The Hall Of Fantasy
_____________________________________ The HALL OF FANTASY most collectors know are from the 1953 series on the Mutual network. There were three other series that aired under the HALL OF FANTASY banner. All four series were produced, written and directed by Richard Thorne who also acted in may of the shows. His is the voice of the narrator who opened the shows with "Come with me, my friends...". The first HALL OF FANTASY originated from radio station KALL in Salt Lake City, Utah. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for the station, possibly late in 1946 and into 1947. The series consisted of 26 rather barebones shows. Broadcast dates for the shows are not known. It is not clear what role Mr. Greyson played in the series other than acting in various roles, but his name appears in other discussions of the series. Most of these first shows were classic murder mysteries with traditional endings; the evil-doer got his just rewards. The series was sponsored by the Granite Furniture Company, although existing shows are missing the commercials, apparently because they were inserted live. Only six shows from this series are know to exist at this time. The HALL OF FANTASY aired again in 1949 when Mr. Thorne and Mr. Greyson were working at WGN in Chicago. This time, the series featured stories involving struggles against the supernatural where man was usually the loser, specializing in shock endings. This series consisted of 112 shows and aired locally on radio station WGN, Chicago. It started on Saturdays at 2:30 PM but after 21 shows, moved to Mondays at 9:00 PM. Later, it moved to 9:30 PM. On August 22, 1952, THE HALL OF FANTASY went nationwide, over Mutual stations. It started as a short series of six shows over WGN, Chicago and other Mutual stations on the East Coast. The shows were heard on Fridays, from 8:30 to 9:00 PM. The short series of 1952 led to a regular series of 39 shows in 1953, airing on WGN from Jan. 5, 1953 to Sept. 28, 1953, Monday evenings at 7:30 PM. Richard Thorne wrote original stories or adapted classic works of horror for the shows. The series claimed to be "the series of radio dramas dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown." Mr. Thorn was also involved in production and played many of the lead character roles. Eloise Kummer played many of the female leads. Mr. Thorne and Leroy Olliger directed the series. Original music was by Harold Turner. Twenty six shows from the 1952 and 1953 series were selected for syndication after the end of the 1953 series. The syndicated shows were rebroadcast during the 1970's OTR revival era. It is believed that "He Who Follows Me" was retitled "Steps That Follow Me" for the revival. "The Hangman's Rope" was reproduced for the 70's series, since the original did not survive. 47/02/13 1 The Perfect Script 47/03/06 2 Death in the Bayous 47/04/03 3 The Judge's House 47/04/10 4 Man Sized in Marble 47/04/24 5 Markheim 47/05/01 6 The Mark of Shame 50/03/11 7 He Who Follows Me 50/03/18 8 The Beast with Red Eyes 51/08/27 Steps That Follow Me 52/08/22 1 The Castle of Lavoca 52/09/05 3 The Shadow People 52/09/19 5 The Steps That Follow Me 53/01/05 7 The Hangman's Rope 53/01/19 9 The Cask of Amontillado 53/01/26 10 The Black Figurine of Death 53/02/02 11 The Silver Flask 53/02/09 12 The Dance of the Devil Dolls 53/03/09 16 The Masks of Ashor 53/03/23 18 The Night the Fog Came 53/03/30 19 The Beast With The Red Eyes 53/04/06 20 The Return from Death 53/04/13 21 Demon of the Night 53/04/20 22 Out of the Sky 53/04/27 23 The Wild Huntsman 53/05/04 24 Idol of Cromm Cruac 53/05/11 25 Spectre of Denston Castle 53/05/18 26 The Crawling Thing 53/05/25 27 The Twisting Weeds of Death 53/06/01 28 The Telltale Heart 53/06/08 29 The Hand of Botar 53/06/15 30 The Jewels of Kali 53/06/22 31 The Marquise of Death 53/06/29 32 The Temple of Huizilipochle 53/07/06 33 The Man in Black 53/07/20 35 The Treasure of Kublai Khan 53/07/27 36 The Automaton 53/08/03 37 The Golden Bracelet of Amoniris 53/08/10 38 The Man From the Second Earth 53/08/17 39 Stone's Revenge 53/08/24 40 The Sea Phantom 53/08/31 41 Diamonds of Death 53/09/21 44 The Shadow People 53/10/26 4 He Who Follows Me(repeat of 50-03-11) 54/01/11 15 The Marquise of Death(repeat of 53-06-22) _____________________________________