Nightfall

, one of the most disturbing radio series ever produced, was launched in 1980 by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show ignited complaints from many listeners that it was too frightening, prompting some stations to drop the series from their programming. Nevertheless, Nightfall spanned 99 episodes (plus 2 re-broadcasts of BBC productions) over the course of 3 years, disrupting the sleep of as many listeners as dared tune in.

Sources used to create my own log and double-check titles, dates and cast members: The Nightfall Project, Digital Deli Too, and Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
Plot summaries for some of the episodes I have not listened to were collected from RadioGOLDINdex.


Currently this archive contains 101 plotlines and 126 reviews

Webmaster Recommends:

After Sunset

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Creatures
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Brian Taylor

Fifty years after a small town suffers a grisly series of murders, the killings begin again, leading some of the town's elderly to suspect the return of an entity as ancient as it is evil.

All-Nighter

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Graham Pomeroy

An aspiring actress, who works at a laundry mat until she gets her "big break", discovers a small piece of human skin in one of her machines. Then she finds a body in the dryer. She enlists her best friend to stay up all night with her to find out what's going on.

Reviews:
Well done and spooky. A laundromat can be a very frightening place if one of the customers is a serial killer. Entertaining and fun. --- Paul Hesse.

One of my faves. Fun, frightening and a tight unified package. --- Dylan Miller

Great idea here; very creepy to imagine. The end was predictable though, and the music score was so overdone it really distracted me from the story. --- J.S. Daly

Angel of Death

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Raymond Storey

During the First World War, a woman is haunted by the mournful cries of her brother - killed on the Western Front - supposedly coming from the attic of her family home.

Reviews:
This is a CREEPY episode; don't listen to it alone and with the lights off like I did. However, a terrific buildup is tainted somewhat by a rather weak conclusion - which, of course, I can't reveal here. --- Jeff Dickson

A good episode that tries hard to stay consistent with itself. Unfortunately, it can't quite make all the twists work together. --- Geoff Loker

What makes the story effective is that the woman's mother died a lunatic, raving about hearing ghosts in the attic. Are there ghosts? Is she going insane? Both? The episode is creepy, though the ending doesn't work. Except for the last twenty seconds, which are scary as hell. --- Brad Reed

Angel's Kiss

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Graham and George R. Robertson

A man meets a woman in a night club and gets lucky - or does he?

Reviews:
No surprises and nothing original. There is nothing in this show that really grabs you. I very much had the 'heard all this before' feeling. --- Paul Hesse

Uninteresting. There was some potential created by the cliched setup, but this episode took the most boring way out. --- Brad Reed

Appetite of Mr Lucraft, The

aka: "The Case of Mr Lucraft"
Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: James Rice and Sir Walter Besant, 1875

In Victorian England, a man's voracious appetite leads him to some very interesting people.

Reviews:
A good, but predictable episode. Interesting look at what greed and gluttony can do if there are no consequences. --- Paul Hesse

An excellent adaptation of a Victorian short story which I've actually had the privilege to read recently.  Most of it's here, and the parts that aren't were only left out due to time constraints. Mr. Lucraft is an easy character to care about.  I'm sure we've all been in his original position, down on our luck until we're offered a deal that seems too good to pass up.  In Lucraft's case, it would have been better if he had, since the deal in question is, for him, worse than a deal with Satan himself.  Those who make deals with Satan are merely in danger of losing their souls and usually don't live very long following the obligatory "signing in blood", but Lucraft is made to suffer in a way I'm sure no one else in literature of any kind has.  I can only offer one word of advice. don't listen to this one with a large dinner in front of you. --- steelman

Assassin Game

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Sci-Fi
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John G. Fisher

In a world controlled by rival corporations, university students are tested for their potential cunning as future executives via the 'Assassin Game', where they engage in mock hits exacted against fellow students. However, when one student rejects a job offer from a major company that doesn't take no for an answer, the 'game' gets more than a little out of hand...

Reviews:
An interesting idea, well done, until the resolution, which comes across as rushed and unsatisfying. --- Geoff Loker

This is a half hour story that should have been just a bit longer, although it's not bad. In fact, it reminds me a bit of Richard Bachman's "The Running Man." The story has good plot and believable characters, but you'll definitely have the ending of this one figured out long before the story reaches its conclusion. Though not exactly telegraphed, the ending does shout, "Look at me!" as it's trying to sneak up on you. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Baby Doll

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Larry LeClair

A husband makes a gift to his wife of an antique doll, which she receives as a sick joke, since they are childless. But her initial anger soon turns to a fanatical maternal obsession that threatens to destroy them both.

Reviews:
A very good ghost story. --- Geoff Loker

A very dark tale of "Sinister toy comes into some one's life, and pulls it to pieces." The story, however, leaves me with more than a few questions. A perfect example of a Nightfall resolution which resolves nothing, and leaves things wide open. If Baby Doll had been a movie, they would have made about a hundred sequels by now. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Beauty's Beast

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Super Science
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Burke Campbell

Unable to buy off the attentions of a suitor to his beautiful daughter, a wealthy industrialist researcher subjects him to a bizarre comeuppance by making him the subject of a deadly new serum he has invented.

Reviews:
A well done episode. A good portrayal of megalomania. Unfortunately, the resolution moves a bit too quickly. --- Geoff Loker.

Beyond the Law

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Steve Petch

When his partners start being murdered, a real estate developer decides to retaliate against the Tenant's Association that he blames for their deaths. --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:
An excellent production. It manages to keep your interest in a thoroughly unlikable character, the developer, and has a resolution that doesn't strain belief too much. --- Geoff Loker

Blood Countess, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 60 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Ray Canale

A nauseatingly gruesome recounting of the efforts of the notorious Elisabeth de Bathory to entice her husband back from the dead through a series of abominations perpetrated against young female virgins.

A somewhat true story, based on the legend of Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

Reviews:
Rather choppy story telling, and more in the "gross you out" style of horror than the "let you scare yourself silly" style of horror. One of my least favourite episodes. When I think of the episodes that deserved more time and didn't get it... --- Geoff Loker

Body Snatcher, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Robert Louis Stevenson, 1884

A classic story of a young medical student who suddenly finds himself dealing with grave robbers and worse.

A version was also produced for Suspense.

Reviews:
Excellent production, although a few times the Scottish accents blur the dialogue a bit. --- Geoff Loker.

