radio playhouse

The Man Who Couldn't Die - Inner Sanctum

David Brent, a World War I veteran and reclusive scholar, returns to his ancestral estate in New England with a dark secret. For over twenty years, David has wandered the world, never aging, never falling ill, never dying — cursed with immortality after a mysterious battlefield incident involving an ancient artifact he uncovered in a ruined French chapel.

Skeleton Bay - Inner Sanctum

Lucia Marlin, a young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown, is sent by her doctor to rest in a quiet coastal town. She rents a lonely old house perched above a stretch of coastline known ominously as Skeleton Bay — named for the bleached driftwood that washes ashore like bones.
But the locals tell darker stories — of wreckers who once lured ships to their doom on the rocks… and of a phantom schooner that sails in on fog-heavy nights, crewed by the dead.
 

Blood of Cain - Inner Sanctum

David Brent, a young scholar and genealogist, travels to a remote New England village to trace the lineage of a wealthy and reclusive family — the Cains, long rumoured to carry a dark, murderous curse passed down from generation to generation.

The Confession - Inner Sanctum

Roger Fielding, a quiet, well-mannered man in his late thirties, walks into a police station one rainy evening and calmly states:"I’d like to confess to a murder."
But as the police question him, a strange pattern emerges — there is no evidence of any crime.

The Edge of Death - Inner Sanctum

Philip Morgan, a successful but emotionally distant scientist, becomes increasingly haunted by the mysterious death of his wife, Claire, who drowned under suspicious circumstances near their remote lake house. Though the death was ruled accidental, Philip is plagued by guilt — and something else: he’s begun hearing Claire’s voice calling to him from the water.

The Creeping Wall - Inner Sanctum

The story begins with Mark Brewster, a man recently released from a mental institution after being declared cured of violent tendencies. Mark returns to his ancestral home — a brooding, isolated estate with a massive stone wall running behind it. He hopes to start over with his young wife, Elena, who supported his treatment.
But peace is fleeting. From the moment he returns, Mark becomes obsessed with the old garden wall behind the house — a crumbling, moss-covered structure that seems to “move” when no one is watching.

The Kraken Wakes – John Wyndham Part 5 of 5

The global war with the unseen aliens of the deep is not marked by a single decisive victory but rather a gradual lessening of threat — the end of a conflict no one fully understood. Humanity emerges scarred but surviving, and the Watsons, still our grounded narrators, guide us through the aftermath.

The Kraken Wakes – John Wyndham Part 4 of 5

In Part Four, after the near-collapse of civilization due to rising sea levels and the alien dominance of the oceans, humanity begins to claw its way back from the brink. This part marks a turning point — from helplessness and retreat to adaptation and resistance.

The Kraken Wakes – John Wyndham Part 3 of 5

In Part Three, the situation escalates into full-blown global catastrophe. The mysterious invaders from the deep — never directly seen — now shift tactics, and their dominance of the seas leads to widespread human despair. Civilization teeters on the brink as humanity realizes it is at war with an unknowable, implacable enemy.

The kraken Wakes -John Wyndham part 2 of 5

In Part Two of The Kraken Wakes, the scale and menace of the alien presence intensifies dramatically. The story, narrated by journalist Mike Watson, continues to chart the mysterious and mounting global crisis alongside his wife, Phyllis.

The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham Part 1of 5

Mike and Phyllis are on a cruise ship in the Caribbean when they and other passengers witness strange fireballs descending from the sky, plunging into the ocean. No impact is found afterward—just a disturbance and unusual seismic readings. These “fireballs” are later reported by others across the globe, always falling into deep ocean trenches.

The Magician's Daughter - Adam Beeson

"The Magician's Daughter" is a 2007 BBC Radio 4 comic drama written by Adam Beeson, set against the backdrop of revolutionary turmoil in 19th-century Europe. The story unfolds when a celebrated magician is tragically shot on stage. With his dying breath, he imparts the secrets of his spectacular act to his daughter, Katya. Fearing the unwanted attentions of jealous rivals, Katya disappears from the public eye.

A Bullet In The Ballet

"A Bullet in the Ballet" is a radio play adaptation of the 1937 satirical detective novel by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon. The Vladimir Stroganoff Ballet Company, a prestigious Russian troupe now performing in London. The company is preparing for a major performance of Swan Lake when disaster strikes: the tempestuous and temperamental male lead dancer, Vassily Ivanov, is found shot dead in his dressing room.

The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca - Sherlock Holmes

London, winter of 1890. Snow covers the eaves of Westminster and the bells of St. Paul’s toll solemnly as word spreads: Cardinal Tosca, the Vatican’s emissary to England, has been found dead in his locked study at the Italian Embassy — stabbed once through the heart, no sign of forced entry, no murder weapon found.

