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Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Presented by OTR.FM Network

Unravel the Mystery with Suspense! - The Classic Radio Thriller Series Step back in time to the golden age of radio with ”Suspense!” - the iconic series that captivated audiences from 1942 to 1962 with its thrilling tales and unforgettable performances. Featuring over 900 broadcasts penned by renowned authors and directors, ”Suspense!” brought the finest in thriller and mystery genres to the airwaves. Broadcast on the CBS Radio Network, ”Suspense!” showcased Hollywood’s brightest stars, including Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Orson Welles, and Marlene Dietrich. Under the masterful direction of William Spier, known as the ”Hitchcock of the airwaves,” the series delivered gripping human dramas that kept listeners on the edge of their seats. From the eerie introductions by the ”Man in Black” to the evocative scores by Bernard Hermann and Lucian Moraweck, ”Suspense!” was a paragon of radio production excellence. The show’s unique formula of minimal rehearsal and genuine unease created authe...

646 episodes

Once a Murderer

Oct 11, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: November 15, 1955 In Suspense #624, "Once a Murderer," Thomas Shaw finds himself trapped in a nightmare that begins when he and his foreman Bert discover the murdered body of a young woman named Anna Leeming in an empty shop. Shaw had been working at the location the previous day and had given the keys to a stranger in brown plus-fours who claimed to have leased the property. When the shop owner reveals he never leased the premises to anyone, Shaw's story becomes impossible to prove, and he becomes the prime suspect in an unsolved murder case. For two years, Shaw endures relentless suspicion from police, neighbors, and potential employers. Even after he identifies a suspect matching his description of the stranger, the man provides an airtight alibi, leaving Shaw under a permanent cloud of doubt. Unable to find steady work and watching his wife Peggy suffer from the whispered accusations of their neighbors, Shaw reaches a breaking point. Desperate to end the torment destroying his family, he makes a fateful phone call to Chief Inspector Osburn with a shocking decision that could change everything.
Report on the X-915

Oct 10, 2026 · 28 min

Originally Aired: November 8, 1955 Suspense #623, "Report on the X-915," Commander Richards arrives at the top-secret Naval Base Charlie with classified orders to investigate a potential security breach. Admiral Carruthers reveals that Project Sailfish, the Navy's first atomic submarine, is a full year ahead of schedule and set for immediate testing. When the sophisticated Steinberg Periscope mysteriously crashes to the deck during installation—its steel cable snapping under impossible circumstances—suspicions of sabotage arise. With the submarine's crucial trial run scheduled for the very next day, Richards must determine whether the incident was a manufacturing defect or deliberate enemy action. Every man on the isolated, barbed-wire-enclosed base has been thoroughly vetted, yet the threat feels uncomfortably close. Working alongside Chief Engineering Officer Stanley Linden, Richards observes the X-915's impressive initial sea trials. The revolutionary vessel performs flawlessly, reaching speeds no other Navy ship can match. But as Richards continues his investigation on shore during the second day of testing, he's urgently summoned back to Admiral Carruthers' office. The Admiral frantically attempts to reach the Secretary of Defense as tension mounts over the test area coordinates, suggesting something has gone terribly wrong with the submarine's depth trials.
The Mountain

Oct 10, 2026 · 27 min

Originally Aired: November 1, 1955 Suspense #622, "The Mountain," a climbing expedition faces both natural peril and human tension as they attempt the first ascent of an unconquered peak. At Camp 4, 22,000 feet above sea level, expedition leader Bob divides the six remaining climbers into two teams. Despite reservations about team member John Eldridge's volatile temperament and lack of experience, Bob chooses him along with Norman Perucci for the first assault on the summit. As the three men push toward the peak through brutal conditions, disaster strikes when the snow beneath Eldridge's feet gives way at the edge of a crevasse. In the desperate struggle to save him, Perucci plunges into the dark depths below. Now alone in their tent at 24,000 feet, Bob and Eldridge face a critical decision: retreat to the safety of Camp 4 or continue the deadly ascent. As tensions mount in the thin air, Eldridge's simmering resentment about being the last man chosen for the expedition threatens to turn their survival situation into something far more dangerous than the mountain itself.
To None a Deadly Drug

