No. No, stay where you are.
Do not break the stillness of this moment, for this is a time of mystery, a time when imagination is free and moves forward swiftly. Silently. This is…
The Haunting Hour!
1945
Circulating Episodes: 52
The Haunting Hour was a syndicated show from the 1940s. There were no credits, so cast and production crew are unknown.
Assignment: Death
Ellen Maitland, staff photographer for a newspaper, wants a feather in her hat by getting a picture of a retired “public enemy” named Mike Velveto. Only, people who take photos of him end up in the morgue. She goes to visit his office with help from reporter Dick Ryan, who has connections. She doesn’t get a photo. But Larry Nelson, another photographer, does with a candid camera. He disappears along with the negative after Dick hears a break-in at his apartment. Was Larry kidnapped or is he dead? There are multiple attempts on Ellen and Dick’s lives! Why is the photograph so valuable? It captured the combination-coded painting that Velvet’s safe is behind!
“Horror doesn’t always come wrapped up in a haunted house with the wind howling outside. Sometimes it walks along behind you, breathing down your neck, and whispers something about a slug of lead in your back.”
Bird of Death
Mr. Orrin’s personal assistant Speir decides he’d rather not wait for the rich old blowhard to die after forging a new will that leaves himself the bulk of the estate. Luckily all Orrin’s nephew Victor cares about is becoming an ornithologist. Speir jams the old man’s body under the fishing weir so hard it isn’t even churned up by dynamite. But a carrion crow takes an unmistakable interest.
Breakdown
See “Case of the Lonesome Corpse, The”
Case of The Lonesome Corpse, The
In 1922, people begin to disappear from the park at night, always close to the Greystone mausoleum. Hugo Carter, supernatural crime solver, is on the case! But Anne’s permanent is ruined when she sees a statue of Caleb Greystone move! Hugo finds two strangled corpses. Will he find the killer… or become the next victim?
Cat Man, The
A lion-tamer is set up to be attacked by his assistant who then takes the lead taming position. After he pieces it all together, the wounded man trains the same tiger to go berserk at the point of a stick…
Clay Tree, The
Russ Thompson defends Elvira Clay’s wishes when she dies, maintaining a tree embedded with a plaque commemorating her son’s unjust lynching. The son didn’t commit the crime. Russ did! (This is revealed to increase the suspense,) He hid his gun and incriminating letters inside the bole of the tree. But when Jennifer, Elvira’s niece, sells the land and the tree is almost cut down before a windstorm might destroy it, Russ has to shore up its integrity. Will he succeed?
Corpse There Was, A
Steven Corey, a cemetery caretaker, is killed when he makes a move for the live-in housekeeper just after their housemate, Martin the stonecutter, dies. At first Cathy runs, but when she has second thoughts and returns to the body, she instead discovers a second headstone next to Martin’s. When Martin Bailey’s sister arrives to pay her respects, she wonders where Steven is. If she sees his grave, Cathy will be called a murderer! Cathy tries to move the stone… but it returns! Is Martin’s spirit trying to force the three of them to be together forever… or does Mrs. Bailey have a role in the insanity? (Motif: Gaslighting)
Dark Tower, The
Gothic. A governess discovers that the madwoman of the manor is really the victim of a controlling, murderous man… but Daddy can’t fly like the previous governess.
Date in The Dark, A
Crime. A private investigator is contacted by a thug pretending to be a client. When Earle Bailey and “The Professor” show up, the mobster is in the dark and fakes an accent. He also slugs the night watchman, killing the old man and leaving behind a key to a room where there is an underground poker game running. Earle tricks the bad guy into confessing when he douses the lights and uses the same accent in the dark.
Death By Request
Architect Roger Stevens gets a phone call. He is given two days to confess to murder, accused that he cooked the books and framed and killed his partner Mike, pretending it was suicide. The mysterious caller continues to threaten Stevens. The police can’t help. He is driven so mad with fear that he gives up his big chance to design the Wilson Building’s blueprints to his friend Walter Stone… just before the elevator breaks down The operator’s voice is hauntingly familiar.
Destination Unknown
Kirk Holland jumps on a train when he sees a cute woman crying through the window. When she bolts, he follows, but is too late to stop her jumping off a bridge. He tells her mentor, Maestro, who taught Iris to sing, and discovers his plan to kill Miss Morton’s competition. But Maestro’s not the one who actually murders Madam Zadrini the opera star!
