OnRon’s Amazing Storiesthis time we are full of spooky goodness! We have a brand new originalFive Minute MysterystarringThe British Guy! We review a Heathcliff Lennox mystery titledThe Curse of Braeburn Castle. We will hear two listener tales that take us to a creepy hospital encounter and a Halloween night in a graveyard. Our featured story is the ghostly tale titledThe Signal Man. Then we end the show with an original ghost story written by 11-year-old Amelia Allison.
Featured Story – The Signal Man
Our featured story comes from a little-known radio series called Beyond Midnight. It was a South African radio horror anthology that ran from 1968 to 1970 on Springbok Radio. This is a strange story, to say the least. At first, it seems to be a simple tale of ghosts haunting a man to the point of near insanity. But there is so much more. Hang out until the end and all will be made clear. The story is titled The Signal Man and it first aired in South Africa in the year 1969.
Other Stories Include– Terasongoon, The Curse of Braeburn Castle, Ghost On The Nightshift, It Happened One Halloween, The Signal Man, and My friendly Ghost.
We continue the Month Of Spooky 2021 with a scary one that Kristopher Evans from Newport emailed in. I don’t know for sure which Newport Kristopher is from, because there are so many! But, if I had to guess I would go with New York. Kristopher has titled this No More Hitchhikers.
Hey Ron, thank you for the opportunity to share my strange story. I am a long-distance trucker, and I have been doing this for about 15 years now. I drive the really big rigs. Because of the size of the trucks most of my work is done at night. I used to pick up hitchhikers to help pass the time on the lonely roads. Now I listen to podcasts like yours to do the same thing. Why? No more hitchhikers, and here is my story.
I was taking a load from New York to Santa Fe. This was a long trip even for me. I was on a lonely stretch of road somewhere in Oklahoma on Highway 44, when I spotted a hitchhiker. He wasn’t asking for a ride. He was just walking along the side of the road and I was pretty bored so I decided to pick the guy up. I pulled over and waited for him. He came all along the side and looked up at me. I rolled down the window and asked him if he needed a ride. He gladly accepted, ran around the front of the truck, and hopped in. The first thing I noticed about him was how clean he was. That is quite rare for hitchers this far from nowhere.
We had gone about 15 miles and I was regretting having him along because he was silent as a church mouse. Absolutely nothing came out of him and he didn’t answer any of the questions I asked. I was about to tell him this is as far as I go when he spoke up, “Where are you going, anyway?”
I decided not to tell him that I was on my way to Santa Fe, so I told him that I would be going as far as Elk City, Oklahoma. I remembered seeing that city on a road sign a few miles back. He replied, “Oh, I better get started then, that’s just a few miles away.”
At that moment a chill went through my body like I’ve never felt before. I literally felt like I was in danger and needed to do something fast so I said, “What do you need to do?”
“Just you never mind, keep driving, and you’ll find out!“ His voice had changed and it sounded evil.
“I’ll have no funny business”, I said, “This is not my first rodeo and you don’t want to deal with me!”
He became quiet again but I could hear him moving around nervously in his seat. It was then I heard the crack. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was not like a weapon click or anything like that. It was like bone breaking. I looked over at the man to see what the noise was and what I saw terrified me. his physical form was changing. I slammed on the brakes, managed to get it over to the side of the road, opened the door, and ran. All the while I felt like I was being chased.. until I didn’t. I was about 50 feet away from the truck when I glanced back and there was no one there. feeling stupid, I walked back and looked in the cab. The man was gone.
I wish that there was more to this story. I looked around for a bit and couldn’t find him. I looked in the truck and nothing was missing or out of place. I thoroughly searched the sleeper and found nothing out of the ordinary there either. I started up the truck and drove to the nearest bar I could find. To this day I no longer pick-up hitchhikers.
Kristopher Evans, Newport, NY (I think)
What a crazy story Kristopher. Something right out of a Twilight Zone episode. I actually thought you reacted better than I would have, but it is my guess as a long distance trucker you have seen some pretty strange stuff. Thank you for sharing it!
This Week’s Podcast:
On the show this week we debut another scary story from the golden age of radio. The story comes from an obscure South African series called Beyond Midnight. It tells the strange story of The Signal Man. This one might have you thinking that you have gone crazy. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link
OnRon’s Amazing Storiesand week two of theMonth Of Spooky 2021,we are doing something different, but I think you are in for some fun. Sylvia Shults is with us and she isn’t going to be telling us ghost stories. What we will be doing is to listen to the OTR classic,The Thing On The Fourble Board. It’s quite terrifying, and I think that you’ll agree once you have heard it.