Doun the close and up the stair,
But an' ben wi' Burke and Hare.
Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief,
Knox, the boy that buys the beef.
—19th-century Edinburgh skipping rhyme

Book of Hell, The

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Mavor Moore

A publisher receives a manuscript by a dead author which claims to be an accurate account of the horrors of the underworld. Sensationalistic trash, except that for some reason the pages will not copy, and things start going very wrong for anyone who reads the thing.

Reviews:
A good episode. Well acted, interesting ideas. When viewed in the context of Nightfall in general, it isn't particularly outstanding, although it is much better than general run-of-the-mill. --- Geoff Loker

Interesting story. Not too scary until you realize that they read part of the book aloud... to us! --- J.S. Daly

Breaking Point

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Max Ferguson

What do you get when you throw together a circus owner, his showgirl girlfriend, and a strongman? It all adds up to murder... most foul.

Reviews:
UGH. - Jeff Dickson

I heard praise about this series, and this episode doesn't just live up to expectations, it shatters them. This story of violence and murder and unrequited love beneath the big top is one of the best audio dramas I've heard in years. Highest Recommendation. (A+). --- HT

I have to go with the Jeff Dickson's one word review of this episode. It plays along fairly well for a good part of the story but then completely falls apart when the writer somehow thought a clever surprise ending was appropriate. Not that I have anything against surprise endings. In short radio dramas like these, they are very useful tools, when they are done in a clever way. "Breaking Point's" ending was not only unnecessary but outrageously silly. [SPOILER - Not only are we to believe that a normal person couldn't tell the difference between an authentic chimpanzee and someone wearing a "monkey mask" but that someone wearing said monkey mask could also inflict fatal wounds consistent with the style of a great ape. - END SPOILER] The sound effects of the "chimpanzee" are creepy, particularly during the death struggles; and the story itself, presenting the love triangle, including a mystery lover, is also intriguing - until the ending. Certainly worth a listen, but nothing memorable. 2-1/2 stars out of 5. --- Tony Comunale

Brides of Olivera, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Larry Gaynor

A woman becomes convinced a fortune teller is an infamous serial killer who uses his psychic powers to destroy his victims.

Reviews:
Very good. This is an excellent chiller, which doesn't telegraph its ending. --- Geoff Loker

There is little twist to this one. But still it's great, with Nightfall's attention to characterization and music evident. --- Dylan Miller

Buried Alive

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Graham

A sleazy hypnotist fakes his own death for the insurance money. He awakens in his coffin with an oxygen tank and an intercom, and waits for his wife and assistant to dig him up. Unfortunately, the two "rescuers" are having an affair and decide to leave him entombed.

Reviews:
Pretty cool, though the "hypnosis" angle was a bit much. A lesser episode, but certainly not bad. The hypnotist himself was entertaining. Such a swine. --- Brad Reed

But, Oh What Happened to Hutchings?

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Roy (T.E.) Sallows

England, in the 19th century, is the setting for this episode. Times are hard, and making ends meet is extremely difficult. Grave robbing, therefore, is a lucrative business in an otherwise sterile job market. Why wait for the bodies to drop over of natural causes, though, when you can speed up the process a bit?

Reviews:
Not one of the most exciting shows of the series, but still worth your time. Save this one for after you have heard the better of the Nightfall shows. --- Brian Lane

Carmilla

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Creatures
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, 1872

Set in Germany's Black Forest. A wealthy man and his daughter receive a mysterious house guest who has a secret life, one which threatens to destroy anyone who encounters her. --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:
This is not a good listen. Characters are not interesting, the story is dull and overall nothing held my attention. One of the weaker shows in this series. --- Paul Hesse

Cemetery Stop

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Margery Stewart

A recently widowed bus driver is haunted by a strange woman who everyday insists on getting off at a lonely stop outside of a Toronto cemetery.

Reviews:
Nice, little ghost story. Not one of the best, but a nice way to spend 30 minutes. --- C. Grigsby

Child's Play

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arthur Samuels

A couple move into the wife's childhood home, in spite of the memories of her parents, who were murdered there in their bed when she was a little girl. Bad idea.

Reviews:
An extremely scary supernatural thriller. Although the ending was fairly obvious from the second flashback on up, "Child's Play" still left a few questions unanswered, such as, who, or what were the spectral children being seen, and heard outside the house? I only hope none of them show up at my door, and ask if I can come out and play! --- 'Fallen Angel'

Chrysalids, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 90 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Wyndham

In an irradiated post-Holocaust future, Mankind is rebuilding civilization, but he still harbors the same old evils of prejudice, intolerance, and fanaticism, now directed toward anyone unfortunate enough to have been born with any variation on the established physical norm.

Not really a part of Nightfall, but often included in Nightfall broadcast logs.

Club of Dead Men, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: J. Wentworth Day

A Canadian student at Cambridge, obsessed by a desire to see ghosts, determines to spend the night in a room once used for meetings by members of the Everlasting Club. This eighteenth-century gentlemen's club expected members to attend its annual meetings, with no exceptions granted to the deceased... --- radioGoLDINdex

Reviews:
Creepy. While I could predict the ending, I still grew scared. The acting and the sound work were both very, very good. Fine, fine episode. --- Brad Reed

The writer of the summary is a professor of languages and got unexpected pleasure out of the story's moral to know one's Latin! --- Anonymous

Great buildup with a nice twist at the end. Good one to listen to with the lights off. --- C. Grigsby

I have to agree that the setup is promising and interesting, but the payoff is predictable and laden with senseless gore. Maybe it's just me, but I've come to expect a higher standard of terror from OTR and, unfortunately, the scare tactics used in this particular episode are as cliche and commonplace as the kind you would find in a run-of-the-mill modern slasher film. This one is disappointing and predictable at best. --- Jennifer Morrison

A good story with well-developed, likeable characters. Great element of suspense, and I didn't see the ending coming. --- J.S. Daly

Contract, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Richard Wright

A young man find himself on hard times, or so it seems. He is indebted to a man he met in prison. He just can't seem to get the money, so things look bleak for the man. Luckily, his wife is sympathetic, and rich. She can bail him out. Unfortunately, what she mistakenly believes is a heavy gambling debt is actually a contract to have her killed.

Reviews:
Fun story, but the ending can be seen a mile off. Don't expect too much from this episode and you will enjoy it. --- Brian Lane

Cruel Husband, The

aka: "La Grande Bretèche"
Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Honoré de Balzac, 1832

Its a tale of infidelity, and of revenge. A Count discovers his wife's infidelity and takes steps to see that it doesn't happen again.