Oct 9, 2026 · 31 min

Originally Aired: October 25, 1955 Suspense #621, "To None a Deadly Drug," pharmacist Cal Foster's carefully ordered world collapses in an instant when his wife Marion makes a fatal mistake. As Cal prepares to close his pharmacy for a rare evening out, a traveling mother stops in to fill a prescription for her young son Tippy's stomach medicine. When Marion helps paste a label on a bottle while Cal takes a phone call, she inadvertently gives the woman a bottle of deadly digitalis instead of the harmless belladonna compound intended for the boy. Cal discovers the error moments too late, and the woman has already driven off into the night toward an unknown destination to meet her Navy husband. Desperate to prevent a tragedy that could kill an innocent child and destroy everything Cal has built, the Fosters must somehow track down the mother and son before Tippy takes his scheduled dose of what he thinks is ordinary medicine. With only fragmentary clues about where the family might be headed and time running out, Cal and Marion face a race against the clock through the California night, knowing that one small mistake could cost a child's life and end Cal's career forever.
Life Ends at Midnight

Oct 9, 2026 · 31 min

Originally Aired: October 18, 1955 Suspense #620, "Life Ends at Midnight," presents a desperate situation that forces a mother to face the consequences of her protective love. Johnny Bates arrives unannounced at his mother's shabby apartment after an overnight train ride from Pittsburgh, claiming he's come just to visit. But the truth quickly emerges: he's embezzled fifteen hundred dollars from his employer and needs the money by midnight to cover his tracks before the books are checked Monday morning. His mother has already exhausted the bonds his father left her to bail Johnny out of previous troubles, and now has nothing left to give. Johnny's desperation grows as the midnight deadline approaches, especially when he learns about Mr. Chalmers, his mother's elderly boarder who has just canceled his life insurance policy after his nephew's death. As the clock ticks toward midnight, Johnny begins manipulating the situation in increasingly darker ways. His mother pleads with him to simply run away with the few dollars she has, but Johnny realizes there might be another solution involving the unsuspecting Mr. Chalmers. The tension builds as Johnny transforms from a prodigal son seeking help into something far more sinister, with his exhausted mother caught between protecting her boy one last time and facing an unthinkable crime.
Heaven’s to Betsy

Oct 8, 2026 · 28 min

Originally Aired: October 11, 1955 Suspense #619, "Heaven's to Betsy," the ordinary Doyle family faces an extraordinary evening when a brilliant flash and explosion shake their suburban home during a thunderstorm. While young Dickie listens to his favorite space adventure program and mother Betsy nervously cooks dinner, neighbor Ella Gilbert calls to report a strange glow visible from her window. When banker Henry Doyle arrives home, the family discovers an eerie, radiant object in their backyard—something that defies easy explanation. Despite Betsy's fear and protests, Henry arms himself with his pistol and ventures into the rain to investigate, with his determined wife following close behind while Dickie watches anxiously from the window. Henry recognizes this mysterious visitor as the great moment he's been waiting for his entire ordinary life. As the couple approaches the glowing phenomenon past the shrubs, Henry makes a stunning declaration: it's a UFO, a flying saucer. What began as a routine evening for the Doyles has transformed into an encounter that will soon involve government officials and Army personnel, changing their lives forever.
Good-bye, Miss Lizzie Borden

Oct 8, 2026 · 31 min

Originally Aired: October 4, 1955 Suspense #618, "Good-bye, Miss Lizzie Borden," imagines what life might be like one year after the infamous Lizzie Borden trial. Emma Borden, Lizzie's sister, prepares to flee to Fairhaven for a desperately needed escape from the oppressive atmosphere of the Second Street house. As the maid Maggie also departs—unable to endure Lizzie's constant spying and eerie silences any longer—Emma finds herself cornered by Nelly Cutts, a brash female reporter from Colorado's Cripple Creek Record. Nelly has come seeking an anniversary interview about the brutal axe murders that shocked Fall River. What begins as an unwanted intrusion becomes a tense interrogation as Nelly presses Emma about the details of that terrible August morning when her father and stepmother were bludgeoned to death. Emma reveals the unbearable strain of living with Lizzie, who watches her every move from the shadows. As Nelly methodically dissects the evidence—the missing axe, the absence of blood, the triple-locked doors—the two women reconstruct the crime while Lizzie lurks upstairs, listening to every word.
The Frightened City

