Suspense's "The Dunwich Horror" is based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft, which was first published in Weird Tales in 1929. (The full text of the story can be found online at Wikisource.) Suspense's adaptation was one of the earliest, but there have since been numerous adaptations of this story for film, audio theater and most recently, the stage. "The Dunwich Horror" is part of the Cthulhu Mythos, which is a shared fictional universe based on the works on Lovecraft.
As the episode opens, it is the eve of All-Hallows and Henry Armitage, the librarian of Miskatonic University is in his laboratory near Centennal Hill in Dunwich, Massachussetts. Professor Warren Rice is with him. They are 100 yards from the stone altar at the summit of the hill, a place of prehistoric worship.
Armitage begins to tell the story of the birth of Wilbur Whately, who was born to the strange and deformed Lavinia Whately. No one knew who the father was, but the child's grandfather, "Wizard" Whately, told them that someday they would hear the child calling out its father's name on the top of Centennal Hill. They noticed many strange things going on at the Whately household in the following years and the abnormally rapid development of the child.
When Wilbur is killed by dogs while attempting to steal an ancient text from the library, Armitage and Rice discover that he is not entirely human. Soon after, they realize that there is something in the Whately farmhouse that was waiting for Wilbur to come back and feed it...
Now, Armitage and Rice must find a formula to deal with the terrifying creature that has busted out of the Whately farmhouse...
"The Dunwich Horror" was adapted by William Spier, who also produced and directed. Ronald Colman starred. Also appearing were William Johnstone, Joseph Kearns, and Elliott Lewis. This episode aired on November 1, 1945.
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(Image of Ronald Colman)
Classic interpretation of a horror story by H.V. Lovecraft. Ronald Coleman brings his distinctive delivery of lines to radio. Already known to radio listeners as Jack Benny's besieged next door neighbor, Coleman recorded "A Christmas Carol" for Decca Records which became a yearly Christmas ritual for families.
Posted by: Mike Newton | October 21, 2012 at 02:14 PM