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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

Lili and the Colonel

Sep 28, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: May 17, 1955 Suspense #598, "Lili and the Colonel," presents a gripping tale of colonial tension and deadly secrets in Kenya Colony, East Africa. Lieutenant Charles Temple, a young British officer stationed to combat the Mau Mau uprising, encounters the imperious Colonel M.O.V. Abernathy at the exclusive Ribb Valley Club. When a neighboring farmer, James C. Carey, is found murdered beneath a rose bush, Temple enlists the Colonel's help in identifying the body. The investigation takes a sinister turn when Temple suspects that the Colonel's head boy, Ngambe, may not be the Jalulo tribesman he claims but rather a Kikuyu with possible Mau Mau connections. The danger escalates dramatically when Mrs. Abernathy's cat is found hanged outside their home, a clear Mau Mau warning. During the attack, Temple shoots one of the intruders, and before the wounded man dies at a clinic, he reveals crucial information: he is Matemba, a Kikuyu with Mau Mau ties, and his brother is none other than Ngambe himself. Temple returns to warn the Colonel, only to find the household deserted except for the increasingly unstable and heavily drinking Mrs. Abernathy, who seems to harbor dark secrets of her own.
Going, Going, Gone

Sep 28, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: May 10, 1955 Suspense #597, "Going, Going, Gone," finds newlyweds Wally and Jan Pindale making an impulsive purchase at an estate auction. Despite Wally's protests, Jan insists on buying a mysterious old trunk covered in peculiar stains for just three dollars. When a nervous little man named Mr. Minchy suddenly offers one hundred dollars for it, then two hundred, the Pindales grow suspicious. The auction house even tries to substitute a different trunk, but Jan stands her ground. Back home, the couple opens their bargain purchase and discovers it's filled with what appears to be a fortune in jewelry—diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls that Jan insists are real. When Wally scratches a ring across their window and it cuts the glass like a genuine diamond, their excitement turns to fear. Mr. Minchy appears at their door, desperately offering first fifty thousand, then one hundred thousand dollars for the trunk, warning them ominously that "the consequences will be upon your own head." As the Pindales try frantically to reach the police, they find themselves trapped by a chatty neighbor monopolizing their party line, while danger may be lurking just outside their door.
Remember Me

Sep 27, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: May 3, 1955 Suspense #596, "Remember Me," Harry Nora finds himself in a desperate situation when his plan to rob Mr. Leibowitz's small neighborhood store goes violently wrong. Just as Harry is leaving the scene of his crime, Ruth Shaw walks in, a former high school classmate who recognizes him immediately. Ruth has never forgotten Harry, the popular football player she once had a crush on, and she's delighted by this chance reunion. Harry realizes he's been fatally identified and must now silence the only witness who can connect him to the murder. Carrying Ruth's groceries, Harry maneuvers his way into her apartment, pretending to reminisce about their school days while actually planning her death. As Ruth cheerfully shows him pictures from their old class yearbook and makes coffee, she remains oblivious to the danger. The elevated train rumbling past her window gives Harry a chilling idea about how to commit the murder without being heard, but the question remains whether he can go through with killing this innocent woman whose only crime was remembering his face.
Sight Unseen

Sep 27, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: April 26, 1955 Suspense #595, "Sight Unseen," Colin Farragut, a journalist for the Times, experiences a disturbing encounter while relaxing in the park one evening in 1926. Two ordinary-looking men in bowler hats approach him, addressing him by name and insisting he come with them. Though they refuse to identify themselves or explain their purpose, they speak with eerie certainty that he will eventually comply. When Farragut demands answers and threatens to call for help, they calmly respond that he will come "sooner or later" before mysteriously disappearing into the shrubberies. Convinced it's a prank by his friend Richard, a Scotland Yard sergeant, Farragut tries to dismiss the incident. Later that evening, after meeting with Richard and confirming the sergeant had nothing to do with the strange encounter, Farragut takes Ellen, a restaurant worker he's been seeing, to the Palace dance hall. The evening takes an uncomfortable turn when they run into her employer, Mr. Wimper, a shifty Cockney character Farragut thoroughly dislikes. As the story unfolds through a letter Farragut writes to Richard, the journalist finds himself caught in circumstances that grow increasingly ominous.
Speed Trap

