you believe that if I did.

[Harold Rumsford]

That you would cut the telegraph wires from the source, so to speak, and be left with as pleasant a house as any in London. Cheever Than I will assist you.

[Walter Garrison]

I think the house simply ought to be locked up permanently.

[Harold Rumsford]

What is there to lose? It will give me the chance to test my theory and possibly restore the value to your property.

[Walter Garrison]

Very well. A small enough expense, I suppose. We'll engage some workmen in the morning.

[Harold Rumsford]

Well, we've had a smooth enough time.

[Walter Garrison]

Of it so far, I suppose, Sir.

[Harold Rumsford]

What did it achieve us?

[Samuel Blake]

We've discovered something very interesting. There appears to be an entire room beneath this one.

[Harold Rumsford]

Did you know anything about this, Garrison?

[Walter Garrison]

No.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Come.

[Samuel Blake]

Look down where the floorboards have been taken up, sir.

[Walter Garrison]

Why, so there is.

[Harold Rumsford]

It appears to be furnished.

[Walter Garrison]

How odd. I never suspected its existence.

[Harold Rumsford]

Cheevers, have the man remove more of these boards. This room has obviously been sealed off for some time. The furniture is a hundred years old, Sir. Yes.

[Walter Garrison]

Look at this.

[Samuel Blake]

Lodged in the chimney brick.

[Walter Garrison]

Why? Ah, it's a wall safe.

[Samuel Blake]

The lock is quite securely fastened. Do I have your permission to force it?

[Harold Rumsford]

Mr. Garrison?

[Walter Garrison]

Where's my homies? What do you find in there, Ralph?

[Harold Rumsford]

Sir, several small bottles filled with liquid, a small iron rod and three rocks.

[Walter Garrison]

Rocks?

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes, crystal, amber and lodestone.

[Walter Garrison]

Those are hardly such valuable rocks as to warrant their being locked in a safe.

[Harold Rumsford]

I don't believe they were locked up for their value. Garrison, think for a moment. What do crystal, amber and lodestone have in common?

[Walter Garrison]

I. I don't know.

[Harold Rumsford]

They all possess electrical properties. They are excellent conductors of current. As is the liquid in these vials.

[Walter Garrison]

Well, that supports your theory that the forces might be telepathically transmitted.

[Harold Rumsford]

What else is in here?

[Walter Garrison]

I will look here, wrapped in a sheet of paper. Man's portrait in miniature.

[Harold Rumsford]

He has a most striking countenance in Framshford.

[Walter Garrison]

I know this man.

[Harold Rumsford]

You do?

[Walter Garrison]

How?

[Harold Rumsford]

Where? In India.

[Walter Garrison]

He was a Frenchman by the name of De Rocha. A more ruthless man I've never known. Just to look at him made me shiver. He attempted to foment a rebellion against the Rajah of Pradesh and was banished.

[Harold Rumsford]

And what became of Deroka?

[Walter Garrison]

I don't know.

[Harold Rumsford]

How long ago was this?

[Walter Garrison]

When I was in the foreign service? Perhaps 20 years.

[Harold Rumsford]

But the date of the portrait is 1765. That would be 100 years ago.

[Walter Garrison]

I could swear it was the same man. I could never forget that face.

[Harold Rumsford]

It's most odd, Garrison, because I was about to say that I too have seen this face before.

[Richard]

Where?

[Harold Rumsford]

In another painting. A portrait much larger than this one in the house of a collector recently. It was the portrait of a nobleman, a Lord Shillingford, who lived some 200 years ago. He was a dissipated wretch who died trying to escape the law. Except for the fact that the fellow in this picture is perhaps a half dozen years older than Shillingford, I could swear the same person sat for both.

[Walter Garrison]

Paintings in my only qualm with this portrait's resemblance to Deroca. If this fellow is perhaps a half.

[Harold Rumsford]

Dozen years younger yet the time span is nearly two centuries.

[Walter Garrison]

Remarkable coincidence, I say.

[Harold Rumsford]

What's that, Cheevers? What are the workmen doing nothing, sir.

[Samuel Blake]

The whole room is trembling by itself.

[Harold Rumsford]

Quickly, break those vials and throw those rocks on the face over the wall.

[Walter Garrison]

Rum said, I wonder if we oughtn't to leave off this enterprise.

[Harold Rumsford]

We should be all right now. The eyes of this man in this miniature painting, they're almost hypnotic. And their shape like a serpent's.

[Walter Garrison]

Like the shining hollow green eyes of the shadow that menaced you last night.

