T H E W E I R D C I R C L E ----- --------- ----------- 1943 - 1947 First Show: Nov ??, 1943 Last Show: Oct 6, 1947 Number Shows: 78 Audition Show: not known Series Description: THE WEIRD CIRCLE was a syndicated series that was heard on Mutual stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in September/October of 1947 on ABC. THE WEIRD CIRCLE presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant- like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle". Log Comments: Although many catalogs showed episode numbers, none listed broadcast dates, so this field is not used. Gordon Payton's catalog listed one show that didn't match other catalogs. It is listed after the last show. Chronological Log: Num Title Author --- ----------------------------------- --------------------------- 1 "The Fall Of The House Of Usher" Edgar Allen Poe 2 "The House And The Brain" Edward Bulwer-Lytton 3 "The Vendetta" 4 "Narrative Of Arthur. Gordon Pym" Edgar Allen Poe 5 "Declared Insane" 6 "A Terribly Strange Bed" Wilkie Collins 7 "What Was It" Fitz-James O'Brien 8 "The Knightsbridge Mystery" Charles Reade 9 "The Horla" Guy de Maupassant 10 "William Wilson" Edgar Allen Poe 11 "Passion In The Desert" Honore de Balzac 12 "Mateo Falcone" Prosper Merimee 13 "The Man Without A Country" Edward Everett Hale 14 "Dr. Manette's Manuscript" Charles Dickens 15 "The Great Plague" Thomas Hood (?) 16 "Expectations Of An Heir" 17 "The Hand" Guy de Maupassant (?) 18 "Jane Eyre" Charlotte Bronte 19 "The Murders In The Rue Morgue" Edgar Allen Poe 20 "The Lifted Veil" George Eliot 21 "The 4:15 Express" Amelia B. Edwards 22 "A Terrible Night" William Clark Russell (?) 23 "The Tell-Tale Heart" Edgar Allen Poe 24 "The Niche Of Doom" 25 "The Heart Of Ethan Brand" Nathanial Hawthorne based on "Ethan Brand" 26 "Frankenstein" Mary Shelley 27 "The Feast Of The Redgauntlet" Sir Walter Scott 28 "The Murder Of The Little Pig" 29 "The Spectre Of Tappington" Richard Harris Barham from 'The Ingoldsby Legends' 30 "Strange Judgment" 31 "Wuthering Heights" Emily Bronte 32 "The Curse Of The Mantle" ("Mantle") 33 "The Cask Of Amontillado" Edgar Allen Poe 34 "The Rope Of Hair" Guy de Maupassant Based on the story "Apparition" 35 "Falkland" Edward Bulwer-Lytton 36 "The Trial For Murder" Charles Allston Collins & Charles Dickens 37 "The Werewolf" Frederick Marryat 38 "The Old Nurse's Story" Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell The announcer calls it "The Old Nurse's Tale", the host calls it "The Old Nurse's Story". 39 "The Middle Toe Of The Right Foot" Ambrose Bierce 40 "The Dream Woman" Wilkie Collins 41 "The Phantom Picture" 42 "The Ghost's Touch" Wilkie Collins 43 "The Bell-Tower" Herman Melville 44 "The Evil Eye" Theophile Gautier (?) 45 "The Mark Of The Plague" Mary W. Shelly (?) 46 "The Queer Client" 47 "The Burial of Roger Malvin" Nathanial Hawthorne From "Roger Malvin's Burial" 48 "The Fatal Love Potion" Aka: "The Last Days of Pompeii" 49 "Mad Monkton" Wilkie Collins 50 "The Returned" Neville Brand 51 "The Executioner" Honore de Balzac 52 "Rappaccini's Daughter" Nathaniel Hawthorne 53 "The Wooden Ghost" 54 "The Last Days Of A Condemned Man" Victor Hugo 55 "The Warning" Lord Dunsany (?) 56 "The Doll" Algernon Blackwood (?) 57 "The Diamond Lens" Fitz-James O'Brian 58 "The History of Dr. John Faust" 59 "The Duel Without Honor" 60 "The Specter Bride" Washington Irving (?) 61 "The Tapestry Horse" 62 "The River Man" 63 "The Ancient Mariner" Samuel Taylor Coleridge Based on "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" 64 "The Oblong Box" Edgar Allen Poe 65 "The Mysterious Bride" James Hogg (?) 66 "The Thing in the Tunnel" 67 "The Moonstone" Wilkie Collins 68 "The Pistol Shot" Aleksandr S. Pushkin (?) 69 "The Possessive Dead" 70 "The Goblet" 71 "The Case of Monsieur Valdemar" Edgar Allen Poe 72 "The Shadow" Jeffery Farnol (?) 73 "The Bride of Death" 74 "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" Robert Louis Stevenson 75 "The Red Hand" Arthur Machen (?) 76 "The Haunted Hotel" Wilkie Collins 77 "Markheim" Robert Louis Stevenson 78 "The Black Parchment" (last show) References: * "The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All Circulating Shows", by Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748Hickerson, Box 4321, Hamden, CT 06514. The Appendix section contains a listing of all shows. * OTR club and vendor catalogs or web sites: * AVPRO, Don Aston, PO Box 1392, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531-1392 * Edward J. Carr, 216 Shaner Street, Boyertown, PA 19512 * Erstwhile Radio, PO Box 2284, Peabody, MA 01960 * Great American Radio, Gary Kramer, PO Box 504, Genesee, MI 48437 * Jerry Haendiges Productions, Jerry Haendiges, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 * McCoy's Recordings Inc., Pat McCoy, PO Box 1069, Richland, Wash. 99352 * North American Radio Archives, 134 Vincewood Dr., Nicolasville, KY 40356 * Radio Memories, Ted Davenport, 1600 Wewoka St., North Little Rock, AR 72116 * The Sci-Fi Guy, Gordon R. Payton, 118 E. Palmer Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108 (no longer sells shows) * Vintage Broadcasts, Andy Blatt, PO Box 50065, Staten Island, NY 10305 Other Logs or Books: * THE WEIRD CIRCLE log, Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748 * THE WEIRD CIRCLE log, Jerry Haendiges Productions, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com) Reader Feedback: * Gary Marsa provided a number of title corrections and author's names based on Allen J. Hubin's bibliography Crime Fiction II and the Short Story Index. * Erik Smith supplied the correct title for episode 12 as heard on the show. * Keith Smith provided a number of authors name for the original story. * Dick Judge provided title corrections for seven episodes and announcer/host comment for #38. * Dave Stohel provided authors for a number of shows. * David J. Johnson noted "The Fatal Love Potion" ended with the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, identifying "The Last Days of Pompeii" as one and the same. Last Update: Apr 22, 2008 This log is informational only. It does not imply that I or my references have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still be protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).