Sep 26, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: April 19, 1955 Suspense #594, "Speed Trap," follows rookie highway patrolman Art as he learns his new mountain beat from veteran officer Craig Hollister on a treacherous, rain-slicked night. While Hollister shows Art the deadly curves and hairpin turns that have claimed numerous lives, he reveals personal details about his wife Debbie, whom he caught speeding on this very road years ago. The routine check-out takes a devastating turn when a speeding convertible nearly runs them down. As they give chase through the dangerous mountain curves, Hollister makes a shocking discovery: the reckless driver weaving all over the road is Debbie herself, apparently intoxicated and out of control. The tension escalates as the two patrolmen race to stop Debbie before she reaches the most dangerous curves on the mountain. Hollister, tormented by his wife's condition and the isolation that drove her to drink, desperately urges Art to catch up to her before it's too late. The chase becomes a desperate battle against time, weather, and the deadly mountain road as Craig faces the nightmare of potentially witnessing his own wife's destruction on the same curves where so many others have perished.
The Lunch Kit

Sep 26, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: April 12, 1955 Suspense #593, "The Lunch Kit," Jonathan reluctantly helps his embittered father construct a devastating weapon disguised as an ordinary thermos bottle. Filled with nitroglycerin and fitted with a timer set to detonate at 6:30 in the morning, the deadly device goes into Jonathan's lunch kit as he heads to work the night shift at an industrial plant. His elderly coworker Mike carpools with him, completely unaware of the lethal cargo. Once inside the plant, Jonathan leaves the lunch kit in his locker and tries to work normally, but his nerves betray him. He obsessively checks the time, makes careless mistakes, and eventually collapses from the strain. When the plant doctor confines him to the dispensary and gives him sedated milk to help him rest, Jonathan's panic escalates. Unable to access his locker with the ticking bomb inside, and fighting against medication forcing him to sleep, he faces a desperate race against time as the deadly detonation hour approaches and his control over the situation slips away.
Zero Hour

Sep 25, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: April 5, 1955 Suspense #592, "Zero Hour," presents Ray Bradbury's chilling tale of an innocent children's game with sinister implications. Mrs. Morris watches with mild amusement as her energetic daughter Mink and the neighborhood children obsessively play a new game called Invasion, gathering odd items like pots, pans, and tools while following mysterious instructions. Mink excitedly explains that a being named Drill is teaching the children how to help Martians invade Earth, using kids under eleven because adults are too busy to notice what happens under rose bushes and on lawns. When Mrs. Morris receives a call from her friend Helen in New York, she learns that children across the country are all playing the same game, each one preparing for "Zero Hour" at five o'clock. As the afternoon wears on and five o'clock approaches, Mrs. Morris grows increasingly uneasy. Mink casually mentions they'll have to "get rid of" the grownups after the invasion and recites strange sequences of numbers and instructions. What began as charming child's play takes on an increasingly ominous tone as Mrs. Morris realizes that perhaps Drill isn't imaginary after all, and the invasion the children are so eagerly preparing for might be terrifyingly real.
Give Me Liberty

Sep 25, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: March 29, 1955 Suspense #591, "Give Me Liberty," follows Paul French, a man who embezzled a quarter of a million dollars and managed to hide it before his conviction. As French is being transported to prison by a detective, handcuffed for the journey, fate intervenes in the form of a spectacular train wreck. In the chaos and flames, French sees his opportunity for freedom, but there's one critical problem: he cannot find the key to his handcuffs. In a desperate bid for survival and escape, he makes a brutal choice, switching identities with the injured detective before fleeing into the darkness. What follows is a harrowing odyssey as French struggles to survive in the countryside while shackled by the very symbol of his captivity. Exhausted, starving, and unable to remove the handcuffs, he encounters a suspicious farm woman and her watchful dog, faces armed pursuers, and finally resorts to scavenging through garbage behind a roadside diner. When a young boy discovers him in this degraded state, French must decide how far he'll go to secure his liberty and reclaim his hidden fortune. His carefully planned future hangs in the balance, dependent on breaking free from the steel that binds him.
The Game