Devil’s Deep, The
Murder, blackmail, and intrigue at sea. Good crime noir adventure, no supernatural. The dead guy is alive, a master blackmailer… but he’s not the one!
Double Threat
A chicken and extraordinarily stupid cab driver goes and burns a coded letter he was paid to deliver. The guy who pays him promptly gets shot down. Now there’s two factions of thugs out to get that letter, threatening the cabbie’s family unless he produces it. But it’s ash. The old fake-letter ruse fails, and his wife calls the cops to save him.
Hands of Mr. Smith, The
A thug named Russ gets fed up with his partner, dumb Tiny and his big mitts, always losing his cool, (and this time… murder!) always ruining their plans… so he shoots Tiny and leaves him for dead in the car. Russ returns to Smith’s unfaithful wife, and tells her Tiny’s last words: “I’ll get Clair and you if I have to dig my way out of my own grave!” Then they hear shattering glass. Blood on the floor. Is that Tiny lying dead in the bedroom? This is a Great paranoia piece!
Homicide House
Journalists find the VonKleek family, believed dead, living in the family mansion in clothes from the year they all drowned. But what were those gunshots they heard? There may be more than meets the eye.
If The Shoe Fits
An immigrant cobbler thinks he’s found a come-up when the wealthiest man in the city wants to buy shoes from him. Then the boss finds the immigrant’s lucky coin… on his 18 year-old daughter’s dresser, and puts out a hit on him. The innocent cobbler investigates who’s framing him… a person who’s blackmailing the rich thug’s daughter! Only the skills of a shoemaker can solve this case!
Likely Murder Story, A
Twist after twist as Carl goes mad with jealousy when he hears his friend proclaim his love for Carl’s wife Ellen. He kills fellow author Lloyd Stanton. He even goes so far as to publish Lloyd’s autobiography under his own name and hits it big… until Lloyd returns! Ellen has already discovered the murder. Now how many must Carl kill to cover his crime? An unexpectedly satisfying ending.
Murder Is My Business
A young woman is framed for murder while on a train. A man claiming to be a detective offers to help her clear her name by taking her to track down the mysterious woman who swapped handbags with her. There’s a showdown, but nobody is who they say they are, and death is in the cards… unless the real Maggie Stewart plays hers just right.
Mystery of The Southern Star, The
On an ocean cruise, Mrs. Ashford goes missing soon after befriending Mr. Westcott. Emily’s husband Frederick, you see, is transporting a huge diamond called (you guessed it!) The Southern Star, and he has been tipped off that there is a jewel thief named “Fingers” Faraday aboard The Luxitania. The diamond goes missing, too. Customs finds Mrs. Ashford… at the bottom of a trunk! Did Ashford kill her? Or was it a red herring to distract the police from the real jewel thief? The wisecracking morgue attendant is a hoot! Where is the diamond? Emily’s mouth is shut tight even in death!
No Escape
No escape from incriminating Yourself. A man kills his wife because she won’t give him a divorce, but then people start to show up at their 17th floor apartment claiming she made an appointment to meet them… just a few hours ago. But she’s dead! How could she have? (Motif 1b)
Nocturne
When jealous Matt hears that the woman he loves is going to marry his twin brother, who has stolen everything, including his talent, he sets fire to the house! But the gasoline explodes in his face! When only one twin survives, even the fiancée can’t tell which it is. Is she living with the creepy murderer? It looks that way!
Old, Old Man, The
Crime noir. Pact: Final survivor inherits everyone’s fortune. Step-Dad starts offing his buddies, or so it appears.
Out of The Night
After an emergency visit to the dentist, the cops tell Bill Kane they have evidence he murdered Simon Greenfield. When he kills the cop who tries to take him in, Bill’s wife Mary decides to support him and they try to make a getaway. The surprise ending tries to double back for a shock, but ends up evoking an eye-roll. (Do not confuse this for an adaptation of the film noir or the OTR series of the same title; there is no connection.) [All a Dream]
Pale Hands That Kill
A dressmaker’s assistant falls in love with the shop owner’s husband. The jerk can’t decide between the two women. Then one night he’s charged with the assistant’s murder! But he didn’t do it! Like an episode of Scooby-Doo, the true culprit is the only other character in the script.
