Photo by Randy, Son of Robert

It’s Halloween all October on Radio Drama Revival! The third annual scary stories month has tales from both coasts of America and far abroad, culminating in a spooktacular live Halloween radio drama that will be aired live from the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine.

The month comes quick and fast… Don’t miss any of the gore-ious audio treats.

October 1 – “When Yellow Casts a Crimson Shadow” by 19 Nocturne Boulevard
What starts as a bizarre and troubling dream soon leads to a high body count in this homage to Giallo thrillers. Leather-gloved killers, bad dubbing, and hot chicks in danger.

October 8 – “The Grim of Stoddesden Hall” by The Wireless Theater Company
The body count adds up fast in this haunting and hilarious tribute to Edgar Allan Poe.   In a remote and crumbling gothic mansion in the country, the slighted caretaker takes out his misgivings with a very sharp shovel.  Sadly, the police are not so sharp.

October 15 – Nightmares on Congress Street by Bill Dufris
Well known and acclaimed audiobook narrator Bill Dufris is also a hell of an audio producer and a fan of the macabre.  His already has two excellent collections out there – Nightmares 4 and 5, and we’ll be hearing two stories rarely heard before: “The Nephews,” by Rick Hautala, and a haunting Tale from the Crypt.

October 22 – “Sorry, Wrong Number” by FinalRune Productions
FinalRune Productions and The Mad Horse Theater Company team up for their second collaboration tale, a production of the radio classic by Lucille Fletcher. A woman overhears two men plotting a murder over the telephone, and very quickly her whole world starts to unravel.

October 29 – “Listening in the Dark” by the Icebox Radio Theater
Three tales from Northern Minnesota to chill you to the bone. A writer’s notes from a haunted house turn against. A man gets haunted in his fishing shack. Santa Claus may not be who you thought he was.  Jeff Adams shows off his incredible skill in the darker arts in this haunting hour-long special.

Halloween Night – Live radio drama special! 7-9PM EST in Portland, Maine
FinalRune Productions puts on an evening of audio horror with stories near and far afield – tales of haunted houses, undead lovers, ghosts on a Maine lake, and, oh yeah, zombies! A benefit for WMPG, and yes, you can stream it!!! - see the FinalRune website for more details.

Okay, while the title may be cheeky the content will be hard hitting — this March on Radio Drama Revival we’ll be airing the Golden Age Story “Orders is Orders” by L Ron Hubbard in its entirety. ?Each Friday the podcast will feature an action-packed thirty minute episode of this story of two soldiers in a dangerous land, driven on by sheer determination, wit, and of course, their orders. ?

In the besieged city of Shunkien, China, only the American consulate remains standing, though their situation looks grim: food is running low and cholera threatens to break out. ?With the United States Army unable to make an official intervention, the fate of the consulate lies in the hands of two clever soldiers, Marine Gunnery Sergeant James Mitchell and Private First Class Spivits.

No one ever told them it would be easy, but the two-hundred mile march across war-torn China is harder than either of them could ever imagine…

Running: March 6, March 13, March 20, March 27

Followed up with an exclusive interview with the show’s creators… Also, stayed tuned for exclusive content from Dublin, Ireland, and short-shorts of my own urging you to donate money to WMPG, the station where Radio Drama Revival originates.

Terrorists celebrate! (Err… We’re sorry, we mean “fans of horror.”)

If you love bloodletting, screaming, shrieking and near (and a little past near) scrapes with death, then this is your month to tune into Radio Drama Revival. In the 2nd-annual fright-fest leading up to a 2-hour Halloween special, we dig through the horrifying vaults of modern audio to come up with the eeriest tales to chill your spine.

10/9 – 19 Nocturne Boulevard Presents “Making Book” – What is so interesting about this book that a rare antique dealer in New York will pay five figures for it while insisting that no one open it first?

10/16 – Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater’s “The Buoy,” Part 1 – Pit and the Pendulum creep you out? Then tune in for this horror masterpiece by our neighbors on the Massachusetts coast. Edward Wolcott is an innocent tourist abducted from his motel room, taken by boat, and strapped to a large sea buoy in the Woods Hole Passage. His strange night bobbing alone at sea turns into one of sheer terror, when he realizes the current is slowly dragging the buoy under.

