 Inner Sanctum Mysteries Dear friends of the creaking door This is your host to welcome you into the Inner Sanctum once again Come in You know so many people have asked me to explain the significance of the creaking door But I don't really have to You see the door creaks for itself I was going to have a friend of mine here tonight to give you a short explanation Being an undertaker by profession, he's an authority on the subject But he couldn't make it, he's been so busy, poor chap He's literally buried in his work All right friend, let's get dreadful Now remember, don't scream back at the radio, I'd want to hear any kind I'll say it Then listen as we hear our star and see more in the role of Catherine Brine Tell us this story in her own words Flash of lightning, like a giant white electric light Lit up the sky that night as I went up the walk And Brine Mansion looked like a huge gable tomb Standing there on the hill For a moment I wanted to run But much as I hated it, I'd come back Not because I lived there Not because I wanted to be there But because in this house, I should find out if I was going to live Or if I was going to die I let myself in quietly Made my way to the living room There was a rustling of skirts And mother suddenly appeared in the dim, shadowy lights Kathy, Kathy, dear Hello mother Oh you're so late, I was getting worried Was my stepfather worried too? Why yes dear, Mark is still up Here you've got to take your coat off, it's so through Don't you touch me Kathy darling Don't start sniveling over me again mother I can't stand it I was just trying to help you Always trying to help me Why didn't you think of helping me before you married that man upstairs? But no, you're such a pretty woman mother You couldn't possibly be without a husband What would people say? Catherine please, you can't go on like this No I can't I can't go on very much longer without destroying myself You must not say such things And why not? But make you and Mark very happy if I should die Wouldn't it? Catherine No one in this house wants me to go on living Good evening Catherine Mark, I didn't know you were here I'm aware of that, I heard you Mark, she didn't mean it, she didn't mean a word of it No but I did Now that you're both here there's something I must find out tonight It's very important What is it? What is it? Ten years ago my father died Catherine we can't discuss that now We must, I've got to know certain things Why? Because if I don't, something quite dreadful might happen to me Now Catherine, you're exaggerating Dr. Wells doesn't think so I've been going to him for months now He knows there's grave danger that I'll go completely out of my mind If I don't find out about this my poor darling Don't pity me mother, help me Tell me how my father died You know you were there But Catherine there's nothing to tell Your father was killed in an accident He was a doctor That will be enough Laura Mark We'll call Dr. Wells the first thing in the morning And discuss the matter with him Why don't you let her tell me What have you got to hide? We are not going to discuss this Until I speak to Dr. Wells Ah Laura, I suggest you come upstairs As soon as possible Good night Catherine Mother, he's gone You are going to tell me Where was this accident? How did it happen? Who was involved? Catherine, you're in no state to hear anything right now Mark was right We should speak to Dr. Wells about it first Yes, speak to him So you both can make up an appropriate lie to tell me I don't want any lies I want the truth mother And I'm prepared to go to any length to get it Look at this Now Catherine Look at it, I tell you Look at it What? What is it? A woman sold it to me Today A strange little woman It's a sort of tiny painted tile Not just an ordinary tile mother It comes from the Orient woman said Do you see this very odd design? If you look at it long enough she said A strange thing will happen You'll find yourself able to talk with the dead See them wherever they are Catherine, I'm going to talk to my father You can't be serious You won't tell me what I want to know Then maybe the dead will Mother left the room And I sat down in front of the fireplace Just as I used to when I was a child I looked at the tile At the design The parallel lines and dots began to dance Before my eyes Stay at it It seemed to hold Control my gaze And then almost at once I felt an icy chill And the design vanished In its place there was black Infinite space Filled with shadows and Still shadows beyond shadows Then I noticed a speck of gray Come out of that blackness There was a strange, sulfurous odor in the air As it came toward me At first very slowly And gradually faster and faster As though it were coming to me Through endless years of space Suddenly there was an ear-shattering Thunder clap A streak of lightning zigzagged Through the room in an insane dance And I heard the front door close I heard footsteps approaching I turned around Faced the doorway And then I saw him Don't scream Who are you? You are Kathy Kathy Brine You know me? I did Ten years ago Where did you come from? Tell me How do I appear to you? How you appear? Yes Please You have white hair White beard But your eyes No, it can't be What can't be? That my eyes are the eyes of a corpse That I look more like a dead man Than a living one Yes That