Inner Sanctum Mysteries 

During the era of old time radio, mystery programs gave listeners
the chance to hear grizzly tales of murder and madness, evoking
enough chills to keep audiences breathless. 

Inner Sanctum was a tightly formatted show with horror and suspense
designed to keep you on the edge of your chair or holding tightly
to your sheets if you were listening just before bedtime. It 
featured spine-tingling stories of ghosts, murderers, lunatics, 
vampires, wolf-men, zombies and man-eating plants. In sharp contrast 
to shows like Suspense and The Whistler, Inner Sanctum's stories were 
told with a broad tongue-in-cheek approach. To this day the show 
remains a wonderful guilty pleasure of many old time radio fans. 

Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner 
Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941. 

Inner Sanctum Mysteries featured one of the most memorable and 
atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant 
chord, a doorknob turned and the famous "creaking door" slowly began 
to open. 

What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was 
its host, a slightly sinister sounding man originally known as 
"Raymond." The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for 
ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts 
everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson 
was the show’s host until 1945 -- Johnson was a familiar presence in 
the radio serials of the 1940's and won acclaim playing Thomas 
Jefferson in Sidney Kingsley's 1943 Broadway play "The Patriots." 
But he was best known as Raymond, the original host for the gothic 
tales of "Inner Sanctum," which made its debut in January 1941 and 
ran for 11 years, on NBC, CBS and ABC. 

Each show opened with a jovial greeting from the host, Raymond, played 
initially by Raymond Edward Johnson and then by Paul McGrath beginning 
in 1945. Speaking in an exaggeratedly "spooky" voice, Raymond would 
spout jokes and puns over a melodramatic organ score that one can 
easily imagine being played by a skeleton. As the series progressed,
even the advertisers would get into the act, trading banter with 
Raymond before the story proper began. 

After three bars of organ music, "Inner Sanctum" opened with the sound 
of Raymond turning a doorknob and then the creaking of rusted hinges. 
"Good evening, friends," intoned Raymond. "This is your host, inviting 
you through the gory portals of the squeaking door." Then came a 
gruesome joke, laughter intended to make his listeners shiver, and 
finally an improbable episode with ghosts and bloodcurdling sound 
effects. 

Inner Sanctum was sponsored by Carter's Pills while airing on the Blue 
Network. The show moved to CBS in September 1943. While there, the show 
was sponsored first by Colgate Tooth Powder. From January 1945 through
June 1946, the show sponsor was Lipton Tea and Soup. Later runs were 
sponsored by Mars Candy (September 1950 to June 1951, ABC) and Pearson 
Pharmaceutical (June to October 1952, CBS).



                  
Lipton's introduced Mary as "pitchman" for Lipton's Tea and Soup. Mary 
interacted with the show's host, Raymond, and would always react to 
Raymond's ghoulish puns. The commercial breaks became great fun. In 
the episode, The Judas Clock, Mary came back with a small joke of her 
own to which Raymond made a snide retort. 

Each episode ended with Raymond's final remarks and the moral of the 
story.  After a final comment from Mary and a reminder of the current 
"Inner Sanctum Mysteries" book of the month, he would always wish his 
listeners pleasant dreams and shut the creaking door to conclude the 
show. 

Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio 
actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars 
as Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Richard Widmark, Claude Rains, Mary 
Astor, and Raymond Massey. 

Organist Lew White supplied the music for the radio program during 
most of the run. His signature build-up and eerie chords opening each 
episode was featured from episode one. 

Producer Hiram Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 
1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. 

Inner Sanctum Mysteries was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 
1988. 

                  
Three episodes, August 15, 22 and 29 of 1943 did not feature Raymond 
Edward Johnson as the host. Raymond went on vacation for a little rest 
and relaxation and Berry Kroeger was brought in as a substitute. 

Terry Ross, a soundman, recalls a humorous anecdote about the show's 
most famous prop: "We took off the hinges, buried them in the dirt 
out back and watered them down like plants for a couple of weeks until 
they got nice and rusty. Then we mounted them on the door a little bit 
askew, so they would squeak. One of the set-up boys came to me and said 
`Terry, I fixed the door for you. I oiled the hinges.' This was just 
before show time. What do you do when the signature of the show was a 
squeaky door?" A quick solution had to be found and Mr. Ross became 
the door. He imitated its creak with his voice, allowing Raymond and 
the eerie plot do the rest. 

Raymond Edward Johnson was born in Kenosha, Wis., worked as a bank 
teller, and then studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama in 
Chicago. His sister, Dora Johnson Remington, who died in 1989, was a 
radio soap opera actress, best known for playing Evey Fitz, the 
married daughter in "Ma Perkins." Mr. Johnson, who suffered from 
multiple sclerosis for many years, nevertheless revisited his starring 
years in radio in 1997, when he appeared at a gathering of the Friends 
of Old Time Radio. He delivered a reading from a portable bed.