Featured Story – The Thing On The Fourble Board
An oil rig worker discovers an invisible creature of unknown origins living beneath the depths of the earth. What happens to this man is horrific, and the ending is absolutely brilliant. If you’re alone, turn the lights down low and listen. It will help get you into a Halloween mood. The story was written by Willis Cooper for his OTR series Quiet Please, and it first aired on August 9, 1948.
About Sylvia Shults: Sylvia is a Librarian, Author, and Ghost Hunter. She has spent a lifetime in the pursuit of the weird and strange. Her non-fiction works includeGhost of the Illinois River,Fractured Spirits,44 Years in Darkness,Hunting Demons,The Spirits of Christmas,Fractured Souls,and her latest releaseDays Of The Dead.All of her books are available onAmazonand you can find out more at herWordPress Home Page.
The Month Of Spooky 2021 continues this week with the annual retelling of one of my favorite old time radio classics, The Thing On The Fourble Board. This time we shake it up a bit with commentary by Sylvia and Myself. You will hear some insights about the story that should be enjoyable or at least unusual.
On the blog this time we have a story from our old friend Tom Williams. If you will remember he was raised in the south, but now lives in Berlin, Germany. Tom sent this one some time ago and has become one of my favorites.
Hello again Ron, I am not sure if you would like a little humor to your show, but give this a try, it is about aliens you know!!! Here is my scary (Funny) story. . . . .Tom
I was 8 years old in 1951, and I went to see the movie, The Man from Planet X. This particular time I was alone. I stepped up to the Cashier and purchased my ticket ( a whopping 25 cents). Then went to the refreshment counter and popped for two bags of Popcorn (another whole 30 Cents), and finally proceeded down the aisle to find the best seat for viewing. As I walked down the aisle, I noticed that the movie had just started the credits. I sat in a seat near the center of the theater.
The lead Actor in the movie was just pushing his bicycle down a hill. The scene was a dark and foggy countryside and the background music was of the usual scary variety. He then saw a saucer shaped disk, shrouded in fog in the dale below. The actor walked around the saucer looking into the lighted porthole windows as he went along. Suddenly, he looked into the face of the Alien! The background music was so startling that I actually threw both bags of popcorn into the air.
The next thing I remember I was standing outside the movie house wondering how I got there. I gathered my wits and was about to go back in to finish watching the Movie, but the manager refused to let me back in, even after I showed him my recently purchased ticket. I never got to see the movie I had paid for, and I only had enough money left for the Bus fare home.
Oh’ how I longed to see that movie. Finally, after 60 years, my Brother-in-law was able to send it to me. My taste has changed over the years and it was a disappointing movie, to say the least. The Film wasn’t scary and the copy I have has a different beginning for some strange reason. That goes to show you that memories are sometimes better than the actual event.
Keep up the Entertaining podcasts and all the best,
Tom from Berlin, Germany
Well thank you Tom for your story. I am quite familiar with your movie. I love to watch classic sci-fi films from the 50’s. My favorites being The War of The Worlds and When Worlds Collide. While they don’t terrify like they did way back when. To me they are very special. The Man From Planet X went into production on December 13, 1950, at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, and wrapped principal photography six days later. In order to save money the film was shot on sets for the 1948 Ingrid Bergman film Joan of Arc. They used artificial fog to change moods, plot locations, and to hide the lack of backdrops. Not your high budget film. It was released again in 1953 which might explain why the opening of the film was different in your version. I am not sure about that though.
The Podcast:
You can listen to the podcast on Thursdays at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link
OnRon’s Amazing Storieswe beginThe Month Of Spooky 2021. We have so much to get to this month that “it” will make your head spin! (And On In A Linda Blair kind of way!) I just mean we have a lot of stuff. This month we will have aGhost Story With Sylviathat will focus on a prankster ghost boy. Then Sylvia and I will sit down and listen to our classic Halloween story,The Thing On The Fourble Board. We have some of the best stories ever from you guys that should curl toes. And on today’s show, we debut one of the top 30 scariest radio broadcasts of all time with a story calledWhence Came You!It all begins as soon as you press that play button.
Featured Story – Whence Came You
Our featured story this week is creepy. Are you a fan of the old Egyptian mummy tale? You know, when the monster is awoken and brought back to complete some insidious plan or maybe for a bloodthirsty rage of terror. Well, that isNOTwhat we have for you today. We have another side of that story that takes creepy to a whole new level. It comes from the mind of Willis Cooper and the OTR seriesQuiet Please. It is listed as one of the top 30 scariest radio broadcasts of all time and is titledWhence Came You. It first aired on February 16, 1948.
Other Stories Include– The Principals Of Murder, Clive Barker’s First Tales, The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Home Invasion, The Halloween Ghost, and Whence Came you.