Oct 7, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: September 27, 1955 Suspense #617, "The Frightened City," Nick Crawford returns home from military service in Korea expecting a warm homecoming, but instead finds his town gripped by terror and his brother-in-law Johnny Stewart murdered. His sister Janie reveals that Johnny was shot down in the street on his way to tell something to the police chief, and she's been receiving threatening notes warning her to stay silent. When Nick demands answers, he discovers that four witnesses saw the killing, but fear has sealed their lips. A woman was brutally beaten and left in a vacant lot, another witness had a bomb thrown into his house, and the others refuse to speak. Nick confronts each witness one by one—Johnny's employer Mr. Osburn, the traumatized Mrs. Mason, drugstore owner Mr. Nolan who had to scrub Johnny's blood from the sidewalk, and former G.I. Tom Roxton whose wife nearly died in the bombing. Each encounter reveals the same paralyzing fear as the word spreads through town that Nick is asking dangerous questions. He realizes he has returned not to the peaceful hometown he remembered, but to a frightened city where something sinister lurks in the shadows and speaking the truth can get you killed.
The Stool Pigeon

Oct 7, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: September 20, 1955 Suspense #616, "The Stool Pigeon," the stifling heat of Devil's Island provides the oppressive backdrop for a deadly game of suspicion and betrayal. Four libres—prisoners free to roam the island but never leave it—gather in Canot's hut to race cockroaches and pass another miserable day. Exil, the narrator and embezzler, joins the volatile knife-wielding Canot, habitual criminal Makil, and the imposing Thibaut, a syndicate murderer who rules the prisoners through physical presence and grudging fairness. When their friend Emile is captured attempting escape and later dies from his beating, the men's simmering suspicions boil over. Someone on the island is informing the governor about escape attempts, but who? As Thibaut grows dangerously quiet and begins formulating plans for either better conditions or another escape attempt, the question haunts them all. The informer could be any one of a hundred prisoners, or perhaps someone much closer. In this pressure cooker of heat, desperation, and mistrust, the hunt for the stool pigeon becomes as dangerous as any escape attempt.
A Story of Poison

Oct 6, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: September 13, 1955 In Suspense #615, "A Story of Poison," Dr. Neil Cream arrives in London seeking a fresh start after the death of his wife Emily in Hull. What the kindly boarding house proprietress Mrs. Minnes and her daughter Daisy don't know is that Cream methodically poisoned Emily over six months, watching with clinical detachment as she slowly succumbed. When Cream arrogantly submits an anonymous medical paper about the case to a journal, it catches the attention of Inspector Waring at Scotland Yard, who suspects the author may be describing his own crime. As Cream settles into his new lodgings and charms his way into the Minnes household, he begins a romance with Mildred Vickers, a young woman he meets at a Hammersmith pub. He lavishes her with flowers, dinners, and theater outings, but when Millie casually announces she must end their relationship because her real sweetheart is returning from sea, Cream's veneer of civility cracks. What follows is a chilling demonstration of the cold-blooded killer's methods, leaving Cream haunted by nightmares as the police investigation begins to close in.
Strange for a Killer

Oct 6, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: September 6, 1955 Suspense #614, "Strange for a Killer," Henry Hayden arrives home from work to find his neighborhood surrounded by police. They're searching for Roy Jaleska, a dangerous fugitive who's been hiding in the boarding house next door to Henry's apartment building. When Henry calls his wife Jesse to warn her to stay inside with their baby Johnny, something in her voice tells him she's in terrible danger. Despite her words telling him everything is fine, Henry is certain someone is in the room with her, listening to every word. He convinces the police captain that Jaleska must have escaped across the rooftops and is now holding his family hostage. Against the captain's warnings, Henry insists on going up to his third-floor apartment, promising to call if everything is safe. When he enters, his worst fears are confirmed. Jaleska is there with a gun, having used Jesse and the baby to evade the police dragnet. Now Henry faces the killer alone in his own home, with his wife and child caught in the crossfire. The police wait below for Henry's signal while inside, a desperate standoff unfolds between a terrified husband and a cornered, violent fugitive who has nothing left to lose.
The Lady in the Red Hat

Oct 5, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: August 30, 1955 Suspense #613, "The Lady in the Red Hat," brings together three people connected to the city's most terrifying murder case. Newspaper columnist Mitch Mitchell has been writing psychological analyses of the serial killer known as the 13th Apostle, who has murdered five women in three months, each wearing something red. When Mitch receives an anonymous note promising important information about the Avenger if he meets at a community chapel at midnight, he discovers that fellow reporter Jeannie and Lieutenant Bill Dowell have received identical notes. Despite the police department's orders to stop his articles and warnings that this could be a trap, the three decide to keep the appointment. As midnight approaches and the trio gathers in the dimly lit chapel, tension mounts. Each realizes that the killer may have deliberately summoned them together, perhaps to claim another victim or to play a sinister game. With an organist playing softly in the background and snow falling outside, they wait in the first pew, each wondering if one among them could be the 13th Apostle. The stakes grow higher as paranoia sets in and every glance becomes suspicious in this dangerous rendezvous with a murderer.
A Study in Wax