Daddy's Girl

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Janet Bonellie

A man on vacation in the West Indies gets more than he bargains for when he gets on the wrong side of a young girl who is a practitioner of black magic. Can he escape and tell the authorities of the strange deaths that have occurred on the island before it's too late?

Reviews:
Expected more from this story. Fairly well-acted, but nothing new. [4/10] --- Noelle

Dark Side of the Mind

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Max Ferguson

A dentist begins to realize that a long lost friend's strange behavior may coincide with the recent string of child murders. --- radioGOLDINdex

Deadly Developments

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arlene Ezrin

A stolen camera has the ability to render anyone who is photographed by it dead.

Reviews:
A good episode that ends way too soon. It needed to be about twice as long, since it set up all sorts of cool ideas and left it dangling. Given an hour, this could have been a classic. --- Brad Reed

An interesting story with good acting and an engaging plot. I felt that it ended prematurely or would have been served well with a sequel. Perhaps the writers figured that you should "leave them wanting more." I certainly wanted more and was disappointed that many details were never followed through. --- Tony Comunale

A "cursed object" story that leaves the listener with more questions than answers, but at the same time delivers on every other front. The idea of a camera that somehow causes the deaths of its photographic subjects for what seems to be no good reason other than the fact that this is what the thing does is a creepy one. I think they could have done a bit more with the story myself, such as possibly explore what would happen if one of the people into whose possession it came decided to use it for their own ends? After all, how can one be charged with murder if all one did was snap a picture of their potential victim?  Then there are the questions the story leaves wide open and doesn't even attempt to answer. Who exactly is the guy trying to track down the camera? Why does he want it?  Is he trying to prevent its use or is he wanting to use it himself? How did he know who had the thing? And, possibly most important of all, how'd the thing finish up being able to do what it does? A story that could definitely have used the two-part  treatment. --- steelman

Debt, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Richard Wright

A fraternity initiation ritual goes too far, and the young man being initiated is killed. And that's the end of that. Or is it...

Dentist, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Bill Gray

A newlywed wife accepts a job as an assistant in the office of a genteel dentist who often treats the poor for free. However, she soon suspects something is wrong when the patients are seen leaving in a disassociated stupor.

Reviews:
A classic of the Nightfall set, this episode fell somewhere between mediocre and listenable. Definitely not a favorite. Worth a listen at least once. [5/10] --- Noelle

Devil's Backbone, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Silver Donald Cameron

Three treasure seekers looking for Spanish gold from a sunken galleon off the Nova Scotia coast are frustrated in their quest by a strange creature which has set up house in the wreck.

Reviews:
Well done. A very engrossing first-person narration helps to pull the listener in, although it sets up a slightly awkward postscript when the show has to pull away to third-person viewpoint in order to provide the resolution. ---- Geoff Loker

Fall of Moondust, A

Year: 1983
Duration: 90 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arthur C. Clarke

A Re-broadcast of a BBC production about a cruise liner which falls victim to a sinkhole as it skims over the dust seas of the Moon. Story by Arthur C. Clarke.

Not really a part of Nightfall, but often included in Nightfall broadcast logs. See also "The Map Makers" and "Death Wish" (X Minus One), "Space Wreck" (2000 Plus), and "Survival" (BBC).

Reviews:
Okay first off, I found the sound quality of this version quite bad, but if you persevere with it you'll enjoy a "classic" peril in space adventure. Also being a BBC production, many of the voices you hear are familiar (well okay, familiar to someone from the UK). For those of you who do not know the story then think of a 70's/80's disaster movie (Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, Grey Lady Down, etc) take it to the moon, add Arthur C Clarke's attention to detail, and you have "A Fall of Moondust!"

If you have read the book, then really there are no surprises. All the main characters are there, and the plot is essentially what you already know. Obviously some plot detail has been chopped to fit into the 90 minute running time, but the important bits are there. What you will find is that the final part of the drama (the "will they / won't they escape" bit) seems quite rushed - in the book this unfolds at a slightly slower pace.

So, in summary, a good, straight-forward dramatization of a classic Arthur C Clarke tale. I'd be interested to read a review from somebody who has not read the book. When I read the book, many years ago (!), I remember it kept me totally rapt and "on the edge of my seat". I wonder if the same is true for this dramatisation? --- Marcus Lancaster

Fatal Eggs, The

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Super Science
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Mikhail Bulgakov, 1924

Set in communist Russia, a scientist discovers a compound, which when injected into chicken eggs, produces giant chickens. Only the government gets hold of the compound and accidentally injects it into snake eggs, with really fun results.

Footsteps

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Larry LeClair

After narrowly missing being killed by a truck, an ad executive becomes obsessed with the sound of footsteps following him wherever he goes.

From My Appointed Place Below

aka: "Wandering Willie's Tale"
Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Sir Walter Scott, 1824

Set in old Scotland. A young man delivers his rent to the local laird, but the latter dies before a receipt can be written, and the money disappears. Desperate, the young man turns to an enigmatic stranger for help.

"Wandering Willie's Tale" from the novel Redgauntlet, 1824.

Reviews:
Picture being on a tour of Scotland and coming into contact with the wizened old groundskeeper of an ancient castle whose sole purpose in life is to pass along the tales handed to him from his father. This story takes you from the front of a forgotten war all the way through the gates of Hell and back out into the mundane. Its nightmarish scenery certainly kept my attention and I can say with confidence that the story is very far from dull. It also illustrates the comical lengths one must go through to penetrate the most rigid forms of bureaucracy. I must warn you though, that the subject matter is more than a little far-fetched and if it's blood and gore you're after, you won't find it here. Although my exposure to the series is somewhat limited, I consider this to be one of the best, but even so, I invite you to draw your own conclusions. --- Jennifer Morrison

Future Fear

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Graham

After getting his television repaired, a man is horrified to behold broadcasts from the future, a future in which his wayward criminal son will become the new Hitler.

Reviews:
A so-so episode. None of the characters are particularly likeable, and the general story doesn't flow very well. --- Geoff Loker

Cool setup, pretty good payoff. I do like how the parents are written. The father is a jerk, the mother a whiner who tries to "make things okay." They felt all too real. Would you kill Hitler as a boy if he were your son? --- Brad Reed

Gerald

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult/Creatures
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Bill Gray

A small town minister is drawn into the search for someone who tortures and kills animals. When his own dog and then his son's best friend Ricky are killed, he can't understand why his son Gerald seems to be so unaffected by the loss.

Reviews:
Hurrah for Gerald! This episode is awesome scary candy! --- Dylan Miller

Glaze of Perfect Beauty, A

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Steven Freygood

An obsessive potter accidentally knocks his assistant into the kiln and finds that human ash makes the best glazes. However, the quality of the person is key to the quality of the glaze. He seeks perfection of his art at any price.