10/23 – Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater’s “The Buoy,” Part 2 – Conclusion of “The Buoy.”

10/30 – Interview with Horror Master Joe Lansdale – Author of dozens of novels of derelict Texas towns and frights of the imagination, Joe Lansdale joins us to talk about the making of the audio drama adaptation of “God of the Razor” and his latest novel, “Leather Maiden.”

10/31 – 9-11 PM, HALLOWEEN SPECIAL – The gates to hell roll back again in the second annual Radio Drama Revival Halloween Horror Special. Put the kids away and hear the most spine-chilling, gut-wrenching stories ever to be adapted into audio, and keep your ears open for a special live theater event.

Listeners online will be able to stream it ONLY at WMPG — I will rush to get this out on the ‘pod as quickly as possible but it probably won’t be until the witching hour on All Saint’s Day…

Labor Day blues got you down?? Not quite ready for sacks of books and long lectures again?? Then treat you ears (or iPod) to some kickin’ audio this September with a line-up of quirky and diabolical this month on the show…

SEPT 4 and 11 – THE SPECKLED BAND
We welcome back our friends at the Quicksilver Radio Theater for this diabolical Sherlock Holmes mystery.? Originally performed before a live studio audience, this show was directed by Jay Stern and stars Craig Wichman (also the adapter of the script) as Holmes and John Prave as Watson, and features music by Tony Award winner Mark Hollmann and stunning sound effects by Sue Zizza and David Shinn of Sue Media Productions.? “The Speckled Band,” one of the most diabolic of the Holmes mysteries, runs in two-parts, the first half airing on September 4th and the second half on September 11th (podcast up, as always, the Friday thereafter).

SEPT 18 – TALES FROM PORTLAND
We’re joined by Yikes! Monsters, a Portland-area theatre troupe lauded for their irreverence and insight.? In their first appearance on radio, Yikes! will perform a series of monologues based on quirky could-be people of the Portland area, from a divorced father of four to a man who believes in dinosaurs and a man with rocks in his head.

SEPT 25 – WAITING FOR A WINDOW
Written, directed, and produced by my own FinalRune Productions, “Window” recounts the tale of Norman, a sailor who is waylaid on his adventures somewhere else and finds himself trapped on an island where no one seems to leave — or want to escape.? “Waiting for a Window” features a cast of Portland-area voice acting enthusiasts and professionals, including Bill Dufris, Ed Patterson, Joe Duley and Charly Duley among others.? Further contributing to the production’s unique sound is an original score produced by Barbara Truex, southern Maine composer, WMPG DJ and the resident sound designer of the Mad Horse Theatre Company. Recording was completed entirely in the field — at docks, in the woods, and in a created bar.

Ahh… “hear” at last — Halloween! The one day a year where you can get away with dressing up like a lunatic (outside of New Orleans), knock on stranger’s doors demanding candy and cuddle up to the stereo and pretend that great audio stories are just another part of our cultural framework.

Tonight a lot of things are hitting the airwaves (or bit stream, but let’s not technical) — FreeQuincy Radio debuts their first studio production, a tale of prohibition and ghost stories that are eerily real, Icebox Radio has posted some of their spooky stories, and the Science-Fiction Fantasy Audio Blog has posted some great links to scary stories on BBC7. Oh, and did I forget to mention, there’s an hour-and-a-half, three part audio horror extravaganza on WMPG?

Tonight’s show kicks off at 8:30PM EST, and will feature three absolutely stellar works — “The Statement of Randolph Carter,” adapted by the acclaimed Bill Dufris, the Ogle-award winning “God of the Razor,” adapted from Joe R. Lansdale’s short story, and my own “Dark Passenger” (produced as part of FinalRune Productions) which is startlingly fresh, dark, and unremitting. Ah… the sweet smell of fear in the air!

If you can’t tune in tonight, well, I’m sorry for you but stay tuned tomorrow for the podcast. And yes, the regular show will continue tomorrow, with “something completely different.”

Just to whet your appetite…

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