Podcast Summary: The Horror! (Old Time Radio)

Episode: The House In The Garden by Macabre

Date: August 30, 2025
Host: RelicRadio.com
Original Broadcast: December 4, 1961 (Macabre, Far East Network)

Overview

In this chilling episode of The Horror!, the host presents "The House In The Garden," an episode of the short-lived but memorable Macabre series. This story blends gothic atmosphere, psychological suspense, and supernatural touches, all set in a remote French castle shrouded by a violent storm. A tale of obsession, revenge, and dark secrets unfolds as Inspector Bordeaux arrives at the estate, only to discover a deadly wager, mysterious deaths, and the haunting beat of voodoo drums.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Introducing the Premise

• Setting: A medieval castle in Southern France, late 1800s/early 1900s, rain-swept night. (02:48)
• Main Characters:
  • Count Jacques de Marigny – American inheritor of the castle
  • Countess Yvette – His wife, once courted by two rivals
  • The Duke de Bastille – Jacques’ embittered rival
  • Inspector Bordeaux – Arrives to investigate dire circumstances
  • Montau – Loyal but fearful servant

Memorable quote (03:55), Inspector Bordeaux’s arrival:

"Good evening, Monsieur. I am Inspector Bordeaux at the Prefecture of Police. I am here in answer to the urgent summons of Count Jacques de Marigny."
– Inspector Bordeaux (03:55)

2. The Reluctant Confession and Strange Wager

• Count Jacques reveals a decade-old wager: the Duke, in the throes of jealousy, bets he can outlast ten years of complete isolation in the castle’s stone garden house, for half the Count’s fortune and the chance to win Yvette.
• The Duke requests books on sorcery and magic during his confinement. (13:24)

Notable exchange about the wager:

"I wager I can spend 10 years alone in this house without once coming out, seeing or talking with anyone." – The Duke (09:41)

"And if you remain for 10 years?" – Count Jacques
"I collect half your fortune. One more thing, though. Yvette should wait until the wager is over before choosing between us." – The Duke (10:16)

3. Mysterious Deaths and Drumbeats

• Two deaths—of a gardener and maid—occur on consecutive nights under apparently natural causes but are presaged by the sound of jungle-like drums.
• Servants, terrified, believe in supernatural or voodoo explanations; suspicion and fear grow.
• The police and Count struggle to rationalize the fears as nerves or mischief. (12:29, 13:09)

Quote highlighting tension:

"We heard them before the gardener died. And again last night before we found Suzette." – Countess Yvette (12:39)

4. Nightly Terror and Pursuit

• The drumbeats return at night.
• The trio investigates, finding a newly dead servant and pursuing a shadowy figure up the tower, who falls to his death—apparently Francois the gardener, acting out of fear.
• Inspector suspects the real killer is still at large, intensifying the paranoia. (18:20)

Memorable, foreboding moment:

"Because, my dear, you are wrong. The real killer is still at large." – Inspector Bordeaux (18:21)

5. The Final Night and Opening the Garden House

• With all servants now fled, Jacques and the Inspector plan to spend the night guarding the garden house, believing the danger must be from within or it will cease once the ten years finish. (20:54)
• Just as they prepare, drums erupt again—from the castle!

"The drums from the castle. Yvette, quickly. We may be too late to save her." – Inspector Bordeaux (22:33)

• Montau is found stunned in the cellar, Countess Yvette is apparently dead, and blood drips ominously.

6. The Shattering Revelation

• The garden house, locked for a decade, is finally opened—empty!
• Inspector Bordeaux reveals the true plot:
  • He never was Bordeaux—he is actually the Duke, having escaped with Montau’s help.
  • The Duke and Montau’s plot was to terrify Jacques and Yvette and force the opening of the house, thus winning the wager.
• The Duke (posing as Inspector) now traps Jacques inside the dreaded garden house, sealing the tale with a cruel twist.

The climactic reveal:

"You, the Duke de Bastin?" – Count Jacques (26:59)

"My dear, have I changed so much in 10 years? ... I intercepted your summons for the police and masqueraded as Inspector Bordeaux." – The Duke (disguised as Inspector) (27:02)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & setup (medieval castle atmosphere): [02:48–03:55]
• Wager & relationship triangle established: [06:43–11:15]
• Description of the house and details of the wager: [09:41–10:45]
• Onset of mysterious deaths & drums: [12:00–14:04]
• First investigation of drumbeats: [15:32–18:20]
• Realization that the killer is at large: [18:21]
• Servants flee, last night plan: [19:10–20:54]
• Drums erupt, cellar discovery: [22:33–24:15]
• Opening of the garden house and final twist: [25:12–27:33]

Notable Quotes

• “Man lives in a world of time and space...When he ventures beyond this limit he is in the unknown, a realm where strange forces are brought into play...This is Macabre.”
  — Count Jacques de Marigny (01:36)
• "You bet, did you say? That you mean we won't see you again for 10 years?" — Countess Yvette (10:46)
• "Voodoo drums, Inspector. Bordeaux would be the laughing stock of all France. No, my dear Count and Countess, you have made a childish wager..." — Inspector Bordeaux (13:59)
• "He could only have escaped with the help of one person. The man who brought his food." — (Fake) Inspector Bordeaux [The Duke] (26:14)
• "I intercepted your summons for the police and masqueraded as Inspector Bordeaux. Then I persuaded you to open the house..." — The Duke (27:02)
• “No, Count. Don’t close the door. We can’t get out. We’ll die. No!”
  — The Duke (trapped) (27:22)

Memorable Moments

• The eerie escalating beat of the jungle drums preceding each death, enhancing the supernatural tone.
• The servants’ superstitions spiraling out of control and abandoning the estate in fear.
• The final confrontation in the cellar, when the drums’ origins and Countess Yvette’s fate are revealed.
• The twist ending—Inspector Bordeaux revealed as the Duke in disguise, a classic gothic betrayal.

Tone and Style

The episode is drenched in brooding, gothic suspense. The dialogue is formal, heightened, and melodramatic, capturing the old radio tradition. The story’s pacing alternates between creepy calm and bursts of panic, keeping listeners on edge.

In Summary

"The House In The Garden" is a quintessential old-time radio thriller: a deliciously sinister castle, a lethal love triangle, a diabolical wager, and a supernatural atmosphere punctuated by the relentless beat of voodoo drums. With every twist, listeners are drawn deeper into its web of paranoia and misdirection, culminating in a shocking betrayal and a chilling end.