Sep 24, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: March 15, 1955 In Suspense #589, "The Game," two restless teenagers, Pen and Red, find themselves bored on a lazy summer afternoon with nothing to do. What begins as an innocent search for entertainment takes a dark turn when Red suggests they get drunk at Pen's empty house. As the whiskey flows and inhibitions fade, Red begins needling Pen, calling him soft and chicken, questioning his courage in front of their friends. The verbal sparring escalates until Red proposes a terrifying way for Pen to prove his manhood: Russian roulette. With Red's taunts ringing in his ears and alcohol clouding his judgment, Pen agrees to play the deadly game. Red retrieves Pen's father's .38 revolver, and they sit across from each other at a table scarred by childhood memories. They remove five bullets, leaving one in the chamber. A coin flip determines who goes first, and the ceremony begins. As Pen lifts the heavy gun for the first time in his life, the two boys enter into a contest where backing down means humiliation, but continuing could mean death.
Nobody Ever Quits

Sep 24, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: March 8, 1955 Suspense #588, "Nobody Ever Quits," a man desperately trying to escape his criminal past finds himself trapped when his old life catches up with him at the worst possible moment. Walt runs a remote mountain gas station with his pregnant wife Sally, but when a customer named Battaglia stops for fuel during an approaching blizzard, Walt's carefully constructed new identity begins to crumble. Battaglia recognizes Walt as Joey Perino, a man from back in Jersey City, and despite Walt's denials, the threat becomes undeniable when Big Pete himself calls the station. Pete ominously tells Joey that "the boys miss him" and that he's coming to talk in person. As the storm intensifies and the mountain pass becomes increasingly dangerous, Walt faces an impossible situation. His wife is pregnant and due in April, her father is stranded in Victorville unable to return through the blizzard, and somewhere in the snowy darkness, dangerous men from his past are closing in. Walt must now confront whether anyone can truly leave their old life behind, especially when that life won't let them go.
The Screaming Woman

Sep 23, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: March 1, 1955 Suspense #587, "The Screaming Woman," presents a chilling tale of childhood terror that no adult will believe. Young Margaret Leary is cutting through Mr. Kelly's vacant lot on Thanksgiving Day when she hears something horrifying: a woman's desperate screams coming from beneath tons of freshly dumped dirt and debris. The voice seems to be coming from the area where a large concrete pipe, the neighborhood children's makeshift fort, has been completely buried. Frantic and terrified, Margaret races home to get help, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Her mother dismisses her story while cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and her father treats it as nothing more than childish imagination run wild. Despite Margaret's increasingly desperate attempts to convince her parents, they refuse to take her seriously. Her father reluctantly accompanies her to the lot after dinner, but when the screaming woman falls silent in his presence, he becomes convinced his daughter has a fever and locks her in her room for the rest of the day. Now Margaret faces an impossible dilemma: a woman is buried alive and dying beneath the ground, and she is the only one who can hear the screams.
Waiting

Sep 23, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: February 22, 1955 Suspense #586, "Waiting," three women endure an agonizing vigil as the hours tick down to Norman Landon's execution for the murder of Sheila Warrener. His wife Eileen, consumed by love and doubt, struggles with the terrible uncertainty of whether her husband actually committed the crime. Norman's sister Harriet clings desperately to his innocence, treasuring a final letter from her brother while tensions simmer with Eileen. Their mother, Mrs. Martinson, maintains a cold facade of religious resignation, speaking of God's will while barely concealing her judgment of Norman's moral failings. As the clock moves toward eleven, attorney Mr. Mailer frantically pursues one last hope: a witness from Mexico who claims to have seen a woman fleeing the apartment building the night of the murder. The confined setting amplifies the women's conflicting emotions as buried resentments surface. Eileen's tortured admission that she still loves Norman despite everything, Harriet's fierce loyalty, and Mrs. Martinson's bitter pronouncements create an atmosphere of suffocating tension while precious minutes slip away and the question of Norman's guilt remains devastatingly unresolved.
The Man with the Steel Teeth

Sep 22, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: February 17, 1955 Suspense #585, "The Man with the Steel Teeth," presents the harrowing tale of Arthur Henderson Lutrel, an American newspaper correspondent who finds himself suddenly arrested at the Moscow Opera and thrown into the notorious Lubyanka Prison. His captor is Inspector Golovin of the MVD, a peculiar little man with a remarkable set of stainless steel teeth who presents Lutrel with fabricated espionage charges. Golovin demands a confession linking Lutrel to executed Soviet citizens, claiming he used personal influence to encourage sabotage and treason. When Lutrel refuses to confess despite psychological torture and sleep deprivation, the situation takes a bizarre turn. After passing out from exhaustion, Lutrel awakens to find his cell door mysteriously open. Seizing what appears to be an impossible opportunity, he makes his escape through the empty prison, dons an abandoned coat, and drives an MVD limousine toward the American embassy. Just as safety seems within reach, Lutrel spots the unmistakable figure of Inspector Golovin waiting by the embassy gates, and a frantic chase through Moscow's streets begins, leaving Lutrel to wonder if his escape was ever real at all.
Diagnosis of Death