See also "The Potters of Firsk" (Dimension X)

Reviews:
Lousy. The acting was terrible, the story was straight out of an EC horror comic, and the "shock end" made zero sense. This was one of the last episodes of Nightfall. I wonder if they lowered production values at the end. --- Brad Reed

Glimpse of Eternity, A

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Super Science, Horror
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Ian Weir

A university professor researching longevity reluctantly agrees to try out his experimental formula on a willing friend, who soon afterward starts undergoing an extraordinary and disturbing metamorphosis.

Guest-of-Honor

aka: "Come, Lady Death"
Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Supernatural
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Peter S. Beagle, 1963

Lady Neville is old and has one last wish - to throw the grandest, most outrageous party in the history of London. To make it so, she invites the most infamous guest of all—the Grim Reaper.

Hands Off

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Super Science
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Graham

A chemical designed to trigger aggression accidentally spills in the laboratory, getting on the hands of its inventors. The scent causes everyone and everything they encounter to react with murderous hatred.

Reviews:
An excellent story of "overreaching scientist suffers the consequences of his work." Very well acted, and very scary. I particularly enjoyed the first person narration with the murderous dogs providing a constant background, and the fact that even the scientists who's hands were covered with the chemical, "rose water," weren't immune to its effects. Certainly makes you wonder what that sweet smell clinging to some people's hands could be. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Harris and the Mare

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Stan Rogers, 1979

A man's innocent view of the general goodness of mankind is shattered by his wife's murder.

Reviews:
Based on a Stan Rogers song. Opening with the first verse of the folk song, the play elicited a groan from me as deep as Roger's voice. However, it's an episode that builds beautifully and by the end I was completely captivated. It's more than a bit different than a typical Nightfall episode, with it's use of the song to move the plot forward and its complex examination of morality built into a rather simple tale. It's somehow got itself stuck in my head and is certainly worth a listen to. Though be warned, good or bad, it does reek of a certain Canadian-ness of character found in much of our media in the 80's. --- Jason Pichonsky

Hit, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Laurence Gough

Two bumbling, bickering hitmen head for a job; one of them is in for a surprise.

Reviews:
Not good. Not good at all. Poorly written and poorly acted (and/or unrehearsed). I can't decide if the man playing Bill is a terrible actor or an actor good at playing an annoying and asinine character; in either case, he is a chore to listen to. I think this is worse than "Teig O'Kane and the Corpse," which is saying something. --- DHM

How Did You Get My Name?

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Don Dickinson and Allan Guttman

A man returns from four years in a European mental institution to stay with a friend in Toronto . The phone rings, and it's a man asking strange questions. And the man already knows his name. Things spiral downhill from there.

Reviews:
Really good. Not only was the story disorienting and scary, it tied together much better than it had any right to. Fine, fine episode. --- Brad Reed

Good. Nicely acted, necessarily disorienting but not hard to follow. Some real tension here. Well done. --- DHM

More whodunit than horror, this story brings identity theft to a thrilling new level. --- J.S. Daly

Hypnotized

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Jesse Bodyan

A woman under hypnotic regression begins recollections of a very disturbing previous incarnation, in which she has some attachment to the Devil...

In the Eye of the Beholder

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Burke Campbell

When an ill-tempered old farmer refuses to have surgery for his cataracts, a mysterious young man shows up to help him, and the farmer's past comes back to haunt him.

Reviews:
An excellent episode. Very well acted and produced. On the surface, things seem fine, but there are just enough undercurrents of something hidden going on to keep things unsettled until an understated ending. An excellent "let you scare yourself silly" revenge story. --- Geoff Loker

In the Name of the Father

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Janet Bonellie

A grieving writer, wanting peace, goes to a small, remote fishing village. There she discovers the town's dark secret.

Reviews:
This is an odd one. It isn't scary. The acting isn't bad, with one exception; the dialogue mostly works; but the story, more specifically the thing the writer discovers is happening—I don't know what to make of it. Worth a listen, but it might leave you shaking your head. --- DHM

Reminded me of H.P. Lovecraft’s "The Shadow over Innsmouth", with a female protagonist. Protagonist’s acting was at turns dry and sometimes close to hysterical, worked toward the conclusion of a town blessed-? Cursed by bounties from the sea. [6/10] --- Noelle

Jogger, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Tony Bell

A former high-school football star who is in decline and well past his "glory days" is haunted by a mysterious jogger, whom he feels he must catch at all costs.

Reviews:
A good episode. The characterizations are not clear, however, and it's not entirely clear what the jogger is supposed to represent. Without a better understanding of motivations or a reason to care for any of the characters, the story feels a bit hollow. --- Geoff Loker

Last Visit

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Supernatural
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Ray Will

A couple on vacation in Newfoundland are waylaid by heavy fog in a remote area where they keep running into the same local yokel, although in different guises. More than a little creeped out, they try to walk out of town, but that seems to be impossible....

Reviews:
It takes the listener all of five minutes to figure out what's going on. Despite that, it's a great episode. The characters are very well drawn, the encroaching dread is well handled, and it doesn't beat you over the head. The episode takes good advantage of radio's strengths, playing with sound and creating images in the listener's mind. --- Brad Reed

Not the most original Nightfall in the world. I had a bit of a "heard all this before" feeling. The episode reminded me more than a bit of the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater" story, "The Master Computer," only without "Mr. Handy." What was it about the 80s, that there were so many of that type of story kicking around the airwaves? --- 'Fallen Angel'

Late Special

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Clint Bomphray

Blinded and injured in a car accident in the middle of a blizzard, Claire tries to find help in an abandoned train station. An old steam train pulls in, and a man from the train offers her help "for a price".

Reviews:
Well done episode. The main complaint that I have about the episode is that it never explains how Vic knows the old man from the train, although it seems to indicate that there is a fairly obvious explanation. Other than that quibble, it's good. --- Geoff Loker

Lazarus Rising

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Douglas

A reporter becomes entangled in a web of revenge and sorcery when he arrives in a small country town to investigate the incredible report of a man who apparently rose from the dead.

Reviews:
Initially, creepy and mysterious, in a Lovecraftian country setting. The concept is intriguing, but the ending is a letdown. The dead man's daughter, while extremely important to the story, is under-developed and all but forgotten by the end. --- Jason Pichonsky

Lifeline

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Frank Moher

A man loses more than the lines in his palms as the result of burns in an apartment fire.