People In The House
A’s wife x sees how his abusive father has set him up for failure by making him completely dependent on the family money. B blames A for his mother’s death. After we witness some horrific manipulation and physical abuse, C’s brother escapes from death row. Will dear ol’ dad blow in his ex dirty work man or protect him… and at what price?
Perfect Crime, The
A writer describes how to get away with murder in detail in his latest novel, but the guy who covets his fiancee reads it before it is published and burns the manuscript! With that knowledge, he’s waiting for the author when he gets home.
Ptolemy’s Grave
When the mummy of Ptolemy III is purchased, his curse takes hold. The collector’s wife dreams her husband’s face in the sarcophagus. Is it too late to save him from the antique dealer’s machinations?
Revenge
When Annabel Lee finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship, she finds the only way out… is murder! She confesses her sins to her new lover, Jim Brandt, architect. A sordid gothic with a twist ending as the butler warns Annabel that Mr. Lee killed his first wife just as he will destroy her! [See also: Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1]
Sinister Estate
Two brothers are trapped by the stipulations of their father’s will when he provides for a third son’s agoraphobia. One fiancee’s ultimatum sparks a series of murders. The ending fails in its attempt to twist the murderer’s identity.
Sixth Button, The
A sea-captain is murdered and dumped in a shallow river. When his will is read, it has been changed. Now, the couple who killed him must produce one brass button from the captain’s sea jacket each month if they want to inherit his fortune! Who changed the will? How do the buttons keep turning up? Will they need to retrieve the jacket and incriminate themselves to get the money?
Skyscraper Mystery, The
The team of Steve Daly and Maggie West, Insurance Investigators, are assigned to find out why, after decades without an accident in the city, suddenly three window cleaners have fallen to their doom. Oops, four… And why only the Intercity Company’s employees have fallen, not their competitors. They smell something funny at one of the crime scenes. Daly sets himself up as bait. Sure enough, it’s insurance fraud!
Tale of Darkness, A
A blind young man named Chick is led by his dog to a waterfall in the park where he meets a lovely-voiced young woman who seems to know all about him. But Chick’s grandmother is suspicious. There is no waterfall in that park. Is it the ghost of an Indian princess that took her life at the waterfall 500 years ago? Chick undergoes an operation to gain back his eyesight. It is successful… but he soon has an accident plunging him once more into blindness! (Don’t worry, grandma doesn’t really kill the dog, Pippi to keep Chick away from the nameless, unearthly woman!)
Tapping on the Window
An artist tries to convince a woman she is psychic. After his death, he taps to call to her.
Thought, The
A mentalist foresees a woman being murdered by a guest of his show. He calls to warn her! All clues lead to her husband, who invites her on an isolated camping trip, joking about “the perfect crime.” She survives being shot! Will the psychic be able to save her?
Till Murder Do Us Part
Wallace comes between Marion Dunning, producer, and her companion Nora Talbot when he marries Dunning for her money. Specifically, it seems , he is looking to get financial backing for his bomb of a play where a woman is talked into suicide. He makes a wager with Marion that he can convince her in a similar fashion.
Two Mr. Brandts, The
A man shares a plane ride to his friend’s wedding along with the bride’s brother, but when he arrives, someone has already claimed his hotel reservation… signing in with his very own signature! His credentials were lifted from his pocket! He goes up to that room and discovers his friend’s body, Murdered! The bride blames him since his ID is found in the deceased’s hand! But who is the second person who claimed to be Brandt?
Unidentified Body
A newspaper reporter named Briggs gets a knock to the head during a job and is taken along by the thugs he’s been making a hard time for. But they don’t know it’s him, and he has amnesia! The goons convince Briggs he’s really “Trigger” Martin, and he does the dirty work for the organization. They send him off to do a hit, but he slowly catches on that it’s a ruse. A second bonk from a police baton brings him around, and Briggs is able to finger the gang. Interesting scenario, but not much of a twist.
Way Of The Transgressor, The
Wouldn’t it just be wildly unbelievable if a whole series of uncanny coincidences stacked up, say you were about to get revenge on people who would not aid & abet your unethical and illegal stock market activity, but they all accidentally died in exactly the way you were planning to murder them… and then you got snagged for it anyway? So unbelievable it would seem entirely contrived, right?
From shadows and stillness, mystery weaves a spell of strangest fascination, charging the mind with doubt and fears. For mystery is a strange companion, a living memory, in… The Haunting Hour!