should not be so strange Who are you? Did you know my father? Dr. Brine Very well Very well indeed How did they die? I want to know that He was murdered Murdered? Yes, murdered How do you know? I saw it all You? I was punished for it You murdered him? No I didn't kill him He was the only friend I had in the world That's why I came back here tonight Didn't you ever know how your father died? No Would you like to know? More than anything in the world He was the kindest of men And that's what led to his destruction He took a man under his care A man who had been given up as a raving maniac And rather than see this man placed in an institution He kept him in the guest cottage of his house Wait Wait, I remember now The man was a poet Yes His name was Dennis the Moor Your father believed this man was a great poet And struggled to save him Did this man murder my father? No One evening when your father came in to treat the Moor There was a third man in the darkened cottage This man leaped at your father and drove a knife into his back The poor madman, frightened Ran over the countryside until he was caught by the police And he was charged with the murder of your father You... You said you saw all this I did Then you are... The madman Dennis the Moor You... You're dead? Perhaps I am The murderer Who was the person who murdered my father? You know him quite well He's the man who's now married to your mother Mark Weldon No Can you prove this? Your father is the only one Who can prove this My father Can you bring him back here? Bring him back? You came back If you could only bring him And prove this Prove it? Perhaps I can Perhaps I will bring him back Tonight Just then There was a tremendous thunderclap And the electric lights failed I tried to see him by the firelight But He wasn't in the room I ran to the door Stumbling over furniture and the shadows And screaming for him to wait I opened the front door But he wasn't there Cassie, we heard you screaming Did you, mother? What happened? I... I found out how my father died Really? How? He was murdered Laura, did you tell her anything? No, not a word, Mark I swear Cassie, how did you find out? I told you how I'd find out That... That tile? Yes It worked That's impossible Of course you'd say that But I discovered tonight That you, Mark, murdered my father That you cleverly arranged That a poor patient of his named Dennis D'Amour Would be arrested for the crime that you committed Who told you this? Dennis D'Amour D'Amour? Was he here? Yes He told me everything And you believed him? Why shouldn't I? Why the man's a maniac I don't know how he ever got here He should be at the state institution For the criminally insane Number, please Hello, operator Will you put through a call to the state institution For the criminally insane at Blighton? I wish to speak to whomever is in charge And call me back as soon as you get them It's urgent Yes, sir, I understand Thank you Now, Catherine You claim you actually spoke to this man Yes, Mark He told me he saw you murder my father Why, you're lucky you escaped with your life The man is a homicidal maniac I find it shocking that you should even begin To believe this fantastic story But it seems to be true, Mark, doesn't it? My father was murdered And Dennis D'Amour was sent away for the crime Yes, yes, that part of it is true But to accuse me Laura, we tolerated her in this enough But this is Hello Hello, supervisor of state institution Oh, yes, hello, Dr. King This is Mark Weldon speaking Has one of your patients A Dennis D'Amour escaped? What? Yes, that's right, a homicidal maniac He hasn't escaped, Mr. Weldon He was one of the patients who was killed In a fire that broke out in this place Two years ago What's that? Didn't you hear me? Yes Yes, I heard you Thank you Goodbye Mark What is it? Dennis D'Amour is dead He was killed two years ago Oh, friend How'd you like to have a little Chinese tile That can produce dead men for you? Or don't you think the Dennis D'Amour is a ghost? Perhaps you think he's just an old Popeye Poltergeist? Well, we'll know in a moment As we hear Catherine Brine Tell us the second half of her weird story My stepfather's hand trembled as he hung up the phone And even in the red glow of the firelight I could see his face that suddenly turned snowy white It's impossible The dead can't come back Unless you're making up this whole thing, Kathy Why should I invent a story like this? Because you've always been insanely jealous You've always hated your mother for marrying me Isn't that true, Laura? Isn't it? Yes, it's true There, you see, Catherine Your mother loves you She wouldn't lie Now tell us the truth You made up this whole wild tale about Dennis D'Amour, didn't you? No, Mark I didn't invent it Dennis D'Amour was here He couldn't have been He's been dead for two years Then how would I know the things I told you? I don't know And that's what you've got to explain Mark, why does this upset you so? If you didn't murder him What difference does it make about D'Amour? Why are you so frightened? I'm not frightened I'm just determined to get to the bottom of this thing What was that? Just the thunder, Mark Laura Why are you looking at me like that? Like what? Staring at me As though you've seen me for the first time Do you believe this mad story Catherine's told us? Do you think