Oct 5, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: August 16, 1955 Suspense #611, "A Study in Wax," Jack and Larry Cabell, two men working for the Canadian Geodetic Survey, face seven months of isolation in the frozen Northwest Territory. When their radio shack burns down in late October, they lose their only connection to the outside world, leaving them with just a small transmitter on a fixed channel. Cabell struggles with the loneliness while Jack seems content with the solitude. Their supervisor McLeod refuses to send a replacement receiver, forcing the men to endure the harsh winter cut off from civilization. A week before Christmas, they open their gifts early, discovering a phonograph among the packages. Unfortunately, nearly all the records are broken except two: a collection of bugle calls and Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance." While the discovery initially lifts spirits, Cabell becomes obsessed with playing the classical piece repeatedly, grating on Jack's nerves. As the tension between the two men mounts in their confined quarters, their carefully maintained companionship begins to fracture, revealing just how fragile their partnership truly is in the face of endless winter isolation.
Love, Honor or Murder

Oct 4, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: August 9, 1955 Suspense #610, "Love, Honor or Murder," cab driver Harry rushes home with an unexpected discovery: a wallet containing twelve thousand dollars left behind by one of his regular fares, prominent news commentator Sidney Walker. While Harry knows he must return the money to his company before Walker reports it missing, his wife Helen sees a different opportunity. What begins as Harry's honest impulse to show his wife their momentary windfall quickly turns into something far more dangerous as Helen pressures him to keep the money, even threatening to leave him if he turns it in. As the minutes tick by, Helen takes control of the situation, making calculated phone calls to determine whether Walker has reported the loss. She discovers that Walker suspects where he left his wallet and plans to give the finder a chance to return it before involving the police. But Helen's enigmatic smile and cryptic comments suggest she's formulating a plan that goes far beyond simply returning the money—a scheme that will test the boundaries of love, honor, and perhaps something much darker.
Black Death: A Plague-Stricken Cat and the Race to Save a City

Oct 4, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: August 2, 1955 In Suspense #609, “Black Death,” Dr. Gebhardt, director of a biological research institute, faces every scientist’s worst nightmare when an infected laboratory cat escapes into a crowded city carrying the deadly plague bacillus. As panic threatens to erupt, police launch a desperate citywide manhunt while the doctor races against time to prevent an epidemic. But the search becomes deeply personal when he discovers his young daughter has befriended the very animal everyone has been ordered to kill. A gripping medical thriller that blends scientific realism, emotional drama, and relentless suspense into one of the series’ most memorable postwar episodes. Cast: Edgar Barrier, William Conrad, Mary McGovern, Gil Fry, Jack Edwards, Jim Musser, Joe Cranston, Barney Phillips
The Greatest Thief in the World

Oct 3, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: July 26, 1955 Suspense #608, "The Greatest Thief in the World," presents a puzzling case from Scotland Yard's files. An elusive criminal known only as the Squire has been stealing jewels from wealthy estates for five years, amassing half a million pounds without leaving a shred of evidence. When Sir Leslie Banbridge's safe is cracked after a shooting party, Peter Marriott is among the guests who had viewed the stolen jewels. Scotland Yard assigns a detective to watch Marriott, discovering his connection to a mysterious woman named Jenny who keeps parcels for him. The investigation grows more complicated when a stranger begins asking Jenny questions about Marriott, and later confronts Marriott himself at a tea shop. This man, presumed dead, reveals a startling connection to Marriott's identity, suggesting the case may involve more than a simple jewel thief. The central question haunting Scotland Yard remains unanswered: Are Peter Marriott and the Squire one and the same person, or is something far more complex at play?
Backseat Driver

Oct 3, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: July 19, 1955 Suspense #607, "Backseat Driver," stars Vivi Janice and Parley Bear as Ellie and Joe, an ordinary couple returning home to the San Fernando Valley after catching a movie in Beverly Hills. As they drive through the dark, quiet Coldwater Canyon, they listen to news reports about Lewis Matrick, a vicious killer who murdered an entire family in New Hampshire and has just been spotted in Los Angeles. Joe assures his nervous wife that such violence happens to other people, not to them. But when they hear a voice from their backseat commanding Joe to keep driving, their complacent world shatters. The fugitive killer, gun pressed to Ellie's neck, has been hiding in their car all along. Joe must navigate an impossible situation as Matrick orders them toward open country, where the couple's chances of survival grow dimmer with each passing mile. When a motorcycle patrolman appears on the road behind them, Joe sees a desperate opportunity, but any wrong move could cost Ellie her life. The hunter has become the hunted, and Joe must find a way to outsmart a man who has already proven he will kill without hesitation.
Kaleidoscope