Antony Miall A Victorian Christmas - Crime at Christmas

December 24th, 1864. Hollingford Hall, a grand but slightly decaying country estate in Kent, is hosting a traditional Victorian Christmas. Guests arrive by train, greeted by sleighs, flickering gaslight, and the scent of spiced wine.
The hostess, Lady Eugenia Morrow, has spared no expense — there are paper crowns, roasted pheasants, and footmen in livery. The centrepiece of the evening is to be a Twelfth Night masquerade followed by a reading of a specially written Christmas ghost story.

The Smiler With The Knife - Crime at Christmas

Georgia, bored with domesticity, is asked to help an old friend gather intelligence on a secretive political group with fascist leanings, led by the charming, urbane, and terrifyingly ruthless Chilton Canteloe — known for his soft voice and deadly will: the eponymous "Smiler with the Knife."
The trail leads her to a remote country house during the holidays, where Canteloe hosts a winter gathering under the guise of Christmas festivities — but in reality, it's a meeting of conspirators planning a coup.
 

Unto The Grave - Crime at Christmas

A snow-covered Yorkshire village, December 24th. The story opens with the return of Dr. Stephen Hallam, a young physician, to the village of his childhood. He’s been called back to attend the funeral of his estranged uncle, Horace Hallam, an eccentric recluse who lived alone in Grave House, a crumbling manor near the churchyard.
The funeral is sparsely attended. Horace was not well liked — or trusted. But his sudden death, ruled as heart failure, troubles Stephen. There were whispers in the village: Horace had made a new will, and a locked journal vanished the day he died.

Miss Pym Disposes - Crime At Christmas

Miss Lucy Pym, a popular author of pop psychology, has been invited to give a guest lecture at the college. Initially planning only a short stay, she becomes fascinated by the intense world of the students — full of ambition, discipline, and suppressed rivalries.
Among the final-year students, a scholarship to study abroad is creating pressure. The front-runner is Rietta Craven, calm and brilliant, though not the most sociable. Her rival, Pam Nash, is charming, well-liked, and clearly favored by some staff.
On the eve of the final exams, just before Christmas holiday begins, a tragic accident occurs: a student falls from a balcony during a rehearsal and dies. It appears to be a freak fall — but Miss Pym is not convinced.

Inspector French And The Starvel Tragedy - Crime At Christmas

A remote country house in rural Yorkshire, called Starvel, amid bitter winter winds and icy fields. It's Christmas time, and the village of Thirsby is snow-covered and quiet — until a shocking fire rips through the Starvel estate.
The remains are charred beyond recognition, but the scene is quickly declared a tragic accident by local authorities.
However, when it’s discovered that Simon Averill had recently liquidated nearly £50,000 in securities, suspicion is aroused — the money is missing, and the fire seems too convenient.

The Nine Tailors - Crime at Christmas

Lord Peter Wimsey is stranded by a car accident during a snowstorm on New Year’s Eve. He seeks shelter with the local rector, Rev. Theodore Venables, and is invited to help ring in the New Year — literally — by joining the bell-ringers for the marathon peal on the eight enormous church bells, with ominous names like Batty Thomas and Tailor Paul.

The Governess - Crime At Christmas

As carols play on the gramophone and snow falls outside, the atmosphere seems idyllic — but tensions brew beneath the surface. Roland and Cecil argue over inheritance, Lady Margaret is in poor health, and Emily the governess observes strange behaviour from the servants.
When Lady Margaret dies suddenly, the family doctor suspects poison, not natural causes. The Christmas cheer turns cold.

The Heart Of Midlothian - Sir Walter Scott Part 2 of 2

Following her sister Effie’s conviction for child murder, Jeanie Deans sets off on a perilous journey from Edinburgh to London to plead directly with Queen Caroline for mercy. She travels mostly on foot, encountering danger, hardship, and unexpected kindness along the way — including help from the Duke of Argyll, a powerful Scottish nobleman moved by her sincerity and courage.

The Heart Of Midlothian - Sir Walter Scott Part 1 of 2

The story centres around Jeanie Deans, a young and deeply moral woman from a humble Presbyterian farming family near Edinburgh. The Deans family becomes embroiled in a scandal when Jeanie’s beautiful and impulsive younger sister, Effie Deans, is accused of infanticide — a capital offense at the time.

Closed Circuit Press Conference - Zero Hour

The story is set in a television studio somewhere in the United States. A panel of experts and a government representative have gathered to address the press — and the American public — as the countdown to a full-scale nuclear exchange nears "Zero Hour."

King of the World - The Sealed Book

The story follows Duke, a criminal on the run after a failed robbery. Wounded and desperate, he stumbles upon the secluded home of Professor Williams, a scientist who has developed a serum—Serum L—that grants rapid healing and apparent invincibility. Duke coerces the professor into administering the serum, despite warnings about its untested nature .