Sep 22, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: February 10, 1955 Suspense #584, "Diagnosis of Death," a medical mistake triggers a race against time when Simon Davis overhears what he believes is his own fatal diagnosis. While waiting in Dr. Jim Kirk's office, Simon inadvertently hears Nurse Herman reading a lab report over the phone describing a malignant condition with only one to three months to live. Believing the diagnosis is his own, Simon flees the office without waiting for his actual appointment. When Dr. Kirk realizes what has happened, he frantically contacts Simon's wife Martha to explain that her husband is not dying and the report was for another patient. However, Simon has already begun putting his affairs in order, writing mysterious letters and closing down his business. As Dr. Kirk, Martha, and Simon's secretary Anne attempt to track him down, alarming signs emerge that Simon may be planning something drastic. With a letter addressed to Martha already in the mail and Simon's whereabouts unknown, they contact the police. The question becomes whether they can find Simon before he makes an irreversible decision based on a diagnosis that was never his.
A Killing in Abilene

Sep 21, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: February 3, 1955 Suspense #583, "A Killing in Abilene," starring Parley Baer, tells the gripping story of Jeff Mander, a man who has spent two years tracking down Lee Burridge, the killer of his brother Seth. When Jeff arrives in the desolate mountain town of Pleasant Valley, he finds the residents gathered around a freshly dug grave, where they've just uncovered the body of Fred Coston, beaten to death in the same brutal manner as Jeff's brother. The townspeople, led by the vengeful Ben Chaffee, are convinced Burridge is guilty and are determined to take justice into their own hands through a lynching. Jeff faces mounting hostility from the angry mob, who see him as an interfering stranger. Despite his hatred for Burridge, Jeff insists on taking him back to Abilene for a proper trial, honoring the promise he made to his brother's widow. When Jeff confronts Burridge at his isolated hut, the encounter turns violent. As Sheriff Jake Garvey struggles to maintain order and the townspeople prepare to hunt Burridge down at nightfall, Jeff finds himself caught between his quest for lawful justice and a town hell-bent on frontier vengeance.
The Operation

Sep 21, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: January 27, 1955 Suspense #582, "The Operation," begins with a robbery gone terribly wrong when two gunmen, Al and Danny, hold up a liquor store and shoot the owner. During the crime, Danny takes a bullet in the abdomen. Desperate and panicking, Al kidnaps Dr. James Bell at gunpoint, forcing him to return to his home office to operate on his wounded partner. But the situation becomes even more complicated when they discover the doctor's wife already has an intruder of her own—a desperate clinic patient named Carter who is attempting to rob the office safe. As Danny's condition deteriorates, Dr. Bell insists the boy needs a hospital, but the ruthless Al refuses to let his partner out of his sight, threatening violence if the doctor doesn't comply. Trapped in her own home with multiple criminals and a dying patient, Mrs. Bell must rely on her nursing experience while her husband faces an impossible choice: perform a dangerous surgery under threat of death, or watch the young gunman die while risking his wife's safety and his own life.
Study of a Murderer

Sep 20, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: January 20, 1955 In Suspense #581, "Study of a Murderer," a devoted wife recounts the devastating transformation of her husband Hank from a gentle, loving man into someone she barely recognizes. After losing his job, Hank becomes increasingly obsessed with newspaper accounts of a serial killer stalking Lincoln Park, fixating on the murders of mothers and babies with an intensity that frightens his pregnant wife. As the pressure mounts and the heat of summer bears down, Hank's behavior grows more erratic and disturbing, leading to a shocking confrontation with police on Lake Street where he confesses to crimes everyone knows he didn't commit. The narrator finds herself trapped between her love for the man Hank once was and the terrifying reality of what he's becoming. Dr. Broughton, a psychiatrist at the police station, insists that Hank is dangerously ill and needs immediate treatment, but she refuses to believe her husband could truly be capable of violence. As she prepares to fight for Hank's freedom, the question looms: is her faith in him an act of devotion or a dangerous denial of the darkness growing within him?
Final Payment