Reviews:

Love and the Lonely One

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: John Graham

Two medical students pull a prank involving a cadaver of an old woman. The next day, one of the students is pursued by a beautiful young woman who dresses, decorates, and acts like it's sixty years earlier. And she won't let him go.

Reviews:
Spooky, though I felt the end a bit - meh. --- Brad Reed

Maid's Bell, The

aka: "The Lady Maid's Bell"
Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Edith Wharton, 1902

A maidservant takes a job with a kind but sad mistress who suffers from a weak heart, a cruel and tyrannical husband, and the presence of a deceased former maid who refuses to leave the house.

Mindrift

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: F. Peter Lee

A government agent lands in New Your City on a mission to do... something. He knows only that he is programmed to carry out the mission, whatever it might be.

Mr Agostino

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Janet Bonellie

A story which is scary by virtue of the fact that it actually could happen. Carole is plagued by a mysterious man who keeps calling and asking for Mr Agostino. Its just a wrong number. Right?

Reviews:
Don't answer the phone. Pretty scary episode with a typically grim Nightfall ending. --- Chlorine Dream

Mkara

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Michael McCabe

Charles Woodley flees to the highlands of Ethiopia to escape a curse that has been laid upon him for killing a sacred bull elephant—a curse which would cause him to die horribly, trampled beneath the feet of the God of All Elephants, if he were to stay in Tanganyika. There are no elephants in the Ethiopian highlands...

Another version was produced for Beyond Midnight (as "Impala").

Reviews:
Not bad. The acting is good, the story well-told if not really my thing. The notion of "opting out" is interesting. Worth checking out. --- DHM

Monkey's Paw, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: W.W. Jacobs, 1902

The classic tale of a talisman in the form of a shrunken monkey's hand which holds the power to make wishes come true, but not in the way the wisher might expect...

Versions of this story were produced for Beyond Midnight, Favorite Story, Mysterious Circumstances (BBC), and Fear on Four (BBC).

Monkey's Raincoat, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Charles Tidler

A satirical vision of the future of American politics, as a freshly inaugurated President must prove his caliber (pun intended) by eliminating several assassins on his way to the White House.

No Admittance, No Exit

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Don Bailey and Milo Ringham

A female mechanic has her hands injured in a car engine. Frantic, the service station owner and a professor of history take her into the Future Clinic, the new hospital in town. Only it's not like any they've ever seen. --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:
The characterizations in this one are quite good. The three main characters (injured mechanic, head mechanic, customer) are distinct and interesting people. The plot is okay, but it does all seem pointless. My guess is that it's a satire of the impersonal world of socialized medicine in Canada. --- Brad Reed

One of the best Nightfalls I've heard. Well written, and well acted. Very, very creepy. Certainly makes you wonder what would happen if computers ran everything. The only other thing I can say is, "Don't ever take me to the Future Clinic." --- Mary Villa

No Quarter

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Phil Savath

What happens when video games take over your life?

Reviews:
An interesting perspective on the modern age. Sort of reminds me of "The Story of Mr. Maggs", from Lights Out. --- Robert Riddle

Not the best Nightfall episode out there.  Rather makes me wonder whether or not the author was one of those "video games are evil" types. Just a bit too preachy for my liking, but the characters were believable, and the addictive video game was a creepy presence in its own right. Now if they'd only done something a bit different with the story... --- steelman

I agree that it was preachy.  There was definitely an agenda to the story and seemed to equate video games to alcohol, gambling, and drug addiction.  The main point of the guy getting sucked into a game that became more and more real as he played it could have been told without the subtext that 'video games are the Devil'.  Many TV series and  movies were able to look down on the gaming addicts actions and not the media itself.  At the end of the day, games don’t addict people, their choices do. --- raymond

Old Post Road, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: William Lane

A couple late for a dinner engagement take a shortcut down a deserted road where they encounter a series of increasingly bizarre paranormal events.

Reviews:
A good episode. Well acted and well written. The switching from past to present is a little confusing at first, but works well. --- Geoff Loker

A nice ghost story. Not a shocker, but a good listen. I agree that the timeline gets a little confusing, but it didn't detract from the building tension. --- J.S. Daly

On Christmas Day in the Morning

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Margery Allingham, 1950

A mailman is found dead by the side of the road on Christmas morning, the victim of a hit and run. The mayor's wild son is suspected of being the driver. A retired judge joins the sheriff and the mayor in investigating the crime, which leads them to the house of an old woman in the middle of nowhere.

Reviews:
This is not a horror story. It's a boring and predictable "mystery." Right from the get-go, it's obvious who did it. The only question is how it will be proved. That becomes easy to figure out as soon as the old lady starts talking. Also, the circumstances of the "mystery" were very poorly handled. Just plain weak. --- Brad Reed

Porch Light, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Randy Brown

A couple rent a remote house in the country unaware that it had been the site of a brutal murder spree twenty years earlier. A nocturnal visitor appears on their porch who can illuminate them in a most poignant way.

Reviews:
If you're a fan of ghost stories, don't miss this one. It's CREEPY. One of the more disturbing episodes of the Nightfall series. --- Jeff Dickson

A very scary episode. Although the idea of "young couple trapped in a cabin with an unknown intruder outside in the winter storm" isn't exactly new, the treatment was highly original, and the acting was excellent! Two thumbs up for "The Porch Light!" --- 'Fallen Angel'

A very good episode. The writing, the acting, the production are good, all coming together to make a genuinely scary thing. If you're new to Nightfall, start here --- DHM

I wasn't real clear on the ending, which was reminiscent of "The Shining", but the atmosphere of the story was truly chilling. --- J.S. Daly

Private Collection

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Warren Graves

Young women are disappearing in the middle of downtown, in broad daylight. Can Constable Wood figure out what's going on, before it's too late?

Repossession, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arthur Samuels

The spirit of a twin which died during separation at birth returns to claim the life and body of the surviving brother.

