Welcome to the 13th episode of the Horror Express. On this episode Jason and Ron tackle an old topic, Vampires Revisited with guest Douglas Robinson. Also, the new onboard computer takes over the show and presents a tale from Boris Karloff himself. If that wasn’t enough, Jason has collected some interesting emails from you guys! So, come join us for this horrific train ride. How? Press the play button.
Vampires Revisited:
We talked about Vampires back on Episode #3 of The Horror Express. Jason and I both thought there was something missing in that show and that was someone who knew all about them. Enter Douglas Robinson from Silently Publishing who has written a series of fictional books about the REAL Vampires that exist today.
The Silently Series Storyline is about vampyric blood-drinking people. When we meet Majken she has come to the city of Trenton seeking a new life. She meets Thomas, a young college student, but Thomas does not know who or what his girlfriend really is. Another vampyric person has come to Trenton: a killer. His name is John. Thomas is exposed to blood during a fight to save his life and he becomes vampyric also. The story is about their relationship in the modern-day and also takes us back historically and reveals Majken’s life from the early eighteenth century. -Ron
This weeks podcast marks the beginning of the month of December and the Return of the Vampire. You are probably thinking that I have lost my mind and confused Christmas with some twisted Tim Burton type story. The truth is simple we begin the Christmas season with The Horror Express, and the topic for HE#13 will be Vampire’s Revisited. So, to start us off on this spooky week here are some facts about vampires that you may not know.
-Ron
Return of the Vampire – Just the Facts!
The Word Vampire – Many scholars argue the noun Vampire is either from the Hungarian Vampir or from the Turkish Upior meaning Witch. Other scholars argue the term is derived from the Greek “to drink” or Nosophoros meaning Plague-Carrier. It may also derive from the Serbian Bamiiup or the Serbo-Croatian Pirati. There are many terms found in literature and folklore that suggests that the vampire story is part of every culture on the planet.
Dolmens – Celtic for Stone-tables, dolmens would have been placed over graves to keep vampires from rising. Prehistoric stone monuments have been found over the graves of the dead in northwest Europe. Anthropologists speculate they have may been placed over these graves to keep suspected vampires from rising.
Vampire Illness – A rare disease called porphyria (also called the Vampire or Dracula disease) causes vampire-like symptoms, such as an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and hairiness. In extreme cases the teeth might be stained a reddish brown and eventually the patient can go mad.
The True Vampire – One of the most famous “true vampires” was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who was accused of bathing in blood to retain her youthful beauty. She was by all accounts a very attractive woman. Also, the vampire legends may have been based on Vlad of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476). He had a habit of nailing hats to people’s heads, skinning them alive, and impaling them on upright stakes. His name, Vlad, means son of the dragon or Dracula. Though Vlad the Impaler was murdered in 1476, his tomb is reported empty.
Tales of the Vampire – The first full work of fiction about the vampire was John Polidori’s 1819 book, The Vampyre. It was first published incorrectly under Lord Byron’s name. Polidori was Byron’s doctor and based his vampire on Byron himself. Of course the masterpiece of the genre, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, was written in 1897. It was famous for introducing the character of Count Dracula and tells the story of the monster’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England. It also introduced Dracula’s nemesis, Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
There you have it, some facts to get you started for this week’s podcast and The Horror Express #13.
This Week’s Podcast:
Coming up this week we have a bran new Horror Express podcast for you to enjoy! You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.
The Calendar:
November 24 – Thanksgiving Replay 2016
December 01 – The Horror Express #13
December 08 – OTR Tale From Suspense – (RAS #268)
December 15 – Special Guest – Julie Hawkins – (RAS #269)
December 22 – (RAS #270)
December 29 – Christmas Break 2016
On this episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories we have The Bigfoot Grafton Case. That might be enough for most shows but not the RAS. We also present a brand new segment called, In the Public domain and to round things out have a short story about a cute little shipwrecked alien.
Our OTR Story – The Bigfoot Grafton Case.
In 1945, Dick Powell portrayed Philip Marlowe in the movie, Murder My Sweet. This performance and one other as Marlowe prompted his selection for the part of Richard Diamond. Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC in 1949 with Powell in the lead. Diamond was a slick, sophisticated detective, with a sharp tongue for folks who needed it. Our story comes from this series and is called The Bigfoot Grafton Case and it first aired on August 30, 1950.