Sep 20, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: January 13, 1955 Suspense #580, "Final Payment," stars Harry Bartell as Joe Thurston, an ordinary working man struggling to support his family on a construction worker's wages. When he runs into his old Army buddy Sam at a Chicago lunch counter, Sam presents him with an irresistible proposition: a foolproof insurance fraud scheme worth $100,000. The plan is elaborate but seemingly simple. Joe will move his unsuspecting wife Mary and their children to a small Indiana town, establish himself as a respectable citizen, and purchase a large liability insurance policy. Sam will arrive separately, and after careful preparation, Joe will hit Sam with his car in a staged accident. The twist comes during the trial when Joe will break down under cross-examination and confess fault, forcing the insurance company to pay a substantial settlement that the two men will split. As Joe methodically executes each step of the plan over many months, he begins to wonder if something has gone wrong. But now, sitting in a courtroom after an unexpected outbreak has shocked everyone present, Joe frantically searches his memory for the fatal flaw in their perfect scheme.
Odd Man Out

Sep 19, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: December 30, 1954 In Suspense #578, "Odd Man Out," Johnny, a wounded revolutionary, finds himself dying and abandoned after a payroll robbery goes terribly wrong. During the raid with his comrades Murphy, Nolan, and Pat, Johnny kills a man and is shot in the arm. As police sirens converge and panic sets in, his fellow raiders flee, leaving the badly wounded Johnny to fend for himself. Murphy stays behind long enough to hide Johnny in a dark shelter, promising to return with help from Dennis and the rest of the organization, but as Johnny's condition deteriorates, the promise seems increasingly hollow. Alone in the darkness, battling rats and overwhelming pain, Johnny drifts in and out of consciousness while police patrols scour the area. He's discovered by Shell and Mr. Fancy, two opportunistic locals who debate whether to turn him in for reward money or let him die in peace. As Johnny's life ebbs away, he becomes a prize to be bartered over, caught between those who would profit from his capture and the dwindling hope that his comrades will return to rescue him before the police cordon closes in.
Premonition

Sep 19, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: December 23, 1954 Suspense #577, "Premonition," Tony and Gwen Christopher, Americans living in Austria, find themselves stranded in a blizzard while attempting to cross the Alps to Paris for Christmas. When their car becomes stuck in deep snow, they make their way to a remote mountainside inn run by Herr Landick. Despite his wife's relief at finding shelter, Tony experiences an overwhelming sense of foreboding about the place—a premonition he can't quite explain. The inn's other guests include Monsieur and Madame Rouge and a Swiss gentleman named Herr Brown, all waiting out the dangerous storm. When Gwen casually mentions her husband's premonition at lunch, treating it as an amusing quirk, she inadvertently triggers Madame Rouge's own terror about their situation. Talk turns to the very real dangers surrounding them: avalanches have already destroyed two nearby villages and killed three people that morning. Herr Brown suggests Tony's instincts may be detecting genuine peril—the unseasonably warm temperatures and days of heavy snowfall have created explosive conditions throughout the Alps. As the guests contemplate their situation, the question becomes whether Tony's dark feeling is mere imagination or a warning they should heed.
Pretty Girl

Sep 18, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: December 16, 1954 Suspense #576, "Pretty Girl," Emmy Carter is found wandering in the rain, clutching a mysterious heavy object, with no coat or purse. When Police Lieutenant Lewis Gagan arrives at the station, he's surprised to learn the disheveled young woman specifically asked for him by name. Emmy, a pretty university student, seems disoriented and confused, asking desperately for her lipstick. As Gagan questions her, the story shifts to earlier that evening, revealing Emmy's complicated romantic entanglements with Ray Hamilton, an instructor in her economics class. Through flashbacks, we see Emmy skillfully manipulating Ray, canceling their date with a convenient excuse about studying original documents at Dr. Church's house. Ray grows suspicious and insistent, ultimately driving Emmy to the professor's home himself. Their tense conversation reveals Emmy's pattern of controlling the men around her, though Ray's jealousy and possessiveness hint at darker undercurrents. As the evening unfolds, the connection between these events and Emmy's disturbing condition at the police station becomes increasingly ominous.
On a Country Road