I murdered her father? I... I just remembered certain things, Mark I can't help it if I think of them now What things? Tell me what things? Two days before the murder you told me you were in love with me I sent you away, told you never to come to this house again Go on On the night of the murder I saw you standing in the moonlight Near the guest cottage You did? I thought I was mistaken, especially since you claimed you were at home that night Oh, Mark, don't be angry with me I can't help it thinking of these things now It's only natural Natural? Is it natural for a man's wife to accuse him of a crime like murder? And on the basis of what? The word of a psychopathic girl who should have been confined long ago She talked to a man who's been dead for two years I suppose you believe that too And who is this man even assuming that he's alive? A madman, a homicidal maniac who took your first husband's life When your husband tried to cure him Well, I've had enough of this Mark, what are you taking out of that drawer? Cathy, come here Why? Mark, put the gun away Shut up, Lola Cathy, I won't hurt you unless you try something dangerous I'm holding this gun because I believe your mother and I are no longer safe in the same room with you Now I want the truth You were lying to us before, weren't you? No Very well then Where is this man you saw? I'd like to see him too I don't know Of course you don't because he doesn't exist He does He appeared when I looked at the Chinese tile The Chinese tile? Good Look at your Chinese tile now Make him appear You're trying to make a fool of me, a liar You'll do as I tell you Look at that tile Go on All right, I will Now, what do you see? Nothing but the design Yes, and that's all you're going to see No, the design is fading It's getting dark Nothing but blackness I heard the front door Someone just came in Yes Those footsteps That's just how he came in the last time Perhaps, but I doubt if it's good evening Oh, it is, Demor You remember me, Laura Yes, you've changed a great deal But it is you Mr. Weldon, it's been ten years since I've seen you Demor, then you're not dead There must have been some mistake when I identified you Not dead, you escaped Someone must have been identified instead of you That's the only explanation It depends on what you choose to believe, Mr. Weldon I brought a guest with me My father Dr. Brine, I'm sure you know these people quite well Of course you do What's he saying? He's talking to my father That's right, Kathy Unfortunately, you cannot see him But he's here, aren't you, doctor? Demor, what are you up to? What do you think? If you come back here to make trouble Double? No I've come back because someone wanted to know the truth And I've brought the doctor back for the same reason Doctor, before these others I want you to tell us Who murdered you? Who murdered you? Mark, you shot him Yes Why? Why? He's dangerous, a maniac That's not the reason It's because you murdered my father And you don't want us to know All right, Kathy I did kill him Mark He doesn't make any difference now This maniac has planted suspicion in your minds You would have found out sooner or later Mark Yes, I killed him For you, Laura I love you But that's over now It's been over for a long time I know what to do now And it's going to be very simple Thanks to our friend lying there What are you going to do? Don't you know, Laura It's so simple Your bodies must be found in such a condition That you're going to be certain D'Amour killed you And then I'll tell them how I shot The homicidal maniac to protect myself It's the same way He killed my father Yes, Kathy You won't die, Catherine D'Amour Did you think you could kill me, Weldon? D'Amour Do you think those shots will stop me? Don't you come near me Stand back Nothing will stop me, Weldon The gun is empty Now don't let go of me Yes Well, it's strike, D'Amour They hit him, but they didn't stop him From lurking toward Mark And seizing him by the throat As they fell to the floor The kerosene lamp fell off its table It might have been the wind But I believe otherwise I'm almost certain it was my father In a moment the drapes were on fire And the whole place was blazing I screamed to my mother to leave She ran with me out of the blazing building Into the storm that raged outside Two weeks later My mother came into the hotel room Where we were staying I've just come from the police, Kathy Well, mother Only one body is positively identified Whose? Mark's The other body? They haven't been able to find it In the rubble I don't believe they ever will But, Kathy, the police checked With the authorities at the state institution It seems that some of the patients Did escape at the time They had the fire there two years ago It's possible that the more was among them It's possible But I doubt it You think the more died Two years ago? Yes, mother Don't you? Friends, I guess you've met ghosts before But I'm sure this is the first time You've ever met a crazy spook Or don't you think Dennis de Mort was a ghost? Well, there's only one way to find out If ghosts really exist Just ask one to haunt you some time You'll be sure to listen, won't you? Until next week then Good night Pleasant dream Inner sanctum has come to you Through the worldwide facilities Of the United States Armed Forces Radio And television service