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes, I wonder who this person is.

[Walter Garrison]

A clasp on the back, there's an inscription. Mariana, to thee. Be faithful in life and death to Jack Tarbach. I know that name. Tarbuck was a scoundrel who made a sensation in London a century ago and.

[Samuel Blake]

Was forced to flee the country on.

[Walter Garrison]

The charge of murdering his mistress and his rival within the walls of his own house.

[Harold Rumsford]

That could be the first of the two scenes I witnessed last night. The death of the two young lovers.

[Walter Garrison]

Yes, it certainly could. Because the house Jack Tarbach lived in was this one you saw. I remember my uncle telling me, look, there's something written on the paper the miniature was wrapped in.

[Harold Rumsford]

It's in Latin on all that it can reach within these walls, living or dead works my will. Accursed be this house and dress this the dwellers therein.

[Walter Garrison]

So all these years this house has been haunted by the ghost of a jealous jilted lover.

[Harold Rumsford]

Have you got a match?

[Walter Garrison]

Oh yes, I believe so.

[Harold Rumsford]

Burn this paper.

[Walter Garrison]

There goes the anathema up in smoke.

[Harold Rumsford]

Well, Garrison, let us hope your house will now be safe to live in once again.

[Richard]

If Harold Rumsford is correct, then by destroying the crude transmitter in the safe.

[E.G. Marshall]

The house should be free from the.

[Richard]

Forces which cause so much terror and destruction. Some very interesting questions have been raised which have yet to be answered. I shall return shortly with our final act.

[Cheevers]

Your lung association says smoke's not just your fare. That smokescreen that you puff around pollutes non smokers air. It's bad for kids and older folks with lungs not up to par. It's damaging for you of course, but you're a smoke travels bar. Your long association says please keep this thought in mind. It's double damage all around and doubly unkind so try to kick the habit and give everyone a break please do it for your life and breath and everybody safe.

[E.G. Marshall]

Your lung association and you know that.

[Richard]

Cigarettes are a breathing hazard. Smokers please don't add that extra offense. Give us a break for life and breath. I'm E. G Marshall, host of the mystery theater. One of my favorite authors, Ernest Hemingway defined guts as Grace under pressure. However, if you have high blood pressure, even Hemingway would have agreed that there's absolutely no way in this world or the next that you can simply tough it out. You see, controlling your blood pressure is not just a question of staying calm or getting your emotions under control. High blood pressure is a physical problem. The pressure of your blood inside your arteries is too high. You need to treat it every day, often with medication to get it down and keep it down. So if you have high blood pressure, please remember to treat it every day, whether you're performing under great pressure or basking in the Bahamas way, or listening with trepidation to the Mystery Theater.

[Harold Rumsford]

A message from the National High Blood Pressure Education program.

[Richard]

This is WBBM Chicago News Radio 78.

[E.G. Marshall]

It's five and a half minutes after.

[Richard]

11:00, 28 degrees at Midway. If you were to pick up a hammer and bash in your radio at this very moment, you could rid yourselves of the sound of my voice. But you would not, of course, destroy it. Or me either, for that matter. This grim thought is simply by way of illustrating the point we have reached in our story. Mr. Garrison's house may now be free of the evil influences that haunted it. But has the evil itself been destroyed? Can it be destroyed? Where does it come from? And what power does it still have gathered?

[Harold Rumsford]

Your valor told me I'd find you up here.

[Walter Garrison]

Oh, Rome, sir. I was just admiring the view of the square from the second floor parlor.

[Harold Rumsford]

Here, and I noticed the moving van down there in the street. You've decided to occupy this house yourself?

[Walter Garrison]

Why not?

[Samuel Blake]

In the three weeks since we destroyed.

[Walter Garrison]

Those rooms, there hasn't been so much as a creaky floorboard in the whole place. Starbucks ghost seems to have departed once and for all.

[Harold Rumsford]

You still think it was just a ghost?

[Walter Garrison]

Don't tell me you still maintained with some sort of emanation from a living brain.

[Harold Rumsford]

I do.

[Walter Garrison]

But even if mesmerism or whatever you choose to call it could work in the absence of the operator and produce these extraordinary effects, is it possible those effects could continue when the operator himself was dead?

[Harold Rumsford]

But if he were not dead.

[Walter Garrison]

Not dead? That's hardly likely. That room was walled up a hundred years ago. Talbot was middle aged then. If he were alive today, he'd have to be 150.

[Harold Rumsford]

I wonder what Mrs. Cavendish's American husband looked like.