On this episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories we have a big show for you. To start things off we have a five minute mystery with some new news. Then we play a Raymond Burr western that tells the truth about the Buffalo Hunters. We follow that up with a short-story from none other than O. Henry! Sound like fun? Does to me too. Press that play button and let’s go.
OTR Story – The Buffalo Hunters.
By the mid-1950s westerns were the thing on old time radio and just about everywhere else. Whether it was for your son, daughter, wife, father or mother. There was a western for everyone. The series Fort Laramie debuted on January 22, 1956 with Raymond Burr as the captain of cavalry. Our story comes from about the middle of the Fort Laramie run and is called the Buffalo Hunters. Most westerns tried to glorify the buffalo hunts as sport. This episode – not so much! It first aired on September 9, 1956.
On this edition of Ron’s Amazing Stories “the blog” we look at Raymond Burr. Who was he? Why Was he? We will attempt to fill your brains with knowledge, which is power! How will we do it? Let’s play, True or False with Raymond William Stacy Burr.
Raymond Burr publicity shot from 1960. Probably taken for his series Perry Mason.
Q1 – We start with the Burr Truth.
TRUE – Raymond William Stacy Burr was a Canadian-American actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. He was prominently involved in multiple charitable endeavors, such as working on behalf of the United Service Organizations (USO).
Q2 – Raymond Burr’s early acting career usually depicted him as the villain.
True – His portrayal of the suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window is his best-known film role. There was no doubt that he was not a good person in that one. There were many other roles in radio, television and on stage that made it quite clear Burr had no problems being bad.
Q3 – Burr was handy to have around since like his character, Perry Mason, he was a bar certified lawyer.
False – Not only was the star not a lawyer, but Burr said himself that he never attended high school. However, he did take courses at Long Beach Junior College, Stanford, and the University of California. He was a benefactor of legal education, and in June 1973, The Raymond Burr Award for Excellence in Criminal Law was established in his honor.
Q4 – TV Guide lists Raymond Burr as one of its greats?
True – In 1996, Burr was listed as one of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time by TV Guide. He was ranked #41. Also, a 2014 study found that Burr was rated as the most favorite actor by Netflix users, with the greatest number of dedicated microgenres. Other accolades include: He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6656 Hollywood Blvd, received six Emmy nominations, won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and In 2008, The Canadian Post issued a postage stamp in its “Canadians in Hollywood” series featuring Burr.
Q7 – Raymond Burr was married three times?
False – His official biography stated that he had been married three times, but two of his wives and one child had died. However, these details were fabricated in an attempt to hide the fact that Burr was gay. Only one brief marriage had actually occurred, and it had ended in divorce. The other two marriages and the child were fiction.
Q6 – Raymond Burr was offered the role as Matt Dillon on the TV version of Gunsmoke.
False – He was considered for the role of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. The show’s first producer Charles Warren recalled, “His voice was fine, but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood up with him”. William Conrad, who played Matt Dillon on radio, was rejected for the TV version for similar reasons. In a memorial article in TV Guide published shortly after Burr’s death, the original producers of Perry Mason almost rejected Burr for that role, again because Burr was overweight. He went on an intensive diet to get down to a size acceptable to the producers.
Raymond Burr – May 21, 1917 to September 12, 1993 Geyserville, California.
There you have the truth and fiction of Raymond Burr. To me he will always be Perry Mason. I remember as a kid faking being sick just to see repeats of that show at noon. My mom would bring my soup in and I would relish in one of Perry’s unsolvable cases. My thanks to the man and his incredible talent.
This Week’s Podcast:
On the show this week we have a mysterious death by poison, a western starring Raymond Burr and short tale from O-Henry! You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.
Welcome to the 13th episode of the Horror Express. On this episode Jason and Ron tackle an old topic, Vampires Revisited with guest Douglas Robinson. Also, the new onboard computer takes over the show and presents a tale from Boris Karloff himself. If that wasn’t enough, Jason has collected some interesting emails from you guys! So, come join us for this horrific train ride. How? Press the play button.
The Word Vampire
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Ron's Amazing Stories - The Blog 