Oct 2, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: July 12, 1955 Suspense #606, "Kaleidoscope," presents Ray Bradbury's haunting tale of catastrophe in the void of space. When a routine cargo run goes terribly wrong, Captain Hollis and his crew of the third-class spaceship face their worst nightmare as a malfunctioning rocket tube explodes, tearing their vessel apart. The survivors—including Hollis, Stone, Applegate, Lespair, and Stimpson—are thrown into space in their sealed suits without propulsion units. Unable to control their trajectories, they become human meteors hurtling away from each other at thousands of miles per hour, each heading toward a different fate. Some plummet toward Earth, others drift toward the moon, but all face certain death. As their radio phones allow them to communicate for what little time remains, the crew members react in vastly different ways. Lespair reminisces about his secret life as an interplanetary bigamist, finding unexpected peace in his memories. Stimpson struggles with terror and disbelief. The bitter Applegate seizes his final moments to voice long-suppressed resentments against Captain Hollis, launching a mutiny that no longer matters. Suspended in the vast emptiness of space with only their voices connecting them, each man must confront the end in his own way.
The Cave-In

Oct 2, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: July 5, 1955 Suspense #605, "The Cave-In," brings listeners deep underground into a Welsh coal mine where a cave-in has trapped four miners—and one of them has been murdered. When rescuers make contact with the trapped men, shotfire man David Owen delivers shocking news: Ivor Williams is dead, and it's murder, not accident. Inspector Glid arrives to investigate and learns that Williams was a notorious womanizer who made plenty of enemies in the village of Clinoeth. Among the three men trapped with Williams' body are David Owen, whose daughter Glennis was Williams' latest target, and Ivor Davis, Glennis' fiancé. Both had publicly threatened Williams. As rescue crews work frantically to dig through tons of coal and rock, the investigation becomes a race against time. When Inspector Glid finally reaches the trapped miners after days of dangerous excavation, disaster strikes again. Just as contact is made, another cave-in seals everyone inside the shaft together—the inspector, the three suspects, and the body of the murdered man. Now trapped without water in the stifling darkness, Glid must solve the murder while fighting for survival alongside his prime suspects.
The Holdout

Oct 1, 2026 · 23 min

Originally Aired: June 28, 1955 In Suspense #604, "The Holdout," twelve jurors gather in a stuffy deliberation room to decide the fate of Clyde Avery, a man accused of murdering his wife's lover. The first ballot reveals an eleven-to-one split for conviction, but as the hours wear on, doubt begins to spread through the jury room. Mr. Donovan, initially appearing uncertain, starts quietly approaching fellow jurors like Mrs. Carmichael, Miss Keller, and Mrs. Medina, pointing out contradictions in the testimony and raising questions about the direction of the bullet wound and whether a struggle occurred. He emphasizes the wife's suspicious testimony and plants seeds of reasonable doubt in their minds. As the second ballot is taken, the verdict shifts dramatically to eight-to-four in favor of guilty. What seemed like a straightforward case of premeditated murder grows increasingly murky as Donovan's careful conversations bear fruit. The jury foreman, Mr. Muncie, grows frustrated with the shifting votes, while the impatient Mr. Vale demands they reach a quick decision. The tension mounts as the jurors must grapple with whether Clyde Avery is truly a cold-blooded killer or whether reasonable doubt demands his acquittal.
Over the Bounding Main

Oct 1, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: June 21, 1955 Suspense #603, "Over the Bounding Main," Marty Evans and his dissatisfied wife Claire embark on what should be a simple fishing trip to Catalina Island to meet their wealthy friends, the Warrens. Claire constantly berates Marty for his financial struggles, comparing him unfavorably to their more successful acquaintances. They board the fishing boat Pelican in the pre-dawn hours, crewed by young deckhand Ignacio and the mysterious Captain Moran. What begins as an ordinary charter quickly turns sinister when the stern rail mysteriously breaks during Marty's first catch, nearly throwing both him and Ignacio overboard. Claire emerges from below looking strangely pale and frightened, and the boat's engine conveniently fails, leaving them drifting in thick fog. As Marty dozes on deck, he awakens to overhear a chilling conversation between Moran and Claire. They're discussing a plan involving twenty thousand dollars, with Moran insisting Claire follow through on her part of a scheme. The target of their murderous conspiracy becomes horrifyingly clear: Marty himself is worth more dead than alive, apparently due to a substantial life insurance policy. Trapped on a disabled boat in the fog with conspirators who want him dead, Marty must find a way to survive this deadly voyage.
The Whole Town’s Sleeping