[Walter Garrison]

Well, you're out of luck there. I gather he wasn't the kind to have his portrait painted. Well, why? You think he too might have had the same serpentine eyes and Hypnotic countenance as the others. I tell you, those resemblances are merely coincidental.

[Harold Rumsford]

Good Lord. Huh?

[Walter Garrison]

What's the matter?

[Harold Rumsford]

Look down there in the street. That person talking to the moving men. His face. It's the face in the miniature.

[Walter Garrison]

Yes, the face of Daroka. Scarcely a day older than when I knew him in the Rajah's court 20 years ago. Rumsford, where are you going?

[Harold Rumsford]

I must confront that man before he escapes.

[Walter Garrison]

Be careful.

[Samuel Blake]

Rumford.

[Walter Garrison]

Are you all right? Did you catch up to him?

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes. But as I drew alongside him, he glanced at me with such a gaze, I lost my voice.

[Walter Garrison]

You said nothing.

[Harold Rumsford]

What was I to say? That he resembled a dissolute nobleman of two centuries past and a murdering charlatan? Or you're Mr. Deroka. It would have been an outrageous impertinence.

[Walter Garrison]

Well, perhaps we can still catch him. No.

[Harold Rumsford]

I saw him get into a carriage and drive off. I've missed my chance. Did you ask your move with what he said to them?

[Walter Garrison]

Yes. He wanted to know who was now living in this house.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Harold.

[Harold Rumsford]

Hello. Hello, Samuel.

[Mr. Cavendish]

I haven't seen you at the club here for weeks. Not since I came to your house that morning with my tale of terror. Ah. Did you go through with your plan to spend the night there?

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes, I did, actually.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Ah, wasn't I right? Wasn't there a supernatural force?

[Harold Rumsford]

There was a force there. Blake. That man.

[Mr. Cavendish]

What?

[Harold Rumsford]

The gentleman who just entered on the far side of the lounge. It's he again.

[Mr. Cavendish]

A pardon? Oh. Oh, yes, fancy. I didn't know he was in town.

[Harold Rumsford]

Do you know him?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Yes, matter of fact, I do. He's a most remarkable person. I met him last year in Damascus.

[Harold Rumsford]

What can you tell me about him?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Among other things, he's the best Oriental scholar I know.

[Harold Rumsford]

What nationality is he?

[Mr. Cavendish]

British. He's lived out of the country for many years. He's only recently arrived here. Just between you and me, I suspect he's a renegade of some sort.

[Harold Rumsford]

What makes you think that?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Because he's immensely rich. But I have no idea how he came to be so. Nor so, far as I can tell, does anybody else. And by the way, he's a great mesmerizer.

[Harold Rumsford]

A mesmerizer?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Oh, yes, yes, I've seen him with my own eyes. Produce effects on inanimate objects.

[Harold Rumsford]

Will you introduce me to him? I have some questions I should very much like to put to him. Yes, of course. What's his name?

[Mr. Cavendish]

Oh, rather plain one.

[Harold Rumsford]

Richard. And his birth? His family?

[Mr. Cavendish]

I have no idea. His past is really quite a mystery. Come if you want an introduction. Mr. Richards?

[Jack Tarbach]

Yes. Ah, Mr. Samuel Blake, I believe.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Yes.

[Jack Tarbach]

We met in Damascus on April 3rd of last year.

[Richard]

Yes.

[Mr. Cavendish]

I should like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Professor Harold Rumsford. He's a scientist with a particular interest in natural.

[Jack Tarbach]

How do you do?

[Harold Rumsford]

I'm most interested to meet you, sir.

[Mr. Cavendish]

I'm sure you two have much in common. And you must now excuse me. I see the gentleman I've been waiting for has arrived.

[Harold Rumsford]

Goodbye, Blake.

[Mr. Cavendish]

And remember, Harold, the next time we meet, I want to hear all about your experiences in that house.

[Jack Tarbach]

What house is that?

[Harold Rumsford]

Nothing. Your accent, Mr. Richards, it's quite singular.

[Jack Tarbach]

Is it?

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes. Rather difficult to place. I would venture to say You've traveled a good deal.

[Jack Tarbach]

Yes. I've not been in the habit of speaking English for some years now.

[Harold Rumsford]

Not since you were banished from the court of the Raja of Pradesh.

[Jack Tarbach]

I beg your pardon?

[Harold Rumsford]

I have seen a miniature of you, Mr. Richards, in a house you once inhabited and perhaps even built in Hatch Lane. You passed by that house this morning.