Reviews:
Not for the squeamish. This is a very powerful episode, and doesn't pull its punches in the struggle between living and dead brothers. The final scene has the most grotesque sound effects that I have heard, although it was quite successful in painting a very vivid picture in my mind of the action. --- Geoff Loker

Excellent. Absolutely excellent. Scared the bejeezus out of me. The arguments between the brothers were involving, and the dead brother is unbelievably creepy. --- Brad Reed

After hearing this story for the first time, I must say that the acting was well-done, and the sound effects were absolutely amazing, making for a highly nasty ending. However, I didn't particularly care for Robert Stroud that much as a person, and therefore didn't really care what happened to him. No heroically facing the unknown for this guy. He sniveled and whined the whole way through. --- 'Fallen Angel'

They purposely telegraph the ending, and it's great fun when it plays out. It reminds me of the Lights Out episode, "The Dark". --- J.S. Daly

Strangely enough, this was my introduction to Nightfall, and it still ranks up there among my favorites in the series. The idea of the spirit of a dead conjoined twin returning after thirty years to claim, not just his brother's life, but the heart they both shared, is one I've not encountered elsewhere. The story raised an interesting question concerning "survivor's guilt" and what appears to be its opposite. Shall we call it "non-survivor's hatred"? The first half or so of the story is creepy enough, what with the arguments between living and dead brother, both sides of which can be heard by anyone else in the immediate area, but when "Dead Guy" starts forcing "Living Guy" to start killing people, the creepiness reaches a whole new level, as it does when we find out that "dead guy" is completely immune to being hypnotized, regardless of how "Living guy" is as far under as he can get until "Dead guy" starts calling the shots during the session. An additional element of creepiness is added by this episode's musical score, some of which actually does somewhat resemble a beating heart, leaving the listener no doubt as to what exactly "Dead Guy" is ultimately after. --- steelman

Reunion at the Victory Café

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Tom MacDonnell

A couple visiting a London pub fashioned after a Second World War theme are disturbed by the sight of what looks like the husband's father, who was killed in this selfsame pub during the Blitz. A strange transformation follows - of a sudden its 1941 and the Blitz is in full swing.

Reviews:
Not one of the best Nightfalls in the series. It seemed to me that the writer of that particular story watched one too many time travel episodes of the Twilight Zone before he wrote that one. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Reverse Image

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arthur Samuels

A milquetoast purchases an antique mirror and encounters an alter ego of himself, which offers to exchange places for awhile to take revenge on everyone who has treated him like a doormat.

Ringing the Changes

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Supernatural
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Robert Aickman, 1955

A honeymoon couple arrive in a sleepy Cornwall village seeking a place to celebrate. Their choice of an out-of-the-way town proves unwise, as the town has a very special tradition.

Reviews:
Very well acted. You can't wait for this devoted husband and his spirited, lovely wife to get the heck away from that town. And what can have twisted the mind of the innkeeper so he takes any borders on a night like this? The final scenes are incredible. Don't listen alone. --- Gudrun Brunot

Not bad. Using the standard "outsiders come to cursed town and slowly figure things ain't right" setup, this episode creates interest and builds tension effectively. I found the end a bit of a letdown, but I do give the writer points for a different approach. --- Brad Reed

Very Lovecraftian, I almost expected the Deep Ones to make an appearance. Great story, although the ending is vague and, unless I missed something, disappointing given the fantastic build-up. "Now is the time, now is the place, - now is the weather?! - The living and the dead dance together." --- J.S. Daly

Road Ends at the Sea, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Supernatural
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Tim Wynne-Jones

Determined to confront his old friend about the affair he's been having with his wife, a man drives out to the lighthouse where they live. But the couple seem more interested in the strange black ship which has appeared offshore...

Room, The

aka: "The Yellow Room"
aka: "The Red Room"
Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: H.G. Wells, 1894

Enticed by an eccentric, yet wealthy widow's substantial reward, a sceptic accepts an offer to spend a night locked in a supposedly haunted room in her mansion... despite the fact that previous volunteers have all gone insane or committed suicide.

"The Room" was adapted by Nightfall actor Graham Haley from "The Yellow Room" which was written for Beyond Midnight by Michael McCabe and which was, in turn, based on the 1894 H.G. Wells short story, "The Red Room."

Reviews:
A good ghost story. The general story was good, but I found the resolution unsatisfying. --- Geoff Loker

An extremely powerful ghost story. The acting was very good, and the characters were very believable. I was wondering all through the episode if the old woman was up to something, but the old priest reminded me more than a little of the hotel manager from Stephen King's short story, "1408." Thanks to that element, I half expected to hear an inhuman voice screaming, "This is 9! 9! We have killed your friends! Every friend is now dead!" from the receiver of an old telephone. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Martin Kinch

A couple become concerned when their young son's religious leanings take on a warped, fanatical bent.

Reviews:
The Plot Spot says Nightfall got complaints about being too scary; I think it might have been this episode. Terrifying. --- Dylan Miller

A dark little tale of what can happen when Christianity gains too great a hold on one's life. Do you really want to go to church after hearing this one? I think not! And who exactly was that crazy TV preacher who was able to answer questions from the television? Please, touch that dial!!! --- 'Fallen Angel'

Screaming Skull, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: F. Marion Crawford

A retired sailor relates the tale of how and why he came to be haunted by a screaming skull.

Reviews:
A very traditional ghostly revenge story. Not very scary and kind of badly acted. It might be worth a try if you really like this sort of story. --- DHM

Semi-Detached

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Shawn Selway

A young girl living in a foster home finds herself potentially homeless when her 'parents' announce they are expecting. She is helpless to prevent being cast aside, ... or is she? Strange, unnatural things start to happen around the house. --- radioGOLDINdex

Servants of Cerberus, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Mary Humphrey Baldridge

A wealthy and successful businesswoman, bedridden by disease, has visions in her dreams that her dogs speak to her. She also has a philandering husband and a secretary who wants to run away with him. Drama ensues. --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:
Boring and uninspired. Rather than a horror story, it seemed more of a weak soap opera. The dogs were irrelevant to the story. To be honest, so were the main character's "visions." To its credit, this episode is merely boring, instead of flat-out bad. This isn't the worst episode of Nightfall, but it's near the bottom. --- Brad Reed

Yawn. --- Dylan Miller

Shortwave Goodbye, A

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: George R. Robertson

A man has a shortwave radio which picks up future newscasts. He uses it for personal enrichment, and as an aid in killing his wife.

See also "Future Fear" (Nightfall)

Signal-Man, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Charles Dickens

A railroad signalman is driven to the brink of madness by a spectral apparition at the mouth of a train tunnel, which seems to be trying to warn him of... what? --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:

Special Services

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Martin Kinch

A couple on their way to visit a sick aunt are run off the road by an ambulance. The husband is rushed to a 'special services' hospital which claims to treat only the elite of society, but his wife suspect the doctors are lying about his sudden demise in the operating room.

Stone Ship, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: William Hope Hodgson, 1914

A 19th century ship's crew encounter a ghostly vessel in a thick night fog. Her hull is made of stone and the putrid stench about her is the stench of death. Despite their superstition and fear, they feel compelled to board her...

