When we think of old-time radio and the pulps, The Shadow comes readily to mind.
Although the character started as the menacing announcer for radio’s The Detective Story Magazine Hour, the most memorable radio version of The Shadow was the program broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1937 to 1954. Originally starring Orson Welles in the title role, The Shadow had the power to become invisible by “clouding men’s minds.”
Other popular pulp characters that appeared on radio included The Avenger, Doc Savage, Flashgun Casey, The Green Lama, Pete Rice, and Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade.
In addition to characters, radio also dipped into the pulps for stories to broadcast to America’s homes. There were tales from Astounding Stories, Detective Fiction Weekly, Love Story Magazine, Ten Detective Aces, and other pulps that were adapted for the “Theater of the Mind.”
We hope you’ll join PulpFest 2023 on Thursday, August 3, at 10:35 pm for “Weird Tales on Radio.” As part of our celebration of the centennial of Weird Tales, old-time radio expert Karl Schadow will discuss how stories published in “The Unique Magazine” were used as source material heard on such radio dramas as Stay Tuned for Terror, Suspense, and World’s Greatest Stories.
Based in the greater Washington, DC area, Karl Schadow is a full-time popular culture researcher delving into radio, comics, pulps, and occasionally, television. He has been researching and writing about the Golden Age of Radio for over forty years, specializing in mystery and horror programming. A former microbiologist, Karl serves as a research assistant and editorial consultant for Radio Spirits’ old-time radio collections. He also writes for Carl Amari’s and Lisa Wolf’s weekly Radio Rarities podcast and for Ed Hulse’s Blood ‘n’ Thunder. His essay on the 1930-31 radio show that was adapted from Dell’s Scotland Yard magazine is in the Blood ‘n’ Thunder 2023 Special Edition. Karl recently chaired a session on radio history for the Radio Preservation Task Force that was held at the Library of Congress.
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Our featured image is a 1934 advertisement from The Shadow Magazine for The Shadow radio program airing on CBS. Sponsored by the D. L. & W. Coal Company promoting their “Blue Coal,” the show featured the title character as the narrator of spooky mystery dramas. James LaCurto and Frank Readick played The Shadow.
Our lead image was adapted by PulpFest advertising director William Lampkin from Margaret Brundage’s cover art for the April 1935 of Weird Tales, illustrating Arthur William Bernal’s story, “The Man Who Was Two Men.” The cover of that particular issue of Weird Tales asked the question, “What Is the Next Amazing Step in Radio after Television?”
Robert Bloch’s “Yours Truly — Jack the Ripper” — was dramatized by Mollé Mystery Theater and other radio programs. Bloch’s short story was originally published in the July 1943 issue of Weird Tales, featuring front cover art by Edgar Franklin Wittmack. It was one of only two covers that the longtime illustrator contributed to the magazine.
For more on Weird Tales, please visit our YouTube Channel to view our video Weird Tales Celebrates 100 Years, created by PulpFest‘s Craig McDonald. While you’re there, please be sure to subscribe to the PulpFest Channel.