[Jack Tarbach]

Look at me, Mr. Rumsford.

[Samuel Blake]

No.

[Harold Rumsford]

You shall not attempt to hypnotize me. I have been a student of life and nature and there are some questions I am determined to ask you.

[Jack Tarbach]

Hmm. I sense you are a highly intelligent man that may prove important to me. Therefore I concede you the privilege you seek. What would you ask?

[Harold Rumsford]

What is the ultimate power of the human will?

[Jack Tarbach]

What is the ultimate power of thought? Think. And in an instant you are in China.

[Harold Rumsford]

True, but my thought has no power in China.

[Jack Tarbach]

It may have. A simple thought may alter the whole condition of a country, may it not? What is a law but a thought? Thought does have power, Mr. Rumsford.

[Harold Rumsford]

But does it have the power to revive the thoughts of the dead or to survive death itself?

[Jack Tarbach]

I decline to answer.

[Harold Rumsford]

Then it is possible that intense evil in an intense will aided by certain scientific means, may produce extraordinary effects. Is it possible, for example, that it can haunt the house by raising all the guilty thoughts and guilty deeds ever conceived or done within those walls? And is it possible that if this will were disciplined and focused enough, it could invest these thoughts with the power to kill if the will of the person under attack did not resist with more strength than the will of the attacker?

[Jack Tarbach]

You are not without glimpses of a mighty glimpses. You are only close to the truth.

[Harold Rumsford]

Why do you refuse to answer my question about the power of thought to survive death?

[Jack Tarbach]

Why do you think, Mr. Romsford, I shall give you a hint. The brain may have such potential. But in the instance which you have just described. It is not necessary.

[Harold Rumsford]

Then. Then it is true. It is possible. A person, having trained his willpower to such a degree, may turn that power on himself.

[Jack Tarbach]

Precisely. And will to live on.

[Harold Rumsford]

From time to time he appears to die. He transfers himself and his wealth to another part of the world and doesn't return until those that would remember him are dead. Is this true, Mr. Richards? Is this true? Lord Shillingford. Jack Tarbach, Mr. Cavendish. Mr. De Rocha.

[Jack Tarbach]

You have an extraordinary perception, Mr. Romsford, an extraordinary mind.

[Harold Rumsford]

But even though you can slow the advance of age down to an imperceptible crawl, you cannot arrest it altogether. I can see lines in your face that were not there in your portraits. You will die, Mr. Richards. For even a will as powerful as yours cannot conjure immortality.

[Jack Tarbach]

I have sought one like you for the past 100 years.

[Richard]

What?

[Jack Tarbach]

It is too late. You have looked at me. You cannot. You cannot avert your eyes. Look, Mr. Rumsford. Look. Now that I have found you, we will not part till I know what I desire. The vision that sees through the veil of the future is in you. At this hour. Never before and never to come again. Soar and look forth. You are right. I. I have mastered great secrets by the power of the will. But I must know. Can I escape death by accident?

[E.G. Marshall]

No.

[Harold Rumsford]

Every accident is providence.

[Jack Tarbach]

Shall I then die by an accident? Or ages hence, by the slow, inevitable.

[Harold Rumsford]

Growth of time, you shall die by accident.

[Jack Tarbach]

But is not the end still remote?

[Harold Rumsford]

Regarded by normal standards, it is still remote.

[Jack Tarbach]

And before it comes, shall I use my powers to win the power that belongs to kings?

[Harold Rumsford]

You will yet play a part that will fill the earth with commotion and dread. You will have power such as no man has ever had before.

[Jack Tarbach]

But not forever.

[Harold Rumsford]

Not forever.

[Jack Tarbach]

How? And what is my end? Look east, west, north and south.

[Harold Rumsford]

In the north, there the spectre of death will seize you.

[Jack Tarbach]

But that day is very far off.

[E.G. Marshall]

Yes.

[Jack Tarbach]

These are all the things I wish to know. Sleep now.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Harold. Harold, wake up.

[Walter Garrison]

Oh, what happened?

[Mr. Cavendish]

I never thought I'd see this. You, who have always declared yourself proof against mesmerism, have succumbed at last to my friend. Richard.

[Walter Garrison]

Richard.

[Harold Rumsford]

Where is he?

[Mr. Cavendish]

He's gone. He left shortly after you passed into your trance, saying you would not wake up for an hour.

[Harold Rumsford]

I've been asleep an entire hour to the minute.

[Mr. Cavendish]

You're right.