Sep 30, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: June 14, 1955 Suspense #602, "The Whole Town's Sleeping," transports listeners to a sweltering summer night in a small Illinois town gripped by fear. Lavinia Nebs, a confident 37-year-old woman, insists on keeping her plans to see a movie with her friends Francine and Helen, despite warnings from the nervous Mrs. Hanlon about "the Lonely One," a strangler who has been terrorizing local women. When Lavinia and Francine take their usual shortcut through the dark ravine to reach the theater, they make a horrifying discovery: the body of their friend Eliza Ramsell, the killer's latest victim. Despite this gruesome find, Lavinia refuses to let fear control her life. She persuades the reluctant Francine and Helen to continue on to the show, determined to forget what they've seen. But the terror follows them when a mysterious stranger who had been asking about Lavinia at the drugstore appears to be trailing them. As paranoia mounts and her friends grow increasingly frightened, Lavinia must decide whether her defiant independence is bravery or dangerous foolishness in a town where the Lonely One still walks free.
Frankenstein

Sep 30, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: June 7, 1955 Suspense #601, "Frankenstein," brings Mary Shelley's classic tale to chilling life. Dr. Victor Frankenstein confides a terrible secret to his friend James, a minister: he has assembled a complete human body from various parts and believes he can give it life. Using a mysterious compound he discovered years earlier while reviving a dead dog, Victor has already made the creature move its limbs. Despite James's horrified pleas to destroy the abomination and abandon his godless experiments, Victor proceeds with one more test, injecting the lifeless form as the minister watches in dread. To their shock, the creature doesn't just twitch—it begins to breathe, its eyes opening with terrifying awareness. Victor is exhilarated by his achievement, convinced he has accomplished a miracle for science, while James insists the soulless thing must be destroyed immediately. As the two men argue over the fate of the living creature strapped to Victor's laboratory table, Elizabeth returns home unexpectedly. Victor must now decide whether to reveal his monstrous secret to the woman he loves.
Beirut by Sunrise

Sep 29, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: May 31, 1955 Suspense #600, "Beirut by Sunrise," Mildred Gideon, a third-grade schoolteacher from North Dakota on a Mediterranean cruise, awakens before dawn to witness the magical sunrise over Beirut. The romantic moment turns to horror when she sees an American sailor stumble from the shadows on the dock below, a knife buried in his back. Before dying, the sailor gasps a cryptic message about "Sultan's turret" and "15th step." When Mildred finds a local police officer and brings him to the scene, the body has vanished without a trace of blood, leaving her looking like a foolish, over-imaginative tourist. Shaken but determined to enjoy her shore leave, Mildred returns to the ship where she breakfasts with her fellow passengers: the boorish Frank Grady from Akron and the sophisticated, mysterious Mr. Haroon. As she joins a guided tour of Beirut's ancient bazaars and marketplaces, Mildred can't shake what she witnessed. The sailor's dying words haunt her, suggesting she's stumbled into something far more dangerous than a disappointing vacation.
I Saw Myself Running

Sep 29, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: May 24, 1955 Suspense #599, "I Saw Myself Running," Susan begins experiencing terrifying recurring nightmares that blur the line between dreamer and dream. Each night, she finds herself running from an unseen pursuer, but something is different about these dreams: there are two of her, both present and visible to each other. One Susan watches while the other lives through the terror, and she discovers that the frightened woman she's been seeing isn't her at all, but a separate entity trapped in her dreamscape. This other woman experiences all the fears Susan thought she'd outgrown, from childhood phobias of caterpillars to nightmares of falling from airplanes, and she begs Susan not to wake up and leave her alone. When Susan confides in her husband Freddie and seeks help from a doctor, they dismiss her fears as simple exhaustion and overwrought nerves. The doctor prescribes sedatives for a good night's sleep, but Susan grows increasingly desperate, convinced that something terrible is about to happen. As the dreams intensify and the boundary between the two Susans becomes more fragile, she faces an impossible choice: stop sleeping entirely or confront whatever horror awaits in the shadows at the top of that endless staircase.