Sep 18, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: December 9, 1954 Suspense #575, "On a Country Road," stars Harry Bartell and Virginia Gregg as David and Dorothy, a young couple who make a fateful decision to take a shortcut on a stormy Long Island night. While caught in heavy traffic, they hear a radio bulletin warning that Nellie Golar, a dangerous mental patient armed with a meat cleaver, has escaped after brutally murdering hospital staff and is now loose in the area. Despite the warnings to stay off lonely roads, David decides to take a back road through the woods to avoid traffic and beat the approaching storm. As they drive deeper into the isolated countryside, more radio reports reveal fresh murders near their route, and Dorothy's anxiety grows with each bulletin. When their car runs out of gas on the dark, deserted road surrounded by woods, the couple finds themselves stranded in precisely the kind of situation authorities warned against. Dorothy becomes increasingly terrified that the killer could be hiding nearby in the darkness, while David tries to calm her fears. Trapped in their locked car with rain pounding down and lightning flashing around them, they must decide whether to wait out the night in the vulnerable vehicle or risk walking through the storm-swept woods where a murderer may be lurking.
The Shot

Sep 17, 2026 · 25 min

Originally Aired: December 2, 1954 Suspense #574, "The Shot," stars William Conrad as Lieutenant Zachary Peyton, a man consumed by an incomplete duel from seven years past. When Benjamin Rolls drew the first shot in their duel, he fired and missed—but Peyton refused to take his return shot, declaring that he would choose his own time and place. Rolls walked away laughing and eating cherries, seemingly indifferent to death itself, which only deepened Peyton's obsession. Now Peyton has tracked Rolls down, discovering his former adversary has inherited a fortune and just married Marcia Pemberton, a woman he loves deeply. Peyton practices relentlessly with his dueling pistols, terrifying his landlord Mr. Temple, who watches him shoot playing cards off a fence post from his bed with chilling accuracy. As Peyton's old friend Jim Stockwell tries to dissuade him from his revenge, it becomes clear that Peyton has been waiting for this precise moment—when Rolls finally has something precious to lose. The question that haunts Peyton is whether the man who once laughed down a gun barrel can still face death so carelessly now that he has found love and happiness worth living for.
Blind Date

Sep 17, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: November 18, 1954 In Suspense #572, "Blind Date," Gloria Le Fay, a contortionist performing her late mother's act in a Chicago theater, waits in her dressing room after closing night. She's agreed to meet a mysterious admirer named Vincent Hawthorne who sent her a note earlier that day. Against her better judgment and relying on a fortune-teller's assurance that the handwriting shows him to be a gentleman, Gloria accepts this unusual blind date. Vincent arrives with champagne and roses, insisting they celebrate in her dressing room rather than at Gregory's restaurant where Gloria had hoped to go. As Vincent becomes increasingly controlling and unsettling, Gloria grows uneasy. He produces an enormous trick knife to open the champagne bottle, knows disturbing details about her stage act, and seems determined to keep her isolated in the empty theater. The callboy's earlier warning that her stage door Johnny is "no improvement" begins to ring true. Gloria realizes too late that she may have invited danger into her dressing room, and with everyone else gone for the night, she's completely alone with this strange man who seems to have sinister intentions beneath his polished gentleman's facade.
The Sure Thing

Sep 16, 2026 · 24 min

Originally Aired: November 11, 1954 In Suspense #571, "The Sure Thing," Phil Brannon is an independent bookie who has built his success on a sharp understanding of horses and calculated risks. When Marty, a syndicate representative, offers Phil a place in their organization, Phil refuses, confident he can eventually buy his way in on his own terms with their money. Phil has been making steady wins against the syndicate while supporting his girlfriend Eileen, who grows impatient waiting for him to earn enough to divorce his wife Barbara and start fresh. Phil's ambitions take a dramatic turn when a mysterious stable boy tips him off about a fixed race. After verifying that the favorite will be scratched, Phil sees his opportunity for the big score he's been waiting for. He places a staggering quarter million dollars on Happy Wanderer, betting money that isn't his. As Phil frantically pushes through the crowd at the track with Eileen, desperate to witness the finish of the eighth race, his carefully constructed plans hang in the balance. The sure thing he's been chasing may prove far less certain than he believed.