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Not surprisingly, death and danger became popular topics for radio entertainment to explore from the 1930s through the 1950s. The 1938 radio play of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds arguably marks the beginning of this gothic wave, as the lines between fiction and reality began to blur for audiences. However, the history and variety of gothic stories, particularly of gothic romances, that were performed via radio drama is underdiscussed. The genre’s qualities helped bring the radio drama into its golden age, as the “theater of thrills” was predicated on ghostly stories filled with terror. This class will explore the contexts and subtexts of popular radio shows such as “Suspense,” “The Zero Hours,” “Creeps by Night,” “The Strange Dr. Weird,” and “The Mysterious Traveler,” discussing how the gothic form was pushed forward by the adaptation to this medium. Additionally, we will discuss the role of advertising in radio dramas, considering what audiences were being marketed to by these gothic tales.