[Harold Rumsford]

Where is Mr. Richards staying?

[Mr. Cavendish]

I believe at the Trafalgar Hotel.

[Harold Rumsford]

We must go there at.

[Walter Garrison]

Well, the clock said he's gone.

[Harold Rumsford]

He returned 20 minutes ago, paid his.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Bill and left Is it really so urgent that you find him?

[Harold Rumsford]

It is absolutely imperative. He left instructions which steamship should receive his baggage. If we hurry, we can catch the next train to Southampton.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Excuse me. Are you the gentleman who was asking for Mr. Richards?

[Harold Rumsford]

Yes, I am.

[Richard]

He said you might be coming by, so he asked me to deliver this note to you.

[Harold Rumsford]

Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Jack Tarbach]

I wished you to utter what was in your mind.

[Mr. Cavendish]

You obeyed.

[Jack Tarbach]

I have therefore established power over you for three months. From this day, you can communicate to no one what has passed between us. Do you doubt my power to lay on you this command? Try to disobey me. At the end of the third month, the spell is raised. For the rest, I spare you. I shall visit your grave a year and a day after it has received you.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Harold. Harold. What does the note say?

[Harold Rumsford]

Oh, it's nothing really.

[Mr. Cavendish]

Well, we've got to hurry if you still want to follow Richards to Southampton.

[Harold Rumsford]

I don't think so, Blake.

[Mr. Cavendish]

No, but just a moment ago, you. Now see here, Harold, what's this all about?

[Harold Rumsford]

Nothing, Blake. It's not really all that important. After all.

[Richard]

Who can say when an extraordinary person will appear among us? Who knows what thoughts, what intentions, what powers lurk behind the placid countenances of those we pass on the street? When will one of them step out of line and declare himself a savior? Or an avenging angel? Or simply an evil egotist bent on acquiring for himself all the wealth and power he can until he has stopped. I shall return in a moment with a final word.

[E.G. Marshall]

It happens somewhere every day. A blazing house and a fireman kneeling beside an overcome child.

[Walter Garrison]

Come on, kid. Live.

[E.G. Marshall]

When the eyes flutter open, when the breath finally comes easy and regular, only then can the final relax and maybe take a little pride and pleasure from the special gift he's been given. It's a learned gift with a big name. Mouth to mouth resuscitation. And it can literally bring people back from death.

[Walter Garrison]

He's gonna make it.

[E.G. Marshall]

Whenever you wonder where Red Cross money goes, think of this. Part of your money goes to train people in all walks of life to do what needs to be done. When the chips are really down, maybe you'll never need to be brought back to life with mouth to mouth resuscitation. Then again, maybe you will. Red Cross is counting on you to help.

[Richard]

The power of suggestion is a potent force indeed. Think, and in an instant, you are in 19th century London, the setting of our story. Think, and your mind can transport you anywhere we choose to take you here on Mystery Theater and that is why you will tune in seven nights a week. Do you hear me? Our cast included Gordon Heath, Robert Dryden and Court Benson. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. And now, a preview of our next tale.

[Harold Rumsford]

And we'll work together and make lots more money together.

[Jack Tarbach]

But we bleed now.

[Harold Rumsford]

Erica, this isn't funny. Of course not. It's very serious.

[Walter Garrison]

Erica.

[Harold Rumsford]

You see here is something real.

[E.G. Marshall]

No. Erica.

[Harold Rumsford]

Could anything be more real than this piece of steel? Blue steel. And from this comes the ultimate reality. Erica.

[Jack Tarbach]

You're real, Tom.

[Harold Rumsford]

And I can prove it. I can make you bleed.

[Walter Garrison]

Erica, put that gun away.

[Jack Tarbach]

Here's something real for you, Tom.

[Harold Rumsford]

Something real.

[Richard]

Radio Mystery Theater was sponsored in part by Buick Motor Division. And contact the 12 hour cold capsule, Mrs. E. G. Marshall, inviting you to return to our Mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant dreams. This is WBBM Chicago News Radio 78.

[Jack Tarbach]

It's 11:24, 28 degrees at Midway Airport.

[Richard]

CBS News in just one minute.

[Narrator]

That's the Horror for this week. You can find more from the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, this podcast and all of the others as soon as our service provider is back up and running. As you've probably noticed, past episodes haven't been available for about a week now. Still no timeline on when things are going to be back to normal. But they will be. Thanks for your patience on that. Thanks for joining me this week. Be back tomorrow with Strange Tales and next Saturday with our next episode of the Horror.