Reviews:
Not standard Nightfall but I think it stands with any Weird Circle horror adaptation. --- Dylan Miller

Strange Odyssey of Lennis Freed, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Tim Wynne-Jones

The namesake of this story in an enigma for a middle-aged couple on the onset of a vacation. Winter has come on quickly, and the middle aged couple find that a sick man has been arriving every place that they go even in the midst of such inclement weather. What's worse is that the wife has a strange maternal instinct to protect the strange, unhealthy man. What is his bizarre secret? --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:
Good premise that suffers from poor pacing and lackluster acting; even a twist ending cannot save this one. Give this one a miss unless you are waiting for a bus with nothing else to do to pass the time. --- Brian Lane

Teddy

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Steven Freygood

A five year old is tormented by the constant din of other people's thoughts flooding into his mind. If that weren't bad enough, there are ruthless people who want to use him to their own selfish ends, including his own parents. Poor Teddy is helpless to prevent them - or is he?

Teig O'Kane and the Corpse

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Douglas Hyde, 1921

Based on the story Douglas Hyde. Ne'er-do-well Irishman Teig O'Kane is accosted by some little men (fairies, I think) and given the task of burying a talkative corpse before sunrise.

Reviews:
Pretty bad. I think it's supposed to be fun, but it is instead overdone - the acting in particular, except for the corpse's - and amateurish in the worst way. Tiresome. Wait till you've heard all the others, and then, if you're especially desperate, try this one. --- DHM

Tell-Tale Heart, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Edgar Allan Poe, 1843

A man of questionable sanity decides to do away with his tenant for the sole purpose of ridding the presence of the man's vulture-like eye. The landlord hides the body beneath the floor boards in a manner that would evade detection of even the most meticulous inspection. It's a perfect crime, except for the fact that the victim's heart beats in the ears of the murderer, crying out for justice.

See the Famous Authors on Radio page for a list of all the versions of this story produced for radio.

Reviews:
This is an excellent rendition of the Edgar Allan Poe classic. A must listen. One of the best of the series! --- Brian Lane

They Bite

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Creatures
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Antony Boucher, 1943

An alien disregards protocols and contacts the primitive

Reviews:
Tale about a species of quasi-lizard creatures living in the hinterlands of the American southwest, preying on unwary humans.

Thinking Room, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Tim Wynne-Jones

A young man who wants to kill himself discovers a secret club devoted to learning about suicide, and planning for The Special Day.

Reviews:
A good episode. Very well written, acted and produced. It has some holes in it, the major one being the reason for the club, but the story flows so well that they don't matter. --- Geoff Loker

An okay episode, but disappointing. The beginning of the episode is a bit hard to follow, since it starts out with voices in the character's head and some loud sound effects. I got my bearings after a few minutes, but that start was way too jumbled. The ending was a bit obvious, too. It would have been a much cooler story without the twist. Lots of wasted potential. --- Brad Reed

One of my favorites. If only for the ending and ensuing meaning. Like a Machen tale set in the 80's. --- Dylan Miller

This One Will Kill You

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arthur Samuels

Danny, a stand up comedian, continues to perform a dreadful routine night after night until the night club owner must fire him. The rejection is so great that Danny makes a final curtain call at the business end of a shotgun. His last request is a roast in lieu of a wake to be emceed by his former student and successful comedian, Steve. Danny has the last laugh, though, turning the tables on his plagiaristic protege.

Reviews:
This is a great tale that is reminIscent of a "Tale from the Crypt" type of story. Good story, but no new ground is broken in the telling. It is a familiar revenge plot from beyond the grave. --- Brian Lane

Tie That Binds, The

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Nika Rylski

A 38 year old man relates how he came to be at an asylum. In a drunken stupor, he rolled his car and killed his wife. After such, he suffers ill effects that seem to have no physical basis. After he collapses, he awakens to find himself certified in a psychiatric facility. The trouble is, he isn't crazy. At least, that's what the voice inside his head keeps telling him.

Reviews:
While it is hard to feel empathy for the protagonist in this tale, it is an engaging story with a satisfying ending. This one is above average quality for shows in the series. --- Brian Lane

Turn of the Blood, The

aka: "The Withered Arm"
Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Thomas Hardy, 1888

In Hardy's Wessex, sometime in the 1800s, Gertrude, Farmer Lodge's new wife, meets a woman Lodge cast off (Rhoda) and the son she (Rhoda) had by him. After Rhoda dreams of a struggle with Gertrude, Gertrude's arm withers; Gertrude looks into fixing her arm. Things don't work out the way she planned.

Reviews:
Decently acted, but it feels somehow both dull and rushed. --- DHM

Undertaker, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Al Purdy

As the titular undertaker (or mortician) - a somewhat caddish ladies' man - prepares the body of a woman who loved him, he reminisces, gets drunk, and has a one-night stand.

Reviews:
Except for the ending this is more a story of grief and guilt than of horror or mystery. Not especially suspenseful, but interesting and well-acted with a somewhat shocking ending. Some mildly graphic descriptions (and sounds) of embalming - nothing outrageous or in bad taste, but the especially squeamish might want to skip this one. --- DHM

Volcano

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Roy (T.E.) Sallows

A psychiatrist uses experimental methods to train a down-on-his-luck boxer.

Reviews:
An adequate, if predictable, episode. The acting is okay, the writing is okay (though it feels cramped), but the straight line predictability drags this one down. --- DHM

Walter's Dog

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Larry LeClair

An alcoholic lobsterman decides to murder his boss in order to become a man in his own eyes.

Reviews:
So-so. It isn't always clear what is happening. The denouement twist is clear from the get-go and so fails as a twist. Except for "Bill Carr (?) as the dog," the acting is subpar but not awful. Eh. --- DHM

Watching

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Bryan Wade

A peeping tom invents a girlfriend to compensate for his incapacities with women, and when his friends begin to suspect, resorts to extreme measures to ensure his girlfriend is both real and committed to him.

