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. The show's creator heard this door's evocative squeaks and screeches one day and knew instantly that it had star potential. The creaking basement door at a studio producer Himan Brown once worked at inspired what became among the best known opening signatures of old-time radio 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. Raymond Edward Johnson starred in the show until 1945. Mr. 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. 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; Paul McGrath took over the role until the show left the air in 1952. 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. "Hello, friends; welcome through the creaking door into the Inner Sanctum." Three Organ notes The Announcer announces Inner Sanctum Mysteries followed by the Opening Creaking Door with your Host inviting you into the Inner Sanctum for a little Hunk of Horror began one of the most popular shows of the Golden Age of Radio. ran from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952 This show was broadcast on CBS and ABC from 1941 till it went off the air on October 5, 1952. The show started its run on the Blue Network (later to become A.B.C. Radio) on January 7, 1941 air its final episode on C.B.S. October 5, 1952. Inner Sanctum was sponsored by Carter's Pills while airing on the Blue Network. The show moved to C.B.S. in September 1943. Other sponsors were Carter's Little Liver Pills till 1943, Colgate till 1945 when Lipton tea and soup took over Inner Sanctum was sponsored by Carter's Pills while airing on the Blue Network. The show moved to C.B.S. in September 1943. While on C.B.S. there would be many sponsors. The first sponsor was Colgate Tooth Powder. Starting in January 1945 and through June 1946, the show sponsor was Lipton Tea and Soup. From September 1950 to June 1951 Inner Sanctum returned to A.B.C. and was sponsored by Mars Candy and then returned to C.B.S. from June to October 5, 1952 when the sponsor was Pearson Pharmaceutical. Inner Sanctum joined many of Old Time Radio's most successful shows and joined Suspense, The Lone Ranger, others in the move to television. Inner Sanctum aired on A.B.C. TV aided by Mary who tried to get the listeners' minds off Raymond's ghoulish genre and on to her uses for Lipton Tea and Lipton soup during its sponsorship of the show 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. Inner Sanctum always opened with the famous squeaking door and the host spinning puns. As mentioned previously, during Lipton's sponsorship of the show, Mary always cringed at Raymond's grim humor. In the episode, The Judas Clock, Mary came back with a small joke of her own to which Raymond made a snide retort. The host/ghost of the Inner Sanctum 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 Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains and Raymond Massey Quite a number of established stars appeared over the years, such as Karloff, Peter Lorre, Richard Widmark, and Mary Astor. big name horror movie stars like Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre were regularly featured. Raymond Edward Johnson and Paul McGrath (after may 45)each took a turn as the show's host, cracking a series of ghastly (in both senses) puns before introducing the night's show. 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. Its creator was Himan Brown, who later created the long-running 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. Mr. Johnson also played the lead role in "Don Winslow of the Navy" and "Mandrake the Magician" in his busy radio career. In the summer of 1945, Mr. Johnson stepped down as host of "Inner Sanctum" and was replaced by Paul McGrath. By then, Mr. Johnson had achieved success in his Broadway debut as Jefferson in "The Patriots," a tribute to democratic ideals in a wartime America. 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.