Waters Under the Bridge

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Gaëtan Charlebois

Weather Station Four

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Arthur Samuels

Two men are trapped at a remote weather station in the Arctic by a violent storm. One is a veteran of the far north, but the other is an emotionally unstable rookie who begins to hear a female voice on the radio goading him to murder and madness. --- radioGOLDINdex

See also "A Study in Wax" (Suspense and Escape)

Reviews:
[SPOILER --- Was a pretty simple story idea that left me confused at the end. I was under the assumption that the voice the man heard was his own imagination however at the end it appeared that there really was a creature speaking to him. With this exception the story was pretty well written and has little to no other bg sounds except for the constant wind and an occasional bark. I would have liked it better if they had left the voice as his imagination and then he had to deal with the reality of what he had done when the storm ended and he had to reestablish contact. What would he have done? Told the truth or come up with an excuse. --- END SPOILER] Barry Howell

Wedding, The

Year: 1983
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Phil Savath

In the late 1600's, a Jewish family embarks on planning a wedding. The superstitions of the father and bride-to-be run amok, fostered by a recent plague which hit the village. Times are better now, or so they think, until a strange jester offers to perform at the wedding. When the day comes, he arrives and expects payment upon services rendered. The miserly father reneges, much to the chagrin of the wedding party. They soon find out it is no laughing matter when you cheat a wandering jester.

Reviews:
This is a departure from the norm of Nightfall. It is almost on par with an episode of Escape or Suspense. Worth a listen, but it doesn't fall into the normal genre of "horror", but more of a suspenseful fable. --- Brian Lane

Welcome to Homerville

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Occult
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Allan Guttman and Don Dickinson

A trucker on a lonely road to Homerville seeks out a little company on his CB radio, but the other truckers are horrified to learn of his destination, and plead with him to turn around, to avoid Homerville at any cost. --- radioGOLDINdex

Reviews:
I found this show to be realistic and entertaining. I really felt sorry for the trucker as his marriage and his world seems to be ending. I liked the way the country music radio station and the CD radio were blended together. The language is a little on the strong side but not offensive. You can not help but wonder what is in Homerville. You and our friend "RC" will find out. --- Don Walker

Excellent setup, confusing ending. I think I got it, but I'm not quite sure. The sense of dread increases throughout the episode. Most fine. Very well acted and excellently directed. --- Brad Reed

The fear builds as the trucker keeps driving toward Homerville, but somehow keeps getting farther away from his destination. The ending left me scratching my head, but this is still great stuff. --- C. Grigsby

OK, here's my take on the ending - the whole story is a modern day retelling of Ulysses and the Sirens out of Homer's Odyssey (Homerville being an indirect reference to the original legend). I feel pretty certain this was the writer's intent, since the end credits mention her as 'the Siren'. Overall, it's a good creepy tale; however, it could have been presented more clearly. --- Jeff Dickson

A terrifying little gem of unknown, or rather not so unknown supernatural forces, I.E. a modern day siren, infesting a particular stretch of lonely highway, and enticing motorists onward to what end? I won't say here, but what was the deal with Homerville constantly being further, and further away? I didn't get that. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Where Do We Go From Here?

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Max Ferguson

The unfortunate Neville Edwards wakes up after a near-fatal accident, can't move a muscle or speak, but is fully conscious. In walks Ernie, thorough, reliable Ernie. He won't let the docs give him up for dead, will he?

Reviews:
Neville Edwards' inside-the-brain monologs start out chatteringly enough; he's optimistic that his condition will be correctly diagnosed. The characters of the jovial old physician, the earnest young intern, and Ernie are played well. The ending packs a punch that still gets to me. --- Gudrun Brunot

An interesting retelling of a story which was first told in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, only with a totally different ending, which I won't reveal here. Although the inside the brain monologs also reminded me more than a bit of Stephen King's "Autopsy Room Four", "Where Do We Go From Here?" has some elements that the Hitchcock movie, and the Stephen King short story didn't. --- 'Fallen Angel'

Where Does the News Come From?

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: James D. Morris

What happened to the anchorman who suddenly left the news broadcast in mid-stream? Why is no-one talking about him? And what did he discover about where the news comes from?

Reviews:
A good episode. The story comes across a little weak, but it is still enjoyable to listen to. --- Geoff Loker

The story has logic holes you could run mountain ranges through, but it is well performed, so the episode isn't a total loss. The main character sounds like a news anchorman; he has that pompous voice that sounds so good over radio. --- Brad Reed

Wildcats

Year: 1981
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Cristian Noak

Two elderly sisters running an almost abandoned hotel take in a stranger who gets off a train by accident and needs to stay the night. Will they ever let him leave?

Adapted by Otto Lowy (based on the German short story by Christian Noak).

Reviews:
A well acted episode. Interesting, but it has too much imagery that doesn't really make sense. I have the feeling that it is striving to be deep, but it winds up feeling somewhat scattered and a bit annoying. There are several allusions to wildcats in the story, none of which really give any insight into why this was called "Wildcats". --- Geoff Loker

Willoughby Obsession, The

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: George R. Robertson

What happened in the Willoughby mansion the night that three people died there? What happened to the former gardener who was found babbling incoherently and dying? And what is that strange presence in the library?

Reviews:
A pretty good ghost story, dealing with possession and murder by yoga of all things. --- Geoff Loker

An excellent story demonstrating what an ambitious sorcerer can do with a little mind-power. --- J.S. Daly

Wind Chill

Year: 1980
Duration: 30 min
Genre: Ghosts
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: David McCaughna

Trapped in a remote cabin by a violent snowstorm, a woman finds comfort in the unexpected company of an enigmatic young man, and discomfort in the wailing of a child out in the storm.

Reviews:
I wouldn't go as far as calling this very good, but it's a solid episode. It's a straightforward ghost story. --- Brad Reed

A chilling little ghost tale with more than a few twists. A perfect example of a Nightfall episode that gets you looking in one direction for the threat, and then comes at you out of left field, and screams "Surprise! I got you good, didn't I?" --- 'Fallen Angel'

I found this to be a rather unconventional and delightful interpretation of the classic ghost story. The acting is well done, the characters are likeable, the sound effects provide great atmosphere and the conclusion has a sad little "aftertaste". If you're looking to have the wit scared out of you, this episode isn't for you. Instead, you should expect to be presented with a hypothetical study of the "humanity" of ghosts. The ending was neither disappointing nor unpredictable so you shouldn't treat this like a detective story and base the value exclusively on the ending. The best way to enjoy "Windchill" is to sit back, close your eyes and enjoy it as you would a painting. --- Jennifer Morrison

Young Goodman Brown

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1835

A young man journeys into the woods bordering his home village at dusk and encounters a strange man and a wicked Satanic ritual.

Your Fortune in 20 Words or Less

Year: 1982
Duration: 30 min
Genre:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Story by: Larry LeClair

A two-bit carnival fortune teller is visited by a mysterious old man who bestows true clairvoyant powers upon him... but it comes at a price.